The ground beside Ray exploded as a giant glowing paw slammed into it. He launched backwards, creating as much distance as possible from the rampaging leader. A group of shriekers tried to encircle him, but a torrent of whip-like tendrils diced them into pieces. Ray raised his short sword, narrowly catching a golden beam aimed straight at his chest. He turned the weapon, firing two powerful projectiles at the large creature. They slammed into its chest, knocking it back as it roared. A streak of fire danced beneath the beast. It traveled from leg to leg until all four had a shallow cut.

  “Ignite!” Erith shouted.

  Flames burst from the creature, glowing a deep blue as its metallic frame began to melt.

  “Looks like it's our turn,” Ray said through his mental link.

  Acknowledgement answered him as his right arm transformed into a runic disk. Blue runes ignited, and the disk spun rapidly as Ray chanted an incantation. He raised his hand, and an enormous cloud formed overhead. Lighting poured from Horde breakers, sparking within the darkening cloud. When Ray finally felt they had enough power, he dropped his hand toward his stationary target.

  A crash of thunder echoed through the forest, and a blue flash lit up the sky. Moments later, Ray was hit by an explosion of dust and wind as a supercharged bolt of lightning struck his target. When the dust settled, Ray saw the large bear-like creature collapse, molten metal still dripping from a large hole in its head.

  “Nice shot,” Erith said with wide eyes. “I still can't believe you can pull something like that.”

  “Thanks, but I wouldn't be able to without the massive amount of mana Horde Breaker has.”

  Erith stared at the leader's corpse for a few moments longer. “We should probably move. No telling how long we have until something comes poking around.”

  Ray nodded, looking up at the sky. It had barely become midday, and they had already killed their first leader. He pulled the gate way orb from his bag.

  “Let's head back to where we started and look for another one.”

  A gateway opened and the pair stepped through. When they were through, Horde breaker shot far into the air and surveyed their surroundings. It relayed the images through their mental link, allowing Ray to see.

  “Looks like there is another gathering point a few miles south.”

  “Let's go.”

  The pair continued like this, killing leader after leader in the next few days, bringing them to level 55. Not seeing any new skill options that piqued his interest, Ray ended up taking Void Affinity and finally gained access to the incantation system.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Incantation Panel

  Affinities available: Void

  Spells known

  Void Bolt

  Spells available

  N/A

  Add Incantation

  Ray added every incantation that he knew into the system, allowing him to cast them without using his complete focus. He also got a few void spell guides from the castle's library. Sadly, all the higher-tier void magic was locked away, and he did not have enough access to the Draconic Library to find any there, either.

  At least Zenith should be back soon. I can ask her for hire access then.

  The following day, Ray and Erith awoke to a knock at their door. Ray got out of bed and opened it to find Freia.

  “Mornin',” she said with a wide smile on her face.

  “Good morning. What's got you so happy?”

  “I just got word that Ma and Arabella have finally reached their last stop before they can teleport all the way back here.”

  “Oh, when do you think they will be back?” Erith asked, walking over to the door.

  “Should be around midday, assuming nothing impedes them.”

  “Thanks for letting us know,” Ray said.

  “Don’t mention it. Do you think you two will stick around today?”

  Ray turned to Erith, sharing a glance.

  “I don’t see why not. I could use a break from combat,” Erith said.

  Ray nodded, turning back to Freia. “There you have it. Why do you ask?”

  Freia turned to the side, avoiding eye contact. “Oh, no reason. I just had a rush order come in and was thinkin’ you might want to help if you had nothing else going on.”

  Ray turned back to Erith with a sigh. “Are you fine with that?”

  “Sure, I have some new spells I wanted to learn anyway, if you're fine with me hanging around.”

  “Not a problem,” Freia said with a sigh of relief.

  Ray spent the next several hours helping Freia create a custom set of plate armor. Apparently, some nobleman's son from the port city he and Erith had been traveling to not too long ago. Wanted to become an adventurer, and his father was sparing no expense to ensure he was covered. Ray soon realized why Freia had seemed so relieved when he agreed to help. While she could have knocked out a set of plate armor in a day or two on her own.

  The request came with instructions for enchantments that needed to be on the armor. Freia would typically need to get help from a local enchanter. That would take days after the armor was completed, but with Ray’s help, they were able to finish it on time.

  “And done.” Ray placed the last bit of mana into the runic structure and stepped back as the armor hummed to life.

  Faint blue energy ran like veins just underneath the surface of the shining metal, giving it a surreal look.

  “Now to test it,” Freia said, hoisting a war hammer into the air.

  She swung it down and a large clang rang out, followed by a crash as she was flung into the opposite wall and collapsed to the ground.

  Ray ran over and helped her to her feet. “You ok?”

  “Yeah,” she said, shaking her head. “It was a lot stronger than I expected, is all. Well done.”

  Ray nodded, looking over his craftsmanship again. “Yeah, it was easy with such an excellent base,” he said, clapping Freia on the back.

  The door to the workshop swung open and Kenith walked in.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Freia asked.

  “Mom and big sis Arabella just got back.”

  300 followers - Special Bonus chapter ????????? 95%

  100 favorites - Bonus chapter

  ???????????? 76%