Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Four Ways to Use Skills
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In Pavarintos, the methods for using skills are largely divided into four categories.
The first is Casting.
It's a way of instantly combining and invoking spells on the spot, but it's disgustingly slow and inefficient.
That's why it's rarely used except for certain spells that can be cast with plenty of time to spare.
The second is Memorize.
This involves pre-casting spells and using them later, which is the primary method for mages.
You can store them for quick activation when needed and employ a variety of spells depending on your strategy, making it the core of a mage's versatile skill usage.
The third is Magic Imprint.
This uses spells engraved on items. While the power and combinations are fixed, it allows for additional Memorize slots.
The staff given at the start also works this way, with spells pre-charged into it.
The final fourth is Engraving.
This engraves specific spell formulas into your 'circles,' allowing you to use them without casting. As long as you have mana, you can use engraved spells indefinitely, regardless of your Memorize slots.
However, Engraving consumes a huge amount of memory capacity in your circles, greatly reducing the total number of spells you can use and your Memorize slots.
Converting all spells to Engraving is basically the same as giving up the diverse usage unique to mages.
[Thud, thud-]
"..."
Of these,
right now, only two were available to me.
Magic Imprint and Casting.
The memorized Telekinesis was more of a versatile support spell than a direct attack, and the staff's Mana Arrow had an awkward cooldown for continuous use.
It wasn't impossible to spam, but... considering the passage layout, the risk would be a bit high.
'From the corner to the door is about 15 meters...'
'The staff has a 3~5 second gap after each use.'
'...That would make the timing way too tight.'
The moment they spotted me, combat would begin.
If the ambushed foe just stood there dazed, a single Mana Arrow would suffice, but I couldn't count on that kind of luck.
'...Casting, Lightning Strike.'
This option had a higher chance of success.
Cast the Lightning Strike spell right now to prepare for an approaching enemy.
Even with Casting, it's not completely useless.
For a 1-circle spell like Lightning Strike, a single cast takes about 15 seconds.
In a dire situation, I wouldn't have that time, but right now, there was still leeway. From the sound of their footsteps, they hadn't noticed me yet.
If I cast the spell and activate it before the effect fades, time wouldn't be an issue.
All that's left is...
...hoping they approach leisurely, oblivious to everything.
[Thud, thud-]
"..."
The footsteps grew steadily closer.
While casting the Lightning Strike spell into my circle, I calmly calculated the timing.
'The timing... will be razor-thin.'
There were no other options.
A male mage character might bash charging goblins with the staff, but with the Attunement penalty sapping a female vampire's strength, that was out of the question.
I could only rely on magic.
And...
...in about 10 seconds, my fate would be decided.
"..."
A cold chill ran up my spine.
Tension? Fear?
Or excitement?
Surprisingly, the emotion wasn't intense.
Perhaps because of my cold vampire heart,
or thanks to my familiarity with Pavarintos, to the point where game and reality blurred.
Even facing imminent combat right before my eyes, I calmly devised my plan and made preparations.
[Thud, thud.]
[-Thump.]
And then.
As their footsteps reached the door,
I finally finished casting Lightning Strike and raised my staff.
The crystal embedded in the staff's tip pointed at the open pantry door.
With this, preparations were complete.
"-Kisha?"
"Kadu, krat?"
Soon, puzzled cries echoed out.
Along with clear presences, two goblins appeared from behind the flung-open wooden pantry door.
Wearing light leather garb and wielding slender obsidian spears.
Were they puzzled by the broken lock on the pantry?
The 'goblin tribesmen' who revealed themselves looked baffled. Without any precautions, just wearing confused expressions, the two goblins stepped into view.
It was a fatal mistake for them,
Mana Arrow
Fired from staff crystal
and the perfect opportunity for me.
Seizing the split-second opening from their confusion, I activated the staff's spell.
[Shaaa-]
A single mana arrow formed at the crystal dangling from the staff's end, then shot toward the goblin at the doorway.
[Swoosh-!]
[-Thud.]
A sound like slicing wind advanced,
and a groan like deflating air approached.
Two sounds crossing under the dim shadows.
"Gek-"
The goblin struck in the chest by the mana arrow tumbled to the ground amid spurting blood. The remaining one gripped its obsidian spear tightly in shock at its fallen comrade.
"Kieek-!"
"..."
The goblin's distorted cry echoed.
From it, I vaguely realized.
This moment was no longer a game viewed from beyond a monitor screen—it was brutal reality where life and death hung in the balance.
But...
...Coincidence?
Or intentional?
The goblin's vengeful cry sounded just like the audio from Pavarintos back in the game.
However,
not everything overlapped with the game.
The goblin's face twisted in rage, its hands trembling with fear and fury—these were sights impossible in game Pavarintos.
So.
This moment was undeniable reality.
A reality where a single mistake could mean death.
In that fleeting reality, I calmly waited for the timing.
Lightning Strike (Casting)
Glowing blue in left hand
Effective range: 3m
[Zzzzt-]
"..."
The Lightning Strike spell dwelled in my left hand.
The faintly glowing blue lightning awaited activation, but the time wasn't yet.
Lightning Strike's effective range was 3 meters.
I had to wait until it charged at me, its glittering obsidian spear tip thrusting right to my nose for a solid hit.
...Too soon, and I'd take the hit; too late, same result.
In that eternally fleeting moment.
As the goblin's furious cry still echoed around the room.
[Tack-]
—Finally, the goblin's foot moved.
It chose not retreat, but advance.
Clutching the obsidian spear with veins bulging hands, the goblin opted for revenge.
Not a foolish choice.
Fleeing down the narrow passage after abandoning its comrade would just get a mana arrow in the back.
...But my choice was equally sound.
If both made rational decisions, the advantage in combat would be mine.
[Tadak-]
'Just a bit more—'
I extended my hand toward the charging goblin.
But I didn't activate the spell immediately.
In its furious momentum, I waited for the final moment when the enraged goblin's arm swelled powerfully, pulling back the spear.
"Knarsh-!"
And then,
when the distance closed so near that the bloodshot in its eyes was vivid.
Lightning Strike
Released from left hand
I unleashed the Lightning Strike from my left hand.
[Zzzap-]
In an instant,
blue radiance poured from my pale fingertips, illuminating the shadowed pantry.
Under the dim lantern light,
a whip-like bolt of lightning struck the charging goblin's chest. Amid flashing light like burning flames, shock gleamed in the goblin's eyes.
"Grk-"
Clutching the obsidian spear, the struck goblin collapsed in a stiffened pose.
[Thud.]
The goblin's body slid, its thrusting spear tip flying toward my chest. But blocking the now powerless attack was easy.
'-Guardian.'
Activating the robe's magic, the extended spear tip glanced off the robe's surface along the hardened spell.
If I'd allowed closer approach, even exhausting all the robe's spells wouldn't have helped, but with no follow-up, it was just a futile spasm.
[Thump.]
"Gr...gik..."
"..."
Dull thud as the goblin hit the floor.
Still stunned from the lightning's aftereffects, it glared at me with bulging yellow eyes.
Its gaze mixed with clear hatred.
Toward it, I drew the dagger from my waist.
[Shing-]
Lightning Strike's stun wasn't long.
It would move again soon.
...No need to give it a second chance.
[-Slash.]
"Urk-"
A soft sound flowed.
The sharp dagger blade lightly grazed the goblin's throat, red blood spilling to soak the pantry floor.
[Drip-]
The goblin's wide eyes slowly lost light. Its exhaling breath weakened rapidly, the red stain spreading across the cave floor.
At the same time, a sweet blood scent filled the air.
The aroma signaling the end of the brief skirmish.
I let out a long-held breath.
"Hoo-"
My first combat in real Pavarintos.
It wasn't as hard as expected.
Partly because it was short... but more like a familiar sensation.
A magic-based ranged fight without moving my body directly. Having experienced it countless times in the game, it didn't feel alien.
"..."
The emotions felt faint too.
The sense of brushing death was dim, and the shock of killing a living being with my own hands was hazy, leaving little impact.
Combat with living things and the death of life.
Experiences impossible in daily life, intense as they were...
...yet dominating my mind now wasn't fear or excitement, but a hunger mixed with longing and thirst.
"Ugh."
The red blood flowing from the fallen goblin.
The moment I caught that sweet scent, the faint shock of battle and killing vanished. Drawn by the spreading blood aroma, I unwittingly leaned toward the goblin,
[Plunge.]
grabbed the spurting goblin, and sank my sharp fangs into its blood-soaked nape.
[Gulp-]
It was strange.
The Pavarintos game had never taught me how to feed.
Yet vampire instincts already craved the flowing red blood. Sweet blood pooled in my mouth along my pointed fangs.
How lost was I in that deep flavor and aroma?
"-Hup."
Snapping back as the thirst vanished, I pulled my mouth from the goblin's nape.
With the brief buzz fading, only then did the stench hit my nose.
The faint foul odor from the goblin's body.
That I'd been so immersed in feeding as to miss even that—was it the vampire instincts?
'This... isn't easy.'
It was a bit shocking.
I thought being a vampire wasn't much different from human, just sip blood now and then.
But quenching that thirst just now... felt like tasting a drug. Not that I'd actually tried drugs, so not a perfect comparison.
...When blood thirst hits again, could I really hold back?
'No. As long as I suck just the right amount, it shouldn't be a big problem...'
The Bloodlust Impulse penalty from Attunement.
In the game, it wasn't my issue, so I didn't know, but it seemed no joke either.
Still, among penalties, it was fairly mild.
I could resolve it by leveling up later...
...no need to worry right now.
After feeding, I refilled my spent spells with Memorize.
Recharged the staff's Mana Arrow and robe's Guardian, and recorded three Lightning Strike spells in my circle's Memorize slots.
Replenishing spent spells is essential for any mage.
A mage without spells or engravings is just a walking mana stone.
Of course, memorizing every time isn't easy, but after forgetting spells a few times and losing hard-leveled characters repeatedly, it becomes second nature.
And so.
After preparations, I resumed my usual scouting.
[Shaaa-]
"..."
Perking my ears, I wandered the dark cave, sensing enemies' presences and traces left in the passages.
The same familiar pattern as game Pavarintos, nothing new.
But...
this time was a little different.
[Step, thump...]
"...?"
Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound reached my ears.
'What is that?'
What sound was it?
One I'd never heard before.
Heavy, listless footsteps.
One person.
Walking on two legs, but not a goblin.
Even I, so familiar with Pavarintos, had never heard this type of sound.
I panicked briefly at the approaching unfamiliar noise, but
【Ugh, ugh...】
【...Is anyone there...?】
hearing the faint voice overlapping the footsteps made me even more flustered.
It was only natural—I'd never heard it before.
The footsteps and voice now in my ears.
Sounds impossible in game Pavarintos.
'...A newbie?'
The other was human.
A newbie walking carelessly through this dangerous dungeon.
Impossible in the game.
This damn trash game had no such thing as newbies.