Upping The Ante

13. Just so Skillful

Two days zip by in our new environment.

So blissful! So peaceful! I haven’t had anything threatening happen to me for over forty-eight hours. I might go soft at this rate.

What’s even more amusing is watching just how bored Tiny is. The big guy is almost catatonic, craving the stimulus of battle like a drug he’s withdrawing from. Other than eating, he just flops about sleeping or staring at the walls. He’s so still, the workers just crawl over him as he lies there.

To be honest, I feel a little bad, and can sympathise to some extent. Battling with your life on the line is terrifying, but at the same time extremely thrilling. The rewards provided give such immediate gratification that it becomes hard to resist the lure of combat. After spending time in those dangerous places, constantly living on the edge, our relatively peaceful environment here on the surface is a little… boring.

It’s like our intense days were filled with shockingly vibrant splashes of colour and now our scene is far more muted and tranquil. Just like Tiny, there’s that itch in my heart for action.

Unlike that dumb ape though, I know how to keep myself busy and get stronger even without high-Level monsters to fight! I keep every day full.

Tiny and I spent most of yesterday down in our monster farming zone. I was pleased to see the veins had rapidly extended and monsters were already spawning by the time we got back, the familiar scenes of chaos a welcome sight in my eyes. I gave Tiny an order that he probably never wanted to hear and instructed him to disable the monsters but not kill them.

His utter horror is amusing even now. He couldn’t refuse, though, and reluctantly ran through the small chamber, smashing legs and crippling the monsters without landing the final blow.

It was a horrifying sight, actually. All those monsters on the floor, unable to even crawl or defend themselves.

When that job was done, I laid down a food trail for the colony. Soon, a flood of workers poured into the small chamber, finishing off the monsters and carrying their precious Biomass back to the colony.

Tiny and I took a little food to stave off our hunger and then set to digging, expanding the farm a bit farther out.

Since Tiny and I are both double evolved monsters, and the creatures spawning in our farm are base Level, we get a greatly reduced fraction of the XP and Biomass when we kill and eat them. It just isn’t worth it for us to monopolise these resources. Especially considering we need far more experience and Biomass in total to advance when compared to the workforce.

To maximise efficiency, I’ve decided to use the farm to power Level the colony. I really want more workers to advance and evolve, then they’ll be able to fight more effectively without me around.

Tiny and I will have to do something soon about our stagnating Levels. What exactly, I haven’t worked out.

After we expanded the farm and instructed the workers to leave so the monsters could build up again, I put my mind to practicing my magic skills.

With the low-Level monsters popping out, I had a few targets to practice on! So far, the only ‘shape’ I’d been able to put into action was the Gravity Domain. There are more tucked away in my head and I don’t want to pass up this opportunity to test them out.

The first spell required me to shape an intricate ball that tapered to a point on one end. I’ll admit I failed quite a few times on this one, but with my Gravitational Mana topped off, there was no risk of running out.

Eventually, I was able to finish shaping the complex construction and powered it up. Once ready, I instinctually aimed and fired.

The ball-like spell zipped through the air at blinding speed and impacted the targeted monster in less than a second! Once it hit, the spell expanded out, encompassing the creature in complex, revolving shapes which collapsed inward a moment later.

Hoping for something spectacular to happen, I was a bit disappointed when the target simply slumped and lay still. It was still alive since I’d received no notification, so what exactly happened?

After a moment, I noticed one of the creature’s claws twitching slightly in a struggle to raise it. It’d been placed under the effect of powerful gravity! This spell allowed me to fire off a gravity effect to a target farther away, as opposed to the Domain which only affects those immediately around me.

I called it, Gravity Bolt!

So pleased was I with my new ranged weapon, I spent the next hour zapping creatures with bolts and watching them collapse, unable to lift a finger until the effect wore off. The duration and strength of the effect could be changed depending on exactly how much I powered different parts of the construct, which led to my most impressive discovery.

Since I’d been able to identify the section of the construct that powered the effect… Would I be able to make changes to that part of the spell in order to modify the effect it produced?

I mean, I was still using Gravitational energy, so the spell would still have a gravity effect. But what if rather than pulling the monsters down… It lifted them up?

I mean, it’s gravity. The force of this gravity is produced by the energy in the spell, not the planet we’re on. There isn’t any reason it has to pull them down, yes?

It took me ages to rework the spell, even though it was a relatively simple change. I wasn’t changing it per se, but rather reconstructing one section of it upside down. I only succeeded once in my first practice session.

I’d been getting frustrated after a few dozen attempts when, finally, things started to run smoothly. Excitedly, I poured my energy into the construct and blasted it at a newly born centipede.

Once struck, a similar scene appeared. The bolt expanded into the revolving shapes that collapsed into the monster before it suddenly blasted toward the ceiling, impacting the roof with a sickening crunch.

Maybe too much juice in that one…

The effect worked, though! I was so pleased I did a little dance right there on the spot. I can really tap now that I have six legs, it must be said.

If I could successfully remodel the Gravity Domain with the inverted effect, then I might be able to make every monster around me float helplessly off the ground. I can’t wait to try it!

The next day, after feeding the colony and doing some more digging to expand the farm, I got to practicing a second spell.

This shape was a little more demanding than the Gravity Bolt, but I was eventually able to get it formed. The construct resembled a spear with several rings rotating around the haft. Those rings were the tricky bit. Each one formed of many smaller rings assembled like a maddening puzzle.

When I fired the spear, it zapped out of my body and streaked for my target. Once it hit, the spear stuck in the monster’s body while the rings expanded outward, encompassing a small area around the creature before collapsing inwards.

The monster appeared rather shocked to suddenly see a spear poking out of its chest. Tentatively it tested the wound with one claw, only to realise it wasn’t wounded at all. I was a little crestfallen. What the heck does this spear even do?

Then I noticed something. When the rings expanded, a nearby Thorn Lizard had been caught inside the zone, and now that lizard was being irresistibly pulled toward my target monster!

The little lizard couldn’t resist the pull anymore and flew through the air, spikes first!

Ahh, this spell creates a powerful gravity field around the target monster, pulling nearby creatures toward it. Muahahahaha!

I shall call it…

Gravity Spear!

…It’s fine!

These tests were not my only labours over the last two days either. Each night before torpor, I emptied my core doing shaping practice for hours and hours. On the second night, I was finally rewarded!

[Mana Shaping has reached Level 10. Upgrade available.]

YASSSSS! The power is MINE! I even high five myself using my antennae after Tiny leaves me hanging.

[Mana Shaping → Mana Transformation (II): Cost 1 SP. This skill guides one through the complex process of changing raw, non-attributed Mana into another kind. With increasing Levels, this skill will provide greater assistance and proficiency in the process]

Finally! Buy that!

When I confirm the purchase, an overwhelming sensation flows over my brain as knowledge floods in.