Chapter 145: Cloak of Stars (1/3)

“Mentor, what about that cloak?” Zhao Xu pointed toward a black cloak folded in the corner. It looked utterly plain, without even the faintest trace of the restrained yet noble aura one would expect from an artifact.

Antinoya followed his gaze and immediately understood. With a smile, she said, “You really have not been able to forget this thing, have you?”

Zhao Xu smiled in return. There it was at last.

He had been deeply impressed by this cloak, which could almost be called a minor artifact of damage reduction.

In his previous life, when Wang Ningwei had attended the Northern Lord’s banquet as an envoy, she had been wearing this very cloak—the Cloak of Stars.

It was only through that occasion that he had heard others speak of the cloak’s formidable power and its astonishing price of one hundred and thirty thousand gold pieces.

Zhao Xu walked over to the rack and gently lifted the knitted cloak. Only then did he notice that there were three or four more beneath it.

This meant that the one in his hands was not the same cloak Antinoya had been wearing when he first met her.

But that hardly mattered. Powerful magical equipment did not become cheaper simply because it was secondhand.

“Mm. This Cloak of Stars comes from the seventh-circle spell of the same name. The spell has a range of touch and does not satisfy the requirements for Persistent Spell, so it is still fairly useful when worn as equipment.”

What Antinoya meant was that the spell Cloak of Stars could not remain active on someone for twenty-four hours at a time. That was precisely what made the item so valuable.

For spellcasters who had mastered Persistent Spell, any spell that could be cast upon themselves and last for twenty-four hours did not need to be supplemented by an identical piece of equipment.

It was much like a wizard’s reluctance to wear armor. On the one hand, armor increased the chance of arcane spell failure; on the other, the spell Mage Armor already lasted for hours, while also avoiding the inconvenience and penalties of wearing armor.

“Mentor, aren’t you going to explain what this equipment does?” Zhao Xu asked, running his fingers over the black patterns on the cloak.

The cloak looked extremely ordinary, scarcely different from the hooded shoulder-cloaks adventurers commonly wore to conceal their figures.

“You already know the answer,” Antinoya replied with a smile, though she patiently explained it anyway. “When you wear this cloak, you become immune to all attacks made with nonmagical weapons, and the weapons themselves will be destroyed in return. As for magical weapons, if you succeed at the Reflex save, you can halve the damage you take.”

Zhao Xu nodded. It was indeed the effect he remembered. If someone tried to hack him with an ordinary machete, they would instead find their weapon splitting apart.

The sheer grandeur of the effect was undeniable.

“Put it on and see for yourself,” Antinoya said.

Zhao Xu untied the hooded cloak he had been wearing purely for decoration and draped the Cloak of Stars over his shoulders.

The instant he put it on, the entire cloak transformed into a shimmering lake reflecting the night sky. Countless stars seemed to flow across its surface, leaving streaks of silver in their wake.

Although the cloak gave him no feedback or warning of any kind, Zhao Xu knew perfectly well that once he wore it, anyone who wanted to cut him would at least need a magical weapon. The same applied even more so to stray arrows on a battlefield.

If he had been wearing this cloak before entering the Forest of Strange Whispers, the arrows from that trap would never have harmed him.

Even against magical weapons, he could use his Reflex save to avoid half the damage to his life force.

“Are you satisfied?” Antinoya asked, smiling brightly as she watched Zhao Xu constantly inspect the cloak on his body.

“Aren’t you going to choose one of the artifacts here?” she continued. “For example, that Staff of the Archmage in the corner. It can absorb an enemy’s spell energy and convert it into any one of more than a dozen designated spells.”

Zhao Xu merely shook his head at the tempting suggestion.

He knew his own limits.

None of these artifacts was as simple as it appeared.

He could not yet bear the weight of the crown at third level.

“Mm. It seems you have not become completely carried away. Actually, if you had been unable to choose just now, I would have recommended that Rune Staff of Strength. It can deal double damage and has a whole series of terrifying effects. But since you have no need for melee combat at present, there is no hurry. You can come back for it next time.”

“As for the cloak you are wearing, do you really think it would have been placed here if it were that simple?” Antinoya asked with a soft laugh.

Zhao Xu fell into thought.

Ordinary people in Arthur, and even most low-level adventurers, generally used ordinary, nonmagical weapons.

Those who were poorer might even pick up a wooden stick and charge into battle.

Even the cheapest +1 magical weapon cost at least two thousand gold pieces.

This cloak could screen out attacks from ordinary novices.

The problem was that once he reached the higher levels, his enemies would not be lacking magical weapons.

Even a first-level wizard had ways to counter it. The night Zhao Xu had faced the wraiths, for instance, he had cast Magic Weapon, temporarily turning Maple’s greatsword into a +1 magical greatsword.

Many creatures with templates, such as half-celestial beings, even possessed natural weapons that were inherently treated as magical weapons.

When Zhao Xu had transformed into a celestial war servant, the +5 flying greatsword he had wielded in midair had itself been treated as a legendary magical weapon.

“Most wizards have contingency spells on their persons,” Antinoya continued, enticing him. “So if you are worried about some tale of a ‘high-level wizard being stabbed to death by a street thug because he had no spell prepared,’ there is no need to be nervous.”

Zhao Xu thought for a moment before replying, “What interests me most is the ability to halve the damage simply by succeeding at the Reflex save. There must be more to it.”

Antinoya nodded lightly, apparently satisfied that he possessed at least a reasonable degree of perception.

“You know the spell Fireball, don’t you?” she asked suddenly.

“Of course. Fireball and Fly are classic third-circle wizard spells,” Zhao Xu replied.

Even ordinary people had heard the frightening tales of wizards hurling Fireballs that slaughtered more than a dozen people at once.

“If the target succeeds at the Reflex save against Fireball, it takes only half damage. You know that, yes?” Antinoya continued, leading him onward.

Zhao Xu nodded. The ability to halve damage upon a successful save was a typical characteristic of evocation magic.

Aside from a few spells that required no check at all, most magic had to overcome the target’s spell resistance before forcing the target to fail a saving throw.

With Fireball, a failed save meant taking the full damage, while a successful save meant taking only half.

That differed slightly from Zhao Xu’s earlier spell, Prismatic Spray, which caused the target to fall if it failed the save and left it entirely unaffected if it succeeded.

Thus, the Cloak of Stars’ ability to halve damage upon a successful save operated on the same principle as Fireball.

“Have you ever heard of another ability?” Antinoya asked, as though telling a story, gradually drawing him toward the answer.

“Hmm?”

Zhao Xu was about to ask what she meant when the characteristic second-level ability of a rogue suddenly flashed through his mind.

With a trace of uncertainty, he said, “Evasion?”

“Exactly,” Antinoya confirmed.

Evasion was one of the rogue’s powerful signature abilities at second level.

Against attacks that dealt half damage upon a successful Reflex save, a rogue with Evasion who succeeded at the save could avoid all damage instead of taking half.

It allowed the rogue to evade damage completely.

That was why, when a wizard occasionally dropped a Fireball, most people would still be injured even if they succeeded at their saves—

while a rogue with Evasion could charge through the blast completely unharmed.

“So if a second-level rogue were wearing this cloak, then as long as they succeeded at the Reflex save, they could evade all damage, even from a magical weapon?” Zhao Xu asked, seeking confirmation, though he already vaguely understood the answer.

It was just unfortunate that he was not a rogue.

The Cloak of Stars had a fixed Reflex save difficulty of fifteen. Once his level rose, passing that save would be virtually guaranteed.

The greater significance of his choosing the cloak lay in the fact that it would naturally reduce the damage from physical attacks by half.

“What if I told you that you could obtain Evasion?” Antinoya’s voice took on a strange, ethereal quality.

Zhao Xu considered the matter. Taking two levels in rogue would cost him far too much. It was not worth it.

That left only one explanation.

“There is a spell that can grant me this ability?” Zhao Xu asked.

“Soon, you will have to start memorizing the thousands upon thousands of expanded spell effects.”

“The fourth-circle wizard arcana Ruins Delver’s Fortune can grant you Evasion. It also allows you to add your Charisma modifier to your Reflex saves. More importantly, it is a spell that can be made Persistent.”

Antinoya gazed at Zhao Xu with a gentle expression.

There was no need to say it aloud. She herself currently had that spell active.

Seventh level.

When Zhao Xu reached seventh level and learned the spell, the bonus it granted to his Reflex saves would ensure that he could pass those checks with ease.

In other words, the time when Zhao Xu could become immune to the vast majority of melee attacks would come at seventh level.

That was also why the Cloak of Stars was so rare and precious.

Even if an ordinary wizard learned this spell, they could maintain it for only a matter of minutes. By then, the wizard would already have reached the lofty thirteenth level.

If a wizard of that level still allowed someone to get close enough to attack them, then dying would hardly be undeserved.

Zhao Xu looked at the cloak with a conflicted expression.

Unfortunately, it was not powerful enough. If it were an artifact, it would be able to grant immunity to Antimagic Field.

“Let’s go,” Antinoya said.

“Go?” Zhao Xu asked in surprise. “Mentor, now that we have finally come to this hidden vault, aren’t you going to show me around?”

“Do you think you came here sightseeing?” Antinoya asked irritably.

“Besides, the effect of calling me ‘sister’ is almost over. Once the time runs out, you will be attacked by the spells protecting this treasure. If I remember correctly, the first spell is the ninth-circle arcana Imprisonment.”

“If you are struck by it, I will not be in the mood to cast the opposing ninth-circle spell, Freedom, to release you. I will definitely make you reflect on your behavior for two days before letting you out.”

“Sister,” Zhao Xu hurriedly added.

He had heard the terrible reputation of that spell, which could leave a person forever unable to pass into the afterlife, trapped eternally in a state resembling death.

“Heh. I do not acknowledge it,” Antinoya said.