My Servant System

"Wow... look at all of those... such a nice color too; a rich, oceanic blue. And the mana! Oh, the mana is quite potent too, isn't it? How did you sense these, Anput? There wasn't much leakage from the rock, and yet..."

Belian placed the rough chunk of blue stone back into Anput's hands, allowing it to join the dozens of other chunks that she had excavated from the boulder; the largest was around three inches long and an inch and a half thick, with some of the boulder still clinging desperately to its treasures and making it difficult to tell the exact dimensions and shape of the gemstone, but we could be certain that this was a BIG rock that was going to be worth quite a bit.

That could likely feed us for a few months, even with us buying a bit higher quality meats and grains in abundance thanks to the voracious appetites of both Jahi and Anput; that was just how big, how beautiful and how mana rich that gemstone was, and if we took in the various other smaller gemstones, well...

It was quite the haul, and I looked towards my mate as well, wondering how she had known to check that boulder in particular out of the various boulders around us, something that seemed far to certain and practiced to just be blind luck.

"Oh... uh... We're far too deep into the Dungeon for most of these boulders to be just boulders, and the mana felt a bit thicker around that particular boulder, so I just... took a crack at it, I guess? I thought it'd be ore, not gemstones... so I guess I got lucky~?"

We all stared at her for a few moments, before Belian just chuckled and shook his head, the man staring at the gemstones for a second more as he said "Well, sometimes that luck is a skill in and of itself. Also, I believe this brings up another fun lesson for some of you~! Kat, Leone, what would you say to having a focus to use when casting spells? Something to help channel your mana and maintain some of its potency?"

"You said something about a wand earlier, didn't you? Would it really make that much of a difference besides just being able to cast a spell or two without needing the Ritual Circle?"

"'Just being able to cast without needing a Ritual Circle?' Are you hearing yourself, Kat? How long does it take to draw out a Ritual Circle, hm? Two seconds, maybe three?"

When I nodded, I froze as the man stepped forwards and appeared in front of me, his hand an inch from my throat as he continued to speak, acting like he wasn't about to lift me up by my neck and snap it with disturbing ease.

"Would you have had the time to cast a spell here without it, perhaps? A wand can be two things; an enchanted stick that has a spell or two 'pre saved' for your future use, and it can be a way to channel your mana more efficiently. Now, it has pros and cons, but..."

Dropping his hand, the man ignored the glare from Jahi as well as the frowns from Anput and Leone as he turned to address everyone, taking this moment to impart more of his wisdom unto us all free of charge.

"For some of you - the melee fighters who utilize magic sometimes in the midst of said melee - a wand could be something that gives you an impressive edge. Enchant it with simple close or medium range spells and you can catch someone off guard. Thin, slim, light, wands are extremely easy to both conceal and wield, but the problem is a simple one; its fragile, expensive, and takes a skilled artisan to make. You can just make a metal stick, yes, but a proper wand is best made with elementally attuned materials of many kinds, and it needs a 'Core' of its own. Something rich in mana to power itself. Gemstones, for example, or a part of a monster that is rich in mana. Feathers, horns, claws and the like.

That makes it expensive and difficult to produce, and makes it devastating to use in close quarters, hence why most spell blades - magic and physical fighters - utilize their hands. Now, for the pure mages here, wands are an eventual must have - or a staff, depending on your preference - if you want to travel into far more dangerous areas. There's just a bit of a boost to utilizing a focus that makes magicians even more of a powerhouse on the battlefield. Anyways, a focus is valuable to you because it boosts your mana's strength as well as allows you to 'save' some spells onto it in the form of enchantments, which can be cast instantly. Well, 'instantly' in comparison to the seconds it takes to cast the spell yourself. That swiftness can be rather monumental in a fight, can't it? Everyone here is aware of how valuable a second is in a fight, right?"

Seeing that we all nodded in understanding, the Demon nodded back and turned to me, asking "Understand now? Something to empower you in close quarters, and a way to make your spells stronger at longer ranges. But, it is expensive to make, and difficult too, so..."

Belian trailed off, still nodding his head and making sure I understood before turning away and saying "Well, since this boulder had a vein, let's check out the others. Usually finding one means there's another nearby, and if we can get a bunch of these gemstones, we can say that this excursion alone was worth it~! All that money we can make from selling these... or the items we can make too! Oh, it's so~ nice being back in a Dungeon... I missed this..."

He rubbed his hands together greedily as he walked over to another boulder, staring at it intently as if he was trying to peer beneath its surface and locate the treasures that might lie within, something that made us all stare at him for a moment, only to shrug and spread out to comb over the grotto we had cleared out, taking this time to rest just a bit as well as harvest some resources for later.