'Finally level 5.'
A smile tugged at Anser's lips, his mood excellent.
He had waited far too long for this day.
Nornoth seemed to sense his emotions and couldn't help shaking its head and swaying, its steps unusually light.
Circling past a massive tree, the Quesser abruptly appeared in his line of sight. The forest's concealment was excellent—if one ran too far, it really was possible to never find it again.
Nornoth leapt lightly onto the deck. Anser dismounted in one smooth motion, a sense of security welling up in his heart.
The forest was dim, and it constantly felt as though countless pairs of eyes were watching from the darkness, an extremely uncomfortable sensation.
Seeing Anser return so quickly, Salian thought he had failed to catch up—but Anser's expression suggested otherwise.
"How was it? You're not injured, right?"
"I'm fine. Killed two of them; the rest ran."
Anser flicked the spell orb in his hand, signaling that he was unharmed.
"That's good. Do you think this dinosaur meat is edible?" Salian asked, pointing at the Deinonychus corpses on the deck.
The situation was complicated. He was worried supplies might not be enough and felt it necessary to prepare in advance.
"It should be edible, I think?" Anser wasn't entirely sure.
Dinosaurs were beasts, living in the natural environment; in theory, they should be fit for consumption.
"Then butcher them. If they're edible, have the chef turn them into smoked meat or cured meat…"
Salian stroked his beard, deciding to let the toughest green dragonborn try it first.
"Mm."
Anser didn't see any issue. His personal bottom line was simple: he did not eat intelligent beings.
After that, Salian began assigning tasks. The injured were sent back to rest. Those with high Wisdom were put on watch. Ordinary crew members cleaned the deck and coordinated with the chef to process the corpses as quickly as possible, so the smell of blood wouldn't attract stronger monsters.
The Deinonychus claws and hides were also quite decent—likely good magical materials. The cargo hold was basically empty anyway, so there was no worry about space.
Anser didn't need to stand watch. This was the privilege of a spellcaster.
He gave Salian a brief greeting, then hurried back to his cabin, lay down on the bed, and entered his mental world.
The silver die rotated slightly, popping up the level-up options:
Upgrade Sorcerer level, or choose a new class.
He chose to increase his Sorcerer level without the slightest hesitation.
[Level Up: Level 5 Sorcerer!]
[You gain a new class feature: Sorcerous Restoration. Magic Power Control, level increased.]
[Draconic Bloodline awakened. You master new draconic spells: Fear, Fly.]
[The power of the Mark of Storm is enhanced. You master new spells: Sleet Storm, Wind Wall.]
[You can learn one new spell, one School of Evocation spell, and one cantrip.]
A string of prompts flashed by, and Anser's mood lifted with them.
Level 5 was the first major watershed for adventurers. The gap between level 4 and level 5 was especially obvious—far from being reflected only in class features and 3rd-level spells.
Anser first checked his new class features:
Sorcerous Restoration: You gain a new understanding of the innate magic within your body, and learn to draw upon primal magic power to make it more vibrant.
Once per day, you can regain up to half of your sorcery points by meditating during a short rest.
This feature looked ordinary at first glance, but in truth it indirectly strengthened a sorcerer's staying power. After all, sorcery points and magic power could be converted into each other, so the improvement was definitely not small.
Magic Power Control increased to 3rd level, allowing him to handle 3rd-level spells with ease and cast them with greater stability.
His Magic Power also increased by an additional 5 points—nice to have.
The biggest change was the addition of a new line:
[You have an extraordinary level of control over magic power; Damage Roll +1.]
A one-point increase to spell damage might not look obvious, but it actually reflected his exquisite control over magic power—meaning that any spell he cast would be more powerful in his hands.
After leveling up, his draconic bloodline granted two draconic spells: Fear and Fly.
Fear is a 3rd-level illusion spell. After casting it, all creatures within a 9-meter cone will feel the terrifying draconic majesty, and must make a Wisdom saving throw. Those who fail drop whatever they are holding and fall into a panicked state.
A panicked creature will flee from you as fast as possible, until it hides in some corner you cannot see. At that point, it makes another Wisdom saving throw; if it succeeds, the spell ends.
This is a powerful mass control spell. If a creature's Wisdom isn't strong enough, it will get caught—unless the creature can resist or is immune to this type of spell.
Fly: 3rd level, School of Transmutation.
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes.
Touch a willing creature, granting it the ability to fly freely. Its base flying speed is equal to twice its base running speed, and it can hover. By expending additional magic power, you can extend the flight duration.
When the spell ends, the target falls.
This was the flight spell many spellcasters dreamed of—spellcasters could begin conquering the skies from this day on!
Flight was not merely about fulfilling a dream of flying. Its boost to combat and survival was enormous—if others could not fly and you could, then wasn't the battle practically in your grasp?
The Mark of Storm also brought two new spells.
One was Sleet Storm, a 3rd-level conjuration spell that continuously brings down freezing, bone-chilling icy rain and hail over a designated area, creating heavy obscurement and icing the ground. It has no direct killing power and is classified as a battlefield control spell.
The other was Wind Wall, a 3rd-level evocation spell that raises a fierce wall of wind from the ground, its shape freely molded by the caster.
If enemies within the Wind Wall's area lack sufficient Strength, they will take 3d8 (3–24) bludgeoning damage.
Wind Wall can block dense fog, smoke, dust, various gases, arrows, and small or light flying objects. It is a functional spell with protective properties.
These four spells were all excellent, but every one of them required concentration. Only one could be maintained at a time, and taking damage could interrupt it.
All things considered, he had too many spells that required concentration already: Dragon's Breath, Alter Self, Hold Person, Levitate, Darkness, Fog Cloud…
'What a headache. Another day of envying Tiamat—having more heads really is better.'
After a brief sigh, Anser began selecting two new spells. This was the real priority.
Sorcerers had many excellent 3rd-level spells available, such as Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Haste, Blink, Gaseous Form, Counterspell, Water Walk…
The evocation spells granted by "Arcane Resonance" covered the entire evocation list, but the number was only around a dozen. Besides offensive spells like Fireball, there was also Leomund's Tiny Hut, which only Wizards and Bards could normally learn.
His plan was to take Fireball for sure, and then choose one additional spell for survival.
In games, the first choice was usually Haste. It doubled the target's speed, granted Armor Class +2, and increased attack speed—but it did not benefit spellcasting.
However, when Haste ended, the target would fall into a brief debilitated state from exhaustion, unable to take any actions or reactions.
'The negative effect is too lethal—and it also requires concentration.'
He shook his head slightly. For now, Longstrider was sufficient.
Counterspell was good, but so far he had not encountered a single reliable spellcaster. Learning it now would only let it gather dust.
'Leomund's Tiny Hut and Fireball, then!'
"Leomund's Tiny Hut" creates a hemispherical force field with a ≥6-meter diameter, fixed in place, just like a small cottage.
Creatures and objects designated when the spell is cast can move in and out freely, while all other creatures, objects, and spells are blocked.
No matter how harsh the external environment is, the air inside the force-field hut remains dry and comfortable. The light level can be freely adjusted, and it is one-way transparent—those inside can observe the outside, but the outside cannot see in.
This spell can truly be called essential for travel and camping, combining convenience with protective capability.
Next came Fireball—hesitating even for a second would be disrespectful to it.
Fireball: 3rd level, School of Evocation. Base casting range ≥45 meters.
You condense a fireball and hurl it to a designated point. Upon detonation, every creature within a ≥6-meter radius sphere takes 8d6 (8–48) fire damage, and all flammable objects are ignited.
On a successful Dexterity saving throw, the damage is halved.
Fireball is not as slow as many people imagine. It looks like a brilliant flash of light—by the time you notice it, it is already right beside you.
In Anser's hands, the explosion radius of Fireball was close to nine meters. Aside from prediction and anticipation, it was basically impossible to completely evade.
'Strong—long range, wide area, high damage.'
A sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.
For the final cantrip, he chose Friends, hoping there might be a chance to trick some small animal into becoming a magical familiar.
In addition, "Metamagic Master" allowed him to gain another Metamagic option. He opened the star-like nebula and decisively chose Transmuted Spell.
This Metamagic can change a spell's damage type. There are six options in total: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, and thunder. In other words, he could turn Fireball into a poisonous blast without changing its damage.
[Spells confirmed: Leomund's Tiny Hut, Fireball, Friends.]
[Metamagic confirmed: Transmuted Spell.
Confirm?]
"Confirm!"
The next moment, the die trembled. An invisible force projected itself onto his body. Magic power surged forth from within, vast and turbulent, even causing the primal magic in the surrounding air to resonate and churn.
The dragonmark lit up with a faint glow, spreading and extending along his supple scales. His body rose and fell as countless inherited memories churned endlessly within his mind.
After an unknown amount of time, Anser stood up. Magic power filled his entire being, leaving him light and buoyant, with the illusion that heaven and earth were within his grasp.
'Feeling a bit swollen with confidence all of a sudden.'
After all, mastering six 3rd-level spells at once—it was hard not to feel that way.
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