True Magic

Yesterday was tough, I thought that after getting overworked by Mia inside the dungeon I could rest peacefully when I got home, and that was true up until I went to bed.

As usual, I didn't go alone, Licia and Claire both accompanied me, and while I thought that nothing major would happen since we were all together, reality proved me wrong.

Any sense of shame they had before was through the window, and they didn't mind that the other was watching them at their most intimate moment.

I'm glad that I can maintain this relationship with both of them, it makes me really happy to have them both by my side. But I didn't want this to be something that was only good for me, so I tried my best to satisfy them, and though I can proudly say that I managed to achieve that, I thought in the long term I might not last another year if I keep this up,

When we started, Licia seemed a bit pent-up due to not having any before, so it seems like she requires daily attention.

Claire was fired up now that she had experience, but same as before, she didn't last long.

It would be fine if Licia was as easy to satisfy, but she can really keep going, and though when it's just the two of us I can accompany her no problem, by adding Claire's share, she came really close to making me give up.

This morning, my mind was split between what should I do and if I should just let it continue since after all, it was pretty good.

A request from Beatrice managed to divert my attention though...

Beatrice: "... Sorry to trouble you, but... Are you going to summon items this time as well?"

Miwen: "Yeah, I want to get a shield for Anna. A spear or longsword would also be good..."

She seemed a bit dejected with my answer, so I thought perhaps she had something in mind.

Miwen: "Is there something you want Beatrice? I have a limited number of summons, but I wouldn't mind trying to get something for you."

I thought she either had an opinion to share, or wanted something from the Gacha, so I tried to offer her an item from it. If she actually just had something in mind, she'd probably reject the offer and share what she was thinking with us.

But my offer managed to brighten her mood a little bit, so it seemed like she wanted something after all.

Beatrice: "...I see... If you don't mind, could you summon me a Spellbook? I'd be forever grateful..."

Ah, a Spellbook... makes sense, those are pretty useful for a mage, and given her Gift, it makes one's effect even higher.

Magic has a lot of fundamentals and ways to use, some resemble each other, but others are completely different.

For example, what our party has mostly been doing is called "Flexible Magic" or "Formless Magic". Basically, you just create an image of what you want to happen in your mind, try to recreate it in reality, and then... that's it, your magic has been "cast".

This way of doing magic is useful for people fighting on the frontline, it doesn't require you to focus too deeply, and thus you can keep attention to your surroundings. It's also really fast and can take any shape or form you can imagine, making it very adaptable to your situation.

Its biggest downside is power, and that's where "Solid Magic" or Spell Cast Magic" shines.

It takes a lot more concentration to use, and along with "visualizing" the magic in your head, "chanting lines" are usually necessary to build a foundation and restrictions to one's magic.

You can create your own spells, but certain images and chants seem to increase the power or add better effects to one's spell.

Thanks to that, some people write a bunch of different chants, draw and describe various images and things they tried doing with magic, and then put all of that along with their results and theories into paper, thus creating a Spellbook.

Thanks to our scientific advancements, mass copying books is super easy, so Spellbooks should be extremely cheap.

Except that they are not.

Any Spellbook worth a damn contains mana traces left by its author that helps the reader absorb the contents of the book by tracing the mana in it. 

It's also worth noting that due to the mana in the book, the writer's intent, feelings, and knowledge about what they are writing can also affect the contents of the book in a mystical way.

There's no solution that allows one to copy that as of right now, so a Spellbook only has as many copies as the author makes, which makes them really worth it, even more so when they are written by a well-established name.

Some Spellbooks do have copies where you're supposed to infuse your own magic, and there are also second-hand copies by decent magicians, but these often have mixed results, making it har for you to acquire a skill related to what you wrote, or improve your already existing magic. Their price is much more affordable though.

Miwen: "Hm... Spellbooks are nice... I can't guarantee the quality though..."

Beatrice: "It's fine! I mean..."

She got really enthusiastic all of a sudden, I don't know her very well, but I'm almost sure this is the first time she's like this...

Beatrice: "Even though I was called a witch before, it's just because I was very immersed in research... I'd only leave my house to participate in rituals and covens... or underground auctions of Spellbooks..."

That's pretty witchy behavior if you ask me though, but I guess she didn't have any ill intent, so it should be fine.

Beatrice: "With time people began to have suspicions and create rumors about me... I didn't let it distract me from my research though... but eventually they denounced me and I was killed in a witch hunt..."

... I didn't think the conversation would take this turn...

First of all, I was beginning to think that to know about a girl's backstory I'd have to build a strong relationship and sleep with her as if unlocking a chapter in a dating simulator.

But such stupid thoughts aside, by now, everyone was paying attention to Beatrice, and their reactions were all over the place.

Licia and Anna seemed upset, while Mia and Claire were pretty angry... Though not angry, Ellie was clearly irritated and seemed to be thinking about how much of a travesty the actions against Beatrice were.

Even though Beatrice was showing regret about what had happened, her expression was pretty calm, as if accepting it as her past.

I wonder what my own expression was, as when I looked again at everyone, their reactions showed a bit of waryness.

Whatever it was though, I calmed myself and with the gentlest smile I could muster, gave her my honest answer.

Miwen: "Don't worry, I'll give you one. And since it seems to mean so much to you, with time, I'll give you enough to start your own library."

Beatrice: "...hahah. That would be a dream come true for me."

When recounting the fate she met in her past, at no moment did she get as teary as this, not even the warm smile that could compete with the sun she was giving managed to hide that from me. Through these signals, along with her thankful voice, I could see that my response was at least enough to make her feel better.

Miwen: "For now, here you go. [On Fire Tornadoes]... seems to have been written by... Zyliai Lyz...?"

Sounds like a fake name to me, but I hope it's at least a decent book.

She thanked me for giving her the book with a hug, which was quite nice since her body was superb, and even through our clothes, her touch felt divine.

Although I couldn't avoid the indecent thoughts, what made me more pleased was actually that I could do something meaningful for her. Knowing now how important it is for her, seeing her sincere gratitude was a sensation beyond compare.

Such thoughts would only leave my mind after I finished today's summons.

I had planned to roll 3 times on the [Weapons Banner] and roll 6 times on the [Skills Banner], but due to the roll on the [Spellbooks Banner], I went for only 2 weapons since skills are more important to me now that Beatrice has water-based magic and can make use of the weapon she previously acquired through the [Weapons Banner].

Through that, I didn't manage to get a shield, but I did get a sword that could probably fit Anna better.

[Roxy's Claymore

A captain who was loved by her unit, Roxy's weapon was a sword capable of making the ground shake with every strike. After she disposed of it during the campaign in Wessmar, legends started to be told about the sword's power being uncontrollable, and many began to search for it.

This Claymore strengthens the user's earth magic, along with an increase to their Strength. Every swing causes a slight quake in the aimed direction, the quake power will depend on the user's earth magic level and their Strength status. It's also possible to control the quake's output to a certain extent, but a quake will always happen no matter what."

There was also a very basic spear that only had a bit more of a piercing capability, but it seems like Anna got really enamored with the sword and wanted to have it no matter what.

I wonder how the logistics will be for her if I get a shield, as it will be difficult to use a claymore then.

That aside, the skills I got ranged between meh to perfect, absolutely the best.

[Physical Prowess] and [Last Man Standing] both got level-ups, which was nice, since [Physical Prowess] is very useful, especially in tough fights. I don't really use [Last Man Standing], but it's nice to have a better version of it if a situation where it is called for happens.

I also got a [Spear Throw] skill that adds to my strength when launching a spear from afar. It's an active skill though, and since I don't use spears it's kind of meh. I prefer the quick fighting style with daggers, to be honest, but I'll try to learn how to use a spear while training with Mia since it's convenient to have more options.

All of that was so-so, but here's the good part.

[Faster Tree Climbing] made its triumphant return.

It's been some time since it last showed its face, so I was beginning to miss it.

With one more level, it reached level 6, probably making me the fastest tree climber out there. An achievement I'd love to be able to hide from my status, which I now actually can thanks to [Block Analysis].

As the name suggests. it allows me to block analysis skills aimed at me, such as [Appraisal] for example.

It's not 100% though, if the enemy has a way higher level, or a better [Appraisal], or a special effect... well, a bunch of things can affect it, but it should be able to hide at least a little bit, and top of my priority list is [Faster Tree Climbing].

And though this last one was pretty good, what really impressed me was the last one...

[Stamina Increase

Increases the user's total energy and decreases his consumption, making it harder for him to get tired. As a passive skill, this cannot be turned off unless affected by other skills or curses."

Maybe it's karma for doing something good today, but thank you Gacha Gods, I'll never forget this miracle, I swear.

Claire: "Oh. that one sounds pretty useful, mind sharing it with me ?"

Miwen: "Uuh... maybe later."

You're the last person I'm ever giving this to. With how enthusiastic you are when it comes to sex if you had the stamina to keep up, I'm sure you'd suck me dry.

The day I give this to either you or Licia will mark my last night on this planet, I'm sure of that.

Because it was necessary, and totally not to distract Claire, I also claimed the [Kingdom Points] and spent 30 of the 120 I had received on clothes again.

I also decided to get something for myself this time and aimed at Mia's [Movement Speed Up]. It seems like she really trains a lot, since this skill was at a higher level than I'm, making it so that I could only get a level 9 version of it. Still, this was absolutely a game changer for me, since I heavily rely on my speed.

It was hefty, at 35 points, but definitely worth it. I also gave it to Licia, so just this skill alone stole most of the points I acquired today.

I also gave Claire [Culinary Arts] to see if she would start helping a bit but...

Claire: "...? What would I do with this?"

Yeah, seems like it was a waste. I also gave it to Ellie though, which was absolutely a better investment.

Since I still had to distract Claire though, I gave her [Physical Prowess] with the remaining points.

Thus, we were ready to embark on another day of dungeon raiding.