DanMachi 23
With the peace and quiet, provided by the corner of the garden, I started the journey of self-improvement. Who am I kidding? I just sat on the ground with the notebook in my hand, furiously writing out and modifying rune scripts. Oh, how wonderful it would be if I could just use a tablet or a pc to do this, or create an application to optimize everything. However, creating an enchantment that would allow all of this would be complicated and it would take up more time than I want to invest in it right now.
Thinking about all of this reminds me of something, and I facepalm. I have left a stack of books on math, logic, and science in my trunk, and completely forgotten about them. I'll have to remember to read them after exiting this world. Or I could, just ignore them, and go with the plan I already set up for myself and study in the new world I was planning on visiting. Even with the [Mind Arts]'s memory storage and my high intelligence, I keep forgetting about things. I'll have to acquire a memory augmenter or something that would grant me some kind of photographic or eidetic memory. Back to the furious, spell crafting.
[Celestial Forge lvl 1]
- Creates a compressed space of fire, allowing the manipulation, mixture, and control of materials placed into it.
- Temperature and pressure can be freely manipulated while the spell is active.
{Affinity: Fire/Space}
{Chant: Forge the stars, Celestial Forge.}
The first on the to-do list was [Celestial Forge]. I had a huge problem with the spell, which was that all the leaking heat tended to melt its surroundings, so I implemented a shield surrounding the internals of the spatial bubble. The ability to manipulate the internal forces was amplified and so was the ability to manipulate the materials inside of it. Thankfully, the finished spell didn't differ too much from the original one, so it didn't lose levels, only overwrote the original spell in the Falna System. Thanks to me gaining the ability to [Multitasking] and [Multicasting], the chant for the spell was also dropped.
[Celestial Forge lvl 29]
- Creates a heavily shielded spatial bubble.
- The caster can freely manipulate the forces inside of it.
- Allows the manipulation of temperature from absolute zero to one billion degrees Celsius.
- Matter manipulation is allowed inside the sphere.
- Allows multi-matter manipulation at the same time.
- Allows the mixing of otherwise unmixable materials inside of it.
- The size of the bubble can be adjusted at the moment of casting.
{Affinity: Space}
{Chant: None}
The spell was an all-around upgrade from its last iteration, but the mana requirements jumped up tremendously. Keeping the spatial anomaly sealed, with shields capable of withstanding temperatures of absolute zero, all the way to a billion degrees Celsius, is a mana-heavy task, but in the end, it pays off. The big boon with the upgrade was that now I didn't need multiple instances of the same spell to run at the same time. I could simultaneously smelt multiple materials and combine them inside one spell.
Next on the list was a spell that allowed us to fly without the need to concentrate on it. This one was a little trickier. I attempted to do it with an air rune, but without a huge mana investment, the spell could only ruffle my clothes. It was a good way to dry them, but utterly useless at everything else. So in the end, I had to add a gravity rune into the mix. The resulting spell allowed a full 360 maneuverability in the air, while keeping the air resistance and the acceleration forces, otherwise known as G-forces, to a complete zero. The spell didn't have a theoretical speed limit, but rising the speed of flight, increased the mana consumption, which was at the base flight speed of around 1,000 per second.
[Fly lvl 1]
- Shrouds the caster in a bubble of air and gravity mana, nullifying air resistance and removing the effects of gravity.
- Allows the maneuverability of the caster in the air, following any vector.
- Allows acceleration and a momentary stop, without the worry of the G-Forces.
- Speed can be adjusted with mana manipulation.
{Affinity: Air/Gravity}
{Chant: None}
Same as the last spell, thanks to [Multitasking] and [Multicasting], the need for a chant was fully removed, but Olivia's version, however still needed it so I shortened it to 'Give me wings, Fly'. After casting the spell, it formed a complex magical circle behind the user, and it was its only known weakness. The spell allowed the caster to manipulate his speed, altitude, rotation, and the vector of all of his movements.
[Void Step lvl 1]
- The user can take a step, and appear at any perceived location.
- The caster can take any target he is touching with him.
- Allows the decrease of momentum and the rotation of the caster.
{Affinity: Space}
{Chant: None.}
The next spell to receive an upgrade was [Void Step], my all-time favorite. It was modified, transformed, and renamed to [Blink]. It kept all of its levels and gained some new functionality. The previous version allowed a decrease in momentum, while the new one allowed a change in it. In the end [Void Step] ended up like this.
[Blink lvl 59]
- Allows spatial movement to any perceived location.
- The caster can take any target he is touching with him.
- Allows the change of momentum and rotation of the caster.
{Affinity: Space}
{Chant: None}
The mana consumption of the spell increased, but the annoying requirement, of taking a step was totally removed. The spell could now move you in any direction you see, or perceive, allowing you to theoretically visit even stars if you have the will and mana to do so.
[Infuse lvl 1]
- The caster infused their weapon with mana.
- The infused mana can shift to any affinity on the fly.
- Any target wounded by the infused weapon, will suffer from a debuff based on the current affinity affecting the weapon.
{Affinity: None}
{Chant: None}
Infuse was an attempt to create a way for Olivia to gain magic excelia. It was a good attempt, and it worked like a charm, but lately, it didn't do enough damage to the enemies requiring us to attack multiple times or use other means. The updated spell kept all of its levels but gained a ranged ability.
[Infuse lvl 25]
- The caster infused their weapon with mana.
- The infused mana can be shifted to any affinity on the fly.
- Any target wounded by the infused weapon, will suffer from a debuff based on the current affinity affecting the weapon.
- Allows the projection of the infused mana in a way of a ranged attack, draining all of the infused mana in the process.
{Affinity: None}
{Chant: None}
Even with the upgrade, it was essentially the same spell, but its damage and debuffs were increased tremendously. The new projection capability grants the caster a single-use, long-range, thrust, or swipe attack, depending on the weapon used. The attack empties the spell's mana reserves and creates a projection with the strength of all of the infused mana and its current affinity.
[Mistilteinn lvl 56]
- The caster creates a sword from any of the eight basic elements or their combinations.
- The sword can be used as a weapon or fired off as a projectile.
- The user has full control of the swords near him, only losing it after firing them off.
- The number of swords summoned can be adjusted while casting.
{Affinity: None}
{Chant: Purge, Mistilteinn.}
The next upgrade was for my frequently used spell, [Mistilteinn]. The spell was almost perfect as it was, there were a few modifications I made to the spell to make it more versatile. One of them was the removal of the need for the summoned weapon to be swords. Now I could summon hammers, spears, swords, daggers, chakrams, and even bows, anything not considered a complex weapon, like for example guns, could be summoned, boosting the spell's versatility massively. The other big change was the fix of losing control over the weapons I fired off, now they could be retrieved and used again, boosting my total damage output. In addition to that, their rotation, speed, and even vector could be changed while controlling them. Finally, the smaller changes that I added, similar to the [Alter Orb] or [Infuse], the affinities of the weapons could be adjusted to any element, and on the fly.
[Arsenal lvl 56]
- The caster creates mana-based weapons, that can shift affinities on the caster's whim.
- The weapons can be used by hand or fired off as projectiles.
- The user has full control of the weapon's rotation, speed, and vector even after firing them off.
- The number of weapons summoned can be adjusted while casting by inserting more mana into the spell.
{Affinity: None}
{Chant: None.}
The name [Mistilteinn], didn't really fit the spell anymore, so it was changed to [Arsenal], in addition to that the need for a chant, thanks to the combination of my new skills, was completely removed. Thankfully, the spell, even with all of these changes, still kept all of its levels.
Lastly, I focused my attention on the spell that would, not only be the main boost in the magic excelia gain for both Olive and me but will be our new main area of effect spell.
The spell was created using the Continuous Casting, Area, Buff, and Debuff rune, creating a damage over time, adjustable area size spell, that could shift affinities on the fly. The spell, while a bit costly to upkeep, could still be maintained by both of us for a longer period. It created a domain of a selected affinity surrounding us, boosting all of the spells with the same affinity and causing debuffs to our enemies.
[Destiny lvl 1]
- The caster creates mana based aura that can shift affinities on the caster's whim.
- The aura damages and debuffs entities, the caster perceives as enemies.
- Damage and debuff types are based on the selected affinity.
- The aura grants up to 1%/LVL bonus spell damage to anyone, the caster perceives as an ally.
- The bonus spell damage only applies to spells of the same affinity as the aura.
{Affinity: None}
{Chant: None.}
The spell was a pretty great success, might need a few changes later on, but currently, it works as intended. After casting it, a magical circle forms over the user and extrudes an aura that buffs spells and debuffs enemies as intended. The size of the aura could be adjusted, but the mana expenditure grows with each additional meter, and not the number of enemies affected by it.
My new favorite combo was using an Ice affinity [Destiny] to slow and give frostbite to enemies. Followed up by [Arsenal] to summon ice spears, and finally adding [Infuse] to grant them additional ice elemental damage. The total damage output of the spell combo has tremendously increased, especially if I add [Magic Penetration] to the mix and I fire off the ice spear at supersonic speeds.
Done with all the spell crafting I check on my system time. Strangely enough, the whole process took me over six hours, from start to finish, so I pick myself off the ground and go inside to grab something to eat. The house was empty, but there was a note placed on the kitchen counter.
'Off to the town with the girls, leftovers in the fridge – Olive'
A small smile appears on my face, as I say a mental thank you to my future wifey, and take out the chicken-esque meat from the magical fridge. After having a filling lunch, I head to town to Hephaistos's shop. A [Celestial Eyes] and a [Blink] later I'm standing in front of the building and after entering I'm greeted by Sofia.
"Hey, Andrew!" She waves at me with a smile. "Long time no see."
"Hi Sofi, is Hephaistos in?" I ask, and she nods.
"Yeah, I'll ask her if she can receive you. Just give me a second." She says then heads upstairs.
"Sure." I reply as she disappears up the staircase.
Some bickering, a lot of rattling, and some shouting could be heard even in the shopfront. Sofia appears on the staircase, rushing down with brisk steps. She takes a deep breath and turns to me.
"Hephaistos will see you now." While heavily breathing, she says.
"Okay..." I reply with an awkward smile on my face.
Going up the stairs I spot the already open office door, with Hephaistos waiting in its frame.
"Hi, Andrew. What brings you here?" She asks awkwardly posing in the door frame. Blocking the view inside of it.
"Good evening, Hephaistos." I greet the goddess. "I was wondering if I could buy some rare materials from you." I state, trying to look inside her office, to spot what she is hiding so much, but without any luck. She hums while the door of her office miraculously closes on its own.
"Did I come at the wrong time?" I ask as the door shuts itself, startling the goddess whose standing in front of it.
"Whaaat?!" She exclaims, looking away shyly and acting as if caught doing something naughty. "I don't know what you're talking about." She says and a light blush forms on her face, which really tempts me to cast [Celestial Eyes] and have a look inside of the room, but before I could do it, she pulls away my attention. "What materials and quantity are we talking about?" She asks tilting her head to the side, grabs my hands, and starts leading me downstairs.
Caught off-guard by her behavior, I state the materials I need. "I need a few kilograms of Adamantium, Orichalcum, Mithril, Udaeus, or Balor bones, and a few level six magical stones. What's happening in your office?"
"Wow, that's a huge order, but you're lucky, I do have all of it in storage, even the Balor bones." She totally ignores my question and turns towards the staircase we just left and yells upwards. "Sofia, I'll be in the storage with Andrew!" That was even stranger as Sofia was in the shopfront on our right. She turns towards me and smiles, then gestures for me to follow. "Come." She ushers me to follow her to the left of the staircase, where the entrance to her storage area was.
A security rune placed on the door shines as Hephaistos closes it. An intricate design of protection runes litters the door, and the walls beside it. She places her hand on the rune, and with a bright flash of light, an audible click could be heard, as the door magically unlocks.
"Nice security setup." I comment and receive an affirmative nod from her.
A glance around the room shows that all of the walls are covered with different kinds of preservation and protection runes. That was understandable, as the place was littered with all kinds of metals, drop items, and rare materials. A few storage crates, filled to the brim with metals, stood on the back end of the room.
"The metals you asked for can be found at the end of the room, I'll get you the bones and the crystals while you pick up the metals." I nod to her statement and proceed to the end of the storage area.
Six containers, filled with metals stood before me. I successfully identified 3 of them straight away, Adamantine, Mithril, and Orichalcum, the other three took some time to recognize, as I have never worked with them.
Damascus, Dir Adamantine, and Nosteel were rare, but they didn't provide any special benefits, well except for Dir Adamantine. Which was an alloy of Adamantine, with the same melting point and strength, but a lower weight. Picking up about ten kilograms of each, I place them all into a small box I found on the floor and hope Hephaistos won't miss it.
"Done?" she asks as I move toward the door. In her hands were two large bone fragments and next to her leg six large magical stones.
"Yea. Those bones are?" I asked tilting my head.
"Well, this one." She rises her left hand and shows off a two-meter-long straight bone piece. "Is a Balor pinky finger." She says with a wide smile. I've seen the monster with my own eyes, but the sheer size of that pinky finger bone makes me open my mouth wide in amazement.
"This one." She lifts the palm-sized chunk of bone and continues. "Is a Juggernaut bone fragment."
"Holy shit." I say and move to inspect it. While the fragment was small, but it was radiating a massive amount of death affinity mana from it. "Wow, are you sure you can allow me to buy this?" I say and look up to the wide smiled goddess of the forge.
"Yep, I tried forging something out of it, that's why there is so little left, but whenever I add a part of this bone into the mix, the alloys become unstable and easy to crumble." She says while shaking her head. "Maybe you can create something out of it." She shrugs.
"Hmm, strange. I'll take them both, and see what I can do with them. Thank you." I say and add the two bones to the box.
"Don't mention it." She says waving me off. "I'll sweeten the deal and allow you to buy them off of me at the purchase price if you show me the finished products." She adds with a wide smile.
"You got a deal." I say extending my hand for a handshake. She counts up the total and my wallet becomes 100 million Valis, or 2,909 UC lighter.
As we leave the storage area, a light ruckus could be heard upstairs. I look up baffled, then slowly look at Hephaistos, who's just ignoring everything and smiling brightly.
"Off you go then!" She says pushing me outside of the shop and locking the door behind me. I look at it in wonder, the temptation to peek at what's happening upstairs reaches its peak. I look upstairs, where Hephaistos's office window should be, and the curtains ruffle, an eye, that I can identify anywhere, peeks out behind them. My smile widens, and I wave towards the person, place everything inside of my inventory, and [Blink] home.