Monroe

There were a great many things that Bob loved about magic. It was a source of endless fascination, half science and half art, especially when it came to ritual magic.

That was not to say that he particularly enjoyed the aches and pains that came from sitting still for hours while casting a systemless fivefold ritual.

With a groan, he stood up and stretched, rolling his neck.

"That was very impressive," Lily said from behind him.

He turned to face the Shallihs, noting that her ears were perked forward and her tail was gently swishing from side to side. Most of the adorable anthropomorphic cat person wasn't visible, hidden behind the mountain of fluff that was Monroe.

She'd asked to watch while he created the Dungeon, and he'd agreed on the condition that she entertain his divine feline overlord.

"While the System only defines two types of magic, Sorcery, which is the type that costs mana to cast, and Ritual, which requires mana crystals, I feel like there is a third, which I've sort of labeled in my head as True magic," Bob replied absently as he began inspecting the array Jessica had built for charging mana crystals, which he had integrated into his ritual. "Ritual magic requires one hundred seconds to cast before taking into consideration any bonuses you might have that increase the efficiency," he continued. "True magic, on the other hand, requires much more time to cast, regardless of whether you are using rituals that, when cast separately, would only require one hundred seconds each. In a lot of ways, it's almost a precursor to casting without the System, as you are shaping and maintaining the weaves yourself, using the System as a guide."

"I am looking forward to learning how to do all of these things," Lily sighed. "Although it seems that I'll be waiting for quite some time."

Bob rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. The System indicated that I could get everyone out of here and settled on a habitable planet, but it was annoyingly nonspecific as to how," He shook his head. "The consensus is that we'll just need to follow the flow of mana, as it has to be going somewhere, but keeping the monsters from appearing randomly throughout the ship is the first priority, although it does tie in neatly with the second, which is making sure that everyone is fed."