Mature Content Warning: A little cursing

Author's Notes:

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Chapter 9: Blue Water Fang

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The waves lapped gently at the shore as Scott gazed out to sea. One again he had taken on the guise of the fisherman. His scales and fins gleamed in the midday sun. There was a lot on his mind at the moment and he was uncertain what to do about any of it.

Rhea would return in a few hours. A conversation that was long overdue, but unwanted would have to take place. The sorcerer did not know what to do, what to say. Their relationship had just started to become coherent. They had just moved beyond the angst and bullshit to start to have something more innocent, something good.

He took in a deep breath and then sighed slowly. His hands gripped at the sand and crushed it into two small handfuls. Things could go badly, there was little doubt that there would be hurt feelings and a lot of it had to do with him.

Scott looked down at the sand then closed his eyes. He cared for both girls a great deal. He could even say that he loved them, and do so with a straight face. People had fallen for each other in far less time than they had spent together. Sure, such whirlwind romances rarely lasted for a lifetime, but they did happen.

Rhea had come into his life out of nowhere. Ero had been much the same, though the build-up was a little longer. Scott was not as stupid as he liked to act at times. He had a good idea why the three of them meshed so well. He sighed once more then nodded. “We are some lonely ass people.”

He wanted to kill something. His fingers practically itched because they were not actively doing so even at that moment. There was something wrong with him, something disturbing had started to build within the man and he did not think that he should like it so much.

Scott closed his eyes and thought about the situation that he had gotten into due to his resistance to jumping into a relationship. He was now torn between two women, and neither of them was exactly normal.

One was a literal goddess who would live forever, and did not fully understand human thought processes. Rhea was the form he knew, but she was not the true face of the girl he had started to fall for.

Ero, she was a fairy so he had thought that they could remain good friends due to their biological differences. However, that was not entirely the case. At some point she would be able to change her size to one that was more human, and keep it that way when she wanted. Even now, she was capable of being full-size while visiting him in his dreams.

Both of those girls meant a lot to the man, but he was not one of those people who could feel pride in that fact. He was terrible at maintaining relationships. How could someone like him manage two of them at once without hurting someone who he cared about?

Rhea had already given her blessing, in a begrudging manner, but that did not mean that she was happy about the situation. Ero, claimed that she loved both Scott and Rhea, but she was mostly interested in interesting things that involved Scott.

“Dammit, can’t I just have a normal fantasy world adventure? Why do I have to deal with relationships!” Scott said it loudly, but with little heat. He enjoyed his time with the girls, it was just frustrating.

“Like, I know what you mean.” said a familiar voice.

Scott turned to the new arrival and nodded. “Hi, Neira.”

“Hi, tall, finned, and handsome. Are you, like, swimming my way?” asked the mermaid. She exaggerated a flutter of her eyelashes then crossed her eyes for added effect.

He laughed at her softly and then shook his head. “I’ve got enough trouble with pretty girls for the moment, Neira. I need uglier friends.”

She stuck out her tongue at him and then flopped out of the surf. Scott walked over and picked her up and then carried her over to his sand dune. The girl leaned her head against his she enjoyed the closeness of the moment. She could have gotten used to being carried around.

After Scott put her down she adjusted her position then patted the sand next to her. “Sit and tell big sister all about it.”

Scott sat down and smiled at her. “Since when are you my sister?”

“Since you grew fins, but wouldn’t give me babies.” said Neira. She pouted at him cutely then eyed his closest fin casually.

“Fair enough.” said Scott.

“No it isn’t. You and Rhea have, like, no idea what you’re doing to Me and Kiley... We have to dive into the ocean just to cool off.” she said with a smile.

“Who knew a mermaid was so hot-blooded.” said the sorcerer.

Neira pushed against him with her shoulder and then sighed. “Yeah... We, so, can’t help it. We don’t get to meet new people that often.”

Scott glanced over at the girl then pushed against her with his shoulder as well. She smiled in response, but said nothing.

The sorcerer said, “We’ll rescue your people. I am sorry that it is taking so long.”

Neira nodded. “It’s fine. This happens now and then. Usually the queen will summon help from the deep, but she’s away visiting her lover in Anatola.”

“The queen could defeat the Shar-Shar?” asked Scott. How strong was their queen?

“Oh, shyeah, totally. She’s, like, super strong. A few hundred Shar-Shar are no big deal for her.” said Neira.

“A few hundred? I thought there was, like, one hundred.” said Scott, while mimicking her speech pattern.

Neira winced then looked away. “Well, there were a hundred... but that was the raiding party.”

“How many Shar-Shar are we looking at?”

She coughed and then said, “Only six or seven hundred...”

Scott stared at her blankly for a moment. He should have felt used, betrayed, disgusted. She had lied to them or at least omitted something important. However, he felt none of that. What he did feel was curiously excited. “Are they stronger than the ones we have been fighting here?”

Neira snorted. “Not even. Most of them are a little weaker, actually. Their chief is way stronger, but not by much.”

Scott blinked. How could someone be way stronger, but not much stronger? Whatever, did it really matter?

“I know it is really rude to ask this, and you can tell me it is none of my business. But what level is your queen and the Shar-Shar chief.”

“That’s rude to you?” asked Neira in surprise.

“Well, not to me personally, but humans seem to find it rude to ask.” said Scott. He honestly did not care if someone asked him to reveal his level. He would be able to make that choice.

“Oh, so that’s why I can’t see yours? Humans hide their levels, right?” asked Neira.

Scott considered what she said for a moment. “I am not hiding mine on purpose, though I don’t mind it being hidden.”

“I see. I have only seen a few humans before, so I wasn’t sure.” said the mermaid.

She tilted her head to the side and looked him in the eyes. “Anyway, can’t you, like, see my level?”

He started to tell her that he could not, but then he thought about something he had just changed. When he had gained his survival skills he had acquired several new abilities. He had figured out how most of them worked, but the observation skill eluded him.

“I should be able to see your level?” asked Scott.

“Shyeah, totally.” She leaned back and posed cutely for him. “Go ahead. Look at me, closely.”

What could it hurt? Scott stared at the girl for a moment. Nothing happened at first but after he relaxed his gaze slightly brief images began to flicker around her. He lost sight of them for a moment, but after taking a few deep breaths the images slowly faded into view.

He had not spent more than a moment looking at anyone or anything recently, unless you counted Rhea and Ero. Now he wanted to see levels and stats, so when his eyes centered on Neira with a relaxed gaze her level rose up above her head!

“You’re level thirty-four?” asked Scott.

She clapped her hands happily. “Good job. Now reward your teacher.”

Neira closed her eyes and puckered her lips. She opened her left eye after a few seconds passed. “Not even a little kiss?”

“Ah, sorry...” said Scott. He really did not want to make things worse than they already were.

Neira pouted at him then nodded. “Right, can a girl get a handshake at least.”

Neira stretched out her hand and Scott took it then gave it a firm and friendly shake. The girl made a goofy face when he released her hand, and she kissed the back of it. “See, I got my kiss anyway.”

“Right.” said Scott with a smile.

She stuck her tongue out at him and then flapped her tail a few times. “Scott, you seem like a nice guy. You should, so, stop stressing. If she loves you, she loves you.”

“Neira, I don’t know...”

She shook her head then bumped him with her shoulder again. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, but I’ve been engaged for a while. I don’t love Kiley any less when she notices someone else or I catch her kissing another girl. Other girls are pretty too, you know.”

Scott gave her a sour expression, “Humans aren’t so laid back...”

“Too bad...” she said.

Neira leaned back against the sand and looked up at him with a cute expression. “If you can’t love someone enough to accept that they can love someone other than you, is it really love?”

Scott looked away from the beautiful sight of the reclining mermaid. She made a good point. It would never fly in a normal human relationship. He certainly wouldn’t like it if Rhea or Ero decided to play tonsil hockey with other guys on the side. “I guess I am a jealous sort of person. I wouldn’t like it if Ero or Rhea went around loving another guy. So, I expect them to have the same issue when I love another girl.”

“Right, but you’re wrong.” said Neira.

“I am?” He was pretty sure that he had it right.

“I said love. I didn’t say mate. Love is love. Mating is just... Mmmmm” said the girl, her voice trailing off.

He watched her moan for a moment. It was certainly an interesting sight. Ero would have loved it if she had not needed a nap after having her level raised to six. Scott would never get the image of her fairygasming out of his head.

“You’re pretty wise, Neira.” said Scott.

She smiled at him. “Right, I am totally wise and stuff.”

Scott laughed a little and she pouted. She had been serious when she had agreed with him.

“I’m glad to see that you’ve cheered up.” said Neira. She folded her arms across her chest then puffed out her cheeks like a blowfish.

It was an adorable sort of expression, but he was immune to it after having dealt with Rhea and Ero for so a while now. It was hard to believe that he had only been in this world for about two months. He had known Rhea for about half that time and Ero for a little over a week! Yet, they were all confession their love like they lived in some sort of RPG-based daytime television soap opera.

Scott muttered, “These are the games of our lives...”

“What?” asked Neira.

He shook his head then rocked forward and stood up. “Nothing important... Thanks for the talk big sister.”

“Yay! You said it.” She clapped her hands together once and then smiled. Her eyes were wide with joy and mischief.

“Sure, just don’t ask me to let you call me daddy.”

She laughed at him, and then her face turned bright red. “What kind of family is that?”

He shrugged. “Well, I am from the South...”

“South what?” she asked curiously.

Scott looked at her for a moment then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter... I’m going to go do a little hunting to clear my head. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“Hey, wait! Can’t I come with you?” asked Neira. She looked at him with a hopeful expression.

“You could, but what about Kiley? She’ll be here all alone.” said Scott. Honestly, he wanted to hunt alone at the moment.

He would not press the issue, though. He mostly just wanted to kill something.

Neira pouted at him then sighed. “Well, you’re right. I shouldn’t leave her alone...” admitted the girl reluctantly.

Scott nodded at her then asked, “Do you want help getting back to the ocean?”

“Oh yes, help me.” She smiled prettily at him, opened her arms, and flapped her tail.

He narrowed his eyes them smiled. He had only met two mermaids so far, but they seemed to be innocent and loving girls. They were a bit too free with their love, though most guys would probably think of this situation as some sort of jackpot.

The sorcerer leaned down then hefted the girl into his arms. She immediately snuggled against his chest and made a happy little noise. He smiled at her then started off toward the ocean. Let her have her fun. On the way he could not help but wish her the best. She had originally seemed interested in boys, but more comfortable around girls. Now, she was just as comfortable around him as she was around the girls here.

When they reached the water she sighed softly. She leaned back and unleashed a cute pout.

Scott smiled at her in a friendly way. “Well, this is where you get off.”

She reached up and patted him on the cheek. “If the world was, like, a little more fair...”

Scott blinked at her and she giggled softly before starting to wriggle in his arms. He was forced to release her into the water. He turned around in a circle as the beautiful girl swam around him twice and allowed her tail to brush his legs.

Neira lifted her head out of the water. “Listen to big sister’s love advice... It’s good for you.” She gave him an exaggerated and saucy wink before diving forward into the water again.

After she was gone Scott sighed. “It’s the fins... It’s gotta be the fins.”

He flexed his fins open then grinned. Hell yeah. Bitches love fins. He felt bad, for a moment, after thinking that, but since it actually elevated his mood a little he chose not to dwell on it.

Scott stepped further into the water and then walked down into the sea. A single breath was all it took to readjust to the watery lifestyle known to ocean dwellers.

He slipped through the water like a knife through butter. A creature of the sea, he was as at home there was he was on land. Scott equipped his underwater gear and pulled out his coral spear. It was time to work off some of his frustrations.

It took a few minutes, but he located a small school of finnies. The smiling bastards sped toward him. Their teeth gleamed in the light. The calypso beat of steel drums and soothing island music shifted to one of vigor and battle.

Scott wasted no time. He quickly whirled his spear around above his head then cried out, “Howling Gale!”

The spear slammed downward. A ripping, shredding, current raced outward like underwater tornado. The dozen or so finnies in the school were sucked into the effect despite several of them being outside the immediate area. That was the greatest thing about this attack. It sucked in nearby monsters, a factor that made it difficult to defend against.

A series of damage numbers rapidly rose above the heads of the monsters, and the entire school of finnies burst into light. He was several levels higher than they were, and his overall damage potential with this ability in the water was well beyond their natural resistance.

The battle had ended too quickly for another group to appear, yet. A loud and joyous victory tune played in the background for a moment and a battle report appeared.

<<< Battle Report >>>

You defeated fourteen Razor Toothed Finnies in a solo battle!

+ 840 EXP

+ 670 Fayth

+ 14 Ability Points

Item(s) Acquired:

Silvery Fish Scales X 14

Finnie Fangs X 6

Fresh Finnie Fillet X 7

Fish Eye X 3

>>

Scott dismissed the battle report then continued the hunt. Since he had acquired survival skills he had managed to gain a little more whenever he killed an opponent. Finnies now dropped fillets, and had a flavor similar to tilapia.

“Come to daddy you smiling bastards...” said Scott with a smile of his own. It did not take long to find the next group and then the next.

His new capacity to synchronize his spells with his weapons was clearly overpowered when fighting monsters on or below his level. Over an hour passed and he had slain over two hundred of the rapidly spawning fish monsters before something changed.

Scott had moved farther and farther out to sea. He had expended over half his mana to annihilate several schools of the smiling fish, and had reached a point where he was roughly half way to reaching level nineteen.

He was excited at that prospect, but he would not willingly go to the next level. He planned to spend his experience points and ability points to upgrade Ero a little. If he could manage to help her reach level ten, it would make battles easier. As it stood, he was a little over a thousand points shy of raising her level two more times. He had emptied his entire experience pool into her earlier, much to her enjoyment. It would take around thirty-thousand total experience points for the perky fairy to go from level six to level ten.

Something strange had started to occur during the last few battles, however. Chunks of finnie were left behind in the water. Just like the chunks of burning Shar-Shar that rained down when he used his burn spell, the finnies started to leave their blood and entrails behind in small amounts.

Scott had become unnerved by that, to be honest. Yet, he decided that it was just an idiosyncrasy of the world. He was probably killing them so fast that the chunks did not register as monster parts. It made as much sense as burning merman chunks raining down instead of turning into motes of light.

He did instinctively turn back toward the shore, however. The ocean grew darker once you left the shore. He could see much better in the water now than he could before, but his vision was still not perfect. There could literally be anything hiding beneath the surface.

The sorcerer felt a strange chill in the water, or perhaps it was his own fear that he felt. He did not know why, but the fun and easy hunt he had been experiencing up until this point had suddenly become cold and dark. The water was quiet. There were no finnies anywhere to be seen.

In fact, there were no fish anywhere. I was like the entire ocean had undergone a mandatory evacuation. The only thing in the water nearby was the blood and guts of his recent opponents.

Scott stared at the guts floating in the water. Should it be suspended in the water like that? The hair on the back of his neck rose up. He realized what must be going on, despite a distinct lack of system messages.

The sorcerer turned quickly and swam toward shore at all possible speed. He struggled with everything he had, but his heart sank as system messages finally appeared.

<<< Message >>>

Predators of the deep have sensed your indiscriminate slaughter. The waters have been chummed with the blood of gore of your opponents....

>>

Chum! The waters had been chummed. Scott tried to move his body faster, but it was futile. He could hear the fun and friendly calypso music slowly ebb away.

A low, dangerous, tone began to play. *Duh... Duhn... Duh... Duhn... Duh... Duhn *

His eyes widened as the simplistic musical score brought to mind a horror movie series that seemed terrifyingly appropriate for the moment. He spared a glance back and saw nothing but darkness.

However, the music tempo increased slightly. *Duh Duhn.. Duh Duhn.. Duh Duhn*

His heart began to beat rapidly as he could feel an impossibly strong presence nearby. His survival skills had granted him observational powers. He could literally feel death coming for him.

*DuhDuhn, Duh Duhn, Duh Duhn*

Like the sinister heartbeat of a practiced murderer, the music perfectly accentuated the moment. Scott glanced back once more. This time he saw a vague outline in the far distance. It was a big outline.

“Fuck!” he said quietly before swimming for everything he had. Whatever that thing was it was freaking massive.

The tempo of the background music suddenly became loud and rapid, like a heart straining with all its might. *Duh-Duhn-Duh-Duhn-Duh-Duhn*

Scott could see the shore in the far distance. If he could swim a little faster, last a little longer, he could make it! He was almost there!

His heart felt as though it might burst due to the exertion. The tempo became a frenetic and angry heart beat mixed with discordant guitar riffs.

He glanced back once more and saw that the shadow in the distance was not nearly as distant as it was before. It was still a vague outline, but he recognized the shape.

Scott tore at the water, desperate to escape oncoming death. He had a strong suspicion that the thing coming for him would prove to be far more than he could legitimately handle. The music tempo continued to increase and the tension mounted more, and more. He no longer looked back. Instead, he focused on swimming. He was almost to the shore. He could make it!

In fact, the music seemed to agree with him. The dangerous heartbeat background abruptly stopped. Scott glanced back and the shadowy monstrosity had disappeared. Maybe he had swam outside of its hunting area?

He did not stop to assess, instead he turned his head back toward shore. He did so just in time to see the biggest freaking shark that he had ever seen pop up out of nowhere.

Scott barely had time to try and evade, and did so poorly. The shark’s massive jaws narrowly missed their meal, but Scott was scraped by its steel-like scales in passing. A bright red number thirty-two popped up above his head. Simply brushing against the creature had taken more than ten percent of his health!

The sorcerer knew that he would not be able to outrun the monster. It had been stalking him the entire time. Fish guts were not what it had been seeking. With a cry he whirled his spear around and fired off a howling gale.

The underwater tornado hit the powerful monster cleanly, but to Scott’s horror a series of zeroes and ones rose up from its body. His most powerful underwater technique was useless against it.

The creature banked in a slow, casual, manner. It acted like it owned the ocean, and it probably did.

Scott prepared to dodge once more, but the massive shark began to glow with a dark radiance. The sorcerer instinctively hurled his body straight down through the water in a bid to avoid the oncoming attack. It was a movement that would have been difficult for a normal human being, but with the soul of the fisherman activated, movement in the water was incredibly easy.

A blast of dark energy raced by overhead. His health dropped by another twelve points just for being close to the attack.

“Shit!” cried Scott. It was deadly just to be around this thing.

He could feel himself weakening. He had not been hit cleanly, so his body was not damaged much, but he had still lost around one-sixth of his vital energy.

The metal-clad shark lazily swam toward him, its massive mouth open to receive its dinner. Scott did not have the time to synchronize howling wind, but he did have one thing that he could try. It was something that he had learned recently.

“Freeze!” exclaimed Scott while stabbing the tip of his spear forward and into the monster’s gaping maw. His most commonly used spells required not extra effort to synchronize.

A large block of ice appeared inside the creature’s mouth and froze its jaws open. It began to thrash wildly, and Scott took over sixty points of damage in the process of getting out of its way. However, to Scott’s delight the shark took three hundred points of damage! It wasn’t some impossible boss monster after all.

He immediately considered escaping, but the sound of ice starting to crack caused him to ignore that impulse. Instead, he chose to do something that he had not tried yet. The freeze spell had limited use under water. It had proved invaluable for that shark, but he had mostly used it to encase finnies in ice when he was bored or needed to try out crowd control methods.

The burn! spell did not work right underwater, even with synchronization. However, there was a possibility that his other spell might be useful.

Scott reared his arm back and then hurled his spear with all of his might. The attack received a small bonus from his accuracy due to his spear-fishing related skills. However, the real goal was to deliver a shocking surprise to his fishy-foe.

The spear dinged off the side of the monster. It should have done no damage to the beast. However, the Flash! spell arced outward with a brilliant light and a loud crackling sound. Scott received a strong electric shock and lost a few dozen points of health, but he was far enough away that he managed to survive the electrical power of his attack. Luckily, he did not become paralyzed from the shock. The shark, however, took eight hundred points of damage then stopped thrashing altogether. It was weak to lightning and not a boss monster at all! The mighty behemoth of the deep burst into motes of light. Scott retrieved his spear then smiled at it.

The background music changed quickly. Scott awaited the battle report and was not disappointed.

<<< Battle Report >>>

Victory!

You have defeated a Blue Mithril Shark infant.

+ 240 EXP

+ 52 Fayth

+ 2 Ability Points

Items Acquired

Mithril Scales [large] [Rare]

Blue Fang of the Deep X 1 [Rare]

Shark Meat X 60

Shark Fin

>>

Scott stared at the battle report for a moment and then nodded. “So, it wasn’t even level thirty? What was with that background music?”

He couldn’t understand the purpose of that. Had the game world decided that it wanted to give him a heart attack? The only thing that made sense to him was the thought that the monster was highly resistant to physical damage. A pure fighter would have had no chance at all if they were on a similar level.

The lucky sorcerer swam toward shore once more. He had managed to defeat a powerful monster and learned a valuable lesson about hunting alone. Don’t do it ocean, if you’re far from shore.

Once he made it back to shore he pulled out the items that he had just acquired then nearly collapsed from the joy of it all.

<<< Item >>>

Blue Fang of the Deep [Rare]

The fang of a mithril shark holds great destructive power. It can tear through almost anything.

If you use the Blue Fang of the Deep you can learn the Primal Magic: Blue Water Fang. It is only available to certain aquatic denizens, summoners, sorcerers, and ninja masters.

Would you like to learn this spell? Yes | No

>>

“Sorcerer’s can learn it? Hell Yes! I’ll take a free spell!” said the sorcerer.

Scott clicked on the yes option. A brilliant light flared up around him followed by columns of water. The light and water began to dance in a tight spiral around the man. When the dancing lights and water faded a new message appeared.

<<< Message >>>

You have awakened to the primordial power of water. You may now develop your skills accordingly.

You have learned the Primal Magic: Blue Water Fang

You have gained the magical patterns for flowing water, tearing water, and piercing water.

Your skill information has been updated.

>>

“The hell? Magical patterns?” Scott opened up his status screen and noted that nothing seemed to have changed other than a bit of experience from the shark he had slain. He opened up his skill menu and blinked.

<<< Skill >>>

Primal Magic

Utilize primordial magic directly after experiencing it with your body. Use your innate understanding of the natural forces to create unique new abilities after facing powerful opponents.

>>

“What does that mean? Will I learn monster magic if they hit me with it? Maybe Rhea will know...” Scott closed down the primal magic listing then looked at the spell he had just obtained.

<<< Spell >>>

[Primal] Blue Water Fang [LV. 0]-[Force I] Mana 1[0/100]

Using your connection to the element of water, create a piercing fang of water that tears through those who oppose you.

Elemental water spell, you have a 5% chance to engulf and asphyxiate opponents.

>>

“I wonder what’s different between that spell and the water spell that I can get normally.” Scott still had not acquired all of his basic spells yet due to upgrading his stats, and trying to boost up Ero’s abilities.

Scott turned toward the ocean and thrust out his hand. He thought about the spell, and envisioned something simple as the linking idea. He chose water spraying from a fire hose. “Blue Water Fang!”

Small spiraling columns of water rose up around him then danced in a smooth circle while they flowed upward to a single point above his head. When all of the water had merged together inside the ball a spinning spear of water shot forward toward the sea.

It was a fancy looking effect, but other than its appearance Scott was not impressed. It only had a force of one and used a single point of mana. It could not do that much damage, right?

He tried to cast the spell again, but found out that it actually had a cool down period of one minute. “Seriously? I have to wait a full minute between casts fora spell that weak? I can spam burn...”

Was there something that he was missing? When another minute passed he tried the spell again. The same thing happened. He was confused by the way the spell was designed. It made no sense for a spell that weak to have a cool down effect.

He tried it a third time, but noticed that the water seemed to flow for a longer period of time if he held onto the image of the fire hose.

“Was I imagining it...?” asked Scott to the empty beach. It was possible that he had. However, it was also possible that he had hit on the true power of that spell.

Scott waited till the cool down period ended and then cast the spell again. This time he concentrated on the image of the fire hose for as long as he could. The water continued to flow for nearly a full minute before a much larger spear of water shot forward.

“It’s a spell that can be charged for greater effect!” Scott’s eyes widened. He felt like dancing.

He decided to check his spell again. He grinned at what he found. Instead of three casts out of one hundred, the skill showed nine out of one hundred. Charging it longer counted as multiple uses!

He checked his status and his happy moment quickly faded. His mana had been nearly depleted in the process. Charging it obviously required more than one mana per extra charge. If anything it felt like each additional charge must have cost double compared to the one before.

The cool down period had also increased, it seemed. He had taken a short time to check his information and there was still over a minute left before he could use the spell again.

Scott waited until the waiting period ended then tried the spell again. This time he focused for the pulsing sensation that he had felt before. Once he felt the pulse three times he released his concentration and the large spear of water lanced out with whirling destructive force.

He checked his status then nodded. He had been right. Charging it three additional times caused the spell to require fifteen mana. Scott could not verify it, but he suspected that the additional charges increased the spell force each time. The spell had a debilitating cost, but he was curious to see what would happen when he developed it a bit.

At the moment he could charge it an additional seven times at full mana. After he gained another level he might possibly be able to do it eight times. The destructive force could only be equal to his burn spell at best, at the moment. However, it could be leveled-up. Would the mana cost go down like before? Would something else happen? Scott definitely wanted to find out.

He went back to the tent and checked on Rhea. She was still sleeping soundly. She would probably be back within the next two or three hours. If he rested for a short time then used the tents bonus healing effect, he might be able to reach one hundred casts before she returns.

Scott stretched out on his bedroll and closed his eyes. A short nap sounded like a good idea, either way.