Chapter 99: Self ? Study (2)
Chapter 99: Self ? Study (2)
Before falling asleep. I opened the basic magic book I received from Benny with high expectations.
Foreword.
Once, magic was a miracle.
Just as a blacksmith melts stone to extract iron, the God of Magic bestowed mortals with the method to extract phenomena from the mana that fills the world.
We called this magic.
However, no one is unaware of the significant difference between magic and blacksmithing. It is universality.
Blacksmithing can be learned by anyone (though one must be born with talent to reach a high level. I do not intend to demean craftsmen), but magic could only be handled by a chosen few.
It is natural. Mana is scattered throughout the world, but the sense to handle it is bestowed only by the God of Magic.
Our brains, or hearts, or perhaps somewhere in our souls, this magical organ did not originally exist.
It was bestowed upon us by the God of Magic.
Therefore, magic was a miracle.
A miracle that reshaped the world as we desired, following the tools and answers provided by the God.
But today’s magic is not like that.
The God of Magic could not escape the flames of the War of the Fallen Gods and perished, casting the final great spell at the cost of its existence.
Thus began the era where even dogs and cows are born with magical organs (truly, even dogs and cows are born with them; they just can’t use them properly).
Therefore, today’s magic is not a miracle, but a technology.
However, do not be disappointed. The inherent beauty of magic has not disappeared, and the layers upon layers of technology have become a shortcut to the truth.
Remember that knowledge with a system is superior to an unexpressed enlightenment.
The Magic Tower is not composed of outstanding individuals, but of pioneers bearing the mission to lead all of humanity to the truth.
If you diligently absorb the contents of this book, you too will become one of us.
First of all…
“…What’s this?”
It’s filled with seemingly profound words that are actually hollow, and the unnecessary author’s notes interspersed throughout make it quite cumbersome to read.
And what about the content? Isn’t it just brimming with elitism?
This book isn’t written to be read by others, but rather indulges the author’s own whims, making it fundamentally flawed.
“Sigh…”
I suppressed the professional fervor boiling within me, trying to calm my anger.
Right. It’s common knowledge that mages are stuck up, and this book isn’t even a novel to begin with. So, this much is fine. What’s important is the content of the main text, not the preface.
After taking a deep breath, I continued reading the book. And then.
Thud!
Even after skimming through it to the end, there wasn’t much of a difference.
It’s hard to understand what it’s saying, and it tells me to rotate the circle, but I have no idea what that circle even is in the first place.
I know that magic is concentrated in the heart, but it naturally forming a ring? What kind of nonsense is that?
After staring at the elegant cover of the book and contemplating for a while, I nodded.
“Yeah. Maybe I should just try my luck with gacha.”
This is the way for me…
With a deep sigh, I used the magic book as a stand and placed the fully upgraded Goddess statue on top of it.
With its usual benevolent expression, it was in a pose as if praying to someone. There must have been nothing to sulk about today.
I sighed while patting the shimmering hair of the Goddess statue.
“Sigh. I’m working so hard just to get rid of some heretics…you know?”
Wooong-!
The Goddess statue emitted a rough divine power as if in protest, but it only glimmered softly.
“Why! Did I ask for a 5-star? The magic category itself rarely appears, but it was just a 1-star!”
Woooong…!
“Do it! Do it, do it! If you don’t, I’ll keep you locked in a subspace all day and only take you out when needed!”
Woooong…
“…No, don’t get so down. Instead, if you do it, I’ll, huh? Hug you like a beloved doll for a while. How about it? Isn’t that a fair deal?”
Paaat!
Cool! The entire room lit up brightly as if the statue of the Goddess was shouting.
I opened the gacha system with a wry smile, thinking it now even does something similar to communication.
Ding!
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[Normal Draw]
-Consume cash or equivalent Magic Stones to randomly obtain items and skills between 1 to 5 stars.
[Single Draw] [10+1 Draw]
“Let’s gooooo!”
Today, I earned about 30 silver in the Labyrinth. I put it all along with the 10 silver I received from Benny into the gacha.
My money pouch became light in an instant. I could hear the sound of dice rolling, audible only to me, and soon a translucent window unfolded before my eyes.
Ding!
[☆: Well-dried Magic Herb]
[☆: Processed Healing Herb]
[☆: Platypus Bone Shard]
[☆: Well-dried Magic Herb]
[☆: Well-dried Magic Herb]
[☆: Processed Healing Herb]
[☆: Well-dried Magic Herb]
[☆☆: Magic – Intense Flame]
[☆: Lowest-grade Healing Potion]
[☆: Wooden Arrow]
[☆: Well-dried Magic Herb]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[☆: Aura – Enhanced Senses]
.
.
.
.
.
.
[☆: Magic – Mana Discharge]
The items fell to the floor half a beat later. But that wasn’t important right now. After all, they were all 1-star junk items.
“No, I asked for basic magic, so what’s with the 2-star magic and Mana Discharge…? And what’s with the sudden Aura…?”
For a moment, I tilted my head in disbelief at the Goddess statue. But I had to clench my mouth shut as the pain surged in.
“Grrk…!”
My heart pounded madly as if someone was squeezing it with all their might, and my lower abdomen burned as if a bullet was lodged deep inside.
Fortunately, the pain didn’t last long. But it wasn’t over yet.
Before the echo of pain even subsided, knowledge directly burrowed into my brain.
A headache that felt like my head was being struck with a hammer. This too was a brief pain, but…it lingered for a long time.
My vision was dizzy, my head hurts, my heart was sore, and there was a foreign sensation in my lower abdomen.
Although it wasn’t as painful as the 4-star skill, Sound-Eating Footsteps, being in pain in multiple places at once made it hard to stay focused.
I pressed the cheeks of the Goddess statue with an aggrieved heart.
“I said basic magic would be enough…”
Woong-
The light was clearly weaker than before. Even the intention within it seemed a bit blurry.
Like a doll with a low battery. Or an utterly exhausted human.
“…Could it be that you can’t completely control the gacha either? And you even get tired if you manipulate it?”
-……..
Lacking the energy to respond, the Goddess statue, having completely lost its light, remained silent. However, its current feeble state itself served as an answer.
“Sigh. If I had known it was like this, I wouldn’t have asked for such a thing. It’s not even urgent.”
Thinking back now, after handing me the 4-star right before the fight with One Who Devours the Twilight, nothing useful has come out of the gacha since.
Even though I rolled quite a bit, getting nothing is somewhat surprising. Of course, since it’s gacha, it can always be chalked up to bad luck…
Maybe I just used up all my luck in advance. Naturally, the burden fell on the Goddess.
I patted the Goddess statue’s bottom in apology for a moment. Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I stopped my hand.
“Huh? Come to think of it, the last time I summoned 11 Goddess statues at once, they were all fine.”
I squinted my eyes and glared at the Goddess statue. The carved pupils somehow seemed to feel aggrieved.
It seems that the other side has its own circumstances. I can roughly guess what it was.
The Goddess of Love was relatively intact whenever she handed down an item related to herself through gacha.
It’s simple to sneak in her own things, but it seems manipulating the gacha itself is not easy.
“Well, thinking about it now doesn’t mean anything.”
I can ask the Goddess of Love directly at the bottom of the Labyrinth later.
With a slight laugh, I decided to check the newly drawn items first.
First, the Intense Flame. This is an advanced version of the Weak Flame I used to use.
It’s literally a magic that ignites an intense flame, and since it’s 2-star, its power is quite usable.
In other words, to test it, it should be done in a Labyrinth or a proper training ground, not indoors.
Regrettably, I decided to check the Intense Flame next time and looked at other things first.
Bam!
The power of mana bursting from my fingertips.
Mana Discharge. This is simple. It emits an invisible shockwave by consuming mana.
It’s too primitive to be called magic… It’s a technique closer to a mana skill.
It consumes a lot of mana but has poor power. However, its activation speed is exceptional.
This will depend on how it’s used.
Next is the Aura that was drawn out unexpectedly. Its usage and effect are also simple.
A basic enhancement that sharpens the senses by enveloping the whole body in aura. The sensation of drawing aura from a tiny dantian is unfamiliar, but the difficulty itself is nothing special.
However, as I gained Sound-Eating Footsteps, my senses had already become more sensitive, so its efficiency has somewhat dropped….
I’ll have to learn the details by using it directly in the Labyrinth.
What I need to do now is….
“I should get rid of the Magic Herbs.”
As always, it’s time to dispose of junk items.
I stuffed the unknown monster’s bone fragments deep into the subspace and started chewing on Magic Herbs and Healing Herbs alternately.
After eating enough, I shoved the rest into the drawer carelessly. Then, wiping my mouth that still tasted like herbs, I picked up the fully upgraded statue placed on the altar-like magic book.
“Sigh. A promise is a promise.”
I hugged the statue and lay down on the bed.
The next morning.
Somehow, the skin of the statue looked glossy.
…What did you do while I was sleeping?