Reborn With a Magic System

The question on Damion's mind was not if he should buy a spell from the Magic System or not, but if he should wait and earn the last few credits he needed to buy an active spell or not.

'System, what are the chances that I get a spell that doesn't match my affinity if I buy an active spell from the shop?'

{Spells purchased from the shop are limited in their random generation to usable affinities.}

'I guess that means I won't get a Fire affinity spell since I have an Ice affinity,' Damion thought to himself.

Even with the guarantee that he would get a spell that was useable, Damion was still concerned he might get a spell that was not worth 100 credits. In the long run that 100 credits might not be much, but right now it represented 18 years of work and quests. Until he started earning more, Damion did not want to waste what he had.

'System, I would like to purchase a passive spell.'

{Affirmative}

{Random Passive Spell purchased for 50 Credits.}

{Generating spell…}

{Passive spell generated. Congratulations host you have obtained spell True Sight.}

[True Sight – Passive – (F Rank 1 Mana P/S) Enhances your vision to see clearly in all conditions. Even in pure darkness you will still be able to see clearly up to 10 meters. Also allows user to identify the Rank of anything you see within 10 meters.]

As Damion read the description of the skill he could not help but have mixed feelings. Without a doubt, the skill was useful, but he found himself wishing for something that would have enhanced his strength or casting speed.

At a cost of 1 mana per second, Damion did not feel the spell would tax him, but it was still more than his current magic regeneration which was only 0.05 mana per second. Only after the Magic System fully unlocked did Damion fully appreciate Mana Absorption and how much mana it helped him gain.

The issue Damion was now realizing was that the more passive spells he had, the more costly it would be to keep them active. He needed to increase his natural magic regeneration, so he did not have to rely on Mana Absorption so much.

'Purchase Increase Magic Regeneration.'

{Affirmative.}

{Increase Magic Regeneration purchased for 10 Credits.}

{Magic Regeneration has increased by 1 P/S. Magic Regeneration has reached 1 P/S, partial numbers will no longer be shown.}

Damion looked at the increase he received from spending 10 credits and sighed. He supposed he had to start somewhere. With his natural regeneration increased by 1 mana per second it would offset the cost of his new spell, but not help him much. He still had 36 Credits and Damion decided to use them.

'Purchase Increase Magic Regeneration.'

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

{Affirmative.}

{Increase Magic Regeneration purchased for 15 Credits.}

{Magic Regeneration has increased by 5 P/S.}

'Now that is better,' Damion thought as he looked over his status screen. With a Magic Regeneration of 6 per second he could freely use his new passive spell and still have plenty of mana flowing in to freely use his other spells without worry or the need to rely on Mana Absorption.

Damion still had 21 Credits and since he had already purchased a few items, he decided he would purchase a few more. Even if the first-tier items purchased in the [Upgrades] section were not worth it, he still had to start from somewhere.

'Purchase Increase Magic Power.'

{Affirmative.}

{Increase Magic Power purchased for 10 Credits.}

{Magic Power has increased by 10.}

'Better than increasing by 1 I suppose.' Damion thought when he saw what his 10 Credits had earned him. 'Purchase Increase Mana Capacity.'

{Affirmative.}

{Increase Mana Capacity purchased for 10 Credits.}

{Mana Capacity has increased by 10.}

'Well, that is that.'

Damion did not know how much his next purchases of these upgrades would increase his abilities, but he was happy to see the small increase he did. The next purchase of these upgrades would be 15 Credits each. Damion just hoped they increased by a factor of 5 like the Magic Regeneration did.

By the time Damion finished reviewing everything he could think of in the Magic System, the day had almost completely passed him by. When Damion realized how late it was getting and he still saw no signs of his parents, he began to worry all over again. Taking out his communication tablet, Damion contacted Ms. Teft looking for answers.

"Ah, Damion, I am on my way to see you now. We'll talk when I get there," Ms. Teft shutoff the connection before Damion could even get a question in, which worried him even more.

When Ms. Teft arrived five minutes later, Damion was anxious to find out from her if she had any news about his family.

"I don't want you to get too worried Damion, but the shelter your parents were in was heavily damaged. Teams are still working to clear it, and more and more people are being pulled out every minute."

"I want to go help!" Damion shouted as he bolted towards the door.

Ms. Teft blocked the way, stopping him from running out the door. Damion could feel the anger him rising, part of him wanted to strike out at Ms. Teft for blocking his path.

"Let me go. I can help!" Damion insisted.

"I know you want to, but what can you do that machines that can move a 10-ton slab of rock can't. Magic is of limited use to clear the debris. If you move the wrong section of collapsed roof, it can cause a whole other area to collapse. Which could kill the people still trapped inside."

"I need to do something!" Damion pleaded. In both his lives he never felt as powerless as he did right now. He had strength. He had magic. But it was not enough. Not today.

"Waiting is doing something. As soon as your parents are located the rescue teams will call me."

"What if…"

"You can't think in what if's Damion. The only reality that matters is what is. I know you feel like you are failing your parents and your little sister by not rescuing them, but there is nothing you can do. Nothing you could have done during the beast wave that would have changed this situation. This is not your fault."

Damion looked at Ms. Teft blankly as her words bounced around the inside of his skull. Damion vaguely felt Ms. Teft pull him into a hug and then guide him to a seat.

"The best treatment for waiting is distraction. Let me fill you in on what happened with the council after you left.

"Dean Thorn is now just Mage Thorn. Because of his falsification of the test records, he has been fired. Headmaster Sorin assures me the Argentum council will be assigning him to a dedicated Red Zone patrol for 10 years."

The punishment for Dean, no Mage Thorn sounded light, but Damion knew it was actually quite harsh. Red Zones were dangerous. Mage Thorn would be constantly fighting for his life against high Rank Ferocious and Demonic Beasts. Sure, it gave the man the chance to grow stronger with such struggles, but everything killed would be given to the government. His basic needs would be provided for, but Mage Thorn would not be getting rich off the venture.

As Damion was considering Mage Thorn's fate, Ms. Teft's communication tablet alerted them to an incoming connection. It was the rescue team. Ms. Teft listened while Damion looked on anxiously.