Chapter 15
I casually hopped over the elementary school fence.
It was quiet all around.
It felt like I was pulling some secret prank.
“At this rate, I can't even keep doing this.”
Every time I had to climb over the elementary school fence or practice at the neighborhood playground, I felt so pathetic.
And it was uncomfortable, too.
I heard that once you become an A-rank Hunter, you even get your own training grounds. I want to break through the 20th Floor soon.
Even after getting a spell that let me escape tracking, my everyday life somehow felt no different.
I carefully checked my surroundings before using my new skill.
This time, the new skill I got was [Sand Totem].
It was a technique that gathered the surrounding sand and hardened it into a totem.
The totem had the ability to draw weak aggro.
“A tank summon... Perfect.”
Since I was soloing and had no one to tank in front of me, it was the perfect skill.
When I cast the skill, the sand in front of me wriggled and began to clump together.
Before long, a massive sand pillar taller than a person rose up.
The pillar soon took on a ridiculous face with no arms or legs.
“…?”
That was it.
The limbless totem just stood there stupidly like a village totem pole, showing no sign of movement.
I was at a loss for words for a moment.
“No way, this is a gold-rank skill?”
Were Gold skills always saddled with some kind of flaw?
Compared to this, even Quicksand looked much better.
With something like this, I felt like it'd make me blow a gasket before it ever drew a monster's aggro.
I grumbled and approached the totem.
First, I had to check whether it could even be controlled.
I decided to try the universal fix.
I cut off my right pinky and stabbed it into the totem's body.
I felt a connection between my finger and the totem.
But that was all.
The totem did nothing more than nod its head to my will.
It was like one of those inflatable advertising dolls flopping in the wind outside a shop.
“Sigh...”
Disappointment washed over me.
But then, another method suddenly came to mind.
I remembered when I first learned magic through comments, and how I'd nurtured my inner god.
“Alright, let's try it.”
I sat down cross-legged.
I closed my eyes and focused inward.
I could see a tiny sand-made version of myself inside me.
By changing this form, I'd been turning my finger into a bullet and firing it.
This time, I shifted my focus outward.
I could feel the sand totem with my finger inside it.
I focused on the shape of that finger.
That isn't a finger.
It's just a lump of sand.
It was made from sand anyway.
Was there any need to focus on its shape?
“Sand is still sand, even if it scatters.”
I dissolved the boundaries of my body.
Both of my arms quietly turned to sand and flowed down to the ground.
This was the limit of how much of my body I could turn to sand.
At the same time, the finger inside the totem also lost its original form and returned to a simple lump of sand.
I kept my eyes closed and maintained my focus.
I gave the scattered sand a new shape again.
Like a child building a castle out of wet sand.
Like a skilled potter shaping clay into pottery.
My inner god.
I vividly imagined myself as a mage.
The sand began to gather together again.
“...”
How long had it been?
I slowly opened my eyes.
An admiring gasp escaped me at the sight before me.
The totem with the ridiculous face was nowhere to be seen.
In its place stood a sand figure that looked exactly like me.
Long black hair and a slender frame. A clone of me, reproduced perfectly in every detail.
“Success!”
I was excited.
My heart pounded like that of a child who'd just gotten a new toy.
Countless uses sprang to mind.
Then another desire reared its head.
“Could I maybe make one more?”
The moment that thought occurred to me, I put it into action.
I summoned the Sand Totem once more.
This time, I shoved my entire right hand into the totem and concentrated.
Perhaps because I'd already done it once, the process was much smoother.
The pace picked up.
I easily succeeded in making a second clone.
Because I used my whole hand as material, the second clone was much bigger and sturdier than the first.
It could even move its arms and legs according to my will.
That was when it happened.
“Uh...?”
Suddenly, the world spun before my eyes.
A wave of crippling lethargy washed over me, along with dizziness like I'd been hit on the head with a hammer.
Fsssss.
Without regard for my will, the two sand totems I'd painstakingly made crumbled weakly.
At the same time, my body also slowly gave way.
I couldn't move even a finger.
I collapsed straight onto the sand of the elementary school playground.
“Wha... Damn...”
My consciousness faded rapidly.
Just like that, I lost consciousness.
***
“Student, student! Wake up! Come on, get a hold of yourself!”
At the voice shaking me awake, I forced my eyes open.
I wiped the drool running down my mouth and sat up.
“Uh... where am I...?”
It was the elementary school playground.
And in front of me, a woman who looked to be in her forties was looking down at me with a worried expression.
Her teacher ID card hanging from her neck caught my eye.
“Damn.”
The moment I finished making sense of the situation, my face turned bright red.
“Are you okay? How can you sleep here? You'll catch a cold.”
The teacher asked as she touched my forehead.
“You're not a student at this school, are you? What grade are you in? Did something happen? Have you called home?”
“N-no! I-I was just... taking a walk...”
I stammered and fumbled out some excuse.
I couldn't lift my face from the shame.
To think I'd been found by a teacher after sleeping in the sand all night.
Could there be a more horrifying morning than this?
I couldn't bear the embarrassment and got up to flee the school.
I could hear the teacher calling after me from behind, but I didn't have the courage to look back.
***
“Ugh, this feels so gross...”
I got home and showered, but the uneasy feeling still wouldn't go away.
I had been right on the verge of success.
Why on earth had I collapsed?
To find the answer, I turned on my computer and logged into the Mage Gallery.
[Title : I passed out while using a skill. What the hell is this?]
Author : ㅇㅇ(22E.222)
I made two clones with the Sand Totem, but then I suddenly collapsed.
Why did this happen? Is it a bug?
The moment my post went up, comments started pouring in.
But people's reactions were completely different from what I'd expected.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : A clone? How do you make a clone with a Sand Totem?
ㄴ 마법은화력 : What are you talking about? That skill just makes a single stake for drawing aggro.
ㄴ 냉장고 : There's no such function in the skill description. Explain in detail.
I tilted my head at their reactions.
They all seemed not to know.
I explained step by step what I'd done the night before.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(333.333) : You know, there's that inner god thing. I wrecked my body and rebuilt it with that, and it somehow worked. Haven't you guys tried it?
My comment went up, but the gallery people were still full of doubt.
ㄴ 냉장고 : ...Inner god? What the heck is that supposed to mean?
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Do you maybe see lines or something?
ㄴ p깟쮸 : I knew the newbie was weird, but I didn't think it'd be this bad....
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Hmm.... I have no idea what you're talking about.
Even Dung Beetle, who'd taught me this method, seemed not to know.
I was swept up in confusion and left a comment.
ㄴㄴ ㅇㅇ(444.444) : Hey, you're the one who told me. Why don't you know? Didn't you awaken this way too?
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : No, I just copied down exactly what an NPC I met while climbing the Tower said. My awakening method was completely different from yours.
“What?”
I shouted at the monitor.
“Then why the hell did you write down something you didn't even know yourself?”
ㄴ 냉장고 : Then why were you even posting those comments? Did you have nothing better to do, you S-rank punk?
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Something seemed off. I tried eating a bit of dirt too, but nothing happened.
ㄴㄴ ㅇㅇ(111.111) : Why would you even try eating that? Seriously....
ㄴㄴ 마법은화력 : Double class. Sounds cool.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : Dung Beetle is a total bad guy. He just goes around scamming newbies.
ㄴ 냉장고 : Still, you really did awaken, so it's not a scam, is it?
The gallery's mood shifted in an instant, turning against Dung Beetle.
Flustered, Dung Beetle hurriedly changed the subject.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : Anyway, I think I know why you collapsed. It's mana depletion.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(555.555) : Mana depletion? Me? There's no way I'd be short on mana.
I'd never measured it, but I always got all stats.
And I even met the conditions to unlock the special difficulty first.
If anything, it should be higher than other people's, not lower.
ㄴ 냉장고 : No, Dung Beetle's right. You don't realize how absurd what you just did was, do you?
ㄴ 마법은화력 : You said you made the Sand Totem work like your clone, right?
There's already a Platinum skill that does exactly that.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : It's famous for guzzling mana like crazy.
ㄴ 냉장고 : But you used two of them at the same time? And you're only a low-level newbie who'd just barely gotten past the 5th Floor? You lunatic, it'd be stranger if you didn't collapse.
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : It doesn't even make sense to imitate a higher-tier skill with a Gold skill....
And the fact that one of them was fine doesn't make sense either....
I don't even know where to start nitpicking this.
Only after hearing their explanation did everything make sense.
How reckless I'd been.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(666.666) : Then how do I fix this?
ㄴ 풍뎅이 : There's only one way.
ㄴ 마법은화력 : Climb the Tower, newbie.
ㄴ 냉장고 : You've only leveled up once. Level up some more.
ㄴ p깟쮸 : It's about time for a level-up, anyway. Since it's Extreme, you're faster than everyone else.... Maybe around the 8th Floor? I guess.
At their words, I made up my mind.
Yeah, let's climb the Tower.
I'd get stronger and try the clone technique again.