Before falling asleep, I opened the introductory magic book I received from Benny, filled with bubbling expectations.
*
Preface.
Once upon a time, magic was a miracle.
Just as a blacksmith melts stone to extract iron, the God of Magic taught mortals how to extract phenomena from the abundant mana in the world.
We called this magic.
But everyone knows there is a significant difference between magic and blacksmithing: versatility.
Blacksmithing can be learned by anyone (though one must be talented to reach a high level, and I have no intention of belittling artisans), but magic can only be wielded by a select few.
This is to be expected. Mana is scattered throughout the world, but the sense to manipulate it is given only by the God of Magic.
The mana organ that exists somewhere in our brains, hearts, or perhaps our souls wasn’t originally innate.
It was granted to us by the God of Magic.
Therefore, magic was a miracle.
A miracle of tearing apart and reshaping the world based on the tools bestowed by God and the answer sheet shown by them.
However, today’s magic is not quite like that.
The God of Magic could not escape the flames of the Godslayer War and perished, casting the ultimate spell at the cost of their own existence in their final moments.
Thus began an era where even dogs and pigs are born with a mana organ (yes, even dogs and pigs are born with them, though they can’t handle it properly).
Therefore, today’s magic is a technology, not a miracle.
But do not be disheartened. The inherent beauty of magic remains untouched, and the layered technologies have become shortcuts to the truth.
Remember that systematic knowledge is superior to realizations that cannot be expressed in words.
The Mage Tower is not filled with outstanding individuals but is comprised of pioneers bearing the mission of guiding humanity toward the truth.
If you diligently learn the contents of this book, you too shall become one of us.
First…
*
“…What the hell is this?”
It seems to be filled with impressive-sounding words, yet lacks substance, making it quite a tedious read with unnecessary author’s notes sprinkled throughout.
And then there’s the content. It’s just brimming with an air of superiority.
This book seems to be more about indulging in self-praise rather than aiming to convey a message to someone else, which can be said as fundamentally flawed.
“Phew…”
I struggled to suppress the boiling sense of professionalism inside me and calmed my anger.
Sure. It’s common knowledge that mages are unlucky, and this book isn’t even a novel. So, this much is acceptable. After all, what matters is the content of the main text, not the preface.
Taking a deep breath, I continued reading. And then…
Tap!
Even after scanning to the end, nothing significantly changed.
I could barely understand what it was trying to say, and it mentioned a circle without explaining what that circle even was.
I know there is mana gathered in my heart, but how could it naturally form a ring? What kind of nonsense is that?
Glancing down at the fancy book cover, I pondered for a while before nodding.
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll do a gacha.”
I guess this is a good plan….
Letting out a deep sigh, I used the magic book as a support and placed a full-bodied Goddess Statue on top of it.
In its usual prayer-posing stance, it looked like it had no intention of throwing a fit today.
I couldn’t help but gently pat the Goddess Statue’s flowing hair, lamenting.
“Ugh. Here I am, trying so hard to catch those heretics… you know?”
Wuwu—!
The Goddess Statue emitted divine power as if protesting, but it was just a flicker of soft light.
“Why! I didn’t even ask for a 5-star! Magic categories are hard to come by, and all I want is a 1-star!”
Wuwu…!
“Just do it! Do it, do it! If you don’t, I’ll just stick you in the subspace all day and only pull you out when I really need you!”
Wuwu…
“…No, don’t look so down. Instead, if you do help me, how about I cuddle you like a beloved doll for a while? What do you think? Doesn’t that balance things out a bit?”
Paah!
The Goddess Statue illuminated the entire room as if to shout, “Deal!”
Now it seems like we’re communicating to some degree. I let out a laugh and opened the gacha system.
Ding!
[Normal Gacha]
– Spend cash or equivalent spirit stones to randomly obtain items and skills ranging from 1 to 5 stars.
[1 Time Gacha] [10+1 Time Gacha]
“Let’s gooooooo!”
Today, I threw in about 30 silver from my time in the labyrinth and the 10 silver Benny gave me.
In an instant, my pouch felt lighter. I could hear the sound of dice rolling that only I could hear, and before I knew it, translucent panels started appearing in front of me.
Ding!
[1 Star: Well-Dried Mana Herb]
[1 Star: Processed Recovery Herb]
[1 Star: Platypus Bone Fragment]
[1 Star: Well-Dried Mana Herb]
[1 Star: Well-Dried Mana Herb]
[1 Star: Processed Recovery Herb]
[1 Star: Well-Dried Mana Herb]
[2 Star: Magic – Intense Flame]
[1 Star: Lowest Recovery Potion]
[1 Star: Wooden Arrow]
[1 Star: Well-Dried Mana Herb]
…
…
…
…
[1 Star: Aura – Sensory Enhancement]
…
…
…
…
[1 Star: Magic – Mana Release]
With a beat of delay, the gacha items landed on the floor. But that wasn’t important right now. After all, they were all 1-star junk.
“What? I asked for a basic spell, and then they throw in 2-star magic and Mana Release? And out of nowhere, Aura too…?”
I was momentarily confused as I tilted my head at the Goddess Statue. Then the pain hit me like a wave.
“Gah…!”
My heart pounded as if someone was squeezing it with all their might, and it felt like a bullet lodged deep in my lower abdomen, igniting a searing pain from within.
Fortunately, the pain didn’t last long. But that was not the end of it.
Before the echoes of pain could fade, knowledge burrowed directly into my brain.
A headache hit like a hammer to the head. This pain was short-lived, but it left a lingering ache.
My vision was spinning, my head was throbbing, my heart ached, and I felt an odd sensation in my lower abdomen.
It wasn’t as painful as 4-star skill, Sound-Devouring Footsteps, but having multiple spots hurting at the same time was overwhelming.
I squeezed the Goddess Statue’s cheeks with frustration.
“I only needed a basic spell…”
Wuwu—
The light distinctly dimmed compared to before. Even the communication seemed a little hazy now.
As if it were a battery-depleted doll, or a completely exhausted human.
“…Could it be you too can’t perform gacha completely at will? And even manipulating it makes you tired?”
-…
The Goddess Statue lost all shine and fell silent, showing that even in its worn-out state, it had given me an answer.
“Tsk. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have asked for such a thing. It wasn’t even urgent.”
Looking back, it was surprising that since the moment the One Who Devours the Twilight gave me a 4-star skill, nothing useful had come out from the gacha.
Even though I pulled quite a bit, it was surprising that none at all emerged. Of course, I could chalk it up to luck since it was gacha, but…
Perhaps I was merely pulling my luck ahead of time. The burden of that, of course, lay with the Goddess.
With a fleeting pang of guilt, I gently patted the Goddess Statue’s backside. Then, a thought struck me, causing my hand to halt.
“Oh? Now that I think about it, the last time I summoned 11 Goddess Statues, they were all lively.”
I squinted at the Goddess Statue. Its carved eyes seemed to express some sort of grievance.
It seems even it had its own circumstances. I had a rough idea of what they could be.
The Goddess of Love had been fine whenever she summoned items related to herself.
Sneaking her belongings into the gacha looks easy, but actually manipulating the gacha itself isn’t so simple.
“Well, thinking about it won’t help me right now.”
It’ll be something to ask the Goddess of Love directly when I reach the bottom of the labyrinth.
With a smirk, I decided to check the newly obtained items.
First was Intense Flame. This was a higher-level magic compared to the weak flame I previously used.
Literally, it conjured a raging flame, and being at 2-star, its power was quite considerable.
Meaning, if I wanted to test it, I should do so in the labyrinth or a proper training ground.
Unfortunately, I’ll have to check Intense Flame later; for now, I looked at the other goodies.
Paan!
The power of mana erupted from my fingertips.
Mana Release. This one is simple. It expels an invisible shockwave by consuming mana.
It’s too primitive to even be called magic… more like a mana technique.
It consumes a lot of mana yet delivers pitiful power. However, its activation speed is top-notch.
This could be useful depending on how I use it.
Next up is Aura, which emerged unexpectedly. This one’s usage and effect are straightforward as well.
It’s basic enhancement that wraps around the body to sharpen the senses. The sensation of drawing aura from a pea-sized dantian feels strange, but the difficulty isn’t much.
However, now that I’ve already heightened my senses with Sound-Devouring Footsteps, the efficiency may drop…
I’ll have to physically experience using this in the labyrinth.
What I need to do now is…
“Time to clear out those Mana Herbs.”
As usual, it’s time to dispose of junk items.
I shoved the unknown monster’s bone fragment deep into subspace and began to alternate between eating the Mana Herbs and the Recovery Herbs.
After consuming enough, I roughly stuffed the rest into a drawer. Wiping my mouth that still tasted of herbs, I lifted the full-body statue atop the magic book.
“Haah. A promise is a promise.”
I cradled the statue and lay down on my bed.
The next morning.
Somehow, the statue’s skin looked more radiant.
…What on earth did it do while I was sleeping?
