Metamagic

After thinking it over for a moment, Anse chose Spell Sniper. Range was king.

[Spell Sniper]: General Feat. You gain the following benefits:

"Attribute Score Increase": Your Charisma increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

"Piercing Cover": Your spells become more accurate, ignoring half cover and three-quarters cover.

"Close-Quarters Casting": When you are within 5 feet of an enemy, your spell attacks don't have disadvantage.

"Spell Distance Extension": When you cast a spell with a range greater than 10 feet, its range increases by at least 60 feet. The actual increase depends on your primary ability score.

The Dice suddenly emitted a faint glow. Anse shuddered as magic surged through him, a rich metallic sheen spreading across his Dragon Scales. A flash of understanding surfaced in his mind.

After a long while, the magic within him gradually settled. He came back to himself, eager to try it out.

Having this feat was like unlocking an absurdly long-range aimbot: he could hit anything the moment it showed its head, and even land accurate hits in close combat. It was a massive boost for any spellcaster.

He held back his excitement and brought up his Character Sheet. He'd just leveled up today and hadn't had a chance to check it yet.

After reaching level 2 as a Sorcerer, his hit points had reached 20—higher than those of Brat, a level 2 Warrior, and five times that of an ordinary person.

His maximum mana had reached 11, far beyond that of other spellcasters at the same level.

His experience was 772/900, only 128 points from leveling up. A level 3 Sorcerer could learn 2nd-level spells, which gave him something to look forward to.

The biggest boost came from two class features he'd just acquired: "Font of Mana" and "Metamagic."

"Font of Mana": Sorcerers draw on the source of magic within them, unleashing extraordinary power that can create all kinds of magical effects.

You have 2 Sorcery Points. Your total increases as you gain levels in this class.

Sorcery Points and mana can be converted into each other, but converting them into ordinary mana incurs an additional loss.

"Metamagic": You have learned Metamagic. When you cast a spell, you can spend Sorcery Points to enhance its effects.

You can now choose 2 of the 10 Metamagic options. As you explore your innate magic further, you will learn more Metamagic options.

These two features complemented each other, together forming the Sorcerer's unique ability: Metamagic!

There were 10 Metamagic options in total: Careful Spell, Distant Spell, Empowered Spell, Extended Spell, Heightened Spell, Quicken Spell, Seeking Spell, Subtle Spell, Transmuted Spell, and Twinned Spell.

After a quick look through them, Anse chose Quicken Spell and Twinned Spell.

Quicken Spell did exactly what its name suggested: it let him cast a spell in an instant, at a cost of 2 Sorcery Points each time.

Twinned Spell didn't let him cast two spells at once. Instead, when casting a spell, he could choose an additional creature as a target, at a cost of 1 Sorcery Point each time.

However, Twinned Spell didn't work with every spell. For instance, it couldn't be used with Magic Missile, which could attack multiple targets, or Fireball, which dealt damage over a wide area.

Spells like Jump, Prismatic Sphere, Command Spell, Charm Person, and most Cantrips that targeted a single creature could be used with Twinned Spell.

But he had too few Sorcery Points for now. He could only use them in a pinch, not as a regular tactic.

Satisfied, Anse went into meditation with his staff in his arms.

Who knew how much time had passed when a sudden, muffled boom rang through the air. The rumbling tremors traveled along the earth's veins to every district.

Even the surface of the Chongsa River rippled in circles.

Anse jolted awake and sat up, coming face-to-face with Brat's horrified gaze.

"Did it collapse again?" His heart pounded.

Brat swallowed and shook his head hard. He grabbed his longsword, slung his pack over his back, and rushed for the exit. "Come on, come on..."

Anse grabbed his backpack and glanced around. He didn't see the Ranger, and the food on the dining table was still there.

"Take the food." He opened his backpack and stuffed in the jerky and bread, but it wasn't very large and filled up in no time.

Seeing that, Brat opened his pack and swept his arm across the table, sending the remaining food tumbling inside.

As soon as they stepped outside, they found chaos already reigning. The streets rang with pounding footsteps, wailing, and curses.

Anse hurried downstairs, pulling out his pocket watch on the way. It was noon, so they'd probably rested for two or three hours.

The hall was in disarray. Apart from a few injured people and small children who couldn't move, everyone was rushing outside.

"Hurry, hurry! Get out of here, head to Rivington..." several young clerics kept shouting.

Anse was just about to go over and ask what was happening when Finn came running toward him against the flow of people.

"Hurry!" Finn had evidently come back to find him. He grabbed Anse by the sleeve and tugged him along.

"What's going on?" Amid the din, Anse caught a few words, but he wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"The Crowded Side District, the Spacious District, and part of the Temple District all fell into the Underdark," Finn explained quickly.

Anse was startled. The Spacious District and the Temple District were both in the Upper City, where Baldur's Gate's core forces were based. No wonder the people were desperate.

But he noticed that Finn's wording was oddly precise. "Fell into the Underdark? Not collapsed? How do you know that so clearly?"

"It told me." Finn stepped out of the church and pointed overhead.

The sky had grown unnaturally dark at some point. A Gray Hawk circled above the city.

Anse understood. It must be Finn's animal companion.

"It was as if a giant hand had dragged the district straight down. It didn't collapse," Finn added.

"Man-made Disaster?" Anse furrowed his brow, an ominous feeling rising in his heart.

"Then why is everyone panicking so much?" Brat asked, confused.

"The Underdark Creatures are coming up. If we don't run now, it'll be too late." Seeing Anse stop, Finn reached out to tug him again.

Anse couldn't help laughing wryly. Finn was strange, but he could tell the other man meant no harm.

"Are there many?"

"Very, very many!"

Anse considered for a moment. "Don't panic. It'll take them at least a few hours to climb up and make their way here. Let's help the church transport the injured and supplies."

He didn't know how much fighting strength the Flaming Fist had left, but if they wanted to rely on the fortress to hold back the Underdark Creatures, they absolutely couldn't overlook the Church of the Final Hope.

"All right." Brat didn't hesitate.

Finn hesitated briefly, then nodded too.

They hurried back into the hall, where they saw Old Cleric Berg directing the clerics' evacuation. He wasn't stubbornly set on staying, either. There was no point holding out here under the circumstances.

There was no time for pleasantries. They helped the clerics bring over wagons and carts, loaded on as many of the injured and as much of the supplies as they could, and set off for Flying Dragon Bridge together.

Taking the opportunity, Anse helped Brat put on his Half Plate. If a fight broke out, it would give him an extra layer of protection.

The church was only three or four hundred meters from the head of Flying Dragon Bridge, but the streets were crowded and chaotic. It took the convoy more than ten minutes to reach the bridge.

Flying Dragon Bridge was six or seven hundred meters long. The bridge itself looked wide enough, but buildings crowded both sides, leaving only a few meters of passable road.

The bridge was mainly supported by Dragon Rock in the middle of the riverbed, a small island with a fortress on it. It was a magnificent sight.

The convoy had just reached the bridge when Finn suddenly pointed behind them. "Look!"

Anse turned around. Beneath the darkened sky, countless black shapes were pouring through the passageway into the Twin Song District.

"At least a hundred. How did they get here so fast?"

Then he realized these weren't newly arrived Underdark Creatures. They were the ones who had come up earlier, and now they'd simply gathered in sufficient numbers.

At that moment, just ahead of the creatures, Land and Zahir were leading two or three dozen people in a desperate stand against them. They fought as they retreated, buying the civilians time to escape.