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You did so, and blinked at the trail of light that you traced through the air with the tips of your fingers. It was almost certainly a hallucination brought on by the ebony marble, but then you realized something. These lines closely resembled the runic patterns that Pandora had you drawing earlier.
That must be it! She wanted you to use the hallucinatory effects of the drug to draw out your spellforms. With your third eye closed, this was the only way for you to effectively cast magic.
<span class="mu-b">“Take it slow, and be careful. Remember what I said earlier about ‘little mistakes’.”</span> she said.
You nodded and began drawing the spellweaving command for “Agitation”. It was a formula that allowed the caster to disrupt the natural state of an element or object. Pandora advised you to practice drawing it as often as possible, as it would become a baseline for almost every attack spell that you would use in the future.
Next, you had to draw the lines that would decide the range and radius of the spell. This was equally, if not more important than getting the lines for agitation right. It was a careful, nerve wracking process, made even more dangerous by your shaking, jittery hands.
Suddenly, Pandora’s expression grew grim. She dug into her storage space, pulled out a small pouch and began pouring out powder in a circle around you. Her blurred figure nearly caused you to lose concentration, but then, you noticed something else. More than halfway through the spellweaving process, you saw it. A clear mistake that you’d made early on in the formula. You’d somehow inverted the radius lines, which were now intersecting and overriding the range lines.
<span class="mu-b">“That isn’t good.”</span> Pandora confirmed, somehow aware of your plight. <span class="mu-b">“Do me a favor and hold onto that for a moment, so you don’t blow yourself up. I need to set up a few quick wards.”</span>
Panic shot through your whole body, and you struggled to maintain the lines swirling in front of you. That was proving difficult to accomplish in your current state, so you decided to try a different method. Continuing the formula, you added some unnecessary expansions to the formula. It was like trying to use advanced calculus to add 2 and 2.
Your own breath was echoing loudly in your mask, and you tried to follow Pandora’s flowing movements with your eyes.
<span class="mu-b">“Almost done. Just a little longer…”</span> you said, in a surprisingly reassuring tone.
You added yet more lines. Anything to prevent the spell from activating early. Just had to-
<span class="mu-b">“Alright. You’re free to release it.”</span> Pandora confirmed.
And as soon as you did, a strange sensation washed over you. Every inch of your flesh <span class="mu-i">rippled</span> on the surface, making it feel like you were made entirely of bubble wrap. It wasn’t so much painful as it was incredibly uncomfortable. Even your eyeballs felt like they were pulsating!
(Cont.)
