Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: Ability Condition Change Ticket
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Late at night.
Returning to the dorm a bit late, I sat on the sofa and checked the [Ability Condition Change Ticket].
"Hmm... I wonder how far I can change it."
I doubted I could completely reshape an ability's conditions to my liking.
The [Ability Condition Change Ticket] was just a ticket for altering an ability's conditions,
not for creating a brand-new trait.
Still, I needed to test the extent of those conditions.
Using it to check changes wouldn't consume the ticket anyway.
[Would you like to use the 'Ability Condition Change Ticket???)?]
Yes.
[Please select the ability whose conditions you wish to change.]
[Condition changes vary in efficiency based on the ability's 'rank.']
Pondering what to pick, I chose the trickiest one: 'Instant Acceleration.'
It was the most intuitive among my traits.
[Instant Acceleration (B)]
Uses mana to accelerate instantly for 2 seconds.
*Cooldown: 3 minutes
[You have selected 'Instant Acceleration (B).']
[You can change the conditions of 'Instant Acceleration (B).' The changeable condition is 'Cooldown: 3 minutes.']
The constraint on Instant Acceleration was its 3-minute cooldown.
Three minutes wasn't that long, but the short duration left me wanting more at times.
What if I shortened it to 5 seconds?
[Cooldown: 3 minutes -> 5 seconds]
[Confirming the trait with the changed condition.]
[Instant Acceleration (B)]
Uses mana to accelerate instantly for 0.06 seconds.
*Cooldown: 5 seconds
Staring at the updated Instant Acceleration effect, I was dumbfounded.
"...0.06 seconds? Are you kidding me?"
I canceled it immediately.
What kind of garbage was this?
Even with a 5-second cooldown, a 0.06-second duration was utterly pointless.
It would end the moment I activated it.
"It depends on how you use it, I guess."
The message had said the ability changes based on the conditions, so this was somewhat expected.
But seeing it for real was disappointing.
"Hmm..."
What if I drastically increased the cooldown instead?
I shook my head at the thought.
Lengthening the cooldown would likely make the mana cost unsustainable.
Even 2 seconds guzzled an enormous amount of mana.
Yeah, scratch that.
Next experiment.
What happens if I impose a completely new condition?
[Cooldown: 3 minutes -> Activates on nights with a full moon]
I tried changing it on a whim.
I'd just seen the 'Moon's Blessing' trait recently, so I gave it a shot.
Would it work?
[The specified condition has no relevance to 'Instant Acceleration' and cannot be changed.]
"...No dice."
It seemed I couldn't add new constraints without some connection to the ability.
It meant sticking to the core concept of the existing ability.
"Hmm."
Thinking about it, that made sense.
If I could change 'Moon's Blessing' to activate during the day, that would be ridiculous too.
How about this?
[Cooldown: 3 minutes -> Activates during full sprint]
Activates during full sprint.
That should have some relevance, right?
I watched the message eagerly.
[Relevance between the condition and 'Instant Acceleration' has been found.]
"Huh? It worked?"
[Confirming the trait with the changed condition.]
[Instant Acceleration (B)]
During full sprint, consumes mana to gain 60% additional speed.
Changing the condition itself completely altered the effect.
No duration anymore—instead, a 60% speed boost.
I wasn't sure how much 60% was,
but compared to my movements speeding up over 5 times now, it felt a bit underwhelming.
Losing the duration was a big merit, though.
"So it can change like this too."
Now I had a feel for how to use the [Ability Condition Change Ticket].
Instant Acceleration was only B-rank, so the efficiency wasn't great, but on an SS-rank ability, I could expect better results.
[Cancelling Ability Condition Change Ticket.]
"...When am I gonna farm enough points."
I flopped onto the sofa.
None of my current traits needed condition tweaks.
The [Ability Condition Change Ticket] was probably best saved for a new high-rank ability bought with points.
Since efficiency scaled with rank, SS-rank if possible.
Lying there lost in thought, something light climbed onto my stomach.
"Nyah."
It was Gretel, drowsily nodding off.
She must have woken up mid-sleep sensing my presence.
"You're awake?"
At my question, Gretel gave a small nod and dozed off again on my stomach.
Smiling, I stroked her hard shell back.
This brought a sense of calm to body and mind.
I hoped for more peaceful days like this.
Then, the new facts from today's dimensional observation popped into my head.
Kim Chang-hyun acting like he knew future events.
The Evil Dragon far stronger than in the original.
And Jin Cheon-woo, whom the Evil Dragon mentioned chasing freedom.
Something unknown tied them together.
Especially recalling what the Evil Dragon said to Lee Seo-jun—it seemed to be very aware of Jin Cheon-woo.
...Killing Lee Seo-jun was probably linked to Jin Cheon-woo.
Either way, dimensional observation clarified what I needed to do next.
Eliminate the Evil Dragon, the greatest threat to Lee Seo-jun's survival.
But my current power fell laughably short.
Its strength surpassed my imagination.
Plus, per the 'Demon of Observation,' future events were accelerating.
Meaning, the Evil Dragon could appear in the city center tomorrow and kill Lee Seo-jun without it being weird.
If that happened, I'd have no counter.
So I had to take it down first, before then.
I had a long-planned strategy for that.
Setting up JWK and rescuing Daria were all parts of it.
...Building my own faction.
A week and two days had passed since the Seongmu Festival began.
At 7 a.m., still early for school, I walked the path to the Wizard Academy.
There was an event this morning celebrating the Seongmu Festival winners.
As a participant and champion, I had to arrive early for the pre-event rehearsal.
Time passed, and I reached the auditorium.
Looking up, I saw a huge banner.
[Korean Wizard Academy's pride, students Kim Seon-woo and Lee Seo-jun! Congratulations on your Seongmu Festival victory!]
Korean Wizard Academy's pride.
...My face flushed a bit.
"Kim Seon-woo!"
Turning at the familiar voice calling me.
"Fancy running into you here."
Lee Seo-jun grinned and walked over, then glanced at the banner.
"They put up a banner, huh?"
His reaction was nonchalant.
Having received attention since childhood, this was everyday for him.
I stared at Lee Seo-jun's face, the image from yesterday's dimensional observation—his death—overlapping.
It left a strange feeling.
"Right, after the victory ceremony today, they're giving out the prizes. You know?"
Lee Seo-jun asked.
"Yeah."
I'd been looking forward to it since before bed last night.
The prizes were, as announced, an S-rank top-grade spiritual medicine—the Millennium Ginseng—and a 10 billion won prize.
The cash didn't hit hard after my stock and business windfalls, but an S-rank spiritual medicine was different.
They were priceless, unobtainable even with money.
Especially an S-rank one.
We opened the auditorium doors and entered.
People in suits stood on the stage—likely Association members here for the ceremony.
Below the stage, I spotted a chattering group.
Shin Young-jun, Yoo Ah-ra, Eun Seol-ah, Choi Seo-yoon, Lee Hyun-joo, and others...
Fellow Seongmu Festival participants.
"Kim Seon-woo and Lee Seo-jun are late."
Yoo Ah-ra muttered quietly.
"Lee Seo-jun said he overslept and is on his way now. Kim Seon-woo... well, he'll handle it."
"Should I text him?"
Choi Seo-yoon asked Shin Young-jun.
Lee Hyun-joo, watching quietly, shifted her gaze toward us.
"The stars of the show are here."
After rehearsal, at 9 a.m., the main celebration began.
Expected to be small, it turned chaotic with reporters from various countries crowding in, contrary to the school's plans.
Anyway, with victory speeches from me—the representative student and Seongmu Festival MVP—and Lee Seo-jun, the event wrapped up.
"Whew~ Finally over."
Stepping off the stage, Choi Seo-yoon stretched.
The other participants gazed at their Millennium Ginsengs with excited faces.
I looked at mine too.
[Millennium Ginseng (S)]
Type: Spiritual Medicine
Description: Greatly increases mana and mana control proficiency upon consumption. Effect varies by mana control rank.
As expected of an S-rank spiritual medicine, it had a unique effect.
Mana control boost.
Unlike previous medicines that raised stats, this one improved control.
Shin Young-jun gripped his Ginseng happily, slapping my shoulder.
"Whoa~ Thanks, Kim Seon-woo~ I got knocked out in the first round, but scored free medicine thanks to you?"
Brushing off his hand, I asked.
"But what happened for you to get eliminated?"
Curiosity hit suddenly. In the original, Shin Young-jun lasted quite a while in the Seongmu Festival.
Why drop in round one?
Was there some hidden secret?
He gave an embarrassed chuckle.
"Oh, that? Fought a Chinese team 5-on-1..."
No big reason, apparently.
Charging 5-on-1 and losing fit the Shin Young-jun I knew perfectly. Made sense.
"But suddenly having 10 billion feels weird. What to spend it on."
"Buy a sword. You've used that one for like four years."
Lee Seo-jun pondered Shin Young-jun's words.
"...Yeah, it's been a while. And lately, it can't handle my mana."
He muttered, touching the sword at his waist.
Lee Seo-jun's sword was a plain C-rank steel blade.
Lame for the protagonist, but he'd been taught young by Chairman Kim Jin-cheol not to rely on weapons.
"Yeah, get a sword. I know a good forge—want a rec?"
"A forge?"
Lee Seo-jun looked at me. I nodded, meeting his eyes.
"Shin-cheol Forge. Decent place. You know JWK, the one in the news sometimes? It's their affiliate."
"Oh, Shin-cheol Forge. Yeah, it's hot right now."
Shin Young-jun chimed in.
Unexpected, so I felt a bit puzzled.
Hot?
"Word is, quality-to-price is killer. It's buzzing among reinforcement wizards lately."
"...Is that so?"
Shin Young-jun squinted at my response.
"You recommend it, then act like that?"
"Nah, it wasn't that famous last I checked."
Didn't know. I knew it'd blow up, but not this fast.
Yang Tae-min handled everything solo, so I'd slacked on company affairs.
Gotta reflect.
"...Anyway, it's solid. Give 'em a commission. Who knows? Might forge you a legendary blade."
Lee Seo-jun stood thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded.
"Sounds good? I'll give it a shot then."