[D'sP] Testing Fire Spells - Chapter 409

Kelly shrugs, “Well, since we’re doing this, let me test a few things first. It took us a while to get here and I might as well use a moment of time so I can compare dungeon water to the stuff outside.”

Jim shrugs, “Anyone else care? Even an hour wouldn’t really extend our stay all that much.”

No one else really cares and so Kelly gets down to business. “Okay, first up is even simpler than our fire ribbon spell. Which I guess is actually a bit difficult to cast? I’ve found that the regular people in town have a hard time figuring it out.

“Anyway, this spell fire dart. Actually, does everyone know the general progression? It will be easier if I don’t have to keep explaining each spell.”

Jay raises his hand, “I don’t really know much about the actual spells. Though I have gotten pretty good at slicing them out of the air.”

Kelly, “Well, that is interesting. After this, come to my lab. We Need to talk.

“Anyway, the basic order of fire spells goes fire dart, fire fan, fire blast, fire ribbon, and fireball. Well, the basic order for basic spells. And if you go into it too much, nonsense abounds. So understanding that this is the most basic, this is what we got.”

Jay frowns, “Then why are you always using fire ribbon instead of fireball?”

Kelly, “Partly the stuff I won’t be talking about and mostly because we prefer controlled spells. Fireball is basically a fire grenade. If you manage to hit something before the target, the spell stops and explodes early. It gets placed higher because of the simplicity. You pack a lot more Mana into the spell.

“Now, fire dart is when you create a small ball of fire and send the Mana out like a dart. The spell doesn’t explode, there is barely enough to stay in one piece, which is where the name comes from. Throwing the spell out is enough for the ball of fire to extend out into a thin dart shape.

“Fire fan comes about when you figure out how to gather more fire Mana, but lose the ability to actually throw it, instead causing a fan of fire to explode in front of you. Fire blast combines the two. The reason this isn’t called a fireball is because there is no reason.

“There is a magical breakpoint where the spell switches from being a fire blast to a fireball. Worse, it is a system recognized difference meaning this isn’t actually some sort of nonsense breakpoint. A reason exists and we do not know what the reason is yet. Though cross fireball off the list with this as well.

“Finally, fire ribbon, which is only a normal spell in this town. Yes, the actual recognized list tends to have three to four spells, depending on if they’ve realized there is a true difference between the blast and ball spell. Anyway, fire ribbon has less fire Mana than the fireball and so goes below it. I’m sure there are other ways to organize spells, but at this level, that’s how the system seems to handle the situation.”

Kelly turns to the water, “Now, I’m starting with the fire dart.” And without further notice brings up a blob of fire at the tip of her finger and points at the water. The dart jumps out across the distance and touches the water. Though only touches as it vanishes, leaving nary a ripple.

Kelly nods, “As expected.”

Jim frowns, “As expected? I certainly didn’t expect that. It didn’t even affect the water. Is this something dungeon specific?”

Kelly shakes her head, “I wish it was that simple. The change between air and water disrupts magic. Not just fire magic, either. You need to be trained to cast magic from one to the other. Though the dart not even affecting the water is likely dungeon specific. Or rather, specific to any area dense with power. Now, keep an eye out, I’ll have to get a bit closer to have fire fan reach the water.”

Jim frowns, but doesn’t say anything. Though he does draw his bow and readies it. Though in the end it isn’t needed as Kelly keeps a careful distance from where they had detected monsters.

Once in position, Kelly stretched her hand out and fire spewed out in a fan shape. Though as the fire touches the water, it too vanishes. “Fair, there isn’t much more to fire fan. The challenge coming from gathering enough fire aligned Mana, even at the cost of throwing the spell. Now I’ll back up.”

Kellinger, “Was there a reason to bother with that test if it isn’t much more than the dart?”

Kelly, “But there might have been a difference. Though I must admit, fire blast is where I expect things to change. There is a difference in quality between the first two and the last three.” Then she gathers a small ball of fire and tosses the ball at the water.

Everyone is carefully watching the point where the fire touches water and are rewarded. As it hits, the lump of fire Mana bursts, spreading out across the surface of the water. Not just that, the water underneath surged and steamed. Though the steam quickly dissipated.

Kelly nods, “There we go. That would have at least scalded anyone right below the water’s surface. Shame that the principles of magic means the heat doesn’t stick around more than a moment.”

Jim, “Yeah, that’s always amusing. Though I must admit, that makes ice magic so much more effective for refrigeration. A block of ice that doesn’t leave behind a puddle is quite convenient.”

Kelly sighs, “More like infuriating. You need to stay on top of the ice because the cold goes away with the ice. It doesn’t linger in the air. Thank goodness the chill at least stays in the food. It would be a disaster if that left as well.”

Jim, “Why does the chill stay in the food?”

Kelly shrugs, “For the same reason a fire started by magic stays around, even if magically summoned fire doesn’t. The important part is the transference or transformation that happens.

“A fire started directly by magic will vanish with the magic. A fire started by a fire started by magic sticks around. Same for a fire started by heat from a nearby magically started fire. So, basically, the direct effects of magic are temporary unless you design the spell to keep them around, referred to as conjuring as compared to summoning.

“With summoned ice, it is directly affecting the air and so the chill quickly leaves the air. However, when the cold transfers from the air and into the food, that second transference gives it a certain amount of reality.”

Jay, “Wait a second, aren’t there spells for summoning drinking water? Or food? I remember something like that.”

Kelly sighs, “Yes and no. There are spells I could cast which would create water to drink. However, it would be either conjuring or manipulation. So, either you are creating the water or you’re drawing the water in from the air. In fact, the best such spells tend to use both methods.”

Jay shakes his head, “No, I’m pretty certain there are a bunch of people in town using summoning magic for that kind of thing. Food seems to be a bit of a problem. They’ve got that manna stuff which tastes like nothing and feels like wood dust that a kid pressed together with water and called a cookie.”

Kelly, “I know what you mean and they are technically spells. But! They aren’t spells a wizard can just cast. I figure that I might manage enough water and manna to feed myself for a day within a few hours. Maybe later on, when I have a better handle on the spell, that will change, but we don’t have anyone interdisciplinary enough to manage the research.”

Jim, “So, I’ve seen the people casting those spells. They are not on your level, but they can really churn it out. Though I also noticed something else they all have in common.”

Kelly nods, “Yep, they’re all religious. In fact, most of them I would call clerics instead of magic users of any sort. Well, I guess they are similar to warlocks? But I don’t necessarily count them either.”

Jay, “What does religion have to do with this?”

Kelly shrugs, “Deities cheat. Not that all deities can provide water and food spells. It has to do with their domains. Though that can be stretched a bit, especially the concepts. Anyway, their domain basically offloads the difficulty of creating water.

“It is like trying to do a complicated equation on a computer. If you’re just using your own computer, it’s going to chug along or simply not be able to manage the problem. A deity is basically cloud computing and their domain is a supercomputer farm and a bunch of pre-calculated solutions.

“Then there is manna. Manna is technically food. You can try to dispel manna and the stuff isn’t going to vanish. However, do you really believe that any true food would be capable of feeding any being a full day’s worth of food? That such a food that can fully feed a blue whale could also feed a newly born kitten and neither receives too much or too little?”

Jim frowns, “What? That does not sound right. Isn’t it just for feeding humanoids enough?”

Kelly, “Okay, same question but it is a newly born baby, someone in the middle of puberty, and a fully grown adult?”

Jim, “Still sounds wrong. Besides, a baby can’t eat solid food.”

Kelly smiles, “Then it probably shocks you that there are some newborns who have managed to survive in the center settlements because of manna.”

Jim, “And where did these babies come from?”

Kelly shrugs, “While the end of the world did cause a bunch of sadness, pregnancy far enough along survived integration. So we’ve had them for a while now. They’re just all at the very center of the community. I doubt they’ve even seen a live monster in some of those places.

“Anyway, the reason they can ‘eat’ manna is because manna can be eaten in whatever way is natural for your species and condition. If a blue whale sucked up a piece of manna, it would crumble apart into pieces the size of krill. If you feed a baby some manna, it becomes a liquid in their mouth. Same for someone who has lost their teeth or otherwise cannot chew.”

Jim, “Well, that sounds handy. I assume you can’t just stockpile it?”

Kelly nods, “After a day the manna dissipates. While a physical object, there is too much Mana. It simply won’t hold together in the long run. Though I suspect that is also a part of why manna can feed both a baby and a blue whale. The Mana is set up to vanish after a day, no matter how much of that Mana remains. Well, I say Mana since most clerics are using magic, but I assume you can use any power as long as the power can channel a deity’s power.”

Jim, “Do the preservation boxes slow it down?”

Kelly frowns, “I hadn’t actually tested that yet. No one in the city's core worships a deity, so I don’t have ready access to the stuff. After this, I’ll have to grab some and test it. I’m assuming the manna won’t last too much longer, but it would give me an avenue to find a way to preserve the stuff as an emergency ration. After all, a piece of manna is so small compared to the normal food you would need to eat in a day. If we ever manage to get back into space before the end of integration, manna would make an excellent ration for that as well.”

Jay, “So if manna is just a bad cracker with a bunch of Mana shoved into it, why can’t you use a pre-existing piece of food to turn into something similar to manna?”

Kelly, “If the problem was the base food, that wouldn’t be hard to solve, though it would make a more species specific food. No, the challenge is Mana itself. Providing the food for a baby and a grown adult is already challenging. Manna can provide the needed food for basically anything. There are limits, of course, but we aren’t likely to find them while stuck on the planet.

“Though I guess we already know some of the limits. Not on what manna can do, mind you. Rather, the manna has some limits added on to it so that a random fly can’t come along and slurp a piece up by accident. Though that stuff is ironically easier because it is intent based.”

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