Anser grew increasingly restless. He felt that this deck of tarot cards was definitely extraordinary.
But he was worried it might be cursed, so he didn't dare attune to it rashly. After all, its previous owner had been a fiend—better not to mess with it carelessly.
A moment later, the battle footage finished playing. The symbols transformed into the image of a spellcaster, with multiple afterimages floating behind their head.
Ding—
[You have obtained an Adventure Trait: Mind Partitioning]
[Mind Partitioning]: Your Intelligence has entered an extraordinary state. Your control over your own consciousness has reached its peak, gradually awakening an exceptional mental aptitude: Mind Partitioning—multitasking with a single mind.
You can now split off an additional "1" stream of consciousness, allowing you to handle "2" routine tasks simultaneously, or concentrate on "2" spells at once. Whenever you take damage, you must make separate Constitution saving throws for each spell to maintain concentration.
The split consciousness can only be used to maintain spell concentration. You cannot cast spells simultaneously, nor can you concentrate on two identical spells at the same time.
...
'Mind Partitioning… multitasking with a single mind?'
Anser grinned, smiling silently.
"Concentration" was a hurdle no spellcaster could avoid, and also an invisible shackle limiting them.
Some spells, once cast, required continuous maintenance to keep their magical effects active. At that point, the caster had to devote part of their mental energy to sustaining them. During this time, they could still cast spells that didn't require concentration—but it would still affect casting efficiency.
And concentration spells made up a very large proportion—especially control spells and summoning spells. You could only maintain one at a time. A single wrong decision could directly determine the outcome of a battle.
For example, in the earlier fight, Anser hadn't cast Conjure Elemental in advance, because he needed to stay ready to instantly cast control spells. Once concentration was broken, the summoned creature would disappear—it would be a complete waste of magic power.
But this new Adventure Trait, Mind Partitioning, allowed him to maintain concentration on two spells at once—control and summoning without conflict—causing his combat power to surge dramatically.
In fact, ordinary people could also multitask. For example, many could study while listening to music, eating, or arguing. But these were generally low-load tasks.
The vast majority of people couldn't focus on two high-load tasks at the same time.
Spellcasting was far more difficult than ordinary daily tasks. Relying on training alone, it was almost impossible to reach a level where one could maintain two concentration spells simultaneously.
'This is strong.'
Anser was extremely satisfied.
He remembered there was a magic item called the Ring of Split Mind that allowed a spellcaster to concentrate on two spells—but only for spells below 3rd level, and it came with negative side effects. It was hardly practical.
Moreover, judging from the description of Mind Partitioning, it had room to grow—very likely tied to Intelligence or class level.
He lightly tapped the symbol and confirmed with his mind. Immediately, the twenty-sided die lit up, rays of light illuminating his entire mental world.
His mind felt cool and refreshed, completely empty—as if he had undergone a deep massage and rest. All stress vanished without a trace.
After a long while, his consciousness returned. Anser felt relaxed both physically and mentally. His observational ability seemed slightly enhanced—he could now pay attention to multiple details in his surroundings at once.
Aside from that, there was nothing particularly special.
'Meditate first. I'll try it after I recover my state.'
He immediately closed his eyes and began meditating.
There was still a star pirate's inheritance waiting for him to "receive"—especially that possibly existing magic ship. That was the key to returning home.
Although the Teleportation Cube had a teleportation circle to Waterdeep, the distance from Waterdeep to Durlag's Tower was too great, with Baldur's Gate in between. The risk of traveling through was too high. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to take that route.
...
Night fell, deep and silent. The Burrows tavern, its doors wide open, welcomed several uninvited guests.
They wore uniform blue-black uniforms, with swords at their waists and firearms on their backs. They walked with swagger, completely unconcerned.
Several patrolling halflings spotted them and stopped at a distance, watching—but didn't step forward to interfere.
They recognized those uniforms. They belonged to the Lower City Guard of the Rock of Bral, one of the royal armed forces. The middle-aged man leading them was the magistrate of the Lower City.
The guards hesitated briefly at the frost-covered tavern entrance, then filed in, leaving two people outside on watch.
The interior of the tavern looked like an ice cave, a sight that left the guards stunned. They clicked their tongues in amazement while shivering, carefully inspecting the small tavern.
But the place was already empty. There were no significant traces of battle—everything was frozen within layers of ice.
The red-haired, red-bearded magistrate circled the tavern once, then stopped where a body had fallen. His expression grew increasingly grave.
"At least a high-level spellcaster!" he declared with confidence.
High-level professionals were important figures anywhere. Even the Starport Palace only had a handful of them.
No matter how lazy the Guard might be, they couldn't ignore such a person. A few dead civilians didn't matter—but if they offended the royal family, their positions would definitely be at risk.
"You—go ask around. Be polite," he ordered one of the guards.
"Yes." The guard hurried off.
After quite some time, the guard returned in a rush.
"Reportedly, a noble sorcerer from Faerûn was targeted by star pirates and chased into the tavern. They interrogated the tavern owner, Alton, for several hours…" the guard quickly relayed the gathered information.
"A Faerûn sorcerer… four star pirates…" The magistrate fell into thought.
"Osborn sent people to search the dock district, but found no trace of the star pirates. Instead, there was a minor conflict with the nautiloid ship that docked today," the guard added.
"Was there a mind flayer sighting?"
"No."
"How brazen." The magistrate's face darkened.
The Rock of Bral was indeed a hub of Wildspace—but that was for surface-dwelling beings. Creatures like mind flayers, inherently evil, almost never appeared here openly.
Yet they had come—and the royal family remained indecisive, issuing no commands.
Mind flayers had the arrogance to back it up. Nautiloid ships were far more expensive than standard spelljamming vessels. Designed specifically for space travel, they possessed planar teleportation capabilities, allowing them to come and go freely.
Without a powerful spellcaster intervening, capturing them was nearly impossible.
The magistrate knew that mind flayers were master schemers. They would never come to the Rock of Bral without a reason. There had to be some plan he wasn't aware of.
"Keep a close watch on the dock district. Report any abnormalities immediately," he ordered, fully aware of where the real threat lay.
"Yes. What about here?"
"Leave it. Withdraw."
"Yes…"
Halflings were interesting—seemingly warm and hospitable, with excellent community security. But creatures aligned with evil simply couldn't gain a foothold here. They wouldn't last even a day before being "escorted" out.
The Guard was more than happy to take it easy. As long as there was food and drink, they never had to worry about these optimistic little folk suddenly rebelling.
...
Night deepened, and the stars glittered brilliantly.
Far away, in Fort Jacqueline, Iris lay wrapped in Anser's blanket, breathing in his scent. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
"Sigh—"
After a long time, she sighed, got out of bed, and walked barefoot to the window. She gazed blankly at the star-filled sky, her eyes tinged with worry.
Since Anser left, half a day had already passed.
Their agreement had been six hours. According to the plan, this trip was only to scout Traveler's Rest—no staying overnight, no delays.
"You heartless bastard… don't tell me you got carried off by someone?" Iris murmured.
Though she said that, she didn't truly think so. Compared to his safety… getting carried off didn't seem like such a big deal.
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