Chapter 39

Sponsorship

“So you have a skill that lets you directly manipulate mana?” asked Bruno.

Janus sighed. “That’s the simple explanation. I honestly didn’t know how big a deal my skill was until only a few months ago. I didn’t know that I could recreate spells with it or anything like that.”

“Recreate spells? Janus! You could make entirely new spells!" Bruno paused for a moment, deep in thought. “Hmm… Well, I’ve made up my mind. I want to help you develop your skill and I would be insane not to. The potential applications for enchanting are limitless.”

Janus took some time to think. He could hardly even modify the spells he had copied, much less make entirely original spells. But, the possibility was certainly there. If he could understand the fundamentals of mana and how it formed spell effects, the stars were the limit.

“The skill is called [Spell Weaving].” Janus remarked. “For now I want to focus on runes. They are the easiest way to get new effects out of some of the spells I already know.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. I’ve given you that book of runes and it should be very helpful. Experimentation is the heart of learning! We might even get you a basic enchanting skill. Applying runes on enchantments will help you gain a better understanding for your spells.”

“I’ll be sure the study up. I have to admit, though, these runes give me a bit of a headache.”

Bruno chuckled. “The frustration will pass! Everyone gets a bit of brain fog when they stare down hundreds of runes. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right. I should be back tomorrow.” Janus paused for a moment. “Or maybe the day after. I have to meet with my team about picking out a new job tomorrow.”

“Wait for a moment. Have you heard of a delving sponsor?”

Janus stopped himself at the office door. “A sponsor? What do you mean?”

“Here in Bear Station, businesses will often sponsor delvers or delving teams. I haven’t sponsored anyone in a few years. Basically, you help advertise the business and in return, I provide you with equipment and support!”

“Wait, really? I haven’t heard of a sponsored delver before.”

“Ah, well, the Eagle Station delvers usually turn their nose at sponsorships. But here in Bear Station, we openly embrace them!”

Janus considered his options. Bruno had been incredibly helpful and a sponsorship could provide him with equipment he desperately needed.

“I think a sponsorship could help me out quite a bit to be honest,” said Janus.

Bruno’s smile grew even larger. “Haha! Fantastic. Consider yourself a sponsored delver of Bruno’s Enchanting!”

“Is it possible to extend this sponsorship to my team?”

“Oh, you have a team? You never mentioned them. Bring them over and we’ll have a chat! Is there anything else you need before you go?”

Janus paused for a moment. “I’m not sure right now. I can try to make a list tonight…. Actually, do you know if there is a private place I can practice my [Spell Weaving]?”

“Hmm…. Possibly. I have a warehouse south of the guild, near the stacks. I could create a space there and reinforce it through enchantments.”

“That could be perfect. Do you think there will be enough room for my team? Although I don’t want to be too much of a bother.”

“I can spare the space for you. Don’t worry about it!”

“I appreciate this more than you can imagine, Bruno. Thanks for everything.

Janus waved goodbye to Bruno as he exited the shop. Bruno’s tome of runes fit snugly into one of his pockets, but bulged out uncomfortably. There was still plenty of time left in the day. It was time to experiment.

-

Once more, Janus found himself on a sparring square beneath the Delver’s Guild. He began constructing an array for arrow point, but made sure the anchor rune was affixed to his hand.

Janus waited for the array to completely form before waving his hand around. It was almost a success, the array followed his hand. However, the projectiles were still firing downward and not forward.

After fiddling with the anchor rune for a while, Janus realized that wasn’t the issue. He was creating the array in the wrong direction. If the array pointed away from him, then he should be able to aim the resulting mana arrows.

Another arrow point array later, Janus was happily pointing his hand at various points on the sparring platform. Every second or so, a new mana arrow would form, flying towards his target. Unfortunately, there was no real way to turn the array off or on without deconstructing it, but it was still progress.

The mana arrows had always been more effective than Janus’ ball of force. The problem was that monsters could just move out of the trajectory of the array. Now Janus could aim the array with his hand. He could even construct multiple arrays anchored to his arm.

Other delvers in the area were starting to get a little too interested in what Janus was doing. He decided that it would be best to stop for today.

Once Bruno set up a private training space, I can really let loose.

-

Janus had underestimated Hashilli’s enthusiasm. Once he had told the other [Enhancer] about runes and mana arrays, he had been inundated with questions.

“If you can create a mana array for the arrow point spell, why can’t you just make a mana array for other spells?”, asked Hashilli.

Janus scratched his head. “I’m not sure what you mean. I only have a few spells that use mana arrays at all.”

“No, I mean that you should try to create a mana array on its own. No spell component at all.”

“So, like and array that doesn’t actually do anything?”

“Yes! If you can isolate an array perhaps you could supply a new spell component. Imagine applying a spell array to your cantrips. You could apply a kinetic rune to [Flametip] and change how it works on a fundamental level!”

“You know, I actually met an interesting person recently. Have you heard of Bruno’s Enchanting?” Asked Janus.

“I’ve passed by the shop, yes.”

“Well, I spoke with the proprietor to learn more about runes and he offered to sponsor me.”

“Really? This opens up a lot of possibilities if he has resources.”

Janus leaned back and took a deep breath. He was feeling pretty worn out after all the practice.

“I could introduce you to him. You seem to have a pretty big interest in runes. Maybe we could research evolving your class to something enchantment based?”

Hashilli sat straight up. “I hadn’t really thought about it. [Magus] was always my goal, but….”

“Bruno already agreed to meet my team, I could bring you along too.”

“I accept your offer. I’m interested in learning more about runes. After seeing what you’re capable of, maybe [Magus] isn’t the path I should pursue.

The two spent another hour speaking about runes before Janus finally decided to head to bed.

-

The morning passed without incident. Hashilli had already left by the time Janus woke up.

He was surprised to see that it was nearly noon. The night before must have been more exhausting than he thought.

Showering and getting dressed only took a few minutes, but he was still running a little late. He rushed down the stairs and approached the commons.

Tara was sitting on a bench near the job board.

Rowan must be running late, too.

“Janus! Over here!” Tara waved to him and shouted.

“Sorry I’m a bit late. I had a busy night,” said Janus.

Tara gave him a knowing look. “Oh, a busy night?”

“Not like that. I was practicing with some of my skills. Actually I wanted to talk to you and Rowan about something. It might even be more important than grabbing a writ today.”

“Really? I’m looking forward to it then.”

Janus had been browsing the job board for a few minutes by the time Rowan finally arrived. The redhead looked disheveled.

“Sorry I’m late. Had a busy night.” Said Rowan with a grin.

“You too, huh?” asked Tara while jabbing her thumb at Janus.

“Fine work! High five, Janus!” said Rowan.

“It wasn’t like that.” Janus suppressed a smirk. “I was just working on my skills and stayed up too late.”

“Well, that’s good too. We’ll call what I did ‘Working on my skills’ too,” replied Rowan.

Janus made his way closer to the bench. “Anyway, none of that is important. I have something to show you guys.”

He had been thinking about it after explaining everything to Bruno. It was about time he told Tara and Rowan exactly what he was capable of. Hiding his abilities was a good way to get them killed on a dangerous mission.

Beckoning the others to follow him, Janus made his way to a nearby table.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you guys,” said Janus.

“Is this about your freaky spells?” Asked Rowan.

“Uh, yeah. I guess that’s one way to put it.” Janus sighed. “I thought hiding it would keep me safe, but it doesn’t make sense to hide it from people I need to trust with my life. My perspective has shifted a bit since that quest.”

“I can tell you we all got a little dose of reality from that,” said Tara.

Rowan’s eyes opened wide. “Wait, you mean you are getting worried? Your confidence is usually untouchable!”

Tara scoffed. “It’s not like I’m trying to get myself killed, Rowan. I just want a challenge. I want that adrenaline.”

“Yeah, well, this is what I mean,” continued Janus. “We really could have died back there. If you guys had known about my abilities, maybe we could have figured out a better way to protect ourselves.”

“Listen Janus. I know you can make those crazy explosions, but I doubt there was anything we could have done to make that safe,” said Rowan.

“I don’t know. I’ve learned so much about my skill the past few days…. With practice and some ingenuity it feels like anything is possible. Would you believe me if I told you that I don’t have any spells other than [Power Enhancement] and [Lesser Healing]?”

Both Rowan and Tara blankly stared a Janus.

“I-It’s true!” Stuttered Janus. “Every spell effect I use is created with something called [Spell Weaving]. I have some other supporting skills, but that’s the most important one.”

With that, Janus motioned with his hand and an empty spell array appeared in the air between Rowan and Tara. It appeared as a glowing, blue circle.

“Here. This is a spell array,” said Janus.

Tara scrunched her eyebrows. “Is it? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these without runes.”

“Yes. I can add runes to it, but the spell array might fall apart without a spell effect to apply itself to.” Janus cast the [Flametip] cantrip and waved his other hand. The spell array slowly floated towards his finger until it surrounded the flame. With another gesture, he formed a kinetic rune on the array. After the new rune formed, the flame and spell array started to slowly move upward.

“Huh. That’s….” It was the first time Janus had seen Rowan lost for words.

“It’s incredible!” Tara interjected. “Can you do the same thing with holy spells?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to copy any of your spells so far.”

“You can copy spells? Oh stars, we need to get you in front of as many mages as possible,” said Tara.

Janus stood and brushed off his shirt. “Yeah, well, that’s not everything. Come with me.”