In school, they teach us that relying on artifacts or outside help is a sign of weakness.
They say true strength comes from within, and we should focus on training ourselves instead of looking for shortcuts.
Maybe they're trying to encourage hard work and discipline, but in a real fight, where your life's on the line, winning is all that matters.
It's not like a student duel where pride and reputation are everything.
If you use an artifact in a student fight, people might mock you and call you weak.
But in a life-or-death battle, who cares about honor?
Staying alive is what counts.
Once you're dead, nothing else matters.
High-rank artifacts can make you a lot stronger, but they're outrageously expensive.
Even if I manage to gather 100 Silver Lavender, it might not be enough to buy one.
I had a lot of ideas about how to make money.
One way was to raid dungeons and sell the loot.
Thanks to my knowledge from the novel, I knew where to find some rare treasures hidden in the dungeons.
Those treasures could bring in a fortune.
But even so, the amount of money I needed couldn't be earned quickly.
Plus, I could only enter the dungeon once a week.
What I really needed was a steady stream of income that didn't require constant effort.
Maybe something like investing in a company and earning profits from it.
I also thought about using my knowledge from the other world to create something new here.
For example, I could develop apps like Facebook or TikTok.
If I did, I might become as rich and famous as Mark Zuckerberg.
In this world, we had mobile phones, but the apps available were very limited.
Most of them were for news or strategies for battles and dungeons.
This world focused heavily on power and combat, so technology was mostly developed to enhance fighting abilities.
Other aspects, like entertainment, were barely explored.
Back in my old world, I was an Information Technology student, so I knew a lot about creating online games.
If I wanted to make money here, I needed to develop something like PUBG or MOBILE LEGEND GAMES.
With that in mind, I had a lot of things to do.
First, I needed to rank up.
Even with the help of Exp potions, it would take time.
Once I reached the peak of Rank 2-, I could use Galanthus Nivalis to break through.
Second, I had to learn about markets and practical life skills.
In a world full of scheming people, you need to know how to handle yourself to survive.
Third, I planned to create an ONLINE GAME.
For now, I was thinking about something like MOBILE LEGEND.
It would take time to make, but I was sure it would become popular.
Here, technical jobs like making games were mostly done by people who either lacked talent for fighting or didn't want to be Explorers.
But most people wanted to become Explorers.
Why?
Because of power.
Even if you were a rich and successful businessperson, you wouldn't be safe without protection.
In this world, power ruled everything.
That's why being an Explorer was always seen as more profitable and respectable than other jobs.
That's how things are for business right now, but I'm going to change that.
One day, I'll show this world how much influence big tech companies can have over people.
When I got home, I started thinking about my plan.
It had a high chance of success.
After all, who wouldn't play online games if it was the only game for entertainment?
I spent my entire Sunday figuring out how to develop the game.
I needed to write the code, set up a server, and buy some tools and materials for development.
Altogether, it cost me around 3,000 coins.
The next day was just a regular day at school.
I had a practical class to attend, and this time, nearly every student was present.
The class was about Magic Skill, and Professor Costine was there to teach.
"Does anyone know how to increase the power of your Magic Skill?"
she asked.
One student raised her hand.
She wore glasses and looked like someone who spent more time studying theory.
But I knew she was also a good fighter—after all, this was Eclipse Academy, and everyone here was an elite compared to other schools.
"To increase a Magic attack, we need to supply it with more mana,"
the student answered.
"Yes, that's correct,"
Professor Layla said.
"You can increase the power of a Magic attack by adding more mana. But this method is inefficient and wastes mana.
The techniques you learn are designed to use mana in the most efficient way possible. Adding extra mana does make your attack stronger, but the cost isn't proportional to the increase in power.
For example, creating a 1-meter fireball might use 10% of your mana. But if you want to double its size to 2 meters, you might need to use 30% of your mana. As you can see, it's not an efficient way to increase power."
Oh… so that's why my Ice Shard had the same problem.
When I increased its size, the power went up, but the mana it used was much more than when I kept it at its optimal level.
It was the same with my Ground Freeze skill.
For example, normally, I could use Ground Freeze for 10 minutes straight, freezing Rank-F enemies easily.
But that wasn't strong enough to freeze Rank-2 enemies.
When I added more mana to make it stronger, I could only maintain it for one minute.
Looking back, it was really inefficient and wasted so much mana.
"Does anyone know another method?"
Professor Costine asked.
"Artifact?"
someone blurted out, though it seemed more like he was thinking aloud than answering.
"Artifacts can increase the power of your skills, yes,"
Professor Costine said.
"But have you ever thought about why artifacts make your attacks stronger?"
The class went silent.
I paid close attention because I had no idea either.
All we knew was how to use artifacts, not how they worked.
"The answer is that artifacts make your mana more condensed,"
she explained.
"The same skill can have different power depending on how much you can condense your mana. Most artifacts work by helping you condense mana, which makes your attacks stronger. If you can learn to condense mana on your own, you'll be much stronger than those who rely on artifacts."
Condensing mana.
It sounded so simple, yet it was incredibly effective.
It was like having a limited amount of iron.
If you spread it thin like paper, it wouldn't do much damage, but if you compacted it into a needle, it could pierce flesh.
"This is a concept you're already using without realizing it,"
she continued.
"All Magic Skill condenses mana in some way, but it's at a beginner level. You need to learn to actively condense mana while using your skills.
But be careful—condensing mana isn't easy. It's different from just learning a Magic Skill. You need precise mana control. If you try to condense too much mana without proper control, it can go out of control and even injure you. Start small and practice with a little mana first."
This lesson opened a new path for me to grow stronger.
If I could condense my mana better, my Ice Shard might even be able to pierce through a Rank-2's defense skill.
Professor Costine gave us a demonstration, showing the difference between an attack with condensed mana and one without.
Her power was unbelievable.
Even a casual attack from her could wipe out everyone in the class, regardless of whether they were Rank-2 or had artifacts.
After the lesson, we were free to train.
Everyone was eager to try condensing mana, and some students started right away.
I also began practicing, focusing on condensing my Ice energy.Once I master this technique, I'll reach an entirely new level of power.