Gauss didn't have to wait long.
Andeni returned to the main hall, her arms full of staff-like objects.
"Good thing I have a habit of hoarding old stuff. Can't believe I didn't lose track of these," she said proudly, placing the staves on the table and standing with her hands on her hips.
Gauss looked down at her.
He knew she was probably old enough to be his mom—or even his grandma—but given her petite stature, she still looked more like a mature child than anything else.
"What're you staring at? Hurry up and test them already."
Andeni gave him a light shove at the waist, gesturing for him to get moving.
Gauss turned his attention to the new batch of materials laid out on the table. Unlike the previous wands, these were more diverse: bone, stone, green vine, and a few other types of wood.
"The ones I gave you before were the most common wand woods—ideal for standard wand crafting. These here? They're more… unconventional."
"They're called that because most casters' mana doesn't mesh well with them."
"But weirdly enough, these materials still react to mana. So in theory, while the match rate is low, they each have a compatible wielder."
"Wand matching goes both ways. The caster chooses the wand, but the wand also chooses the caster. You can't force it."
"Your mana seems unusual. Maybe one of these oddballs is your match. Go ahead, pick one and try."
Andeni didn't bother introducing the materials—there was no point until he found one that clicked.
Gauss picked up the nearest green vine wand.
It was a thin rod, less than 30cm long. It reminded him of the pointer sticks teachers used in class back in his previous world. But despite being made from vine, which you'd expect to be soft and flexible, this one had clearly been hardened and felt more like a small branch.
He channeled his mana into it.
Same familiar resistance—but compared to the common woods, it was slightly better.
He cycled his mana through once, then put the vine wand down.
"How was it?"
"Better, but still feels off," Gauss answered honestly.
He went on to try the stone wand and the remaining wood types. Some were worse, some were decent.
One pale yellow wooden wand actually had a pretty smooth mana flow—not perfect, but workable. A decent fallback option.
Finally, he reached for the bone wand.
Despite its name, and the slightly creepy implications, the wand itself looked nothing like a horror prop. It was elegant and polished, like a sculpture made of white jade. About 40cm long and two fingers wide, it had a joint in the middle, a carved grip at the base, and a tapering shaft at the top.
Rather than feeling sinister, it gave off a faintly holy, pristine vibe.
Gauss hesitated.
Could I even afford this thing...?
It looked way too premium.
But since Andeni had laid it out, he gave it a try.
He channeled mana into it.
The moment his magic touched the bone wand, a warm flow surged back into his hand.
Gauss shuddered involuntarily.
A strange yet immensely satisfying feeling bloomed inside him—like the wand wasn't just a tool, but an extension of his own body.
It fit so naturally in his hand, it was as if it belonged there all along.
The mana flow was buttery smooth, as if every fiber of the wand was actively helping him guide his energy.
This is it.
His heart pounded.
He didn't know much about wand theory, but he knew this one was meant for him.
"What creature's bone is this?" he asked, barely suppressing his excitement.
Andeni just shrugged.
"No idea."
"I found it years ago, during an expedition. It was lying in a cave—just this one bone. It responded to mana, so I held onto it."
"You've never used an identification spell on it?" Gauss asked, remembering how she'd examined his Life Mana Stone earlier.
"Of course I did. The result was vague at best—nothing about what creature it came from."
"In all these years, not a single caster's mana has ever resonated with it. I used to think it was a treasure, but I couldn't get rid of it to save my life."
"Senior, would you sell it to me?" Gauss gripped the wand tightly, unable to let go.
"Huh?" Andeni blinked in surprise, like she couldn't believe what she just heard. Her mouth opened wide like a goldfish.
"You're saying... your mana actually matches this wand?"
"You better not be lying just because it looks cool."
Honestly, she'd only brought out the bone wand because it was in the same box as the others.
She'd long given up on it ever being useful. It had never once responded to any caster.
"What spell do you know?"
"Mage Hand."
"Then try casting it using that wand."
Now even Andeni was curious.
If this wand could finally find its match, that would be the end of a very long story for her.
Gauss nodded.
He was already confident. Even with no practice, the bone wand felt like an extension of himself.
"Mage Hand!"
The moment he funneled mana into the wand, that silky smooth sensation returned.
So good. Gauss couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction.
There's no going back now.
After experiencing this wand, he'd never be able to stomach raw, barehanded casting again.
Mana flowed from the tip of the bone wand like a gentle current.
The surrounding magical energy responded instantly to the signal, gathering and condensing.
A spectral hand—the Mage Hand—materialized swiftly in front of him.
The casting time was cut in half.
And when Gauss moved the wand to guide the hand, its movement speed was about 20% faster than before.
"Holy crap... it's real!"
Andeni was even more excited than he was.
She rushed over and gave Gauss two hard punches to the stomach, her face lit up.
"Gauss, you little freak!"