CHAPTER 2: FIRST ENCHANTING

After a moment to panic, Jenna realized that she had a way to answer the question.

“Where is everybody?” she asked the pyramid. As her mind started racing with possibilities, the Pyramid responded.

All new entrants to the training grounds are kept quarantined for three weeks to prevent spread of disease.

That made some amount of sense, though she was sure that she would be going stir crazy without talking to anyone else for three weeks. Still, it wasn’t like she had a way to force the Pyramid to do what she wanted. At least, not yet.

Jenna quickly moved past that. There was nothing she could do to change the situation, and the next item on her list was Enchanting Practice. She quickly scarfed down the rest of her meal, not tasting it in the slightest. She had waited her entire life for this moment to arrive, and she couldn’t stand another delay.

Jenna picked up her Grimoire, ready to begin the lesson. A part of her marveled at the way that it felt in her hand. It felt like a part of her, for all that she had no clue what was inside it. That was a strange feeling, and one she wanted to remedy as soon as possible.

She opened her Grimoire to its first page.

Enchanting Spell First Tier: Hardened Glass. This Spell will increase the durability of glasses that it is etched onto.

It felt like another stroke of luck. The generally given advice was to start with the first Spell in your Grimoire, since that was the Spell that you had the greatest affinity for. The fact that it was the Spell she’d need to start earning contribution points was a nice surprise.

As Jenna thought about it, though, it may not have been a stroke of luck. After all, most First Tier Spells simply modified the physical properties of a mundane material. Most likely, the Pyramid had just recommended that she use the Spell that would be easiest to learn.

Would you like to buy glass to practice this Spell? Price: 10 points.

Jenna balked at the price. That was ten days of food she wouldn’t be able to purchase. Still, there was no way for her to learn the Spell without practice. Gritting her teeth, she purchased the glass.

Forty sheets of glass appeared in front of her. Each was a standard size, squares about as wide as her palm.

She picked up the first piece of glass and moved it off of the pile, then started reading the directions for the Spell.

Engrave the following rune into the piece of glass and imbue it with your power.

That was vague. While within the Pyramid, though, she was able to ask more detailed questions.

Recommendation: Purchase an etching tool for use until Magic is sufficient to etch glass on its own. Cost: 20 points.

That price tag was ridiculous. The fact that the Pyramid even told Jenna that she wouldn’t need the etching tool forever made her hesitant to buy it. Even as she deliberated, though, she knew what she would do.

Either she trusted the Pyramid or she didn’t. Trying her hardest not to think about the twenty fewer days she had to start making a profit, Jenna bought the etching tool. It appeared in her hand.

She tried inspecting it, curious what it would do.

First Tier Etching Tool. Designed to teach new Mages how to use their Magic to engrave mundane materials.

That was helpful, though it did raise other questions. Did higher Tier etching tools have other effects? Were there higher Tier etching tools?

Now wasn’t the time to consider that, though. Jenna picked up the etching tool and prepared to carve into the piece of glass. The Pyramid supplied a helpful overlay of the rune over the glass. Since it was only a First Tier Spell, she wouldn’t need to vary the depth that she engraved in or trace lines in a particular order.

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It was still difficult for her to know where to start carving, though. The Pyramid remained uncharacteristically silent as she deliberated. This must have been a test of some sort.

As she looked at the rune, Jenna saw a spiral within it. That seemed like as good of a place as any to start carving. Moving carefully, she touched the etching tool to the glass.

The moment that she started to tear through the material, she felt something inside of her draining. She jolted at the feeling and saw that she had absolutely ruined the rune. Still, she could practice carving the rest of the rune.

As she kept etching the rune, the draining kept pulling on her at a constant rate. She was barely able to finish the rune before she lost control of her body, collapsing on the table. Now that she was looking at the rune from up close, it didn’t seem so bad. Maybe she hadn’t ruined the engraving with her initial jolt.

With a mental query, she inspected the carved glass.

Etched Piece of Glass. This piece of glass was etched with a failed attempt at the First Tier Spell Hardened Glass. As a result, it has lost its value, because it can no longer be Enchanted at all.

That was incredibly frustrating. Not only had she failed to Enchant the glass, but she had even ruined it for future attempts. The fact that it was only worth a quarter of a point helped ease the blow a little, but it was still a pain.

Trying to distract herself from her disappointment, she focused on her body. It still felt empty somehow, and she struggled to lift her head at all. “What happened to me?” she mumbled out.

Congratulations! You have pushed yourself to your limits, completely emptying yourself of Magic. As a result, more time spent working on Enchanting would be wasted today. Would you like to move the rest of your schedule up?

Jenna groaned but accepted the request. Suddenly the fact that she was spending so much of her time not working on her Magic made sense. She would need to increase how much Magic she could hold.

“How can I increase the amount of Magic that I have?”

The Pyramid didn’t immediately respond, and Jenna was worried that she had reached some limit on questions.

Query answered as “What are optimal and probable ways for me to increase the amount of Mana I have.” Is this acceptable?

She should have known better. The Pyramid was willing to answer any question, but it did so perfectly. The question she’d asked would likely have given every single potential way to increase one’s Magic. That wouldn’t be helpful to her, limited as she was by points, Tier, location, and probably a number of other issues.

She accepted the prompt.

In order of effectiveness, the following options are likely to work for you: Participating in a rift Purchasing Magic potions Emptying your Magic pool totally

Those all made sense. It also explained why the Pyramid thought that Jenna should learn how to use a sword. Until she had learned enough Enchanting Spells to make effective weapons, she’d need some way to fight inside the rifts.

“How much is a Magic potion?”

First Tier Mana Potion: Price: 400 Points

Jenna cursed. “Of course there’s no way for me to afford the potion. How do I participate in a rift?”

Rifts are opened when a cohort meets certain criteria. At that point, rift slots are available for purchase. You may choose to delve either alone or with a party.

“How much is a rift slot?”

First Tier Rift Slot: Price: Variable, Starting at 100 Points.

“What’s the first criteria that my cohort is likely to meet?” Jenna would need to learn Hardened Glass by then, if only so that she could delve the rift.

The first criterion your cohort is likely to reach is surviving quarantine. Estimated Probability: 95%

That gave her a deadline. Not only would Jenna need to be able to make Hardened Glass, but she would also need to sell enough to recoup her expenses. Feeling somehow less empty, she looked at the next item on her schedule. Her face fell.

Jenna’s Status:

Jenna Fredrickson First Year Spells Known: Expected Years Completed: 6 Prediction Confidence: 40% Points: 69 Qualified to Ascend to Next Year? No