[Welcome! Special benefits for you, an outsider!]
[In the Point Shop, you can obtain anything you desire!]
The welcoming message appeared as soon as I entered the Point Shop.
It felt oddly mocking, but I brushed it aside and dismissed the notification.
The Point Shop offered several ways to increase mana. However, the efficiency varied widely depending on the cost, and some items were so inefficient that they felt borderline scammy. Careful research was essential.
“Hm… What should I do?”
I skimmed through the shop and first entered the basic stats purchase menu.
[You can exchange points for basic stats!]
[Basic Stats Shop]
▶ Health 0.1 – 100 points
▶ Strength 0.1 – 100 points
▶ Mana 0.1 – 100 points
…
Exchanging points for basic stats—this was a method I often used before my regression. It showed decent efficiency, especially at first.
1,000 points could increase mana by 1, which wasn’t too hard to earn through achievements.
But this method had a critical drawback.
[Warning]
[Basic stat prices increase by 10 points for every 10 purchases.]
The more you purchased, the more expensive it became.
At first, it might not seem like a big deal—just a 10-point increase—but over time, the costs became unmanageable.
In my previous life, I overused this system to the point where buying just 0.1 mana cost 350 points.
“This isn’t worth it.”
To gain mana efficiently, traits or items were a better investment.
Let’s see… I should start by searching for mana-related traits.
[Using the search function.]
[Searching for ‘Mana.’]
Ding!
▶ [Trait] Gluttony’s Gift (B)
▶ [Trait] Energy Absorption Technique (S)
▶ [Trait] Dark Warlock’s Training Method (D)
▶ [Trait] Arcane Meditation of the Ancient Empire (C)
▶ [Item] Great Elixir (B)
▶ [Item] Necronomicon (SS)
▶ [Item] Meditation for Mana Efficiency Vol. 1–2 Set (D)
▶ [Item] Heart of the Elder Dragon, Kaisas (SSS)
…
A long, disorganized list of search results appeared.
After some thought, I decided to check out the first option, Gluttony’s Gift.
[Gluttony’s Gift (B)]
Type: Trait
Description: Gain mana by consuming food.
[Passive Effect]
▶ Calorie Conversion
Gain mana equal to 0.001% of consumed calories.
Price: 20,000
“Not bad, but…”
It was expensive. And the efficiency wasn’t great either.
At 0.001%, even if I consumed three 1,000-calorie meals daily, I’d only gain 0.03 mana per day.
Sure, if I ate 3,000 calories daily, I could accumulate at least 10 mana over the course of a year.
But for someone like me, just starting to build mana, 10 mana was nowhere near enough.
…Not that I could afford it anyway.
“Next.”
I dismissed the option and thought about traits that were useful early on yet remained effective later.
“Ah.”
I searched for Nature’s Blessing.
[Searching for ‘Nature’s Blessing.’]
Ding!
▶ [Trait] Blessing of Nature (A)
An A-rank trait… The price would be exorbitant.
The B-rank Gluttony’s Gift cost 20,000 points. An A-rank trait would undoubtedly be far worse.
“…Shame.”
Blessing of Nature was a reward from a mid-story tower in the novel.
Its ability was straightforward: absorb ambient mana during cultivation to gain additional mana.
While it seemed ordinary at first glance, its true value lay in the unique skill unlocked as the trait’s proficiency increased.
Even though I couldn’t afford it, I opened the detailed description out of curiosity.
[Blessing of Nature (A)]
Type: Trait
Description: Absorbs mana from nature.
[Passive Effects]
▶ Nature’s Grace
Gain additional mana during cultivation, up to 150% depending on the environment.
▶ Nature’s Rest
Mana recovery speed increases by 50%.
[Active Effects]
▶ ???
Locked. Unlocks as proficiency increases.
Price: 50,000
“Fifty thousand points…”
The price difference between B-rank and A-rank traits was staggering—2.5 times higher.
I only had 6,700 points, less than one-eighth of what was needed.
“Ugh. What am I supposed to do with 6,700 points?”
Frustrated, I flopped onto the bed.
I was eager to act, but things weren’t going as planned, and it annoyed me.
“…Am I being too greedy?”
Thinking about it, maybe I was.
This was just the first day of my regression. There were still plenty of scenarios and time ahead of me.
In my previous life, I didn’t even have 6,700 points at this point.
I was being ridiculously spoiled.
Fine. If I looked hard enough, I was sure to find a low-tier yet useful trait.
I got up and resumed browsing the shop.
“…Wait.”
A brilliant idea struck me like lightning.
Why hadn’t I thought of it earlier?
There was a way to earn over 20,000 points at once.
I immediately used the search function and typed the name of the solution I had in mind.
‘Contract Cancellation Voucher.’
[Searching for ‘Contract Cancellation Voucher.’]
▶ [Special] Administrator’s Contract Cancellation Voucher (???)]
“Here it is.”
━━
[Administrator’s Contract Termination Certificate (???)]
Type: Special (Single-use consumable item)
Description: Converts one owned trait into points. (Purchase limit: 5 times)
Price: 6,000
━━
As expected!
The Administrator’s Contract Termination Certificate allowed me to convert one of my traits back into points. And I had just the right candidate—a useless trait that had grown to an A-rank after seven long years.
If I exchanged that for points, I could easily gain at least 20,000 points. With that, my options for purchasing traits would expand significantly.
Without hesitation, I purchased the item.
[You have purchased the Administrator’s Contract Termination Certificate (???)!]
[Please select the trait you wish to exchange for points.]
The trait I decided to exchange was Master Chef.
Master Chef was the first trait I bought after landing in the world of this novel. Originally an F-rank trait worth only 1,000 points, it had grown into a dependable A-rank trait over time—a testament to its growth potential.
[Would you like to exchange Master Chef (A) for points?]
I froze for a moment.
Now that I was about to give it up, I felt conflicted.
“…This feels strange.”
It wasn’t a life-changing trait, but it had become a part of me over the years. Thanks to this trait, my quality of life during those seven years had improved significantly.
Getting rid of it now felt like betraying an old companion.
[Exchanging Master Chef (A) will grant you 30,000 points.]
“Wait, 30,000?”
Seeing that number, I accepted without a second thought. Seven years of sentiment couldn’t compete with 30,000 points.
[You have exchanged Master Chef (A) for 30,000 points.]
[You have gained 30,000 points.]
“This is insane!”
In an instant, I had 30,000 points. This opened up so many more options for purchasing traits.
Ding!
[Achievement Unlocked: Well-Invested Trait Sale.]
[Reward: 10,000 points.]
[Calculating trait growth stage…]
[You have sold a high-rank trait.]
[Bonus: 10,000 points.]
“Huh? What?”
Not only had I earned 30,000 points, but the achievement reward had added another 20,000 points on top of that.
“This is nuts. Absolutely nuts.”
In the blink of an eye, I had 50,000 points.
Ecstatic, I immediately turned back to the search function.
With 50,000 points in hand, there was only one trait worth considering:
━━
[Blessing of Nature (A)]
━━
[Would you like to purchase this item?]
There was no reason not to. I selected “Purchase” without hesitation.
[You have purchased Blessing of Nature (A).]
“Done!”
This trait gave me a strong foundation to build up my mana.
In the short term, it might seem less efficient than simply buying stats with points, but in the long run, it was far more effective and economical for growing my mana reserves.
The only downside was that, as a growth-type trait, it wouldn’t yield immediate, dramatic results. But that didn’t bother me much.
What mattered was that I was starting this life with a better foundation than I ever had before.
The next morning, Saturday.
I headed to the mana training grounds bright and early.
Despite being the weekend, the place was bustling with students. It was the first week after the semester began, so the training grounds were packed with students eager to make a fresh start—just like how gyms are full on New Year’s Day.
I entered the mana training grounds, glancing around the crowd. Among the sea of faces, a few familiar ones stood out.
On the right was Yoo Ara, her hair tied back and damp with sweat as she rested.
On the left was Choi Seo-yoon, dressed to impress but sitting alone with a sulky expression.
Yoo Ara’s presence was no surprise—she was a known hard worker. But Choi Seo-yoon?
“Ah…”
It was obvious. She must’ve been trying to impress Lee Seo-jun, only to fail.
That reminded me—there was an episode about this right after the entrance ceremony.
Choi Seo-yoon, desperately trying to win over Lee Seo-jun, while he treated her like a cute junior. The scene played out vividly in my mind, making me chuckle.
She looked a little pitiful sitting there, but knowing her, she wouldn’t give up so easily.
‘Anyway, that’s not my problem.’
I wasn’t here to people-watch. My goal was mana cultivation.
I headed straight to one of the mana cultivation rooms tucked away in the corner of the training grounds.
―Beep!
[Door Unlocked.]
I tapped my student ID against the scanner, and the door to the mana cultivation room slid open.
The room was small—barely three square meters—but it was outfitted with artificial grass and trees to mimic a natural environment.
Mana was denser in natural settings, and this design aimed to optimize mana cultivation efficiency.
As I stepped inside, I felt the concentrated mana in the air.
Settling onto the floor, I took a deep breath and began sensing the mana around me.
At that moment, faint white energy swirled around me.
[The Blessing of Nature has been activated.]
[Nature’s mana surrounds you.]
Focusing my mind, I drew the mana toward my heart. The sensation was different from any mana cultivation I’d done before—undoubtedly due to the trait.
“Inhale…”
As I breathed in, the mana stirred within me.
Because my body wasn’t naturally sensitive to mana, it instinctively tried to escape. I had to use mana control techniques to force it to stay.
This was the crucial part.
The amount of mana I could firmly bind to myself at this stage would determine the success of the cultivation.
After grappling with the mana for about 30 minutes, a message popped up.
[Mana has increased by 0.01.]
[Due to the effect of the Blessing of Nature, you have gained an additional 0.015 mana.]
[The mastery of the Blessing of Nature has increased by 4%.]
“Phew.”
It worked.
While 0.01 might not seem like much, the additional 0.015 mana from the trait made it a decent outcome.
“Not bad.”
I steadied myself and prepared to continue.
There was no time to rest yet.
…How much time had passed?
When I finally opened my eyes, the long, grueling mana cultivation session had come to an end.
[Achievement unlocked: First Steps as a Mage.]
[Reward: 1,000 points.]
“Oh.”
A message notifying me of the achievement popped up before my eyes.
This was an achievement I had unlocked in my previous life as well.
As expected, achievements I had already earned could still be unlocked again in this timeline.
‘I wonder how much my mana has increased.’
━━
[Stats]
Health: 42
Strength: 34
Mana: 21.2
Speed: 30
Agility: 32
Dexterity: 28
━━
“0.2, huh.”
Four hours of meditation had resulted in a 0.2 increase in mana.
While that might not seem like much, it was actually a decent result for the time spent.
If I kept growing at this rate daily, I could theoretically achieve over 70 mana points within a year.
Of course, it wasn’t that simple. As base stats increased, the growth rate would naturally slow down. Reaching 70 mana within a year was unrealistic, considering the diminishing returns.
The higher the mana stat, the harder it would be to increase it further.
“Ahhh!”
Stretching as I stood up, I felt every muscle ache. Sitting still all day had left my body sore, and the constant focus had taken a toll on me mentally.
Besides, there was a natural limit to how much mana one could cultivate in a single day. Pushing myself further would only be inefficient.
Time to head back to the dorm.
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