Chapter 5

While resting to get accustomed, my mana stat rose by 1 more to reach 3, but thanks to Mana Insensitivity, I could barely sense the mana inside my body.

It was a shame I still couldn't handle mana, but there was no need to rush—once I absorbed the essence fragments I'd get soon, I'd be able to wield it.

The mana floating in the air was so dense that my skin still tingled and my head felt a bit dizzy, but I'd gotten reasonably used to it, so it was time to press on.

Fortunately, if my memory served right, the dungeon's end was just a little further.

I brushed the moisture off my butt and stood up. The place was already stuffy and dry, and now my ass was damp too—thoroughly unpleasant.

Time to take out my frustration on those mud golems. I strode forward purposefully.

It wasn't long before a mud golem appeared. True to form, it swung its arm at me the moment it spotted me.

Maybe because my agility had gone up, dodging felt more relaxed than before. I twisted my body lightly, slipping past with razor-thin margin, then swung my sword to sever its arm.

The results of my training paid off; the follow-up strikes flowed smoothly, letting me smash the core without dragging out the fight.

After taking down two more golems, a room at the end of the sewer came into view.

It was filthy, but made of clearly different material compared to the rest—thoroughly out of place for something inside a sewer.

I cautiously turned the door handle, and it opened smoothly, apparently unlocked.

The room inside looked exactly like a mage's study. Triangular flasks and empty bottles—probably used for potions—were scattered messily on the desk, and magic circles were drawn here and there.

The numerous bookshelves in the corner were packed with thick tomes on magic; when I pulled one out, a cloud of dust billowed up.

"Ugh, the dust..."

I coughed for a good while from the dust before grabbing the bookshelf and shoving it aside.

In Outyoung Do, it had only mentioned a secret passage behind a bookshelf leading to the young mage's corpse, so I hadn't expected so many bookshelves—it threw me off a bit.

I finally found the secret passage after shoving aside the last one.

It was a pitch-black staircase leading deeper underground. I turned my flashlight back on—having switched it off upon entering the brightly lit study—and descended slowly to avoid tripping.

The stairs went on for another five minutes before ending.

At the bottom, in the center of the secret lab, shattered essence fragments floated in the air, with the young mage's corpse slumped backward in a chair beneath them.

I offered a silent prayer for the tragic mage, then reached out toward the essence fragments.

The moment my fingertips touched one, a message window appeared before my eyes.

"Finally!"

The accursed Mana Insensitivity was gone. As I whooped in joy, the essence fragments flew toward me at high speed, seeping into my chest.

The sensation that followed was utterly novel and wondrous.

The shattered fragments began imperfectly restoring their original essence form above my heart before disintegrating.

I knew exactly what to do from here. I just had to devour as much of the mana floating around this dungeon as I could handle.

With Mana Insensitivity gone, handling mana felt instinctive.

I drew in the ambient mana through my skin, converting it into mana power inside my body and stacking it carefully within the imperfect essence.

The young mage had died unable to absorb the essence because the amount of mana inside it was overwhelmingly vast.

But my situation was different. The mana that should have filled the essence was scattered throughout the dungeon, leaving the cracked essence above my heart completely empty.

So I could absorb up to my limit and stop. 'Absorbing all the mana here would push my mana stat straight to 30... but better than dying.'

The ambient mana seeped into my skin and flowed toward the essence.

"Ugh...!"

Every time it coursed through me, it felt like it was drilling holes in my body, new blood vessels sprouting in their place—the pain was excruciating.

Once it carved out all the necessary paths, the mana flooded into the essence in an instant.

And with that, it began.

"Yes!"

I jumped up and down in place, cheering. Now I could enroll in the academy with confidence.

In an instant, my mana stat shot up by a total of 8, Mana Insensitivity vanished, and Swordsmanship Prodigy awakened.

But it didn't end there.

"Huh?"

"Insane!"

I'd never dreamed I'd get Sixth Sense too.

"How did I forget about this?"

I chuckled darkly and opened my status window.

My mana, which had been the lowest, was now at 11, and all my other stats had risen too.

What made me happiest wasn't awakening Swordsmanship Prodigy or Sixth Sense.

It was the new ??? trait in unawakened traits. I knew what that one was called.

"This is crazy, for real."

Because it was the trait the protagonist Stia had early in Akanakseong.

'[Petite Sword Saint].'

Not just talent in petite swordsmanship—it was straight-up Petite Sword Saint.

With my Swordsmanship Prodigy, Sixth Sense, and one more trait, those three would fuse into Petite Sword Saint.

Without Petite Sword Saint, reaching Sword Saint was next to impossible.

Even with it, specific conditions were needed to evolve into Sword Saint, and they varied per person.

"If I get that trait, becoming a Sword Saint might not be a pipe dream?"

I shook my head, dismissing the idle thought.

"My goal is survival, not fighting the demon king alongside the protagonists."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Better not get greedy and play it safe.

The last trait wasn't something you got from eating a hidden piece anyway.

'Still, it'd be nice to snag Petite Sword Saint while I'm at it.'

A bit disappointing.

"Nice!"

I'd successfully filled mana to max, but one task remained.

The shattered fragments had gathered into a normal shape, but it was barely holding together, cracked.

Let my guard down for a second, and it'd lose form and explode. I'd end up dying just like the mage slumped over there.

"Whew..."

Cold sweat trickled down my cheek. I maneuvered the mana inside the essence to slowly fill the cracks.

'Slowly... slowly...'

I hardened the filled sections bit by bit, fully repairing the essence.

"Done!"

The essence had stabilized completely. As I rose with a satisfied smile, about to leave, my eyes caught something in the corner of the lab and I froze.

A sword with inexplicable turquoise patterns etched on the blade. Probably an artifact made by the young mage.

"Come to think of it, can I check item info with the status window too?"

I focused on the sword and mentally called up the status window. A translucent panel appeared.

From the description, it seemed like a great sword. I'd figured it'd just be sturdy since a young mage made it, but it even had acceleration magic engraved—a proper magic sword.

Just in case, I checked my current sword's info too.

Guess I'd be using that one from now on. I picked up the Swift Sword and turned to leave, but glanced back, bowing twice to the young mage's corpse before going.

Taking from the dead felt a little prickly, even if it was theirs.

But surely the young mage would understand with his generous heart.

'Better a living person uses it than it stays with the dead.'

For the sword's sake too, which had never been used since forging. Self-justifying like that, I headed home.

An unexpectedly bountiful haul—great day.

'Time to go back and train.'

Lots gained, but compared ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the other freshmen I'd enter with, I was still behind. Couldn't skip training even on a day like this...

By the time I exited the sewer, the sun had already set. More time had passed inside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than I'd thought.