New Quest: [Getting Stronger] Time is ticking.
Objective(Completed): Train until you can create Fire Bolts instinctively.
Reward: Fire Bolt Upgrade Point
Objective: Train until you can create Big Fire Bolts instinctively.
Reward: Big Fire Bolt Upgrade Point
"How will I upgrade my Fire Bolt?"
[To see skill upgrades, say "Character Panel". From there, go to the "Abilities" window and select the ability you want to upgrade.]
"Character Panel"
A holographic panel glowing with blue light appeared in front of Eiden. Several tabs were visible on the panel:
General Information
Attributes
Abilities
Inventory
Quests
Eiden clicked on the "Abilities" tab. A new window opened showing a list of the abilities he possessed:
Fire Bolt [Level 1] - A basic fire spell.
Big Fire Bolt [Level 1] - Large basic fire spell.
??? [Locked]
??? [Locked]
??? [Locked]
When he clicked on Fire Bolt, the ability details opened:
Fire Bolt
Level: 1
Damage: 5
Mana Cost: None
Cooldown: 2 seconds
Range: 20 meters
Radius: 0.5 square meters
Upgrade Points: 1
Available Upgrades:
Quick Shot: Reduces Fire Bolt's cooldown to 1 second.
Powerful Strike: Increases Fire Bolt's damage by 5.
Burning Flame: Fire Bolt burns the target for 3 seconds, dealing 2 additional damage. Cannot stack.
Area Blast: Fire Bolt's radius becomes 1 square meter.
Eiden carefully examined the options.
"Powerful Strike doubles my damage, but Quick Shot also doubles my damage. Comparing the two, Quick Shot is more important. Burning Flame sounds nice, but shouldn't be my first choice. Area Blast increases the explosion radius of Fire Bolt, but since it's quite small right now, that shouldn't be my first choice either. Quick Shot makes the most sense."
When the upgrade was completed, the panel updated:
Fire Bolt
Level: 2
Damage: 5
Mana Cost: None
Cooldown: 1 seconds
Range: 20 meters
Radius: 0.5 square meters
Upgrade Points: *
Available Upgrades:
"But I still need to create Big Fire Bolts. I need to work harder."
He closed the character panel and went back to work. This time he would focus on creating bigger, more powerful Fire Bolts.
Taking a deep breath, he raised both hands in the air. He curled his fingers slightly and focused on creating small sparks in both palms. An orange glow began to appear in his right hand, and a similar shimmer in his left.
"That's it," he murmured to himself. "Now I'll try to combine them."
He slowly brought his hands closer together. The tiny fire balls in both palms were trembling, as if dancing with each other. The light seeping through his fingers cast a golden glow on his face.
Eiden's heart was beating rapidly. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he tried to control the flow of energy within him.
"Control it... slowly..." he whispered to himself.
He completely joined his hands and opened his palms slightly. The sparks from his right and left palms began to mix, to merge. The fire bolt that was beginning to take shape was much brighter and more vibrant than those he had created individually.
His eyes widened. "It's working!"
The Fire Bolt continued to grow. It was no longer in his palms, but suspended between his hands. It began to emit intense heat, with waves of warmth licking his face and arms, growing increasingly hot.
However, Eiden's excitement began to give way to unease. The Fire Bolt was growing much faster than expected. It was now the size of a basketball and still continuing to expand.
"Stop..." he murmured, but the fire bolt seemed not to hear him.
He tried to cut off the flow of energy, but the merger of the two currents seemed to have gone out of control. The fire bolt continued to grow on its own. Red vortices began to appear within its bright orange color.
"Damn it, stop already!" Eiden shouted in panic.
He thought about throwing the fire bolt, but he didn't know where to throw such a large fireball, now roughly the size of two basketballs merged together. It could start a fire in the forest. But holding it in his hands was becoming increasingly difficult.
He tried to extinguish the ball, focusing on reversing the energy flow within it. But this time was different. It was as if the fire bolt was producing its own energy, able to continue existing even without external nourishment.
Eiden's hands began to tremble. The heat generated by the fire bolt was becoming unbearable. He turned his face away, squinting his eyes. The sweat dripping from his forehead was rapidly evaporating.
"Damn it! I can't control it!"
In one last effort, he tried to extinguish the fire bolt, directing all his concentration towards it. In his mind, he visualized the fire dying down, shrinking, disappearing.
A momentary glimmer of hope appeared; the fire bolt vibrated, as if it was about to shrink. But a second later, it completely went out of control.
The fire bolt between his hands suddenly emitted a bright light. Eiden frowned, having to close his eyes completely. Then, unexpectedly, the fire bolt collapsed inward, as if compressing all its energy into a single point.
The moment Eiden realized this, he shouted "No!" but it was too late.
It was the moment of explosion. The compressed energy was released all at once, creating a small but powerful detonation between Eiden's hands. A bright light, a deafening noise, and then a shock wave threw him backward.
As Eiden flew through the air, he thought, "So this is how I'll die — in a training accident."
His back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of him. After skidding several meters, he finally came to a stop. His ears were ringing, his eyes struggling to see through the bright light.
He lay on the ground for a while, trying to breathe. With each breath, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He tried to raise his hands, but his arms felt as if they were burning.
"Well, that was... unexpected," he groaned, trying to open his eyes.
His vision slowly began to clear. The sky and trees were still there; at least the world hadn't ended. He examined his hands. There were burn marks, they were red and painful, but not as bad as he had thought.
Carefully, he sat up, feeling dizzy. He looked around. At the site of the explosion, a small burnt circle had formed in the grass. In the surrounding area, the grass was still smoldering.
"Thank goodness I'm alone here," he said to himself. "This... would have been embarrassing."
He slowly got to his feet, staggered, and leaned against a tree for balance. His pulse was still rapid, his hands were shaking.
"I can do it in the middle of battle, but I can't do it without a creature chasing after me? Well... actually it wasn't chasing after me... anyway!"
He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. The failure had disappointed him, but it had also sparked his curiosity.
"I won't give up so easily," Eiden murmured, rubbing his aching hands. "I can still do it, I just... need to change my approach."
He sat for a few minutes, regulated his breathing, and thought.
"Maybe I'm overthinking," he said to himself. "I should listen to my instincts, not my logic."
Eiden slowly stood up. His body was still aching, but his wounds had already begun to heal. The burns on his hands had faded, the redness had diminished.
This time he decided to try a different approach. He walked toward the open area, but not hastily like before; he moved calmly. When he reached the center, he stopped and closed his eyes. He took deep, calm breaths.
"I won't force it too much," he murmured. "I'll go with the flow."
He held his hands comfortably in front of him, palms facing each other, but not joining them. He tried to empty his mind, setting aside stress and worry. He focused only on the moment, his breath, the flow of energy in his body.
Eiden, with his eyes still closed, could hear the sound of the wind in the forest, the rustle of leaves, the chirping of distant birds. Slowly he entered a deeper state of awareness, able to perceive the energy circulating in every part of his body.
This energy flowed throughout his body, like blood flowing through his veins. It was warm, vibrant, and fluid. Eiden began to direct this flow without forcing it. He guided the energy toward his hands, carrying it to the tips of his fingers.
He felt a tingling in his fingers, a slight warmth. He slowly opened his eyes. Tiny, bright fire bolts were dancing in the palms of both hands. This time was different; the control was in his hands. The balls weren't trembling or shaking; they were stable and steady.
"That's it," he whispered, his eyes gleaming.
He slowly brought his hands closer together. The two fire bolts moved toward each other, as if attracting one another. He continued to bring his hands closer; as the distance between the two fire bolts decreased, small electric arcs began to form between them.
This time Eiden didn't panic. He remained calm, didn't break his concentration. He continued to move slowly and with control. The two fire bolts finally made contact and the merger began.
At the moment of the merger, he felt a small wave of energy, but this time it didn't surprise him. He was expecting it, ready for it. He continued to regulate the energy flow, keeping the growing fire bolt under control.
Between his hands now was a single fire bolt, larger and brighter than the previous ones. Flames dancing in gold and orange colors were adorned with blue and red vortices. Eiden held his breath; it was dazzlingly beautiful.
[-10 mana]
He felt a wave of pride within him. This was truly a "Big Fire Bolt." A large fire bolt that he had created and controlled. With the slightest movement of his fingers, he could create ripples on the surface of the bolt. He could increase and decrease its energy.
"Now... I need to find a target," he thought.
His eyes scanned the surroundings and he spotted a large rock about twenty meters away, at the edge of the clearing. It was a perfect target.
Eiden took a deep breath. "Let's do this."
He prepared to throw the fire bolt. He pulled back his hands, balanced his body. Then, with a single fluid motion, he hurled the fire bolt toward the target with all his might.
The Big Fire Bolt, as soon as it left Eiden's hands, began to move through the air leaving a trail behind. It left a bright tail, like a small comet. It flew toward its target, cutting through the air.
Eiden held his breath, following the fire bolt with his eyes. The Fire Bolt hit exactly where he had aimed, at the center of the rock. At the moment of impact, there was a dazzling flash of light, followed by a powerful explosion sound.
With the force of the explosion, the rock shattered and scattered around. Small pieces of stone flew in all directions, some toward Eiden, but he managed to protect himself with his reflexes.
When the dust cloud dispersed, where the rock had been, there were now only broken pieces and burned earth. Eiden's mouth fell open. The power of what he had done had surprised him.
"Wow... Now that's what I call destructive power," he whispered, his eyes wide open.
But at the same time, he felt a sense of achievement, a feeling of victory. He had succeeded! He had managed to create a Big Fire Bolt and direct it to the target without losing control.
"It's not over. My control is terrible. If I think this much during battle, I'll be dead meat. I'm not going to spend several minutes each time I want to throw a Big Fire Bolt, am I? I need to be able to do this without thinking. I need to work harder."
Half an hour later, Eiden leaned against a tree trunk, out of breath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and looked around with tired eyes. All around the clearing were burnt patches of earth, small craters, and scorched grass. This had been a long and exhausting training session.
"One more try," he muttered to himself. He had consumed almost all of his mana, with just enough left for one Big Fire Bolt shot.
Eiden straightened up and walked to the center of the clearing. Now he felt a slight dizziness as he moved. But he didn't care. He was pleased with his progress and wanted to try once more.
"Whoa, why is the world spinning?" Eiden giggled, staggering slightly. "So this is what it feels like when your mana runs out. If all wizards feel like this..." he said and laughed to himself.
When he reached the center, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It wasn't like the first time he tried anymore; emptying his mind and feeling the energy flow took only seconds now. He could instantly sense the mana flow in his body, as if it had become a muscle—an ability he could use without thinking.
He held his hands in front of him, brought his palms closer together, and within seconds small sparks began to dance between his fingers. The sparks quickly grew, turned into shimmering fire bolts, and merged to form a large Fire Bolt.
[-10 mana]
This time the whole process had taken only thirty seconds. It was his personal record, but still not fast enough for Eiden.
"I need to be faster," he thought. "In a real battle, thirty seconds would feel like forever."
He hurled the Fire Bolt into the empty space, toward a direction where nothing stood. The bolt advanced through the air leaving a bright trail and exploded in the distance, in the middle of nothingness. There was a dazzling flash of light.
"At least I'm getting better at aiming," he said to himself.
He took a few steps, but suddenly his knees wobbled and he almost fell. He quickly leaned against a tree to steady himself. He had pushed too hard.
"Mana depletion..." he murmured, feeling the tightness in his chest. "I went too far."
When he first tried, creating a Big Fire Bolt had taken him almost five minutes. Now he could do it in half a minute. The improvement was undeniable, but still not enough.
Eiden slowly sat down on the grass, leaning his back against the tree. He could feel fatigue spreading through his body, the mana depletion now turning into physical pain. He closed his eyes and tried to take deep, controlled breaths.
Eiden held his hands in front of him and looked at his trembling fingers. He could still feel a slight warmth in his palms, as if a small fire was burning inside them.
"Maybe I've worked enough for today," he murmured.
But a voice inside him said he could do more. Be faster, be stronger... He wondered how much more practice he would need to create a Big Fire Bolt in just seconds.
He looked at the sky; the sun was already beginning to set. The shadows in the clearing had lengthened. Even if he stayed here a bit longer, his mana wouldn't replenish quickly.
"I guess that's enough," he thought. "At least for now."
He could feel his mana slowly regenerating, but it would take hours to reach full capacity. For now, he had to be content with the progress he had made.
Eiden fixed his messy hair with his hand and began walking toward town. The clearing he left behind was filled with traces of his training. Burnt patches of earth, fragments of broken rock... All evidence of his progress.
"I'll come back," he thought. "I'll keep practicing until I'm even faster."