Spell Weaver-Chapter 97. Extended Insight

“Okay,” Mark said as he dropped his pack on the floor of the foyer and held his hands up in the air. “As our own celebration for completing our final Rift of the Teams Event, I do hereby declare that a night out is in proper order!”

Alex scoffed but Sam was the first to speak up as he walked past Alex to the stairs. “I can come this time, right? You said I could!”

“Yes, you can come.”

“Alex asked Jasper specifically last time we were there. He said they’ve got plenty of food and nonalcoholic stuff for you,” Mark said.

"Yes!" He dragged out the last syllable before turning to dart up the stairs.

Alex checked the time quickly on his pocket watch before calling after him, "We won't leave until around seven, Sam. If you need to grab something to eat, just ask Gabby."

They could all hear a muffled, "Okay," before his bedroom door closed.

"A night out could be fun," Olivia said as she bumped into Alex playfully as she took off her outdoor boots next to the door.

Alex nodded with a smile, though internally he wondered at the amount of stress he might be feeling if it weren't for [Parallel Mind]. At least with the skill, he was able to be practicing and thinking through magical problems while doing mundane tasks.

Hanging out with friends isn't a mundane task or waste of time.

He chastised himself as they gathered their bags, and all began to ascend the stairs to take showers and unwind for a few hours before going out.

"I'll text Sarah and see if she wants to meet us there," Mark said, phone already in hand.

"Sounds good."

Alex and Olivia turned left at the top of the stairs while Mark turned right to head to his room. They went to his room to wash away the sweat and dirt from their most recent Rift. After they entered the room, Olivia slid under his arm and got close to his face.

"Stop being distracted," she said playfully.

Alex felt the heat rise to his cheeks. "Half of my mental stats is still more than I ever had before the integration. You have my full and undivided att— wait… that doesn't technically work here. Does it? It kind of is divided."

Olivia laughed prettily before creating some space. "I just wanted your attention for a second. I've got something for you."

"Oh?"

“Mhm. Wait here,” Olivia said.

He felt his pulse pick up as he could guess where something like this was going.

But his expectations were dashed as, instead of heading to the bathroom, she walked out of the bedroom and down the hall.

Alex stood alone in his bedroom, glancing left and right uncertainly. He scratched the back of his head, bewildered.

Is this where someone jumps out and says I've been punked?

A few minutes went by before he heard the rush of bare feet across the carpet in the hall, and Olivia reappeared in the doorway. Raising an eyebrow at her, he raised both hands. "What are you doing?" he asked, glancing at the object in her hands.

“Well, I know it’s a bit lame… and I swear you better not laugh,” Olivia said as she fidgeted with the small black object.

"Okay, no laughing," he said and gestured with an 'x' over his heart. It was clear that the black object in her hands was a gift of some kind, and Alex's stat-enhanced brain immediately jumped into thought, thinking about what it could be.

A manual, maybe? I gave her one. Maybe she feels the need to pay me back with one of her own? What would I even need to learn, though? Maybe it's a skill token? I just need to keep studying, not get more skills. Eh, the black box is too thin anyway—the skill token from the AG came in a case much thicker than that.

In the few seconds that it took Olivia to work up her courage and close the last few steps between them, Alex's mind had run through a hundred scenarios of what she wanted to give to him.

She held out her hands and presented it to him.

Looking down, Alex saw a picture of them together. He realized Mark must have taken it before they entered a Rift.

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He studied the stylized photo and wondered whether she or Mark had edited it. Their pose was striking. Olivia stood close to him and her hand was on his chest as she gazed past his shoulder at an angle toward the looming Rift.

The image made it look like he was dramatically positioned between her and the Rift, and appeared perfectly calm and composed. And, even though there had been many people around them in that moment, the edited black-and-white photo showed just the two of them alone in the forest clearing, with the grey-shaded Rift casting ominous shadows around them, though they both stood in the light.

"Liv... I—I love it. This is awesome," he said.

"Really?" she asked.

Normally so confident and forward, Alex found it adorable how she seemed less comfortable than he was with the thought of romantic gestures. It made his own embarrassment at his earlier thoughts die down a bit.

"Really," he said while giving her a kiss. "Where do you think it should go?" He stepped away and walked to the table next to his side of the bed to set it up, angled toward the bed and doorway.

"Perfect."

"It's an awesome picture. Thanks for doing that, it'll be a good memory to have." His smile grew and felt more genuine as he looked down at the black and white photo. "It's funny, my mind immediately went to all kinds of Awakened things that it could be."

She gave a snort. "And then all you ended up getting was a picture."

"No—well, yes. But I like it a lot. My head's been a little too full of the adventuring life, Rifts, quests, and skills lately."

"Well, good. I'm glad you like it. Do you... like it enough to let me take the first shower?" she asked sweetly while giving him a hug.

He laughed again. "Yeah, go for it. I'm going to check on Gabby and Edwin while I wait, so take your time."

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She gave him a peck on the cheek before moving to the bathroom. He looked at the photo one more time with a smile before walking downstairs to the staff rooms.

An hour later, Alex found himself seated at the chair behind his desk. He felt clean and for some reason was feeling quite optimistic about how the last few days of Rift delving had gone.

He smiled to himself and let out a deep breath before leaning forward.

Where to start, where to start?

He pulled up his Status Screen and glanced over things. He felt some frustration that he hadn’t made much progress in his over all level in the last four weeks, but he knew that he’d made some great gains in his skill levels and understanding how to use them better.

Not only that, but Sarah’s made some decent progress, and Mark has really made a good leap.

Looking at his blue status screen, Alex pushed the thoughts aside.

Status

Name: Alex Moore - Level 26

Class: Ritualist (Novice)

HP: 570/570

MP: 555/555

Traits: (1/3)

{Primordial Will}

Titles: < Control Freak >

Pathfinder

Unbound

One Against Many

Control Freak

Physical Stats:

Strength: 24

Agility: 41

Constitution: 57

Vitality: 26

Magical Stats:

Intellect: 42

Willpower: 343

Mana: 26 + 30

Wisdom: 74

Bond Skills:

[Mana Siphon] (Novice - Level 17)

Primary Stat Shared - Mana

Active Skills:

[Mana Thread] (Journeyman - Level 2)

[Mana Infusion] (Novice - Level 17)

[Feather Step] (Novice - Level 13)

[Mirage] (Journeyman - Level 11)

[Ritual Insight] (Novice - Level 18)

[Parallel Mind] (Journeyman - Level 9)

Passive Skills:

[Sleep Resistance] (Tier I)

[Efficient Rites] (Tier I)

Bound Items:

Unique E Rank Growth Item - Heavenly Eye of the Celestial Sage

He drummed his fingers against the desk and knew that [Ritual Insight] had recently come off of cooldown and that it was approaching the peak of Novice proficiency.

"Easy place to start I guess," he mumbled to himself as he stood and grabbed one of the notebooks he'd been making scribbles and notes in as he improved his modified ritual circles.

He flipped through the pages and realized that it was the wrong notebook before walking to the bookshelf that had his own books on them, and grabbed the correct one.

I really need to start consolidating this stuff into one main notebook.

Looking at the small list of rituals he had available to himself, Alex considered where he wanted to progress.

Gust Ritual

Concentrated Heating Ritual

Heating Ritual

Cooling Ritual

Weight Reducing Ritual

Weight Increasing Ritual

Binding Ritual

Sound Dampening Ritual (In/Out)

Explosion Ritual

His go-to ritual lately had been the Gust Ritual, especially since it required no materials and synergized well with his wand combat.

During his time in the last few weeks of using [Ritual Insight] on cooldown, he felt like he was getting a better feel for the skill and wanted to begin thinking about the direction he'd like to push the skill as it came closer to its advancement. After all, pushing the limits and uses of a skill had proven to be the best way to gain the last several levels.

I suppose I could just go for "more" and attempt to push harder with the skill's activation. Hopefully that would lead to the skill generally giving me more information with each use.

But what if, instead of all at once, I tried to hold on to the moment of learning and got a similar effect? Could I make my own observations during that time? Is that possible?

Still standing, he closed the notebook and walked to Sam's room.

When he knocked and Sam answered, he asked him for help. "Hey dude, can I get you to watch me for a second? I'm sure this will either work well, or it won't work at all... but just in case?"

"Yeah, of course," Sam said as he followed Alex back into the office.

Just like they had with the testing of [Parallel Mind], Alex sat on the floor with Sam behind him. He found a comfortable position and focused on the notebook in his lap. He felt that while testing this new method of using the skill, it would be best to use it on a ritual he already knew rather than a brand new one.

"Alright, ready?"

"Yep," Sam answered.

Alex looked at the gust ritual on the paper and activated [Ritual Insight; however, unlike he usually did, he attempted to mentally push down on the skill. Rather than allowing its activation to come out as a torrent and to be over in a matter of seconds, leaving him with the knowledge magically in his head, he pushed his will and intent on the skill to slow the rush.

There was a bit of resistance, and then, the skill began to slow. He could understand the knowledge as it was brought into his head. Visualizing the effect seemed to help Alex even more, slowing the process to something that was easily digestible. Picturing a hose of water, where the hose was the skill and the water was the granted knowledge, he 'pressed' his will down on the hose to pinch off the flow, or at least stem it.

The skill had never hurt him before, likely an effect of the skill being System controlled and performed. However, he felt that there was almost no pressure at all on his mind as he did his best to hold down pressure on the insight skill.

"Wow..." Alex breathed as the skill came to an end.

"All good?" Sam's voice was tense behind him.

"Yeah, sorry. That worked perfectly," Alex said. "Thanks for watching just in case. How long was I focused? I should have started a timer on my phone."

"About two minutes?"

"That's great. I don't see there being a huge benefit from this right now. I gained the same knowledge. But, if I can extend the time longer and longer, then perhaps I'll start gaining more knowledge." Alex thought out loud and felt like he had another idea just at the edge of his mind.

"I'm going to head back to my room for a bit. It's already six. Don't forget we leave in an hour."

"Wha— Oh, right." He looked up at Sam and gave him a smile, his mind still spinning with the new knowledge from the gust ritual. He felt an urge to go out into the woods behind the house and practice with it and tamper with the ritual, though he knew it was something he'd likely get sucked into.

I just don't have the time for that right now.

Instead, he decided to practice with one of his other skills for the next half hour before he knew he'd need to go get changed and ready to leave with the group.

"Might as well get comfortable," he said as he stood from the floor. Valtherion came into the office holding something in his mouth gingerly. Alex smiled at his bond and spoke up to him as he sat. "What do you have there, buddy?"

Val's tail wiggled back and forth as he hovered in front of Alex and proudly presented the can he held in his mouth.

Alex's face went deadpan. "Val, seriously. Don't encourage him. He's literally making fun of you!" Alex explained. Despite his words, the feeling of pride that came through their bond made him lower his head into his palm. "There are so many other things he could call you. You don't want to be a Soup Can."

"Soup Can, Val!" the little bond chirped.

"No, no, no. He could call you... uhh, a little mana noodle?"

"Noodle Soup." He bumped the can with his snout.

"Shit... that is still soup. Uhm, he could just call you a baby dragon!" Alex said while snapping his fingers. "That's literally what you are. Baby dragons are so much cooler than soup cans." He nodded his head and sent through feelings of complete and utter confidence.

"Dragon?" Val said the word as if trying it out.

"Yep. Go tell Mark that's what you are. Then roar at him—like this." Alex tried to make the sound of a lion or what he might imagine a mighty dragon to sound like.

Valtherion cocked his head and moved backward from him a foot or two. There was a long pause before he nodded and turned in the air, his blue wings and tail moving fluidly in the air in a graceful arc.

As he was exiting the office to find Mark, Alex heard his companion speaking out loud as if practicing. "I am Dragon Val, roar."

The amphiptere was saying the word "roar" as Alex had described the sound rather than actually making the sound.

Alex groaned loudly and tried to call after him, but he was already gone.

Mark is never going to let that go... Maybe I need to find a YouTube video of a dragon and show it to him or something so he understands what the sound is and what they look like.

Shaking his head, Alex pushed the thoughts aside and looked at the soup can on his desk. Shrugging, he created a small heating ritual under it and began to heat it up in the can. While it warmed, he split his mind and allowed half of his consciousness to begin practicing [Mirage] while letting the other focus on practicing small parts of the runes he'd begun learning with Evan.

Man, doing two things at once is amazing...