Magic Missile

On the battlefield, Land knocked an orc down with a sword strike, but didn't take it out of the fight.

The orc got back up with a roar and charged again, shield raised. Fear showed in its eyes, but it didn't hesitate.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind them. Land glanced over and saw two figures hurrying their way.

His eyes lit up. "Reinforcements are here! Hold on, everyone!"

It was a tactical ploy. He didn't think two people could make much difference; he was only trying to boost morale.

The humans were indeed heartened, though most of them had no time to see how many reinforcements had arrived.

At the edge of the battlefield.

Anse slowed his pace. The chaos of the battlefield made it difficult for a spellcaster to get involved.

He spotted the low slopes on either side and had an idea. Changing course, he sprinted forward and leaped, scrambling up the hillside.

The slope wasn't too steep. After climbing six or seven meters, he found a place to stand and looked out over the battlefield. It was just over twenty meters ahead, spread out clearly before him.

"Perfect!" Anse exclaimed, delighted.

Brat had just entered the battlefield and was looking back over his shoulder. When he saw the figure on the hillside, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Anse nodded to him, then cast Mold Earth, raising a thin wall a full meter high in front of himself.

His actions might have seemed like a waste of time, but in truth he was "creating an advantage"!

The high ground gave him an advantage when aiming, and his spells wouldn't be blocked by people or obstacles. The wall gave him cover, making him harder to hit. Simple and practical.

His gaze swept over the battlefield before settling on a goblin holding a crossbow.

"Sorcerous Burst" (Fire)

In less than half a second, a ball of sorcerous energy blasted from the tip of his staff. It shot over everyone's heads in the blink of an eye and slammed into a goblin's chest.

"Bang, bang—"

The goblin seemed to take two blows from a heavy hammer. It crashed to the ground, its chest caved in and blood streaming from its features. After twitching a few times, it lay still.

[You cast Sorcerous Burst on a goblin... The goblin was hit and took 13 (8+5) fire damage. Critical hit. Target dead. Gained 50 Combat Experience. Level up...]

He'd leveled up!

He'd gotten lucky this time and triggered Chain Burst. The goblin, with only 7 hit points, had been killed outright.

On the battlefield ahead, Land saw what had happened and was thrilled.

Spellcasters weren't rare, but spellcasters who could cast efficiently and accurately despite the Weave's disruptions were. Even using Divine Smite took a great deal of effort for him, to say nothing of low-level Professionals.

Anse paid none of that any mind. He crouched and immediately summoned his Character Sheet.

After leveling up, a Professional could either increase their level in their current class or multiclass into another—specialize in one field or learn from many.

Anse decisively chose to increase his Sorcerer level.

[Level up: Level 2 Sorcerer! You gain two new class features and can learn a new spell.]

There was no time to check his class features. He quickly settled on a new spell: Magic Missile.

Magic Missile was sometimes jokingly called "magic missiles." It created three glowing darts made of magical force. Each dart dealt 1d4 (1–4) + 1 force damage to its target. It had a base range of 120 feet, and its force darts sought their targets and never missed.

The most awkward problem for low-level spellcasters facing strong opponents was simple: they couldn't hit them!

High-level Professionals had strong attributes, plenty of features and skills, and could dodge or run. No matter how powerful a spell was, it was useless if it missed.

Magic Missile solved that problem perfectly.

Anse stood up, magical light glinting in his eyes as every detail of Magic Missile came rushing through his mind.

A few seconds passed before he fixed his aim on Brat's opponent.

It was a Hobgoblin, half a head taller than Brat, though not as strong. But clad in hide armor and wielding a shield and a spiked mace, it was pressing Brat hard.

"Magic Missile"

Three glowing darts shot out almost at once, each carving a strange, unpredictable arc through the air as they whistled toward the Hobgoblin.

Caught off guard, the Hobgoblin barely managed to raise its shield, but it was too late. The darts struck its head, chest, and arm in quick succession, bursting into sprays of blood.

[Successfully cast a level 1 spell, Magic Missile. You gained a deeper understanding of innate magic and earned 1 class experience...]

[You cast Magic Missile on a Hobgoblin... The Hobgoblin was hit and took 12 force damage. Current hit points: 9/27...]

"Casting spells only gives 1 experience?" Anse thought, speechless.

On the battlefield, Brat froze for a moment, then reacted. He lunged forward, thrusting his sword beneath the off-balance Hobgoblin's arm and straight into its heart.

[Target dead. Gained 31 Combat Experience...]

The humans' morale soared. Those armored Hobgoblins were a major threat, and every one they took down eased the pressure.

At the rear of the battlefield, the Gray Dwarves shouted orders. Several orcs and goblins tried to rush over and take Anse out, but Brat and the humans held them back.

"Watch out—" Land turned and yelled.

Anse looked up and saw a black point growing larger before his eyes. His scalp prickled, and he dropped at once, hiding his whole body behind the low wall.

"Whoosh—"

A javelin whistled past half a foot above the wall. His heart pounded.

"Shit!"

He immediately leaned out to look at the battlefield.

A tall Bugbear Officer with red skin, pointed ears, and Half Plate had taken aim, preparing to throw again.

Suddenly, an arrow shot down from the slope above. The Bugbear Officer hurriedly dodged, but the arrow still struck its arm.

Anse looked up. A human archer had appeared on the hillside at some point and was drawing a bow.

Furious, the Bugbear Officer shifted its attention to the archer, who was closer.

What an opportunity.

Anse sprang up and fixed his focus on the Bugbear Officer.

"Magic Missile"

Three glowing darts streaked across the battlefield with a whine that made everyone's skin crawl. They were much faster than a javelin.

The Bugbear Officer rolled to dodge. The darts shifted course slightly and struck in an instant, slamming one after another into its exposed backside.

"Argh—"

The agonized wail made both sides clench in sympathy.

[You cast Magic Missile on a Bugbear Officer... The Bugbear Officer was hit and took 20 (critical hit) force damage. Current hit points: 35/58...]

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—three arrows followed right after.

The Bugbear Officer rolled across the ground by instinct. The arrows bounced off its plate armor, though one struck its leg and raised a spray of blood.

"Magic Missile"

By the time the ringing Draconic language reached the battlefield, Magic Missile had already arrived.

Knowing it couldn't dodge, the Bugbear Officer raised both arms to block the darts.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

[...The Bugbear Officer was hit and took 7 force damage. Current hit points: 24/58...]

"Tough bastard." Anse panted lightly as he steadied his turbulent magic.

If he were an ordinary Sorcerer, his Spell Slots would already be exhausted, or he'd be completely drained. He wouldn't stand a chance against his opponent. Fighting someone two levels higher was difficult.

Fortunately, he wasn't ordinary. After leveling up, he had 11 points of magic, enough to blast the opponent to death.

By then, Land had dealt with his opponent. He strode up to the Bugbear Officer, knocked its defense aside with one sword strike, then took its head with another.

[Target dead. Gained 190 Combat Experience...]

That's a lot of experience. Anse was delighted.

Too bad he hadn't gotten the kill. He'd noticed that he earned much less experience if he didn't personally kill an enemy, though participating in the fight was enough to gain some.

With the threat gone, he stood against the wind, staff in one hand, and turned into an unfeeling spellcasting machine, launching one spell after another with speed and precision.

"Sorcerous Burst"

"..."

His magic was limited, so he used Cantrips whenever possible, targeting archers at the rear or unarmored goblin grunts. From time to time, he helped take some of the pressure off Brat.

Cantrips didn't lock onto targets, and moving targets were hard to hit. It wasn't easy to intervene directly in close combat; hitting an ally in the chaos would be a terrible blow to morale.

"Boom—"

A goblin grunt had bad luck and triggered Chain Burst. Its face was smashed in, and it dropped straight to the ground.

[...Target dead. Gained 37 Combat Experience...]

By then, at least six or seven goblins had died directly or indirectly at his hands.

An opportunity like this was incredibly rare. The waves of experience rolling in felt as satisfying as gulping down an ice-cold drink on a sweltering, forty-degree day—impossible to get enough of.