I glanced down the length of the gun to find the safety and flicked it on, before more closely examining the runes on either side. Now that I could see them a little more clearly, I recognized the Storm Sphere and Fireball spell runes. I’d never actually seen offensive runes in detail like this—crafting them was heavily illegal without a very specific licence—but I could make them out well enough just by reading the various shapes and lines that made up their rune symbols.

Turning the gun over, I found that there was a switch on the other side of the rifle that would be used to toggle between each spell. I hadn’t spent any time working with offensive elemental spells, so my internal channels would be quickly drained if I tried to fire full-scale versions of the Storm Sphere and Fireball spells whenever I fired the rifle. As I’d discovered earlier tonight when I’d fired one of these, the strain was massive. If I was going to fire one of these more than once, I’d need either a significant mana boost, or a slimmed down version of the spell.

At least I’d have a weapon. Enchanted rifles like this one circumvented the requirement for perfectly placed mudras like the one I had used to summon a Force Barrier during our first combat.

I noticed that Belinda had left another item unabsorbed on the ground. It was lying a few feet away, a flask marked with the Pentatech logo. I slung the spell-rifle over my shoulder by its strap and lifted the flask carefully from the ground. It was identical to the mana pot I’d seen a soldier chugging on earlier.

“A mana pot!” I breathed, excited by the prospect.

This was the answer to the problem of firing the rifle. One sip from this, and I would be able to fire full-force blasts from the spell rifle much more easily.

I popped off the cap. Blue phosphorescent light shimmered up from the top as I raised it to sniff its contents. It smelled like cotton candy.

Carefully, I took a sip, and I was pleased with the heady sensation it produced. My vision seemed to clear, and my strength and confidence seemed to be boosted. The magical runes on the rifle seemed to reach out to me with a connection.

Damn!

Maybe this night was going to have some unexpected bonuses.

Belinda and Astrid were already making their way down the road, so I secured the cap back on the flask with a satisfying click. I slipped the sealed flask into my back pocket and hurried after the women.