Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 9: First Spells

Okay, I know Wind said we should avoid this area for now. But I can't just wait for everyone to stop fighting! I already discover some spells during my training and I can't waste it for another day. Though I have a feeling Wind will give me a handful of lectures when we are reunited. But for now, it's time for me to test out my new spells!

Thankfully for my small size, I quickly passed through some of the chaos around me. As I did, I managed to see an empty plain that is teeming with some rabbit-like monsters and slimes around me. Wind did say to avoid some strong-looking monsters, so I think they should be great monsters to test some of my spells out with. Taking out my staff from my back holster, I slowly approached the slime. Since they are somehow made of liquid, I feel that my [Thunder] spells should do the trick. That and I have to remember that one 'monster-catching' anime I watched with Wind back then to guess its weaknesses.

Now here's the tricky part of spell-casting. As I learned from my training, I have to recite the incantation while focusing my mind on the target. Back then, the tutorial gave me a cheat sheet to help me memorize them. After I cast a few times though, I have to rely on my head as the window containing the incantation disappeared. And trust me, trying to recite them without it is more difficult than concentrating on the target. Besides, pronunciation and dictation are the main keys to casting a strong spell and my previous attempts weren't very strong as I'd hoped.

Still, I can't just give up because of this tiny problem. If Wind can able to learn [Archery] for a day, then so will I! With that thought out, I quickly focused on the slime as I raised my staff upward.

"I call the thunderous spirit of my aura. Let my small spirit dashed through my staff with this power!"

When I recited the incantation, I noticed I almost mispronounced 'thunderous' and 'aura'. Regardless, electricity began to gather through my staff's gem before I swing it like a bat.

"[Lightning Bolt]!"

Once I swung my staff, a blue bolt of electricity came out of it as it strikes the blue slime through its body. As expected, it was electrocuted as soon it came in contact with my [Thunder] spell. But I know it wasn't enough to kill it. From the tutorial I read through back in the training hall, I learned that all of us including the NPCs and monsters have Health Points, or [HP] for short. If our [HP] go down to 0, we will be in a [Dead] state which NPCs are unable to recover and lost forever. Since I'm a player, I can obviously be revived, but according to the tutorial, I have to receive a death penalty of EXP lock for an hour. So that means I can't just grow reckless with weak monsters even if I know how to cast my spells.

Back to the subject at hand, I saw that the [Degrading Slime] has only 65% of its HP left. Unfortunately, [Lightning Bolt] has a 5-second cooldown and just reciting its incantation again will take longer since I can't rush it. So I have to try another spell.

"Energy waving around the elements around me. Gather to me and create the force against my enemies!"

This time, purple energy began to gather right in front of me as it formed into a ball that is the same size as a basketball.

"[Mana Blast]!"

I quickly fired the sphere into the slime, which its HP has gone down to 30% once it came in contact and exploded. At this point, I quickly recast my [Lightning Bolt] spell once more to finish the slime off. As I did so, it's body suddenly explodes as it leaves behind some Lapi and some bottles of gel, I think. Still, I stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what happened. Eventually, I jumped in joy because I managed to kill my very first monster!

"Yes, yes, yes! I did it! I knew sneaking away is a good idea!"

Okay, sneaking away is against the rules, but at least I'm not far away from him so the game won't alarm me that I'm far away from my [Guardian Player]. Regardless, I decided to forge on as I face another slime. This time, it's coloration is almost like blood red. Still, it's perfect for me to try a new spell from the [Wind] category.