With both of us working together, practically all of our magic gets an upgrade. Some just get improved efficiency, while others just get an upgrade to their effects. A few of our spells get an overall improvement to all aspects which really thrills Lin.

When we finally run out of ideas for improvements, it is just about time for lunch. As we start eating, our conversation turns back to natural mana and what kinds there are. Our spells mostly use the four main elements, very few use the rarer elements.

Eventually, we end up talking about what other types of elemental mana might occur naturally. We also discuss where we can find them so that we can study them to increase our knowledge. Of course, when we start talking about shadow mana, I think of the shadow plane.

"Mulan, weren't you guys going to the shadow plane today?"

Mulan says "That is the plan, yes. Why?"

"I was thinking of loaning you my glasses so you could take a look at the mana of the shadow plane. I expect it is all shadow mana, but you never know."

Lin says "No need. I will be going with them to take a look for myself. I can study the shadow mana while the kids do whatever they want to do."

"Oh, that works too. Honestly, I am surprised you didn't go through sooner to have a look around."

Lin says "Until now, there didn't really seem to be all that much for me to learn from there."

"Really? You never wanted to learn shadow magic?"

Lin says "Not really. Shadow magic is classed as evil magic so I wasn't very interested in it."

"I don't think any magic is good or evil. It is all in how it is used. Even necromancy can be used for good."

Lin says "You might have a point, but it just feels wrong."

"Okay, then look at it from another angle. If you know shadow magic, then you also know how to counter it."

Lin says "Now that is a good point. Mulan, you said you found a city right? Did they sell spell books there?"

Mulan says "I wasn't looking, but I think I saw some."

Lin says "Alright. I will swing by and see what I can find."

"Why don't I go with you?"

Lin says "No! I am just going to study, not to find an adventure!"

"I wasn't going to go looking for an adventure!"

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Lin says "You don't need to. You are basically an adventure magnet! If you go with us, we are practically guaranteed to get into trouble of some type."

"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad!"

Lin says "Do you want me to list all the trouble you have gotten into when you weren't looking for it? Oh wait, that would take too long. We are leaving soon."

"That's just mean."

Lin says "Maybe, but it's true and you can't deny it. So you are going to stay here. Work on your experiments or something."

"Fine."

Lin says "Aw, are you sulking? That's so cute!"

In response, I stick my tongue out at her, which just makes her laugh, then I head down to my workshop. With the changes to the enchantment, the capacity of the ink I need is lower. When I check, I find that one of the inks I already came up with will work just fine.

I now have the ink and the enchantment, so I just need to design the tattoo and find an artist. Although, now that I think about it, summoning a tattoo artist for just one tattoo seems a bit ridiculous. I haven't asked her yet, but I am guessing that Lin will also want the tattoo.

Some of the kids might also want it, but I will have to ask them and see. Before then, I should see what other useful magic tattoos that I can come up with. I spend the next couple of hours designing formations that could be done as tattoos.

I create the mana purifying tattoo first since that is the one I want the most. After that, I work on creating tattoos that would enhance speed and strength for a short time. They require the mana of the owner to activate, but the mana gathering tattoo will make up for it.

These three tattoos would basically make any soldier stronger by a decent amount. It would basically turn any normal soldier into a supersoldier just at the cost of three tattoos. This could drastically increase the power of the beastmen that have gotten the artificial core.

Which by now, should be all of the beast clans that have joined us so far. If we give the tattoos to all of those who are warriors, that should be a really strong force. Although, I should also come up with a tattoo to increase their defensive abilities as well.

It doesn't matter how strong they are if they end up getting killed in the first fight. Creating a tattoo to increase their toughness isn't too hard, it just takes a bit of time. Then, looking at the four tattoos, I decide to create a design that incorporates all four of them.

While this will make the tattoo harder to do, I think it will look a lot better. As long as Lin is able to summon a decent tattoo artist, I don't think that it will be a problem. Speaking of, I should probably talk to Lin about that when she gets back so she can work on the spell.

She will probably need to talk to Krenocia about the spell she used, but that shouldn't be a problem. I don't think the goddesses will have a problem with me using magical tattoos. It isn't something that will break the balance of the world, at least I don't think so.

Magical tattoos are something that someone would have come up with eventually. I am just bringing it about a little sooner, that shouldn't upset them too much. I manage to finalize the design and get it just the way I want it before Lin and the kids get back.

We sit down to eat dinner and we let the kids tell us about their adventure first. Then, once they are done, Lin starts telling me what she learned about shadow mana. I was right, the entire plane is made of it and the mana is everywhere and in everything.

"What about its properties?"

Lin says "It is pretty unique. It has some of the properties of both light and darkness mana, but not all of them."

"Well, that actually fits when you think about it. Shadows are created when light banishes the darkness."

Lin says "Yeah, that does make sense. Thinking of it that way makes it a lot easier to analyze the mana."

"What about shadow magic? Any luck?"

Lin says "I did manage to get a couple of spellbooks. They had more, but I didn't have the money for them. Even for the ones I did get, I had to borrow the money from the kids. They have their own currency."