The two men returned less than an hour later and approved the alarm system.

  Vaelora nodded. “Jay, would you or one of the other noncombatants still keep a lookout? I would just like to be as safe as possible.”

  “Yes ma’am. I'm sure I could also find a few others to swap with me throughout the night.”

  “Good, please do so.”

  The small group sat and ate around a small smokeless fire, with Nevala eventually joining them.

  “Sorry I wasn't able to join you this morning,” she said, sitting next to Chio.

  “No worries, hope you are feeling better,” Erith responded.

  Nevala gave her a warm smile, picking up a skewered piece of meat. “I’m feeling a lot better, thanks. How did your hunt go?”

  “Not well. The horde was gone, and a few members of the Elborn clan ambushed us.” Chio said.

  “Oh, I'm glad you are all ok,” she said between bites of meat.

  Chio patted Ray on the back. “Only thanks to Ray. You should have seen the magic he can wield.”

  Ray let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sure we would have been fine even if I didn’t cast that spell.”

  Nevala looked at him with a broad, welcoming smile. “Thanks for protecting my husband, even if he didn’t need it.” She interlocked her arm with Chio’s, pulling him closer.

  They talked for a while longer before Ray finally excused himself. He returned to the tent he and Erith shared and dived into the Draconic Library skill. His mana pool had expanded to a large degree, and he wanted to learn some new lightning spells to take advantage of that. Sadly, when he got to the knowledge on lightning spells, he could not find any he did not already know. With a sigh, he closed the library.

  A mental probe passed through his mind as Horde Breaker presented an idea. Ray shot to his feet, his eyes growing wide.

  “Do you really think I could do that?” he asked through the link.

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  It sent a feeling of confirmation in response.

  A wide grin grew on Ray’s face as he dived into the knowledge Horde breaker was sharing with him—the knowledge of stronger mana manipulation and how to craft spells. When Erith returned to the tent, he was still in a state of deep thought as a half-formed ring of electric blue runes rotated around his body. The power dissipated when he was just over 75% of the way complete.

  Ray groaned in frustration as he jotted down the new array and made adjustments to the point of failure.

  “What are you working on?” Erith asked, looking at the notes.

  Ray jumped and looked up toward Erith. “When did you get here?”

  “Umm, about five minutes ago.”

  “Oh, sorry, I must have been too focused to notice.”

  “It’s fine. So, what are you working on?”

  Ray looked back toward his notes. “Well, Horde Breaker was able to share how to craft a new spell and add it to the system.”

  Erith’s eyes widened. “You mean you're actually making a brand new spell?”

  “Kind of, I'm sure some version of what I am trying to do already exists, but I’m trying to make it happen without a spell guide.”

  “That’s amazing. Do you mind if I watch?”

  “Not at all.”

  Erith sat beside Ray and watched as he finished making adjustments and began attempting to make the spell ring again. On his next attempt, he managed to reach 80% before the ring finally fell apart.

  “What’s the idea behind those runes?” Erith asked.

  “The runes,” Ray began while updating his notes. “Are a way to mold the mana in the direction I want. There are a few that control the mana composition. In this case, turning it into lightning mana. And runes that control the spell's shape when it takes form.”

  “So like an instruction manual for the spell to follow?”

  “Exactly. If you look at the spell rings you create when casting with the incantation system, you will find the same type of runes.”

  A trio of rotating red rings appeared in Erith’s hand as she looked closely at them. “Huh, I never noticed that before. Why are they in a ring shape anyway?”

  “I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it is so the mana is channeled in the proper direction. When I was making the gateway orb, I had an issue with the rings not activating in the proper order, causing the spell to fail violently.”

  “I guess that makes sense, but then why a ring and not a line or something like that?”

  “I think it's to make the spell more efficient and easier to use. If you put in too much mana, the excess energy will flow back to you after powering the spell, but I'm not certain if that’s right. Just a feeling I got while making this spell.”

  With his notes updated and adjustments made, Ray began forming the spell ring again. This time, however, everything seemed to click into place, and the ring slowly formed. It passed 85%, then 90%, and finally, the ring was completed and drunk down to fit within the palm of Ray’s hand. Cheers erupted in the tent as Erith and Ray celebrated the success.

  “So, what’s the spell do?”

  “This ring will control the intensity of the lightning, allowing me to increase the voltage as the spell continues, but if my estimations are correct, I'm going to need five or six more to achieve my goal.”

  “Five or six?” Erith said, surprise in her voice.

  “Yeah, I’m hoping to make a spell that could be called E grade on its own, and that’s what I think I will need to do it.”

  “I’m sure you will be able to do it.”

  Ray nodded, determination filling his eyes. He flipped his notebook to the next page and sketched out his plan for the next ring.

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