The Arena: A LitRPG, page 44
"No, it's not that," Titus said almost casually. "It's just that I took your advice and learned the fireball spell…" Torres's expression somewhat softened at that revelation. "… but it isn't working properly. I think I'm doing something wrong?"
"What do you mean it isn't working properly?" Torres asked. "You either know the spell or you don't; there is no 'not working properly.'" Then he pointed across the room to a practice dummy that Titus had seen the Instructor target with his spells on occasion. "Show me," he ordered.
Titus shrugged knowing that there was nothing else for it, and raised his hands, pointing towards his intended target.
From deep within, Titus willed the spell to activate, to spend the Mana that he knew was in ample supply to account for the weak spell and in a fraction of a second, he felt his Mana pool drop by two single points and watched as the tiny fireball materialised before him.
And just as before, the spell did not act like any other he'd seen previously. The fireball was the size of a small chicken egg and sauntered forth like it was going to casually drift in a roundabout way towards the training dummy. It took at least five seconds for the fireball to come to the realisation that it was a spell of destruction and finally impacted the centre mass of the dummy with a dull thud and a puff of smoke.
Titus expected Torres to laugh, or perhaps even shout at him for being such a pathetic Spellcaster, but the man did neither.
Ferran Torres brought his hand to his chin, scratching at it thoughtfully.
Eventually, he spoke. "How did you learn this spell? And are you sure that it is the Fireball spell and nothing more? Are you sure it has no other names?"
Titus answered the Instructor's questions in order. "I learned it the normal way, from a question from the God of Balance. And yes, it's just the normal spell as far as I know; it doesn't seem to have any other names."
"That is curious," Torres said, still scratching his chin. "I have often wondered if in some individuals that spells need to be learned and mastered, though I have never seen it to be the case. You are correct to be worried, though. I have never seen a fireball act in such a way. Perhaps you have been correct all along in that spell-casting is simply not for you?"
"But if that was true, then why would the God of Balance offer me the path? Why would I be stuck with a useless spell?"
"The God of Balance can work in many different ways," Torres replied. "Perhaps it is your destiny to light candles from afar but nothing more? Perhaps you were given the choice as a test and you chose incorrectly?"
It was obvious to Titus that Torres still harboured a great amount of dislike for him, and he could tell that most of the conversation was poorly veiled insults aimed to make Titus feel bad about himself. But he knew better. He knew the God of Balance had something in store for him; he just didn't know how, why, or what.
"Do you think I can learn then? To cast the spell better, I mean?" Titus asked.
Torres stared at the practice dummy again for a long moment and then, without looking back at Titus announced: "Do it again."
Titus didn't need to be asked twice because he'd been waiting for this very instruction. He focused on the skill and then again extended his arms towards his intended target. This time though, he willed with everything in his being for the spell to do some actual damage to the dummy.
Again though, the spell fell short of his expectations and desires, following the course of the first almost exactly.
"Again," Ferran Torres said the single word that was unbeknownst to Titus, going to become the one sound he hated the most over the next short while. It was an hour before Titus realised he'd had enough and wasn't going to be able to cast the spell properly. The Instructor had also plied Titus with Mana potions when he needed them so that he could continue trying to cast the Fireball spell without interruption.
"Again," the Instructor said in exactly the same tone as he had done each and every time Titus had cast the useless spell. The tone had remained the same, but the Instructor had shifted about the classroom to have a look at the spell from every single angle imaginable.
"That's enough!" Titus finally moaned. "It's not happening; I'm not learning, and nothing's changing! I call the spell up, and I spend the two Mana points, and this is what happens over and over!" He spat out a lazy fireball as if to punctuate his point, and it followed the same path and velocity as all the others.
Then something flashed across Torres's eyes and Titus saw it. It was something more than what he'd been doing this entire time, something that didn't add up, and now it had finally slotted neatly into place.
"Did you say two Mana, boy?" he asked.
"Yes," Titus replied. "That's the cost of the spell. It was when I was given it, and it is now."
"Are you sure?" Torres asked again. "Because I have to tell you that although the spells that I have seen do not always have a set Mana cost, with said cost varying from individual to individual, I have never seen the cost for the Fireball spell less than seven Mana. Could it be that you are wearing something that reduces the cost of your spell, or perhaps this spell specifically?"
Titus thought for a moment, but the only thing he could think of that remotely fit the bill was his wooden stamina ring.
"No," Titus said eventually. "I have a ring that gives me a small boost to my Stamina, but I'm not carrying anything else. My chainmail shirt doesn't really do anything other than boost my Defence, and I have a basic sword that my friend gave me."
Torres scratched his chin again. "You are a Spellcaster, and yet you have chosen to boost your Stamina and Defence, and you are using a sword as your main weapon?" Then the Instructor closed his eyes and shook his head. "It does not matter. What does matter is the fact that you seem to have been gifted a common spell with a rather uncommon cost, and I wonder what the reason for this might be."
"Could it be like a punishment, like you said?" Titus asked, still pretty sure that this wasn't the answer. But he was sure that Torres was onto something, and he very much wanted to tug at that thread.
"I don't think so," Torres said. "But I now understand what is happening with your fireball: it simply does not contain enough Mana to act as it should. You see, usually when equipment reduces the Mana cost for spells, said equipment lends some of its own inherent Mana to the spell in question, so the spell itself is not underpowered, rather it has received its total cost from multiple sources. In your case, the Mana that the spell is drawing from your body is powering the spell, but because the cost is so low, what you are seeing is the result of this low cost."
It very much sounded to Titus like the Instructor was talking in circles now. He understood that his spell was weak because the cost was weak, but that wasn't something he had a say in. Was it?
"Can I put more Mana into the spell, to make it stronger?" Titus asked.
"I don't think so," Torres said, shaking his head. "It is not something I have ever seen done, but then again, neither have I seen a Mana cost so low for a spell, and a common one at that."
"But that doesn't mean it's impossible?" Titus asked.
"Nothing is impossible," Torres said, almost absentmindedly. "But I don't know how you would even begin to achieve such a thing. Mana is not a controllable force…"
Titus ignored the end of the Instructor's sentence and turned his attention back to the training dummy. It was like all of a sudden the name of his Class meant something more to him, like this was its true purpose. He was a Capacitor, not a Spellcaster, and that meant he could do this.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He focused his consciousness inward, feeling the flow of Mana within him as he began willing the Fireball spell into existence. It was like a stream of energy, a current that he could sense but had never before thought to even ponder on. He had always just allowed it to follow its natural course into the spell that was to be cast.
But this time Titus reached out with his mind, touching the stream of Mana. He could feel it, a subtle vibration, a thrum of power waiting to be harnessed. He pictured the Mana pooling, gathering strength, building in intensity. And then he willed it to be more. For the stream to be wider, faster and for the Mana within him to grow and swirl before it reached the tips of his fingers. His entire body prickled and vibrated with the awesome feeling of raw power coursing through his very body and out towards his hands.
As he opened his eyes, he extended his hands towards the dummy once more. This time however, he didn't just call upon the spell mechanically. He willed more Mana to power it, pushing beyond the two-point cost and pouring his energy into the incantation.
The air around him seemed to shimmer with heat as he summoned the fireball. It was no longer a tiny, meandering orb but a growing sphere of crackling flames. Titus could feel the Mana flowing from him into the spell making it grow more and more as the fractions of a second passed.
The fireball swelled to the size of a melon, its flames dancing with ferocity and it was a stark contrast to his lacklustre attempts before. Titus could almost hear the hum of energy as the spell reached its peak.
With a flick of his wrists he released the fireball. It shot forward like a comet, a blazing streak of light that hit the dummy with a resounding boom. The impact was explosive sending shards of the dummy flying, leaving a charred and smouldering ruin in its wake.
Titus stood there, slightly out of breath, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. He had done it. He had controlled and amplified his Mana, transforming his one weak and useless spell into something far more real. Far more useful.
Instructor Torres stood speechless as soon as the spell hit the target, his eyes locked on the decimated dummy. Slowly, he turned to Titus with his expression one of disbelief.
"You... you just changed the very nature of how that spell works. How did you...?"
Titus, still catching his breath, managed a half-grin. "I just felt the flow of Mana..." he said slowly. "I'm not really sure how it worked… but it cost ten Mana that time… I only have one left."
Torres approached Titus, his gaze intense and analytical. "Do you realise what this means? You've just demonstrated an ability to manipulate Mana in a way that defies traditional Spellcasting. This is unprecedented. We must do it again!"
Titus nodded, a sense of pride swelling within him. He had discovered something unique about his abilities, something that set him apart and might just be the key to unlocking his real potential and the reason the God of Balance had given him his unusual Class.
"Your training, from this point forward, needs to focus on this ability," Torres said, clearly excited. "You must learn to harness and control this power. It could change everything for us. And you," he added quickly. "We must see if this is something that can be taught and practised for the people!"
Titus nodded again. He had found his path, a way to utilise his Class in a way that no one had expected. He was no longer just a Contestant with a weak spell; he was a Capacitor with the power to shape his Mana and bend spells to his will.
But before all of that, he needed to keep Torres away from the truth of his Class. He was sure that he alone could do what he had just done, but the Instructor was most likely going to need some convincing of that fact.
Chapter 55 – Trial by Tree
"Another potion!" Torres exclaimed as Titus hurled yet another fireball across the small room that exploded into the training dummy. The thing must've been enchanted somehow because every time a fireball ruined the man-sized construct, sending splinters everywhere and leaving the thing a smouldering wreck, by the time Titus sent another attack at the dummy, it was as good as new.
The pair had spent the best part of an hour training with Titus' newfound ability. He'd managed to control the flow of Mana so well and so instinctively that he could raise or lower the cost for the Fireball spell by even a single point with each attack. By the end of the hour and after more mana potions than he could count, Titus had thrown fireballs from a cost of two Mana, all the way up to eleven, where his maximum pool sat.
"How many of those things do you have?" Titus panted. Not because the heat was causing him to sweat, but in truth, he just wanted a break. Torres had been nonchalant at first, maybe even dismissive, but now? Now, he was like a teenager on Christmas Eve shaking all the presents to see what he could get. At one point he'd even asked Titus to explain to him exactly how he was doing this and tried it himself – but the result was nothing out of the ordinary. Torres had seemed miffed that Titus could do something he couldn't, but he'd at least been gracious about it.
Torres smiled. "I have my own personal storage box, and as I have said, Mana management is of paramount importance for a Spellcaster. Our last resort when our bodies and equipment have failed, is a good old-fashioned Mana potion."
Titus nodded, remembering the lesson Torres had just taught before they'd begun their extra-curricular training.
"Do you think it's going to be the same for any spell I learn?" Titus asked.
"That remains to be seen, young Spellcaster," Torres replied. "But if it does… you're going to be in for one hell of a journey in the Arena. There is one thing I would like to test though, if you would indulge," Torres raised an eyebrow like Titus should know what he was talking about.
"What is it?"
"I would like to know the real effect on the damage capability of the spell that the Mana cost has. I would like you to cast your spell on me."
Titus' eyes widened. He hadn't been at the Arena for very long, but he knew that hitting an Instructor with a spell was most likely a giant no-no.
"I… I can't," Titus said, taking a step back. But then he remembered something. "But I can go to the pits and try it out there if you have a health potion. I'm almost right back up to full but that one seems to take a little longer."
"Actually," Torres replied with a thoughtful expression. "That is a very good idea. Attacking each other in a classroom is not a trend I would like to start. But please, if you are going to attend the pits then I would like to come and watch. Perhaps there are even some insights that I could give to aid you in your training as a Spellcaster?"
Titus nodded as Torres passed him a red vial that was clearly another health potion. Titus drank it and nodded thankfully as his health pool returned to its maximum of fifty-two. With his Health, Mana, and Stamina all in fact at their peak, Titus felt like he could go ten rounds against a Jötnar Warrior. Not that he would, of course as he wasn't an idiot, but the fact was that he felt great. Strong even.
He then walked alongside the instructor back through the torchlit hallways to where the pits were spread out across the large open cavern. There were some other Contestants training there along with the sounds of steel upon steel, feints, shouts, and screams but if anything, the place was sparsely populated and nobody seemed to notice Titus' arrival alongside Torres.
"I've been fighting against level three monsters," Titus said with one foot on the first step down to the Pit. "So go with the same?"
"I think we can do a little better," Torres replied. "Why not see what you can do with a level four?"
Titus wasn't as sure as Torres seemed. He knew he hadn't had too much trouble with the threes, but going up against a level four alone – and one that was going to be a surprise - didn't seem like the wisest move. The problem was though, that this was the most Torres had spoken to him since he'd first met him, and going against his advice seemed like something that would set their relationship back somewhat.
With that in mind, and knowing that there could be invaluable lessons in the future from the Instructor, Titus nodded once and descended into the pit to take on his next opponent.
Chainmail shirt on and sword in hand, Titus had everything he thought he would ever need when facing off against monsters in the pits or the Arena, though he had some ideas already about what he planned to buy once he had the money to.
Instructing the pit to provide a level four opponent, Titus stood and watched the portal as it formed to bring the monster onto the sands. He felt a mixture of emotions as he stared into the black disc: fear, anxiety, hope… but most of all, he felt his pulse beating its ever-increasing tune, and his hands sweating around the hilt of his basic steel sword.
Titus' stomach lurched at the creature that materialised within the pit. Because it was far larger than anything he'd ever fought before.
Treant Sapling
Level: 4
HP: 210/210
The thing that appeared wasn't much of a sapling by any accounts; if anything, it looked more like a tree had been possessed by a demon. And Jordan had been dead wrong when he'd said the things were small creatures. At least ten feet tall and made of some ancient-looking bark, the Treant Sapling had a ferocious wooden face, complete with an open maw, fangs, and evil red eyes. A main trunk-like feature stood as the central column to two arms that were each larger than Titus, both of which were complete with very large wooden hands. For this to be a sapling, Titus could only wonder at how big the adult versions of these things could be.
The Treant roared, and Titus couldn't help but feel like this one could very well be beyond his capabilities.
"It's a tree, Titus," Titus heard Torres' voice come down from above. "It's made of wood. It's big, but you know what that means, don't you?"
Titus wondered if that statement alone was going to be enough to get him a penalty to his experience if he actually managed to make it through this one, but beyond that, the Instructor's words clicked. This was a tree, and that meant it could burn.
Titus knew that his Fireball spell was going to be the way to go to win this battle, but it wasn't something that he was going to be able to cast more than once, especially if he pushed all eleven of his Mana points into it. He cursed the fact that he didn't have any Mana potions to bring into the fight with him.
He knew that the best approach would be to feel out this opponent, get an idea of what it could and couldn't do, and then strike.
