You create three glowing arcane needles. Each needle hits a creature of your choice within the area of the cone for 1 force damage. You do not need to be able to see the target, but you must be aware of it and there must be an opening between you and the target that is at least 1 inch wide. The needles all strike simultaneously, and you can direct them to hit one creature or several. If you choose a target you can not see, such as a creature with full cover, the needles will miss if the creature is not in the area of the spell.
This spells creates additional needles when you reach higher levels: five needles at 5th level, seven needles at 11th level, and nine needles at 17th level. If an effect would increase the damage you deal with this cantrip, the bonus damage is applied once per creature struck.