Is It Wrong To Skitter In A Dungeon? Chapter 28: Challenge Accepted (Patreon)

Chapter 28: Challenge Accepted

Hestia drummed her fingers against the marble table. There was a lot of marble in the conference room. It made the place look nice, Hestia supposed, but it was rather dull seeing nothing else.

At the table with her was Ganesha. He was silent and still, arms folded across his chest. He was not happy if the scowl he wore was any indicator. Across from Ganesha was the head of the Guild, Royman Mardeel. The elderly elf was busy looking through documents, only some of which related to the War Game.

‘Running the Guild seems like a busy job,’ Hestia thought to herself, feeling pity for the man. Elves generally did not get wrinkles or gain weight, even as they entered their twilight years. Royman was only a hundred and eighty-years old, roughly the equivalent of a young adult for an elf, and yet he looked closer to five hundred with his white hair, creased forehead, and loose jowls.

There was tense silence in the room as the trio waited for the final member of their group to arrive. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait very long, as the doors were thrown open as Apollo strode inside with a huff.

“I am here!” the God of the Sun declared pompously, his eyes narrowing slightly upon spotting Hestia and Ganesha already waiting for him.

“Thank you for coming, Lord Apollo,” Royman said, a hint of exasperation for the god’s flamboyant entrance. “Please, have a seat, and we can begin.”

“Very well,” Apollo said huffily, plopping down in the seat across from the tiny goddess.

“I’m so glad you liked my declaration of war, Apollo,” Hestia said with a fake smile.

“You’ve gone too far, Hestia,” Apollo warned darkly.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “Now, since you are here, I take it you’ve accepted my challenge?”

“I am Ganesha!” the other god declared. “And I am here as an impartial witness!”

“Impartial? Hardly!” Apollo scoffed. “I know you two have been cozying up to each other!”

“Lord Ganesha was the only god available on such short notice, Lord Apollo,” Royman said, and though his words sounded conciliatory, Hestia knew they weren’t the full truth. She had requested Ganesha’s presence, not the Guild. But the Sun God didn’t know that.

“Fine!” Apollo spat out, mollified.

“Oh, and regardless of the outcome of today’s meeting, you will also pay for the damages done to the city, Lord Apollo,” Royman added.

“What?!” the Sun God demanded incredulously. “It was the monsters who ruined those buildings!”

“Even if we ignored the fact your Familia was responsible for burning down a building and risked setting an entire district ablaze with their actions, it would still be your fault for provoking the Tamed monsters into reacting like that,” Royman stated. “Not to mention the building Hestia and her Familia were living in belonged to the Hephaestus Familia, so she isn't going to be happy with you, and we also have eyewitness reports from Shakti Varma that it was your Familia that was responsible.”

“My dear Hyakinthos is beyond reproach!” Apollo stated pompously.

“I am Ganesha,” the mask wearing god said, his voice reverberating through the room. “Do you question my captain’s integrity?”

Apollo blanched, and quickly backtracked. “Not at all! But perhaps she was just mistaken! My captain was merely going about his business when he was attacked and forced to defend himself!”

“I tire of your lies, Apollo,” Hestia said, fed up with this. “My captain issued you a challenge which I ordered her to do. That is why we are here. Do you accept a War Game between us?”

“Hmph! Fine!” Apollo spat out. “You should have just agreed to this when I offered at the banquet! Now, when I win, I Bell Cranel will be transferred over to my Familia. And in the unlikely event that I lose, I’ll pay you a million valis, or you can one of my Level 2s.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Hestia said with a dark laugh. “You wanted to challenge my Familia, a recently promoted H-ranked Familia at that, to a War Game against a long-standing D-rank Familia. The stakes are going to be comparable!”

She slapped the table. “If my Familia loses, then Bell will join you. BUT! If you lose, you have to disband your entire Familia and return to Tenkai! Furthermore, everything you own will be forfeit and used as reparations for what you’ve done to me and my Familia!”

“WHAT?!” Apollo shrieked, and even Ganesha sat up straighter in surprise. “That is completely unfair!”

“You are a rank D Familia with over a hundred members, and several Level 2s and a single Level 3. I have less than a dozen members, and only a trio of Level 2s. Not to mention, you dared to break one of the Rules of Orario: No violence in the city between Familias. By attacking and burning down my home you violated the law that all Familias must abide by!”

“Your psychotic captain destroyed my manor! If anything, I should be demanding reparations from her!” Apollo shouted. “And speaking of that, I demand that I receive a month before we duke it out in a War Game!”

“NO!” Hestia shouted, and Apollo quailed under the rage in her eyes. “You do not have a choice! You do not get to negotiate! You will accept the conditions exactly as I laid out just now, or I will order Taylor to destroy your Familia! She will infest any building your Familia will try to live in! She will fill your food and drink with bugs and filth! She will make your life a living hell, and I will let her do so! Now ACCEPT! MY! CHALLENGE!”

She glowered at him, before scoffing a little. “Although I can accept waiting a month before we have our War Game. It gives you time to set your affairs in order for when you lose and everything you own becomes mine.”

“I take it these terms are acceptable?” Royman asked shakily, looking between the three gods. “In a month’s time, a War Game will be held between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia with the wager of Bell Cranel from the former, and the disbandment of the latter on the line. The exact nature of the War Game will be decided in a week’s time the usual way.”

“Yes, that is indeed fine,” Hestia nodded, and the head of the Guild handed her a document, which she signed with a flourish.

Apollo caved immediately when Hestia glared at him, fearfully signing the document when Royman presented it to him. When he was done, he fled without a shred of grace, all but running from the conference room.

“I am Ganesha, and you are quite terrifying when angry,” the elephant masked god commented, looking at her in a new light.

“I am the Goddess of Hearth and Home. I take it very seriously when somebody tries to attack those I hold dear,” Hestia replied, flipping her hair.

“Ganesha thinks Hestia had a bit too much fun just now,” the other god chuckled, before standing up. “Now I am Ganesha, and I must go. I have much to prepare.”

“Thank you for helping,” Hestia called out as he walked away. He just let out a booming laugh before heading out.

“And thank you as well, Mr. Mardeel,” Hestia said, turning to the final member with a bow of her head.

“Hmph,” the old-looking elf huffed. “It’s my job.”

“Even so, you were willing to side with me a lot more than I thought you would,” Hestia said. The Guild was supposed to be neutral, after all, and yet Royman had gone along with her unreasonable requests a lot more easily than she’d expected him to.

He waved her words off. “If you knock Apollo down a peg, I’ll be grateful. And maybe when he loses, I can finally get all the taxes he’s been withholding from the Guild.”

Hestia nodded at that before hopping up from her seat and leaving the conference room. Now that that unpleasantness was over, she had to make sure her Familia was alright!

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“…okay, this doesn’t look too bad, but the blouse is never going to get the smell of smoke out of it,” Iris said in disappointment as she held up one of Hestia’s outfits. The tiny ‘goddess’ hadn’t had many articles of clothing before the fire, and afterwards quite a few pieces had been damaged or outright destroyed.

“When I get my hands on those fire-loving, fashion-hating loser I will shove all of this burnt clothing down their throats and strangle them with it!” the seamstress of the Familia declared furiously.

Taylor eyed Lucia warily as the seamstress angrily sorted through what was left of the recovered silk alongside Iris, Silva, and herself. She’d never seen the girl so upset before.

‘Lucia is normally so soft-spoken,’ she thought to herself. ‘I suppose it’s true what they say: it’s always the quiet ones.’

“When do you think Lady Hestia will be back?” Bell asked anxiously.

“She’ll be fine,” Taylor claimed.

“Yeah, not even Apollo would be stupid enough to attack her so soon after he did something like this to your home,” Welf said, glancing back sadly at the burnt down ruins. Taylor wasn’t sure why the Blacksmith hadn’t left quite yet, but he’d stuck around and helped move stuff around, which she appreciated.

“Miss Taylor!” Emma called out, running over to the parahuman. “I found your mask!”

“Thank you,” Taylor said, accepting it back. It was scorched in a few places, and the lens had gotten warped from the heat, but was still in one piece, more or less.

“I could try and touch it up a bit,” Welf offered, peering over at the mask. She nodded gratefully, before perking up.

“Hestia is back,” she said, a faint smile on her face.

The twin-tailed girl was indeed back. She walked over to the group with a tired smile on her face, and then when she was in front of them, she gave a thumbs up.

“The deed is done. A month from now, we will be fighting the Apollo Familia in a War Game.”

“What are the stakes?” Taylor asked.

“If we lose, Bell has to join their Familia,” she replied. Bell did not look happy, but he nodded firmly in understanding.

“And if we win?” Leo wondered.

“The Apollo Familia is disbanded, we get all their stuff, and the jerk himself has to return to Tenkai,” she said proudly.

“How did you manage to get him to agree to that?!” Welf asked incredulously. Taylor wanted to know too.

“Loudness, audacity, and the Guild also being very annoyed with him,” Hestia replied. “Apollo has pissed off a lot of people in Orario from what I’ve gathered.”

“That’s putting it kindly,” Lili scoffed.

“Considering he bullies smaller Familias into handing over their members that he takes a shine to, I’m not surprised, either,” Silva agreed.

“By the way, what exactly did you do to Apollo’s house?” Hestia asked Taylor. “He was very upset.”

“I used my swarm to tear apart everything inside of his manor,” the parahuman replied. “I tore up curtains, broke vases, spoiled food and damaged furniture.”

“While I’m impressed by the sheer extent of destruction you delivered, I don’t understand why you did that,” Bell admitted to Taylor.

“Why did I wreck their house?” she asked for clarification, and he nodded.

“Revenge, obviously,” Lili said confidently. “It’s what Lili would do.”

“Yes and no,” Taylor said. “While Lili isn’t entirely wrong, there was another reason why I did what I did.”

“What was it?” Lucia asked curiously.

“The main reason? To reduce their war funds,” Taylor claimed. “It’s also why I destroyed as many weapons and pieces of armor as I could reach.”

“War funds?” Welf asked, blinking in surprise. “Wait! You destroyed his stuff in order to force him to waste money repairing it!”

“Apollo is a vain man, and quite arrogant as well. His pride would never allow him to live in a place that was so badly damaged, so he will spend money to repair his home. He’ll also need to buy new equipment for his adventurers if he wants any chance in a clash between us. But based on what I’ve seen of his personality, he will prioritize his own comfort above all else.”

“That sounds like him,” Hestia sighed. “And it explains why he so easily accepted my demand of a month to prepare for the War Game. He needs the time to rebuild everything.”

“And he’ll be forced to send his adventurers into the Dungeon nearly every day for the foreseeable future!” Bell realized, figuring out the rest of Taylor’s plan. “A large Familia costs a lot to maintain, and while I bet Apollo has plenty of valis in his treasury, he’ll need to recoup the loses! They won’t have time to harass us because they’ll be too busy!”

“While my plan does have the downside of making his adventurers stronger, it will be by a negligible amount,” Taylor nodded while the rest of the people at the table stared at her in awe. “The main issue will be conducting our own training. Venturing into the Dungeon will be too dangerous, as the Apollo Familia will likely try to attack us while we’re down there, away from the watchful eyes of the Guild and the other Familias. So, we won’t be hunting monsters or delving into the Dungeon for a few weeks. Instead, we will training on our own. In fact, a little training trip outside of Orario sounds like a good idea.”

“That… that is insane!” Welf said in awe.

“Lili is very glad she didn’t make an enemy out of you, Miss Taylor,” Lili muttered, shaking her head, though she had a fond smile on her face.

“You’re amazing, Miss Taylor!” Emma gushed. “I can’t believe you came up with such a cool plan! You thought of everything!”

“Nobody harms my friends and family,” Taylor declared firmly.

“Training trip, huh? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Getting out of Orario would be useful. Apollo wouldn’t be able to spy on us that easily if we’re not nearby,” Leo said, nodding to herself.

“I’d love to come, but I don’t think Lady Hephaestus will allow me to be gone for a whole month,” Welf said apologetically. Then, in an upbeat tone, he said, “Well! That just means more time to work on your equipment! In a month I should have some of the Goliath armor ready for you guys!”

He then snapped his fingers. “Oh, right! Bell, show ‘em what we got in the Dungeon today!”

“That’s right!” Bell gasped. “I forgot!”

He quickly fished around in one of his belt pouches, and removed what looked like a golden chicken egg.

“Is that a Jack Bird’s Drop Item?!” Hestia gasped in shock.

“It is!” Bell said happily.

“You should have seen it! It spawned right in front of Bell and he killed it before it could even leave the wall completely!” Silva laughed. “His luck is ridiculous!”

Taylor snorted a little. Was his Development Ability kicking in? Whatever the reason, it was good for them.

“What should we do with it?” Bell asked, looking down at Drop Item. “It’s worth a million valis. We could spend it repairing the church…”

“Or you could give it to me so I can start working on Miss Taylor’s arm,” Welf added. “There should be enough Mythril in that egg to finish the complex bits.”

“Oh, so that’s what he’s been working on!” Emma said, realizing what the ‘commission’ the parahuman had made actually was.

“Give it to Welf,” Hestia said before anyone else could give their opinion. “If we need money, the Dungeon is always available, and we have my food stalls and Taylor’s silk. What we need right now is Taylor to be fighting fit in time for the War Game.”

She then smirked. “Besides, after we win, we’ll have a nice new house to move into, won’t we?”

“Good point,” Lucia said, Iris, Leo, and Silva nodding in agreement.

“You don’t have to do that,” Taylor said, shaking her head. “The money…”

“Did I not just explain why we don’t need it?” Hestia demanded, imperiously raising an eyebrow. The look was not very intimidating, though. More like a child trying to act like an adult but coming off as pouty instead.

“Miss Taylor, please don’t refuse this,” Bell said, giving her what could only be described as puppy eyes.

Unable to say no to either of them, Taylor just sighed before nodding. “Alright. But it better be a damn good arm.”

“It will be the best arm ever! Better than even one of Dian Cecht’s Silver Arms!” Welf declared.

“Now that that is settled, where are we going to go for training?” Lili wondered.

“Melen,” Taylor said after a moment of thought. “It’s a day away from Orario and has plenty of open space for training. The fact it’s a town also means we won’t have to worry about amenities and supplies.”

“What about food and stuff?” Iris asked. “How will we pay for everything? Where will we sleep?”

“Leave that to me,” Taylor declared. “You can of course bring your own money if you want, but consider this one part vacation, two parts training camp.”

“When should we leave?” Leo inquired.

“Tomorrow, or the day after that at the very latest,” Taylor said. “That should give us time to grab what we can before leaving.”

“Then let’s get packing!” Hestia said, dragging Bell over to the pile of their stuff that had survived in a decent enough condition.

Taylor smiled a little at that. They would get through this. She just knew it.

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“So, this is the place?” Taylor muttered to herself. Her swarm buzzed around the building, examining everything. Outwardly, it was a rundown storefront in the back alleys of Orario. But for those with an eye for quality, the shop was a goldmine of magic.

Nearly everything within the place hummed with power to her swarm, and more than that, it was extremely varied. There were appliances that ran off of Magic Stones up front along with simple gear for magically inclined adventurers, but in back were rows of Grimoires, dozens of enchanted pieces of gear, and potion ingredients that were likely worth a fortune, all locked up safely.

It was late, the sky having turned dark hours ago. Yet the store was still open, the elderly shopkeeper awaiting customers. Taylor had seen this shop a few times before, and always wished to visit, but had never found the time.

With the War Game coming up soon, she finally bit the bullet. She already knew what she wanted, and what she needed. So, without wasting another second Taylor entered, a bell ringing as the door opened.

“Ah, a customer so late?” an old woman croaked out from behind the counter tucked away in the rear of the store. She was dressed like a stereotypical witch, complete with pointy black hat, had a long-stemmed pipe in one hand, a wart on the tip of her nose, and she raised an eyebrow as Taylor walked into the store. Her aura also sounded like the bubbling of a cauldron. Level 5, at the very least.

“Yes. I heard this place specialized in magic,” Taylor said.

“It does, and I do,” the witch smirked, waving a hand at the surroundings. “See anything you like?”

“Actually, I was hoping you had something more… educational,” the parahuman admitted.

“You want to learn magic?” the witch inquired. “I can help with that. Grimoires are quite expensive, though.”

“I’m not interested in learning magic the easy way,” Taylor replied. “Something more in-depth is what I hoped for.”

“You want to learn magic the old-fashioned way?” the shopkeeper uttered incredulously.

“Yes,” Taylor confirmed.

“Why would an adventurer want to do that?” the witch demanded.

“Because only a fool uses something they don’t understand,” Taylor stated. It was something she fully believed, as well.

Take guns, for instance. Any idiot could use a gun, but it took time and effort to actually learn how to shoot and care for one. And if you didn’t take the time? Then the gun could jam or explode in your hands. It was a lesson the Warlord of Brockton Bay learned the hard way.

She wanted to understand magic. She needed to understand it. If she was going to be a mage and leverage all of her possible advantages in this new world, then this was something Taylor had to do.

“Well, well, well,” the witch murmured as she looked Taylor in the eyes. “You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“It won’t be easy,” the elderly woman warned. “To become proficient in the Arcane Arts without relying on your Falna will take many years.”

“That’s fine,” Taylor replied.

“Hmm, you seem determined enough. Very well, then. Since you’ve helped my dear friend Ethel with her business, I suppose I can show you a few things,” the wizened witch stated.

“Your friend is the woman who owned the Jagamarukun food cart,” Taylor realized.

“That’s right. A good woman, and you’ve treated her fairly in your dealings with her,” the witch confirmed with a nod. “Now, come.”

“First off, what do you know about magic?” the storeowner, whose name Taylor learned was Lenoa, inquired as she led Taylor outside to a small garden behind the store.

“Not much,” Taylor admitted. “The energy spells use has a bit of an odd name, though. I mean, Mind? Really?”

“Heh, I agree, it’s a bit arrogant. Though to be fair, in the time before the Falna, only highly educated individuals could hope to conjure more than a few sparks or pebbles. Magic required long years of study, research, practice, and of course, rare resources. Those with the money inevitably became the ones who could afford to become mages, and magic became associated with intelligence at the same time,” Lenoa said as she lit some lamps to provide a bit of illumination.

“I’ve heard that elves are superior to humans when it comes to magical aptitude,” Taylor mentioned.

“Aye. Their naturally long lifespan, combined with an above average amount of ‘Mind’ due to living in regions that are mana-rich and frequented by Spirits, allow an elf to become extraordinarily powerful, magic-wise,” the witch commented. “However, if you disregard all of that, elves aren’t exactly anything special. After all, if it takes an elf a hundred years to become proficient in something a human can master in twenty, then it’s clear why humanity has spread across the world and the long ears keep to their forest domains.”

“Not a fan of elves, I take it?” Taylor guessed.

“I used to date one,” Lenoa replied with a bitter laugh, and Taylor nodded, immediately understanding the animosity.

“Now! Magic. Before the descent of the gods and the blessings of the Falna, the people of this world had to rely on other methods to wield the power of magic,” the witch stated as she drew a trio of magic circles on the dirt with her crane. “The first was to make a contract with a Spirit. These rare beings dwell within nature itself, and are deeply intwined in the realms of the mystical. Some claim that Spirits are older than the gods themselves, though none know for sure. However, Spirits have dwindled. Ever since the Dungeon first appeared, in fact. As such, we won’t be discussing this method.”

Taylor nodded. That made sense. It seemed Spirit magic was more academic than anything in the modern era.

“The second method was to use your own internal stores of magical energy to invoke an effect. Watch,” Lenoa instructed, standing in front of one of the three circles. “Arise, oh Mother Earth! Let stone awaken and rise so you may be honored! In the dust of ages you are eternal! Pierce, grow, and join your kin! Be as a mountain upon the horizon! Be as the fang of caverns below! Earth Spike!”

The circle that had been scratched into the dirt glow, and then a pillar of compacted dirt and stone shot up, forming a foot tall spike, resembling a stalagmite.

The witch looked at Taylor. “As you see, despite being shortened, the chant is still quite long, and it drains a significant amount of Mind from the caster. The effect is also quite weak compared to what an Adventurer’s Spell or Skill could bring to bear. Not to mention, it is static, unable to be altered beyond what the magic circle dictates.”

“A foot-tall spike is still quite impressive,” Taylor mused.

“I did not use my Falna to make it that big to explain the difference between Spell slots and using someone's own Mind and skill with the spell,” the witch replied. “Even without the Falna boosting me, I am comparable to a mid-rank Level 2 Adventurer in terms of magical prowess, though without the backing of a Falna I couldn't do it more than once or twice a day. In the olden days, I would have been considered a master of the mystical arts to be able to do that much.”

"How did you avoid using your Magic stat with the Spell?" Taylor wondered.

"If you have enough understanding of the way mana flows in your body, you can tell how much you are using per Spell, and actively increase the potency or weaken it. In this case, I purposely suppressed all of the magical energy in my body until it was like I was completely lacking a Falna, and relying purely on the amount I'd possess without one."

“I see, that's quite fascinating,” Taylor muttered, intrigued. “And as for the non-Falna method, it would have been weaker and far more commonly used in the time before the, uh, gods.”

“Quite. Now, the third way to use magic without a Falna is known as Catalyst Magic,” Lenoa stated.

She took a pinch of sparkly powder from a pouch on her belt and sprinkled it onto the second magic circle. She repeated the chant from before, and a second spear of stone shot upwards.

“Based on the name, Catalyst Magic lets someone cast a spell using reagents? Like a non-liquid version of a potion,” Taylor said.

“Very good! Yes, this kind of magic requires the preparation of specific materials to trigger an effect. The amount of Mind it drains is also reduced compared to the other method as the catalysts help channel magical energy from the world itself,” the witch said. “As for the downside…”

“The downside is that the reagents are expensive,” Taylor guessed.

“Indeed!” Lenoa said happily, pleased that Taylor was able to catch on so quickly. “That pinch of powder was made by griding up low-quality gemstones and rock salt imported from a dwarven mine located near a Spirit den. The entire pouch cost over three hundred thousand valis.”

Taylor blinked, taken aback by the cost. “I see.”

“Yes, you do,” Lenoa cackled. “Now, the next method is one that is more recent, relatively speaking. When monsters first appeared, we didn’t know that the Magic Stones they dropped were, well, magical. And civilization was too busy collapsing around the world for much research and study to be done. But when things calmed down and we were able to spend some time experimenting…”

She removed a Magic Stone that had come from an Orc – Taylor recognized the hum the crystal was making – from somewhere within her robes and held it over the third and final magic circle and repeated the incantation. Once more, a stone spike shot up, and the Magic Stone crumbled away, essence spent.

“A monster’s Magic Stone can be used to replace the Mind cost for a spell,” Lenoa stated obviously. “But can you tell me why this method isn’t more common in Orario despite being the source of all the world’s Magic Stones?”

“It costs an entire Orc’s Magic Stone to cast a single spell that isn’t very strong or fast,” Taylor replied.

“Exactly!” the witch nodded. “Far more cost efficient to sell it than waste it on a single spell that won’t even be able to kill a monster on the Middle Floors.”

“Then are those the only ways to cast spells?” Taylor asked skeptically.

“The only acceptable ways,” Lenoa said darkly, refusing to elaborate.

“Is it possible to make enchanted equipment using Falna-less magic?” Taylor wondered, switching topics.

“Technically, yes. But I wouldn’t recommend it. The Durandal enchantment is named after the legendary weapon of the same name,” the witch stated. “And to create it, a dozen Falna-less mages had to combine their power for three days straight. And yet nowadays, a single Level 2 adventurer with the Blacksmithing Ability can enchant a weapon to be far stronger and sharper than the namesake in a single day! That is the power of the Falna.”

“What about the magic circles, then?” Taylor wondered. “I take it those are necessary as well for spellcraft?”

“A magic circle contains the instructions for the spell itself,” the witch said, mood turning more upbeat. “That in and of itself is why the old style of magic has fallen out of favor. Drawing a magic circle in the middle of combat is simply not possible, or at least viable. Then there’s the long time spent learning how the different sigils and runes interact with each other to define the effects of a spell…”

Lenoa trialed off, before glancing up at Taylor. “Do you still want to learn, knowing all this?”

“I do,” Taylor declared, not even hesitating.

“In that case, I will give you a primer on Circle Craft and how to prepare your own magic circles and spells,” Lenoa said happily. “And when I deem you to be proficient… well, allow me to show you a secret method for spell casting I invented myself.”

She withdrew a glowing piece of chalk from a hidden pocket up her sleeve, and inscribed a magic circle onto the floor, identical to the previous three. However, this time it was already shining.

When the witch intoned the incantation a fourth time, the stone spike that erupted from the ground was twice as tall as the earlier ones, and Lenoa didn’t look exhausted at all.

“Spell Chalk,” Lenoa said with a cackle at Taylor’s wide-eyed expression. “Made from ordinary chalk mixed with the ashes of monsters and a few other ingredients, and charged with a few Magic Stones. Thirty to ninety percent of a spell’s Mind requirement can be sustained by the Spell Chalk when you use it to draw a magic circle.”

“Incredible!” Taylor breathed out.

“Isn’t it?” Lenoa grinned. “Now you have an incentive to learn!”

Taylor grinned as well, a sharp edge to it. Yes, this would make for an excellent new tool for her to use!