Chapter 4
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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your 【Staff】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Mana Control】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Earth Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Water Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Fire Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Wind Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Sneak】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Surprise Attack】 Skill level has increased.
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I'm back. Whew, being able to use all sorts of Attributes is really fun. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, so considering those when using them feels like the true joy of being a mage.
I can only thank the Lesser Ratmen. They've served as targets for testing each Attribute and helped me understand how they perform. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll stop hunting them.
Oh, right. Speaking of hunting, I got one item that looks like a rare drop. This is it.
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Magic Stone Quality: Junk Rarity: C
A stone generated inside a monster's body.
Absorbs and stores mana from the surrounding area.
Absorption efficiency is proportional to quality, while maximum mana capacity is proportional to rarity.
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This is basically a battery. Both its quality and rarity are the lowest possible, so it's common—or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a junk stone. Still, I have no intention of throwing it away. It might come in handy later.
More importantly, thanks to my 【Appraisal】 level increasing, I can now view detailed information on low-rarity items. It's not as if I'll be seeing any high-rarity items for a while anyway.
That will do for checking the results of my hunt. Since it takes time for my mana to recover, I might as well continue reading in the meantime. There are still plenty of introductory books left. Let's see... How about 'An Introduction to Summoning'?
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Based on your actions so far, you acquired the 【Summoning】 Skill.
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I see. Understood. Apparently, 【Summoning】 has some unusual mechanics in FSW.
First, as a basic premise, beings summoned through 【Summoning】 are called summoned creatures. Since summoned creatures don't count toward your party limit, you can summon as many as you like. However, while they are summoned, your maximum mana is reduced. Specifically, the amount of mana used for the summoning is subtracted from your maximum mana.
Second is the strength of summoned creatures. It is proportional to your 【Summoning】 level and the amount of mana consumed when summoning them. In other words, if you try to save mana, you'll only be able to summon weaklings. Well, that makes sense.
Third is the variety of summoned creatures. Apparently, it isn't unlocked by raising your 【Summoning】 level, but is limited to beasts and monsters you have actually encountered. Furthermore, some monsters cannot be summoned, so all I can do is hope that a monster is compatible with 【Summoning】.
Fourth is how to raise your 【Summoning】 level. There are three methods: first, using 【Summoning】; second, keeping a summoned creature summoned instead of returning it; and third, winning battles while leaving a summoned creature active. In short, I need to use 【Summoning】 properly.
Finally—and this is the most important part—if you have acquired magic of an Attribute, you can imbue summoned creatures with that Attribute. It increases the mana cost, but being able to summon an ally that always has an advantage over the enemy should make it extremely useful.
And I mustn't misunderstand what 【Summoning】 is. It is strictly a technique for summoning servants. Summoned creatures only have a simple AI that follows basic commands, and they don't grow. If I want to make a beast or monster my companion, I should tame it with the 【Taming】 Skill. Apparently, a tamed creature receives a pseudo-personality AI from the moment it is tamed and grows stronger as it fights alongside you and deepens its bond with you.
In my case, summoned creatures are tanks. I'll appraise the enemy's Attribute, have a summoned creature imbued with the corresponding Attribute hold out against it, and finish it off with magic from the rear. That should work. Now, what monsters can I summon, I wonder?
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Available for Summoning
Skeleton
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Only my own species? Well, the only monster I've encountered besides myself is the Lesser Ratman, so I suppose it can't be helped. I'll summon one right away. Since I'm at it, I might as well try imbuing it with an Attribute.
"Summon, Skeleton—Dark."
I chanted the spell exactly as it appeared in the textbook, and mana began draining from my body. Then, right in front of me, it took the form of a blackish Skeleton.
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Your 【Dark Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Summoning】 Skill level has increased.
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Success. I only used ten percent of my mana, so it probably isn't very strong, but I'll take it along on my next hunt.
More importantly, does imbuing a summoned creature with an Attribute also raise the level of that Attribute? That's a useful discovery. I should imbue them whenever possible.
Hmm, using magic reduced my mana again. In that case, can I read another book while I wait for it to recover? What should I choose next? Since I was thinking about imbuing Attributes, should I go with 'Enchantment Made Easy,' or perhaps 'Make and Use Convenient Magic Items!' since it seems to be about using magic stones...? This is a tough choice.
All right, now that I've acquired a new spell, I want to focus on testing it during my next hunt. So I'll go with 'Make and Use Convenient Magic Items!' Not that it matters, but couldn't they have come up with a better title for this DIY manual...?
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Whew, finished. Magic items are interesting too. A magic item is a tool that uses the mana stored in a magic stone to activate magic. With one of these and a magic stone, you can use magic without possessing a magic Skill. This book doesn't mention any, but there must surely be some that can be used in battle. They might be highly coveted by warriors.
However, I only learned after reading further that 【Magic Circle】 and 【Crafting】 Skills are essential for making them. The process of using a magic item is to channel the mana in a magic stone through a magic circle drawn on its base. Would it make things easier to understand if I said that the magic stone is the fuel and the magic circle is the engine?
Still, reading this book first was definitely the right choice. Thanks to it, I thought of a certain training method. I'll try it as soon as I return from hunting. Now, off to hunt with my summoned creature!
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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.
Your 【Staff】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Magic Control】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Dark Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Summoning】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Appraisal】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Stealth】 Skill level has increased.
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Good, good. My Skills are developing smoothly. The one problem is that my 【Summoning】 level is low, so my summoned creature doesn't have many Skills.
This Skeleton has five Skills: 【Darkvision】, 【Status Ailment Immunity】, 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】, 【Blunt Vulnerability】, and 【Dark Attribute】. This is only a guess, but perhaps the phrase 'grows stronger in proportion to your 【Summoning】 level' in 'An Introduction to Summoning' means that Skills can be added based on your 【Summoning】 level. I'll test that when I get back.
More importantly, notice that the summoned creature has neither 【Stealth】 nor 【Sneak】. Because of that, my surprise attacks are more likely to fail! I never expected adding another combatant to cause problems like this... Before setting out, I had assumed that two Lesser Ratmen would be manageable, but there have actually been situations more dangerous than when I was alone.
It's frustrating, but I'll just have to endure it until my 【Summoning】 level rises. Until then, I'll continue fighting with this useless servant in tow. I'll turn back again once my mana drops to around half.
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Your 【Earth Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Water Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Fire Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Wind Magic】 Skill level has increased.
Your 【Non-Elemental Magic】 Skill level has increased.
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Th-that was close! I can't believe three Lesser Ratmen ambushed us! Well, maybe they were idiots, because they launched their ambush while shouting, so I had time to counterattack normally instead of taking bonus damage.
Getting a second magic stone was a stroke of luck in the midst of misfortune, but my summoned creature has been worn down considerably. Before my next hunt, I should return it and summon a fresh one. Why not return it now, you ask? Because I need the experience for 【Summoning】, obviously. My own level takes priority over everything!
Now, before reading, I'll try the training method I thought of earlier. The thing I need for it is this 'Magic Lamp' sitting on the desk in my private room. Its 【Appraisal】 results are as follows.
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Magic Lamp Quality: Poor Rarity: C
A type of magic item.
Produces light imbued with the Light Attribute when a magic stone is installed.
Its strength varies according to the quality of the magic stone installed.
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At first, I thought a lamp would be useless to me since I have 【Darkvision】. In fact, I probably won't need a lamp for reading or working from now on.
But that isn't what caught my attention. What matters is that this lamp emits light with the Light Attribute. Could it perhaps deal weak Light Attribute damage to me?
If so, I might be able to gradually overcome my weakness while reading. If that happens, the day I can use Light Attribute magic will be much closer.
"Um, put the magic stone in here... Good. 'Activate.'"
I immediately put the magic stone I got from the Lesser Ratman into the lamp and activated it. Then, though as faint as a firefly's glow, light generated by mana softly illuminated the room.
Whoa, the surface of my skin—or rather, my bones—is tingling. Skin? I don't have any of that. Anyway, this is a success. The health bar in the corner of my vision keeps decreasing and then recovering. Even better, it seems that the damage from the light is less than my natural recovery. I shouldn't end up dying stupidly while reading.
That takes care of the Light Attribute. As for blunt attacks... I can't think of anything. I'm a backline class, so I'll just give up if I take physical damage.
What should I read next? 'Enchantment Made Easy,' which I was considering earlier, or perhaps 'The Study of Magic Circles'? I don't want to give up either one.
All right, I'll read both. No, since I'm at it, I'll keep reading until my 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】 is reduced. What? Reading itself is no hardship for me at all.
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Based on your actions so far, you acquired the 【Enchantment】 Skill.
Based on your actions so far, you acquired the 【Magic Circle】 Skill.
Based on your actions so far, you acquired the 【Pharmacology】 Skill.
Your 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】 Skill has been reduced.
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I can't believe it took three books' worth of reading... Still, I should consider it a good thing that I can do more now. Let's take a look at the Skills I acquired.
【Enchantment】 is magic that strengthens all sorts of things. It can improve physical abilities and resistance to Attributes, of course, and it is also needed to give weapons and armor special effects. If you want to use a weapon like a sword imbued with the Fire Attribute, this magic is essential.
Also, just as with 【Summoning】, if you want to imbue something with an Attribute, you have to be able to use that Attribute. However, it seems that when creating weapons and armor, you can work around this by making effective use of magic circles, as I'll explain later.
As for 【Magic Circle】, its essence is the enhancement of all kinds of magic. Drawing or engraving a magic circle on an object to create a magic item or a piece of equipment with 【Enchantment】 is only one of its applications. It would be no exaggeration to call it a combat Skill.
Specifically, deploying a magic circle can increase the speed at which magic activates, delay the activation timing, and even allow multiple spells to activate simultaneously.
However, this has a problem too. Deploying a circle consumes extra mana. Increased mana consumption means reduced endurance in battle. It can be reduced by raising the Skill's level, but leveling it up is likely to be extremely difficult.
And, as usual, I can only draw magic circles for magic I have already learned. Anyone can use a Fireball magic circle as long as they have enough mana, but only someone who can use that spell can draw a Fireball magic circle.
Somehow, it seems that 【Enchantment】 and 【Magic Circle】 won't be useful in combat unless the user specializes in magic. They should be essential for crafting Jobs, though. Me? I'm specialized in magic, so I have nothing to worry about.
More importantly, I've been logged in for quite a long time. I should take a break. Oh, right. The official website mentioned that if you log out anywhere other than on a bed or inside a tent, your avatar remains there until you log back in. That should apply inside my base too. In that case, I'll leave it as is. I want to grind a little 【Light Attribute Vulnerability】 experience while I'm away.