B2 Chapter 245: Sequential Improvements, Finale

Standing before Rieker and his team, Kaius took in the stream of options that coursed passed his vision.

His fourth spell, coming straight off the back of his third. He’d been looking forward to this selection—the type of fighter that he was, he’d been certain that an additional avenue through which to advance, manoeuvre, and retreat would improve his lethality almost as much as his Drakthar spells would.

Judging by the options provided, he’d been correct.

Trussant’s Expedient Shunt:

Runic Hymn – Tier I (Mobility)

Affinity: Force

Glyph: Aelina

100 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn rapidly shunts the user five long-strides in a chosen direction through an explosive burst of force mana, shielding them from the effects of their sudden movement. At any time, the user may halt their movement via a secondary, opposing, burst.

…

Verdant Traversal:

Runic Hymn – Tier I (Mobility)

Affinity: Nature, Life

Glyph: Aelina

200 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn twists surrounding flora to slightly assist the user’s movements, and hamper any opponents within two long-strides of their person for one hour.

…

Wave Dash:

Runic Hymn – Tier I (Mobility)

Affinity: Water

Glyph: Aelina

100 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn summons a surge of turbulent water that assists the users movements for fifteen seconds, while leaving them unhindered to its currents.

…

Chotnik’s Obscured Retreat:

Runic Hymn – Tier I (Mobility)

Affinity: Dust

Glyph: Aelina

150 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn summons a dense cloud of dust with every step the user takes for 30 seconds, obscuring their form. While inside this cloud, the user moves moderately faster.

…

Shadebound Return:

Runic Hymn – Tier I (Translocation)

Affinity: Dusk, Shadow

Glyph: Aelina

300 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn detaches the user from their shadow, leaving it sealed in place. Five seconds later, the user is returned to their original location.

Kaius grinned as he read the spells—there were a couple that immediately jumped out to him. Shadebound Return, Chotnik’s Obscured Retreat, and Trussant’s Expedient Shunt all looked extremely promising.

The first was simple—even a translocation spell as limited as this one would provide extreme utility in combat. He doubted there would be any enemies at their current levels of power that would be easily able to deal with him suddenly appearing behind them.

His only worries were that it would be almost useless when he eventually got a more potent and usable teleportation style spell, and that it cost an eye watering three-hundred mana. The cost, in particular, drove him away from selecting it—that was two Stormlashes or three Hateful Nails, something that would make it exceedingly difficult to justify inscribing more than a couple of casts.

Thankfully, the other two spells of interest seemed far less restrictive.

In spite of its name, Kaius thought Obscured Retreat would make for a brilliant offensive mobility spell—one that would hamper his opponents vision, and empower his ability to manoeuvre around them. That, and it would come in handy if they ever had to make a hasty exit.

Still…he couldn’t quite pull his eyes away from his final selection—the first one he had been shown.

Expedient Shunt sounded…extremely flexible, if somewhat complicated to utilise to the fullest extent possible. Suddenly flying in any direction would be a significant boon, and if the explosive force was large enough, he might even be able to use it offensively.

That said, it was a gamble. If the shunt was uncontrollable, it could be a liability on the battlefield. A sudden dodge or advance was one thing, but if it sent him flying into an uncontrollable tangle of limbs, it might just get him killed.

It was still hard to get the idea out of his head. If it was hard to control, it might still be worth it—he was confident that he at least had the bodily control to learn if he had to. The potential for vertical mobility alone…he could already imagine a dozen different stratagems that he could utilise the spell in, especially since the spell was cheap enough he could likely chain multiple casts together, or combine it with the distance shrinking effects of Slip Step for an extra boost.

He turned to his audience, one and all watching him with expectant expressions.

Grinning at their obvious impatience, Kaius shared his options—and his thoughts.

Rieker scratched at the stubble on his jaw, nodding thoughtfully.

“I think you’re on the right track—if perhaps not for the reason you have considered.” the guildmaster eventually said.

Kaius cocked his head at the man, curious about what he had missed. “Oh?”

“Those spells will scale with you, and they are cheap. A sudden, semi-offensive, burst of force to hurl you in any direction you want? Capable of being halted at will? I can see that being strong at higher tiers.”

Ianmus’s eyes widened in realisation, before he nodded emphatically.

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