I launched into an explanation of how I create spells. The sign language. Latin, The math. But also the meaning behind the words. “I’ve only ever taught someone how to play a song in this game, so I’m not sure exactly how this will work, but my understanding is that if somebody shows the basics of a skill, I can unlock it for them.”
I pulled my Spell Book out, setting it down on the table. “Can anybody see my Spell Book?” I asked. I’d never tried to read from somebody else’s Spell Book.
“Nope,” Raspberry said.
“Okay,” I said. Too bad. They would have been so easy had I been able to transfer spells into their books like I had taken patterns from Dread. I remember Ilrune’s advice about teaching. Give people as little as they need. Don’t over explain. “Get out your Spell Books,” I said.
I demonstrated Rejuvenate 2 on myself.
All seven of my students did the same. The variation was wild. The words were off, the hand motions were different. Not a single person executed the healing spell.
“Don’t we need mana for this?” Kab asked.
“Actually no,” I said. “The first time you cast a spell, it will activate without any mana. Keep practicing.”
I walked around the group, giving them little pointers, but most of them were doing things right as far as I could tell.
I focused on Kab. I knew he had played a healer in past MMOs. If anyone could pick this up it was him. His hands brushed his chest. He called out Magna Juvenis . The pronunciation sounded right.
“What are you thinking about when you cast the spell?” I asked.
“Returning to Youth,” he said.
That seemed correct. “Do you understand the math?”
“Maybe?” He said. “It’s kind of complicated. I get the heal. And the heal over time. They’re both equivalent to my Intellect. But what happens when the hots stack?”
I realized that intuitively, I had been adding the second heal on top of a fraction of what was left from the first heal. A prorated amount. It wasn’t represented in my formula, but I had been doing it anyway. Was it possible that my Spell Book was incorrect, but because it was correct in my thought pattern that this was enough for the spell to work?
I explained the new math. “Try it again,” I said.
A moment later, a prompt appeared.
Kab has demonstrated the basics of Rejuvenate 2. Would you like to teach him the spell? Yes/No.
I accepted the prompt.
A green number erupted over his head.
“That’s it!” he said. “I got it!”
The whole group cheered for him, then gathered around.
I smiled. “Go ahead,” I said. “Tell them what we figured out.”
Kab launched into an explanation. He clearly understood the math, explaining it perfectly. He spoke from experience, relating the spell back to previous spells they’d used in other games. This group seemed to have their own language from years of playing together.
In the next few moments, I received prompt after prompt. As I accepted them, green numbers floated over each of the casters in the room. Even the DPS casters picked up the healing spell.
As each person acquired a spell, I racked up Job Points in the Instructor Job. Thirty every time someone learned a new spell.
Arthur came up to me and clasped me on the shoulder, a big smile on his face. “This is amazing,” he said. “Thank you.”
I smiled.
“I wanted you to see this firsthand,” he said. His eyes went blank for a moment, distracted by something in his interface. A light shone down, bathing him in a glowing aura.
Everyone paused to stare.
His nameplate changed.
People cheered.
“I’m going down to work with Janica on my combat skills,” he said. “Keep up the good work.”
In the corner of the room, Kab, Olivia, and Twotacos huddled together. A heated discussion took place in which they planned out a series of experiments. They logged out and back in, testing new hand movements, commands, and formulas.
I pulled Raspberry to the side and showed her the elements of Fireball.
A grin spread over her face that scared me a little bit. So much so, in fact, that I set up a Target Dummy in the corner of the meeting room, nervous that she would figure out Fireball and burn the inn down.
I showed Lightning and Thunder how to cast Lightning Strike.
With the group mostly independent at this point, I pulled Reeba and Blitzcraig aside. These were the two that wanted Earth and Ice spells, respectively. “I don’t know any of your schools of magic yet,” I said. “But maybe you can help me.” I explained the basics. “The trick,” I said, “is finding a combination that works. Fire uses a two-to-one multiplier of Intelligence. I don’t know about Earth or Ice yet.”
“How will we know if we get it right?” Reeba asked.
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As if in answer, I got a prompt.
Olivia demonstrated the basics of Healing Rain. Would you like to teach her the spell? Yes/No.
“Watch your heads,” I called out. “You can thank Olivia for the shower.” I accepted the prompt.
Rain sprinkled down in the room.
I looked up, letting the drizzle soak my face. I smiled. The rain felt cleansing.
People laughed and cursed at the same time. They congratulated Olivia. I had never felt anything like this. A group of people working together toward a common love. The passion and determination. The camaraderie. I wasn’t on the inside yet. But I wasn’t on the outside either.
I looked to Reeba. “That’s how you’ll know.”
Over the next hour, the three of us tried every Ice and Earth spell we could think of. Ice Shard, Ice Bolt, Ice Lance, Sleet and Blizzard. We tried Earth Shield, Earth Bolt, Rock Armor, Earth Shard. My Spell Book filled with bits and pieces.
Meanwhile the healers managed two more spells. “Heal,” a three second spell, doing healing equal to a person's Wisdom; And Mend, which healed a percentage of the person's health every time they took damage and scaled based on the target's max health. This discovery was a revelation. Spells could scale based on more than just Intelligence. It opened up dozens of combinations. Were there spells that scaled based on Dexterity or even Strength?
After that, the healers came to help us figure out earth and ice magic. With eight of us trying to invent spells, we had what my math teacher used to call the ability to solve a problem using brute force. Trial and error. Testing every combination through experiment until we got it.
And we did. Ice magic used Dexterity as a primary stat. Which made some sense because it was the stat that increased a person's critical strike chance. I filled my Spell Book with Ice Nova, Ice Shard, and Ice Block.
Lightning and Thunder found two new spells. The first was Zap, a cheap spell that did little damage, but stunned the target for half of a second. Its damage was based on Perception. Good for interrupting mobs on a short cooldown. But the second spell they found opened up so many possibilities; Mist was a Nature spell that sprayed water in a frontal cone that created a debuff on all targets in an area that allowed lightning damage to spread between all targets effected.
When Reeba finally invented an Earth spell, a set of rocks emerged from her shoulders, torso and legs, like plated armor.
We cheered.
“What was it?” Kab asked.
She shook her head. “Strength,” she said. “It’s a Strength school.”
“Bummer,” Kab said. “Limits you pretty hard.”
She looked pensive. “Actually… I’m kinda into it. Maybe I’ll be a caster tank. I’ll get all beefy and hurl rocks around. That spell was called Earth Armor.”
As I prepared to cast it on myself, my heart pounded in anticipation. I paused to soak in the moment. This was my last school of magic before I would accomplish a goal that I had strived for since the moment Janica and I had decided to go back into the dungeon. It didn’t feel right to do this by myself.
“Where are you going?” Reeba asked me.
“Downstairs,” I said. “I want Janica to see this.”
“I’m coming with,” she said.
“Me too,” Twotacos said.
Downstairs, the melee team had split into groups, fighting each other, testing skills.
Janica flew around like a boss. “When Rowan uses Phalanx,” she called out, “You need to gather much quicker than that. Everyone with a shield.”
This was as good a place as any. I targeted Janica. I yelled, “ Terra Armis,” and did the sign.
Plates of earth encased her body.
She stopped, looking at herself, eyes wide. She turned to me.
Congratulations, you unlocked the Elementalist Job.
Job: Elementalist, Rank 4 Job
Passive 1: Casting Ice, Fire, Earth, or Nature Spells each increases critical strike chance and movement speed by 10% for 8 seconds, stacking up to 4 times.
Passive 2:
Skill 1: None
Skill 2: None
Skil 3: None
On Level Up: 2 Constitution, 5 Dexterity, 5 Wisdom, 5 Intelligence, 5 Strength, 5 Perception
Requirements: One memorized spell from each of the following schools: Ice, Fire, Earth, Nature
Now I understood. Even though the Job didn’t have any spells of its own, the passive and level-up bonuses were so strong that that’s all the Job needed to completely change my game. With my set bonuses that added critical strike chance as well as returning half of my mana when I got a crit, there was some amazing synergy in my build. Unfortunately, I didn’t own the Skills that I wanted for my Loadout. Yet. By unlocking three spells in the Fire school and Ice school, we had unlocked the Pyromancer and Cryomancer Jobs. And soon we would unlock the Geomancer and Storm Mage Jobs. But to acquire a spell from those Jobs, I was going to have to work to earn enough JP to buy a spell from each Job. I would also need to teach Rowan or Cassandra Rhythm and Tempo. I wouldn’t have space for them in my Loadout in the near future. I put that on my list of things to do.
I changed my Loadout so everyone could see my new Job.
I heard some oohs and ahhs.
“I did it!” Janica raised her fist.
“What do you mean you did it?” I said.
“Exactly what I said,” she said. “Best guide in the game. By far.”
“What’s the big deal?” Reeba asked.
I linked the passive in the raid chat. That got people’s attention.
Arthur pulled me from my self-congratulations. “Less than fifteen hours until we lose everything. It’s time for phase two of the plan.”