Gray Dwarf Mind Master

[You were attacked by the Gray Dwarf Mind Master's Poison Heart Dagger... Miss]

If it hadn't been for Shield Spell and Protection Cloak, he might really have been killed in one hit!

"You're asking for it!"

Brat roared as he came to his senses and immediately charged, his face twisted into a savage expression, like he was about to tear someone apart.

Finn clenched his jaw and glared furiously, his messy beard and hair standing on end. He really did look like a beast gone mad.

He was just behind Anse, yet he hadn't noticed anything until Anse was attacked. His heart was full of remorse.

He raised a hand and cast Hunter's Mark with Quicken Spell. An X-shaped magical mark appeared above the cloaked man's head, in case he turned invisible again.

Anse didn't hesitate for a second. He quickly retreated; the distance was far too dangerous for him.

But the moment he started to move, he saw the Gray Dwarf raise a hand, accompanied by a faint ripple of magic.

"Shit!"

He cursed under his breath and immediately stopped.

"Magic Missile"

Metamagic—Quicken Spell: Magic Missile!

Three Glimmering Missiles formed in an instant, whistling through the rain and the night sky.

The Gray Dwarf stopped and dodged, but the missiles followed him like shadows. He made a snap decision, crossed his arms, and used his bracers to block them.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Three dull impacts rang out in quick succession. The Gray Dwarf staggered back to absorb the force, his bracers warped and his arms left bloody and mangled.

[You cast Magic Missile on the Gray Dwarf Mind Master... The Gray Dwarf Mind Master was hit and took 8 force damage. Current HP: 31/39...]

Anse didn't even look. The blue runes on his spell-storing ring suddenly lit up, and three more spells shot out with a howl.

"Woooo—"

"Whoosh—"

The Gray Dwarf was decisive. He dodged Finn's arrow, pointed at Anse, and sent an invisible wave of force straight at him, then turned his back and braced against the Magic Missiles.

Anse's scalp prickled. He activated Shield Spell again, but this time the force-field shield was useless.

His mind went foggy for an instant. A glimmer of magic flashed across his scales and Protection Cloak at the same time, and the spell's wave dissipated without a trace.

[The Gray Dwarf Mind Master cast Dominate Mind on you, forcing a simple Intelligence saving throw (12)... Saving throw successful]

"Motherfucker!" he cursed aloud.

On the other side, the Gray Dwarf's cloak was in tatters, and blood soaked his leather armor. Before he could even react to his spell failing, Brat's longsword was already swinging toward him.

He barely managed to twist aside, but the longsword slashed back up at an astonishing speed.

He couldn't dodge in time and hurriedly raised his dagger to block, but the tremendous force behind the longsword knocked it aside. The blade cut up through his leather armor and carved a gash dozens of centimeters long across his chest and abdomen, leaving torn flesh exposed.

The Gray Dwarf grunted and rolled, trying to turn invisible and escape. A gale sprang up overhead, and a huge black shadow swooped past. Sharp talons tore half his face away, taking his right eye and half his scalp with it. Blood poured everywhere.

"Ah—" For the first time, the Gray Dwarf screamed, his voice shrill and trembling.

Anse reveled in the sight and activated his spell-storing ring again.

"Magic Missile"

Three Magic Missiles left three white arcs across the night sky and slammed into the wound in the Gray Dwarf's chest and abdomen, one after another.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The Gray Dwarf was ripped open, his innards blasted across the ground. His arms fell limp, and his eyes glazed over.

[You cast Magic Missile on the Gray Dwarf Mind Master... The Gray Dwarf Mind Master was hit and took 20 force damage (critical hit). Target dead. Gained 215 Combat Experience. Level up]

Brat took a quick step and brought his sword down, severing the Gray Dwarf's head.

The enemy was dead, but no one let their guard down. Brat and Finn stood around Anse, still shaken.

"Don't worry. There shouldn't be anyone else," Anse reassured them.

No wonder people said spellcasters feared assassins. That had been dangerous, but he knew that even if it happened again, he still wouldn't die.

Shield Spell was cast instantly as a reaction, so he had more than enough time to use it. Dominate Mind seemed frightening, but it could only control him for a few seconds at most, and he couldn't cast spells during that time. The Gray Dwarf could do little more than make him hit someone with a stick.

His melee skills were nowhere near good enough to hurt Brat or Finn.

At that moment, the importance of a team was clear. Going it alone left far too little room for error.

"That's a Gray Dwarf, right? How'd it get this far into the city? That's one bold bastard." Brat lifted his foot as if to kick the grisly head away, but stopped when he remembered it could earn them a bounty.

"Gray Dwarf Mind Masters usually serve as spies. They're good at turning invisible, so it probably came to gather information," Anse explained.

Its Challenge Rating was only 2, yet it had already been this hard to deal with.

"Stay safe while we clean up. The smell of blood could attract more monsters," Brat warned.

"I know." Anse replied and walked to a corner, leaning against the wall as he watched the two men "harvest" their spoils.

He had leveled up and urgently needed to find a safe place to advance.

This fight had made him realize how few options he had. His only offensive spells were Magic Missile and Prismatic Sphere.

Magic Missile was handy, but its damage fell well short of Prismatic Sphere. A single Prismatic Sphere could deal 3d8 (3–24) damage. It could not only be assigned any damage type, but might also bounce and cause a second explosion.

However, Prismatic Sphere was easy to miss. Its base range was only half that of Magic Missile, an obvious drawback.

He needed stronger spells, and more of them, to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations.

A few minutes passed.

The three of them hurried away, Brat and Finn each carrying a blood-soaked bundle.

As they passed a Stone Tower with its doors wide open, Anse waved, and they ducked inside and shut the doors tight.

"I've gained some insight into my innate magic. Wait here a moment," Anse explained. He took off his backpack, sat on the ground, and pretended to enter a meditative state.

Brat and Finn exchanged bewildered looks.

Anse had already entered his mental world. The silver D20 floated quietly before him.

The third symbol on the Dice was more than halfway lit. It wouldn't be long before it shone completely.

He opened his Character Sheet, and a level-up option appeared:

Increase Sorcerer level or choose a new class.

Anse chose to increase his Sorcerer level without hesitation. A third-level Sorcerer could learn second-circle spells, which would greatly improve his strength.

If he chose to multiclass into another class at level one, such as Warrior, his total class level would still be three, but he wouldn't be able to learn second-circle spells. That was one of the drawbacks of multiclassing.

[Level up: Level 3 Sorcerer!]

["Magic Control" level increased. You learned new Draconic Spells: "Dragon Breath" and "Polymorph." You may learn one new spell.]

Level three was an important milestone. Most classes could choose a subclass at level three, setting their future direction.

Anse was different: his Sorcerous Origin had been determined at level one, but he still gained a major boost at level three.

The biggest surprise was that his Adventure Trait, "Magic Control," had leveled up!

He'd been wondering how to improve it, and hadn't expected it to rise with his spellcasting level. It suited the Sorcerer class well.

Second-circle Magic Control would let him wield second-circle spells with ease and cast them more reliably. It also increased his maximum magic by another 5 points, leaving him with a much deeper reserve.