Minute Mage: A Time-Traveling LitRPG

Chapter 46: Upgrade

After our rest, Erani, the Nymph and I got up and started on our way, heading to Kingdom’s Edge. It would be a long journey, but heading anywhere away from Carth would be a good development in our situation. On our way, I worked to Rank up my new Spell, Gravity Well.

Gravity Well

School: Arcane

Type: Toggle

Cost: 10 Mana/Second per Being Affected

—

While active, increase gravitational pull by 25% for any number of beings within 30 paces of you.

I had to choose at least one target for the Spell in order for it to spend Mana so I could get Spell XP for it, so I ended up choosing myself as I activated the Spell.

“Hurk!”

My feet sunk a bit into the soft dirt at the sudden extra weight. It felt like a backpack full of rocks had been dropped onto my shoulders from the top of a tree, and I almost fell to the ground from the pressure. It was mostly the surprise that caused me to stumble, though, and after a bit, I almost felt used to it. Throwing an extra quarter of my weight on top of me was certainly rough, but it was spread all throughout my body, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

At 10 Mana/Second, before I hit the Soft Cap of Rank 5, I was getting 5 Spell XP per second. So in relatively little time, I got there.

Threshold reached. Gravity Well XP has reached 10.

Gravity Well Rank has increased to 1.

Due to Gravity Well Rank reaching 1, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 10 to 10.3

Gravity Increase: From 25% to 28%

Threshold reached. Gravity Well XP has reached 11.

Gravity Well Rank has increased to 2.

Due to Gravity Well Rank reaching 2, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 10.3 to 10.6

Gravity Increase: From 28% to 31%

Threshold reached. Gravity Well XP has reached 14.

Gravity Well Rank has increased to 3.

Due to Gravity Well Rank reaching 3, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 10.6 to 10.9

Gravity Increase: From 31% to 34%

Threshold reached. Gravity Well XP has reached 20.

Gravity Well Rank has increased to 4.

Due to Gravity Well Rank reaching 4, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 10.9 to 11.2

Gravity Increase: From 34% to 37%

Threshold reached. Gravity Well XP has reached 30.

Gravity Well Rank has increased to 5.

Due to Gravity Well Rank reaching 5, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 11.2 to 11.5

Gravity Increase: From 37% to 41%

Due to Gravity Well Rank increasing to Rank 5, Gravity Well has reached a Soft Cap.

Spell XP gain for Gravity Well is 50 times slower until your Level increases past the Soft Cap.

Increase your Level to 10 to increase your Soft Cap.

I finished Ranking the Spell up in about fifteen seconds, and switched it off. “Phew,” I laughed, “that’s a good workout.”

“I’m glad you decided to use it on yourself and not me,” Erani smiled. We were still holding hands as we walked, the pretense of it being for ‘training’ having completely left our heads. At this point, it was just nice to know she was there. I wasn’t sure how I would’ve survived so long without her high-powered artillery, her tactical advice, or her good conversation.

The Nymph wordlessly watched us as we talked. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it sticking with us. I was thankful to have the extra companion, of course, but not being able to fully communicate with it was irritating, and even got a bit scary when I would occasionally look over and see it staring through me with its large, glassy eyes. I swore, it noticed it made me jump every time it did that, and now it was just doing it on purpose because it thought it was funny. Erani didn’t believe me, though. She said it was cruel of me to pin such intentions on an ‘innocent thing that can’t defend itself’.

The Nymph’s glowing white eyes weren’t made any less unsettling while we walked through the night-lit forest. We’d woken up from our rest in the middle of the night, and the sun was only just now beginning to rise. And so we kept on with our journey, doing our best to move fast and keep our eyes out.

By the time the sun rose and set again, we’d traveled far and I was getting tired. Practicing Noxious Grasp helped take my mind off of things, though. And I wasn’t just casting it to help my mind.

Noxious Grasp 9 - XP 350/355

At my current rate of practice, I’d be able to finally get Noxious Grasp to Rank 10 in about another hour. And with that, my main weapon would receive a huge boost in power. Erani’s Angelic Shield had also slowly been gaining XP, and had even Ranked up to 6.

But the thing I was most excited about was my next Level. I checked my Intelligence Information.

Minute Mage Basic Progression Path

-Every 1 Level: +1 Endurance, +2 Conjuration, +3 Stat Points, Time Loop Rank Up

-Every 3 Levels: Spell Choice

-Every 5 Levels: Talent Choice

-Every 10 Levels: Time Loop Usage Increase, Time Loop Upgrade

It said that every 10 Levels, I got what was called a ‘Time Loop Usage Increase,’ and a ‘Time Loop Upgrade.’ I didn’t know exactly what that would entail, but I sure as hells was excited for it. So I was eagerly keeping an eye out for any monsters I thought I might be able to kill as we walked. We didn’t find much, though. It seemed like the Demons’ clearing out the forest was making it harder and harder for me to Level up. And the longer it took, the fewer monsters would be out here for me to kill.

But at least I still had Noxious Grasp’s next Rank to look forward to.

We continued walking and I continued eagerly practicing, slowly shortening the intervals I took to wait before casts as I got more and more impatient. I was even forced to let go of Erani’s hand every now and then while I practiced, as my Noxious Grasp was beginning to threaten her Mana pool from preventing all the damage with Angelic Shield. She asked me what was up, but understood when I told her how close I was to Rank 10.

Eventually, I finally got there. I could feel Noxious Grasp’s Spell XP had passed 355, but nothing happened yet. For a second, I was confused. But then I got a notification.

Threshold reached. Noxious Grasp XP has reached 355.

Consume a Poison Spell Crystal to increase Noxious Grasp Rank to 10.

After being reminded of the additional requirement for getting a Spell to every 10th Rank, I fished the green orb back out of my pack and held it in my hand. Despite never having used one before, I felt some sort of innate instinct guide me through using it. I pushed my Mana into the object, feeling it wrap around inside the crystal and pull it toward my inner self. The crystal didn’t move at all in my hand physically, but I could feel its essence slowly being tugged into my body.

Within moments, the Spell Crystal emptied, losing its color and becoming a gray hunk of rock. Inside my body, the Poison Spell Crystal’s magic was consumed by my consciousness.

And then…

Threshold reached. Noxious Grasp XP has reached 355.

Noxious Grasp Rank has increased to 10.

Due to Noxious Grasp Rank reaching 10, it has undergone the following changes:

Mana Cost: From 3.76 to 4.7

Health Drain: From 15.5 to 16.2

Stamina Drain: From 7.76 to 8.15

You may choose an Upgrade for Noxious Grasp

The first thing I noticed was the large increase in cost. Compared to the tiny intervals I’d seen before, increasing by an entire Mana per second was quite the leap. The Health and Stamina drains each went up by a more regular amount, though. But I understood why there was such a large increase in cost. Those words at the bottom, “Noxious Grasp Upgrade has become available,” more than made up for the markup.

“I just have to meditate like normal to choose the Upgrade, right?” I asked Erani.

“Yeah, that’s all. But, wait, it’ll take you ten minutes to get there, you sure you wanna do it now?”

“Why would I wait?”

“Well, not wait, but why not go back with Time Loop? You could arrive back in time, before you’d ever used the Spell Crystal, and keep the Upgrade while also keeping the crystal. That way you won’t have to buy another in the future. Or, y’know, you could just sell it.”

“Shit, you’re right,” I mused. We’d been walking for enough time that it was already approaching night, so using Time Loop here wouldn’t make me vulnerable for very much time. “I guess I always think about the Talent in terms of combat, but it can be used for other reasons too, huh?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “...So, are you going to use it now, to get back your Poison Spell Crystal?”

“It would be pretty irresponsible not to, yeah.”

“How does it work, then? I’ve never actually seen you do it.”

“Well, I just kinda use it. And then I’m back a few minutes in time.”

“Huh. So I just… disappear.”

I blinked. I knew where this was going; I’d already had the conversation with Erani in a previous timeline, and she didn’t even know I’d already had it. “You don’t disappear, you just go back a bit in time with me. It’s only a few minutes, and I promise I won’t change anything. You’ll come back to this point with no changes, alright?”

She just stared at me, a mixture of fear and confusion in her eyes. I stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. She jumped, clearly startled by the sudden gesture.

“Does this happen often?” She looked up and asked with a teary smile. “Seems like you already know what to do.”

“Once or twice,” I laughed.

“Just go ahead and do it. I don’t want to think about this anymore”

I nodded, and activated Time Loop.

When I got back, already holding the Poison Spell Crystal in my palm and prepared to consume it, I closed my hand around it and put it back in my pocket.

“Huh?” Erani watched me put the sphere away. “Why aren’t you using it?”

“I already did,” I said. “Just went back so I’d still have it, while also having the Upgrade.”

“Oh, good idea!”

“It was yours, actually.”

Erani blinked. “Huh. Didn’t think I’d come up with that.”

“Maybe you’re smarter than you give yourself credit for,” I shrugged, trying to keep her from going down that rabbit hole. “Anyway, I’m gonna choose that Upgrade.”

“Oh, right. Let me know what you get!”

I eagerly sat down to meditate and look at the options I had available to me.

Choose one Upgrade for Noxious Grasp:

Venomous Grasp

School: +Curse

—

Noxious Grasp Festers beings it damages. While they are Festered, beings lose double Stamina from all sources. The Fester remains for 5 seconds after you stop contact with the being.

Draining Grasp

School: +Necromancy

—

Noxious Grasp now drains 25% as much Health and Stamina. (Currently 4.05 Health and 2.04 Stamina).

50% of the Health and Stamina the target loses is given to you. (Currently 2.03 Health and 1.02 Stamina).

Annulling Grasp

School: +Arcane

—

Noxious Grasp now drains Mana equal to the amount of Health it drains. (Currently 16.3 Mana/Second)

I read my options out to Erani as I looked them over, myself.

“Well,” she said, “in a normal situation, I’d say Annulling Grasp would be the strongest option here.”

“Really?” I asked, “I feel like it’d be the weakest.”

“Sure, for us it is. But that’s just because we know none of the Demons we’re fighting are magic users.”

“Right, but it’s not like other people are constantly fighting magic-using monsters, or even fighting them half the time.”

“Yes, but think about it like this: if you’re in a party of adventurers, and each one is specialized against a specific type of monster, then you’ll most likely always be facing off against a monster that someone fights best against. And think about how powerful that Upgrade really is. If you choose Draining Grasp, it’ll start healing you for 2 Health every second you use it on something. But with Annulling Grasp, it drains 16 Mana. Firebolt, for example, uses 30 Mana to deal 75 damage, so 16 Mana is worth about 40 Health’s worth of damage dealt. It’s literally twenty times as good at preventing damage, as long as your opponent uses Mana to hurt you. Plus, it doesn’t lower your damage dealt at all.”

“Hmm,” I wondered, “you make a fair point, but it really doesn’t do much at all for us right now. I don’t want a repeat of the fight we had with the Infernal Commander. I was completely helpless to do anything against the thing, and ideally, this Upgrade will help keep situations like that from happening in the future. What do you think, then? Seems like you made a pretty compelling argument against Draining.”

“Yeah. Healing is incredibly useful, sure, but I’m not sure how I feel about crippling your main source of damage like that. Plus, it can only heal you when you’re damaging something – if you need the healing and there isn’t anything around to kill, you’re out of luck.”

“So, Venomous Grasp?”

“That’s what seems good to me – at least in this situation. With Venomous Grasp, they’ll always be Festered while you’re draining them, and stay like that for the next five seconds. Seems worth it. Since they’re always losing double Stamina while you’re using Noxious Grasp on them, the Upgrade pretty much just doubles the amount of Stamina that Noxious Grasp drains, plus it helps your Crippling Chill in a huge way.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “And with Gravity Well, reducing Stamina is becoming easier and more effective than ever. Don’t need the healing if my enemy never moves, right?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “Let’s not get too cocky, though.”

I selected the Upgrade.

Noxious Grasp has gained the Upgrade Venomous Grasp.

We got back up and continued walking once I was done. The Poison Spell Crystal was safe and sound in my backpack once again, ready to be used again once Noxious Grasp reached Rank 20. Not that I felt like that would come anytime soon, though. The next Spell XP cost was 461, and it would only get even higher with each Rank.

I asked Erani, and it turned out most people never got a single Spell to Rank 20 in their entire lives. The Spell XP requirements got so high at that point that most people who stuck to the lower Levels didn’t ever practice enough to get there. By Rank 15, the cost would already be well into the thousands, apparently.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to dedicate myself to that kind of long-haul so early, though, so I decided to start focusing on practicing another Spell. It’d take forever to Rank it again, and for so little benefit. But with another Spell, I could get that benefit with much less work. And those small increments in power were what I sorely needed right now. Choosing which of my three new Spells – Crippling Chill, Ray of Frost, and Gravity Well – to start practicing was a surprisingly tough decision. Crippling Chill was an integral part to my ability to weaken my enemies, Ray of Frost allowed me to deal with enemies while staying far away from them, and I anticipated Gravity Well being a huge asset to stack on top of Crippling Chill and Ray of Frost’s debuffs.

They all seemed like they were equally important parts of my fighting style. Choosing one to prioritize just seemed wrong. Like choosing a favorite child.

But I had to do it. I considered my options once again. When thinking about the Upgrade that Noxious Grasp had just gotten, I felt I should really prioritize anything that drained Stamina, so I could maximize what I gained from Venomous Grasp. And, well, there was only really one Spell that did that – Crippling Chill.

So, that was the Spell I started to spend my time practicing. It had the added benefit of also being able to damage Erani in small increments, that way she could continue to practice Angelic Shield, too. The shield blocked the Stamina drain, but unfortunately it couldn’t do anything about the lowered Dexterity. And, with only a 10 in the Stat, she would get completely paralyzed by the Spell.

“So, should we just sit and take a fifteen-second rest every time you cast it on me, then?” Erani asked when I explained that I was going to be focusing on Crippling Chill from now on.

“We could… but sitting around and doing nothing for fifteen whole seconds? Sounds like a waste of time to me.”

“...No, not really,” she looked at me, confused. “It’s just fifteen seconds, and the amount of damage I’d have to prevent would drain enough Mana that we’d only have to do it once, like, every twenty minutes.”

“Right, but I think it would be better if we kept moving while practicing,” I smiled

“And how would you propose we do that? I’d be paralyzed.”

“Like this.”

You have cursed Level 10 Human Sorcerer with Crippling Chill. For the next 15 seconds, she loses 6.38 Health and 5.1 Stamina each second, and her Dexterity score is lowered by 12.8.

50.9 Mana Cost. Your Mana is 509.

Before Erani could collapse, I caught her and lifted her off the ground in a princess carry, one arm under her back and the other under her legs, so that she was looking up at me. I knew she couldn’t say anything due to the paralysis, but I could see in her eyes a mix of rage, embarrassment, and something else I couldn’t really identify. She blushed hard, though, and that was the goal. The Nymph looked at us strangely, but eventually shrugged and continued forward.

“Isn’t this so much more efficient?” I snickered to her. When I got no response – as expected – I just kept walking forward. I probably wouldn’t ever hear the end of this, but I’d take the time to enjoy it for now.

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