NOVEL NEXT 1.18: Tension
Ethan stepped in, teeth bared, and leaned into the uppercut with his whole body. His flaming fist slammed into lizardling's rib, and the gout of flames hit the bone armor point-blank. The glowing symbols shone as the flames diverged around the lizardling's body, but no matter how magic the armor was, it wasn't that effective at protecting the lizardling from the incredible heat his flames were generating. It screeched, but Ethan barely heard it over the ringing in his ears.
The lizardling's feet left he ground from the impact, and when it fell back down, it stumbled. The punch itself had been mostly absorbed by the armor, but Ethan knew that thing would crack sooner or later. The strain on the creature's face said so. It panted, teeth bared, and once more it raised its damn hand.
He wasn't having that. Rushing after it, he grit his teeth and summoned more fire around his claws. His head was pounding. His joints hurt. But he could win this. He had to win this.
This will not stop—
The skeletal armor dissolved into motes.
Ethan blinked, while the lizardling's eyes went wide.
"Time's up," Ethan told it, a teeth bared into a pained smile.
The lizardling managed to let the spell fly, only this time, Ethan was a foot away from it.
Ethan dodged the telegraphed spell, but it still hit the wall right next to him, and the miniature explosion rattled everything inside his body. Once again, his flames shielded him from the worst of it, but he felt something trickle down his ears. He hoped he wasn't going permanently deaf because of this but in any case, he was going to live. Unlike the stupid lizardling who kept using explosions in a narrow tunnel.
God, I hope it drops the spell.
The lizardling was on its back, brought down by its own spell. It was trying to turn to get its knees under it, but it struggled. Like a boxer trying to get back up after getting knocked down.
"You could dish it but you couldn't take it, huh?" Ethan asked—or at least he thought he did. He couldn't hear a thing. In any case, the lizardling didn't answer. It fell back on its side and gurgled something as it looked at him with eyes full of hate.
Ethan took a step toward him and winced. His right shoulder was dislocated.
Flames surged around him, muting the pain for a moment, and with a quick shake and pull, he cracked his shoulder back into place. A grunt escape through his teeth, a moment later, he gingerly moved his arm to make sure it was back in its socket.
With that done, he guided the flames higher, covering his shoulders. [Child of Flames] should accelerate its healing and later, he would cover his whole body. Every bone and joint in his body was in pain, but the fire was helping.
Let's get this over with, he thought as he watched the pitiful creature trying to crawl away. Putting a foot on its back, he considered trying to summon [Claws] on his feet soon. But for now, he just leaned down and wrapped his left claws around its neck before he wrenched his arm back, slicing deep in its neck.
Ethan sighed, and seconds later, he heard the much waited for pings, but to his great and expected chagrin, he couldn't see any spellcores around the lizardling's body. "Dammit."
He barely heard his own voice. Ethan cupped both flaming claws over his ears and hoped the fire would help. Glancing around to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him, he took a seat on the blood splattered floor and exhaled.
Let's see what this all earned me, he thought as he collected the fragments from the bone-wearing lizardling.
You have defeated [Lizardling - Level 22]
…
You have defeated [Lizardling (I) - Level 30]
You have reached Level 24. 1 stat point awarded.
…
You have reached Level 26. 1 stat point awarded.
Arcanum of the Fire Elemental: 136 fragments collected.
Goddamn. That's a lot of fragments.
Ethan quickly eyed his rewards and the fragments he'd collected since this assault had started, then turned his attention to his free stat points.
Everything can benefit from a boost… but considering the damage I took from this dude's spells… Let's push toughness a bit higher.
Ethan assigned all three points to Toughness, bringing it up to 18 and with the flames gently dancing over his ears, the keening sound was getting better. Taking another look around, he decided it was time to do something about the fragments burning a hole in his pocket, and pulled up the final upgrade.
Lesser Arcanum - Tier upgrade (Tier-1 → Tier-2)
Increase the Arcanum's tier, empowering its capabilities and unlocking more upgrades - 100 fragments
Ethan took a deep breath as his mental finger hovered the final button.
It's time. Time to see what the next tier has for me. And maybe because I bought everything else, I'd get something a little extra, if I'm lucky.
Ethan confirmed the upgrade and braced.
Similarly to his last wand tier upgrade, he was quickly surrounded by a whirlwind of golden light that slowly sunk into his flesh. It was a bit more intense than the usual upgrades, but soon enough it was over. Once the confirmation message came through, Ethan's hands shot up. "Yes!"
Arcanum of the Fire Elemental: Upgrade from tier-1 to tier-2 completed.
Congratulations. Hidden quest: Upgrade a Lesser Arcanum to tier-2 completed.
1 tier-2 spell token awarded.
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"Yes!"
Ethan blinked, hands still cupped around his ears. Did he just hear himself? "Testing. Testing… Nice," he said, grinning. He actually heard himself over the annoying ringing still muffling his ears. A wave of relief washed over him. The flames were healing him. It was only a matter of time, then.
Turning his attention back to the notification, he nodded. It had been a hidden quest. Though an easy one. Ethan expected everyone to eventually get this reward, so it might be some sort of clue for participants to look for hidden achievements.
He'd take that. He'd take that any day. Though, as he examined everything else, it didn't seem like he'd gotten anything for buying every available upgrade.
Oh well. Worth a shot. Now, let's see what we're working with for the next set of upgrades. I still have fragments to spend.
Arcanum of the Fire Elemental
Available upgrades
Tier upgrade (Tier-2 → Tier-3): Increase the Arcanum's tier, empowering its capabilities and unlocking more upgrades - 500 fragments
Spellform Capacity (1 → 2): Increase the Arcanum's spellform limit by one - 300 fragments
Spellform Bonus (Tier-1 → Tier-2): Increase spellform bonus from 15% to 20% - 150 fragments
Spell Capacity (4 → 5): Increase the Arcanum's spell capacity by one - 100 fragments
Mana Regeneration (Tier-1 → Tier-2): Increase the Arcanum's mana regeneration - 100 fragments
Ethan lowered his hands from his ears and sighed. His remaining 134 fragments will not be enough for the best of these. But he could definitely get some mana regeneration. His current speed of mana recovery had made him frugal and had helped his control over his flames, but more mana would certainly not hurt so without further ado, he confirmed the choice and paid for it.
I'm happy to see I can increase the number of spellforms, though. Pricey, but still reachable, he thought as the upgrade finished doing its thing.
Then the new regeneration kicked in.
Ethan chuckled as he sensed the mana rush into his clawed hands. They had become like whirlpools, pulling the ambient mana through and into his chest. Now he just needed to increase his pool.
Speaking of hands, though. Are you two going to upgrade anytime soon?
Eying the sharp, long talons, Ethan wondered. Sure, he was very comfortable with them, having fought and used them non-stop since this had all started. But it was still at tier-0. What would it be when it evolved? How would he upgrade it?
Would it affect the spellform bonus?
Ethan looked down at them and splayed his fingers. Sensing the mana seep through them. Then he frowned.
There was some… odd sense of needing to stretch his hands. As if there was some hidden tension he couldn't get rid off. It felt like there was a lot of strength within them, but also too much strength, if that made sense.
He ignited them, and fire licked all the way up to his shoulders, bathing his sides and bare chest in the comforting heat. But he didn't stop staring at the claws.
They'd certainly grow larger if they upgraded. Sharper. Would I be able to channel more through them?
He could visualize the improved claws. Almost.
The prompt that showed up next made him jump.
Congratulations. Claws (Tier-0) can now be upgraded.
Ethan blinked, then chuckled. Did he end up convincing the system to upgrade it for him?
He glanced down at the claws and how familiar they felt. No, he believed he may have stumbled on an upgrade requirement, though he wasn't sure what it was.
With a sigh of relief, Ethan navigated to the general Arcanum upgrades, Ethan paid the required 20 fragments. Ethan accepted. He had 34 fragments left, and this was a perfect use for them. The claws disappeared from his hand, into a cloud of scintillating motes, and a wave of energy rushed into his chest. A moment later, he got another notification.
Claws (Tier-0) has been upgraded to Claws (Tier-1)
Without wasting time, he summoned the new spellform and his jaw dropped before it turned it wide smile. The hand itself had grown thicker and more muscular. And for good reason; the talons were now nearly 8 inches long. They were thicker and curvier as well, reminding him of an eagle's talon, with a narrow and sharpened underside near the tips, perfect for slashing. He also noticed that the transformation extended a bit higher up his hand. The skin was tougher and thicker a couple of inches past his wrists.
Probably to reinforce my wrists more. But it seems like there's no hidden quests for a spell upgrade though… Unless tier-0 to tier-1 is too low? Oh well. We'll see.
Summoning the flames next, Ethan chuckled as he took in the mini-inferno he could now produce with his improved regeneration, marveling at how high the flames were getting. Then he had a thought; could he do the same with [Flaming Enhancement]?
That'd be his first tier-2 spell. That might count for a hidden quest.
Closing his eyes, he tried to think of the flames playing around his hands, at the heat it produced. At all the enemies it burned. But no matter what angle he took, no new notification came through.
Oh well… I'll try again another time. It's not as if I have the fragments for it anyway.
All in all, it was a nice set of upgrades. He summoned his healing flames once more, and then, as he considered what to do with his new spell token, he cupped his ears as he eyed the lifeless tunnels once more. They still needed healing.
What are they up to? I should hurry up and get in there. Now… Which tier-2 type of spell should I go with? Another general spell? A tier-2 enhancement-spell? Or a modifier?
It really was a difficult choice, especially considering he had no idea of what was going to be offered to him.
What about armament?
Ethan grimaced a bit at that. He had nothing against armament spellforms, but right out of the gate, it didn't feel like the most efficient option. A long-range weapon would be nice, but he didn't feel it would complement his claws. Armor? That would restrain his movement. And what if the metal didn't play well with his magical flames?
He was sure there would be great options in the armament list, but he felt he'd have higher odds of finding something great elsewhere.
Ethan stared at the token in his interface for a few more seconds. Then blinked.
There was another option he could consider. Ethan could just wait. He was getting pretty close to level 30, and there would be a new Arcanum at that level, if his theory was correct. He would also soon unlock another spellform. Having a tier-2 token on hand then would be better.
Unless an emergency forces my hands. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
As he considered the different paths he could take, Ethan felt something. A tremor in the air. Only this time, it didn't feel like a reaction to anything he was thinking. It felt completely separate from him.
Ethan found himself looking down the tunnel, and his skin crawled.
That, along with the fact that no lizardling had shown up ever since he killed the ones around him meant one thing, and one thing only; those lizardlings were doing something weird, and he was wasting time.