VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 19: Lessons in Magic
"Now, there are four main types of magic. Inscriptive, Intuitive, Component and Somatic. It is common for most mages to mix which types they use. Rarely do you come across any true mage who knows exclusively one type, simply because it is a moronic choice to make.
While the same spell can be cast with the different methods, not every spell can be. Not to mention there are talent levels involved. Mixing the types is simply the logical thing to do.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to study all at the same level. There will naturally be ones you focus on more. The same can also not be said about those who are not true mages, forging their way through the path of Magika themselves."
Belladonna sat atop the lake’s surface with her legs crossed, resting comfortably on the platform the Wizard had created rather than one she was having to maintain herself. She was watching the Wizard pace back and forth, listening to his words intently. Just like when she had learned from the butcher, she was holding her notebook in front of her, making notes in it with mere thoughts.
Thankfully, the wizard had moved her bag over to them telekinetically, allowing it to sit on the water next to her, although he had yet to explain why. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
He glanced at her briefly, making sure she was paying attention, before continuing with his lecture,
"Now, we shall start with Intuitive magic. Much like the name implies, it is magic cast simply by feeling it. An example of it would be what you have just done. Although there was no official spell, nor did you utter any words, you were able to control your magic to achieve wondrous results.
This is the basis of Intuitive magic. It is the type mostly used by those who are gifted their magic rather than study it, such as the god worshippers. The knowledge is implanted within them as their gods see fit. But that does not mean it is exclusively their domain.
With enough practice and understanding of the movement of the mana for the spell, anyone is capable of casting intuitively."
He held up his hand, pointing it towards a rock in the distance. Belladonna’s skin tingled as she felt the mana in the area stir to the Wizards expert will. A spark of light before his outstretched hand, before the singular spark ignited and erupted into a roaring fire.
The inferno swirled itself into a ball, before launching outwards and streaking through the air like a comet until it exploded against the rock. Shards of stone scattered across the clearing as a chunk was blown out of the rock.
"But," He continued, "It will be some time until you can cast most spells in such a fashion. So we will move to the style of magic most commonly used, as it is considered the easiest. Somatic casting.
All it requires is sufficient mana capacity, purity and memory. By memorizing the right words and gestures, one can cast any host of spells just as competently as an Intuitive caster."
The Wizard turned to the rock once more and held up his hand. The tip of his finger glowed as he rapidly drew a pattern in the air, which left a trail like a child playing with a sparkler. As he did so, he muttered under his breath in a language Belladonna had never heard before, his voice echoing ominously.
"Navash Ivin Ro’kum, Sagni!"
Belladonna watched in awe, rapidly writing down everything she saw and heard, detailing it with crudely drawn diagrams so that she could remember every moment. Just like before, a ball of fire flared up in the Wizards open palm before launching itself at the rock.
Despite requiring more effort, at least that’s how it seemed, the first and the second fire ball looked almost identical in terms of their damage, speed and size.
Any differences between them were both minute and meaningless.
"The gestures and the words guide the mana through the caster in the intended fashion, with little input from the caster themselves. It is incredibly easy to train in and allows many who are less skilled to use magic.
So, I ask you, my student. Why do I bother with intuitive casting, if it is harder and offers no visible benefits in terms of spell power?"
Belladonna tilted her head, considering the question for a few moments. Surely the answer was obvious, right?
"Well, If you were a Somatic caster exclusively, all I would need to do is bind your hands or silence you by cutting out your tongue, for example, and you would be helpless. But the same couldn’t be said for an Intuitive caster. They don’t need their hands or their tongue, they just do it.
It’s also an assumption, but I expect that if you are controlling the mana flow to the spell that you can make it more efficient or alter the spell in some ways if you are skilled enough, to actually make it more powerful."
The Wizard clasped his hands in front of him, nodding softly and giving her a smile that had a hint of pride.
"Very good, my student. That is correct. Once a spell is mastered, it can be altered. It also allows for more freedom when casting. Silence spells exist, and are often used in large scale battles where common soldiers or lower mages rely on Somatic casting.
However, that does not mean it is entirely useless. That is where Inscription and Component come in.
The two are often intertwined, as most Inscription requires good components while a majority of component magic are reliant on tools made with inscription. They work hand in hand. They are also largely self explanatory.
Inscription relies on knowledge of the runic language, and is used by enchanters, while Components are most things in the world that have some basis in magic, such as a herb for a potion. Thus it is a type used mostly by Alchemists and other crafters.
Certain components can be used to enhance spell effects, mana crystals being the most common, but if you combine the two you are able to make a scroll. Inscribe the right spell onto a scroll crafted from the right components, and the spell will be able to be cast by anyone, regardless of talent or mana capacity, at the expense of the scroll.
Of course if you use the wrong components, the spell will simply fail or worse, explode in your face. Are there any questions?"
The Wizard finally turned to Belladonna, having been absorbed in his own world while giving his long winded lecture. This was usually when he would find most people struggling to stay awake, or drifting off into their own worlds as they grew bored while he spoke.
But pleasantly, he found Belladonna eagerly taking notes in her journal as well as adding her own thoughts and comments on the lecture.
Once she realised he had finished speaking, she looked up at him and eagerly shook her head.
"No teacher, No questions so far."
"Very good. Then before I can get around to teaching you any proper spells, you will need to form a source. Thankfully, you were eager enough to bring along your own example for a demonstration."
He waved his hand, causing Belladonna’s bag to flip open on its own. With a beckoning gesture, something within the bag rustled and shifted, before an azure crystal flew out of the bag and landed in the Wizard’s waiting hand.
"This is a source. More specifically, this is the crystallized remnants of a source. I presume you got this from a magical beast of some kind?"
"Oh, yeah! I got it from a wolf who could turn its fur into spikes. It was stuck between its lungs when I butchered it, but no one I showed it to could figure out what it was."
"Hm, I don’t blame them. A Source Remnant is rare, It doesn’t always manifest when a magical beast dies. Even when it does, most just throw it away without knowing what its true worth is. They are too focused on the meat, hoping to eat it to develop their own mana lobe, or turn the body parts into components for magic items.
I’m sure you must have gotten at least 10 Regil for just a sizable cut of that meat. I can’t even imagine how much a full one would be worth without seeing the size of the beast."
The Wizard let out a hearty laugh as he imagined his student rolling in the money from a single magical beast kill. Compared to what most would make in this tiny town, it was definitely a hefty amount.
Yet his laughter died down when he didn’t hear his student responding. He looked towards her with a frown, only to find her completely frozen with shock. Her eyes wide and staring off into the distance, while a hint of murderous rage emanated from her body.
’10 Regil... for a single cut? 10... FOR ONE CUT?! I GOT 17 FOR ENTIRE DAMNED THING!’
