I had returned home and was in the process of breaking the seal on the box I had acquired this time.
After about ten minutes, I paused and looked down at the box.
“…The seal is tougher than I expected.”
Unlike barriers, breaking a sealing technique is quite difficult.
While the Outsider’s Blessing is be effective in undoing magical restrictions, it is not omnipotent.
Of course, if the sealing technique was created by human hands, the Outsider’s Blessing would make it easy to break.
The problem was that the sealing technique on this box was crafted using a magical artifact.
Sealing techniques that utilize sealing artifacts are designed to respond to a “key,” making them extremely difficult to break through force, even with the Outsider’s Blessing.
“Mm.”
Even without a key, a seal-breaking kit would make the process easier, but the kits were expensive.
Spending points to buy one also felt like a waste.
In the end, my only option was to break it manually.
It would take quite some time.
“About three days, I guess.”
If I worked on it for four hours a day whenever I had time, it should take around three days.
I would have to chip away at it bit by bit.
I set the box aside.
Breaking the seal was important, but I had something else to do.
I looked at the ring on my finger—”The Legacy of the Formless Spirit.”
Currently, the ring contained the light attribute.
However, now that I had fully mastered the light attribute today, it was time to infuse a new one.
What should I choose?
If I could imbue the ring with the power of Demon Eradication, there would be no need to hesitate.
But Demon Eradication was not an attribute—it was a trait.
And its cost was a staggering 800,000 points.
Considering that the hidden villains of this world were not limited to demons and devils, spending points on Demon Eradication felt a bit—no, very wasteful.
“Hmm.”
If I had to pick a new attribute, then ice and electricity were the top candidates.
Comparing their advantages, it came down to a choice between offense and stability.
“Offense and stability…”
If I only considered their strengths, electricity was the better choice for my current situation.
Trying to survive against the powerful villains lurking in this world with mere stability was futile.
Stability was only useful when I had a clear advantage over my opponent.
However, choosing electricity without hesitation wasn’t an easy decision.
That was because the electricity attribute had several drawbacks.
First, its immense destructive power came with an equally immense consumption of mana.
Additionally, maintaining a stable form was difficult, increasing the risk of accidentally electrocuting myself with my own magic.
This was why adaptation training was even more crucial for electricity than for other attributes.
Once I became accustomed to electricity, I wouldn’t have to worry about shocking myself.
Now that I thought about it, I had acquired the “Electric Resistance” trait through Evolution Adaptation.
━━
[Electric Resistance (D)]
Category: Trait
Description: Your body gains enhanced resistance to electricity.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Electric Being
Mana +1
Electric attribute resistance +10%
━━
“Hmm.”
10% electric resistance.
That was far from enough to handle the electricity attribute properly.
However, if I used it well, I might be able to adapt to the attribute more quickly.
Traits obtained through Evolution and Adaptation had the potential to grow.
If I subjected myself to controlled electric shocks, I might be able to build my attribute resistance faster than expected.
“…Should I try it?”
I had inflicted pain on myself before to enhance adaptive traits.
There was no reason I couldn’t do it again.
Of course, when I had used paralysis poison before, I just had to get stabbed once and sleep it off.
But electric resistance training would be on a whole different level.
Gulp.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
Meanwhile, Yoo Ah-yeon had paused her pursuit of Jaun and made a rare visit to the Special Task Force headquarters.
She had spent about five years as a Special Task Force member, but since joining Dawn’s Blade, she had almost no interactions with them.
This was her first visit in two years.
“It’s been a while, but nothing has changed much.”
Yoo Ah-yeon looked around as she spoke.
Kim Deokhyun smirked.
“Two years isn’t that long.”
“Two years is quite a long time. Just two years ago, there weren’t even things like wireless mana charging kits.”
“…You’re really bringing that up? Drop it. That level of seriousness is contagious.”
“Anyway, what are you going to do about Theresa?”
At Yoo Ah-yeon’s question, Kim Deokhyun crossed his arms.
“We’ll hand her over to the International Magic Tribunal according to the law. She’s a Grade 6 criminal, so the outcome is obvious. And you should know this already—they’re bound by a Blood Oath. No matter what we try, we won’t be able to extract any information from them.”
“…I know. I’m just curious about what your plans are moving forward.”
“That’s Association business, so stop prying. I don’t owe an outsider like you any explanations. And just so you know, I don’t have any goodwill toward you.”
“…”
At Kim Deokhyun’s words, Yoo Ah-yeon fell silent.
Two years ago—
Yoo Ah-yeon had been a mage in the Special Task Force.
Despite her young age, she possessed exceptional skill that placed her among the top mages in the world.
Even within the Special Task Force, she had many followers.
However, problems arose.
She became dissatisfied with how the Special Task Force was run.
Repeated clashes over ideology led her to leave, taking several talented members with her.
Thus, “Dawn’s Blade” was born.
Of course, most of the current members of Dawn’s Blade were victims who harboured deep resentment toward Jaun.
But from Kim Deokhyun’s perspective, Yoo Ah-yeon had stolen Special Task Force mages from under their noses.
There was no way he could have good feelings toward her.
Yoo Ah-yeon let out a long sigh and spoke.
“Senior.”
“Don’t call me that.
You and I are strangers now.”
“…Kim Deokhyun?”
“Hey… just call me senior.”
At his words, Yoo Ah-yeon let out a faint smile.
“So, about what you asked me last time—what was that about?”
“Oh, the magic used to capture Theresa?”
“Yes. You said you were assisted by an unidentified individual.”
“That’s right. But are you sure that wasn’t one of your own mages?”
At Kim Deokhyun’s question, Yoo Ah-yeon shook her head.
“No. We do have support-type mages, but none who can use the binding light magic you described.”
“…Is that so? Then who the hell was it?”
Kim Deokhyun fell into deep thought.
Watching him, Yoo Ah-yeon spoke up.
“Looks like there’s another force out there targeting Jaun.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. They caught one of Jaun’s key members and then disappeared. That’s suspicious.”
“There are a lot of strange things about this.”
Yoo Ah-yeon frowned in thought.
“I should investigate this myself. A mage who uses such a unique spell should have left some kind of trace.”
Two days before the start of school.
Disguised as Kim Jinwoo, I visited a private comprehensive magic training center in Seoul. The reason was simple—to develop my electric resistance trait.
This training center was equipped with various facilities for mages, and elemental adaptation training was no exception.
With a well-established safety system, there was no better place to enhance my adaptability to the electric attribute.
Of course, the daily pass costing 200,000 won was a bit pricey, but money wasn’t an issue. *150 USD
Beep!
I opened the door to the private training room and stepped inside.
A square-shaped, unfamiliar machine stood before me. I wasn’t completely clueless about machines, so I quickly figured out how to use it.
I tapped the screen where it said [Electric Adaptation Training].
Since I was afraid, I set the intensity to the lowest level.
Crackle. Crackle.
Electric sparks danced at the tip of the long rod attached to the machine.
The system was simpler than I expected, but simplicity often meant effectiveness.
I infused mana into the “Legacy of the Formless Spirit.” As the ring radiated light, I brought it close to the rod.
Crackle.
The transparent ring gradually took on a yellow colour—a clear sign that it was successfully absorbing the electric attribute.
“…With this, the electric attribute is complete.”
Now, it was time to use the rod to build my electric resistance.
I slowly moved my body closer to the electrified rod.
“Hoo.”
Now that I was actually doing it, I was trembling.
No, I was more than just a little scared.
All sorts of thoughts flooded my mind, but I quickly steeled myself. I couldn’t hesitate now. The trials ahead would be far more grueling than this.
“Hup!”
With a decisive movement, I pressed my body against the rod.
Crackle—!
“AAAAAARGH!”
[You have achieved the ‘Electric Attribute Adaptation Training’ milestone.]
[You have earned 2,000 points as a reward.]
[The grade of your ‘Electric Resistance’ trait has increased from D to C.]
[Your body is adapting to pain!]
[The adaptive trait ‘Pain Resistance (F)’ has been added.]
“Uuuugh…”
The long, agonizing electric torture—no, electric adaptation training—of day one was finally over.
I had earned points through an achievement, and I had even acquired and evolved a new adaptive trait.
Even now, I felt like electricity was still coursing through my body. I could understand why, despite its many advantages, mages tended to avoid the electric attribute.
Even with an adaptive trait, it was this painful—so what kind of monsters were the ones who trained in this from childhood?
“Hoo.”
Still, since I had gained a new trait, I needed to check its details.
Honestly, I had only come here for the electric resistance trait, but getting an additional trait like pain resistance was a nice bonus.
━━
[Pain Resistance (F)]
Category: Trait
Description: Your body adapts to pain.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Pain Adaptation
Reduces perceived pain by 15%.
Increases recovery speed by 10%.
━━
“Hm.”
The effect was fairly standard.
A 15% reduction in pain.
It could feel low or high depending on perspective.
More importantly, pain resistance stacked with electric resistance.
That alone made this trait incredibly valuable.
I checked the next trait.
━━
[Electric Resistance (C)]
[Passive Effect]
▶ Electric Being
Increases mana by 1.
Increases electric attribute resistance by 20%.
━━
The trait had risen from D to C.
But the only change was an increase in electric resistance from 10% to 20%.
Still, 10% was a significant number. A jump from 10% to 20% was effectively doubling it.
Even if the difference seemed small now, it would add up over time and make a big impact.
“Well, let’s try manifesting it.”
I raised my hand and gathered mana. At the same time, a sphere of electricity began to form in my palm.
Crackle, crackle…
Occasionally, the electricity would spark and sting my palm, but I endured it.
The electric attribute was definitely tricky to control.
The light attribute had felt calm, but electricity was like a living creature—jumping and sparking unpredictably.
“Hoo.”
[You have achieved the ‘Electric Attribute Manifestation’ milestone.]
[You have earned 2,000 points as a reward.]
I had successfully manifested it.
As expected, the mana consumption was extreme, but with items like the Heart of Nature or mana elixirs, I could manage that issue to some extent.
Crackle—!
That’s when it happened.
The electricity in my palm suddenly flared, sending a powerful jolt into my hand.
“Ow! Agh! Damn it!”
I immediately dispelled the magic. A searing pain spread across my palm.
The shock was stronger than I had expected, leaving my palm red and swollen.
“Ugh…”
It seemed like I still had a long way to go before mastering the electric attribute.
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