: Look at your father — so incompetent.
[Xipe]: You old hag!
: Oi, stop it, both of you!
: Shut up, you old fart!
I imagined the window closing. It did.
: Phew! I can speak again! I could also feel the gazes fading. Don't open that chat again for a while, okay?!
"Uh... probably not. But what are these things exactly?"
: Just use your appraisal on them. You'll figure it out.
"Appraisal? Do I just think about using it?"
: You don't need to chant anything. You have Hecatia-sama's blessing.
I held the book up and imagined using appraisal on it like I would in a game. A window actually appeared.
[Item: Akashic Records] Type: Consumable
The Akashic Records is a legendary tome holding the complete knowledge of all magical spells across all classes. Once consumed, the knowledge within is permanently imbued into the user, granting unparalleled mastery over magic.
Upon consumption, the user can learn and cast any spell from any class, regardless of class restrictions. Includes all offensive, defensive, utility, and healing spells.
+25% spell power. -20% mana cost on all spells. +15% spellcasting speed. +30% to Intelligence and Wisdom. +50% mana regeneration.
"What the hell is this? Every spell in existence?"
: Well — not every spell. It's more balanced than that.
"But what are these stats even?"
: I can't see what you see.
"This item is absurd. You can basically think of anything and cast it — no magic circle, no staff, no medium at all!"
"What if I imagined a fireball—"
A large fireball engulfed the room.
"Oh shit—!" I thought it away immediately. It disappeared.
: You haven't even used the item yet and you're already like this?
The bird started inching away from me.
Cute.
: I am NOT cute! I am the Divine Beast of the sky, Trynda, goddammit!!!
It was pouting. An affronted little snowball with a beak.
"Oh right — how do I use this thing?"
: You eat it.
"You're kidding me."
: You eat it.
"Is it even edible?"
: You have strong teeth. You can do it.
"...Okay."
I took a bite. It was hard — very hard — but with enough resistance I got through it. Chewing was an ordeal. Swallowing it took real effort.
"Are you sure you're not just messing with me?"
[The Akashic Records have been consumed!]
[Assimilating into your soul...]
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
A headache hit me so hard my vision whited out. It felt like my skull was splitting in half.
[The Akashic Records have been integrated!]
[You can now freely access the swirl of the root!]
"The swirl of what?"
: The origin of magic, you dummy.
"I don't understand."
The bird face-palmed itself. Literally.
: This is going to be a long day.
"I genuinely don't get it."
: How about you look at the other items first?
I had a bad feeling about this. I picked up the sword and used appraisal on it.
[Item: Gram, Infernal Blade of Balmung] Type: Legendary Weapon
Gram is a demonic sword forged in the depths of the underworld. Infused with the essence of fire and shadow, it hungers for destruction. Those who wield it risk falling prey to its malevolent influence.
Base Damage: 150 (Physical) +100 Fire Damage, +50 Shadow Damage Critical Strike Chance: +15% Durability: Indestructible. Weight: Adjustable.
On activation — releases a wave of dark fire in a 30-meter radius, dealing fire and shadow damage over time. Enemies suffer burning and curse effects.
On hit — absorbs a portion of the target's soul, restoring 5% of damage dealt as health. Each soul consumed grants a stacking +2% physical and magical damage buff, up to 10 stacks.
Passive — +20% evasion, +50% stealth detection reduction. Chance to evade attacks entirely in dim or shadowy environments.
Immunity to fire and shadow damage. All attacks deal additional fire and shadow damage equal to 50% of base damage.
"What the hell is this sword?! These stats are — Excalibur would be garbage compared to this." I turned it over in my hands. "But I don't want it looking like a longsword. It's awkward and too conspicuous."
: You can adjust it.
"I can just imagine what I want it to look like?"
I pictured the wooden practice swords from the training grounds. The blade glowed — and then it looked exactly like one.
: You're a psychopath.
"Shut up. So I can make it look like anything, right?"
"Wait — if I can use appraisal on items, can I use it on my own status screen?"
Date: Unknown.
I didn't really understand half of what I'd just gotten. I opened the status screen again anyway.
< Name: Josephine von Konrow / Park Kim Yoo-ra >
STR: EX(+++) VIT: EX(+++) MANA: EX(+++) HOLY: ∞(+)
< TRAITS: > 「GOD'S BELOVED」 「PINNACLE OF HUMANITY」 「MAGIC OVERLORD」 ~> 「EMPRESS OF MAGIC」 「???」 「MAGIC GOD'S BLESSING」 「DEMON SLAYER」 「CREATOR GOD'S BLESSING」 「HERO」
Josephine von Konrow and... me?
I imagined using appraisal on the name.
Name: Josephine von Konrow / Park Kim Yoo-ra Soul Synchronization: 75% Josephine's Skills: Partially unlocked. You can now view Josephine's status screen.
Description: The Blessed Child has assimilated into the body of Josephine von Konrow, the overarching antagonist of this novel. The fusion of souls is already halfway complete.
Note: Souls are still considered as one!
"What?" I scratched my head. I wanted answers and I got more questions. Classic.
"I don't really get your situation either," the bird said, shaking their head. "Let's just look at the other stats and titles."
Title: [Pinnacle of Humanity] +15% to Strength, Dexterity, Endurance. +10% movement speed. +20% resistance to mental and psychological effects. When health drops below 50%, +10% to all resistances. +10% to Intelligence and Wisdom. +20% experience gain. When encountering a new enemy type, temporary +5% boost to relevant skills for 10 minutes.
Title: [Blessing of the Creator God, Xipe Totec] Regenerate 2% of max health every 10 seconds. Increases to 5% when health drops below 25%. +10% to all resistances. 15% chance to gain an additional +5% resistance to incoming damage type for 30 seconds, stacking up to 3 times. When receiving fatal damage, 20% chance to survive at 1 HP and become invulnerable for 3 seconds. Once every 5 minutes. +10% to all stats. +20% experience gain.
Title: [Empress of Magic] +30% to all magical damage and healing. -20% mana cost on all spells. +50% max mana. +10% mana regeneration every 10 seconds. When mana drops below 20%, +20% mana regeneration for 10 seconds (60s cooldown). Absorbs damage equal to 25% of max mana. Reflects 15% of absorbed damage to attackers. Shield regenerates after 60 seconds if not broken. +20% to Intelligence and Wisdom. +15% spellcasting speed. +30% mana regeneration. Allies within 10 meters receive +10% to all magical attributes. Understanding of magic greatly increases — to the limit.
Title: [Hero] +50% to all resistances. 25% chance to fully resist any negative status effect. +25% to Strength, Agility, Intelligence. +20% to all damage dealt. +30% to all healing received. 25% chance to completely block incoming damage. +50% effectiveness of all buffs and debuffs. Enemies within 10 meters have attack and defense reduced by 20%.
Title: [God's Beloved {Avatar} Ver.] +50% to all stats. Immunity to all negative status effects including crowd control, debuffs, and ailments. +50% potency of all holy-based spells, abilities, and buffs. Gains the [???????????? □??? ??■???????????] modifier.
Title: [Demon Slayer] +50% to all damage against demonic entities. 25% chance to bypass demonic resistances entirely. Immunity to fear and mind-affecting effects from demonic forces. +20% resistance to dark and shadow-based attacks. Detect hidden or invisible demons within 100 meters. +30% to tracking and detection skills when hunting demons.
"They all stack?!?" I laughed. Like, actually laughed like a madwoman.
"All of these insane stats — they get amplified on top of each other?!"
: They don't show as a combined total on screen, but yes. They do.
"I should have listened to you earlier!" I paused. "Wait. Now that I think about it — who even are you?"
: I am the Divine Beast of Light. Called Trynda!
The bird puffed out their chest and lifted their head with maximum dignity.
"I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly are you doing here?"
: Hmph. I am not your familiar. I am only here to protect you. At most, I will stay in this room.
Tsk. Useless.
"You human...!"
Before we could keep going, there was a knock at the door.
