With free time on his hands and nothing too alarming in Mana Sense's current range, John decided to get a deeper look at Spells and Skills. He hadn't had much of a chance to properly analyse them after dumping upgrades into the stats for healing. And he had a lot of Aura to play with.

Level 2 Spells:

Sigil Detonation: 1000 Aura

Earthen Armour: 1000 Aura

Scouring Steam: 1000 Aura

Ice Grasp: 1000 Aura

Illusory Clone: 1000 Aura

Astral Projection: 1000 Aura

Phantom Hand: 1000 Aura

Force Pull: 1000 Aura

Upgrade Burning Gale (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Upgrade Force Push (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Upgrade Fireball (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Upgrade Wind Shear (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Upgrade Mana Blade (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Upgrade Mana Sense (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Upgrade Soul Vision (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

Level 3 Spells:

Heat Vision: 2000 Aura

Ice Breath: 2000 Aura

Thunderous Roar: 2000 Aura

Steel Skin: 2000 Aura

Air Bubble: 2000 Aura

Necrotise: 2000 Aura

Animate Blood: 2000 Aura

Dominate: 2000 Aura

Summon Undead: 2000 Aura

Soul Drain: 2000 Aura

Level 2 Skills:

Inhuman Stamina: 1000 Aura

Iron Fist: 1000 Aura

Eagle Eye: 1000 Aura

Danger Sense: 1000 Aura

Athlete: 1000 Aura

Thief: 1000 Aura

Engineer: 1000 Aura

Rider: 1000 Aura

Ventriloquist: 1000 Aura

Upgrade Accelerate (Level 2 -> Level 3): 2000 Aura

There was no upgrade option for Dual Casting, he noticed. Did that mean two spells was the best he could do, or were greater capacities only available at even higher Skill tiers?

Regardless, there was a lot of tempting stuff on those lists. At the same time, there was plenty that seemed a little underwhelming, too. Particularly the broader Level 2 Skills. Much like Level 1, Level 2's Skills were somewhat divided: half of them seemed to be specialised abilities corresponding to the Stats in some way, while the other half implied a more general set of skills. Looking at these, he couldn't help thinking that Level 1's offerings had been far more enticing.

I can see how they'd be useful. Engineer in particular would have a bunch of practical applications, I'm sure. And Ventriloquist could maybe come in handy if it can let me project my voice in some badass way that isn't occurring to me right now. But they're so… mundane.

It was hard not to be disappointed when Level 1 had given him Ninja and four directly applicable combat skill sets. Marksman and Duellist had already proved their worth big time. On the other hand, if these were implied to be as useful as Dual Casting had turned out to be, he had to consider there might be more to them than their first impressions.

The specialised Skills were more interesting, though the only ideas he could come up with for Inhuman Stamina just sounded like it'd be a better version of Second Wind, which was a little confusing because the latter could be upgraded. They had to be different, somehow.

Iron Fist, Eagle Eye, and Danger Sense seemed pretty straightforward in what effect they'd have, if not in how precisely they'd manifest. He'd hit hard, see far, and, well, sense danger, somehow. Again, the Levels implied they'd be as potent as Dual Casting, and that made them worthy of consideration.

Level 2 Spells again followed a similar pattern to Level 1, though less so. Including what he'd already unlocked, the first five Spells were elemental in nature, while the second five were more unique. They'd all require movement of some sort, judging by the trend he'd noticed.

Sigil Detonation probably involved laying down a sigil, then detonating it from a distance with a gesture. Earthen Armour was obvious, though he couldn't guess its activation method. Scouring Steam didn't take much deduction for its effect, but he theorised it would involve him physically blowing it out, limited by his breath. Ice Grasp sounded like it would either coat his hand in ice or create an icy hand from a nearby body of water for him to operate remotely, following the movements of his real hand.

The existence of Astral Projection implied that Illusory Clone would be some kind of autonomous construct made to look like him, since he didn't think the system would offer him multiple spells that did the same thing, but he couldn't image a low-level ability would be particularly smart. It would probably follow simple instructions implanted beforehand, if he had to guess. Phantom Hand sounded like he'd be able to summon an invisible hand, presumably under his control, mimicking his movements. Force Pull, he assumed, would just be the same thing as Force Push but reversed.

Level 3 Spells was where things got really weird. The first five were, as usual, elemental in some way, and he was beginning to think that would continue to be the case throughout all the Levels. Level 10 would presumably have him chucking around tsunamis and hurricanes. Awesome. But a long way to go before that, and right now…

It was the second half of the list that made him uneasy. As far as he could tell, they pretty much all implied effects that would've been described as something along the lines of Dark Magic if they were in a fantasy world with traditional wizards and whatnot.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He was sure they'd all be useful. Having an undead minion to take aggro for him would be invaluable, and draining the 'soul' of his enemies to weaken them during a fight sounded neat. Necrotise and Animate Blood were more up in the air, but didn't sound pleasant.

And Dominate sounded a whole lot like mind control. Which he wouldn't have any compunctions whatsoever over deploying against monsters.

Problem was, he was fairly confident these would be useable against humans, too, and he wasn't sure how much he trusted himself with that. Admittedly, everything so far could technically be wielded against his fellow man. But there was something different about these Spells. A more sinister vibe. As much as the Aura system had seemed to place a decent amount of value on edginess, he wasn't sure what it would think of outright evil.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he wasn't sure he wanted to know what the Aura system would think of outright evil. If it outright considered mind-controlling fellow human beings to be the coolest thing ever and granted him tons of Aura…

Well, there'd come a time when pragmatism would have to win out. When push came to shove, when his own life was on the line, John suspected he'd choose life over morality, and that frightened him, a bit.

For now, I think I'll hold off on those. Summon Undead will go pretty high up the list, and maybe Animate Blood and Life Drain too. Necrotise just sounds like an ability to inflict necrosis on an enemy, which isn't that impressive.

Dominate, though… That can sit outside the list entirely, in an 'open in case of emergency' box.

With that, he put the dark Spells out of his mind, for the moment.

John sat in silence, fingers steepled beneath his chin, deep in thought. Theorising how the Spells and Skills worked was all well and good, and he could spend days internally debating which had the best utility—but the Rule of Cool factor always had to be a major consideration. There needed to be a balance between function and form, in other words. With perhaps slightly more emphasis on the latter.

That in mind, he had other options to consider, too. Level 1 Spells were plenty useful on their own, and they were upgradeable.

Level 1 Spells:

Electric Shock: 500 Aura

Aqua Shot: 500 Aura

Rock Shield: 500 Aura

Flash Freeze: 500 Aura

Light Burst: 500 Aura

Upgrade Shadow Stream (Level 1 -> Level 2): 1000 Aura

Upgrade Soul Arrow (Level 1 -> Level 2): 1000 Aura

John rubbed his temples in slow circles, fighting off the urge to grumble under his breath. There were too many options. So many possibilities that all had their own major merits without significant drawbacks beyond the obvious: spending Aura. He wanted to purchase and upgrade pretty much everything on these menus, plus upgrade all his Stats, but he knew he had to be strategic about this. Aura was theoretically infinite, but time wasn't. He could only earn so much, and so he had to spend it wisely to give himself the best chances of survival.

First off, I don't see the need to upgrade anything to Level 3 just yet. Level 2 stuff has been performing fine. And if I don't want to unlock any more spells right now, then I might as well hold Arcent and Talent's upgrades in reserve so I can use them for healing in a sticky situation.

At 1600 Aura, Upgrading Vitality to Level 5 would be the most he'd spent in one go. It was still tempting. He felt like he'd been training for years. Marathons sounded easy. He was sure he could hold his breath for minutes at a time. Every time he caught sight of his face in a reflective surface, it was all he could do not to admire himself like a vain fool. His skin hadn't been so smooth since he was a child. And his hair! So thick and luscious, like a goddamn model for a haircare campaign.

At the same time, there was an uncomfortable dysphoric undertone to all this that made his stomach do weird things. There had been a moment where he'd seen his face and, ever so briefly, didn't recognise it. How would that advance as he got to the higher levels? Would he even be himself anymore?

Regardless, increasing his Stats could wait until it was necessary. He didn't really need it right now. With Strength, Agility, and Mind at Level 3, he felt like a professional athlete who moonlighted as a superhero. There hadn't been occasion to test his Strength yet, but his muscles were significantly pronounced, granting him the physique of someone who'd been working diligently at it for years. Similar things could be said of the other two.

So, none of the Level 2 Spells were jumping out at him right now, and he didn't want to upgrade anything to Level 3. That left the Level 1 abilities he possessed, and the choice there was obvious.

Or, perhaps it would be better to say there was no need for a choice at all. There was only two of them anyway.

Upgraded Soul Arrow Level 1 -> Level 2!

-1000 Aura

Upgraded Shadow Stream Level 1 -> Level 2!

-1000 Aura

His mana sphere twitched, sending a ticklish ripple through his innards, and a slight haptic buzz as some new information entered his mind, but nothing more. The difference would appear when he actually used the Spells, which he absolutely would be in short order, no doubt. Both had served him extremely well, and he was sure they'd continue to do so. Soul Arrow would presumably grant sharper arrowheads and swifter flight. He'd have to see later.

Shadow Stream, however, he could quietly test now. Darkness erupted silently from his outstretched hands, streaming across the room like they were being pumped from a great hose. The stream was definitely wider now, and thus it disgorged a greater volume of oily smoke. If it had just been that, he would have been satisfied.

But a new element to the Spell had imprinted itself in his brain's knowledge banks, and a mental command had the streams of darkness bend in the air, ever so slightly, following the path dictated by his will. As soon as they struck any other surface, left his line of sight, or strayed more than around three metres from him, they left his control. He also couldn't get too elaborate with it, since they would only curve at a slight angle.

Useful, he thought, primarily imagining ways he could wrap the darkness around himself for a more mysterious effect. Gives a hint to what this Spell could end up like at a higher Level, too.

He was picturing great swathes of darkness moving around him, filling rooms in the blink of an eye, or forming into shapes that could distract and intimidate. Taking cool factor into account, Shadow Stream was looking more and more like an excellent purchase. John smiled to himself as ideas came to him, but quickly wiped it from his face and sought to focus. He couldn't get distracted with daydreams.

Okay. That leaves me with 4000 Aura.

A part of him was tempted to save up for the Inventory. At 10,000 Aura, it sounded like it would be a powerful boon, but not too ridiculous. Judging by the trends the system showed, though, its utility would either be tied in to one of his Stats—Strength, most likely—or would be upgradeable itself. Whatever the case, the power to store things away and take them with him without having to actually carry them would be invaluable.

But I can't afford to save up that kind of Aura just yet. Frankly, I need more Spells, Skills, and Stats. I'm getting close to a point where I might be able to comfortably defend myself long enough to hold on to that kind of Aura, though. I'll wait until all my Stats are at 4, and I have a reasonable range of abilities to defend myself against a broad range of monsters.

John scowled.

"And humans," he added, his voice barely louder than the breath that carried it. "Can't forget about them."

He'd had the thought earlier, that there were undoubtedly people out there right now using these powers to be colossal fucking dicks to each other, even with the world ending. His mind hadn't changed. Eventually, he was going to run into someone who wanted to be a colossal fucking dick to him.

And when that moment comes, there's no way the Aura system will accept me backing down. Someone will try to bully me, and I'll have to stand up to them.

Standing up to bullies hadn't gone well for him in the past. The denizens of the internet insisted it was the best way to handle things, to show your tormentors that you weren't afraid of them.

On reflection, that might have been the worst day of John's life.

Anxious energy suddenly filled him, and he rose to his feet. Ninja kicked in, letting him move quietly enough through the house not to wake anyone. He found himself in a small kitchen, where a bloodstain marred the tile floor, mingling with the remnants of a broken teacup and the purple drink that had been in it. The air smelled of old coffee. The cabinets and work surface were an ugly brown that was probably very fashionable in the 80s. The fridge door was still open, and it was so old it wasn't beeping to alert its owners of the fact. Not that they would've heard it anyway.

John stared out into the garden and let out a long, shaky breath.

I'm going to have to fight people some day. Stand up to bullies. Absolutely no fucking doubt in my mind. There are millions of Luke Farnells around the world. Hell, there's much worse than a petty school bully like him. Plenty of them will have survived the initial waves of monster invasion. Some will have really strong abilities, too, and they'll use them to abuse people. It's like Max used to tell me: some people are just cunts, born and bred.

Another slow breath, even shakier somehow. With a mental command, a Mana Blade extended from his arm. It was shinier now, more vibrant. Little forks of lightning flashed through the edge, so small he could barely see them. With Soul Vision, they were clearer.

"It'll be different this time," he murmured. "I'll be the one laughing."

He frowned. Or maybe not. It would depend on what would make him look most badass at that time.

Regardless, he was resolved. Perhaps not confident, per se, but determination filled him, and he delved back into the Aura menu.

For now, he'd keep some Aura back just in case, but he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to get himself some more Level 1 Spells to test out.

Then he had to figure out if he was waiting for Jade, Lily, and Chester to wake up, or if he was going to sneak away.

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