Chapter 111: Foci
“Oh, I like this.” Aethe came close to her much cleaner boyfriend and captain and inspected him up and down. “This is much better. I’ve upgraded.”
Marco subtly did the same kind of assessment on Aethe. She always kept tidy, but there was only so much they could do onboard the ship. Glistening clean and with her hair drawn back into a braid, she was much improved even compared to her normal high standards.
“We could go on a date,” Marco offered.
“We could.” Aethe moved close. “But we could also see if we could buy new weapons. I’d rather do that.”
“I don’t know how Marco deserves this,” Riv said. “He didn’t even try.”
“He’s always been kind of lucky.” Elisa shrugged. “I think this is just part of it.”
“Don’t listen to them. Just buy me arrows.” Aethe let go of him. “Weird ones.”
“Can do. You two coming?”
“I think we have to. Let’s spend all the money.”
“Actually, Kuzai asked me to tell you something about that. He said to try to keep half of your credits. He wouldn’t say why,” Marco said.
“We can do that, I guess.” Aethe sulked. “It’s not as fun, though.”
Half turned out to be plenty. Some of their weapons, like Riv’s club, were so well suited to them they could never really replace them in the first place. Those they had just upgraded as they went, throwing whatever system tokens and runes they could at them to keep them as current as possible. Other members of the team just didn’t take that much equipment to begin with, like was the case with Elisa. She just needed the best armored robes they could find at any time, plus whatever jewelry the system would let her pack on to enhance her stats and general magic performance.
The outpost had a few neat things that helped with that, but not many. Riv ended up getting a small upgrade in the form of a pair of protective gloves that increased grip, courtesy of the generally low cost of gear for Sturdy classes. Aethe picked up a full gross of something called Pain Arrows, the specialty of a local Fletcher who claimed that they gave up on damaging foes entirely in favor of sheer agonized sensation. Aethe and the Fletcher seemed to understand why she’d want this, and Marco kept his distance as they conspired over the possibilities the arrows represented.
The only truly expensive item they found was out of reach, for the moment. Elisa found it while picking through a pile of random magic-enhancing items, none of which seemed to fit her before she found a pair of glistening metal rods at the very bottom of the stack.
“Oh, Marco,” she said. “Please tell me we can figure out how to get this.”
| Blending Foci of Elemental Manipulation Most classes rely on the system’s guidance to work, automating processes much too complex for the average human to calculate, keep track of, and successfully perform. A swordsman relies on the system’s guiding hand to provide him with raw skill, focusing instead on the choices that determine how that skill is used. A crafter piggybacks off the system’s baseline knowledge of what he’s trying to accomplish when he creates weapons, armor, or even items for everyday life. This guidance is vital. It is the very foundation of the system. This focus breaks that mold. When a mage who generates elemental power of any kind uses this paired focus, their skills almost entirely detach from system guidance. As the elements flow in, they are instead subject to the control of the mage themselves, who can use them in any number of complex ways. Short-range spells can be modified for distance, for instance, or distance spells can be shortened in range to allow for more power. Elements can be mixed. Instant casts can be forced to charge, accumulating power for large bursts. The downside to all this control is that it’s nearly impossible to bring to bear in a practical, effective way. The level of knowledge and practice with one’s class necessary to use this focus for any kind of real benefit is staggering.
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