World Sphere - 57 - Lightning Quick

Chapter 57: Lightning Quick

I woke early and was anxious to increase the level of my lightning reflexes spell. Although I wanted to demolish Gareth in a spare badly, I decided to keep the new spell secret. If I openly displayed the spell, then the news would travel, and I would lose my advantage, not just against Gareth but others.

The spell enhanced my speed by 50%. The spell was a balance between the lightning sphere and the healing sphere. With the accelerated movement, you damaged your body, so the healing aspect countered the damage. The spell also had a massive aether drain of one unit per second. With it being a tier 4 spell, a mage would need to use eight slots on their aether matrix to learn the spell. It also didn’t allow a mage to channel aether faster, so it did not enhance spellcasting.

A mage wouldn’t want to use so much space on their aether core for a melee combat enhancement that would drain their aether quickly. Fortunately, with my affinities, the imprinting cost only took up two slots, as much as a tier 2 spell. I had not been certain if it was going to take two or four slots but now that it was imprinted, I was sure I had managed it with just two.

That brought my total spell slots used to twelve. During my last reading, I had 22 spell slots, which could expand to around 103 when my aether core was fully matured. I should start to be more discerning about which spells I imprinted. I looked at my spell notes on a sheet of paper in my dimensional space.

Imprinted Spell List. Tier. Slots. Affinity. Level

Cleanliness. 1 1 Aether 14

Mend Flesh 1 1 Healing 12

Obfuscate Abilities. 1. 1 Darkness 7

Dimensional Closet. 3 4 Space. 13

Alarm 1 1 Divination 11

Privacy  1 1 Illusion 7

Neutralize Poison 2 1 Healing 1

Lightning Reflexes 4 2 Lightning/Healing 1

My obfuscate ability spell evolved at level 7 to add a fake ability line. I wasn’t sure what I would add, but I thought it might be useful to fool someone down the line. The dimensional closet spell got the air recycler evolution.

This allowed me to maintain a breathable atmosphere in the space with a slight trickle of aether. The only issue with using this spell was that I learned if I entered the portal and closed it, it would be anchored in place relatively, and the islands were constantly moving. So at this point, hiding in the dimensional closet was currently not feasible. 

I thought I could anchor the portal opening to an object in the real world with an evolution, which would solve my issue, but using a spell evolution in this, when they were coming slower and slower, irked me.

The privacy spell evolution allowed me to allow outside sound into my bubble while keeping sound on the inside contained. I chose this because Gareth had crashed through my bubble a few days ago, surprising me. I could already see out, but the privacy bubble had been a barrier to incoming sound that needed tweaking.

My alarm spell got another uptick in brightness. It was now enough to blind someone in the day temporarily. One more evolution on brightness, and I think I would be able to cause permanent damage to someone’s eyes. So after that next evolution, I could focus on increasing the volume.

My tier 1 evolution of the lightning reflexes spell had increased the speed enhancement by 10%. So now I would have movement enhanced by 55%. Since it was a dungeon spellbook, it didn’t have a list of evolutions like most spellbooks.

I spent my morning of conditioning trying to puzzle and feel out possible evolutions. Selina had taught me a lot about spell evolutions, and two were readily apparent when I examined the imprinted spell. One was increasing the effectiveness of the speed enhancement by 10%. And this was compounding. So the next evolution would be 55% x 110% = 60.5%. I could also increase the spell efficiency by 10%. I wrote out the effects of the possible evolutions.

Since I had a large aether pool, focusing on the speed enhancement made sense. From Selina, I learned there were three factors in leveling a spell to an evolution. First was the amount of aether used through the spell. Funneling aether through an imprinted spell on your matrix matured it.

The second was using the spell in different ways, thereby expanding its utility. And the third was using a spell under duress, like in combat. These three primary learning methods were well documented. Since the lightning reflexes spell was such an aether hog, I expected to level it up quickly.

I barely touched my food at breakfast as I examined the new spell on my matrix. I discovered a unique evolution I termed ‘overdrive.’  It doubled the speed enhancement but at four times the cost in aether, and the healing aspect of the spell looked slightly lacking in overdrive mode, so I would either be extremely sore after or incapacitated from tearing my muscles apart. I had a healing spell, but thought investing in the compounding effect of straight speed enhancement was best. I couldn’t tease out any other evolutions from the spell by the end of breakfast.

Spellcraft with Selina was after breakfast, and I told her privately about my success in imprinting the spell. She gaped at me and mumbled something about a 15-year-old imprinting a tier 4 being ridiculous. She did work with me to find two other evolutions for the spell during class while Aelyn, Mera, Fera, Byron, and Gemma worked on imprinting spells on the other side of the classroom. They didn’t complain that I was hogging Selina today as I usually helped everyone in the class and only got passing advice from Selina with written notes.

One of the evolutions was useless to me currently. It allowed my eyes to process visual information more quickly. When my speed exceeded my vision by too much, I would need this evolution. The other evolution was controlled deceleration. It used aether to slow down my entire body. I think it could be used to save myself from taking damage from a fall of impact. Maybe I could jump off the islands and use it to stop myself from going splat in the lowlands? I needed to practice with the spell before deciding on evolutions beyond speed enhancement.

I also needed to select my next spell to focus on. Selina thought a copy of the thermostatic aura spell should be here in the next two weeks, and I owed her 280 gold for the spell. I produced three shiny platinum coins for her, and she pocketed them with a wink.

I considered my other spell books.

Spell Books Tier Affinity

Lightning Sphere 2 Lightning

Illusionary Companion 2 Light * Illusion

Lightning Spear 2 Lightning

Ranged Healing 4 Healing

Aether Shield (dungeon) 2 Aetheric

Arcane Lock 1 Aetheric

After the nightmare of learnng the tier 4 lightning reflexes spell, I shelved the ranged healing spell for now, even though it would allow me to repair bones, a restriction on my mend flesh spell I could not overcome with evolutions.

The arcane lock was a utility spell that evolved by adding wards into the arcane lock. It started by just ‘aether-gluing’ a door or lid shut using aether. Enough force could overcome the lock, but it was very effective. For example, using it on a potion cap would make it impossible to open the stopper without breaking the vial. The aether shield spell was calling to me as well. It was a very useful defensive spell. Or I could learn my first offensive spell, lightning spear, or lightning sphere.

I decided I needed a quick win. The arcane lock spell should take me less than a week to learn, and I was already thinking of using it to have some mischievous fun at Gareth’s expense. Locking him in the privy for one. After the arcane lock, I would learn the aether shield spell.

Lunch and weapons training couldn’t pass fast enough. When the class went to bathe, I went deep into the woods to experiment. When I first activated the lightning reflexes spell, I could see why the vision enhancement was needed. I could acclimate to 55.5% increased speed, but processing visual data at a faster speed was difficult. The spell hit level 2 quickly, and I added the evolution for the visual processing.

It was like night and day now as the evolution also appeared to affect my brain’s ability to receive and interpret what I was seeing. I couldn’t believe how fast I was. I could easily beat Gareth on the obstacle course and would also be a match for him in a physical confrontation. I increased the speed to 60.5% when the spell hit level three. When I got used to the new speed with my staff humming through forms as I ran, I was already approaching level 5 of the spell, but I heard the bell ringing for evening classes about to begin, so I returned to my artificing class.

My aether pool was down to just under 10%, and I could see why the spell was unpopular with mages. Any normal mage could only sustain the spell for a minute or two. The few spells I tried to cast while running felt excruciatingly slow to form. I decided I needed to find out my current aether pool, so I planned to visit Wynna and Ennet tonight.

I made two more globes in enchanting class and started working on making my ice cream device with the help of instructor Aldon. I wasn’t planning on selling my ice cream churn, but I planned to offer various flavors of the dessert at the Shiny Platinum in Aegis City.

One of my notebooks had scribbles of my planned menu. The bakery would be open for just breakfast, offering simple breakfast sandwiches with eggs and meat, and selling loaves of bread. The restaurant would focus on various burgers and chicken sandwiches, with an option for three different types of fries. Beverages would be cold beers or milkshakes. Definitely not a fancy high-end restaurant in my old life, but it should do well.

Before I traveled to Aegis City with Callem, I had kicked around names to call the establishment. The Genie’s Last Wish, A Maiden’s Virtue, and The Polished Platinum were at the top of my list. I dropped the Maiden’s Virtue as it was too close to the Miaden family name and might upset them. The Genie’s Last Wish might have been good, but none of the mythical creatures on the plates were genies.

The Polished Platinum sounded too alliterative, which led me to the Shiny Platinum. My cleanliness spell could make any coin shiny and look new, and I planned to make it an iconic mark of the restaurant. I would probably have to hire a mage with the spell, as I wouldn’t be there all the time. Platinum was recognized as the premier metal in the islands, the highest rarity that could be harvested from our local dungeons. 

At the end of the day, I made my way to Ennet’s house with Callem. Callem explained my need, and they prepared for the reading. “Storme, don’t be disappointed if you haven’t grown as much as you wanted. It has only been a few months since your last reading,” Wynna advised.

Ennet eyed her mother questioningly, “Oh, Storme, Ennet wanted to know if you would rent one of the apartments in your building. She plans to move her reading business to the Aegis City when we move.”

I gave it some thought. “Yes, she can rent the apartment next to yours on the second floor. Will she be bringing anyone with her?” I asked curiously.

Ennet spoke with a crooked grin, “No, it will just be me. You should stop by more often since you are so far behind on the gossip.”

“You just want me to cook for you,” I retorted good-naturdely.

“The local offerings are something to be desired,” she returned a smile. “Just another reason to look forward to moving back to a city.”

The reading went quickly, I took my paper, and left the house. Walking, I unfolded the parchment. My aether matrix showed 28, so it had increased by 6! My max matrix had also increased to 105 from 103! Being tutored by Selina was definitely paying off. The next line also made me feel pretty good about my progress. My current aether core was 2,406, over a 1,000 point increase. Even more importantly, my max potential aether core had increased from 23,060 to 23,402 on the paper. I would have to think of a way to thank Selina. It was definitely from her instruction and exercises that my max potential had increased.

“Storme!” I jumped and went on alert, but it was just Isla walking down the street. She approached in a hurry. “Storme did you come to see me?” she asked eagerly. I assessed her body language and tone. She seemed too excited for a casual meeting; perhaps she was interested in me. Selina had warned me that I was oblivious to these things.

“Uh, no.” I said, but seeing her face fall, I added, “But I have some free time.” She brightened and we went to her room in the tavern to review the building plans she was drafting.

Isla excitedly dove into an update on the investment. “The warehouse has been rebuilt already, and we started putting in the supports for the new building. I hired six Miaden security guards and insured the building in case anything was stolen from the warehouse.” She said as she organized her papers.

“That was extremely smart, Isla. Do you need more funds?” I said, and she blushed at the compliment. I seemed to have that effect on women, but didn’t know why they found me desirable.

“No, no. The coins Wynna gave me should be enough to last for a while longer. They were enough to cover the furniture for the apartments and restaurant. But we should review this.” She pulled a contract out and placed it in front of me. I looked at it as she moved closer to explain.

The contract was for the painter I had told her to go see. “He wants 14’ x 14’ panels installed on the walls. It will be easier for him to paint on them, and the quality of his work will be much higher.” I nodded as that made sense.

She continued going through the lines. “He wants 50 gold per image plus the cost of paint and the clear coat resin to be applied over the finished artwork to preserve it.” That made sense. Twenty-three images times fifty gold was 1,150 gold, or roughly 12 platinum plus materials cost. Isla slid a paper with the estimated cost of paint, resin, and panels, 20 gold for each piece of artwork. The toal at the bottom was 1,610 gold.

“That is all fine,” I said after a few minutes of thought. “Ask him to include hordes of treasure behind the creatures—dungeon prizes. Make sure the hordes include platinum coins. Shiny platinum coins.” I said, smirking to myself.

I produced a bag with 46 large gold coins. The coins I had received from Aldon for the sale of the globes. “Here is 460 gold to give to the painter so he can get started. I want the images to look as realistic as possible. Tell him I will give him a 300 gold bonus if I like all 23 images.”

“He me some sketches for you to choose from,” Isla added, looking for a folder she failed to find. “He wasn’t going to start any of the images until you approved each one. Unless you want me to bring them to Wynna instead?” She asked. Wynna was approving a lot of the decorative details and styles to save time.

“No, bring them to me,” I said decisively.

“I found you an interior designer for the restaurant that we can meet when we travel to Aegis city on the 7th day,” she added, sliding me a paper with the name Harold Miaden.

I had forgotten we planned to head to the city together to see the progress. “That is fine. I should get going to get some sleep before conditioning tomorrow.” As I left, Isla started counting the gold coins.

Gareth was in the twin’s rooms studying with the door open when I got back. It was late, so I set my alarms, privacy screens, cast my cleanliness spell, and fell asleep.

Gareth woke me, and I was extremely stiff upon waking. Using my lightning reflexes spell had some lingering effects, apparently. I used my mend flesh spell to alleviate the soreness and stiffness without issue.

The entire day was dedicated to getting ready for the inter-academy match tomorrow. I didn’t have time to sneak off and level up my spell in secret, so I just focused on preparing with everyone else. We were going up against the premiere first-year academy in Solaris City. There were four academies, apparently, and this one resided in the upper city.

When the time came the next day, we walked as a group through the city and were led by our instructors and our Auditor, Bylura. It was the same arena where the qualifiers were held. The opposing academy students were lined up, and I easily picked out Leon. This was the first time I was looking forward to a fight.