Slightly shaking his head deciding that he shouldn’t think about things beyond his control. As he decided to forget it, Ingram felt a sudden cold, heavy, invasive gaze land on him from a place beyond his view, the invasive gaze that seemed to see through him completely made his heart tighten and skin crawl. Without his knowledge a thin strand of transparent energy was ripped from his body before shooting into the sky. Soon after, the invasive feeling faded, and Ingram released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. ‘What was that?’ Ingram felt paranoid and began to pace around his room, only to catch a glimpse of the words, [3/21 Learned] next to his Main Class.
Ingram turned his attention back on to his updated status, only to make a pained expression, ‘My HP and MP grew, but my Stamina dropped. My Physical Attack and Physical Defense dropped to zero, wait Zero?! How is that possible, doesn’t that mean even if I hit someone it won’t hurt them even a little, but I take the full amount of physical damage if someone hits me? Is this because of my new class, why? At least my Magic Attack and Magic Defense rose, that makes me feel a bit better. My dreams of becoming a physical mage are now officially a pipe dream.’ Ingram sighed to himself as his eyes slowly read down the new status board.
‘New skills, that’s nice, but I’m more curious about the updated Magic Circle Creation.’ Activating the skill, within Ingram’s mind, the space where magic circles were created, grew to be countless times larger than before. Deactivating the skill, Ingram focused on the [Press to see learnable Magic Circle Components] and a simple organized list, almost like a table of contents but with sections, appeared in front of him,
{Core-
(Unlearned) Mixed Mana (MP Cost: 101)- Mana that has a little bit of everything, but due to its contrasting nature it restrains itself and is only useful for making Barriers. All those that have this mana are unable to learn other types of magic because raw Mixed mana assimilates all other forms of mana into itself to make more Mixed Mana. (Unless stimulated, Mixed mana has an inert nature) [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 3 and 1001 MP]
Characteristics-
(Unlearned) Physical Block Barrier (MP Cost: 50)- Blocks Physical Attacks [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 1 and 575 MP]
(Unlearned) Magical Block Barrier (MP Cost: 50)- Blocks Magical Attacks [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 1 and 575 MP]
(Unlearned) Spiritual Block Barrier (MP Cost: 50)- Blocks Spiritual Attacks [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 1 and 575 MP]
(Unlearned) Physical Status Resist Barrier (MP Cost: 150)- Resists Basic Status Effects (Bleeding, Numbness, Physical Paralysis, Disease, Poison, etc.) [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 20 and 700 MP]
(Unlearned) Physical Concealing Barrier (MP Cost: 150)- Conceals the edge and all physical entities within the confines of the barrier [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 15 and 450 MP]
(Unlearned) Physical Repelling Barrier (MP Cost: 100)- Repels a Physical entity [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 20 and 500 MP]
(Unlearned) Physical Isolation Barrier (MP Cost: 1000)- Complete isolates the insides of the barrier from the physical world [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 30 and 800 MP]
(Unlearned) Physical Reversal Barrier (MP Cost: 1001)- Physically Reverses whatever is inside. [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 50 and 1001 MP]
(Imprinted) (80%) Solidify* (MP Cost: 5)- Solidify mana into a physical form [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 10 and 130 MP]
Modifications;
Shape- {Imprinted Contents Slightly Altered to Match Obtained Information}
(Imprinted) (20%) Sphere* (MP Cost: 100)- Makes the Barrier a Sphere. [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 10* and 120 MP]
(Unlearned) Plate (MP Cost: 50)- Makes the barrier a Plate. [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 1 and 30 MP]
Malleability-
(Unlearned) Hard (MP Cost: 100)- Makes the barrier hard [Class Points and Mana required for an instant a Perfect Understanding: 1 and 60 MP]
Permeability-
(Unlearned) None (MP Cost: 50): Doesn't allow for things to enter or leave barriers. [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 1 and 66 MP]
(Unlearned) Exit (One-way) (MP Cost: 50): Only allows for things to leave the barrier (Objects connected to the person the barrier surrounds if outside the barrier can be pulled back in) [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 5 and 42 MP]
(Unlearned) Enter (One-way) (MP Cost: 50): Only allows for things to enter the barrier. [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 5 and 42 MP]
Size-
(Imprinted) (80%) 3 Inches* (MP Cost: 0.25)- [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 5 and 50 MP]
(Unlearned) 1 Meter (MP Cost: 3.28) [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 1 and 30 MP]
(Unlearned) 2 Meters (MP Cost: 6.56)- [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 2 and 60 MP]
(Unlearned) 4.5 Meters (MP Cost: 14.76)- [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 4 and 135 MP]
(Unlearned) 6 Meters (MP Cost: 19.68)- [Class Points and Mana required for an instant Perfect Comprehension: 6 and 180 MP]
*Due to being forcibly imprinted and not learned by Host, the Class Points and Mana required to instantly attain perfect comprehension are doubled until the Imprinted Knowledge is completely learned.}
Ingram had an excited expression when he saw how much information he gained for the low price of five copper. ‘Those five copper were well worth it. Now, to gain class points I need to level up. I wish there was another way.’ Ingram thought as he focused on the most important core of all barrier magic and a complicated and detailed drawing of two mirrored universes, with even the stars being detailed. With one glance, Ingram felt a headache but activated his Barrier Magic Circle Creation and began to attempt to create it, but the more he mentally mimicked it, the more sweat that covered his forehead until the Core component shattered into countless pieces along with a sudden severe headache.
Ingram’s legs gave out and fell off the bed before rolling around the floor in agony as tears flowed from his eyes, even thinking felt painful. Only after five minutes passed did his headache ebb away and his thoughts cleared. Deciding that the floor was better than the bed, Ingram kept his eyes closed as he thought, ‘Why is something so complicated only worth two class points?’ Ingram cracked his eyes open and saw the core component’s complicated structure as his head throbbed the more, he observed the beautiful yet complicated structure.
‘Let’s not try that again. Oh, I just realize I gained 226 exp… why does that number sound so familiar?’ As Ingram’s hazy memories slightly cleared under the influence of his Memory Reinforcement skill after a moment of concentration, ‘Oh, I remember now. That’s the total number of dishes I cleaned. I vividly remember that I got bored while washing them, so I counted them as I went… Wait, I got one exp per dish? How convenient, but slow. I wonder what else gives exp? Now, how do I use exp? Do I focus on the class or what?’
Ingram focused on his main class and one point of exp dropped and the exp required to level up went down. Slightly exhilarated, he focused on his class until after five seconds his Class Level went from Zero to One and his exp dropped to 217. Checking his stats again,
{Name: Ingram
Race: Human
Mana Type: Mixed Mana
Experience: 217
Life Level: 1 (Experience required until next Life level: 9)
Main Class: Basic Barrier Mage [Level: 1/600] (Experience required until next Class Level: 99) [Press to see learnable Magic Circle Components] [3/21 Learned]
Hp: 125/125 | MP: 4,500/4,500
Stamina: 80/80 | Satiety: 80/100 | Thirst: 75/100
Physical Attack: 0 | Physical Defense: 0 | Movement: 2
Magic Attack: 300 | Magic Defense: 225
Stats:
Vitality: 5 |Strength: 2
Endurance: 4 |Agility: 2
Intelligence: 20 |Wisdom: 15
Free Stat Points: 10
Free Class Points: 10}
Ingram smiled when he saw he gained ten class points, and he began to plan out how to use them. ‘First is the most important, Core: Mixed Mana, worth three. Second and third, the two Characteristics Physical Block and Magical Block, worth two in total. Fourth, Permeability: None, worth one. Fifth, Malleability: Hard, worth one point. Sixth, Shape: Plate, worth one point and finally the seventh being the size, Two Meters, worth two points in total. With this all ten point would be used to the best of my ability. I doubt I’ll need to purchase Spiritual Block for now. I wonder if I could perfect Shape: Sphere or Size: 3 Inches, by myself.’
After he completed his list Ingram opened his eyes and opened the component list again and followed his plan. When he purchased the Core Component his eyes were blinded as a memory of someone in a very dark place carving out the two mirrored small universes appeared in his head, but he felt he can’t see was in-between the two. Ingram felt countless experiences engraved themselves into his very soul, forever merged with his very essence. Deep within his soul, the mirrored universes appeared and seemed to be shining brightly as they slowly twisted and twirled around something that sat in between them.
He felt like he could copy the core component with just a quick thought, but he also felt countless inspirations flowing into him from the permanent Core component that appeared deep within his soul or maybe it was always there and he just uncovered it. After the painful, yet enlightening experience ended, Ingram felt mentally exhausted and if he checked his mana, he’d realize, true to what the system said, he lost 1001 MP in an instant.
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Ingram opened his eyes, deep within his eyes a dark grey light shown and the world he saw changed once again. He could see a few dark grey threads slithering through the air like small snakes. Oddly enough they only seemed to appear around him, looking further they didn’t exist when they appeared they were slowly drawn into his body making him instinctually shiver. The sight of mana in the air was mesmerizing, even if the woman he loved, if he had one, was in front of him he felt like he wouldn’t even notice her. The feeling mana in the air was intoxicating, it felt like something within him was being soaked in warm water after being in the cold for a long time. Soon the odd sight faded from his view and while the world had a fresh look, it felt like it lacked something. Ingram licked his lips like he had eaten something tasty and would do anything to just one more taste.
‘So, that’s what it was. I finally understand why that other player saw the
Ingram’s initial excitement was replaced by calm acceptance, but he still had more than a hint of curiosity about what else he’d learn from the other magic circle components. Next was the two characteristics, Physical Block and Magical Block. When he purchased Physical Block, a Shield blocking a Spear, nothing exaggerated happened like before, but he understood the characteristic completely and had a deeper understanding of how physical damage worked, but that was it. With the purchase of Magical Block he saw, a Shield blocking a translucent beam that split into piece when they touched, he understood the characteristic completely and gained an understanding of how magical damage worked. After understanding both, Ingram felt a headache coming on as his mana dropped close to half. He only had 2,349 MP to be specific, so he took a break and decided to practice his Specialized Meditation skill. ‘Each section took 575 MP to learn. So, I used a grand total of 2,151 MP in under ten minutes. This forceful comprehension burns mana like nothing I have ever seen before in any game.’ Ingram thought as he continued to rub his sore temples.
Following his instincts, he crossed his legs, put his palms together and closed his eyes. Unknown to him the mirrored universes in the depths of his soul began to slowly move towards one another, but it was negligible when compared to their sizes. As they got closer, thin dark grey threads seemed to just appear in his body, like he was the point in-between universes. With his new understanding, the mana recovery speed increased from the normal ten points every five seconds to fifty points every five seconds and the proficiency began to slowly grow with five points every ten seconds. At his current pace, it would take Ingram roughly two minutes to fully restore his MP. As he meditated, Ingram’s thoughts subconsciously activated his Barrier Magic Circle Creation.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
‘How would a barrier magic circle be configured? At the center would be the core, of course, then like a concentric circle, on top of that would be the characteristic, then the modifications, but they can be in any order with size being the outermost modification, so I guess there is a bit of an order. So, using what I currently know, a Physical Block barrier magic circle would look something like this.’ Ingram slowly created each component before placing them in the places he thought they would be. Laid out it would be, (100%) Mixed mana, (100%) Physical Block, (20%) Sphere, and finally (80%) 3 inches. Once it was assembled Ingram had a feeling it wouldn’t work, so he added a characteristic into the modifications after disassembling the faulty magic circle.
The new configuration went, Mixed Mana, Physical Block, (20%) Sphere, (80%) Solidify, and finally (80%) 3 inches, before the components fused into the magic circle he saw in games, seemingly impossible to read. The completed mysterious symbols on the edge made Ingram feel slightly satisfied, because it looked aesthetically pleasing to him. ‘According to their descriptions, this magic circle would cost 257 (256.25) MP to create. I wonder what a barrier looks like.’ Ingram’s thoughts wandered for a second before he concentrated again. After making the magic circle, Ingram decided to make one for Magic Block, and its cost would be the same.
Staring at the two magic circles floating in the desolate grey void, Ingram wondered, ‘How many magic circles can I make before I can’t make any more? How long will the magic circles last before they vanish? There are so many things I’m curious about.’ He sighed as he opened his eyes, feeling a sense of fullness within him, two minutes had passed during his experimentation. Ingram took a deep breath before looking at the list of magic circle components and began to use his class points again.
The next was Malleability: Hard, a diamond, it cost 60 MP to learn. When he understood this modification, he gained a deeper understanding of Barrier Malleability. Ingram waited, mentally digesting the knowledge, but at this point he was getting used to the feeling of suddenly gaining knowledge so after a second, he continued.
The next was Permeability: None, a perfect circle with a line through it, it was cost 66 MP to learn. When Ingram understood this modification, he had a slightly deeper understanding of Barrier Permeability. This time Ingram had a slight headache, but it was within a manageable range. Finally, he decided to learn the last one as quickly as possible. Size: Two meters, a line that measured two meters, it cost 60 MP to learn. Through understanding both components, Ingram gained a slightly deeper understanding of barrier sizes.
Ingram rubbed his temples in an attempt to soothe a sudden headache as a broad smile appeared on his face and without a word, he re-created his two barrier Magic Circles, New Configuration: Mixed Mana, Physical (Magical) Block, Plate, Hard, None, and finally (80%) 3 inches for the creation cost of 703 (702.5) MP for both Barriers. Staring at the two new magic circles, Ingram realized they looked much more complicated when compared to before.
Following his curiosity, he tried to summon the magic circle into the material world only to feel his mana slowly flow into the Physical Block Barrier Magic circle began to glow a dark grey. ‘Oh, that’s right. It takes ten seconds for a magic circle to be created. Is that how mages work in this world? They prepare for every battle by keeping a few magic circles in reserve before making more to match the situation they’re in, ten seconds is a long time, but taking the time to make a magic circle in the middle of combat would it take far longer than ten seconds with my current proficiency? Thinking about proficiency, how much did I gain from mediating?’
While he waited for the two magic circles to fill with MP, he decided to see how if his skills changed,
{Skills:
Passive;
[Proficiency Points: 0/30 | Proficiency Level: 3/10 | Proficiency Rank: Beginner]
Mixed Mana Control- You have obtained the ability to feel Mixed mana in the air. All magic stats grow by 3.97% when using Mixed Magic. The more Mixed Magic you use before recovering MP the more Proficiency you gain.
[Proficiency Points: 0/10 | Proficiency Level: 0/10 | Proficiency Rank: Beginner]
Wand Proficiency- You have the talent to use Wands. The more you learn about how to properly use a Wand, the more Proficiency you gain. Magic Attack stats increased by 1% while using Wands.
[Proficiency Points: 0/10 | Proficiency Level: 0/10 | Proficiency Rank: Beginner]
Magic Staff Proficiency- You have the talent to use Magic Staff. The more you learn about how to properly use Magic Staffs, the more Proficiency you gain. Magic Attack stats increased by 1% while using Magic Staffs.
[Proficiency Points: 2/20 | Proficiency Level: 2/10 | Proficiency Rank: Beginner]
Memory Reinforcement- Reinforces your memory to better remember everything, the more you learn the more Proficiency you gain. (Imprinted Knowledge 4/6 [More Detailed Information])
Active;
(Innate) [Trash] Treasure Compass: Summon a crystal omni-directional compass that points to the location of an unowned treasure of the same grade within 10 Kilometers. (Uses: 22 [Gain two uses every hour]) {Can only find treasures of the same rank.} {Evolution Conditions} [Upgrade chance obtained, Press here to spin the wheel]
[Proficiency Points: 11/10 | Proficiency Level: 2/10 | Proficiency Rank: Beginner] Specialized Meditation- Calm your mind and feel the mana that exists all around you. Gently guide it into your body to nourish your body and refresh your mind. Each meditation recovers 100 to 1000 MP every 30 seconds, with a 2.98% chance to increase your MP by 15 permanently.
[Proficiency Points: 0/10 | Proficiency Level: 1/10 | Proficiency Rank: Beginner]
Barrier Magic Circle Creation- Create a magic circle using mana. [More Details] [Time required to form a Magic Circle: 9.9 seconds] [Magic Circle Activation Range: 10 Meters]}
‘I gained two Proficiency Levels in
{Judgment: Magic Circle is 96.67% accurate. Barrier strength is decreased by 3.33%.
Perfect Barrier Strength: 545.84 | Penalty applied, New Barrier Strength: 527.66
9 Proficiency Points gained.}
Staring at the magic circle, he ran into another problem, he had no idea how the barrier would manifest, ‘What does barrier strength mean? Is it like how much damage it can take before it breaks? Why did I get 9 Proficiency Points? Is it connected to the magic circle accuracy? Would a barrier be affected by gravity or would it float?’
With a burning heart, Ingram activated the magic circle. Without any flashy lights, or amazing phenomena, a thin translucent dark grey barrier that was roughly 3 inches in size and less than a millimeter thick appear floating in the air. The magic circle didn’t disappear, rather it began to glow dark grey and a new connection that connected to the barrier appeared in Ingram’s mind. Unlike a magic circle, he couldn’t mentally move the barrier. His curiosity filled his mind, and he reached out to touch the small floating barrier with an expression of awe. When he touched it, the barrier was extremely smooth, like a pane of translucent glass. He grabbed the edge of the barrier and attempted to move it, and to his surprise, through his connection he could. Holding the small barrier, Ingram was slightly playing with it, tossing it up into the air before watching it fall back down.
‘It doesn’t feel heavy, instead it feels weightless, like it doesn’t exist, but I can see I’m holding it. What a complicated feeling.’ Ingram held it up to his eyes and looked through it, “Why didn’t it float? What changed? Did my touch change something? When I touched it, the connection between my barrier and I changed a bit. I don’t have enough knowledge to know what changed, but that’s okay. I have more than enough time to learn.’ Ingram gently rubbed the smooth barrier with a pleased expression. ‘What would happen if I summon the barrier extremely close to floor? Would it appear above the floor, or would it phase into the floor? What would happen if I summoned it in a pool of water? Would it float or would it sink? What about moving water? Would it drift away? When under a flame? Would it get hot? So many possibilities, but which one would become true?’ Ingram’s thoughts were beginning to run wild as his eyes seemed to glow as he looked at the small barrier.
Following his heart, Ingram threw the barrier into the air and focused on his connection to it and the descent never came. ‘I see, through my connection, I can force it to float…’ Suddenly the floating barrier fell into his hand, ‘… or fall. I wonder what else I can do with this delicate connection. Calm down, take a deep breath.’ Ingram closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it go along with most of his curiosity. Despite his attempt to suppress his curiosity, one thought appeared like weeds after a rainstorm, ‘What would happen if I stood on it while it’s floating? Would it stay in the air, or would it fall?’
Ingram released the barrier and watched it fall until it got close to the wooden floor before it came to a sudden stop. Standing up, Ingram looked down at the small barrier and shakily lifted his leg and stepped on the small floating barrier. Two things happened in quick successions, first, when he balanced on the small barrier, he was completely off the floor. Second, the moment he stepped on his barrier, he felt a huge weight press down on his mind just before the barrier fell from the air and his body along with it. When the barrier hit the wooden floor, he got a system prompt,
{Physical Block Barrier blocks 1 point of physical damage from the fall damage.
Judgment: Barrier strength is higher than the damage dealt, Physical Block Barrier remains intact.}
Ingram gained a bit more insight about his barriers. ‘I see, so it's the type of barrier that requires an attack stronger than itself to break, the best kind. I assume if someone breaks the magic circle then the barrier vanishes too because the connection between me and the barrier comes the magic circle. That was self-explanatory, but what happens when I get hit by an attack stronger than the barrier’s strength?’ Ingram bent down and picked up his barrier and began to dust off the dirt that rested on it after he stepped on it.
‘I can only think of two outcomes. One follows the laws of physics; the attack is weakened by the strength of my barrier with the remainder continuing forward. The other possibility is like those novels where the barrier just vanishes and the full power passes through it. While I hope it’s the first possibility, I have no way of testing it for now. All I have is barriers, in other words, pure defense, even my magic attack is added to my barriers. I don’t even know how I’m going to level up in the future, I don’t want to wash dishes forever.’ Ingram sighed as he stared at the small barrier that rested on his left palm before looking at the magic circle floating above his right.
Temporarily putting that depressing thought aside, Ingram focused on two things that can immediately help him. First were his unused ten stat points and the other was the 10% chance to improve his innate skill. ‘How should I distribute my stat points? If I put them all in intelligence and wisdom, while my barriers will get stronger, but if something gets past them, then I’m dead due to low vitality. I don’t know if equipment can increase my vitality like in other games.’ Ingram looked at his thin hands and sighed before rubbing his barrier.
‘On the other hand, if it can, then why would I want to waste my equipment slots for vitality increasing items when I can lean into increasing my high intelligence and wisdom. I mean the whole point of barrier magic is to never get hit, so the stronger the barrier, the less likely I’ll get hit and die. But that mentality is playing with fire, what if I enter a place where magic can’t be used? What if I encounter the final boss while being level one, like I did earlier.’ Ingram remembered the sword slash that cut a distant mountain in two and shivered, ‘I’d be like a creature with a hard shell, hard on the outside, but once the shell is gone, then the soft interior is exposed and that would mark my demise. But not increasing my advantage would be a waste of my innate talents.’
Ingram seriously thought about it for a while, not noticing the slight dip in his MP every minute. Suddenly he clenched his teeth and made a drastic decision, ‘I dream of never being harmed again, how can I achieve this unrealistic goal without a sacrifice. Assuming I can gain physical stats through hard work, then naturally I should choose the hardest or most beneficial stats to increase for me personally. Now the question is, should I go fifty/fifty or should I lean more into one.’ Ingram rolled his shoulders and stretched his stiff body.
‘Most mages would be more into intelligence compared to wisdom because intelligence increases their attack power, but that doesn’t matter for me, since both Magic Attack and Magic Defense are used to calculate my barrier’s strength. Personally, I’m leaning towards Wisdom because I assume it increases my MP along with my Magic Defense, but I want to hold out hope that the other parts of the barrier mage’s legacy have some form of attacks. How about this, 4 for intelligence and 6 for Wisdom, and if the stats points drop to 5 point per Life Level, then 2 to 3. Now that I think about it, balancing them is also a possibility. If I balance them and keep increasing them equally that will have a good purpose, but I’d get less MP each level, but my barrier’s strength would increase more that way. Also, I have no idea if my base stats grow with each Life Level or if it’s just Stat points. I mean nothing is stopping me from leveling up once, I have the experience and it’s only 9 points of experience.’
Ever the man of action, Ingram leveled up his Life Level after focusing on his Life Level for five seconds, and to his shock his stats grew, with some increasing more. Ingram looked at his current stats with a slightly dark expression,
{Name: Ingram
Race: Human
Mana Type: Mixed Mana
Experience: 208
Life Level: 2 (Experience required until next Life level: 99)
Main Class: Basic Barrier Mage [Level: 1/600] (Experience required until next Class Level: 99) [Press to see learnable Magic Circle Components] [10/20 Learned]
Hp: 150/150 | MP: 7,211/8,100
Stamina: 100/100 | Satiety: 77/100 | Thirst: 73/100
Physical Attack: 0 | Physical Defense: 0 | Movement: 4
Magic Attack: 495 (514.65) | Magic Defense: 405 (421.07)
Stats:
Vitality: 6 |Strength: 3
Endurance: 5 |Agility: 4
Intelligence: 33 |Wisdom: 27
Free Stat Points: 20
Free Class Points: 0}
‘So, my stats will grow with each Life Level, but the growth of my physical stats is lackluster. They only increased by one each, wait never mind agility increased by two. I have to ask, why did my intelligence grow by thirteen and wisdom by twelve? Am I destined to be a glass cannon? No, a glass cannon gets one good blast before shattering, instead I’m more like a Pangolin.’ This revelation solidified Ingram’s decision to focus on his two main stats alone. ‘First I’ll balance my magic stats, then I’ll go from there.’ Focusing on his Wisdom, he watched it grow until it equaled his Intelligence. His MP reached 9,900 and his Magic Defense equaled his Magic Attack, 495. ‘I’m not sure how strong my barriers are for my level, but I assume they’re quite strong. I’ll hold onto the remaining fourteen stat points for now. Now, time to test my luck.’ Ingram rubbed his hand together like a gambling addict as his old gacha addiction reared its ugly head.
‘Come on, let me see an increase.’ Ingram focused on the button and his consciousness fell into an iridescent zone as a massive wheel appeared, split in half with half being dominated by dark grey with the other half being iridescent. Ingram’s face fell as the wheel began to spin, as he had a bad feeling. True to his bad feeling he landed firmly in the dark grey. His consciousness was unceremoniously kicked out and he saw a system prompt, {Upgrade Chance failed. Consolation prize: 1 Treasure Compass use added.}
Ingram sighed as he rubbed his throbbing temples, “I knew I was unlucky, but I didn’t think it was this bad. This is the first time I got a consolation prize.’ Ingram’s expression changed as he gave his bad luck some serious thought. ‘Now that I’m really thinking about it, I never won a single luck-based contest. I always drew the short straw; I was never picked during those giveaways even when it was in my favor. I never even won a rigged contest, the award always went missing or I got sick the day before, then second place got it, or it would go missing the next day. Even in games I never got the rare loot I wanted, I had to buy it at an exorbitant price.” Ingram was on his hands and knees as he came to this realization as his magic circle floated above his head and the barrier was floating in the air slightly above the wooden floor.
After he vented his negative emotions, he stood up, after picking up his barrier, and patted the dirt and dust off his pants. Sitting on the bed, Ingram’s thoughts began to wander back to more serious matters, ‘What do I do now? I need experience, and the fastest way to level up in games is to kill monsters and animals… Why don’t I become an adventurer. I mean, why can’t an adventurer quest become a system quest. Maybe I’ll get an experience reward on top of having a source of revenue and something to do as I explore this world while I look for the rest of the