Planning (1)

A few hours later Alex found himself staring at a magic circle he had drawn on his floor with chalk. 

After he had made it his goal to bring down the court he'd realized three things.

One, he needed allies. Despite his many spells, he wasn't invincible and could still use the help of others.

Two, physically he was weak. He needed to improve his physical abilities before even thinking about facing the Court. A single spell might be able to decimate an entire legion of hired goons, but all it would take is a single lucky shot to end his life.

That was unacceptable.

Three, he needed to intimately understand his spells, how they affect the world, how much damage they do, etc.

The first and third weaknesses could be amended with time and effort on Alex's part. 

The second one? Well, that's what the circle is for.

"The ritual of strength is a ceremony that once completed allows a caster to add the physical capabilities, including muscle memory, reflexes, and any martial skills of a being to himself. This sacrifice must be of the same race as the caster, and cannot be enhanced by magic during the ritual. Other enhancements through drugs, machines, or other man-made stimulants are acceptable and will not affect the process beyond giving the caster a larger boost to their personal strength. This ritual requires a magic Circle drawn with mage chalk and two catalysts in the form of precious gems fed with necrotic energy  ." Recited Alex as he reread the knowledge inside his head.

This circle, while riddled with limitations, was adequate for Alex's purposes. He had already created the mage chalk and drawn the circle. Now all he needed was two gems and a sacrifice.

But therein lies the problem.

" I can get two gems easily enough if I use a combination of {Knock} and {Greater Invisbilty} to take some items from a jewelry store. The issue is my sacrifice." Said the young mage with a sigh.

He already knew who he was going to target. It was pretty obvious when one took into account the ritual's limitations.

Bane.

Bane was perfect for what he needed. Strong enough to bend steel and break through walls, skilled enough to fight batman, and smart enough to create Venom. No other person except Killer Croc came close to the pure physical might of Bane in Gotham.

" But how am I going to bring him in?" Muttered Alex to himself.

His Current lack of familiarity with his magic was an issue. Just like on the tabletop, spells could be used at a higher tier than their original spell level. A useful ability when wanting to use a low-tier spell to much greater effect.

Not so much when you're still learning to produce the correct amount of energy for each spell. A single misstep could cause a {Magic Missle} spell to blow a hole through a building, or simply fizzle out of existence.

One would be dubiously helpful at best, while the other would sign Alex's death certificate. Thankfully some spells like {Hold Person} or {Teleport} don't require much control over his energy. 

While such spells like {Dominate person} or {Charm person} would undoubtedly be useful, Alex really didn't want to test the willpower of someone like Bane.

'Now that I think about it, I'm sure the majority of Villains and heroes would be able to resist my mind-affecting spells given enough time or be straight up immune.' Thought the bank worker with a tired sigh.

He really didn't want to try his luck against the likes of Batman or Joker in a battle of wills.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration Alex cycled through his reservoir of spells to find one that could help him in his dilemma.

' {Hold Person"}? No that's another spell determined by will. {Symbol of stunning}? Fuck, that's another one determined by will. Wait, if I cast {Mind Fog} then {Dominate Person} would that work?  Actually, what's stopping him from just bull-rushing me after I cast it? It takes like six seconds to get it going-more than enough time to beat me to a pulp. Maybe {Illusory double} would help?'

Alex spent the next ten minutes like this. Going through numerous spells in order to find one that would work. However in the end he always came to two conclusions.

Either the spell could be resisted by the willpower of Bane, or Alex lacked the control to properly use the spell without risk of explosion.

Or, that was the case until his mind wandered to a certain set of spells.

{Summon Monster I-IX}.

" That's a potential solution. But this comes with its own set of issues."  Alex said as he read over the spell in his head.

The problem lies with the fact that these spells were nothing like its D&D version.

 For one, the list of possible Summons far exceeded the original's, being able to summon things like Asimars, Githyankies, and even Succubuses. 

That's not mentioning the creatures Alex could summon if he overcharged the spell by pumping more mana than needed in it. Even the powerful Beholder isn't outside his reach.

Secondly, the spell didn't actually "summon" anything. Instead, it morphed and turned Alex's magic into Living and (sometimes) breathing creatures. He would be creating life.

And if that wasn't enough the spell didn't have a duration. It was permanent until the creature was killed or dismissed.

Overall the spell was actually stronger than the original and would be immensely helpful with his plans of taking down the Court of Owls. It basically eliminated his issue of finding allies. 

However, it was the moral implications that stayed his hand from testing out the spell.

" I don't want unwilling allies or mindless drones. I want people I can talk to freely about this." Murmured Alex as he weighed his options.