As you enter, Sekiri looks up from his desk where he seems quite busy. He waves a fork in your general direction, which you somehow manage to translate into the words "Busy now. Have pie. Talk later."

Returning a short time later, Sekiri says "Right, now if you're attacked, you basically have two options. You can fight back, or you can run. With one notable exception, I am sure you have noticed most wizards are not suited to running. So, lets talk about fighting back with offensive magic."

"For the most part, casting offensive magic is less effective than a warrior with similar skills would be simply cutting their opponent apart, but that is after all, what they specialise in. Magic is slower, prone to interruption or failure, uses more guild points, is more dangerous to the caster, and requires components."

"Given all that, why use offensive magic at all instead of picking up something sharp like that warrior?"

"Obviously, many of us are also not naturally suited to that much phyisical activity, but the main reason is that offensive magic has one key advantage over that warrior. That is, as long as the target is still present when the spell finishes, there are very few ways for them to avoid the effects of the spell. With how much damage a well cast spell can do, this is a significant advantage."

"Unfortunately, this has led to many people at certain locations around the Disc studying exactly what our offensive spells look like. If you so much as look as though you are casting one of them at them, they will often move away from you to avoid the spell. They may even come back soon after that to take advantage of your interrupted spell."

"One can take advantage of that tendency to start area effect spells, with the aim of hopefully finishing it just after the target returns to your location. There are other strategies for dealing with these somewhat more intelligent opponents, including the use of pursuit. Unfortunately, moving while casting a spell has drastic consequences for the difficulty and results of the spell, but it is an option."

"Another successful strategy can be the spell Myrandil's Vicious Seizure, which can prevent targets leaving the room if the caster is skilled enough. Now, keeping in mind the difficulties in hitting with some spells, lets discuss what might work for you."

EARLY SPELLS:

"Early in your wizarding career, like now, you obviously may not be able to cast most of our offensive spells. There are a few spells you can practice with, but spells such as Malich's Penetrating Ocular Lance and Memories of a Vicious Chicken are effectively a waste of your time."

"Instead, you may be able to advance your method skills a little, and perhaps use the spells Narquin's Mist of Doom and Kelleflump's Irritating Demon which do respectable damage at relatively low skill levels."

"In addition, many young wizards find themselves using the spell Kamikaze Oryctolagus Flammula to round out their spells early on. Relatively easy, it does in fact get far more useful at higher skill levels, but it may help the average graduate with an option that continues to damage over a period."

"Realistically however, none of these spells are particularly effective in combat at this stage. In my view, a young wizard should aim to cast the spell Pragi's Fiery Gaze as soon as possible. The reason for this is that the spell is not terribly difficult, though more so than the spells already mentioned. More importantly, it can be quite effective to cast, and just as importantly to young wizards, the components required are plentiful and free, which can allow them to cast the spell many times to improve their skills."

COMMON SPELLS:

"Later on in your career, you will look to move on to new and more powerful spells. To mind, the first of these is the spell Effermhor's Hypersonic Assault. Similar in effect to Pragi's, a wizard may wish to move on to this spell because of its advantage against the common troll. In addition, using it will give a different set of skills the chance to improve for little cost, though the components are slightly less abundant."

"Those two spells, Pragi's and Effermhor's, often form the mainstay of a wizard's offensive ability for life. There are few more things terrifying to an opponent, or groups of opponents, than a well cast area effect spell. It can make a skilled wizard truly a force to be reckoned with, with the ability to kill large numbers of targets in an even shorter time than a powerful warrior, and almost all wizards will carry at least one area effect spell."

"The next of the commonly used conventional offensive spells is Nargl'frob's Empyrean Spear. While obviously the province of the Sages of the Unbroken Circle, the spell is not out of reach for most wizards even so. This spell represents a very powerful option against any single targets out of doors. Not as limiting as it sounds, since most combat takes place outdoors, the sheer amount of damage it can do in a single hit is a sight to behold, with holes at times blown right through targets."

"Those last four spells, KOF, Pragi's, Effermhor's and Nargl'frob's form the four main conventional direct damage spells for most. They, or a combination of them, are well suited to most situations."

HIGH LEVEL SPELLS:

"I can see you're itching to go out and try them on some unsuspecting victims, but how about we continue for now?" Sekiri smiles as you nod. "Some wizards however, seek to master the two most powerful offensive spells known to us, Doctor Kelleflump's Deadly Demon and Journey of the Heavenly Storm Dragon. Both of these can be truly terrifying, both to the targets and the caster. Only the most determined utilise these spells, but who knows, in time, you may be another."

ALTERNATE SPELLS:

"Finally, aside from pure direct damage spells, we have a number of useful offensive spells where the aim is something other than damaging the target. Used properly, they can greatly increase the chances of a wizard's survival. I encourage you to at least skim through some of the other offensive spells in these reference books and think about how they might help you. Spells such as Calm Embrace of Illusionary Beauty, Mugwuddle's Muddling Mirage, Stacklady's Morphic Resonator, Wonker's Wicked Wobble or Myrandil's Vicious Seizure can confer a priceless advantage on a wizard."