Chapter 65 - 64: [Flaming Arrow+]

Chapter 65: Chapter 64: [Flaming Arrow+]

Gaode sprinted through the night.

Fortunately, after more than a month of exercise and dietary supplements, his physical fitness had improved significantly. But even so, by the time he distanced himself from the commoner district, he was panting heavily.

He thought, "No one should have noticed.

"But with the existence of Extraordinary Power like Magic, not being caught on the spot doesn’t mean I won’t be tracked down...

"Yet even if they do track me down, I’ll be fine. Essentially, I was saving lives. From any angle, they can’t cause me the slightest bit of trouble.

"At most, it will only expose the fact that I’ve mastered the Flaming Arrow Magic."

Having sorted through his thoughts and confirmed that his intervention wouldn’t bring any hidden dangers, Gaode finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When that strange vine coiled toward the second person, he had been hiding high up in the roadside trees. Looking down from his vantage point, he had noticed the light coming from the adjacent street. He knew this was the lantern used by the patrolling City Guard for illumination. Since he could see the light, it meant the City Guard was nearby. Under those circumstances, Gaode had acted decisively.

Being one street away was enough to ensure he could leave before the City Guard arrived. At the same time, this short distance guaranteed that the City Guard would notice the commotion over here, allowing him to swiftly slip away.

As for that vine... For a vine to extend all the way from the sewers to the entrance was already quite a feat. Gaode simply didn’t believe it could span another several dozen meters to continue Tracking him.

Having said all this, in that split second, how could he have truly thought things through so meticulously? The truth was, seeing a monstrosity slaughtering his fellow humans right before his eyes had triggered a psychological and physiological instinct, causing him to act in an instant. Even Casting the Flaming Arrow Magic was a subconscious choice, because only this Magic could create enough noise and commotion to attract the City Guard’s attention. Everything that followed was a result of him truly calming down and thinking things over.

Although his main goal had only been to save lives, there was indeed an unexpected harvest.

"Wind Spirit Moon Shadow!" Gaode called out in his mind.

The crude information interface instantly appeared in his consciousness. Under the Origin column, a brand-new entry had distinctly appeared.

Origin:

0th Ring—[Maso Mouse] (7/7).

It turned out the scientific name of those strange, red-eyed rats was Maso Mouse. An incredibly unexpected name. They looked weak and were indeed not powerful, but that didn’t change the fact that they were Earth Vein Creatures. As long as they possessed the bloodline of Earth Vein Creatures, they entered the 0th Ring Tier and could provide Origin.

Gaode wasn’t entirely sure how many of the red-eyed rats known as Maso Mice he had just killed with his Flaming Arrow Magic. But overall, it was at least seven. Thus, completely unawares, Gaode had obtained his third point of Origin.

He thought, "It’s a pleasant surprise, I suppose.

"Saving a life earns the highest merit; I suppose I deserve this."

As long as it didn’t disrupt his normal life, it was better for a person to do more good deeds. For example, his intervention tonight—even without the unexpected harvest of Origin, saving two living, breathing people genuinely made Gaode feel a sense of joy.

By the time he returned to the Medicinal Garden, it was already the early hours of the morning.

On the way back, Gaode had already made his decision. After this sewer incident, he was almost certain that the birth of a new Earth Vein was the source of the anomalies outside the city. He could not stay here for long. Once the Earth Vein completely formed, the swarms of Earth Vein Creatures that would pour out would be far beyond what a small place like Hogan City could handle. What was worse, the Medicinal Garden was located in the suburbs of Hogan City. This meant that when the time came, he would very likely be among the first batch of "lucky ones" to suffer an Earth Vein Creature attack.

"There truly is no substitute for experience," Gaode couldn’t help but sigh, thinking of Pierre, who was already selling off his fixed assets and preparing to flee to Bremen City. "I definitely need to leave, but where to go and how to get there is something I have to carefully plan out."

His eyes flashed; a resolution formed in his heart.

Despite a fresh wave of sleepiness washing over him after the ordeal, Gaode didn’t immediately lie down to rest because he still had one thing left to do.

"Wind Spirit Moon Shadow," Gaode silently chanted in his heart.

The crude information interface surfaced once more.

Magic:

0th Ring—[Mage’s Hand], [Repair Skill+], [Acid Splash+], [Frozen Ray], [Enhance Resistance], [Flaming Arrow], [Tracking Mark], [Flash Technique], [Touch of Fatigue], [Detect Magic], [Reading Magic], [Blade Protection]

In the dazzling Magic List, apart from [Repair Skill+] and [Acid Splash+], a tiny "+" sign flickered continuously next to the other ten Trick entries. It was as if they were seducing him: "Hey handsome, hurry up and click me."

"You little teases, sooner or later, I’ll click every single one of you," Gaode muttered viciously in his mind. "Add point."

Then, Gaode’s Spirit locked onto Flaming Arrow.

Damage output, damage output, damage output!

A Mage first had to max out their damage output before considering anything else. More importantly, adding points to a Damage Magic was beneficial for Gaode to acquire new Origin—after all, the most reliable channel for acquiring Origin was hunting Earth Vein Creatures. And Flaming Arrow was precisely the one with the highest damage among the Magic Gaode currently possessed.

In an instant, the Big Dipper representing the Origin of the Maso Mouse swam out from within the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow. Like a bolt of lightning, it integrated into the Magic Model of Flaming Arrow. Based on the original Magic Model of Flaming Arrow, it generated new branches. The Magic Model, originally composed of ten Stars, was instantaneously expanded to nineteen Stars.

In the Magic List, a flash of light gleamed over the entry for Flaming Arrow. The plus sign following the entry vanished, and its name changed to [Flaming Arrow+].

[Flaming Arrow+] (Shaping Series, 0th Ring):

You hurl a mote of fire at a creature or object within 120 feet (40 meters), making a Ranged Magic Attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes fire damage.

A flammable object hit by this Magic will be ignited.

Bonus: After the Flaming Arrow is fired, you can alter the direction of its Magic trajectory up to one time according to your needs.

...

This was yet another enhancement direction that exceeded Gaode’s expectations, yet was extremely practical.

As an instantaneous Damage Magic, according to standard rules, once Flaming Arrow was directed at a target point by the Caster’s will, it would fly straight toward that target in a fixed line. In other words, once Flaming Arrow was cast and fired, its Magic trajectory could no longer be changed. In this aspect, Flaming Arrow was actually similar to an ordinary arrow. Once an arrow was shot, its direction would not change without external interference. Of course, this didn’t rule out the possibility that certain special archery techniques possessed the ability to make an arrow curve, but individual exceptions weren’t factored into consideration.

In short, it wasn’t hard to see just how overpowered the ability to alter the trajectory of Flaming Arrow once, as granted by the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, truly was. This was the formidable aspect of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow. The point allocation it provided never merely brought a simple enhancement in Magic Power, but rather an elevation of the Magic mechanism itself.