After bribing a gnome who acted more like a leprechaun, I arrived at the subterranean library where I had to pay 100,000 valis an hour to hunt for books in a dark maze of bookshelves that looked more like a cross between a wine cellar and a real-world dungeon.
So I started reading all the magic books there, hitting the jackpot as soon as I picked up the handwritten books in the language of the gods, curses, rituals, spells, and rare items, ancient spirits, potions recipes, etc., etc.
'Well, I learned something from it, but I expected more.' I complained as I continued reading without wasting any time.
'Ohhhh, so depending on which god grants the Falna, the recipient can acquire god-related abilities, hmmm, and it's also possible to acquire abilities by hypnotizing yourself by constantly thinking about what kind of skill or magic you want and how their magical structure should work. But it's impossible to get a spell or skill if your heart's desire doesn't match it.' I thought as I continued to read a dubious-looking book [The King of the Night's Falna Uses Guide] 'For more information, read book 1001 feats of the King of the Night Simbad?'
'Masaka? This looks totally like a Grimoire in disguise that a protagonist must decipher but... I'm not sure I want to learn a skill and magic from someone who calls themselves the king of the night with that kind of cape; it's probably going to be about getting stronger by the power of perversion or something right? and I know no one that used a power like that and had a good ending... but well, it's Simbad, right? Right? Must at least have some knowledge about spirits or whatever magic beings that he made a pact are in this world, right?
So I read the book normally...
'108 ways to make a female spirit happy...' 'WOW!' 'SUBARASHI, I was right, and that's really good but... well, I have to read the whole book, right?'
So I kept reading and reading and reading... 'how to make your goddess happy, how to warm up, how to have energy for more than a thousand consecutive battles...'
I almost wasted my time reading this carefully, so I just analyzed it once.
This time I really got something, something... 'I have no idea, but the book is blank, and I gained the knowledge on how to abuse spells from the great magician Simbad of the Nix family that are certainly worth more than a dick spell hard' (AN: Well, I believe that when creating a Grimoire you have to put in a lot of your understanding of magic, right?).
Setting aside the fact that I would have to show whatever magic I learned from this book to Hephaestus, I continued to digest the knowledge of magic and abilities from the two books before putting them back.
I continued the rest of my second hour in the library he other magic books and magic items learning so the amount of knowledge I had collected qualified me as a sage in ancient times counting with the fact that I only had to use a 3k potion for each thick book and five for a pile of scrolls containing rare knowledge, before finally running out of potions and having a ridiculous headache.
My mind filled with knowledge overflowing and preventing me from thinking held no memories back until I reached the front of my house, and I barely remembered to close the door before falling into bed and falling asleep.
"Some infinities are bigger than others – and that the biggest infinities lurk in the gaps between the numbers, not beyond them... in a fairy tale about an impossible hotel with an endless number of rooms." I spoke quickly before waking up without really remembering what I was talking about.
I realized that I woke up the next night after a trip in the memories I collected from books that in the temporal distortion caused by the speed in dreams in relation to reality, it felt more like a month.
I intended to do something productive today... yesterday? does not matter, yes time does not matter hmm.
So by the next moment, I had showered and was dressed again, not realizing I was under the effect of my new ability [Ephemeral].
An ability that would make me as overpowered as I could become myself, at the cost of losing track of time while using the skill. I could have all the time my brain can handle, and [Fixed Mad] (just an addicted's, progression booster), in addition to gaining [Mind Load] (Increases stat power when attacking using mind. Active trigger).
So I spent the next "hour" testing some useful spells (from the normal type, not the Falna-blessed ones) like [magic missile] that was weak but quicker in speed and spellcasting compared to other magic from the past, mixed with [bestow curse] creating a combination of the two that applies one to two effects on the target at a distance that reached twenty-five meters without the development skill [Mage] (Improves power, widens effect range, and makes mind usage efficient. Creates a magic circle under the user that supports the magic.)
Without noticing the sun had risen, being a Pallum with excellent eyesight, and it was about six o'clock when I heard one of the bells in the area, I remained occupied with researching the best way to use spell combinations.
"Exist with my spell, glow, Bestow Curse!" I cast in one second and "Magic Missile boltën!" in half a second, shooting a hole in one of my fireplace logs and letting it glow faintly, making me realize it was morning by the faintest glow of turquoise against the sunlight.
Having found the best chant phrase at the time, with the only side effect of absorbing mana from the magic missile to exist, but fully compensating for holding the entire curse charge until it hits the target.
I headed to the Hephaestus family's northwestern store to convince Hephaestus-chanma that I read a grimoire to make her update my status and ask about a family member who wants to work at my store.
Arriving there I was greeted by an attendant I did not know and had to wait for the manager to check that I was a family member to go up to the forges, arriving there I went first to Tsubaki's forge and seeing it concentrated, I went to the Hephaestus office where she allowed me in after knocking on the door.
"Yo Sinn, what brings you to my office two weeks before the next Falna update?" She said looking away from a sword blueprint as she looked at me.
"Well me, me, me," I tried to speak only to be embarrassed at the idea that I read a "weird" grimoire.
"No stalling, just say it," she snapped.
"I read a grimoire and would like to see what magic I gained," I said.
"And where did you find a grimoire?"
"Well, it was hidden inside a book in Gnome's Great Library, I found out using my [psionic] ability, Hephaestus-sama."
"Fascinating, first stubborn brat Crozzo, now a rookie who received his Falna three days ago has two magic," she spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Three days? It's explained why I ate so much today..." I said.
"Huh? Sinn, you look down, did you happen to overdo your mana potions
so you don't get [Mind Down]?"
"Yea..."
"What do you know? I don't mind, just don't do it at level 1, hurry up so I can see your Falna."
So I lowered the hakama and let her update my stats.
Status
• Strength: I 42 (I hit hard)
• Endurance: I 26 (being plush-ed by an lv5 one-san)
• Dexterity: I 57 (adapting to analyzed multi-mastery)
• Agility: I 69 (same as before)
• Magic: I 96 (U know how much magic I did?)
Skill: [Psionic] (Trigger): Can use Mind to enable mind, body, and spirit to interact with reality in an unnatural manner, improve Skills and Magics that use Mind.
[Pallum Spirit]: Boosts the effects of magic and skills in the face of adversity.
[Ephemeral] an ability that would make me as overpowered as I could become myself, at the cost of losing track of time while using the skill I could have all the time my brain can handle.
[Fixed Mad] (Make gain skills(also stats) easier when dazed in it.).
[Mind Load] (Increases stat power when attacking using mind. Active trigger).
[Clarius in Tenebris] (Passive/Trigger): Converts emotions into Mind and Power in difficult situations. The worse the situation, and the greater the negative feelings (including evilness) from everyone around the greater the power generated, detects pain from those around passively allowing some form of empathy at the expense of stressing the mind.
Magic: [Bestow Curse]: add curses to the touch depending on the loading time of the level and the curses chosen in up to three sentences of enchantment, with each sentence doubling the mind needed to use, in addition to crossing protections that prevent magic attacks but its effects do not ignore physical or magical resistance, also has limited time and power by level.
[Three Cores and Seven Seals]: (three souls and seven spirits) It is possible to form connections (Threads) of two types, Soul and Spirit. Sharing different things according to the type of thread. When using magic you can choose the Soul thread that when approved by the target forms the skill [connected] that allows the user to create a degraded copy of the skills of those who are connected to the [Thread].
The better the resonance between the connected, the stronger the shared skill(s) works, this skill also creates an extra magic skill [Seven Spirit Seals] (allow the user to create [Spirit Thread]).
[Spirit Thread] has the maximum number of seven [Spirit Threads]. Depending on the resonance between the connected, the skill also increases power when working together with the connected other (1 plus 1 greater than 2), the number maximum [Soul Threads] is three, and the target's refusal will cause an Ignus Fatuus.
[Soul Threads] cannot be undone.
[Spirit Thread] allows you to hire the target as [Phanstasm] granting it a form similar to a spirit that will live while the contractor is alive, sharing some Skills and allowing to be summoned or equipped the first consuming magic to maintain a physical form in the Gekai (mortal world), if the target is a Spirit it can sustain itself.
The target that doesn't agree with [Spirit Thread] or can't agree, can be subdued, and being subdued will get affected by the user's soul to be more compatible.
Only one spirit can be summoned or equipped at a time, equipping the spirit strengthens the skills acquired in the contract and allows you to use the target's magic and part of their stats.
Only one [Spirit Thread] contract can be made per level and the contractor cannot have an [existence] level superior to the user.
Failure in [Spirit Thread] contracting will cause an Ignus Fatuus equal to the magic power consumed by the two connected.
[Spirit Thread] cannot be undone but contracting another of the same or related species will make them, fusion, or be devoured by the stronger.
"Nani da..." Hephaestus spoke nonsense before copying it to parchment and showing me.