Chapter 8: Mana Control
There was still some food in the bundle. Anse took out two loaves of bread and a small piece of cheese and handed them to Brat: “Eat something before resting.”
“Mm.” Brat reached out to take them and gnawed on them heartily.
The two walked in the dark for over an hour, full of fear and exhaustion, in no mood to talk.
While eating, Anse sensed the dice in his mind, wanting to know how much he still needed to level up.
But as soon as the twenty-sided die appeared, he nearly bit his own tongue.
One of the faces had fully lit up at some point, and another symbol was also glowing faintly.
‘What did I do today? Why did it light up?’ he wondered in his heart.
Lightly tapping the die, segments of memory flashed before his eyes like slides: becoming a sorcerer, combat, escaping, saving someone, fleeing…
‘Related to my experiences?’ Anse had a rough idea.
After a long while, the memory flashbacks faded, and the lit symbol had turned into a cluster of rainbow flames.
Ding—
【You gain Adventure Trait: Mana Control.】
「Mana Control」: You have exceptional control over mana, faster casting speed, higher casting stability, and no risk of mana backlash from failed spells.
Mana +5, Attack Roll +1, Spell Save DC +1.
Current Level: First Ring.
Anse’s heart skipped a beat, filled with surprise and joy.
‘What kind of divine ability is this? It fits my current situation perfectly.’
That meant he could almost ignore the effects of the disrupted Magic Net and cast normally, without worrying about dying like his mentor Fabian.
His control over spells improved, indirectly boosting hit rate and damage. 5 mana points might seem minor later on, but they were very powerful early on.
He felt more confident about tomorrow’s actions.
‘The die has twenty faces, that is, twenty traits. With this, can I achieve legendary status, or even go further?’ Anse couldn’t help but daydream.
This world has professionals, legends, and gods—vibrant and full of endless possibilities.
If natives can do it, why can’t a transmigrator like me with cheats dream big!
‘Take it step by step, don’t aim too high. At least survive first.’ He warned himself inwardly; Faerun was full of dangers everywhere.
Coming back to his senses, he pulled up his Character Card. Mana at 9, quite abundant.
Glancing at experience: 275/300, almost enough to level up.
‘Why only Combat Experience?’ He was puzzled.
In the game settings, non-combat challenges（ like Negotiation, Trade, etc.）, and adventure milestones could grant experience, and teams would split it.
‘From the settings, all classes can level up through combat. Wizards research magic or alchemy, sorcerers should level up by training Innate Magic…’
Today he had only cast cantrips, not willing to use a single First Ring Spell, so he couldn’t verify this guess.
Additionally, the Character Card’s equipment section had an extra Goodberry Staff, which should refer to Fabian’s spare staff.
He lightly touched it, and a detailed description of the staff popped up, even better than Appraisal.
【Magical Item: Goodberry Staff】
「Type」: Staff
「Rarity」: Fine（Requires Attunement）
A natural magical long stick, possibly from an ancient oak, can serve as a Melee Weapon, it has 6 Charges.
「Goodberry」: While holding this staff, you can cast the First Ring Spell Goodberry, expending 1 Charge each time.
「Restore Charges」: This staff regains 3 Charges naturally each day.
‘Not bad.’ Anse’s eyes lit up with a smile.
Goodberry is a First Ring Conjuration spell for druids and rangers, summoning 10 Magic Berries. Eating one restores 1 Life, and one berry satisfies a creature’s nutritional needs for a whole day.
Might not be very useful normally, but a divine skill when fleeing.
However, to use its magical abilities, he must attune to it, establishing a mental link with the staff.
This requires at least an hour, focusing mentally on the Magical Item while maintaining contact and Meditation, without interruption.
Professionals cannot attune to more than three Magical Items at once.
Attunement ends immediately if the holder no longer meets the item’s attunement requirements, or the attuned item is more than 100 feet away from the holder for at least 24 hours, or the holder dies, or another creature attunes to it.
In other words, attunement is not soul-bound, no real constraints.
‘This is way better than my plain Crystal Artifact.’
Anse decided to complete attunement before sleeping; it would be very useful tomorrow.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
Brat had finished the bread and was sipping water slowly, looking content; anyone unaware might think he was drinking wine.
“Alive another day, isn’t that worth being happy about?” Anse smiled faintly, half joking, half referring to his transmigration and rebirth.
“Haha, that’s an interesting way to put it.” Brat didn’t pry, his smile carefree.
Anse looked at Brat, about to speak, but noticed a line of text slowly appearing “above his head”:
【Brat, Human, Level 2 Warrior】
‘Huh, a new function of the dice?’
He turned his head and closed his eyes; the text was projected into his mind by the dice. As long as he focused mentally on a target, it appeared automatically—not limited to living creatures; Magical Items and miscellaneous items also showed.
This should be an upgraded version of the combat log, just too simplistic.
“What’s up?” Brat asked curiously.
“Nothing, zoned out. Brat, do you have family?” Anse deliberately changed the subject.
“Yes, but not here.”
“That’s good.”
“The Mage Tower is gone. What are your plans? Going to Candlekeep?” Brat asked.
“With my talent, I probably can’t get into Candlekeep.” Anse shook his head slightly.
Candlekeep is Faerun’s greatest academy of knowledge and library, a neutral force. The price of entry is donating a written work that Candlekeep doesn’t have.
Scholars can visit, but for no more than ten days. Joining formally is extremely difficult; they don’t accept just anyone.
“If you want to keep learning spells, you could go to Silverymoon. Waterdeep and Neverwinter are good too,” Brat suggested.
Anse laughed: “Isn’t being a sorcerer great? Why make things hard for myself?”
“You’ve got a good mindset.” Brat praised, “I’ve seen many people obsessed, refusing to adapt even when other paths exist.”
“…”
The two chatted idly for a bit, just to get to know each other better, without delving into too much privacy.
No one mentioned plans after leaving; at least until escaping Baldur’s Gate, their goals aligned.
During the chat, Anse noticed more text above Brat’s head.
【Brat, Human, Level 2 Warrior, Life: 18】
‘Seems like closer contact yields more info.’ He knew too little about the dice and could only explore through practice.
Night deepened, and the mountain hollow grew quiet.
Brat made a crude Wind Lantern with a candle and proactively inventoried the miscellaneous items in the bundle, preparing for tomorrow.
Anse pulled over his Backpack and checked his loot.
Three Money Bags, probably from apprentices, totaling 6 Gold Coins, 7 Silver Coins, 31 Copper Coins, various currencies.
Two Spellbooks, non-Magical Items, with copied cantrips and study notes, not much value.
Most valuable were a few Gemstones from the alchemy room, mainly blue quartz and turquoise, worth some money.
Next were miscellaneous items: Pocket Watch, Telescope, Paper and Pen, Dagger, small bread, Honey, Dried Meat, Sausage, black pepper…
‘Too bad no Diamond.’
Anse shook his head regretfully, spread out the Blanket, leaned into the Corner, placed the Goodberry Staff on his knees, and closed his eyes in Meditation.
Brat deliberately moved a bit away, seemingly to rest on the perimeter—whether for Vigilance or to avoid making Anse distrust him, unclear.
Settings:
1. Equipment Levels: Common, Fine, Rare, Very Rare, Legendary, Divine Artifact.
Official manual uses Common, Uncommon, Rare, Very Rare, Legendary; here following Baldur’s Gate 3.
2. Attack Roll: Key DND parameter for determining hits, the spear; Armor Class is the shield.
Can be understood as hit chance, no need to overthink, doesn’t affect reading.
3. Armor Class: Comprehensive attribute representing your ability to avoid injury in combat, not equal to armor, nor dodging.
Ability to avoid effective hits via dodging, parrying, or armor resistance! No injury means no hit on body or mind; hit means failed dodge or armor broken.
Your armor, Shield, and Dexterity Adjustment Value all contribute to Armor Class.
Without armor or Shield, your character’s AC（Armor Class） equals 10 + Dexterity Adjustment Value.
4. Spell Save DC: One of DND parameters for spell damage calculation. E.g., Third Ring Fireball requires a Dexterity Saving Throw; success（can be seen as quick Reaction, dodging explosion center）halves damage.
Higher value means your spells are harder to resist.
Spell Save DC = 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Main Attribute Adjustment Value.
