The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2) by Craig Kobayashi (ebook reader 7 inch TXT) 📕

When they'd made it back to the Guild Hall, Garath convinced Daisy to teach not only himself how she became an Archmage, but all of the Mana users on the Dungeon team's roster. Joined by Athios, Obawon, Maimon, and Sharon, Garath eagerly looked forward to learning what Daisy had done in order to gain her badass title.

Specifically, the Necrologist had high hopes for unlocking the non-Class Skill, Spell Design. From what Daisy had already told him, he knew it would allow him to combine two spells into one new spell that had attributes of each of its parent spells. Garath salivated at even the thought of being able to unleash a Blight without having to close to melee range. If he were to combine it with something like Felfire Bolt or Haunt, then he could land a Blight from a much safer distance. Sitting cross-legged between Athios and Sharon, Garath knew he was putting the cart before the horse. First, he'd have to pay attention in class.

Class is exactly what it felt like, too. After pushing their few belongings into the corners of the old classroom, Daisy and Athios opened their living quarters on the second floor of the Guild Hall to the others so they could gather and learn whatever she could teach them. With five adults sitting in a half-circle before her, Daisy nervously drew into herself, hiding behind a curtain of blond curls.

"Daisy," Athios said, her tone comforting. "Why don't you start by telling us what it is you were doing when you got the first non-Class Skill?"

"Alright," Daisy replied. She told them how she had found the brick wall outside the forest to practice her spell casting. Though nervous at first, her regaling of her own triumph bolstered Daisy's confidence. She went on to explain how she unlocked Manual Targeting.

"Wait," Garath interrupted. "The Elementalist Class didn't come with a staff or a wand or anything?"

Daisy shook her head.

"So you've been casting spells without any targeting assistance this whole time?" Garath asked, impressed. If he hadn't had his staff to guide his spells, he probably would have died during The Culling and he knew it.

"I don't really know what that is, so… probably? And until my tryout yesterday, I never used my spells on any monsters," Daisy said.

"Huh." Garath figured that the system gave any caster-type Class some way to aim their spells.

"Wouldn't you call what I do Manual Targeting?" Athios asked, curious. “I usually target an area rather than an enemy. I’ve never used spell-targeting assistance, even after getting the staff from Aquawood.”

"That's a good point," Garath replied, turning to face Athios. "Why haven't you unlocked Manual Targeting?"

"Are you two done?" Daisy asked with her hands placed authoritatively on her hips.

All five adults in the room burst into raucous laughter. Daisy, firmly playing the role of teacher only seconds before, blushed wildly because she knew they were laughing at her. It took a second to collect herself, but then Daisy adopted an overly serious expression, tucked her hair behind one ear, and raised her eyebrows in wait for an answer to her question.

"Yes," Garath said, still grinning. "Sorry for interrupting, ma'am."

Daisy nodded her acceptance of his apology and turned to Athios.

"Yes, please go on," Athios agreed, wiping tears from her eyes. "We're sorry."

As it turned out, Garath was actually the only member of the Dungeon team that would even potentially benefit from unlocking Manual Targeting. Daisy gave him a quick rundown of how to push and pull on the Mana pooled between his hands to achieve spin, then told him he'd have to practice to get the hang of how much spin to put on it. After Manual Targeting, Daisy moved on to explain how she'd unlocked Mana Manipulation and then told them what she could do with it.

"You're telling me you can make Mana Batteries?" Maimon asked, now with his full attention on their little teacher. "And use them any time?"

Daisy nodded and went on to explain that, with higher Ranks, Mana Manipulation allowed the user to make more Mana Batteries and increase the amount of Mana they can contain. Unlocking Mana Manipulation, Daisy told them, was brought on by the feeling she got from beginning a spell cast, then canceling it without allowing the Mana to return to her center. By focusing on the Mana moving through her body, she was able to replicate the process without a spell. After Daisy explained the similarities and differences between canceling a premade spell and simply pooling directionless Mana, everyone took a minute to attempt the same.

Garath decided to attempt this process by starting the cast of his most familiar spell, Death Bolt. He remembered the first time he’d used the spell, after a lifetime of fantasizing about using magic. Standing in the rain on his roof with Tarzan, the calm before the storm that was The Culling. It seemed like so long ago now, though in reality only eleven days had passed since that night. In those eleven days, he’d probably cast Death Bolt a thousand times.

The one-second cast time of Death Bolt came and went too quickly for Garath to really wrap his mind around the sensations he was supposed to be searching for. With the black orb of magic struggling wildly between his hands, Garath canceled the spell. The vibrating orb shrank, then quickly disappeared. That’s when Garath felt the Mana move back up his arms and into his center. The Necrologist closed his eyes, focusing with everything he had to better observe the internal movements of his Mana. Then, a Floral Bomb shattered the west-facing window of Athios and Daisy’s room.

Everyone immediately jumped to high alert, and weapons appeared in hands out of nowhere. When it became clear what had happened, everyone turned to look at Sharon. Garath had never seen the taciturn old woman look embarrassed about anything in their entire relationship, but, red-faced and wide-eyed, Sharon looked downright bashful standing next to the broken window. Her