My Servant System

Chapter 653 652: Running Some Tests

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I hung the Khopesh back on my hip as I stared at the oncoming cluster of Cultists, deciding to take an entirely magical approach to this confrontation to get a better grasp on how much of an improvement my Ice Magic got from becoming a <Frost Witch>, which should be visible and calculable from this test... hopefully.

To start, I traced out the runes for a long time favorite and one of my old reliable spells, summoning a long crystalline lance that whistled through the air as I flung it forwards, straight into the chest of the Cultist at the forefront of the group.

The ice tore through their chest and slid cleanly through, the smooth construction of the lance allowing it to penetrate straight past the first and into the second, reaching deeper into the group and allowing me to inflict even more damage as the lance exploded, a cloud of sharp slivers of ice slicing through the nearby Cultists and spreading [Frost of Despoina] over them all.

Since I had targeted the left flank of the group, Adelina still had a portion of the Cultists to herself, the Lioness lunging forwards with her sword and granting her foes quick deaths as she cut them down one by one, becoming a golden blur on the right flank.

Those were the lucky people of this group, since the ones on my side were dropping to the ground and shivering, the warmth seeping out of their bodies as my Frost overtook them, spreading from the smallest cuts and gradually lulling them into a final sleep.

One lance, one explosion, and I killed almost a dozen, all with a spell that wasn't powered to the fullest, wasn't tuned to be a multi target spell, and wasn't meant for much besides chip damage on a larger, stronger enemy.

Whilst some of the Cultists were dying slowly from the lance, I had begun to draw up another spell, one that was a partial experiment on its own thanks to the complexity of the spell, but one that I hoped would become a regular in my arcane arsenal.

I was no where near the level of Leone when it came to interlaying Ritual Circles into one another, but the technique to do so was one that wasn't hard to grasp, least of all when you had a deep understanding of your spells and how they would interact together; I could say - with confidence - that I had that understanding in regards to my own spells, and so I was hopeful with this new spell I had created.

The primary Ritual Circle was comprised entirely of Ice Mana, meant to create small shards of ice that I could blast outwards and use like a shotgun to lacerate my opponent in multiple areas, with it's true purpose being to spread my Frost even further and quicker than with any other spell, be it on a single target or in a group.

The secondary, embedded Ritual Circle was something that would help carry those shards further and faster than the base spell, and it was made from Wind Mana, acting as a supporting element to the entire spell whilst also having some damage of its own.

Sharp gusts of wind carrying even sharper shards of ice that could inflict a damage over time effect on someone was perfect, and since it - while complex - cost little mana on its own, it was something that I wanted in my arsenal going forwards.

In essence, it's an upgraded, more personal version of the Blizzard Spell that I had learned a long time ago, just condensed down into a smaller area and given more speed and damage instead of being meant for a Domain.

The runes flared to life, a speckle of green flickering inside a sea of pale blue as the spell was casted, and it was just in time as the Cultists let out a battlecry as they drew ever closer to me, their weapons raised as they threatened to kill and butcher me for my transgressions.

A soft breeze blew out of the Ritual Circles, though it quickly turned into gusts of wind that only grew stronger with each passing moment, getting strong enough to make moving towards me a tedious task and threatening to tear away the weapons from their hands.

The wind grew chilly, then downright frigid as it buffeted the Cultists, only to then become sharp.

Small slivers of crystalline ice formed in the air, growing larger in size and leaving small scratches on the bare skin of the Cultists, who were stubbornly trying to approach me no matter what, only to become terrified as they grew numb.

Those slivers grew even larger, and eventually they reached as size that scored deep cuts in flesh and in armor alike, becoming the entry points for my Frost to take root.

I watched as a small dust of ice covered the hairs of the Cultists, though just like the slivers that dusting grew in size and intensity, moving from just the hairs to the flesh, turning their skin red for just a moment as the cold seeped in, only for the red to dissipate and leave behind a paler coloration on their skin.

Slowly but surely, the Cultists were consumed by frostbite as the gale whipped more crystals at them, opening more cuts on their bodies and spreading more of that chill further in and on their flesh.

All of this happened in a corridor that I created, and I smirked as I watched the various enemies in front of me fall to their knees, dropping their weapons and trying to tear away their metal armor, doing everything they could to rid themselves of the chill.

Curiosity made me step into my own gale, walking amongst the dying idiots and inspecting their flesh and bodies to see just how severe the frostbite had become.

Their fingers had already begun to blacken, while the cuts around their bodies had also begun to blacken, the top most layer of their flesh dying out swiftly from the magically enhanced chill, and the cuts themselves had already stopped bleeding as the blood froze on the wound.

All in all... it was another devastating spell designed entirely with the idea of Frost in mind, and it seemed to have done wonders already~!