Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Magic Training for Survival (1)
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Slacking off.
The beautiful Korean custom of dumping work you don't want to do on your underlings.
Whether it was team projects in college major classes, group life in the military, or dividing tasks among a bunch of people.
Whenever people gathered and formed organizations, hierarchies naturally emerged. So it was only natural that slacking off existed in this world too. The moment I realized the senior maids had dumped their work on me, curses reflexively spilled out.
'Yes, got it. So I start at 6 a.m., just like any other duty?'
'Yeah, 6 a.m....'
'What are you talking about, Katarina? Kitchen assistant work starts at 4 a.m.'
'Right, 4 a.m. Come straight here then. You'll probably figure out what to do the moment you arrive, so if we're a bit late, just get started on your own~.'
"Oh, uh, right... 4 a.m., 4 a.m.!"
'Yes, understood, seniors. See you tomorrow at 4 a.m. then.'
The conversation from last night flashed through my mind as soon as I confirmed the kitchen was empty.
Even then, I'd had a vague feeling something was off, but I never imagined it would hit the nail on the head.
"No wonder the conversation felt a bit awkward... Those bitches dumped their slack on me...?"
They were only a year ahead of me, yet they'd already picked up all the bad habits. I'd been too focused on my maid duties to notice.
They'd probably slink in around 6 a.m. as usual. No matter how much they'd dumped on me, they couldn't skip work entirely. And they'd take it easy, coasting on whatever I'd already done.
...Yeah, I could endure that much.
Game worlds, fantasy realms—it was all the same wherever people lived in groups.
Expecting moral excellence from a maid working for a duke's family was absurd to begin with.
And honestly, this situation of getting dumped on wasn't half bad for me. Especially since it let me pursue my real goal with kitchen duty freely.
"Way better to practice magic when no one's around."
I'd originally planned to sneak in cautious magic practice under the watchful eyes of the senior maids. But alone like this? I could cast freely without anyone peeking. All things considered, the situation wasn't bad at all.
In this world, maximum mana could be increased in three main ways.
The best was to drain it completely to zero, then refill it fully. Repeating that alone would expand your max mana, regardless of level—that was the world's rule.
There were two other methods, but right now, this was the only one I could use.
I couldn't expect instant monster hunting or leveling up.
"I can cast magic freely, and I've got ways to restore mana... Being alone is straight-up OP...?"
A place where I could use magic without getting caught.
And overflowing means to replenish mana the instant it ran low (ingredients).
For the senior maids dumping slack on me? I almost owed them thanks. A perfect setup.
"Once I hit high levels, restoring mana will bottleneck growth. Gotta max it out as much as possible at level 2."
This drain-and-refill growth method was way trickier at high levels than low ones.
Draining to zero was the same either way, but refilling at high levels had other constraints.
Emptying three- or four-digit mana, then refilling it fully? Exhausting work.
In this world, food was the main recovery method outside sleep, and stomachs had limits on digestion.
One apple restored 30 mana—three barely hit 100.
For 1,000+ mana? Thirty-four apples. Basically torture. In-game, food recovery had limits too, via invisible satiety that blocked more eating with messages.
The most efficient items were ridiculously expensive, saved for emergencies, or foods most characters refused outright.
But that distant future aside—my current max mana was a measly 21. Drain it, and one apple refilled it fully. Prime time for efficiency.
And this kitchen was stocked with those 'efficient items' I'd mentioned.
"Around here... Ah, found it."
Among sacks of root veggies and produce, I spotted one with notably small contents. As expected, it bulged with the mana-restoring item I'd anticipated.
A massive bunch of garlic, like an entire field plot.
"Raw garlic isn't my favorite... but no other options right now."
If I were game-character Lilith proper, I couldn't even eat it. Lucky for me, this Lilith was packed with memories of upright Korean youth Lee Ji-hwan.
As a Korean—'spice nation' folk—chewing raw garlic for mana? Total win.
"Gotta learn the spell first before eating."
Adding mana atop a full pool wouldn't expand capacity. Priority: drain with magic first.
That meant learning a spell carefully. Skill points per level were limited, and who knew when level 2 Lilith would level up again.
"No point in half-assed monster-hunting spells I can't use. Buffs are useless solo."
Actually, since hearing about kitchen duty, I'd already picked one out. Spent 2 of my 3 skill points on 'Clean' right away.
If I were the protagonist, I'd prioritize differently, but this was what Lilith needed most now.
Clasped my hands, opened the info window, unlocked 'Clean' at the top of the skill list. Magic knowledge seeped into my body.
"Oh, ohooo...."
The oddly thrilling first-time sensation hyped me up. No clue how it worked, but my head buzzed with the know-how to cast 'Clean' right now.
"Let's give it a shot."
Clean cost 20 mana per cast.
A lot for basic magic, but perfect for my capacity-expansion goal. And Clean deserved that mana spend anyway.
Focused on a garlic bulb in my palm, released mana with cast intent. A tiny vortex swirled, neatly separating the cloves.
In this world, Clean tidied filth.
Peel veggies, wash dishes, clean body parts—whatever you willed. Versatile enough to justify as my first spell.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ✨ Magic Power: 1 / 21 "...It worked."
Clean activated properly, mana drained confirmed.
The leftover 1 mana? Flicked it away like 'release.' Zeroed out the reservoir, then grabbed a garlic clove to refill.
One clove restored a whopping 50 mana. Insane efficiency compared to apples or oranges.
But its pungent smell and bite made it 'inedible' for most characters. Protagonist and a few could stomach a couple, per lore.
Even heating destroyed nutrients, so for optimal recovery? Chew raw.
'Half a clove fully refills me? No reason to refuse.'
If I were pre-reincarnation Lilith, I'd never try. But my head held 26 years of Lee Ji-hwan's memories from Korea. Garlic like this? No sweat for a Korean...
-Crunch.
"......Urp?!"
The raw half-clove hit, and its brutal pungency nearly made me hurl everything up.
'...What the hell? Was garlic always this bad?'
No ssamjang, sure, but I'd never tasted anything like this raw before.
Did becoming game-Lilith change my taste buds too?
"Urgh... Ack...!!"
Head swimming from the overwhelming garlic assault on my face, I barely held it together and forced the half-clove down.
I'd thought raw garlic was nothing. Who knew it'd be such an unexpected hurdle.
Moment of reckoning for trash-talking garlic-averse characters in Luminor Academy playthroughs.
This painful? No wonder they couldn't swallow it raw.
"Mana.... M-mana..."
Gritting through agony, I had to check. Clasped hands, summoned Lilith's info window. There it was: meaningfully updated max mana.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ✨ Magic Power: 21 / 21+1
Drained to zero, refilled via garlic. Max mana bumped up instantly.
Proof that hellish ordeal wasn't meaningless.
Just +1 now, but at level 10? 6-7 per cycle. No more efficient way to boost max mana.
"The bad end with that pig... Absolutely not..."
To dodge that cursed piglet's future, no whining or slacking. Cast Clean again to drain, shoved the remaining half-clove in.
"Urp...!"
Swallowed back the rising nausea, somehow chewed the mana supplement down my throat.
Once this chance passed, who knew the next?
Duty could shift tomorrow, or seniors might show early on a whim. This training was tough then. Treat every day like the last—go all out.
Even if it meant a garlic field down my throat, I had to avoid that bad end.
No matter what. Absolutely.