I'm Actually That Kind of Genius Mage (2)

Among everything recorded in the status window, there was nothing else that caught my eye.

'No, hold on. I don't really understand this stuff, but... no matter how I look at it, isn't this a golden-spoon start?'

Honestly, I didn't know—and couldn't know—just how good this was. Even so, things like health and mana existed on the status screen as part of the game system. Which meant that mana, no less than health, served as the cost for skills, and therefore carried enormous weight.

But—.

'Every 20 levels, my mana pool permanently increases by 50% and stacks... a permanent increase, stacking on itself at every single interval, compounding like interest?'

If what was written in the status window was true, this was anything but ordinary. If my mana pool grew by half, permanently and compounding, with every 20 levels or so... I couldn't even begin to imagine how vast it would become. A compounding rate of return bordering on miracle—or no, I caught myself, wasn't this just a mana growth stat?

'Ah. And there's one more thing, isn't there? The part about being able to learn any skill related to magic or spells, without limit...'

Even at a glance, this "Great Witch" looked like a premium-tier personal trait made for a mage character.

"Ah. Wait, don't tell me the reason I ended up in this body was... 'fixed as the body of a woman of a specific age'—it was because of th—at...?"

Ah. So that was why it had felt like nothing but good things were being handed out for no reason—this body was the balance patch? Maybe someone who dreamed of becoming a pretty, cute girl would be thrilled, but I couldn't exactly welcome it.

'...Let's not think about this. Thinking about it would only leave me feeling cheated, anyway.'

I felt my inner rage gauge quietly filling up, but having already been brought to a place like this, I wasn't in any position to get angry.

'Anyway, holding a trait like this from the start means I'm clearly not the type to brute-force things with my body, huh?'

Well. Becoming a front-line dealer or a tank—this body couldn't even entertain the thought. Sure enough, when I opened the status window, something gave me a rough sense of where I stood.

"It definitely did feel like an RPG... so there are mage types too, huh—."

Ah—. I think I get it now. I'd been wondering why there were staffs and antique-looking leather books mixed in among the weapons arranged here and there... so this was it.

'Mage-exclusive starting items, that's what these are. Okay, crystal clear.'

In other words, I just had to pick whichever staff or leather book I liked and take it with me. I gave a quick clap, then darted off—da-da-da!—rushing back and forth between the staffs and the leather books, comparing them at speed.

Riiing—.

When I fixed my gaze on an item, a system window popped up—and thanks to that, comparing their performance was no trouble at all.

'It fits in one hand, looks easy to carry, and among wand-type items it seems to be the best of the lot?'

Okay. Next up... this one.

Its spell power wasn't especially high, but its mana regeneration, mana circulation...? and mana manipulation modifier were all on the high side. Compared to the small one-handed wand it fell short, but its merit... could be said to lie in its 'special ability.'

Hmm. Looking at it one more time, it wiped away my hesitation all over again.

Right now, the wand did have the higher stat in spell power—the most intuitive equipment stat there was—but with this... wasn't the answer already decided?

'Being able to learn common mage knowledge is nice and all, but if there's something worth acquiring even more than that... it's "Ashfire Magic," isn't it.'

The "Great Witch" removed every limit on acquiring skills related to magic or spells.

Which meant? If I took the Grimoire of the Frail Ashfire with me... then, magic-wise, I stood a very good chance of learning Ashfire Magic literally for free, without lifting a finger.

'See? I told you I've got a good head on my shoulders! What a flawless plan!'

Duh, obviously. No matter how I turned it over, there couldn't be a better move than this.

With my resolve firm, I reached out and picked up the gray leather book resting on what looked like a small lectern.

There we go. Grimoire, you're mine now...!

My vision flooded black, and the scenery around me transformed once again.

A massive village filled my view, asserting its presence. Brick houses in a medieval style, chimneys included, stretched in rows—though no smoke rose from any of them. Along the gentle slope, neatly kept streets and lampposts holding candles came into sight.

Overall, rather than a gloomy mood, the lampposts—together with some unidentified source of light—bathed the entire village in a mystical glow.

Contrary to my expectations, while I was startled by the seemingly safe scenery, a system message window appeared before my eyes.

'!'

I didn't let the chance slip by, quickly reading through the whole thing as though committing it to memory. Then I put real effort into chewing over every line until I understood it all. It didn't look like much, but you could never be too careful.

But—.

"Huh. So this really is about a safe zone...?"

There was nothing to worry about, not a thing. Inside this ⟨Floor 0. Common Residential Zone, Village of Parting⟩, classified as a common residential area, combat between players was forbidden. Physical contact was the same—so even with other people around, there was no danger to speak of.

"Oh my."

Hold on. If that was the case... there had never been any reason to be wary of people in the first place... and the tension drained right out of me.

Ugh, jeez—. If it was going to be like this, they should have said so up front—why put on such a fuss and just mutter away for nothing?

"Ughhh—this is so annoying, seriously—! Grrragh!"

The thought that I'd struggled for nothing made my body tremble on its own, but only for a moment.

"Haaah."

Well. Fine, let's say that's how it is... either way, with my safety now secured, I needed to gather information.

"Come to think of it, there was a community... some place where adventurers could talk to each other, wasn't there?"

That definitely didn't sound bad. Maybe I'd sneak a look at what other people were discussing in the community, then try posting a question or two?

Having thought of it, I put it into action at once. I opened my mouth, summoned the community feature... and a familiar format appeared.

Huh—wait, this "community"... it really does feel exactly like an internet forum? I could get used to this.

'Let's see. The Mage Minor Gallery...? Maybe I'll check this one out?'

I casually browsed through the various community boards, then tapped on the Mage Minor Gallery.

And then.

"Uh—whaaat?"

An invite code? There was a thing like that? While I stood there dumbfounded, another system window popped up.

"......."

Wow, this community feature is pretty strict, huh? Okay. Got it, got it... I could just go somewhere else, right?

Tch, what kind of nonsense is this. I squinted and turned to the official galleries, but it was much the same there.

Beeeep—.

"Ah."

What? No—have you ever seen such an outrageous thing in your life...?

Heat shot through me for an instant, but in the end I was unilaterally shown the door and had to shuffle from community to community.

But apparently they had no intention of taking in newbies—even the most trivial access requirements came with level caps.

'Good heavens, what kind of rule is that...!'

No, seriously—having to smash through level restrictions just because I wanted to browse a forum, wasn't that a bit too cruel?

"Ah. Should I just give up?"

That sigh didn't last long either. Still, on the thought of giving one last place a random poke, I wandered around... and the right one turned up.

"!"

That's right. There was exactly one place I could go.

"...The intro is a little strange, but if this is somewhere I can get into, it can't be bad, right?"

Since I, too, was a Hell Difficulty player, this was a place I could access.

Thump—.

Just like that, I sat down on one of the benches near the village and entered the Hell Difficulty Minor Gallery.

"!"

Unexpectedly, the Hell Difficulty Minor Gallery seemed to be full of players at a staggering level.

'I don't know what any of it means, but apparently nobody here was dragged in as recently as a day ago...?'

Hmmm. So that would make me the greenest newbie of all, then? I had a rough idea. I wondered whether there might be a notice showing some consideration for newbies, but nothing of the sort seemed to exist... and was there really any reason to deliberate at length?

'Ugh. Whatever, I'll just ask for information straight up.'

Mm. First, I needed to find out what entering the Tower of Ascension on Hell Difficulty actually meant. And I intended to ask, among other things, whether the mana pool listed in my status window counted as good.

'Oh? What's this—I can even screenshot system windows?'

Clackety-clack, tap-tap—.

Using the community feature's keyboard, I immediately wrote up a post.

I had screenshotted a portion of the status window and attached it.

There, done! Now I could just wander around the common residential zone, take stock of the situation, and check back once the comments rolled in.

'I've burned a lot of time getting this far. Better get moving...'

That was when it happened.

Riiing, riiing, riiing───.

"?"

Suddenly, before I could even close the community feature, notification windows began popping up in a wild frenzy.

'What?'

It had only been two or three minutes since I posted... something was off? Tilting my head, I cleared away the notification messages and dove straight into the post. And I saw it.

"?"

Riiing, riiing, riiing—.

The comment section was going berserk, the replies multiplying without pause.

Whoosh—.

Blinking at the sight, I tilted my head and tapped the comment window—that was the moment.

Tick.

"......."

All of the several dozen comments, every last one of them, brimmed with sheer disbelief—and all I had done was screenshot the mana field of my status window and attach it to the post. Thanks to that, I got the picture.

'Me. It seems I'm... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some kind of monstrous talent freak, huh...?'