Published at 16th of February 2024 2:22 pm

Chapter 67. Good Things Come In Threes

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It was a week of good news.

“You four are done for the semester,” Professor Wolfhammer told the party before class began the following morning. “You’re welcome to attend class for the sake of training, but you’ve completed Intermediate Dungeon Combat.”

“Really?” Annabelle perked up. She played happy couple whenever in the presence of people outside of the party. She reverted to her glum self when it was just the five of them. It was the first time Nox had since her genuinely pleased since the delve. “Isn’t there a proper exam?”

“The requirement for passing the course is clearing an orange rift without any casualties,” the Professor answered. “The requirements for Advanced Dungeon Combat require achieving the journeyman rank and clearing a rift of the yellow danger level without any casualties. All but one of you have the necessary rank and may enrol next semester—providing you cover the gap during the semester break, Annabelle.”

“That’s amazing news,” Nox said. “Thank you, professor!”

“There is more.” Professor Wolfhammer handed Nox, Lillin, and Annabelle journeyman delving badges. “I inspected the limb you brought back. You deserve this.” He focused on Nox. “I believe you will especially need this for your journeys with Kris this summer.”

“Almost the whole party is coming with me, Professor,” Nox said. The Beauforts had committed to join them. “This will prove invaluable. Thank you.”

“Excellent. Keep up with your daily exercises and work on your teamwork. The lot of you excel at working in pairs but not as a cohesive foursome.” He looked at Lillin. “You’re spending too much time at close range. Let Ernest be the vanguard and provide control effects from afar. Rely more on your Manipulation planet. Nox and the frontline must contain their full strength if you’re in the way.

“You’re doing well as the rearguard,” Professor Wolfhammer told Annabelle. “Keep sharpening your martial skills because you’re not as good as you think you are. Your instincts are good, but your ability can do with a lot of improvement. Keep polishing footwork and improving that Weakness Detection spell of yours. It’s excellent for party support and personal use.”

“What about me, professor?” Nox asked. “Is there anything I need to work on?”

“You’re too reliant on alchemy and a stockpile of essence glass to be effective. Ratra’s Bow has a lot more to offer. Now that your understanding of spell scripts has improved, investigate the weapon and work on more planets to get more out of it. Beyond that, I don’t have much advice for you.”

Professor Wolfhammer turned to Ernest. He opened his mouth, then shook his head and closed it. Then the older man walked away to give instructions to the other groups in the class.

After the recent expedition, the party took it easy. They did the stretches and ran the necessary laps before practicing magical exercises and weapon skills.

The women paired up against Ernest. He had the best martial skills in the party and the strength and reach to make the most out of it. The giant frontliner lacked speed but made up for the shortcoming with technique.

Michelle didn't go into detail regarding how she used the Rift Lord's head. However, there was a notable difference in Ernest's balance, stability, and reaction time. He used more than broad brute force attacks. Ernest punctuated club swings with precise thrusts, shoulder slams, and kicks. He looked more like a duelist than a brute.

Lillin and Annabelle moved like a pair of annoying house flies begging to be swatted. They zipped around their oversized opponent, parrying or dodging most of their blows. The few that hit lacked the force to inflict serious injury and only pushed them back. Thanks to Danger Sense, Annabelle suffered fewer hits than Lillin and also successfully struck Ernest more frequently. Basic gravity orbs had minimal effect on the bigger man. So, Lillin used her magic to move faster and defend more easily. She acted as the vanguard, creating opportunities for Annabelle to get in cleaner hits.

Meanwhile, Nox practiced alone. He continued to create mana arrows and added varying styles of essence glass accompaniments to study what worked best. Drill-shaped spikes proved less effective on the rooftop’s target dummies than he had hoped. The rotational force was insufficient to inflict significant damage. Instead, it left deep dents and gouges. Meanwhile, the essence glass blades inflicted significant damage before shattering.

Nox made plans on how to improve them and his regular arrows with Finesse Shaping. His arrows currently faced one significant challenge. Before releasing his projectiles, Nox always infused them with the tiniest mote of Galvanising Touch. The volume of mana consumed was so small the manameter failed to detect any change. The lightning destabilized the essence glass. However, Nox had no control over the rate of the change. Fortunately, he had only suffered the issue with acid or fire arrows. The wastage would’ve been too great if the same happened with his sonic arrows. They were currently his strongest projectile and in short supply. If they destabilized early, the results could be devastating.

Nox needed a basic delay script that waited until the arrow reached his destination. The essence glass accompanying the mana arrows was reasonably weak and often shattered after the initial slice or collision. Infusing them with lightning and then delaying the trigger would hopefully result in devastating damage followed by an annoying control effect. Boss-class monsters and Rift Lords would struggle with such an eventuality.

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The power from Ratra’s Bow had increased once again. Nox’s star had grown with his ascension to journeyman. The mana in it was denser and purer. His ordinary projectiles grew brighter, and their penetrative power increased with it.

“It’s like the arcane blast spell,” Professor Wolfhammer told him. “Most magic stays consistent throughout a mage’s lifetime. Minor changes in essence purity might exist, but you won’t see anything significant without adjusting the spellform. That’s not necessarily true with spells that utilize raw mana. Density and purity make a significant difference. You might not notice much going from novice to apprentice, but the contrast becomes more apparent at journeyman, even more at adept, and so on.”

“The greater the exponential growth, the greater the strength.”

“Indeed,” Professor Wolfhammer said. “You’ll find mostly war mages walking such a path. After all, they only think about hitting or defending harder. There is little finesse or variety when it comes to raw mana magic. They can do just one thing and not much else.”

Noxian Brews ran out of stock. With the semester ending, students wanted products for the balls, parties, and soirees students, clubs, and departments threw before everybody went home. Instead of delving, many students would spend their two-month break rubbing elbows with their betters, trying to climb social ladders or make romantic connections with people of similar or greater social standing. It was an excellent opportunity for the company to make a profit and spread its name.

Nox made a gross profit of close to five hundred gold. After giving Annabelle her cut, paying off a debt to the glassmakers, Pudge for his time, and restocking mana gems, he had two-hundred-and-fifty gold left. Since he expected more money soon, Nox invested four-fifths of that in materials for his adept license.

Attendance in Intermediate Dungeon Combat and defensive spells was optional. He spent most of the time doing his own thing. When outside the two remaining theory classes, Nox dedicated all of his time to alchemy. Pudge also had more time for Nox, and they continued contraceptive development.

The pair had successfully completed animal trials. They used a variety of livestock, from goats and pigs to cows and horses. The contraceptive successfully prevented egg fertilization, preventing pregnancy. However, finding willing candidates for human trials was no easy feat without a skilled healer's services. Michelle had no time to help. Fortunately, they had Lillin. Her mimic physiology gave her incredible control over her inner organs. Even if the contraceptive failed—which it did a lot at first—she could just reabsorb the biomass or flush it from her system. She detected side effects within days and had no trouble fixing any damage. They still had a long way to go to ensure the users suffered no side effects, but it was still positive progress.

Finally, on Fifthday, instead of Thirday, Sang Lao Shi sent an assistant to summon Annabelle. The party visited the ancient appraiser together.

The old man had already sold all non-magical items—including the tiara Lillin desired. He had handed all cursed objects to the city as required—most would end up destroyed, locked away, or given to the Department of Arcane Research for study. Only magical artifacts remained for the party's inspection. Sang Lao Shi already had offers for all of them, so the party could judge whether it was worth keeping them.

Everyone found something they wanted.

Annabelle picked out a light gauntlet with an eyeball-sized crystal on the wrist and a complex network of runes. A flick of the wrist created an oval shield of pure mana. It was large enough to cover her from head to knee and was one-and-a-half times her shoulder width. The tool would combine well with her developing martial skills. It had a unique ability leading Nox to believe it was somehow related to Ratra’s Bow or its creators. The wielder had the option to infuse the shield with spells.

If Nox got someone to alter Ratra’s Bow and move the glove to his right hand, Nox believed the pair would combine well. However, his current defensive spells, though more mana-intensive, provided better defense. Instead, Nox picked two lesser items.

One was a fire spitter. The wrist-mounted device created a short-range stream of fire using raw mana. The basic ability didn’t tempt Nox. The tool’s ability to convert mana into fire essence intrigued him. He believed he had the necessary skills to modify the spell script to increase output while decreasing range and activation time. Fire essence didn’t just have its use with Ratra’s Bow but was also valuable in alchemy and one of the greatest expenses next to frost essence.

Sang Lao Shi called the second item a Horn of Summons. It created a deep, sonorous sound when infused with mana and blown. The resulting shockwave pushed all surrounding objects away. It also summoned local spirits to the area. The field of study especially appealed to Nox. He also hoped it would serve as a decent source of sound essence. The raw power of the arrows was sufficient for taking down significantly stronger foes.

Lillin opted for a pair of boots with dual enchantments. The first, Flea Hop, let the wearer jump to several times their height. Meanwhile, Feather Fall reduced the rate at which they fell. She believed when combined with her gravity magic, it would give her incredible mobility.

No one protested when Michelle and Ernest picked an item each. The first opted for a dagger with specific chemical injection and extraction abilities. Its medical uses appealed to her more than the combat prowess. Meanwhile, the male half of the Beaufort siblings went for a hooded cloak. It carried an illusory enchantment capable of changing the wearer’s appearance. Nox had noticed the giant man’s self-consciousness surrounding his appearance and pushed a second artifact on him. It was a short curved sword capable of storing essences and then turning them into short-term enchantments when needed. A skilled smith would have little trouble turning it into a polearm.

Sang Lao Shi gave them a little over two-and-a-half thousand gold coins for the rest. Lillin and Nox’s combined share came to twelve-hundred-and-fifty gold. After returning to campus, they immediately submitted five hundred to the university office for the first half of the next semester’s tuition. They invested the rest in Noxian Brews.

The business had gained enough popularity to struggle with market demands. When the next semester started, Nox doubted the basement workshop would be sufficient for their needs. He hoped to get multiple sets of alchemical equipment, each dedicated to a different high-demand product, then a couple more for small-batch production. Noxian Brews needed a shopfront as well as staff. They didn’t have the means for the latter yet. Woodson University kept the city’s property prices astronomically high. However, Nox believed a decent broker would help them find a workshop for hire. He hoped Annabelle had the connections and willingness to help them with the task.

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