Amplitude.

Wow.

This shit is crazy.

"Did you know about this?" I ask the old man.

But I receive no reply.

"He's probably still sulking," I reason.

I shake my head and turn to the Omnium Compendium, "Hey, book, what's next?"

‘Congratulations on completing the Twenty-Fourth Cantrip. Beware, the Twenty-Fifth one is much more difficult than the previous.’

`For the Twenty-Fifth Cantrip, Magister Mulligan desires you to create a [Light] that pulses its brightness at varying amplitudes. The beacon should first glow faintly, then brightly, and then at a medium intensity in a continuous cycle.’

"Cyclical, then," I mutter.

Cool, cool, cool.

The previous one was ok, and I doubt this one will get much more difficult than that. Yeah, yeah, I know. Lady Luck and all of that, right? But, honestly, I kind of feel like that's behind me now.

Magister Mulligan explaining to me that there's an insane degree to which you can control a spell matrix with the simple power of your mind means that I can probably cast a spell whose matrix keeps changing on its own. Or better, I can just make a spell that is divided into three. One segment of the matrix with a very low amplitude, one with a normal one, and then one with a very high one. That should, rightfully, create the desired effect... maybe.

...

Surprise, surprise.

It didn't.

"Back to the drawing board," I sigh, looking at the spell. "This means I need to use the same technique I used for the shield; I suppose: a spell matrix that generates a changing spell matrix."

[Deep Focus]

[Advanced Mana Sense]

In the world of multi-colored, almost kaleidoscopic light and Mana, I visualize the pre-matrix. Yeah, that's probably not what it’s called, but so is not ‘anti-matrix’ the name of those adjacent matrices I've been casting.

It goes smoothly. Now, the spell matrix transitions into amplitude even after its cast.

The implications are...

Cool.

If I can generate spells that change even after they have been cast, this means I could probably do some really cool stuff. I wonder how this implicates the anti-matrices I've been using. I suppose this is how Magister Mulligan would have wanted me to have solved the first set of Cantrips.

Finally, I can feel my Mana running low. The old man has already specified during our training that not even Mana potions are the best thing to take for a prolonged period of time. In the long term, they might start impairing your ability to regenerate your own Mana.

I scratch my head, feeling the long-ass braid Magister Mulligan made for me still weighing on my back. I don't know whether I should keep it or not. On the one hand, it does look pretty cool and makes me feel like an otherworldly Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but on the other hand, it is a bit... weird.

Heh, the old man went out of his way. I'll keep it for now. Also, I need to fetch Lucinda. It's time for the meeting between bakeries.

I throw one last look at the Omnium Compendium, feeling a spike of anxiety coursing through my body. Magister Mulligan already cast whatever magic he needed to when we visited Antoninus's house, and now, their hopes rest with me. The second set of Cantrips doesn't look too hard, and I'm sure I can knock out more than ten a day without much trouble. But will I be fast enough? Will I be able to come up with something good enough for Claudia?

Shit, who knows.

...

I cross the door of the Watch building, refreshed by the fact that I don't need any [Guards] to follow me around anymore. I could easily chokeslam to the ground most mothertruckers around here.

Thanks, Runic steroids, I think to myself.

"Joey!"

I see a big [Guard] getting up from one of the tables in the main hall where he was polishing a big knife.

"Yo, Antoninus, my man," I smile at him, feeling a little bit of anticipation.

"My mom is feeling much, much better!" He smiles. "Thank you!"

"She's stable now, the [Curse] will proceed more slowly... it's thanks to the stuff my teacher gave me. We still have to do the actual dispelling of the curse."

The actual curing of the magical super-cancer, I think to myself.

"Well, she's not in pain anymore," Antoninus sighs, "that's all that matters. Even the Misery Dispeller was amazed by what you did...

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Anyway," he continues, "what brings you here? Do you need to talk to [Captain] Drusillus about the expedition? I hear they want to go in two days."

Oh, shit, that too.

"Nah. I'm here for Lucinda. I just exhausted my Mana, and I need to bring her over to Happy Bakery to discuss some business. Is she here?"

"Oh, she isn't..." the man trails off for a moment. "But I know her address. Do you want it?"

Am I going to meet the parents of the most beautiful redhead-slash-my-lawyer, slash-possible-future wife?

"Why not? Let's see what cloth she was cut out of."

...

As I'm about to cross the bridge between the two halves of the city, three guys bar my way.

"Hello, worm," one of them says.

"Jesus Christ," I flinch, "what are you guys, fifteen? Come on, fuck off."

"What did you say, worm?" The bigger one of the group puts his hand on his friend's chest and takes his place at the front.

"Move," I chide, "that's what I'm saying."

"Why should we yield the road to a little disgusting worm that poisoned one of our people?"

I look at the three and start to wonder whether they have [Soldier] parents, family, friends, or whatever. It's clear they want to mess with me—probably to have a nice story to tell their friends. Now, old Joey would have tried to defuse this situation, to be calm and nice.

Me? The new Joey?

I feel like punching this guy's face in, I think, anger already spreading through my entire body.

The problem is that if I punch this idiot with too much force, I could actually kill him. The other problem is that I feel like it wouldn't be a great loss for the city.

"Guys," I sigh, "please, I don't want any trouble. I don't want to hurt any of you. Get out of my sight. I'm basically a Gold-Rank adventurer. You sure you want to mess with me?"

They look at each other, clearly a bit scared now. But the bigger one puffs his chest out and doubles down.

"We need to defend the honor of our city, Human. You need to—"

That's when a very short old woman – by Elven standard – approaches the guy and whacks him across the head with a wooden cane.

"Green-eared idiots! What do you think you are doing?!" She croaks. "Assaulting someone on the street in front of my shop?! Do you want me to call the Watch?! Scram before I get your parents to spank all your scrawny asses!"

For some reason, the small woman with the wooden cane and weighing around a hundred pounds with wet clothes is scarier to them than I could ever possibly be.

She whacks them a few more times while they barely protest before they start running away. Actually running, not as a figure of speech.

"Thank you, miss," I try to smile at the woman, still shaken.

"Urgh, don't thank me, Human. I didn’t do this for you. I don't want any trouble in front of my shop or in my city. Get out of here because I will call the Watch on you too."

...

I look at a pretty modest house in a pretty modest district of the city. Lucinda lives in the North-Eastern part of Amorium, the third richest or the second poorest district, depending on how you view it.

I look at my hands and adjust my shirt before proceeding to knock on the door.

I hear shuffling and a woman's voice shouting, "I'm coming!"

A woman in her forties, maybe even a bit older, opens the door. She has faded red hair, the same as her daughter. I immediately recognize her expression, wrinkles, and signs of a person who's worked hard their entire life in a job that's all but cushy.

"Hello there," I put on my best, pearly smile. "I'm Joey Luciani, Baker, [Mage], and a friend of your daughters."

I extend a hand that the woman shakes with a raised eyebrow.

"You're the Human."

"In the flesh," I keep my smile on. "I assure you, I just want—"

She pulls my hand and, confused, I let her pull me in for a hug.

"You taught my daughter how to use the spell!" She takes my head between her palms and lowers it so that she can kiss my forehead.

Jesus, I always say that mothers love me, but this is a bit much.

"Er, yes? Kind of? Thank you?"

"Please, enter. Lucinda is still practicing, but she will be done shortly."

I enter the house, and she has me sit by the kitchen table while she goes to fetch something—well, someone.

"This is Emidius, my husband and Lucinda's father," the woman says, presenting a middle-aged man whose features vaguely resemble his daughter.

"Hi," I say, getting up and shaking his hand. "I'm Joey Luciani. Sorry for the intrusion. I just wanted to pick Lucinda up for the legal counseling stuff."

"You are the Human," Emidius says, interested. "Valeria, my wife, has told me about how you helped our daughter."

It's actually the other way around, I think, but I don't want to interrupt them.

"Oh, how silly am I," Valeria suddenly says, "I didn't introduce myself. Joey, darling, would you like some tea while you wait?"

"Huh, sure."

...

"So, how good of a [Mage] are you? Lucinda says that you are better than her. Have you considered going to the Nine Towers? Why don't you two go together? Wait, what do your parents do? Are they from anywhere near here? I don't know any Humans living in Amorium."

Valeria grills me with a thousand questions per second, not even letting me reply before the diminutive man that is her husband interjects.

"Dear, please, let the guy be," he smiles at me. His wife, still standing and towering over him, scoffs.

"What? I'm just curious."

"I'm sure that at this point, your curiosity would dictate you take out a truth-stone and put on a Watch uniform, dear," Emidius sighed. "Please, Joey, drink the tea before it gets cold."

I put my lips to the cup, imbibing the nice herbal mix.

"It's good," I nod at the cup.

"It is. I don't want to bother you, but I do have to say thank you – that’s what my wife is trying to do. Lucinda was very worried about her entrance to the academy. Now, she seems much more confident," he says.

"Oh, please, don't thank me. I just... she helped me. Really, I'm not joking. I was in a sticky situation, and she definitely lived up to her talent. I have to thank your daughter for my life. The little she got from me… I'm not sure it's enough of a payback."

"Well, I leave the details between you two green youngsters," the man smiles again.

"We have worked very hard for Lucinda," Valeria finally sits. "You have to sacrifice a lot for your children. You know, Joey, it took time for her to find... something she really wanted to do. Now that she has magic, we are trying our best to help her out."

Well, the counseling fees have just been doubled, I guess. If she needs money, that's one thing I don't think I lack, nor that I will lack any time in the future.

"Heh," Emidius shrugs, "I wouldn't mind spending more time with my family. Lucinda wants to be a [Mage], and that's... time-consuming. At times, I'd rather just have her do what I do, but... you know, I’d like to see her every day. Maybe... have grandchildren to tend to."

"That sounds lovely," I smile with warmth painted all over my face.

"Come on, Emidius, stop nagging. You know your daughter is doing this for us, too!" Valeria reprimands her husband.

"I know, I know," the man looks dejectedly at the table. "I'm just a protective father, that's all."

"Don't mind him, Joey. Lucinda is working hard for our family too, not just for herself."

Damn, so this is why she was so obsessed with magic? She started late and feels like she's gotta pay her parents back? Oof. Now, I feel really guilty about the stuff I told her the first time around. Maybe... she had a point. She was still an ass, but I guess it came from a good place.

"Yes... but by the time she's a very rich [Mage], we might both be under a tree," Emidius says with a sad sigh. "She chose a long path, and I'm afraid we will not be able to follow her all the way through."