*Chirp—Chirp—*
A clear bird song suddenly reached Riezel's ears, pulling him out of the haze of sleep.
"Ugh..."
Riezel mumbled in a daze, and for a moment, his eyes instinctively closed again, as if the white light had imprinted itself on his vision.
He raised a hand to shield his eyes, then muttered.
"Uh, the sun...?"
Riezel's gradually clearing mind wavered as he sat up, finally realizing the source of the glaring light.
It was sunlight streaming through the window.
"Is it morning already?"
Fully awake now, Riezel was astonished when he saw the sky outside transformed into daylight and noticed small birds perching on the windowsill, stretching their wings comfortably.
He had fallen asleep on the bed, and the magic stone lamp beside it was still lit, indicating he had slept all night.
"Right, the grimoire."
Out of the corner of his eye, Riezel spotted the grimoire lying open on the bed, and suddenly remembered why he had been here last night.
Instinctively, he pulled the grimoire in front of him.
Upon closer inspection, he found that it no longer emitted any magical energy, reduced to an ordinary book filled with odd symbols, which was none other than the final fate of a grimoire after being used.
A grimoire's effect was limited to a single use, only at the moment it was first opened. After that, regardless of whether the magic manifested, the grimoire would permanently lose its power and become a useless book.
"Does that mean I successfully awakened a second magic?"
Realizing this, Riezel retrieved a vial of Loki's blood from the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube, which was now full.
Taking advantage of this return, he had asked Loki for more of her blood to replenish his previous consumption. Now, he brought out the full vial, dripped a drop onto his forehead, and began updating his status with practiced ease.
Immediately, he noticed that below Almighty, where the skill section should have been, a new slot had appeared.
In that slot was a new magic.
"I succeed?"
Riezel checked it with a mix of surprise and excitement.
...
Lost Truth
- Modification magic.
- Limited to the magic the caster can personally use.
- Duration and cooldown are determined by the caster's level.
- Chant: "Alter the old truth, forge a new one."
...
Yes.
Riezel had succeeded.
Using a high-grade grimoire as a medium, he had not only expanded a second magic slot but also manifested his second magic.
Lost Truth—this was the new magic he had acquired.
"Modification magic?"
Riezel paused in confusion, then his eyes lit up as a realization dawned.
"Could it be..."
Considering the possibility, he couldn't sit still.
He first turned off the magic stone lamp on the desk, put away the now-useless grimoire along with the two intact grimoires, and then activated his magic.
"Greater Teleportation."
In the next moment, Riezel's figure vanished from the room.
===
Labyrinth City Orario, North.
Here lay a mountainous region known as the Beol Mountains, with steep slopes and treacherous paths marking the peaks.
Due to the city's proximity, many monsters from the ancient Dungeon that predated Babel had emerged onto the surface here, taking root in this hazardous land—a place even adventurers rarely ventured.
But today, in this mountain range feared by the world, a figure appeared out of thin air.
It was Riezel, teleported from Orario.
"Well, this will do."
He glanced around at the gray rocks and exposed earth, deciding to test his newly acquired magic here.
"Alter the old truth, forge a new one."
Chanting his new second magic, Riezel unfolded a magic circle.
It was a transparent magic circle, white with silver gleams, emanating sparkling light—beautiful and mysterious, holding an indescribable aesthetic.
"Lost Truth."
Riezel activated the magic, and the circle shattered like glass, fragments floating around him.
In that instant, he clearly felt every magic he possessed undergo a subtle, indescribable transformation. It wasn't evolution or sudden change—it was as if a factor of mystery had been injected, reshaping them into a new form.
Riding this feeling, Riezel activated another magic through Almighty.
"Tempest."
Needless to say, it was the enchant-type magic personally taught by Ais—Ariel.
However, if Ais herself or anyone who had seen Ariel were present, they would be shocked.
The familiar wind did not appear.
The wind did not wrap around Riezel's body.
The storm did not envelop him.
Instead, a mass of flames erupted.
Yes, flames.
A blazing inferno wrapped around him like a fiery veil.
*Whoosh!*
Soon, the flames erupted violently, engulfing Riezel's entire body.
Riezel instinctively retrieved Hermit from the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube, drew it, and slashed outward.
*Swish!*
In that instant, the slash sent the flames sweeping across the ground, igniting, scorching, and destroying everything in sight, which made Riezel chuckle with delight.
"Just as I thought."
He confirmed his assumption.
"Modification magic, as the name implies, alters my own magic, creating effects that wouldn't normally exist."
"Apparently, this is the manifestation of my compatibility with the Imaginary System."
"Using this magic, I can add Imaginary traits to all my magic."
Imaginary compatibility had only appeared after Riezel arrived on the Akasha Continent. It had been applied to his Decomposition Magic, allowing him to decompose even the magic itself—something that shocked Yuri, a Strategic-Class Magician.
Until now, this trait had only existed in Decomposition Magic, due to the compatibility between the caster and the magic.
It should be noted that the better the compatibility, the more likely the Imaginary trait would manifest in a magic.
So far, only Decomposition Magic had a compatible enough affinity with Riezel, allowing it to be transformed into Imaginary Control Magic, which is capable of decomposing others' magic.
Other magic from the Akasha Continent didn't exhibit this trait, partly because Riezel hadn't focused on them, preferring magic from the worlds of Overlord and Danmachi.
Even though Decomposition Magic's effect was strong, it was just Combat-Class Magic, limited in scope and output, and gradually ignored by Riezel.
Now, with the manifestation of Lost Truth, his Imaginary compatibility had been revived.
When activating Lost Truth, Riezel could add the Imaginary trait to any of his magic within its duration, granting them effects they wouldn't normally have.
For this reason, when he used Ariel under Lost Truth, the enchant-type magic's attribute changed.
From wind, it became fire.
"Now that it's fire, this can't be called Ariel anymore, can it?" Riezel murmured, observing the fiery veil draped around him. "Maybe I should give it a new name... How about Ignis?"
In the next moment, he canceled Ariel—or rather, Ignis—and chanted again.
"Tempest."
Riezel echoed the same chant, but this time, lightning surged around his body instead of fire.
*Biribiribiri—*
Endless lightning bolts enveloped him, as if a thunder god had descended, striking the ground and creating craters.
"Lightning, huh... this one will be called Eryon."
Riezel casually named another and began experimenting.
Sometimes sand and stone flew.
Sometimes water surged.
Sometimes moonlight cascaded like a cloak.
All of these were the Imaginary variants of Ariel.
Under Lost Truth, Riezel could freely change Ariel's attribute—wind, fire, lightning, water, earth, or ice—with ease.
Clearly, the significance was immense.
Enchant-type magic could combine with Breathing Styles, amplifying and complementing each other.
Now, with Ariel's attribute changeable at will, Riezel could pair it with any Breathing Style, including Sun Breathing, which had previously conflicted with Ariel.
Sun Breathing and the new fire variant, Ignis, could now be used together, enhancing each other, so the implications for Riezel's combat potential were obvious.
Ariel with Wind Breathing allowed Fast Attack Mode.
Sun Breathing allowed Strong Attack Mode.
Now, using Sun Breathing with Ignis matched or even exceeded the previous modes.
Needless to say, Lost Truth gave Riezel unprecedented flexibility.
"Too bad this magic has a time limit..." Riezel evaluated his new magic silently. "At my current level, I can maintain Lost Truth for over an hour. Once the duration ends, a cooldown is needed before it can be used again. At my level, that cooldown is... about ten minutes?"
Satisfied, his body began to relax.
"Well, my level is high enough for a long duration, and a ten-minute cooldown is acceptable."
As his level increases, the duration will lengthen, and the cooldown will shorten.
Lost Truth had added countless possibilities and practical applications to Riezel's magical abilities because, within its time limit, all of his magic could transform, effectively granting him thousands of new magic spells.
"Right..." Riezel suddenly remembered something crucial. "If it's now, can I get that magic?"
Thinking of a notoriously overpowered magic from the original work, his eyes shone brighter.
It was inevitable.
If one ranked the magic in the world of Danmachi, he didn't know how others would rank it, but for himself, that magic would be first.
Previously, he hadn't valued it due to its limitations, but now, he felt he could finally learn it.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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