I finished the book, the pages flying by, and when I blinked, suddenly I was back in Bill’s Colquhoun’s, cube.

Bill, still dapperly dressed in a nice-looking shirt and tie, looked over his glasses at me and said “Well that was fast, I didn’t expect to see you again for months. Were you able to pick a magic school? Those pamphlets should have given you a basic grounding. We should start there.”

I screwed my face up and said “I’m sorry sir, I got into a bugged state and am forced to take magic from a new school ‘Null and Void’ only”.

Bill pursed his lips, and looked at me over his glasses again “Are you serious?”

In a chagrined voice I said, “I’m afraid so, sir.”

“Well, I know butkis about that school, let’s see what’s on the wiki about it. Looks like we have the basics but that’s it. You get 2 forced spells each level. So, you have to take 4 spells minimum. That’s unfortunate, you seem like a clever fellow. On the upside, you got 6 points from your tome and 10 from the skull. Lucky that, you found one of the old ones. The new skulls have been right sized down to 5-6 points each. If you have to be wasteful at least you have the points to afford it. Run of the mill heroic mages get 6 and 5 these days they lucky ones 6 and 6.”

Bill continued looking at his screen, “You get Null Blob as your first null spell no choice there. Three left to the minimum. Null Blob lets you make an amoeba about the size of a loaf of bread out of null magic, and command it do your will. That will certainly be handy for disarming magical traps. Any other uses are up to your creativity. You then have to pick another null and 2 void spells, you should have 14 points left. What were you planning?”

I nodded once firmly and said, “2 points in control for sure. Let’s plan 8 or 10 in power, and the rest in utility or useful spells to help me learn magic.”

Bill clattered some more and started again, “Let’s see, Gifted Mage and Gifted Maker. So, you will get 4 free points from the 25% reduction in costs from those two skills. I know it’s confusing, but we found the math was easier doing it that way. You’d be surprised how bad at arithmetic some folks down there are. We could buy you some craft skills, but I personally think that’s a waste to spend points on things you can get dirtside. You look to have some nice knowledge-based perks as well. Might be good to lean into that. Here is a list of the basic kinds of spells we have for most schools.”

“Buffer, Debuffer, Healer, Nuker, DOT'er, Pet, Crowd Control, Debuffer, Maker, Travel / Movement, Physical Adept, Scrying/Information, Custom.”

Some magic types work out from there, but it’s a good place to start.” Bill pauses reading, then continues, “Interesting, according to the details, you can pick from any school for your null and your void spells, not just null. It’s pretty clear to me that wasn’t the design committee’s intention. Looks like more of the typical left and right hand nothing in between work to me. That -is- how the spell school is set up though, null was set up to be generic magic as well as anti-magic, by combining the schools, now both have the “generic magic’ ability. Your choices are literally wide open, what kind of spells are you after? Hell, even the requirement to take 1 Null and 1 Void is, excuse the pun, nullified by them combining it into one school of magic. You really just have to pick 2 spells from different schools per level. It’s still probably a good idea to take one of each let’s call it sub-school, to learn the basics of how null and void work, but after that you can really pick quite freely.

I started thinking out loud. “First and foremost, I’d like a good permanent regen buff, a basic non-combat heal, a shield and a movement ability. I have to ask, what’s a Physical Adept?”

“Think Bruce Lee and Barry Gordy’s the Last Dragon, mixed with some of the really wild Wuxia stuff. Magic expressed as physical abilities, instead of classic spells. Magically powered Kung-fu super heroes.”

My eyes got big at that, “That sounds way fucking cool, but I need to focus on the basics. I’d like to discuss that in more detail next time we meet though. 147% for sure”

Bill pulled out a sheet from his bookcase, “Okay, let’s start at the top, utility has a nice ability, “Heroic Regen” basically speeds your hp, mana and stamina regens up to slow MMORPG speeds. Self only, always on. Meditation boost it as expected. Frankly I suggest it to all my clients. The ones who don’t take it are 49.8% less likely to show up for follow-up sessions. While a few probably stopped adventuring and are waiting tables in a dingy inn somewhere, I expect most are pushing up gladiolas. Or snap dragons. Oh Philodendrons. ”

“Sold, how much?”

“Huh?” I Break Bill from his distraction, “Everything is one point, unless you want multiple levels. In my opinion, level the spells by practicing them, not buying them, Abilities you will have to buy though. I know 25 points sounds like a lot, but we should keep it simple. For a heal, in my opinion the most versatile heal isn’t on the Life school, but on Nature/Body, or Water. They are basically the same. The more mana and spell school power you pump in, the more healing you get. 1 mana per second at 2 power gives you 2 hp healed per second as long as you channel. It’s only one point, so it’s not fast, but it scales with you, no need to keep upgrading or replacing it. As you level the spell it gets more mana efficient.”

I say, “Sold, Nature or Water?”

Bill stuck his open hand out wiggling it side to side, “I lean to the nature one “Healing Draft”, you get slight bonuses healing away from built up areas. The wilder the area, the more you get.”

“Sounds perfect. I assume the alternative is Percy Jackson-esque wet feet?” I say.

Bill snaps his fingers and points at me as he replies, “Got it in one. Void has a really good silence spell ‘Void Gag’, and Null has two that synergize with your other abilities Null Leech and Null Tap. Again, it’s clear it was designed as 2 schools not one. But there are definite advantages to them combined, just imagine a silence spell that was also an anti magic field…shuts down casting, gear and any shield you have up already, brutal. ‘Null Leech’ attaches to something sends you a portion of the mana it steals from the target. ‘Null Tap’ lets you temporarily steal an ability from anyone who uses it on you. Only 1 for now. So if you steal a 2nd one, you lose the old one. Man, adding an anti-magic effect on those… You would be pure hell on casters once you get good with the school.“

Bill smiles wickedly and continues, “With your ability to create magic books, you could steal an ability, destructively write it to a book, and your enemy would just never get the ability back, utterly terrifying for any caster you face. You’d be like a rust monster but for spells. Add the anti-magic silence to that? Brutal. You can always do it non-destructively if it’s a friend. The book will be weaker in the latter case of course. Leech will enable you to pull more power, for example allowing you to create higher tier magical books. Your perk set seems to have been put together with a goal in using books to both acquire & spread skills and knowledge. A man after my own heart that guy is.” At this Bill sighed and then shook himself before continuing.

I say, helpfully changing the subject “Let’s discuss it again in a moment, what about shields and movement?”

Bill went with my suggestion gracefully, “Well, when it comes to shields, you are kind of spoiled for choice, Null Armor will basically make you immune to magical damage up to your power level, every school has a couple armor or shield spells, so it’s all down to special effects. To be honest, a big flat null shield will be one of the easiest spells for you to teach yourself. Null Blob spun flat is half way there already, so I recommend teaching yourself how to do that. Space magic has a classic that’s my personal favorite movement spell, ‘Bamphf.’ With skill, you can teleport anywhere line of sight. You can also eventually assign places out of Line of Sight ahead of time to port back to. The more levels, the more places you can define. Just 1 for now. with 8-10 levels of power, range will have the potential to be fairly impressive, pretty much anything you can see clearly. The other classic movement that I suggest, is plain old-fashioned flight. It’s a classic for a reason. Void leans into gravity some, so you might be able to learn that one in time, instead of buying it. If so, start with a gentle hover, or reduced weight and work up from there. Flight failing at speed might be just a touch, zesty. Important for all spells, but especially ones that throw you towards the ground at speed when they fail.”

I pondered a moment and said, “Okay here Is what I have so far, 4 in control, 10 in power, Heroic Regen, Healing draft, Bamphf, and either Leech, Tap or a good basic ranged Zot spell.”

Bill smiled at me, “That’s easy, you are already top of the line in anti-magic, Energy has a zot, single target nuke, called ‘Immaterial Bolt’. It bypasses (spell power x level) of armor & defenses not specifically targeted against your magic type. Bypasses 1/4 as much of “null and void” specific defenses. After it bypasses, the bolt hits for straight power, plus your Gifted Mage bonus applies, 12 points + however much mana you pump into it. Not the most bang per mana, but the damage it does do isn’t wasted on shields, armor etc. I suspect casting a null and void variant will have interesting side effects on any magical defense it penetrates. You are going to be a hell of a mage killer Joseph. Immaterial bolts will make you Brutal on Straight tanks. Dodge tanks & Rouges will still eat you alive though, so don’t get cocky.”

Bill leans back and puts his hands behind his head.

“Whoever designed this idea of “Generic Magic” was really quite clever, you get to snipe the real showstopper spells for each school, and skip all the duds. Also, Null and Void is new, so not a lot of folks out there with specific resistances yet. As to a direct Damage, if you don’t want a straight zot what about a classic? Who can turn down force lightning? Or forked lightning bolt. With either one, you can learn to modify it pretty quickly. Null Magic has got to be equated the idea of an electrical ground somehow, I bet you could leverage that to learn it yourself in time.”

Bill turns to me acting innocently, like he was just talking about some interesting trivia, but again, his eyes were sparkling with glee… “Do you know much about how lighting works? Energy differences build between 2 points, say a cloud and mountain, and tiny low power threads work from both the cloud down and the ground up simultaneously. Both threads branching out like fractal trees searching for each other. The whole time the power is just building. When the sky tree touches tips with the ground tree, BLAM, the lightning follows the resultant path. Kind of like when the right two people meet actually. Fractals in nature are really quite fascinating, beautiful too, now that I mention it.”

Bill loses focus again. I begin to see why he and Miss Agatha get along. They are both romantics whom need and time has ground down into sharply practical people.

Bill catches himself and continues, “Before you spend your last point though, you should seriously consider a magic perception ability. You can buy Magical Scan, or Mage Sight from Utility, the first gives you detailed info on whatever you scan, which will synergize with your tap or cache abilities. Think your ID ability on steroids. But in time you can get ID trained up there. The other lets you see magic, increasing speed of learning & control huge advantage long term for any spell caster.”

I laugh and say, “Okay, you are a right bastard Bill, because now I -really- want force lighting. Despite Immaterial Bolt, clearly being better with my other abilities. Let’s add Mage Sight, Immaterial Bolt, then it’s down to Leech or Tap. But I’m going to start working on Force Lightning, I promise you.”

Bill looked at me his eyes bright, one finger raised. “Okay, I know I’m the one that suggested it, but let’s play Devil’s advocate. Long term you’re going to be forced to pick spells, even if you don’t need them. Stick with what you have it’s a nice basic loadout, especially for someone with no magic training. Nicely rounded set of skills. Skip both Tap and Leech and either get another point in Power or Control. If you want to hide that you are not forced to take those 2 spells from only your school and slip under their radar longer before any bug fixes, pick Custom Void Spell. It’ll walk you through making a new spell from scratch. I’d think that HAS to be informative for someone with your abilities and predilections. Then create a spell that’s similar to Tap or Leach yet takes advantage of this clearly poorly thought-out combination of Void and Null magic into one school. Perhaps a tap that also cancels all active spells. Or maybe a leech that works as a silence, or exposes the casters mind to multidimensional horrors, driving them mad. The combination of the two schools is really quite a radical departure, you might as well take full advantage of it. Null is both generic magic and anti-magic at the same time. Void, is simultaneously an unending sucking vampiric hunger, gravity, and the horrors of the deep cthuluian old ones. Separately, they are delightfully flexible and multi faceted. Combining those 5 things in -one- school, not to mention any facets yet to be discovered, why the clever and wicked mind truly delights at the possibilities. The sheer combination of elegantly flexible design, and ham-fisted stupidity is unequaled in the rest of the magic system. To quote a favorite actor of mine ‘In confusion, there is profit’”.

Bill took a deep sigh, clearly stepping off his soap box, before continuing, in his talking about lightning voice.

“With Mage Sight, your AI assistant, and a spell creation tutorial / walk through? Why that might just be be an immense boost to learning spell creation. How fascinating. Trivia is soooo interesting, don‘t you think” His wink at this point raised his subtlty to near Gar levels, OF couse Bill KNOWS he’s doing it.. so …

I rubbed my chin and thought, “I’m convinced, Custom Void Spell, plus I see a bonus advantage, I get to pick that spell after a few practice runs into the dungeon. I’ll have a better idea exactly what we need when I do create it.”

I nodded my head firmly and continued, “To sum up, 20 total points. 4 in control, 10 in power, Heroic Regen, Healing Draft, Bamphf, Mage Sight, Immaterial Bolt, and Custom Void Spell. It’s a bit wasteful, 2 more spells than I’m forced to take, but I’ll be much more survivable as soon as I hit the dungeons.”

Bill thought the list over, then said “Okay, I think that’s a fair decision. From now on I’d suggest only the 2 required spells at each level. Also, don’t forget while it’s difficult to train spell power, training control is very much within a normal heroic mage’s abilities, let alone one with all your advantages, it trains almost as easy as mastering your spells. Buying ranks in control and power is just shorthand for uploading skills and natural talent at learning said power and control. You are only limited by your effort and imagination. I’m sure Gar has hammered that into your noggin already, but trust me, he’s not wrong. My father had a saying that inelegantly but clearly explains it. He was a car guy, so forgive the metaphor, the concept however is crucial. Life is a car. Being smart is having a big engine. Hard work and dedication are the transmission and drive train. The amount of productively and speed from the car is created by the whole system. A big engine alone is nothing but a lot of noise and hot air. Until you buckle down and put in the effort in to put that engines power down to the road and convert it into movement, you have nothing. Buying levels of control & power is upgrading your engine & your steering, buying spells is buying the results of other people hard work, also upgrading your engine, trans, adding new wheels, etc. To be great, you need to go out there and put in the effort, do the hard work, build your own transmission, convert your power and potential into speed moving you down the road. Talent can only get you so far, hard work is universal. The biggest engine in the world by itself is just sound and fury, signifying nothing,”

Bill looked up into space slowly tapping his lips, “Of course, -she- is trying to sabotage you at every step. So right minded folks should work together to make up for that.” At this Bill opens a drawer, “I talked to the department head, and I’m not allowed to give you the normal nominal compensation for the hassles and hardships you’ve gone through. Let alone any extra ordinary assistance.” He pulls a small brightly wrapped present out of the drawer his eyes firmly fixed on his screen, sets it on his desk and gives is a small push in my direction. “My department head was very clear; I’m only allowed to assist within the narrowest of bounds of policy and procedure, as he’s afraid of the head of Recruiting and Training. Bill turned back to me, smiling when he noticed the small gift was gone. “It’s been pleasure assisting you Joseph, you are a very nice young man. I’ll see you at your next level up. Think on what I’ve said, and what I was forced to leave unsaid, ok?”

At this Bill raised on hand and snapped his fingers

*SNAP*