Chapter 434 – Want To Trade?

“I could detect the Shadow affinity in you before, but now…” Mage Thresbane trailed off as he assessed Damion. Having witnessed a portion of the spell the younger mage cast, he had no choice but to admit that he was impressed.

“Yes, I’ve been working to increase my stronger affinities,” Damion said, though he was not sure how much work he had really put into it. After all, the Magic System did everything, though it did take a chunk of his hard-earned credits.

“I can see that. Fire, Earth and Shadow have risen to match your Spatial and Ice affinities. Though, I am not sure you have realized the situation you have created for yourself.”

“What do you mean?” Damion was puzzled. Sure, he had increased his affinities, but the S Ranks of Atlantis already knew he had multiple affinities and that he had a method to raise them, actually doing so did not seem to be an issue.

“Look at yourself in a mirror.”

Damion quickly took out his tablet and took a scan of himself. He then reviewed it and was shocked by what he saw. His previous light blue hair now had streaks of red, brown and black. The majority of his hair was still ice blue, but now it was clear to anyone who looked at him that he either dyed his hair or had multiple strong affinities.

“Why didn’t my hair change when I raised my Spatial affinity?” Damion complained.

“Because the Spatial affinity is transparent. You might have gained a few streaks of transparent hair, but judging by Mage Fletcher’s hair, Spatial seems to be one of the few affinities that does not alter hair color when you have an S Rank affinity.”

“Well, I don’t think it really matters, I can wear a hat or dye my hair,” Damion said, trying to keep the worry from his voice. He could simply use his Metamorphic Bracelet to alter his appearance, though, he did not want to mention that to Mage Thresbane. As much as he trusted the SS Rank mage, the existence of such an artifact was best left a strict secret.

“Do as you wish. I came out here mostly to learn about the spell you cast. From a distance it seemed greatly versatile. Will you show it to me?”

Damion did not hesitate and cast Summon Shadows, once again causing the area around them to dim greatly. This time he did not force the shadows to take solid form or much of anything except exist while Mage Thresbane observed them.

“Remarkable,” the Shadow mage said after a few moments. “I would like to try my Shadow Mastery and see if I can take control of the Shadows you have summoned. Ordinarily, my Shadow Domain and Shadow Mastery allow me to manipulate shadows but not directly create them. Your spell, however, goes beyond what I through was possible for my affinity.”

“Go ahead,” Damion told the SS Rank mage, he then braced his mana for the expectant attempt to wrest control of his shadows away from him.

A moment later Damion could feel the older mage’s spell pulling at his control, given the disparity of their magic power, Mage Thresbane was able to win the tug of war, but not nearly as easily as it should have been.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Impressive,” Mage Thresbane said once the tug of war was over and both mages released their spells. “Your summon spell allows a remarkable amount of control. If you also had Shadow Mastery and Shadow Domain you no doubt could dominate a battlefield even against strong opponents. Have you also worked on similar spells for your other affinities?”

“For Ice, I am likely even more formidable, as I have Ice Domain and Ice Mastery. Not to mention that I’ve been using Ice magic the most. As for my other affinities, I don’t have tier 5 spells for Fire or Earth and while I have Spatial Domain, I don’t have a summon spell for the Spatial affinity.”

“Still, quite impressive. Might you allow me to learn your Summon Shadows spell? In exchange I will pass on to you my Shadow Mastery and Shadow Domain spells.”

Trading a single tier 4 spell for two tier 5 spells? Damion hardly needed a split second to accept that trade. Tier 5 spells were too hard to acquire and while he felt he could probably craft those spells himself given time, receiving them right away would mean that he could spend more time mastering them or even crafting other spells. Additionally, the more mastery and domain spells he had, the easier it would be for him to craft those spells for the affinities he lacked them for.

“Certainly,” Damion said, summoning the magic seal for Summon Shadows to his palm for Mage Thresbane to record. A moment later the Shadow mage summoned each of his magic seals in turn and let Damion record them with his own tablet.

Damion did not need to record them, but he did not want Mage Thresbane to realize that. After exchanging magic seals, both mages returned to Atlantis to study their new spells.

*Ding*

{Magic seal recorded}

[Shadow Domain - Active - (F Rank 1,500 Mana, 250 Mana P/S) The area around you becomes a world of shadow. Reduces the power of all other magic in your domain.]

*Ding*

{Quest Completed}

[Quest: Learn a Tier 5 Magic Spell – Status: Complete – 1,000 Experience, 50,000 Store Credits.]

*Ding*

{Magic seal recorded}

[Shadow Mastery - Active - (E Rank 2,500 Mana, 100 Mana p/s) Master all shadows around you and bend them completely to your will.]

*Ding*

{Quest Completed}

[Quest: Learn a Tier 5 Magic Spell – Status: Complete – 1,000 Experience, 50,000 Store Credits.]

The two spells did not offer much in the way of surprises to Damion. Having used the Ice and Water affinity versions of both spells as well as Spatial Domain, he was familiar with how these spells worked. And now, with his increased understanding of Nastho and the subtle interactions of the tone and intent of the language, Damion was confident he could do exactly what Mage Thresbane predicted, dominate a battlefield with his spells.

Now that he had gained new magical abilities, Damion felt the next step was to increase his equipment in quality. His Magic System artifacts had already been increased to A Rank, but most of his other artifacts were still only B Rank.

Once back home, Damion began the process of upgrading his armor and utility artifacts to A Rank. After spending 14,500 credits, his armor, cooling undersuit, Necklace of Mend, Belt of Purification and even his Metamorphic Bracelet were all upgraded to A Rank.

Damion slipped his Metamorphic Bracelet on and altered his hair color, so it returned to its previous single color of ice blue before heading out to have a meal with his family. With his artifacts ready, the next step he would need to take was to resume his training in the labyrinth.

Mage Teft and several of the other S Rank mages were already inside fighting to clear more S Rank floors in hopes of encountering a floor that decreased in difficulty. If such as floor was found, it would indicate they had passed the midway point of the labyrinth and then they would know exactly how many floors they had to clear before reaching the Mother World.

Of course, it was not likely to be that easy. Damion had a strong feeling they would end up needing to challenge at least one SS Rank floor, possibly several, before they would cross the midpoint. If that truly was the case, the Atlantis S Rank mages would need assistance from Mage Thresbane and the other members of the Protectorate, not to mention the remaining S Ranks from the S Rank Assembly. Damion just hoped everyone would be willing to cooperate.