Chapter 171: Empower Metamagic
The choice for the second Sorcerer spell is extremely difficult, wanting every single one: Distant Spell, Dominate Person, Hold Monster, Synaptic Static, Telekinetic Thrust…
「Dominate Person」 can forcibly charm one humanoid creature, and upon success, use telepathy to command that creature to do anything, completely at your mercy.
However, during combat or when harmed by the spellcaster, the charm’s difficulty is very high, generally used in non-combat states.
Relatively speaking, 「Hold Monster」 is more suitable for use in combat, a solid strong control spell that must be taken.
「Hold Monster」: Fifth Ring, Enchantment School.
Base casting distance: 90 feet（27 meters）
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
One creature you can see within Hold Monster casting distance. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw; on failure, it is paralyzed. The target can continue attempting Wisdom saving throws against the paralysis effect, succeeding to break free of the spell effect.
This is the upgraded version of 「Hold Person」, effective against almost any creature, including dragons, fey, aberrations, monstrosities, fiends, etc.
Next time encountering a Mind Flayer or werewolf, one Hold Monster can make them stay in place and take a beating.
Those attack spells can wait for another opportunity to learn; they’re not urgent for now.
Fifth Ring Evocation spells just have different damage types; in terms of lethality and utility, Heightened Fireball is not inferior at all.
Third Ring Fireball heightened to Fifth Ring, base damage reaches 10d6（10-60）, sufficient for most scenarios and enemies.
In addition, 「Mana Control」 elevated to Fifth Ring, mana value increases by another 5 points, allowing him to easily handle Fifth Ring spells with greater casting stability.
With the spells confirmed, above the fourth symbol of the dice, a nebula flickers uncertainly.
Anse gently touches it, the nebula explodes into ten stars orbiting and dancing around him, while a realization flows through his mind.
He has mastered all Metamagic Techniques and can choose to deeply enhance one Metamagic Ability, making it even more powerful.
‘It can be done like this?’
He is amazed and immediately touches each star one by one, enhanced effects flooding into his mind.
「Quicken Spell」 faster; 「Distant Spell」 farther; 「Extended Spell」 longer duration; 「Empowered Spell」 becomes Maximized; 「Heightened Spell」 saving throw difficulty +1; 「Twinned Spell」 broader applicability;
「Seeking Spell」 one extra track; 「Cautious Spell」 doubles the number of protected creatures; 「Transmutative Spell」 adds Radiant and Corrosion damage types; 「Subtle Spell」 requires no materials.
No new features, all are advancements of the original Metamagic effects.
‘So… the surprise is here!’
After all, it’s 「Super Magic Master」; a master’s skills are naturally superior to others.
But the choice is another big dilemma; he wants them all but can only pick one.
Even the relatively underwhelming Subtle Spell is ridiculously strong, replacing casting materials with subtle magic properties, achieving truly material-free casting, including consumables—not just saving money, but freeing spells from material restrictions.
Distant Spell increases base spell range from double to triple, making the casting environment safer.
But the most tempting for him is still Quicken Spell, eliminating casting verbal and somatic components, cast purely on reaction, just like Shield, achieving true quick cast.
The original “Quicken” was just relatively fast, still needing a fraction of a second, unable to cast in emergencies.
For example, that night encountering the Shadow Thief Master, he clearly spotted him early, but facing the Shadow Thief’s attack, still had to tank a knife to buy time.
If he could reactively quick cast Banishment, basically no one could silently assassinate him.
‘Quicken Spell it is.’
【Spells: Wall of Force, Hold Monster, Intelligence: +2, Metamagic Enhancement: Quicken Spell, confirm?】
“Confirm!”
Hollewen’s celestial phenomena change dramatically again, resonance of innate magic with Primal Mana, vast mana sweeps like rolling clouds and wind, then absorbed into the Black Tower and infused into the mana pool.
In the Astrolabe Track Formation, Anse has transformed into Half-Dragon form, mana surging around him, brilliantly glowing, leaving faint patterns on his scales, forming faintly visible gorgeous motifs.
He is fully immersed in the torrent of inherited memories; Fifth Ring spells are complex and obscure—if not for his high Intelligence, fully memorizing and understanding them would be quite taxing.
After all, mastering five Fifth Ring spells at once is astonishingly difficult.
After an unknown time, Anse slowly awakens, mana surging like tides within him, giving an illusion of endless supply.
Pulling up the Character Card, mana reaches an astonishing 121 points, enough for over a hundred First Ring spells.
However, casting Fifth Ring spells requires 9 mana; even risking Exhaustion, he can only cast 13, not exactly sustained.
Life reaches 103 points; with powerful Armor, killing him is still quite difficult.
Intelligence reaches 20, memory at photographic level, able to extrapolate from one example, sharp thinking.
Of course, to fully utilize the brain’s limits, rich knowledge and information support, plus good mental habits are needed. Rushing into everything blindly, no matter how good the brain, it’s just decoration.
This world is never short of stupid smart people and clever fools.
Intelligence at Human Limit, can start a second multiclass with Intelligence as primary attribute.
Mainly three: Wizard, Mechanist, Psion.
But Experience Pool left with a pitiful 586 points, insufficient to support further multiclassing.
Sorcerer experience at 48000/64000, leveling up even harder.
‘No more agonizing.’ Anse sighs inwardly, ‘Common soldiers give too little experience.’
He reviews the combat log; over two hundred Amn soldiers killed, but due to two-person cooperation combat, he only gets part of the Combat Experience, not yet two thousand points.
This record is already excellent; the Amn Army has only a little over two thousand.
Thanks to those two hundred barrels of tar; stone throws alone couldn’t achieve this effect.
‘Check the Federation again, but also guard against Amn people night raids.’ Thinking this, he immediately Teleports back to Jacqueline Castle.
Room empty, Illyas probably didn’t want to disturb his rest and didn’t sneak in again.
Click, pocket watch lid pops open, hour hand nearing nine o’clock.
He takes out the Shield, casts Fly, opens the Window and flies out, up to kilometer high altitude, then pulls out 「Far Sight」 to observe the Amn Barracks below.
The two un-attacked barracks on the east side are as usual, the other four barracks still have lingering embers unextinguished, sparks like stars reflecting numerous busy figures and widespread wreckage.
Compared to those dozens of cold corpses, the injured comrades wailing in agony demoralize the soldiers more, filling them with pain and helplessness, morale at rock bottom, no one wants to continue.
They can’t really understand why insist on clashing with Dulag; Beregost already surrounded by aliens, instead of aiding their own, plotting against Dulag—what’s the point?
Even if they seize it, they might not hold it.
Anse doesn’t understand either, but Kingdom of Amn is ruled by conglomerates; while pursuing extreme profits, personal will can sway national decisions, completely unpredictable.
After observing for a moment, just as he prepares to leave, he glimpses a damaged tent revealing a four-legged metal Mechanical Body.
It looks bizarre, pudgy, headless, but with a thick, long, black cannon muzzle.
‘What the hell?!’
