Fantasy Realm [One Piece] [Harry Potter] [Naruto] - [Progression] [LitRPG]

Chapter 77: Studying Black Magic - Rejecting Roja!

After the whirlwind event of acquiring his new subskill, Alex decides it's best to take a break and escape the commotion. Together with Tereza, he skillfully avoids any players trying to approach and question him, making a direct line toward his room.

Alex sends off a few quick messages: one to Rishi summarizing the events and another to Roja, letting her know he'll be available to meet her tomorrow at the same time she'd proposed today.

"We're alone in your room, huh? Maybe you're more daring than I thought," Tereza remarks, lying down on Alex's bed in a sultry pose.

Alex: "..."

Tereza: "..." "Boring," she mutters, rolling her eyes as he sidesteps her provocation.

"There's no time for that," Alex responds, trying to hide his flustered expression. "I need to check out this new skill. That whole ordeal back in the tutorial realm caused such a stir! I mean, the place has less than a thousand players, and you can walk from one side to the other in under an hour. It's too small to keep a low profile after something like that."

Finally settling in, Alex turns his attention to his new black magic spells: Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder. Besides distinct effects—like a chance of causing burn with Fire, a small chance to freeze, with Blizzard (while almost always slowing the target), and stunning with Thunder, these spells share similar effects and costs.

Fire
Effect: Basic fire spell; can be cast as a single target or as AoE
Cost: 10 MP
Option 1: Fire Damage: 30
Option 2: AoE Fire Damage: 20 (affecting multiple targets in an area)
Burn Damage: 20% of the initial damage applied over 10 seconds
Note: AoE casting reduces base damage by one-third, making it weaker against individual targets but effective for groups.

Alex quickly calculates his new spell costs and damage potential. Noticing that all basic spells cost only 10 MP and currently deal 30 base damage, he realizes that his existing level in Black Magic already adds a 15% boost, bringing the spell's power close to 35 damage. For only 10 MP, it's an impressively efficient spell. He recalls that spell upgrades he'll receive at lvl 5 and 10 increase both mana cost and damage significantly, making these initial versions a cheap but effective spell.

Reflecting on his new Sword Magic lvl 3 ability, Alex feels even more confident. Sword Magic grants a further 35% boost to the spell's damage when combined with a sword strike, increasing its magical power to nearly 50 damage. Alongside the significant physical boost Sword Magic provides, the versatility this skill brings is unmatched. Alex now considers himself a fully-rounded combatant—versatile with three elemental spells, two potent conjurations, first-class sword skills enhanced by his powerful Gold-rank skill, and competent ranged attacks, courtesy of both his magic and Pistol Proficiency lvl 3. For the first time, he sees almost no weaknesses in his abilities.

"Except maybe... movement," he muses to himself. "Basic Footwork lvl 3 gives a slight speed boost, and Sealions Icewing Embrace lvl 3 lets me glide through the air, which is useful, but neither truly increases my speed by a significant amount. It's decent, maybe even good, but not ideal in the long term." Alex considers his options. "I'll need to find a way to enhance my mobility eventually. Another Conjuration skill could cover it perfectly... but that can wait for now. No reason to rush—I might even find a rare item that takes care of this gap!"

As he wraps up for the day, Tereza bids him goodbye with a teasing kiss on the cheek. From their conversations, Alex has already gleaned that she isn't interested in a conventional relationship; she simply enjoys teasing him. Though he's still unsure how best to handle her playful nature, he can't help but laugh at the sheer stupidity of this situation.