With the new skill unlocked, Sasaki felt excited. He realized he had a unique ability no one else had in this world. The message from the system made it clear: he could now create skills based on his level of understanding.
"This changes everything," Sasaki said to himself. He felt free, no longer bound by restrictions. With Magic Decode, he could shape his destiny in ways he hadn't imagined before.
"No more limits," he thought. He saw endless possibilities ahead. With each new level of understanding, he could create skills that surpassed anything seen before.
"This is just the start," Sasaki said confidently. With Magic Decode guiding him, he was ready to make his mark on this magical world.
In desperate circumstances, Sasaki experienced a magical enlightenment. He discovered how to merge magic with the scientific knowledge from his modern world. Here, enlightenment holds immense value. When you achieve enlightenment in martial arts or magic, you ascend to new levels of mastery.
For instance, imagine being stuck at skill level 9, unable to reach level 10. Understanding the skill's true nature can dispel the darkness blocking your progress, allowing you to level up. Enlightenment varies for each person, whether they're human, demon, demi-human, or monster. Even if two people share the same skill, their enlightenment takes distinct forms.
Enlightenment is a personal journey. Each person must discover their unique path to surpass challenges and grow stronger. This individuality applies to all beings, be they human, demon, demi-human, or monster. Even with identical skills, each being's enlightenment is distinct, shaped by their experiences and perspective.
For Sasaki, this enlightenment was special. He gained a new unique skill because he alone belonged to two different worlds: one of science and one of magic. This gave him the unique skill "Magic Decode."
Magic Decode allows him to create any magical skill, but at the cost of not gaining new skills as he levels up in his hidden class, Plague Doctor. Now, he must reach new heights of understanding in magic to create new skills.
"But, I can't gain any new skills for my current class, can I?" Sasaki mused, his brow furrowing in thought. "Does every new skill I could have gained combine into one mega skill, 'Magic Decode'?"
"Hmm.." Sasaki looked up at the sky, watching as the night gave way to the dawn of a new day. "Since I arrived here, I haven't felt the need to sleep, nor do I get tired from staying up all night."
He sighed, his eyes reflecting a mix of confusion and concern. "Am I really human? Or have I literally become a demon?"
As night turned to day, Sasaki was greeted by the morning. The early light of day brought a soft brightness to the land. Drops of dew on the leaves sparkled in the new light, making the morning feel special and charming.
With the new day, the group of hobgoblins that Sasaki had been observing retreated to their hideout. Sasaki, busy pondering how to defeat them, gained a unique skill in the process. This skill, above all others, was related to his hidden class, allowing him to create new magical abilities based on his level of enlightenment.
Questions stormed through his mind. "Why is this only possible for the Plague Doctor class? Is the system restricting me? Can't I gain enlightenment in any magic, regardless of class?"
He scratched his head, overwhelmed by the thousands of questions flooding his brain. No answers emerged. With a sigh, he decided to stop overthinking, taking deep breaths in and out.
"Let's put this on hiatus and take baby steps," he thought. "One thing at a time."
Sasaki muttered to himself, "Let's focus on what I have, rather than trying to do everything at once."
With his hand on his chin and his brow furrowed, Sasaki began to ponder over what he needed and how to create new magic that could give him an advantage against enemies much stronger than him - enemies ten or twenty levels higher.
"Hmm..."
He realized it wasn't the damage that was the issue. His skills revolved around epidemics, and in many ways, they were all area-of-effect (AOE) attacks. The problem was activation; most of his skills required direct confrontation or waiting for the enemy to fall into his traps.
"I should start from the basics of magic," Sasaki said, pacing back and forth while keeping his hands on his chin. "Basics, basics. What is magic? What is mana?"
As he questioned the nature of magic and mana, a revelation started to swirl in his mind. "Mana, yes, mana," he said, snapping his fingers with his index finger pointing up while the rest of his fingers were closed.
Sasaki understood that the nature of his mana was related to his blood, "Parasitic Blood." When mana discharged from his veins, it passed through his blood, causing the nature of the mana to change. It became corrupted and infected those around him. This corrupted mana continuously drained his enemies' health and movement speed and inflicted elemental status ailments on them.
"By understanding the basics of mana and how it interacts with my blood, I can create new magic that doesn't require direct confrontation or waiting for traps to activate," Sasaki thought aloud, a determined look on his face. "I need to harness this corrupted mana to craft spells that work in my favor, despite the level of my opponents."
Sasaki's thoughts revolved around his current limitations. His level and intelligence contributed to the overall damage, but it was mostly continuous damage, like a bleed effect in an epidemic area-of-effect (EAOE), or a one-time damage EAOE. Given his situation, he needed to create a magic spell that would deal EAOE damage per unit of time.
To begin his experiment, Sasaki used Shadow for reconnaissance to ensure there were no enemies nearby. Shadow flew over the ground, scanning the surroundings for any potential threats. After a thorough sweep, Shadow found no creatures that could pose a danger to Sasaki. With this reassurance, Sasaki felt confident he could focus solely on creating his new magic skill.