Ascension Through Skills

To learn magic, one must offer a sacrifice. Taesan rummaged through his inventory.

“How about these?”

Taesan brought out the items he obtained from killing lizardmen. They were ambiguous things that made no big difference from his current equipment.

Lilis, who examined the equipment, tapped her chin.

“Well, it works… but you can’t learn even a single magic spell with these.”

“Isn’t it quite a lot?”

“This is magic. It’s not just about the quantity. It has to be something valuable, unique.”

“So, it’s not easy to go for it.”

Indeed, if magic could be learned with these things, everyone would have learned it. But even Taeyeon could not do it. Taesan turned his eyes to the equipment he was wearing.

“How about this?”

Taesan showed Baltha’s earrings. Lilis still had a doubtful face.

“It’s okay… but this alone is not enough. You need to have two pieces of equipment of the same grade.”

“Then how about this?”

This time, he showed the Necklace for a Master he received from killing the goblin lord. Surprise appeared on Lilis’s face.

“Huh? That doesn’t look like equipment that can be obtained here?”

“So what?”

“If that’s the case, it’s valuable. Maybe enough for one basic magic spell?”

“That’s cheap.”

“Really? I thought it was a lot.”

The lord’s item was equivalent to a single basic magic spell. Considering this was from near the entrance, it was somewhat understandable. Then Taesan pulled out the Sword of Lakiratas.

“How about this?”

“Oh.”

“Um.”

Lilis opened her mouth with a nervous expression.

“He would be quite pleased… even though the value might be less, he might think of it as giving candy and may even grant you a beginner’s magic spell, but can you handle it?”

“Lakiratas would like it.”

He was greatly fond of Taesan. He did not seem to bear any grudges for selling the sword he had bestowed.

At Taesan’s words, Lilis made a bored face.

“You’re the first one I’ve seen talk about a god like that.”

He put the weapon back. Magic was important, but not to the extent of selling his current equipment. He was only comparing, not considering selling.

As Taesan searched his inventory, one piece of equipment caught his eye.

“What about this one?”

[Old Hardwood Staff] [Magic +3] [A faint magic power is contained. It seems usable by someone with talent.]

This was equipment obtained when he defeated the Goblin Chief. A stat called magic’ which was new even to Taesan, was attached to it. Lilis, who confirmed the equipment, nodded.

“This could work. Just barely enough for one basic magic spell.”

“This is equivalent to the lord’s necklace?”

“Not in terms of value, but it differs when it comes to sacrifices. Gods prefer items related to them. Unless you can offend the opponent like the Sword of Lakiratas, they place greater value on objects related to magic.”

Then, it worked out well.

Honestly, it was useless.

The concept of magic was peculiar, and he had left it untouched, unable to find a use for it.

“What is this magic?”

“It literally is magical power. If you hold a staff and use magic, it improves the power, size, duration, and judgment.”

Then it was useless for Taesan. He was learning magic to use it conveniently in combat.

“Let’s go with this one.”

“Great! Got it!”

Lilis spiritedly took the staff. She seemed to start a prayer but then paused.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Is there any specific magic you want? Invisibility is too high in value, but I think other spells should be possible.”

“I don’t even know what magic is available.”

“Let me show you.”

She waved her hand. A list of spells obscured his view in succession.

[Fireball] [Ice Arrow] [Invisibility] [Basic Detection] [Shield of Concealment] [Food Production]

Except for Fireball and Ice Arrow, all of the spells were used to either hide oneself or endure. It succinctly told what kind of life Lilis lived here.

“Shall I explain?”

Taesan nodded his head. It was better to listen clearly and decide. Lilis began to explain.

“You already have Fireball, so skip that. Ice Arrow is just like Fireball in terms of power and mana consumption. It’s just a difference of attributes. It might not be bad?”

The Ice status effect significantly slowed movements, a pretty useful status effect.

It could be effectively used as an arrow substitute since it took a physical form.

“Since you can’t learn Invisibility, we skip that too. Now, Detection. This reveals the number and location of monsters in the next room. With this, you can clearly know where the danger lies.”

She hummed as she spoke, but to Taesan, it was an unnecessary spell. He was planning to clear all the rooms.

“And the Shield of Concealment. It blurs your presence. It allows safe passage from creatures with detection skills.”

This could be somewhat useful. Initiating an attack was a big advantage.

“Lastly, Food Production is just as it sounds. It literally produces tasteless water and porridge. I want to sprinkle at least some salt, but everything here is too precious.”

She grumbled deeply as if she had a lot of complaints. Taesan quietly checked the spells.

And then he made his decision.

“Food Production.”

“Huh? This one? I thought you’d take Ice Arrow.”

“I can get that later.”

Ice Arrow was the spell that most frequently appeared from magic staves.

The same applied to Basic Detection. Most of the magic listed existed on staff item drops. Invisibility was extremely rare but occasionally seen.

However, he had never heard of Food Production.

Most players satisfied their meals with makeshift farming, monster meat, or purchasing emergency food.

If Food Production existed, that annoyance and gold consumption could be solved with minor mana consumption.

A skill that existed only in magic and could not be found anywhere else.

Of course, it was the correct answer to learn it first.

“Okay. Just wait for a moment.”

She held up the staff and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and began to mutter.

An indecipherable language flowed out like a song.

The fact that Taesan could have a conversation with Lilis, a resident of the other world, and the ghost without any problem meant that there was automatic translation.

Yet, not understanding meant one of two things.

It was never a language, to begin with.

Or a language for those who are not subjected to translation.

[You feel a great gaze.]

The god who answered the call showed its presence from the other side. The balance of divine power filled the space.

Its gaze was directed at Taesan.

Chuckling.

The god laughed. That was what Taesan felt.

[You have gained Food Production.]

With that laughter, the presence disappeared.

Lilis opened her eyes with a disconcerted look. The staff that had been in her hand was gone.

“Huh?”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“No, not that. The permission was given quite easily. I thought there would be some difficulty.”

“Difficulty?”

“Because gods are very particular unless they have given their permission. Actually, even the hero had a hard time when learning magic.”

[Isn't it different with me? The gods who dislike this guy can be counted on one hand.]

There was also a title for being favored by the gods. Considering the reactions so far and the ghost’s words, it seemed rare for any god to be hostile toward Taesan.

Taesan checked the magic he had acquired.

[Basic Magic: Food Production] [Mana Consumption: 5] [It summons a small amount of consumable liquid and consumable solid. It seems tasteless.]

Now, there was no need to bother eating monster meat. In all honesty, there was no need to further raise the proficiency of disease resistance.

“Is there any more magic I can learn?”

“There is, but there’s nothing left of the payment now. Come back later.”

He intended to learn all that he could. The more options, the better.

“So, I have to come back here?”

“No. When you conquer a floor, I’ll go down too. A kind of safety zone is created in the floors that have recently been cleared.”

“There’s such a thing?”

Taesan was surprised. It was news to him. Normally, there was no reason to revisit a cleared floor; if one did, they would just stay in the shop.

“It’s basically a hidden place. So, there’s no need to come down here inconveniently.”

“That’s a relief.”

It would have been quite bothersome to have to return to the 6th floor after descending to the deeper levels. Lilis smiled faintly and waved her hand.

“Then see you later! I’ll be waiting for you to bring back good stuff!”

“But before that, one thing.”

There was something he had to ask.

“Does magic used here get a skill check?”

“Though they’re different types, I suppose it does if you’re asking which side it falls on?”

“Then, like skills, can one not receive it and create it themselves?”

“Um…”

Lilis hesitated. She trailed off with a vague expression.

“In theory, it’s possible since it’s a skill check. But I don’t think I’ve heard of it.”

“That’s enough for me.”

It wasn’t that it couldn’t be done, but that it was unknown. That was sufficient.

[Why did you ask that at the end?]

“Because I have an experiment to conduct.”

Magic was also something he was obtaining for the first time. Unlike skills, it was an unexplored territory.

There were numerous things worth trying.

First, he checked the reward from the secret room that Lilis gave him.

[Ashen Boots] [Defense +4] [Movement Speed +5%] [Comfortable footwear for movement. It looks quite good.]

These were nice shoes with an additional movement speed boost. Although it reduced his attack power by 1, it was still worth the trade-off.

From now on, the process was simple. As he descended the floors, he would collect valuable items, sell them at the shop or bring them to Lilis to learn magic. That was the plan.

Therefore, he intended to learn everything he could before that.

“Karguk!”

Taesan blocked the Lizardman’s attack while contemplating.

‘How much was the damage again?’

He rummaged through his past memories. He recalled the defense he had at the time and the damage he took.

Then, the answer surfaced.

‘Basic Attack Power Boss Room’

Without any armor, that would be the expected damage.

Taesan checked his protective shield.

[Protective Shield: 35/35]

It was possible. Taesan put force into his sword, and the Lizardman was knocked back, crashing into the wall.

“Kerk, Karguk.”

While it struggled to get up, Taesan just watched. The ghost seemed to guess what he was thinking and let out a dry chuckle.

[Here he goes again, about to do something strange.]

“Karguk.”

The Lizardman, barely standing, held its spear with resolved eyes. Despite knowing it couldn’t win, it didn’t retreat.

The Lizardman, prepared to face death honorably, was taken aback.

“Karguk?”

Taesan started to remove his gear one by one. Necklace, armor, shoes, wrist guards, and so forth. He put all equipment with a defense boost back into his inventory.

[... What's he doing now?]

Wearing the same clothes as when he first arrived in this world, like the ones from Earth, Taesan stood in front of the Lizardman.

“Karguk?”

The Lizardman hesitated. Its small reptilian brain couldn’t understand. A formidable opponent suddenly weakened itself. Even if it had higher intelligence, it would react the same way.

“Come at me.”

Taesan crossed his arms.

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