Magic lessons

Mallory put her efforts into learning the fundamentals of magic while she contemplated which types of magic she should choose to take up her own spell slots.

As she sat in on the lesson, the human that was teaching the lesson was drawing some basic symbols for different elemental type spells and a basic barrier spell. "Magical rune constructs must be learned down the the basics along with the chants. One cannot be without the other to perform magic, even if you possess magic you will still need to study hard and memorise the runes, symbols and configurations to be able to cast a single spell.

You need a clear image of your magic form and the runes in your mind but you need to control the output of your mana to control the range and magic power usage of the spell. Some spells are offensive and offensive with one purpose or target while others will cover a wider range.

It is recommended that those that learn magic can learn one offensive spell which can cover a wider range so they can take out many monsters but a powerful single attack is also helpful. Others may be more suited to support type magic but it all depends on each person's personality and affinities. I would personally suggest an attack spell, a defensive spell or a supportive spell. While some of the elves can learn three spells, most can only learn one or two in their lifetime."

There were many books to memorise which had the basic magic runes and symbols so Mallory was enthusiastically reading a book on light based and other support and defensive magic runes.

While she was building her stats to help her escape harm, having an additional backup was something she still needed if she was under attack from a spell or curse.

With lower stats and levels, even a person with one or two skills could join a capable group and be taken to lower floors to provide support for a large familia so having some spells was something very important.

Although she did not yet have plans to enter the dungeon, there were still dangers from monsters and the humans from each of the races so she needed to learn at least one helpful spell for all kinds of situations.

Mallory had been busy throughout the week as she had created and sold many of her talismans so she expected an increase to her Excelia gained when she next updates her status. 'But it is difficult to decide my present choice for a spell…should I go for something like a healing spell or a purification one? Or should I just focus on barrier or protection magic? Will the chant need to be used in my native tongue or the common language? I will have to test things out. How did it go again for the chants?'

She then thought of some magic chants and their way of being structured which were used by more well known characters.

'Become a shield, holy grail of crushing evil' was a type of spell chant which summoned a protective shield of magic.

'Assemble, breath of the land - my name is Alf' also had some kind of magical chant which results in raising a targets physical and magical resistance while providing a little healing.

Among the chants which were in the book, they had some similarities as the shorter chants were kept quite simple and they suited their intended purpose.

Longer chants for a larger spell would have much more complicated chants as they were like telling a folk tale or reading a poem.

As someone who had read all kinds of books on religious texts and rituals, she was able to determine their intended purpose.

The magic teacher looked over as he noticed Mallory raise her hand.

Mallory put her hand back down and asked. "Are the shorter chants supposed to be arranged like this? The first part is the shape or image, the second part is the intended magical energy type or effect then the ending will be calling upon the power of the users name or some other legend or godly presence to grant the spell more power and stability?"

The first part of each of the short chants she had read were quite simple as they described the magical form or use.

For example to assemble was to gather in one place while breathe of the land could be described as one or two separate parts.

Breath could mean wind but could also be related to life magic, of the land could be the ending where the chant gains power from or helps to complete the spell as breath of the land could mean that the spell would have the nurturing and protective effects of the of the land and its breath or life force.

Stating ones own name or the spell name at the end would help to empower the spell or it was just added onto the end for decoration.

The magic teacher nodded. "You are not wrong but you are not completely right either. Not all spells and chants can be so easily broken down. Longer chants are much more difficult to decipher and get a proper grasp of their patterns which is why many tend to learn shorter chants. They are far more useful for those that cannot use concurrent chanting too but the power will be much less than a longer spell."

Mallory then stated. "So something like.. Form a barrier, light of the stars. My name is Mallory?"

The magic teacher shrugged and said. "The spell incantation will need to match your mental image and intentions for the spell to help display the best effectiveness. Once you have aligned the incantation, your knowledge, your mental image, the magic distribution and the rune structure then you should be able to successfully form your first spell."

Mallory nodded and then went back to her studies. 'Hm.. then maybe I would have to use my native tongue to empower and better connect the spells to my skill just like how I have been doing for my talisman making. This may be of some use to improving my talismans too.'

She started to come up with different kinds of incantations. 'So some key words may be to ward, protect, avert or Apotropaic but words like purify or exorcise may also be acceptable. Maybe faith and forms of power may also be possible to use in a spell. How about warder and protector against the evil eye? Banisher or purifier of evil?'

Mallory did not yet have a clear idea of her first spell but she was excited to learn what she had in front of herself.

After her lesson, she went back to the market where she sold more of her paper talismans. "As you have all seen from yesterday we still have the three types. All will help you detect different types of potential dangers ahead of time. By the way, if you happen to return home and one of the talismans is used up or you have any other problems and cannot figure out the problem then please let me know. Not all dangers may come from chance encounters or accidents that happen in everyday life, some may be problems which are slowly taking effect within your home or they will be a potential danger which could happen with just the right stimulation."

A middle aged man came forward who had already purchased two the day before and he had a disgruntled look on his face. "I have a problem!"

He had pushed himself ahead of the crowd and arrived in front of Mallory while looking pale. "I followed what you said but when I walked to a certain place in my home, each of the talismans broke. I do not dare to even step in that part of my family home. I hope that you can help me investigate the cause."

Mallory observed the man's complexion and noticed that he was looking the same as the day before but he still looked quite unwell. "If you can wait then I will help you investigate."

She had successfully sold a little more than fifteen talismans everyday thanks to the cheap prices and the regular customers she had gained so her wealth was increasing along with her Excelia gained through helping people avoid harm and detect evil influences or monsters ahead of time.

The monster detection talisman was very popular for mercenaries and those maintaining the walls and the safety in the outside of the city walls so they were sold quicker than others.

Mallory's warnings were also becoming a sign of impending misfortune on others so when they were given a warning, they bought the first talisman to detect danger ahead of time.

The monster detection talismans were very popular for those venturing into the forest to collect materials or hunt monsters so she had regular customers for them.

Some that had those close by which had ill intentions towards them had found out through her evil detection talisman but it was also popular with the city guards so they could detect malicious groups or people lurking within the city.

It was just another day until she updated her status so she knew that her gains were not small.

Ninety talismans which had a range from one to twenty Excelia was the reward she would gain and that was the smallest number as some may be a part of a familia or have their talisman prevent harm to those around them too.

If it was rounded around to five Excelia per talisman then her Excelia gained in just six days was at least four hundred and fifty and that was the bare minimum.

The Valis earned during that time had only helped to increase her wealth as she had earned around six thousand, seven hundred and ten Valis in total which could be used to purchase some armour or a dagger then have some Valis still left over.

After Malory completed her sales, she followed the middle aged man towards his home which was a decent sized house which could hold a family.

The man pointed the the people sitting inside. "This is my daughter and son. There is also my wife, my father and mother."

Mallory then nodded and asked. "Can you show me the location you were warned by the talismans?"

She observed the others and saw that they were also quite pale too as if they were suffering from an illness.

The man nodded. "I will show you."