[You were attacked by a Duergar Mind Master’s Mind-Poison Dagger. Miss...]

Without Shield and the Cloak of Protection, that single strike might truly have killed him instantly!

“You’re courting death!”

Bratt came to his senses with a furious roar and charged, his face twisted as though he wanted to devour someone alive.

Finn clenched his teeth and glared. His disheveled beard and hair stood on end, giving him the look of an enraged beast.

He had been standing only a short distance behind Anser, yet he had noticed nothing until the instant Anser was attacked. Regret filled him.

He raised a hand and cast Hunter’s Mark in an instant. An X-shaped magical mark appeared above the cloaked figure’s head, preventing the enemy from disappearing again unnoticed.

Anser did not hesitate. He retreated at once; this distance was far too dangerous for him.

But just as he moved, he saw the duergar raise a hand as a faint ripple of power spread around it.

‘Damn it!’

He cursed inwardly and immediately stopped.

“Metamagic—Quickened Spell: Magic Missile!”

Three glowing missiles formed in an instant and screamed through the rainy night.

The duergar stopped his movement and dodged aside, but the missiles followed like shadows. He made a split-second decision, crossed his arms, and took the blows on his bracers.

Bang! Bang! Bang—

Three muffled impacts sounded in succession. The duergar stepped back to disperse the force. His bracers warped, and his arms became a bloody mess.

[You cast Magic Missile on a Duergar Mind Master... Duergar Mind Master hit. 8 Force damage dealt. Current Hit Points: 31/39...]

Anser did not even look. The blue magical patterns on his Ring of Spell Storing suddenly lit up, releasing three more shrieking streaks of spell-light.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Twang—

The duergar reacted decisively. He turned sideways to avoid Finn’s arrow, pointed at Anser, and sent an invisible wave of force hurtling toward him. Then he turned his back and took the Magic Missiles head-on.

Anser’s scalp tingled. He activated Shield again, but this time the barrier of force was completely useless.

His mind grew hazy for an instant. The scales across his body and his Cloak of Protection flashed simultaneously with magical light, and the psionic force dissipated into nothing.

[The Duergar Mind Master uses Mind Mastery on you. You must make an Easy Intelligence saving throw (DC 12)... Save successful.]

“Motherfucker!” Anser cursed aloud.

On the other side, the duergar’s cloak had been shredded and blood soaked his leather armor. Before he could even react to his failed Mind Mastery, Bratt’s longsword was already descending toward him.

He barely twisted aside. The longsword missed, only to slash diagonally upward with astonishing speed.

Unable to evade, he hurriedly raised his dagger to block, but the enormous force behind the sword knocked it aside. The blade cut upward through his leather armor, opening a wound more than a foot long across his abdomen and chest. Flesh peeled outward.

The duergar grunted and rolled, attempting to turn invisible and escape. A gale suddenly rose above his head as an enormous dark shape swept past. Sharp talons tore away half his face, leaving his right eye and half his scalp gone in a wash of blood.

“Aah—” The duergar screamed for the first time, his voice shrill and trembling.

Anser cheered inwardly and activated the Ring of Spell Storing again.

Three Magic Missiles traced white arcs through the night and slammed one after another into the wound across the duergar’s chest and abdomen.

Bang! Bang! Bang—

The duergar was ripped open. His organs burst across the ground, his arms fell limply, and his eyes lost focus.

[You cast Magic Missile on a Duergar Mind Master... Duergar Mind Master hit. 20 Force damage (Critical Hit) dealt. Target killed. 215 Combat Experience gained. Level increased.]

Bratt hopped forward and swung, severing the duergar’s head with one strike.

The enemy was dead, but no one relaxed. Bratt and Finn gathered around Anser, still shaken.

“Don’t worry. There shouldn’t be anyone else.” Anser reassured them.

No wonder people said mages feared assassins. The attack had truly been dangerous, but Anser knew that even if it happened again, he still would not die.

Shield could be cast as a reaction, leaving him plenty of time. Mind Mastery looked terrifying, but its control lasted only a few seconds at most, and the duergar could not cast spells while controlling him. At worst, it could make Anser hit someone with his staff.

With Anser’s melee ability, he could never injure Bratt or Finn.

At that moment, the importance of a party was unmistakable. Fighting alone left far too little room for error.

“That was a duergar, right? How did he get this deep into the district? He had some nerve.” Bratt lifted a foot to kick away the gruesome head, then remembered it could be exchanged for a bounty and stopped himself.

“A Duergar Mind Master. They usually serve as spies and excel at invisibility. He was probably here to gather intelligence,” Anser explained.

The creature had a Challenge Rating of only 2, yet fighting it had already proved this difficult.

“Watch yourself. We’ll gather the loot. The smell of blood might attract more monsters,” Bratt warned.

“I know.” Anser went to a corner, put his back against the wall, and watched the other two “harvest” their spoils.

He had leveled up and desperately wanted to find somewhere safe to advance.

This battle had exposed how limited his options were. His only offensive spells were Magic Missile and Chromatic Orb.

Magic Missile was extremely useful, but its damage fell well short of Chromatic Orb. A single Chromatic Orb dealt 3d8 damage—three to twenty-four points—not only allowing the caster to select the damage type, but potentially leaping to cause a second explosion.

However, Chromatic Orb could miss easily, and its base range was only half that of Magic Missile. Its weaknesses were obvious.

He needed stronger and more numerous spells to deal with different emergencies.

Several minutes passed.

The three hurried away, with Bratt and Finn each carrying a blood-soaked bundle.

When they passed a stone building with its doors wide open, Anser waved, and the three ducked inside and shut the entrance tightly.

“I’ve gained some insight into my innate magic. Wait for me.” After offering that explanation, Anser removed his backpack, sat on the floor, and pretended to enter meditation.

Bratt and Finn looked at one another in confusion.

Anser had already entered his mental world, where the silver d20 floated silently.

The third symbol on the die was now mostly illuminated. It would not be long before it lit completely.

He opened his character sheet, and an advancement choice appeared.

Increase Sorcerer level or select a new class.

Anser decisively chose to increase his Sorcerer level. A Level 3 Sorcerer could learn 2nd-level spells, which would provide a major increase in strength.

If he instead multiclassed into Level 1 Fighter, for example, his total character level would still be three, yet he would remain unable to use 2nd-level spells. That was one of the drawbacks of multiclassing.

[Level increased: Level 3 Sorcerer!]

[Mana Control level increased. New Draconic Spells acquired: Dragon’s Breath, Alter Self. You may learn one new spell.]

Level 3 was an important milestone. Most classes chose their subclass at Level 3, determining their future path.

Anser was unusual. He had selected his Sorcerous Origin at Level 1, but Level 3 still brought major improvements.

The greatest surprise was the improvement to his Adventure Trait, Mana Control!

He had only recently wondered how to improve it. He had not expected it to rise with his caster level, though that fit the Sorcerer class perfectly.

Second-circle Mana Control allowed him to wield 2nd-level spells with ease, improved his casting stability, and increased his maximum mana by another five points, giving him far more magical energy.

Notes:

1. Overkill damage: If an enemy has four Hit Points remaining and is badly wounded and unable to move properly, then takes 20 points of Critical Hit damage, the excess is overkill damage. The enemy is utterly dead. Its maximum Hit Points are not considered here.

If exactly four points of damage are dealt, the enemy might die instantly or fall unconscious, in which case it must begin making death saving throws.

2. Difficulty Class (DC): In theory, every action has a difficulty value, including picking locks, making ability saving throws, and noticing hidden creatures.

Very Easy: 5

Easy: 10

Medium: 15

Hard: 20

Very Hard: 25

Nearly Impossible: 30

You have a d20. If you roll a twenty, fate has chosen you, and this attempt automatically succeeds—a critical success! Incredible luck!

Take the protagonist’s Intelligence saving throw as an example. The Difficulty Class is 12, his Intelligence modifier is +1, and his cloak grants +1 to saving throws. He needs only to roll a ten.

Reality does not involve actual dice rolls, of course. The protagonist’s will, physical condition, and mental state all affect the process, so resisting an Easy Mind Mastery effect is highly probable.

(End of Chapter)