Vol.3 Ch.5 – Power Leveling II
Chapter 5: Power Leveling II
After several apologies to the mess hall staff Elaine and Prudence worked together and used magic to fix the table back up again, then sat down again and continued the earlier discussion.
“Would you like to go next?” Elaine asked Evelyn.
“I'm not wrestling either of you until I... oh, you mean do I want to level up next?”
Elaine smiled and nodded.
“What's aura magic?” Evelyn asked as she read through her new skills.
“It's—“ Elaine and Prudence began but then Prudence gestured for Elaine to continue.
“Go ahead. I'm curious how much you know.”
Elaine nodded, then explained: “It's a way to use magic to strengthen yourself. Every living being has an aura, a film covering our bodies that makes it much harder to cast harmful magic into us, rather than at us. It's the reason you don't see fire mages burning people from within. The aura would make it exponentially more difficult than just chucking a fireball.”
Alexis, Evelyn and Abigail listened with rapt attention. Cassie had already heard it before and Prudence was nodding along.
“Now, aura magic is a way to use spells to strengthen one's aura,” Elaine continued. “You could, for example, imbue your aura with a lightning spell, thus making yourself way faster and stronger. The risk is that, if you mess it up, you might accidentally push that lightning spell past your aura, letting it run rampant through your body.”
Evelyn winced.
“But this ability would give you all the knowledge you'd need to avoid doing just that,” Elaine said. “So I would say it's an absolute must-buy.” She turned to Prudence. “Good enough?”
“Got it in one,” the angel said. “I also agree with your conclusion. Absolutely buy this, Evelyn. I've been practicing aura magic for several decades and I still have to cast it before a fight. If I try it in a high-stress situation I run too high a risk of messing it up.”
“Okay, got it,” Evelyn said. “Not like it matters, though. I can buy everything with points to spare.”
“Go ahead, then”, Elaine said.
“Highly visible, huh?” Evelyn said as she reread the description of the Thunderstorm Dominion.
“Your skills aren't exactly subtle in the first place,” Cassie said. “I mean you practically nuked a whole army.”
“True,” Elaine said. “But I suppose dragging a thunderstorm with you would be pretty noticeable. Especially now that we know that the bad guys aren't just a horde of slavering monsters.”
“Yeah, I'd better not use it if we're trying to be sneaky,” Evelyn said. “But in an open battle like the one we just had this is super useful.”
“Is it?” Abigail asked. “I mean, you can already throw lightning bolts, right?”
“It's not the same,” Evelyn said. “Proper lightning from a storm is way stronger than what I can pull out on the fly.”
“Not to mention the buffs she gets for being in a thunderstorm,” Alexis added.
“Limitless stamina,” Evelyn said. “I wonder if that means I won't collapse if I throw another Vasavi Shakti.”
“Best not to try that out without good reason,” Elaine said.
“Probably better that way,” Evelyn said. “So, Elaine, what did you get?”
Elaine shared her screen once again.
“That ability list is a total mess,” Prudence said. “I thought so earlier, but not that I see it again it really hits me. All these nice, quantifiable stats and then this.”
“It grew so gradually that I never really noticed but now that you mention it I have to agree,” Elaine said. “It does look a bit annoying. Let me see if I can futz with it.”
Elaine made several broad gestures and tapped a few things, then she shared the ability list again.
“I didn't expect it to be that much shorter,” Alexis said.
“Too much?” Elaine asked. “I can tap the numbers to make the lists unfold.”
“It wasn't a complaint,” Alexis said. “This looks much cleaner.”
“Much better,” Prudence agreed.
“Now then,” Elaine said as she dismissed her menus. She looked over at Abigail and Cassie. “Which one of you wants to go next?”