“Alright, Teacher Collette.”
Shulim took the wooden wand. It felt lightweight in her hands, effortless to swing—well, it was wood, after all.
Looking up from the base of the wand, the tip did not continue straight like the shaft, but curved into a semicircular arch, looking as though something could be hung from it.
Seeming to notice Shulim’s puzzled expression, the clerk chimed in from the side, “Ah, as for that shape, it is said that the person who crafted it originally intended to embed a magic crystal at the tip. In the end, they discovered that mounting any crystal disrupted the internal attribute balance of the wand. Leaving it bare turned out to be the most suitable. And so, it ended up looking like this.”
Balanced attributes...? Then let's see whether the claim that it doesn't repel any attribute is true.
Shulim thought to herself, raising the wand at the same time.
“【ᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᚢᚪ...】”
“Flame...”
After some time, Shulim concluded her tests. The wand's performance satisfied her immensely. Whether it was Fire, Light, or Non-Elemental attributes, the wand provided the exact same feedback. Although it was inconvenient to test other elements here, the results would presumably be identical.
“Student Shulim, how is this wand?” Collette asked curiously.
Shulim nodded in response. “Yes, this wand is very suitable. Its improvements to casting speed and mana conservation are quite good. It's just that the boost to spell power isn't very large, and the amplification effect doesn't compare to the previous two wands.”
“Ah, regarding that issue...” the clerk chimed in again. “Just as I mentioned earlier, because this wand cannot incorporate a mana crystal to amplify magic, it possesses universal attribute compatibility, but loses the potent amplification for any single attribute as a result.”
“I see.”
Gain some, lose some, was it...?
“Um, if you mind that, customer, you can also try other wands. However, other wands are basically tailored to amplify specific attributes...”
Shulim fell into deep thought. How should she choose? Opt for versatility, or amplify a single attribute's combat power to serve as a trump card?
“That's true, Student Shulim. Choosing a wand requires careful consideration. The strongest isn't necessarily the best; the key is whether it suits you. If it's hard to choose, following your personal preference and intuition is an option too, because a wand you feel drawn to will surely respond to your expectations.”
Respond to my expectations...
Shulim looked quietly at the stick-like wand in her hand.
Indeed, hadn't she already made her choice long ago? The path she intended to walk was one of versatility. If so, why fixate on a single element's power? Besides, versatility itself was a form of trump card.
“I've decided, Teacher Collette. I'll take this wand.”
...
Ding-ring~!
“Please come again!”
Accompanied by the clerk's polite farewell, Shulim left the magic item shop clutching the wand. Although it had taken quite some time, Shulim had broadened her horizons considerably, and most importantly...
She had obtained a wand of her own.
“Ahaha~! Student Shulim looks like she can't bear to let go of it~!” Collette teased from the side.
“...”
Shulim gave Collette a quiet glance, her gaze dropping to the wand that never left the teacher's side.
It felt like Teacher Collette had no standing whatsoever to say that about her...
“Well, judging by your look, you probably can't wait to find a place to try out your newly acquired wand, right? In that case, Student Shulim, you can head back for today.”
“Eh? But isn't Teacher Collette making a home visit to my house today?” Shulim looked at Collette in surprise.
“A home visit and all that... don't make it sound so serious. It's just dropping by for a casual visit. Dropping by can happen anytime, but getting familiar with your wand as soon as possible is far more important. Don't worry about me.”
“Um...”
Shulim hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed.
“Then... tomorrow? Would tomorrow work for you, Teacher Collette?”
“Tomorrow is fine with me, but Student Shulim, will just today be enough?”
Shulim nodded. “No problem! I'll familiarize myself with the wand today!”
After all, she had someone helping her...
“Since Student Shulim has no problem with that, then... see you tomorrow?”
“See you tomorrow, Teacher Collette.”
...
Deep inside the forest.
“Ehh, so this is your wand—”
Semilis examined Shulim’s newly acquired wand with a rather peculiar expression, her tone completely flat and deadpan.
“...If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Really? Then I'll be blunt! This stick is honestly so weak. Is this really a wand? Who would just grab a piece of junk wood and call it a wand?!”
Shulim: “...”
That actually hurt...
“Alright, stop talking, Semilis. It's my fault. I should have known you'd never say anything nice. That remark just hurt me twice over.”
“Twice? Why twice?”
“No reason!”
Shulim snatched the wand back from Semilis's hands.
“Hey, stingy!”
Looking at her empty hands, Semilis couldn't help but pout.
Paying no mind to her, Shulim stroked her wand, checking whether Semilis had pinched or damaged it anywhere while saying, “The Treant Wand isn't junk wood. It was crafted from the trunk of a mist marsh treant. While it isn't powerful, it's the most suitable for me right now. Plus, it's a rare wand with universal compatibility for all attributes.”
Because it was made from a treant, Shulim had named the wand the Treant Wand.
“That's true. Even if you got a powerful wand right now, Shulim, it seems you wouldn't be able to use it anyway!” Semilis seemed to realize. “Still, how much does this stick... ah, this Treant Wand, actually boost you right now, Shulim?”
“Well...” Shulim replied, “I tested it briefly in the shop earlier. The boost to spell power isn't very large—only about ten percent. Considering it provides an identical boost to magic of all attributes, that's acceptable. In addition, the increase in casting speed and the reduction in mana consumption are comparable to other wands. Today, I plan to test it first to see the detailed effects.”
Semilis nodded. “Sure, go ahead and get used to it, Shulim.”
Seeing Semilis agree, Shulim began her practice to familiarize herself with the wand.
Concentrating her mind, she channeled mana into the wand and chanted the incantations in quick succession.
“【ᚣᚠᛟᚪᛚᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᛁᚾᛗᛚᚪᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᛃᚱיᚺᛜᛖᛋᚢהᛖᛜᛏᛖᛗ】”
“Water Arrow!”
“【ᛒᛚᚢלᛤᛜᛖᛗᛞᚪᛡᛖᛞᛃᚺיᛤᛜᛈᛚᛟᛡᛃᚾᛒᚪᛜᚣᚠᛋᛓᛚᛜᛖᛗᛃᛞᛋ】”
“Rock Bullet!”
“【ᛒᚠᛏᛋᛜᚻᚠᛏᛖᛡᛣᛏᚠᚳᛜᛖᛄᚠᚳᛜᛓᚠᛃᛖᛚᛜᛓᛃᚱᛗ】”
“Swiftness!”
“【ᛖᚲᛃᛏכᛤᛜᛚᛄᚪᛡᛏᛗᚠᚺᛜᛖᛄᚠᚳᛜᛓᚠᚪᛏᛃᛖᛚᛡᚪᛚᛜᛃᚾᚪ】”
“Conceal...”
After some time, with most of her mana depleted and quite a few residual traces of magic left around the area, Shulim sat on the ground to recover her expended mana while reviewing her findings.
Through extensive magic testing, she had gained a firm grasp of the Treant Wand's specific effects. Mental concentration had no concrete metric to evaluate, so it was hard to quantify, but casting speed had increased by about a quarter, and mana consumption had dropped by roughly twenty percent.
For a single spell, such improvements might not seem significant, but in situations requiring extensive magic use, the effects would be very pronounced.
Furthermore, beyond understanding the Treant Wand's specific enhancements across all elemental magic, she had grown increasingly proficient in handling the wand, shedding the initial awkwardness.
She estimated that with a few more days of use, she would become completely accustomed to it.
Seeing that Shulim had stopped practicing and her mana had mostly recovered, Semilis spoke up, “Looks like you've gotten used to it.”
Shulim nodded, then stood up. “More or less. That reminds me, Semilis, what kind of monster are we dealing with today?”
Since wand practice was essentially done and her mana was largely replenished, it was time to move on to today's combat training.
“Well, today's opponent isn't a monster.”
“Not a monster?”
“Mm... speaking of which, it's quite a coincidence. Didn't you just acquire a wand with universal attribute compatibility, Shulim? And today's opponent just happens to have resistance to all attributes too~!”
Resistance to all attributes? Just what kind of opponent was that...?
Clack! Clack! Clack...
While Shulim was still wondering, a strange noise echoed from the thicket behind her.
Turning to look toward the sound, Shulim saw an ash-gray humanoid construct that appeared to be crafted from stone.
“Beep beep beep! Intruder detected, initiating purge!”
Embedded in the head of the stone humanoid construct was a glowing sphere. The sphere had been spinning around erratically at first, but upon spotting Shulim, its gaze seemed to lock onto her.
I see...
This truly didn't count as a monster.
It was a golem—!
Rate on N.U.
