Chapter 3 · 10 min

Chapter 3

Meditation

Two days have passed.

Tower climbing preparations are complete.

‘...This should be enough.’

For now, Mana Thread movement has become natural.

To the point of drawing thoughts exactly as they are in my head.

Delicate and precise control like fingers has become possible.

Hardness is weak, so it's unsuitable for direct attack.

But it seemed possible to utilize it usefully in various ways.

Moreover, if I tightly bind multiple Mana Threads.

I could even use it roughly as a shield substitute.

It blocked a falling tree, so it should be enough.

Whoosh!

The power of LV20 Fireball is beyond imagination.

At LV1, even when thrown it was about tennis ball speed.

Now when thrown, it's not even visible to the eye.

At least when launched with will alone like Mana Thread, the speed feels a bit reduced.

But even that was tremendous speed enough to leave an afterimage.

Could that really be dodged.

Watching it, that thought alone comes to mind.

Fwoooooosh!!

Important fact.

The point that I can pour out as many as 9 of those Fireballs simultaneously.

Perfectly controlled 9 fireballs.

If targeting a single subject, dodging was nearly impossible.

Even the summon location of Fireball became adjustable.

Basic summon location is above the palm.

But if desired, I could summon Fireball even from a place quite far from the palm.

It might not seem like much.

In my opinion, since Fireball skill has a linear attack form, the initial generation position was extremely important.

"..."

Even so, there was a problem.

Mana problem.

The farther I summon Fireball from the palm, the more severe the mana consumption.

The size of Fireball is the same.

If I increase the volume even a little from the size designated by the skill, extreme dizziness enough to make my head spin rushed in.

Also.

Once mana decreases like that, considerable time is needed for mana to refill.

About 2 minutes per Fireball.

Recovery time was too long.

Learning high-level skills would make mana even more insufficient.

It was a serious problem to just let it pass.

So after careful consideration, I prepared a solution.

[You have entered the tower lobby floor]

First, arrived at the lobby floor.

I passed the shop side.

Only 1 point left, so nothing to buy anyway.

I headed straight to the gates.

Tower that can be entered once every 3 days.

Unlike two days ago, there were two gates emitting blue light.

Entry to tower 1st and 2nd floors became possible.

I placed my hand over the blue light.

[You have entered the 2nd floor of the tower]

[Defeat the Goblin scouting party]

From the 2nd floor of the tower, difficulty rises quite a bit.

Unlike the 1st floor that only had one ordinary goblin, three types of monsters appear.

Goblin swordsman.

Goblin shieldbearer.

Goblin archer.

Must smash two teams of scouting parties composed of three.

But a scouting group with balanced offense and defense.

The reason the 2nd floor of the tower is called a newbie cutter.

In fact, hunters without talent can only spin the 1st floor for life.

I stared forward.

A cave filled with gloomy air.

But I'm not particularly tense.

My ability has clearly changed from the 1st floor.

Whoosh!

I floated a Fireball forward.

About 100m of visibility was secured in an instant.

At the end of that.

Three goblins are staring at the fireball with flustered expressions.

‘100m is quite far, is it possible?’

I couldn't practice long-range flame throwing because of fire risk.

I decided to check it this time.

I gripped the Fireball in my hand and threw it as is.

Fwoooooosh!!!!

The Fireball cut through the air at a speed invisible to the eye.

A straight trajectory without even a parabola.

In a fleeting moment, a crimson line cut the darkness.

And pierced the chest of the goblin swordsman as is.

“Kiaaaaaak!!!”

A ferocious scream filled the passage.

The goblin swordsman thrashing in the spreading flames.

But it was of no use.

The body that burned in an instant turned to powder and disappeared.

The flustered shieldbearer blocked the direction of the Fireball.

Beyond that, the archer with a terrified expression shot arrows wildly.

Thuk! Thuduk!

Arrows that plunged to the floor without even flying 50m.

In the meantime, I launched two Fireballs simultaneously.

Whoosh!

Fwoooooosh!!!

One pierced the shield and the shieldbearer's chest.

The other accurately pierced the glabella of the archer drawing the bowstring.

The result was the same.

The rapidly burning bodies turned to powder and scattered.

[You have defeated the Goblin swordsman]

[You have defeated the Goblin shieldbearer]

[You have defeated the Goblin archer]

[[Transcendence (EX) ability manifests]

[Experience points gained increase by 1,000,000 times]

[Level up]

···

[You have achieved Level 40]

Achieved level 40 in one go.

The highest level that can be reached on the 2nd floor of the tower.

Along with tremendous exhilaration, the whole body was tinged bluish.

Soon after, a feeling like the muscles of the whole body gathering, and a lighter body.

Even body balance improved in an instant.

Mana pool also felt definitely increased.

But the speed of mana refilling is still slow.

‘As expected, should I learn the Meditation skill quickly.’

A skill that increases mana recovery amount.

Can be purchased with points from clearing the 2nd floor of the tower.

And if the Transcendence trait also applies to the Meditation skill?

Maybe I could become the world's first to master the Meditation skill.

The effect is still not exactly known.

But at least I should be able to use Fireball skill without issue.

Whoosh!

I advanced while moving the Fireball forward.

As expected, three goblins caught right from afar.

This time I tried launching three Fireballs with will alone without directly throwing them.

The advantage is clear.

The point that I can launch multiple Fireballs simultaneously to desired places.

I was a bit worried too.

Speed is slower than directly throwing, and the distance was quite far.

But unexpectedly, the goblins couldn't dodge.

They blankly watched the incoming Fireballs, then had holes pierced in their chests.

The three goblins simultaneously turned to ash and scattered.

[You have cleared the 2nd floor of the tower]

[Returning to the lobby]

[117 points have been given]

Quite generous points compared to the 1st floor.

I immediately approached the skill merchant.

Like last time, hunters filled the surroundings.

All with serious expressions, as if pondering how to use points.

I met the merchant's eyes.

[Held points: 118 points]

[Obtainable series: [Common]]

[Obtainable skills: [Meditation (100)]]

As expected.

As per information obtained from the community, the Meditation skill book appeared on the list.

“Meditation skill can be said to form the foundation of a mage. A skill book that must be bought unconditionally.”

The Hispanic skill merchant muttered with a grin.

The hunters next to him snorted.

“Bullshit. Why spend 100 bloody points on that shitty trash skill?”

“If you're a mage, gathering points and buying Flame Burst skill is the correct path.”

“If you dump points into Mana Thread or Meditation, you'll cry blood later. Mana Thread is just complete trash···Meditation is the same. What reason is there to lack mana at low levels? It's not like we're running the labyrinth.”

Hmm.

All correct words.

If it's an ordinary hunter.

But in my case, the story is different.

[Common Magic - Meditation (LV1) skill has been acquired]

Because I'm going to run the labyrinth.

The tower is largely divided into two branches.

One is the orthodox tower entered through gates.

Enterable once every 3 days.

Each time a floor is cleared, it raises the highest achievable level by 10.

Meaning a place that determines the vessel of a hunter.

The other was a place called the labyrinth.

Accumulate points and obtain money-making items.

Also level up by catching monsters.

So hunters climb the tower as much as their ability allows, and when tower climbing is blocked, they spec up in the labyrinth.

The entry direction of the labyrinth is the exact opposite of the tower.

I slowly approached in the labyrinth direction while checking the skill.

[Meditation (LV1)]

-Quickly recovers mana.

A skill that quickly recovers mana.

Since most are physical ability awakeners, the poor evaluation is natural.

Moreover, for most hunters, potion efficiency is overwhelmingly better compared to Meditation.

Thanks to that, it can be said to be a skill with considerable anti-fans, even if not as much as Mana Thread.

I checked the remaining mana amount.

Conveniently, a situation where mana was worn down from catching the goblin scouting party.

I used the skill.

Hwoong!

A light tremor occurred around the heart.

A pleasant humming.

At the same time, a refreshing energy circulated throughout the body along the blood vessels.

And that was the end.

“...It wasn't avoided for nothing.”

The feeling becomes somewhat strange.

Mana did refill, but it refilled awkwardly.

Neither full nor not full.

An uncomfortable feeling like a big sesame seed stuck in the front teeth.

In one word, the efficiency was shitty.

Extremely.

[Meditation (LV1) skill activates]

[[Transcendence (EX) ability manifests]

[Experience points gained increase by 1,000,000 times]

[The skill level of Meditation (LV1) increases]

[The skill level of Meditation (LV2) increases]

[The skill level of Meditation (LV3) increases]

···

[Meditation (LV20) skill has reached the maximum level]

But right after the messages floated up one after another, the situation changed rapidly.

[Mana regeneration power surges]

[Automatically absorbs surrounding mana]

Mana filled the empty space in one go.

The empty space that disappeared in an instant as if oxygen rushed into the lungs.

The thought that comes is only one.

This is crazy.

The mana pool already fully filled.

I used the Fireball skill.

Whether the mana pool increased because level became 40, there was no particular feeling.

‘Is it okay to try at this point?’

I increased the size of the Fireball.

The fireball that was fist-sized became head-sized.

Mana drained in one go, but new mana instantly filled that empty space.

The change from weakness to fullness was instantaneous.

···This works.

Something I couldn't even properly try in the house.

The moment the size of the flame deviates from the skill's set value, the mana that was sucked in enormously.

I overcame that limit to some extent.

With the Meditation skill that everyone called a trash skill.

‘Even if it's trash to others, it can be completely different to me.’

Good information.

Whether skill or equipment or item.

Things good for anyone inevitably require many points.

So cost-effectiveness, that is efficiency, inevitably drops.

But I'm different.

Even things others discard, to me···.

“Huh?”

Wait a minute.

I stopped walking.

And looked back.

Beyond the Hispanic skill book merchant.

A zone where even more people are crowded.

A knight wearing medium armor, with the visor of the steel helmet even lowered so the face couldn't be recognized, was visible.

I approached him, cutting through the crowd.

As the distance closed, his gaze fixed on me.

The inside of the visor wasn't visible, but the feeling was like that.

A voice came.

“An unfamiliar face.”

[Held points: 18 points]

[Weapons][Armor][Accessories][Auxiliary equipment]

The knight is an equipment merchant.

More polite than the Hispanic skill merchant who speaks informally the moment he sees you.

But he also subtly emits a gloomy aura.

I examined the items one by one.

Having only 18 points, most equipment was gray.

Couldn't even check the abilities.

‘All too expensive.’

I was a bit disappointed.

It was said the equipment merchant buys back items from hunters and resells them.

Among them, there are many trash-like items, it was said.

So-called cursed items.

Quite a number in both quantity and types.

To the point that the Hunter Association official broadcast even has a separate cursed item channel.

But it seemed there was nothing buyable with 18 points···.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly my eyes lit up.

There is.

One item.

[Cursed Wooden Doll (18)]

-Absorbs 70% of the user's mana in real time.

-[Detection] skill usable.

-Mage exclusive item.

Price is 18 points.

It matches the held points exactly.

I purchased it immediately.

[You have acquired the Cursed Wooden Doll]

I opened the inventory.

With a swish sound, a 2×2 inventory opened.

I reached out and grabbed the small doll.

[The curse manifests]

[Mana decreases by 70% in real time]

Light dizziness occurred, but it was brief.

The mana created and absorbed by Meditation filled the empty space like a tide.

[[Detection] skill is used]

And in that moment.

A large black board floated in my mind.

Then the black board brightened slightly.

It was a kind of map even at a glance.

I was in the center, and hunters crowded around.

Colors were various.

I am white.

Hunters are gray.

The equipment merchant is green.

The bright range was narrow, so outside that couldn't be seen.

That was when it happened.

Ziiing-!!

Suddenly a tingling in my head.

It felt like a kind of headache, but a subtle feeling that wasn't unpleasant.

At the same time, a message floated before my eyes.

[You have used the Detection (LV1) skill]

[[Transcendence (EX) ability manifests]

[Experience points gained increase by 1,000,000 times]

[The skill level of Detection (LV1) increases]

[The skill level of Detection (LV2) increases]

[The skill level of Detection (LV3) increases]

···

[Detection (LV20) skill has reached the maximum level]