Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Staffless Mage
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Energy Bolt.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Energy Bolt It was the mage's basic attack spell.
To use it, all you had to do was swing the staff, which served as the mage's weapon.
Swing the staff, and mana would be consumed as an Energy Bolt shot forward.
Whoosh- swish-
"Looks like it has a cooldown."
Sweet muttered to himself while hunting black snails in the Darkness-Devouring Forest.
He'd just swung his staff twice in quick succession to take down a black snail fast.
But the Energy Bolt had fired only once, striking the black snail.
"Gotta aim it right too."
The black snail's shell was tougher than expected, making it hard to deal big damage there.
So it was better to target the softer gaps in the shell or its eyes.
"I'm kinda getting the hang of it now?"
Drawing from multiple battles, Sweet organized what he'd learned about being a mage.
Energy Bolt cost 15 mana with a 1-second cooldown.
His max mana was 130 right now, regenerating at 7 per second.
"So effectively, the cooldown's about 2 seconds, huh."
If he used Energy Bolt when his mana was low...
He'd have to wait roughly 2 seconds for the next one.
A 1-second cooldown that effectively became 2 seconds in certain situations.
"Still pretty reasonable, though?"
The advantage of stable ranged hunting.
The ease of learning for those without much combat experience.
Considering all that, the mage's early-game specs were fairly balanced.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚔ ITEM ⚔ 🌿 Wooden Staff Affinity*: +5 Correction*: +1 [Affinity] +1 Mana Regen per point, +5 Max Mana, +1 Magic Damage per point "Gotta pump Affinity no matter what."
Attack Power boosted physical damage, while Affinity boosted magic damage.
Endurance and Agility made you tougher and faster, as the names implied.
"If Correction tweaks your actions, then mages don't really need it, right?"
💬 Chat — Viewer Yeah — Viewer No doubt? It's a mage anyway, all in on Affinity All Affinity go go Following his viewers' advice, Sweet allocated his stat points from the recent level-up into Affinity.
Then he fired an Energy Bolt at a passing black snail.
"Whoa!"
The Energy Bolt hit the shell, but the black snail dropped dead on the spot.
"This is busted?"
Sweet swung his staff at every black snail he spotted while moving.
💬 Chat — Viewer What's busted Modern RPG meta is weak sauce If it was Martial Artist he'd punch 'em all out Freebies freebies fun freebies lololol Hey now "Wanna push the main story quick and meet up with the others."
He'd heard mages were top-tier, but he was curious anyway.
Unlike himself, who thought picking mage was the right call...
He wondered how those who chose other jobs were feeling now.
✨ LEVEL UP! ✨ Lv. ? → Lv. ? "Let's speed through this."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 [Indie Minor Game Gallery] Beta test has begun. The chosen 1,000 players have logged into the world of Akare. The unchosen are still game-nonners (forced). Stuck enjoying Akare only through streams. 📰 Title: Sweet Who Smashed Martial Artist OP - Recent Status.jpg (Screenshot of bashing a Dark Wolf's head with a staff) The guy who was hunting fine with Energy Bolt suddenly "Director must carry a sword for a reason." Starts babbling nonsense then goes melee with staff Recommendations 666 | Dislikes 13 💬 Comments [497] — Anon Mage boomers coughing up blood lololol — Anon ↳ Reply (Try it yourselves con) Sweet? First time seeing this guy, hilarious It's like subtle madness incarnate — Anon Low Attack Power and it still works? — Anon ↳ Reply Dark Wolf head takes 10 hits then dies Real people die from 10 concussion blows too ↳ Reply (This has always been weak con) 📰 Title: Live) Sweet's Staff Durability Hits Zero, Shattered (Screenshot of staff snapped in half) (Screenshot of Sweet bawling) This crazy bastard lololol Recommendations 591 | Dislikes 10 💬 Comments [362] — Anon Raven in the back looking at him pitifully — Anon ↳ Reply That's the funniest part lololol For real, killer vibe — Anon Would've been OP if he picked Martial Artist — Anon Martial boomer approval ㄷㄷ ↳ Reply Talent's on that side yeah 📰 Title: Sweet Discovers World's First Hidden Piece ㄷㄷ While hunting with broken staff as dual-wield, (Brutal Slaughter achievement screenshot) First in Akare to unlock achievement ㄷㄷ Condition: Hunt 10 monsters as mage using only physical damage Reward: +1 Attack Power lololol (Screenshot of Sweet howling in joy) Super hyped lololol Recommendations 485 | Dislikes 6 💬 Comments [294] ⭐ Top Comment — Anon Officially certified thick-headed lololol — Anon "Sweet, you'd fit Martial Artist better than mage" — Anon Martial Artist can do that too — Anon Then feed him to full-warrior — Anon This game has achievements? — Anon First I knew too — Anon Everyone here new to it ffs — Anon What the hell was Daehyeop doing for a week Sweet was in a serious bind right now.
His starter weapon, the wooden staff, had broken.
Losing the stat bonuses it provided.
"Guys, what do I do?"
💬 Chat — Viewer Why ask us You're the player We're all game-nonners lol You got achievement, cheers Mage normalization Sweet was currently level 9.
He'd skipped all main story, and aside from the Black Illusion Rabbit, no monsters posed a real threat.
Fighting alongside his companion NPC Raven made it manageable.
"Wanna hit level 10 before the capital."
But Raven didn't look great.
Numerous wounds from battles, and she seemed exhausted.
"Sweet."
"You called?"
Sweet eyed her cautiously at her summons.
If he hadn't been such a trash mage who broke his staff...
They'd have reached the capital in fine shape for sure.
Raven stabbing him with her sword right here wouldn't be surprising.
💬 Chat — Viewer Gasp Scary Raven pissed af "Is there a problem with your magic use?"
"Uh, yeah. Staff broke..."
Sweet answered Raven's question honestly.
"I'm no expert on magic, but I know all mages use a 'medium' for their spells."
Sweet listened silently, feeling like a criminal.
"A mage's medium can be anything. Swinging motions that aid spellcasting like with a staff, or chanting unique incantations. Things like that."
In other words, he could use Energy Bolt without the wooden staff.
"Chanting, huh..."
Sweet recalled the records from the Hall of Heroes.
Did he really have to say it out loud?
He hesitated, but had no choice.
Without change, he'd just be dead weight.
He extended his arm, palm forward, took a deep breath...
"...Pierce through, Energy Bolt."
...He chanted, but nothing happened.
💬 Chat — Viewer Raven: Speedy con retard lol lolololol So embarrassing Brutal Slaughter legend fr "Doesn't work."
Sweet shot Raven a resentful look.
Raven let out a small laugh, then made an offer.
"Before camping, care to chat? I have a story for you."
📜 MAIN STORY 📜 [Conversation]
[Skip Camp]
Sweet pondered the system message in front of him.
Choosing conversation risked encountering the Black Illusion Rabbit.
Daehyeop Kim had picked it and had to fight the rabbit.
But skipping camp meant missing Raven's story, which intrigued him.
'I'd skipped it before after watching Daehyeop's stream.'
It seemed related to 'magic'.
After brief hesitation, Sweet decided.
📜 MAIN STORY PROGRESS 📜 [Moving to Conversation] Fwoosh-!
The campfire lit up.
Sweet sat on the fallen log Raven had brought.
Raven sat a short distance away on another log, comfortably.
"Do you know who the greatest hero in history was?"
"Hero Aurora."
Raven's eyes widened, surprised he knew the answer.
"You do. Then do you know her mentor?"
"No, not that far."
Raven smiled, satisfied with his reply.
She seemed to enjoy sharing knowledge others didn't know.
"Aurora's mentor was Occult, the great mage who first spread 'magic' across the world."
There was a time when magic was treated as mystery, not scholarship.
Back then, it was called 'magido', and Occult was a battle magido user of that era.
Once age caught up and he stepped back from the front lines...
Occult began unraveling the questions he'd harbored inside.
Was magido a mystery untouchable by mere mortals?
Just an existing mystery without laws?
Occult already knew intuitively.
Magido had laws, and knowing them let ordinary folk wield it.
Not because Occult was a genius.
Over centuries, elites had monopolized it via info control and history distortion, reserving it for the 'chosen'.
Many had uncovered this hidden truth before.
But all died. Or were doomed to. Silenced from spreading it.
Thus, most who learned it chose silence.
Or climbed to elite ranks for the perks.
"A monopoly by elites spanning centuries. Occult shattered it single-handedly."
The day Occult exterminated the world's corrupt elites and spread 'magic'...
History recorded it as the 'Day of Liberation' by the great mage's hand.
"And Occult took the hero Aurora as his disciple."
💬 Chat — Viewer Main story more fun than expected Sweety don't sleep This guy's asleep? — Viewer Nah half-lidded eyes This dude does it every main story "Simple reason I wanted to tell you this. Even the mighty Aurora struggled with magic at first. One day, Aurora, desperate to master it, asked Occult:"
Master, I can't use magic without a staff.
How can I cast without one?
"Sounds like your situation. Aurora broke her staff during practice back then too."
💬 Chat — Viewer Staff-breaking is mage average Director did Brutal Slaughter too Look at her eyes widen Found one of her own lololol Mages really chaotic on average "Occult answered her like this."
Aurora. Why do you say you can't use magic?
Aurora. When you cast through the staff, what did you feel?
...My body's mana extending through the staff into the world, like that.
"Occult smiled happily at her answer. Then said:"
You already know the answer to your question.
The way to cast magic without a staff is already...
"...inside you."
Gulp-
Sweet's swallow echoed starkly.
"These five words enlightened countless mages, freeing them from staff dependency to reach the next realm."
Raven added wood to the fire as she continued.
"Mages need a medium to wield magic. Once limited to staves. Not anymore. Chants, breaths, motions, imagination. Anything can be a medium."
But the most common was chanting.
"Nothing as intuitive as chanting."
Mages communed with the world.
Paying mana to summon corresponding magic.
All magic belonged to the world originally.
"So your chant itself isn't wrong, Sweet."
The problem and its answer are within you too.
At Raven's follow-up, Sweet opened his skill window.
[Energy Bolt] - Mage's basic spell. Consumes set mana on use. - Requires a medium. "..."
Unlike Martial Artist, the mage's basic attack was a skill.
So he had it without awakening.
But it needed a medium.
'Inside me?'
Even after Raven's tale, it didn't click.
First time using Energy Bolt.
Every hunt after.
He'd felt nothing.
'Body's mana extending through staff to world—what's that even mean.'
What Sweet felt using magic was one thing.
The hand tremors from his lifelong essential tremor.
Periodic shaking was daily life for him.
"Dodge!"
Lost in thought, Sweet turned at Raven's shout.
"Huh...?"
Right in his face. Less than a handspan away.
A black rabbit lunged, mouth wide to swallow his head whole.
Too slow to react, Sweet closed his eyes, not wanting to see death coming.
"Get it together..."
"...Raven."
When he opened them, the scene was brutal.
In the retreating black rabbit's jaws: a bloodied arm.
Why... is the arm there?
No way, no.
He'd seen the truth, but denied it.
Looked down at his own arms.
No pain. Both arms intact.
What he'd seen wasn't illusion.
⚔ BOSS DETECTED ⚔ Black Illusion Rabbit Lv.10 A swordswoman minus one arm.
A mage unable to cast.
The Black Illusion Rabbit grinned demonically at them.
⚔ BATTLE START ⚔ [Entered combat with field boss 'Black Illusion Rabbit' of Darkness-Devouring Forest.] The boss fight began.