EFate: An MMO Story Chapter 47: Magic Dar

Travelling silently beside the path, the trio met a few more groups of goblins like the first. Paying better attention this time, Eric could see that Aria was indeed correct. The goblins inside Lichfrost Forest were bigger and stronger than the ones they'd encountered earlier. Not by much, but enough to make a difference when fighting the monsters.

Opening his event log which he'd neglected since meeting Turk and Aria, Eric was bombarded by a huge flurry of skill ups and notifications. Ignoring the loot and status effects, he looked over the list quickly to see what had levelled up since teaming up with the two.

[Dashing Cut has levelled up to Beginner 3]

[Arcane Strike has levelled up to Beginner 10!]

[You have levelled up to level 8! Stats have been updated]

Strength +1

Agility +1

Endurance +1

Magic Power +1

Mana +10

[Arcane Magic has reached Beginner 10!]

[Arcane Formations has been learned!]

[You have levelled up to level 9! Stats have been updated]

Strength +1

Agility +1

Endurance +1

Magic Power +1

Mana +10

[Wind Blade has levelled up to Beginner 4]

[Militia Swordsmanship has reached Apprentice 3]

[Basic Martial Arts has reached Apprentice 1]

[Basic Archery has reached Apprentice 7]

[Charged Shot has levelled up to Beginner 8]

[Dashing Cut has levelled up to Beginner 5]

[Basic Evasion has reached Apprentice 7]

[You have levelled up to level 10! Stats have been updated]

Strength +1

Agility +1

Endurance +1

Magic Power +1

Mana +10

[Arcane Strike has levelled up to Apprentice 1]

[Basic Martial Arts has reached Apprentice 2]

[Wind Blade has levelled up to Beginner 7]

[Basic Wind Magic has reached Beginner 8]

[Basic Martial Arts has reached Apprentice 3]

[Dashing Cut has levelled up to Beginner 6]

[Basic Martial Arts has reached Apprentice 4]

[Wind Blade has levelled up to Beginner 8]

[Basic Wind Magic has reached Beginner 9]

Closing the event log, Eric exhaled. There were a lot of skill ups included. Of note was that his magic had finally hit Beginner 10. Despite him having used magic quite a bit since the fight with the elite wolf, it had been leveling fairly slowly. So it was pretty nice to see it finally hit beginner 10.

Opening the skill page, he checked out his new skill

Arcane Formations: Arcane Magic Skill

Pa.s.sive

Through rigorous combat training you have gained the ability to cast spells without fully forming the mana construct. Even if you don't create a perfect mana construct you can still cast the spell by properly controlling your mana formation.

Looking at the skill description, Eric considered the benefits of his new skill. Unlike other skills, this skill had no level, simply existing alongside the rest. It seemed like the skill would allow him to cast spells even if he messed up the rune formation slightly. Although the skill description didn't mention how forgiving it was nor if there was a special technique required to invoke the skill.

With a small chuckle, Eric closed the skill window, there was no way that this new skill was going to harm his combat abilities, so for now he could put figuring out how to use it on the backburner while he continued to learn how the rest of his skills worked.

Continuing onwards, the party encountered several squads of goblins. As time pa.s.sed, they began to develop a series of tactics to deal with the goblins. Turk would initiate the charge under the cover of Eric's Wind Blade and Aria's water dart, using his shield bash to incapacitate one of the goblins. If both spells struck the same goblin then it would often make the fight a 1v3 for Turk right off the bat.

After the initial salvo of spells, Aria would prepare another water dart while Eric would use dashing cut to eliminate the goblin struck by Turk's initial charge. Afterwards, Eric and Turk would ensure that Aria could cast freely while the two of them kept the remaining goblins busy, preventing them from charging at Aria. So long as they managed to cut down two of the goblins in their initial rush of skills, the resulting 3v3 was easily won.

Withdrawing his sword from the back of a goblin, Eric watched as the creature fell to the ground, no longer supported by the iron blade he'd inserted into it only moments previously. Wiping his blade on the goblin's jerkin, he watched as Aria cast her water dart at the final goblin which was attempting to flee.

With a whooshing sound, the watery dart coalesced, its form st.u.r.dy despite the swirling waters contained within. Aiming briefly, Aria released the spell, the aqueous projectile soaring through the air to slam into the fleeing monsters back. Looking at the watery spike that had just emerged from the front of its vest, the goblin only had time to watch as the mana suddenly faded, the arcane bonds holding the water fading and allowing the water to drench its vest before it collapsed, its healthbar vanishing like the water dart.

Collecting their loot, the party quickly disposed of the bodies and melted back into the brush alongside the path, covering their tracks as best they could. Moving at a brisk pace, they quickly put a few hundred meters between themselves and the scene of the battle before slowing down to a more relaxed pace.

"So that spell of yours is called Water Dart then?" Eric asked as the trio trekked through the forest.

"Yup! I got it as a quest reward. We found some magical reagents that one of Vinberra's mages needed. As a reward, he gave me this spell. What about yours? That wind spell looks pretty sick. Was it a quest reward too?"

"Nope, I got the spellbook for Wind Blade as a random drop from an elite monster I killed," Eric explained, pausing as an idea hit him.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind trading the runes for Wind Blade to you in exchange for the runes for Water Dart. What do you say?"

Aria pondered for a moment, appearing to be deep in concentration.

"Is Wind Blade a Common spell? Water Dart isn't a basic spell like Arcane Strike was. Not sure I'd be okay with trading a Common spell for a Basic one."

"Wind Blade is indeed a Common spell. The only one I know in fact," Eric a.s.sured her. Aria clapped her hands together upon hearing this, a bright smile appearing on her face, "Well in that case I'm fine with it. You don't mind do you, Turk?"

"Up to you, his Wind Blade spell seems dangerous enough. Not like having another spell at that level is going to make him any more powerful if he wanted to fight us. It's your spell, do whatever you want" said Turk, waving his hand dismissively at her and taking up a post where he could watch for any enemies approaching from the path.

With a grin, Aria grabbed her staff and traced a pair of runes next to each other in midair. The first was a large narrow V, with an appearance similar to that of the fire rune, only reversed and with a much narrower form. The second was a serpentine S, with an appearance reminiscent of a winding river.

"The narrow V is the rune for the dart spell. It's the rune that creates the magic construct in the form of a dart," Aria explained, allowing the S-shaped rune to dissipate as she activated the Dart rune. With a small flash a glowing violet dart shot out, slamming into a nearby trunk overhead. With a thunk sound, the dart embedded itself deeply into the tree, glittering briefly before dissipating, leaving behind a hole nearly half a foot deep in the bark of the tree.

"Woah, that's pretty cool," Eric breathed, watching as sap began to slowly pool within the hole.

"Isn't it?" Aria agreed, happy to see his appreciation for her spell. Recreating the serpentine rune, she continued with her lecture, "Now this is the rune for water. You can also create a fire dart by changing the rune but I wouldn't recommend doing that in the forest."

"You mean I wouldn't recommend it. You said it would be fine and then almost killed us when you set half the b.l.o.o.d.y forest on fire," Turk interjected, earning a stuck-out tongue from Aria for his troubles.

Turning back to Eric, Aria smiled, "So that's that. Now then, I've held up my side of the bargain. How do I cast Wind Blade?" Her excitement at the prospect of learning a new spell was almost palpable. Eric grinned as he watched her bounce impatiently on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. Reaching out, he traced the two runes for Wind Blade side by side in the air just as Aria had done only moments before.

"This is the rune for the Blade spell," said Eric, allowing the wind rune to dissipate as he injected his mana into the crescent moon shaped blade rune. "As you can see, it's shaped like a crescent moon. There's a quirk to this spell though, you can inject more mana to make it bigger. But from the experiments I've done, it seems that it costs more mana than you gain in damage. If you double the mana you inject, it does not double the damage. So be careful with it," he warned, firing the prepared blade spell at the tree.

With a cutting sound, the violet blade appeared, slashing through the air into the same tree Aria had fired at. Slamming into the tree, the spell made a noise reminiscent of a hatchet striking wood as it left a three foot long scar on the surface of the bark. The mark left by Eric's spell was nowhere near as deep as Aria's. However, the affected area was much larger. Aria clapped excitedly upon seeing this, eager to try it out for herself.

"Was that other rune the wind rune then? That line with the squiggly bit at the top?" she asked impatiently. Ready to try out her new spell right away.

"Yup, this is the rune for wind," Eric demonstrated, drawing the wind rune again. Looking at it closely, Aria nodded, committing the rune to memory.

Closing his eyes, Eric called the mana from his mana pathways, circulating it throughout his body. As the mana responded to his call, he opened his eyes, carefully drawing the Dart rune in the air. As the rune was completed, he injected his mana into the mana structure, careful not to disrupt the flow. With a satisfying flash, the rune began to glow. Taking careful aim at the tree, Eric released the spell, a violet dart emerging from his hand and slamming into the tree, leaving behind another deep wound in the bark.

[You have learned Arcane Dart!]

Looking at the system message that confirmed his acquisition of the new spell, Eric grinned, closing the window just in time to see the rune in front of Aria fizzle, glimmering violet shards sparkling prettily in the dim light. Stamping her foot angrily, Aria attempted the rune several times, with varying degrees of success. With a nervous look on his face, Turk continued to watch the road, pausing occasionally to watch Aria's attempts.

While Aria attempted to learn the Blade spell, Eric began to play around with the water rune, casting his three arcane spells at the poor tree, watching with interest as the system informed him of his success.

[You have learned Water Strike!]

[You have learned Water Blade!]

[You have learned Water Dart!]

Finally, as Eric's Water Dart slammed into the tree, a bright glow appeared beside him. Turning, he watched as the rune at the end of Aria's staff glowed, indicating the spell was ready. As Turk and Eric looked on with interest, Aria fired an Arcane Blade at the tree, leaving a new mark on the unfortunate pine. Seeing the results of her new spell, Aria jumped in excitement, giggling happily as she observed the long scar left behind on the bark.

"Alright, let's move away from here. I don't want to draw undue attention," Turk interjected from his position overlooking the path. Glancing at each other, Eric and Aria scrambled to follow Turk as he dove into the brush, leaving behind the freshly scarred tree as they quickly departed the area.