Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Mental Strength (3)
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Day 2.
I scraped out the part of the incense stick that had burned to ash inside the holder.
Then I lit a new stick and ignited the incense.
Puff—
Oil soaks into the stick, and as the flame catches, pure white smoke begins filling the room.
That's when the whispering hallucinations start in both ears.
- Aren't you hungry? Wanna bite your wrist?
- Humans are meant to have just one eye. You gotta pluck out the right one. Want me to help?
Voices that aren't human whisper into my ears.
After enduring the urge to self-harm for 18 hours, my mind was gradually clearing up.
Even so, by day 2, it was manageable.
"......"
The bed was soaked in blood.
I'd thought I'd endured it, but I'd unconsciously clawed at both my arms.
Fortunately, my soulstone had healed me, so all the wounds were gone.
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
[You maintained your sanity amid horrific agony.]
—Your Willpower increases by 20.
『Willpower』
—170
"…Hoo."
Confirming the Willpower gain, I pulled the second rune from my inventory.
My body wasn't fully recovered, but this was all to learn magic anyway.
I pressed the rune to my heart immediately.
『3rd Circle: Destructive Ray』
【Grade: Legendary】
—Fires a condensed beam of light forward. Decomposes everything it touches.
One more 3rd Circle magic had awakened.
Destructive Ray was incredibly powerful, but it had one major drawback.
It consumed all my mana in a single burst.
The reason mages always struggled with mana shortages was tied to recovery items.
Mana recovery runes cost a fortune in gold, or you could get them via cash gacha pulls.
But they didn't restore enough to justify the expense.
That said, it wasn't a big issue for me anymore.
With my ability to pull infinite mana recovery runes, burning through all my mana was no penalty at all.
Next, I pulled another Magic Awakening Rune from the 3rd Circle shop gacha.
『3rd Circle: Mana Body』
【Grade: Legendary】
—Mana infuses the body, boosting strength and vitality proportional to remaining mana.
3rd Circle legendary magic: Mana Body.
Commonly known as a mana physique.
It scaled strength and vitality with mana reserves, and crucially, it had no real drawbacks.
It wasn't a mechanism that burned mana to enhance the body.
Instead, the mana already infused in the body amplified strength and vitality based on remaining reserves.
The downside was obvious, though.
The moment mana was spent, remaining reserves dropped, and so did strength and vitality in an instant.
To fully leverage Mana Body, I had to keep my mana topped off at all times.
Still… I was pretty free with mana recovery.
No big penalty for me here either.
"Now, what's left is…"
I opened the menu I'd put off before.
『Constellation Records』
—Constellation Plate required.
【One Pull】
—5,500 won
To record constellations, I first needed to pull a Constellation Plate.
Once I had the plate, I had to engrave stars onto it.
Engraving stars wasn't free either.
I started by pulling a Constellation Plate.
【Plate of the Shadow Stepper Constellation】
"Don't need this one."
There were four types of Constellation Plates in total.
Each corresponded to strength, agility, vitality, or mana.
Since engraving constellations was probabilistic, I needed a lot of plates.
【Purchase 10,000?】
—55,000,000 won charged
I bought about 10,000 to start.
Then I mashed the pull button and cleared them all out.
【Iron Giant Constellation Plate x2,516】
【Truth Enlightener Constellation Plate x2,484】
【Unquenchable Life Constellation Plate x2,421】
【Shadow Stepper Constellation Plate x2,579】
"Hoo."
The expected number to complete a set was around 2,000 plates.
This should be plenty.
Next up… engraving stars onto the plates.
I set aside the Truth Enlightener Constellation Plates—the mana-related ones—and discarded the rest.
【Truth Enlightener Constellation Plate (0 / 4)】
—Mana +5
—Mana Capacity +50
—Engrave constellation?
『Success Rate: 18%』
Each plate had four slots.
One chance per slot, and to complete it, all four had to succeed.
I needed to hit 18% four times in a row.
Fail once, and it was on to the next plate.
I only wanted plates with all four slots lit.
"Hoo."
I pressed the button for the first engraving attempt.
『Failure』
The first plate failed right away. Shame.
I scrapped it, pulled the next, and tried again.
『Failure』
『Failure』
『Failure』
With a success rate under 20%, four straight fails were no surprise.
Then.
Swoosh—
『Success!』
Finally, a star engraved.
【Truth Enlightener Constellation Plate (1 / 4)】
—Mana +10
—Mana Capacity +100
"Hm."
Riding the momentum, I kept engraving.
『Failure』
"Ah."
Too bad—the first success was it, and failures marched on.
『Failure』
『Failure』
『Failure』
『Success!』
『Success!』
『Failure』
I kept my fingers moving without rest.
It'll happen eventually.
---
(4 / 4)
—Mana +100
—Mana Capacity +1,000
『Enlightened Truth』
—All spell cast times reduced.
—Spell Amplification +20%
—『Clairvoyance』 usable
【Clairvoyance】
—Opens the third eye of enlightenment. Pierces through false forms.
"Hoo."
I gazed proudly at the completed Constellation Plate.
Staying up all night engraving had paid off.
I registered it immediately.
【Register】
—Constellation engraved onto your body.
Humm—
Mana and mana capacity surged, making my body feel a bit lighter.
Thanks to the newly acquired Mana Body, the mana boost had also increased my strength and vitality.
I closed my eyes and willed the third eye to open in my mind.
And then.
"Oh."
Even with both eyes shut, my vision was crystal clear.
Nothing off about it, so I released Clairvoyance.
It pierced falsehoods, but it handled normal vision perfectly too.
Beyond that, it'd be handy in dark terrain.
"Now… what to do."
Magic was all learned.
Constellation complete too, so I could hunt.
"But since I'm at it, might as well finish this."
I glanced at the incense by the bed.
Only day 2, so plenty left.
Still, it was getting hard to endure, which made me hesitate.
"Gotta do it someday…"
I pondered.
Pain I had to face eventually, and similar experiences awaited in the dungeon.
But… if it hit in the dungeon, I'd writhe in agony and get killed.
"Really hate this."
I steeled myself.
I'd already endured two days.
What could be worse?
I lit the incense.
---
Day 3.
Today, I scraped the burned part from the incense bowl and lit a fresh stick.
A hazy fog presses down on my eyelids.
I want to drift off, but sharp pain like something stabbing spreads through my arms.
Startled, I check my arms—no wounds anywhere.
Phantom pain this time.
As I try to sleep again, something stabs.
Pain only hits when I try to sleep, so I force my eyes wide open.
Puff—
The incense's pure white smoke gently weighs on my eyelids.
Sleep desire floods my mind.
Stab—
Something sharp pierces my thigh.
I jolt and check—no wound.
…I'd unconsciously closed my eyes.
Like that, for 26 hours.
I endured every agony without a wink of sleep.
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
[You maintained your sanity amid horrific agony.]
—Your Willpower increases by 15.
『Willpower』
—185
---
Day 4.
I lit the incense.
I'd grown accustomed to the pain now.
I stared quietly at the incense billowing pure white smoke.
Felt like I couldn't do without it.
12 hours.
I gazed at the slowly burning incense.
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
[Horrific agony assaults your mind.]
—Your Willpower increases by 10.
『Willpower』
—195
---
Day 5.
I lit the incense.
Pure white smoke rose.
I breathed it deep into my chest.
Snuuuurf. Haaa.
It burned for 8 hours.
"Ah."
The incense went out.
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
[Your mind resists horrific agony.]
—Your Willpower increases by 5.
『Willpower』
—200
---
"Hoo."
I opened my eyes.
Felt like a refreshing sleep after so long.
All thanks to this incense.
I tapped the empty incense bowl beside me.
Base Willpower of 100, plus 100 more from mental agony—total 200 now.
Mental pain capped at +100 Willpower, so I was maxed.
But incense ingredients were running low.
Gotta keep burning it daily.
First, I checked my status.
『Rain Astria』
—Direct descendant of a fallen magic family
—Level 40
【Status】
—Mental Delirium
—Cognitive Impairment
"Hm."
As expected, waking from good sleep improved my condition.
The trait kept sending healing messages, affirming my recovery.
People really need rest.
"Guess I'll buy more."
I left the inn.
Needed more incense.
Right now, I need more incense.
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
[Trait: Pulsing Life heals status abnormalities.]
…