VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 48: The Strangest Morning Ritual
"So, Is this your first time performing any magic? I know there are some who say that having a familiar is required to be considered a mage, but you really should know the basics at the very least.
The amount of people who come here wanting a fancy pet and couldn’t even get a hint of mana in their little finger, never-mind what’s actually required, is honestly exhausting."
Helsany spoke with a bored, slightly irritated tone as her little legs wove through the mess of the store. While she had no trouble navigating the chaos of her storage system, simply walking underneath some tables without even having to duck, Belladonna was having a little more of an issue.
Contorting her body around some displays, crawling underneath others. There was more than one occasion where she hit something and had to juggle it so it didn’t break, before placing it down somewhere random. If Helsany cared about her placement, she never said.
"Yes, I know the basics," She said before clicking her tongue in annoyance at the latest obstacle. Using [Shadow Veil] to teleport past it, she manifested from the shadows and continued,
"I’ve got some magic skills from different sources, but I can also use Infusion. My teacher taught me how. He’s also the one that helped me manifest my Source and gave me the grimoire, even if it only contains two spells - including this one."
"A grimoire eh? That’s good. You’re already at the apprentice stage then. Filling your grimoire is a personal task for any mage, it teaches you to properly understand your spells and magic in general.
If you are simply handed everything, are you really a mage? You might as well go become one of those god lovers. Or worse... A sorcerer. Ugh."
The disgust in Helsany’s voice at the mention of sorcerer made Belladonna laugh softly.
A few moments later, they finally arrived at their destination. It was, in essence, the basement of the store. Just a small room underneath the building that had been fitted to suit its new purpose.
A magic circle had been carved into the middle of the floor, while a comfortable looking pillow rested nearby.
Helsany removed her oversized hat by simply lifting it up and leaving it floating in the air, as she started to prepare the necessary ingredients for the summoning ritual. However, as she hummed to herself and clambered across the cupboards that were taller than she was, Belladonna found herself enthralled by the sight of the tiny, blue feathered owl resting on Helsany’s head.
It was snoozing happily, letting out gentle snores as it occasionally ruffled its feathers. No matter what angle the little witch tilted her head at, the owl stayed perfectly stuck to her head, as if it was growing out of it.
"So... I have to ask. Is it just a one and done thing? Or do you get a choice in what you summon?"
"It’s sealed by a name. You will be calling out to the different planes of existence, including this one, for a beast that wants to bind itself to your service. Anything will answer the call, if it feels a connection with you, but you don’t have to accept it.
If you don’t like what answered the call, you can send it back and perform the ritual again. But I won’t give you a refund if you don’t like the first summon, nor a discount."
Helsany answered with a sly smile, gathering all the ingredients in her hands and hobbling over to the circle whilst the owl in her hair slumbered happily.
"Generally," She continued, as she started to lay out the ingredients, "you will just instinctively know what is supposed to be your companion. But not everyone gets that feeling the first time.
I got it with my little Horvac here, but I know this one fella that’s done over a hundred and still hasn’t found something he’s satisfied by. I think he’s trying to get a humanoid woman type, but those are dreadfully rare. Also none would want to bind themselves to that creep."
Helsany smirked, causing Belladonna to laugh softly. The ingredients in question were rather simple. There was an ornate bowl, which had its own glyph’s and runes carved into it to suit its purpose, a knife that looked as if it was made of obsidian, as well as an assortment of herbs that had been crushed or pasted already.
Once everything was laid out, Belladonna paid the price of 6 Regil and 15 Solis - which was a price she had failed to mention until now - before Helsany plucked her hat from the air, plopped it back on her head and left Belladonna alone to her ritual.
As soon as the door closed, the room darkened significantly until it was only lit by a few candles that were hung around the room, creating a dim and ominous setting. Whether that was actually part of the ritual or simply for the aesthetics was up in the air, although she had a feeling it was the latter and that it was definitely included in the price.
Kneeling on the pillow, Belladonna lifted the knife and without a hint of hesitation, glided the blade across her palm. Her pain filter surprisingly worked this time, reducing it down to the feeling of a slight paper cut, as she clenched her fist and forced the blood to drip from her hand.
It took longer than usual, considering her lacking heart beat, but soon the bowl was filled with blood.
Following her grimoire’s instructions to the letter. Belladonna added the herbs to the bowl one by one, while muttering the right incantations under her breath. Powdered Moon Blossom, leaves from the Demon’s Tongue, and the paste of an Astral Mushroom.
The concoction didn’t require mixing. The ingredients simply dissolved into the liquid as the bowl worked its magic, mixing them perfectly and slowly infusing them with Belladonna’s mana as she fed it into the bowl.
It was this step that most of the inexperienced newbies failed with. You couldn’t just blast your mana in, that would overload the mixture and ruin it. You had to control your output as well as mix your own source, your essence, into it.
If you knew what you were doing, it wasn’t terribly difficult.
She knew she was finished when the liquid in the bowl shifted from the crimson of blood, to a deep and vibrant purple that had small, wisps of magic dancing off of it like soda-pop fizz. All that was left was the final step.
