Chapter 176

Reborn

Cain stared at the list of spells he’d created with a satisfied smile; though he wasn’t absolutely certain whether they’d be the permanent ones he’d be using to fight, for the first draft, he was quite satisfied. Furthermore, by tinkering with the system again, he’d discovered a new set of limitations and ways in which the system worked.

For instance, the biggest gateway for him, at the moment, was Mana -- so, he tried to create a spell that only had one purpose -- restore his Mana. However, he realized it was impossible because ‘restore his Mana’ was considered an affix -- a spell-augmentation that he didn’t innately have access to.

He wasn’t a stranger to the ‘affixes’; they were, usually, elements of a spell that didn’t occur naturally, such as Mana recovery, and had to be either carved through a Rune into the spell, or, which was far more common for the Conquerors, lifted off of an item that had that affix. Furthermore, it can only be used once, and if Cain were to destroy a spell, he’d also destroy the affix in the process.

In many ways, outside the core framework, the way in which he created skills now and before remained largely the same, with mostly the same restrictions and laws. As such, he’d created four offensive spells, two defensive, and one additional utility skill besides the movement-ones he’d already created beforehand. The arsenal was fairly limiting, but there was no point in creating dozens and hundreds of spells just yet as, firstly, he’d probably forget 90% of them in the heat of the battle, not to mention that he’d never learn to use any of them optimally.

//Coiling Storm(B)

Passive: Gain 1 charge every 30 seconds, up to 3 charges.

Cast: Instant

Mana Cost: 300

Use: Fire off an array of firebolts at three nearest enemies, dealing 2*Intelligence damage to each. If an enemy is struck by 3 consecutive charges, it is also set on fire, obtaining ‘Burning’ debuff which deals 4*Intelligence as damage over 18 seconds.//

//Infernal Starlight(B+)

Channel: 3s

Mana Cost: 600/s

Cooldown: 16s

Channel: Unleash an army of infernal arms surrounding you that burst out with starlight upon hitting an enemy target; every enemy within 30 yards is repeatedly struck over the duration for 2.5*Intelligence as damage, gaining ‘Burning’ debuff in the process. Furthermore, each strike has a 5% chance to refresh a charge of ‘Coiling Storm’ and automatically fire it off. Each enemy is struck at minimum 9 and at maximum 27 times, depending on the channel time. If you move during the channel, Mana Cost will go up to 900/s.//

//Void Annihilation(C)

Cast: 1s

Mana Cost: 500

Cooldown: 1min

Use: Create 16 dimensional bubbles around the targeted area; every 0.5s for 8 seconds, the dimensional bubbles will fire off a random, offensive spell from your arsenal at the nearest enemy for 45% of the spell’s original efficiency without consuming any Mana. Note: every aspect of the Skills persist, including their passive components.//

//Searing Mind(D+)

Cast: 3s

Mana Cost: 1000

Cooldown: 12min

Use: Deal 4*Intelligence damage to the targeted enemy over 18 seconds. Furthermore, each tick of damage has a 20% chance to trigger a single cast of ‘Void Annihilation’. Each trigger of it increases the damage of next trigger by 20%, stacking through. At the end of the duration, the target explodes in a ring of flames, dealing 1.5*Intelligence to every enemy within 20 yards and granting them ‘Burning’ debuff for 8 seconds.//

Looking once again at his four offensive Skills, Cain nodded in satisfaction; they weren’t perfect, but they complimented each other well enough along with being consistent with his fighting style. Due to the fairly limiting raw Elements he could use offensively, it also meant that his pattern of attacks couldn’t really be that wild, yet he still felt he made enough difference with it he won’t be read immediately. As for the utility Skill, he settled on one that temporarily empowered him:

//Ascendance(C-)

Cast: Instant

Mana Cost: 800

Cooldown: 6min

Use: Temporarily unshackle your Mind’s limits, increasing the damage you deal by 60% for 12 seconds and increasing the chance for a critical strike by 40%. Furthermore, for 12 seconds, you become immune to ALL Mind-type damage and control skills.//

Thought the window of use was fairly short, and it was unlikely he’d be able to use it twice per fight, at least until he rises the Skill’s level, immense boost to damage lined up relatively well with other skills. With enough procs, he actually calculated his damage could, in theory at least, match that of Senna when she wasn’t burning through her cooldowns -- which was fairly insane considering the discrepancy in their levels, items, and stats. That was, however, under very specific conditions and for a very, very short duration whereas Senna could, at minimum, maintain that sort of damage evenly throughout the fight, with much higher spikes.

Still, there likely was never a more powerful Level 1 before -- at least here, on Earth. He foresaw he could easily battle enemies good 30 levels up on him, especially if we could get his hands on some Mana-related affixes and items that could help him sustain through extremely expensive Skills for his Mana pool which was at 4400. Without even touching the two defensive Skills, one, single rotation of his damage actually burned through his entire Mana pool. And even with passive recovery which, thanks to his fairly high Wisdom was somewhat decent, he would be spent within 30 seconds of a fight. This was the genuine issue with his new Path that he foresaw -- while raw Elements certainly offered lesser numbers, they also didn’t burn through Mana like fire through a dry cornfield.

//Mindbend(C+)

Cast: Instant

Mana Cost: 33% of Max Mana

Cooldown: 9min

Use: Unleash a wave of solid, Mind energy around you, knocking every enemy back 15 yards and slowing them for 60% for 8 seconds. Furthermore, your body gains a coating of the same energy, shielding you for 60% of every tick of damage you receive for 8 seconds, healing you for the same amount after the expiration.//

//Flamewoven(B)

Cast: Instant

Mana Cost: 50% of Max Mana

Health Cost: 10% of Current Health

Cooldown: 1h

Use: Coat yourself in the suit of fire, gaining 80% damage reduction for 15 seconds and dealing 688 Fire Damage back to your attackers. Furthermore, for the duration, become immune to all controlling effects and gain a burst of 77% movement speed for 1 second every 3 seconds. At the effect’s end, unleash a torrent of fire around you, knocking everyone -- foes and friends alike -- back 30 yards and stunning them for 2 seconds.//

Cain was quite surprised that the Spell Creation even allowed him to create the Skills of his caliber; in truth, despite their rather insane costs and cooldown ratios, Cain saw himself using them... forever. Both worked wonders for what he required -- nothing and no one to be around him. Furthermore, they could both be cast instantly and at the same time, rendering him effectively immortal for 15~ seconds.

Problem was, if he cast either of these, let alone both of them, his Mana would just evaporate in thin air. There were fixes, however; one specific affix came into Cain’s mind that, though difficult to uproot, would fix this issue entirely. The affix came with a randomly-gained Orb on the 2nd Floor and was called ‘Mana Well’ -- essentially, each time he expended more than 10% of Mana in one go, he’d refund 70% of the cost instantly, and extra 20% over the next 12 seconds. Like a lot of these affixes, it had 3 charges, and required roughly 2 minutes from what Cain remembered to refresh 1 charge.

While it was on the item, however, it activated regardless of the wearer’s wishes -- but if Cain could turn it into a spell, and then use it just before he used the defensives...

He marked it as a priority target, and even wrote it down. Though none of these issues would necessarily cripple him in the short-term, it was best if he actually put some forethought into his future this time around beyond ‘I will grab these items and do these bosses’. Though what he told Senna, that he would bail if he hit a wall, was true, that didn’t mean he wanted it to happen; if possible, he never wanted to hit that wall, a wall that would test the core of his will all over again. And if even wanted a chance at that happening... he had to plan out everything far more smoothly.

Closing the windows of the Skills, he took a deep breath and fixed his tie, putting on a jacket. The sun was blaring, but the world was silent; he turned sideways and saw Emma stepping out of the bedroom with Lana holding her hand, both draped in mostly black. Cain didn’t know what kind of magic Emma worked on Lana as the little girl hadn’t stopped crying at all since they told her Diya had died, but she had somehow managed to calm her. The small one, though red-eyed and sour-faced, wasn’t crying, even if her head was hung low.

“Ready?” Cain asked.

“Yeah. Well, as ready as you can be.” Emma replied, sighing. “You?”

“If you’d have let me get my buzz on--”

“--not today, C’,” Emma interrupted with a faint smile. “Please.”

“... alright,” Cain nodded after a brief silence. “Not today. Shall we?” he extended his hand toward her.

“Yeah,” she nodded, taking it and pressing it tightly. “Let’s.”