Wtf's a Cantrip?

Sara stood in the center of the room. She cycled through her spells, trying to decide on which one she wanted to try first.

She decided on the fire spell, since she was already familiar with it from the character creation process. Since that was the case, she figured she' probably have the easiest time casting it.

The small flame spell's incantation was simple and quick. She spoke the words a few times first, then began to focus on actively trying to produce the flame. She imagined the warmth and dance of the flame.

Immediately, Sara saw results. A small flame danced on the desk, eating up the paper left on its surface. A notice popped up in front of her as elation shot through her.

Notice!

You have successfully cast your first spell! This spell is considered lower level than a first level spell. Its simplicity and the ease with which it can be cast means with enough use, it can become a Cantrip. Cantrips are small spells that can be instantly cast without incantation or mana use after enough practice. There are numerous spells that can be practiced into becoming Cantrips and you will be notified if a spell has the capability after you cast it for the first time.

Sara beamed down at the notice, re-reading it twice over. She didn't know what a Cantrip was, but she knew it must be good. She began to read the notice over again, when she noticed a burning smell.

She closed the notice, immediately greeted by her small flame growing and becoming a much larger flame on the surface of the desk.

"Shit!" She cried out as she looked around for something to snuff out the flame.

Seeing nothing, Sara remembered her spells. She thought she had seen a water spell when she'd cycled through them earlier.

Sara brought up her spell list and began the incantation for the water spell. In her haste, she failed to cast it twice, before finally succeeding the third time. The water fell atop the large fire, snuffing out a small portion of it, but leaving the majority of the flame to rage on.

Seeing the situation, Sara did the only thing that made sense.

She hurriedly ran out of the room and sprinted as far away from the practice building as she could before someone tried to blame her for the fire.

Sara entered her dorm for a third time that day. She threw herself onto her bed with a huff.

"Fuck!" she yelled.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to research!" A voice came from beside her. Looking over, Sara found her roommate glaring at her from the desk.

Sara rolled her eyes, but remained silent.

She checked the time left until her graduation and found it slowly ticking away. She sat up. She needed a plan.

First, her fire spell was not something that could be used in combat, obviously. It was something more for getting some 'oohs and ahhs' from a crowd. But, if she could turn it into a Cantrip, then it might be more utilizable.

Sara glanced at the desk and saw a lit candle. She reached over and snuffed it out.

"What the fuck, are you serious!?" Her roommate began to protest immediately. Sara ignored him and cast her fire spell, lighting the candle again.

Her roommate glared at her and began his work again. When Sara snuffed out the candle again, he threw his pen down angrily. He gritted his teeth as Sara lit the candle with her spell once again.

When she reached out to snuff it out again, her roommate blocked her from doing so. He grabbed hold of her wrist tightly.

"What the hell-"

"Rape!" Sara screamed.

Her roommate balked at her accusation.

"Rape! It's a rapist! Fucking help!" She screamed, trying to pull away.

She pulled her hand free as the door opened. Her roommate jumped up and away from Sara, his hands up in a surrendering pose.

A man stood in the door way, his brows furrowed as he glanced from Sara to the other Drow. Sara's continuous use of her flame spell had taken a small toll on her, causing her to become a little breathless. Her running from the practice building had caused her attire and hair to be in disarray. She stared at the newcomer with wide eyes, worried he might see through her deception.

The new Drow saw the fear in Sara's eyes and her clothing that seemed to have been messed with and came to his own conclusions.

The male Drow turned his attention to Sara's roommate, his eyes raking over his form with obvious accusation.

"I didn't touch him!" her roommate cried out, seeing the newcomer Drow's expression.

The other Drow snorted, then took his leave, clearly not believing him.

Seeing the other Drow leave, Sara's roommate stood in shock, unsure of what to do.

Sara ignored him and continued with her practice. After taking a few deep breaths, she found herself refreshed and ready. She straightened her clothes and fixed her hair back into a ponytail before snuffing out the flame once again.

At some point, her roommate left the room, allowing Sara to practice in peace.

After practicing the flame spell for more than a dozen times, Sara finally received the notice she'd been waiting for.

Notice!

After practicing the small flame spell numerous times, it's now considered a Cantrip! Using this spell will now cost no mana and can be done instantaneously.

Character familiarization +1

As she finished practicing her flame spell, Sara started going over her other spells as well. When she used her water spell earlier, it hadn't popped up with the notice about it being a possible Cantrip spell, so she assumed it wasn't capable of becoming one with practice.

So, she decided instead to try one of her other spells. She didn't expect either to be capable of being a Cantrip, however, as they were both combat spells.

First, she tried Wind Blade.

She wasn't sure how difficult casting it would be, so Sara focused intently, trying to cast the spell with all her might.

She imagined the sword from the character creation process, imagined the blade on it, how it moved through the air. She pictured an invisible blade made of wind slicing through the air.

After having her visualization down, she chanted the incantation.

She heard the slicing of fabric as she finished the incantation. A notice popped up in front of her.

Notice!

You've cast Wind Blade for the first time and discovered it's a Cantrip compatible spell. With enough practice, this spell could become a Cantrip.

Sara stared at the Notice before her in awe.

She jumped up and down, trying desperately to contain her cries of glee. She calmed down after a small celebration and closed out of the notice.

She found what the sound of slicing through fabric had been from. Her roommate's bed sat before her, with a shallow gash cutting through the sheets and mattress.

Sara pursed her lips, feeling guilty.

She shrugged.

'Whatever, the damage is already done and you know what they say, words are like burnt bread, they can't be eaten…'

So, Sara used her roommate's bed as practice for her wind blades. She figured she could just replace the bed for him later.

Finally, after releasing more than a dozen wind blades and thoroughly shredding her roommate's bed, she was alerted that Wind Blade had become a Cantrip.

Notice!

Wind Blade is now a combat Cantrip. Combat Cantrips are different from regular Cantrips. The damage they do can increase with higher character levels and more practice. Practice with Wind Blade in order to unlock additional damage later on.

Sara wanted to scream with elation after reading the notice. Two Cantrips first thing in the game!? Is this allowed!?

Sara didn't waste time before trying out her third spell, Force Arrow.

She wasn't that familiar with bows, or arrows, but she tried her best to imagine what it would be like to fire one. She held her hands as if she were holding an imaginary bow. She'd seen a few movies where the person shooting the arrow would take a deep breath before releasing the arrow, so she did that as well.

Sara concentrated entirely on the feel of an imaginary arrow between her fingers, ready to be shot forth. She exhaled as she spoke the incantation for the Force Arrow, pretending to release the arrow as she finished.

Bang!

A heavy force hit into the wall opposite her, a small hole was left behind. Another notice popped up in front of Sara.

Notice!

After casting Force Arrow successfully on a first attempt, the mana required to cast has been reduced. Force Arrow is now a Low Mana Requirement First Level Spell. Further practice and successful casting of Force Arrow can further reduce the amount of Mana needed to cast it, even reducing the amount needed to zero, making the spell a Somatic spell. A Somatic spell does not require an incantation and can be cast with hand gestures alone.

Sara stared down at the Notice, reading it twice over before furrowing her brows.

It seemed that the first casting of a spell was really important. If a spell is successfully cast on the first attempt other features of the spell seem to be able to be unlocked. Sara remembered with regret her unsuccessful first casting of her water spell.

She didn't want to give up hope, however, and decided to give her water spell a try with full concentration.

She cast the spell, leaving a puddle of water on the floor before her. No notice popped up in front of her. The Water spell was similar in incantation and casting requirements of the Fire spell. This fact left Sara feeling like she'd missed out on something after trying to cast the spell under duress.

She sighed.

She really regretted her decision to try out the fire spell first. If she'd done another spell maybe she wouldn't have had an accident in the practice room and would have been able to get three Cantrips instead of only two.

Feeling bummed about her spell, Sara's mind wandered to that other player. He's said that he had found another spell in order for him to have four spells. What if she could find more spells? The mission description did say that she might be able to find additional spells during the tutorial. She needed to find that other player quickly and find out where he'd gotten that other spell from.

With this in mind, Sara felt renewed with energy. She hurried to leave her dorm room, rushing past her roommate as she did.

She was so focused on her own plans, her own mission, that she didn't register the cry of shock from behind her.