Uncanny Foresight

Chapter 35: Uncanny Foresight

"This is… this is incredible!" Zhao Xu was somewhat incredulous.

"It's not that miraculous, it's just the price of two Feats," Antinoa explained.

Zhao Xu nodded. Arthur had some powerful Feats that required prerequisite Feats or even class levels.

This was also the reason why many players found themselves helpless in the late game. Unless they specifically designed their character from the start, who would know these things?

Basically, most characters who met the prerequisites for a Feat had them by chance, as a prerequisite for something else.

The ability to freely choose spells made it even more significant.

When Mages had more spells, and they did their reconnaissance before a mission, their spell selection for the day could basically cover most situations they'd encounter.

However, the problem was the "what ifs." If they couldn't cast the spell to solve a problem, it often stumped a large number of Mages.

If they prepared scrolls, scrolls cost money.

Unlike Spell Slots, which were used up daily and couldn't be converted into cash if unused.

Once Zhao Xu could cast spells freely, it was like he could fly anywhere.

For example, Sorcerers could cast spells spontaneously, releasing any spell they knew at will. The trade-off was that they could only learn a few spells per level, and it was difficult to learn many more.

There were dozens or even hundreds of spells for each level. How could six or seven spells cover everything? This was why Arthur praised Mages more and admired Sorcerers with higher Charisma less.

"Mentor, I'll learn it," Zhao Xu said, directly expressing his desire without even asking for details.

"Don't be in a hurry, let me explain it to you first."

"The Feat that allows free casting is called 'Uncanny Foresight,' but the prerequisite for choosing it is the 'Spell Familiarity' Feat."

Following that, Antinoa began to detail the two Feats.

The Feat descriptions also appeared directly on Zhao Xu's character sheet panel for him to browse.

This was one of the benefits of becoming a level 1 professional.

[Feat: Spell Familiarity

Prerequisites: Mage Level 1

Effect: Each time you select this Feat, you can choose a number of known spells equal to your Intelligence modifier. Thereafter, you can prepare these spells without a spellbook.]

Zhao Xu found this Feat to be quite redundant. It meant he could prepare some spells without a spellbook, as if they were etched into his heart, just like him.

However, as a Mindful Caster, he could already prepare spells without a spellbook by nature.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu could only shake his head, feeling that calling it redundant was an overstatement.

[Feat: Uncanny Foresight

Prerequisites: Intelligence 17, Spell Familiarity.

Effect: When preparing your daily spells, you can reserve spell slots equal to your Intelligence modifier.

1. As a standard action, you can use a reserved spell slot to cast any spell you have with Spell Familiarity that is not higher than the spell slot's level.

2. As a full-round action, you can use a reserved spell slot to cast any spell you know that is not higher than the spell slot's level, but the spell's caster level is reduced by 2.]

Looking at this Feat, Zhao Xu was secretly alarmed. There were limitations, but they were within an acceptable range.

With his +3 Intelligence modifier, he could reserve 3 spell slots, meaning he would have 3 opportunities for free casting.

This was enough for dealing with sudden situations in the early game.

The only limitation of this Feat was the casting time.

The spells chosen through Spell Familiarity could be cast relatively quickly by him (as a standard action).

For spells not chosen through Spell Familiarity, he would need 6 seconds to cast them (as a full-round action).

After half a month of training, Zhao Xu was already very familiar with basic Mage knowledge.

The casting times for most spells were fixed: Swift action (instantaneous), Standard action, Full-round action (6 seconds), and then longer ones.

Arthur used rounds (6 seconds) to denote time.

This setup was due to various factors, one of which was this:

A caster could only cast one 'standard' action spell and one 'swift' action spell per round, or one 'full-round' action spell.

The Mirage spell Antinoa had previously cast was likely using this Uncanny Foresight ability.

She had been casting for a full 6 seconds in one round.

Otherwise, Antinoa wouldn't have gone to the trouble of preparing such an illusion spell.

Even if you were incredibly powerful, you had to adhere to this rule.

Generally, a Mage could only cast one to two spells in 6 seconds, and everyone understood this during combat.

It wasn't like someone would suddenly unleash dozens of spells with swift casting times like a machine gun.

If that were the case, there would be no point in fighting; one would just kneel and beg for mercy.

For spells with a "standard action" casting time, it depended on the caster's skill. Generally, the difference wasn't significant, usually taking a few seconds, and could be compressed further with practice, depending on one's proficiency.

The casting time was a "swift action," meaning it could be cast instantly. However, spellcasters usually had to pay a hefty price to cast swift spells.

This was why low-level mages like them would often cast only one "standard action" spell per round and be done with it.

But that was a digression.

The real problem was that Zhao Xu didn't have 17 Intelligence.

He had saved 3 purchase points for other attributes, leaving his Intelligence at a mere 16.

At this point, Zhao Xu could only look at Antinoa with an awkward expression, silently pleading for her help.

Antinoa knew he didn't have 17 Intelligence. Furthermore, the apprentice emblem Zhao Xu had imagined back then had proven to be nothing but a fantasy.

"Now you see why 17 Intelligence is useful, don't you? Even though it doesn't grant an extra spell slot or slightly increase the saving throw DC compared to 16 Intelligence, it can still be a stumbling block."

Listening to Antinoa's teasing, Zhao Xu, a man who had lived thirty years in his previous life, shamelessly continued to seek her guidance.

Even though the old mage addressed Antinoa as "teacher," Antinoa had mentioned before that she had received the 9th-level spell "Kissed By the Ages," which had locked her mental and physical appearance at a specific age.

It wasn't a reversal of aging, but rather a freezing of her state at that particular time.

Therefore, while her experience had grown over the years, her psychology remained young, without the marks of time.

Otherwise, if she had been an old grandma, he wouldn't have been able to swallow his pride.

"You have two options now."

Zhao Xu's only thought upon hearing this was to complain. They always presented him with two options, but in reality, there was only one. Still, it was better than having no options at all.

"One option is for you to wait until level 4 to increase your Intelligence attribute, and then at level 6, you can gain this ability with a new level feat."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu shook his head. The five-level gap was too long.

He wasn't a novel protagonist whose adventures were pre-arranged by the author, so all his prepared spells would be useful.

Seeing Zhao Xu's reaction, Antinoa continued directly.

"As for the other option... forget it. I'll take a slight loss. I previously promised to cast the immortal 'Kissed By the Ages' spell for you once as compensation for joining our organization."

"You can now exchange that for one 'Wish Spell,' and I'll help you increase your Intelligence's innate bonus by 1 point."

PS1: There's one more chapter coming.

PS2: The text in [ ] brackets is the official version that players see. It definitely can't be as colloquial. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it; skipping it won't affect your reading. It's just there for those who want to delve into the details.