Path of Dragons

Book 7: Chapter 66: Another Spell Evolution

After leaving the remnants of the army behind, Elijah returned to the group. Seeing them, still set up to defend, left him with mixed feelings. Sadie and Dat were certainly powerful, and he expected that if either of them went all-out, they could have carved away a good portion of the army. However, they would have certainly died in the attempt. Due to his versatility, Elijah was uniquely suited to fight alone. Not only were his forms powerful in their own right, but with his healing spells, he could recover from almost anything.

He wasn’t entirely self-sufficient, and his experiences in the Trial of Primacy had proven the need for help, but he couldn’t help but recognize that he was almost as effective alone as when he participated in a group.

Most of the time, they just held him back.

That left him feeling a mixture of pride and sadness. The first, because he wasn’t immune to self-congratulations. He liked being stronger than most other people, and there was no better proof of that than his ability to fight solo. However, the latter emotion was still present because it promised a life where he was forced to choose between loneliness and being held back by superfluous companions.

But was that all they were? Just pieces of a puzzle meant to solve the problem of Primal Realms and towers? Or were they representative of real relationships that were their own reward? Elijah wanted to believe the latter, but there was definitely a part of him that recognized that things would be easier if he’d come alone.

Those feelings shifted through his mind as he returned to the fortifications he and his companions had built, and when he arrived, he shifted out of the Shape of Venom and announced, “I put a pretty good dent in their numbers, and I killed most of the big ones. The leader’s gone now, too. But I’m going to take a break for a bit.”

The others were too stunned to ask any of the most obvious questions on their minds, and by the time they recovered, Elijah had already begun his climb up the slope. A few minutes later, he reached the cave, where he settled down to inspect his gains. With everything on his mind, opening his status was a bittersweet moment:

In addition to gaining level one-forty, Elijah had passed level one-forty. He still wasn’t sure how experience was calculated. In the past, he’d established that each level took more than the last to reach the next threshold. However, higher-leveled enemies gave noticably more experience, and he suspected that things like cultivation and class rarity tended to affect things as well. The long and short of it was that more powerful foes gave more experience than weaker ones, but he had no idea what formula was used to calculate exact numbers.

With that in mind, his previous thoughts about going solo gained even more support. Clearly, each enemy offered a finite amount of experience, and when more than one person was responsible for its death, that experience was split between everyone involved. When it was just him, it all went toward his progression.

But then again, there were situations in his past where he couldn’t have been successful alone. The first one that came to mind was when he’d been ripped in half. If Sadie hadn’t been there, he never would have survived. The same was true of most of the challenges in the Trial of Primacy.

He sighed. There was no single answer to the question of whether or not he was better off going solo. So, accepting that, Elijah focused on the true reward for his progress. He’d gained an opportunity for another spell evolution.

As had been the case with nearly every other spell upgrade he’d gained, Elijah had already met the requirements for evolution. It was convenient, but in his current introspective mood, Elijah almost felt like he was missing out. Sure, he’d already accomplished the necessary feats, which meant he wasn’t really skipping anything, but it might have felt a little more satisfying if he’d been forced to go on some epic quest in order to evolve his spells.

A silly thought, certainly, but Elijah was in a weird frame of mind.

In any case, he focused on the three options. The first, which was called Plague, was obviously a straight upgrade over Swarm. Its nature probably wouldn’t change much, though it would grow more powerful in every respect. It was definitely a tempting pick, if only because Swarm had proven so invaluable over the years, and he couldn’t help but mutter, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The old adage was oddly applicable.

But the pull of novelty was too strong to ignore, so he looked to the second option, Aspect of the Hive. The name was certainly appealing, and it brought to mind swarms of wasps or bees descending on his enemies. Looking further, Elijah was a little surprised to see that it seemed to be more like Stormborn, in that it would likely have different expressions based on which form he’d taken. That was a significant change, because at present, Swarm wasn’t castable in anything but his human shape.

The third choice, Primal Swarm, was similar in that respect, specifying that it would adapt to his different forms. In truth, the final two felt strikingly similar but for one particular phrase – persistent progression. That seemed to imply that Aspect of the Hive would be subject to its own progression requirements. Perhaps it would be capable of growth independent of his attributes or level.

That came with a couple of issues. The first was that it would add another factor he needed to worry about. He already had his plate full, and piling more onto it was probably not the best idea. The second problem was one that came out of nowhere. If the hive could grow independently, what was to prevent it from becoming too powerful for him to control?

Every spell had limitations. Many choices had drawbacks. And Elijah’s instincts told him that Aspect of the Hive was a trap. Infinite growth potential, but it likely started weaker than the others. In addition, the issue of control kept creeping to the forefront of his mind.

So, even though it was tempting, Elijah eliminated Aspect of the Hive as an option. Perhaps he’d one day see it was a mistake, but there were too many issues to ignore. So, he needed to choose between Plague and Primal Swarm.

The first was obviously the safer pick. It would clearly work almost identically to his current spell. However, even though Elijah had discarded Aspect of the Hive, he wasn’t completely immune to the pull of novelty. Plus, having another option added to all of his forms – which was what Primal Swarm offered – was kind of a game-changer. So, after a few more minutes of contemplation, he made his choice.

As Elijah read the description, he was more than a little excited. So, he didn’t hesitate before looking at the first sub-ability, Lurking Swarm:

That description exceeded Elijah’s expectations, and the notion of having a swarm of invisible spiders assisting him definitely left him with a smile on his face. If the other abilities associated with Primal Swarm were as useful, he would be very happy with his choice. With that in mind, he moved on to the second:

The spell – based on the description he’d just read – was in line with his perception of the purpose of Shape of the Thorn. The form of the thorned sentry was intended to protect allies and hinder enemies. Certainly, it could also be used to do damage, but it truly excelled as a defender. And it seemed that Thornbound Legion was meant to support that mission. The ability to prevent regeneration would be invaluable, but lowering attributes was almost as powerful.

Never mind the horror a sapient enemy would feel at having mites burrowing into their flesh and explode. Psychological warfare could sometimes be just as powerful as conventional attacks.

After familiarizing himself with Thornbound Legion’s description, Elijah moved on to the next:

Elijah hadn’t expected Shape of the Sky to be included, but in retrospect, he wasn’t certain why he’d made that assumption. It was just as valid a part of his toolkit as any of his other forms, so its inclusion should have been inevitable. And the expression of that inclusion was perfectly suited to the form, assisting in its purpose. At least based on the description – he would know more once he got the chance to use it.

In any case, he soon looked to the next, which was tied to Shape of the Master:

Infernal Brood seemed interesting. Conjuring a bunch of exploding beetles sounded effective, both in terms of damage and distraction. However, the most potent effect was that those explosions would slow his opponents. When using Shape of the Master, the gap between his effective speed and his enemy’s was already pretty wide, especially with the enhanced reflexes that came with the form. And slowing his foes would only widen it. Elijah was very eager to test it out.

In the meantime, he looked at the description for Eternal Plague:

In a lot of ways, it seemed like a straight upgrade to Swarm. However, there were two key differences in the expression of the spell. First, it would persist so long as he channeled ethera into the spell. And second, the longer he kept it going, the wider the area of effect would be.

In short, every expression of the Swarm’s upgrade would obviously be very valuable. He would know more once he had the chance to test things out, though. Until then, he wanted to rest for at least a few more minutes before he rejoined his companions. So, with that in mind, he leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to center his mind as much as rest his body.