The witch was waiting for us outside when we returned to her forest ‘backyard’ with that gargoyle still floating beside her. She paced in front of us back and forth, eyeing my new hairdo and wrinkling her nose at me but surprisingly refraining from making even one snide comment.

“Now then. Each of you will take one of these.” Vexina handed us both a short, roughly cylinder-shaped wooden stick that was inked with a simple symmetrical diagram spanning most of its length. “Just grab hold of this in your hand, point the other end at a target, channel your mana into it and you’re good to go.”

“That’s it? Aren’t you going to explain how this works?” I asked.

“Oh, now you want to take the time to learn things the proper way,” the witch snapped. “Kids these days!”

This witch is impossible!

“Hmph. If you’re going to make me explain, then you better bloody well pay attention!” She slammed her staff into the ground for effect. “I have inscribed these two wands for casting the basic Mana Bolt spell. Inscriptions are a tool used by modern mages to expedite and simplify the magic casting process from the three steps required for manual casting down to one. The inscription takes care of the symbol tracing and directional control aspects of casting and merely requires the input of your channeled mana to execute the spell. For more complex spells, inscription casting gives you the ‘feel’ for how to properly cast the spell on your own without any assistance. Smaller objects like these can usually only hold an inscription for a single spell, but skilled mages can craft items that bear inscriptions for a wide range of magic.” She arrogantly tapped at her staff. “Now, does that satisfy your curiosity?”

We both nodded.

“Oh, and I also took the time to idiot-proof those wands so you can fire them from either end,” Vexina continued with sadistic glee. “No need to thank me.”

“How generous of you,” I muttered.

The witch pointed with her staff to a tree stump a good distance away, then her staff lit up again and an exquisite, shimmering vase materialized over it. “You can use this for target practice. Imagine this vase to be a priceless artifact, and your very life depends upon you shattering it! This will hone your natural destructive instincts.” She flashed me another toothy grin.

“Yeah, thanks…”

Alice clutched her wand tightly, helplessly shaking with excitement.

“You really want to go first, don’t you?” I asked, fighting back a laugh. “Go ahead.”

She quickly nodded twice in thanks and stepped forward. Her wand shook as she held it out in front of her until she steadied it with another hand. Then, the diagram along the wand began lighting up with Alice’s mana, culminating in a small amorphous ball of energy that shot out from the other end. The projectile veered wide, missing the vase and displacing a chunk of dirt where it landed.

“I did it!” Alice cheered. “I really did it! I finally did magic!”

Vexina cackled in amusement.

“Isn’t it a little too early to celebrate?” I noted.

“Just let me enjoy this,” Alice pouted.

“Fine, fine. But try taking a deep breath next time.”

She did just that, her shoulders rising and falling as the breath calmed her nerves. She lifted her wand again steadier than before, aimed at the vase, and channeled her mana until it fired. The second bolt of energy soared through the air and struck the vase dead center, soundlessly smashing the magical construct apart before it fizzled out of existence.

“I did it!” Alice cheered again. “For real this time!”

“Well done, my dear!” Vexina said with an uncharacteristic lack of malice.

She actually hit it on her second try?! That set the bar pretty high… No, it’s not like I was jealous or anything!

“Okay, your turn!” Alice said, brimming with confidence.

Deep breaths, no pressure… I stepped forward, quickly wiped away the perspiration from my hands as discreetly as I could, and took aim at the newly reconstructed vase atop the stump. I gathered the mana in my body and directed it into the wand.

Nothing seemed to happen.

“Mana Bolt!” I shouted.

“Beryl, I don’t think it works like that,” Alice said.

“Look, sometimes you just gotta power it up! Come on, Mana Bolt!”

The wand flashed and shook as I continued pouring every bit of mana I could sense into it. I had to grab hold with both of my hands after the wand threatened to tremble out of my grip. Sparks flew out of the far end as it kept receiving my surge of mana until it violently trembled its last. With a piercing crack and an explosion of light, the wand shattered into a thousand pieces.

For a moment, all three of us stared wordlessly at that result.

“Hey, what the hell was that!” I yelled at the witch. “You definitely sabotaged mine, didn’t you?!”

“Nonsense!” Vexina snapped. “You would dare question my expertise? No mere beginner should be able to overload my design!”

Suddenly, her free hand turned into a glowing blur as the witch began casting a flurry of spells.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing now?”

“Hush!” the witch hissed. “A few divinations won’t hurt you.”

With each spell cast, countless lights flickered within her eyes like a computer processing an endless stream of data. The witch wove spell after silent spell, continuing her casting until she paused and a wicked grin crept up her face, evidently reaching the answer she was looking for.

“A blessing or a curse…?”

“Could you repeat that a little louder?” I asked.

“No matter,” Vexina said. “Truth be told, any mage worth her salt should know how to cast all her spells the old-fashioned way. Raglius! Quill and parchment, would you kindly.”

The gargoyle croaked to attention at the command, flying into the witch’s house and returning a short while later with the requested items. As a reward, Vexina reached into a pouch at her side and produced a fat, wriggling worm. Once she tossed it to her pet, the creature greedily gobbled it up in one bite.

After that delightful business, the witch levitated the parchment in the air and began ‘writing,’ waving her hands back and forth like an orchestra conductor as the also levitating quill inked a series of lines onto it.

She wasn’t using her staff or visibly casting anything the normal way? “How are you doing that?”

“‘Free casting’ is nothing you need to worry about in your lifetime,” the witch replied with a scornful air. “Don’t even bother trying it until you can learn to think in the language of magic!”

Show off… “And what the hell is that?”

“Nothing you need to worry about for several lifetimes!” she cackled. “Enough with your nosy questions and let me finish.”

When she had finally finished the writing, Vexina guided the floating parchment over to Alice.

“Now then, why don’t you have her teach you!” the witch said as if she were speaking fondly of her granddaughter. Ugh.

A cursory glance revealed that the symbol for the Mana Bolt spell was laughably simpler than Recall, instead consisting of just a few short lines roughly arrayed in the shape of a projectile. Even if it would be more work this way, I didn’t exactly trust the witch to not mess with me again or whatever she was up to.

Satisfied, I let Alice hold onto the fresh spell scroll and took up a position facing the stump one more time. I pointed a finger at the vase, then I channeled my mana while tracing the newly memorized symbol and directing it into a projectile. A small ball of energy launched from the tip of my finger and struck the vase, smashing it apart just like it did before.

“That’s more like it!” I cheered.

Alice bit her lip. “Th-That still counts as your second try,” she said defiantly. “I can do that, too!”

Why was she suddenly getting so competitive?!