The Empty Vessel
Ever since I awakened as a Climber and first discovered the Arcana Market, I had harbored a dream.
Someday, I’m gonna rake in a mountain of mana stones and live large like a king.
Surely one and a half billion won was enough to throw my weight around, wasn't it? That was a staggering thirty thousand mana stones!
So, I decided to go for it.
VIP member entering.
“Bow down to your customer!”
I strutted inside, practically bursting with anticipation.
⟨......⟩
Tsk. Not even a twitch of a reaction. That golem was truly heartless. He had to have heard me, yet he didn't even bother turning his head.
“Ahem... Excuse me? Mr. Cassius? I said a paying customer is here.”
⟨I am aware. You are remarkably boisterous today.⟩
See? He had been listening the whole time. It was impossible to miss anyway, considering the entrance chime practically broadcasted my arrival to the entire dimension.
⟨Judging by your high spirits, you must have reaped a handsome harvest. Did you finally bring me a heap of medium mana stones?⟩
“Uh...” Well, not quite medium mana stones. They were still low-grade. “I brought a huge haul, though! A whole thirty thousand mana stones!”
⟨Hmph... Thirty thousand low-grade stones amounts to roughly thirty medium ones in value. For someone of your station, it is commendable, but hardly enough to strut about like a magnate, wouldn't you say?⟩
Well... he had a point. This was the Arcana Market, after all. Thirty thousand wasn't quite enough to act like an untouchable VIP overlord. Still, couldn't a guy enjoy a little excitement?
“There is truth to his pride,” Merlin chuckled. “Even Transcendents like us had our green, tender days. It is rather pleasant to witness such youthful vigor.”
As expected of Senior Merlin! The man had taste. He was on a completely different level from a certain surly golem. Now that was the dignity of a true Transcendent.
⟨Lord Merlin, there is no need to indulge his antics so thoroughly.⟩
“Haha... It simply stirs up old memories, that is all.”
Naturally. Even the great Merlin must have been a scrub once upon a time.
⟨Very well. Let us put the pleasantries aside and attend to business. What have you come to purchase this time?⟩
“Getting straight to the point. I like it.” Simple and concise—music to my ears. “I'd like to pick up some elixirs again, just like last time.”
⟨Elixirs... Thirty thousand low-grade mana stones. Hmm. With capital of that scale, you could savor a single cup of something truly respectable, such as the Imperial Secret Brew of the Dwarves. What say you? Shall I fetch it?⟩
Dwarven Imperial Secret Brew? It sounded like liquor. The name alone oozed prestige, but...
“Wait... are you saying that stuff is thirty thousand mana stones for a single cup?”
⟨What? Preposterous. Of course not. Its standard retail price is sixty thousand. I meant thirty thousand at your discounted rate.⟩
Crazy bastard... I mean, sure, I'd heard of dwarves before—short, stocky little craftsmen. But what the hell kind of nectar were their royals chugging to justify that price?
⟨Shall I bring it or not? Speak quickly.⟩
“Uh... maybe not that.”
An elixir with an original price tag of sixty thousand mana stones would undoubtedly have mind-blowing effects, but buying that would derail my entire plan. I had entered the shop today with a very specific, deliberate objective.
“Rather than that, I'd appreciate it if you could show me some cheaper, lower-grade elixirs like last time.”
⟨Again?! Why? You managed to scrape together a respectable amount of stones for once, did you not?⟩
“Yes, but after looking over my stats, I figured it would be best to use budget elixirs for one final round of stat-padding.”
I had walked in here with my mind completely made up. What was my goal this time? In layman's terms: laying the foundation.
My current attributes hovered somewhere between C and E across the board. My plan was to drag every single one of them up past C-rank. If possible, I wouldn't mind pushing toward B-rank, but... That's probably asking for too much.
Even I knew that much. Stats weren't supposed to climb so easily. If they did, S-rank Awakeners would be a dime a dozen, tumbling out of every street corner. What was it that post on the hunter forum said again?
Oh, by the way: no matter how many lowest-grade elixirs you force down your throat, you can't raise a stat more than one tier past its base rank.
To push it any higher, you have to chug mid- and high-grade elixirs like water, but...
Even if you drowned yourself in elixirs scavenged from towers and dungeons, the absolute best you could hope for was a modest bump from F to E, or E to D.
And astonishingly, that limit applied only to low-ranked Awakeners. For anyone at C-rank or above, the accepted consensus was that budget elixirs wouldn't budge your stats an inch. Even if some third- or fourth-generation conglomerate heir guzzled top-tier elixirs like tap water, diminishing returns made further growth nearly impossible.
But for me? I actually can raise them.
⟨Haha... Very well. I wouldn't personally recommend such a roundabout approach, but if that is what you wish... Wait here a moment. I shall fetch what we have.⟩
Just like that. All I had to do was ask Mr. Cassius, the diamond golem, and he’d dig them out from the back. The price? Thirty thousand mana stones. A mere 1.5 billion won.
“Hmm...”
Calling 1.5 billion won 'mere'... Was I losing my grip on reality? The place I currently lived was a monthly rental—five million won deposit, six hundred thousand in rent. One and a half billion could buy that entire building outright, with plenty of change to spare.
“Young man,” Merlin suddenly intervened. “This time, exclude any elixirs related to magical power.”
Huh? Senior Merlin? Out of nowhere?
“Um... but magical power is what I'm lacking the most right now...”
◈ Physical Aptitude: C
◈ Magic Aptitude: D
◈ Energy Assimilation Rate: E
◈ Combat Potential: C
◈ Mana Capacity: C
Just look at that. Magic aptitude was D, and energy assimilation was a dismal E. My magic-related stats were a complete mess compared to the rest.
“Shouldn't I raise those first to balance things out?”
“Place your trust in me,” Merlin said smoothly. “I have no intention of mishandling my guinea pig. Ah, pardon—my research subject.”
Wait, what? Did you just say guinea pig?
“The fifth floor you are about to challenge is a realm designed to sate that magical deficiency,” Merlin continued. “If my deductions are correct, an entirely pristine, empty vessel—such as yours is now—will reap vastly superior efficiency.”
“Aha...” I had no idea how it worked, but I got the gist. “So it's the same principle as before? Going in as a blank slate yields better results?”
“Precisely! Spot on! My boy, your comprehension is sharper than I gave you credit for.”
Did this Transcendent take me for an idiot or something? Still, if the fifth floor was really that kind of place...
“That sounds like an absolute steal.”
“Haha, indeed. So, why not use the elixirs to bolster your other foundations instead?”
When a senior of his stature gave advice, you listened. Especially when that senior was Merlin—a man historically obsessed with magic. If someone like him told me to set magic aside for now, following his lead was a no-brainer.
“Mr. Cassius, in that case, leave out the magic elixirs and give me everything that enhances physical and general capabilities. Nothing expensive, obviously—just a wide assortment of cheap ones.”
⟨I have retrieved them. Select what fits your budget.⟩
Now that's our elite market manager, Mr. Cassius! Always reliable.
“Thanks. Let me take a look.”
⟨You have ingested enough of these by now that your judgment has sharpened. It seems you can pick out what you need on your own.⟩
I couldn't deny that. Glancing over the dust-coated elixirs spread out before me, I could tell at a glance what would serve me best right now.
Pill Made from a Stonehide Harpy's Heart.
Moonlight Grass Dew.
Ogre Tendon Decoction.
Purified Cyclops Tear.
Handful of Ancient Spirit Soil.
Powdered Fragment of the Sun.
Tossing in those along with four others to make ten elixirs in total, the counter ticked down:
Every single stone was spent, leaving only pocket change. Ah, I'll use those four hundred later to pick up a cheap skill or something.
Of course, swallowing the concoctions came first.
Gulp, gulp.
Downing one and a half billion won worth of elixirs without a second thought, the system chimed in rapid succession.
◈ Consumed the elixir: Pill Made from a Stonehide Harpy's Heart.
◈ Physical Aptitude has increased!
Physical Aptitude: C → B
◈ Additional Effect: Granted the trait Iron Skin, reducing incoming damage by a fixed value.
◈ Consumed the elixir: Moonlight Grass Dew.
◈ Combat Potential has increased!
Combat Potential: C → B
◈ Additional Effect: Five senses are heightened and movement speed slightly increases in dark environments.
“Wait... what?”
Didn't people say climbing past C-rank was practically impossible? Yet here it was, shooting straight up. Instantaneously, at that.
“This is insane.”
Now this was what I called stat-padding! This was what an interdimensional market was supposed to be! I could see the path clearly now. Merlin said my magic-related stats would surge on the next floor, so once I kept climbing... S-rank dungeons might actually become a breeze.
Hmm, I wonder if an unclaimed S-rank dungeon will pop up somewhere nearby?
No, focus. First things first.
“Senior! I'm ready to tackle the fifth floor. Could you brief me on what to expect?”
Objective: Fill your vessel to the brim with 'Origin Mana.'
※ Failure condition: Inability to control the flow of mana, or triggering a mana rampage.
Time Limit: 10 hours
Senior Merlin had told me that the fifth floor of the Tower of Transcendence would feel similar to the earlier trials, yet fundamentally distinct.
“Yeah... I see what he meant.”
It shared that same profound, serene stillness that permeated the lower floors. The singular difference was the small spring burbling quietly in the center of the chamber.
That was the Origin Mana he spoke of. Drinking it was supposed to saturate the entire body with Origin Mana, akin to imbibing a divine elixir.
Normally, Transcendents drank from this spring to convert whatever mana they had previously accumulated into pure Origin Mana, refining its purity and boosting their power. However...
‘Do not drink it,’ Merlin had warned.
Why?
‘Submerge yourself in the spring of origin as though taking a bath, and remain there. Surrender your flesh to its currents, and a transformation will unfold.’
In exchange, he had instructed me to memorize every minute sensation and change that occurred throughout the process. Well, that wasn't particularly difficult. It wasn't like he asked me to slaughter a horde of monsters. Just taking a nice, warm bath and observing how my body reacted? Piece of cake.
Splash.
“Hmm...”
How should I describe this? A silky, velvety sensation wrapped around my skin, but beyond that, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Would things change if I waited a bit?
The fifth floor of the Tower of Transcendence.
Senior Merlin had promised that submerging myself would reveal some kind of profound shift.
“Well... what now?”
A shift? I still had no clue. On the fourth floor, the sensation had been unmistakable. It was a literal tempering process. But here on the fifth? It felt like... chilling in a hot spring. Relaxing and pleasant, certainly, but I couldn't feel any grand philosophical awakening.
Well, aside from the obvious system alerts, that is.
Magic Aptitude has increased dramatically!
Magic Aptitude: D → C
Energy Assimilation Rate has increased dramatically!
Energy Assimilation Rate: E → C
Just like that, all my mana-related parameters shot through the roof, landing comfortably between C and B.
Hmm. I felt a little guilty toward Senior Merlin, but my time was almost up.
“Well, time's running out, so it can't be helped...”
How to finish the trial? Simple.
Gulp.
I scooped up a mouthful of water and swallowed it down, just as other Transcendents did.
You have attained the fifth enlightenment regarding the essence of power.
— You comprehend the principle of the vessel: that it holds greater capacity precisely because it is empty.
Growth speed for magical power and related abilities has increased.
Yes! I knew it! And then?
A new journal entry has been added to the Climber's Notebook.
[Tower of Transcendence 5F — 'Spring of Mana']
◈ You are now able to partially utilize the Authority, 'Spring of Mana.'
“That's what I'm talking about!”
I had a sneaking suspicion the Climber's Notebook would trigger again. Another massive haul from the fifth floor. Thank you kindly, Tower of Transcendence.
Tower of Transcendence — 5th Floor
Huh? Wait. There was more?
Don't tell me...
You may select a new skill.
Holy shit. It actually popped up. A brand-new skill.