Chapter 10 – Monster's Lair
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Before the beautiful woman vanished, she whispered, "This is a gift that will save your life once. Use it wisely, my dear." And just like that, she disappeared.
...
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…
08:00, November 24
The first thing I did when I woke up was check my Status.
"System, open my Status."
User: Kael Oksileon
Age: 1 (+20)
Type: Human
Status: Healthy
Cultivation: Silver (Beginner) (2.27%)
Body Refinement: Silver (Beginner) (2.27%)
System Level: Low (10%)
Physical: ??? (Insufficient Level)
Statistics:
Health: 86.600 / 86.600 (100%)
Mana: 22.582 / 22.582 → 886.582 / 885.582
Strength: 866
Vitality: 866
Agility: 866
Intelligence: 1,999 [MAX]
———○ Skills ○———
Art of Infinite Creation (Super Rare)
Master of All Languages (Super Epic)
Fist Novice (Rare)
Energy (Super Rare)
Double Mana Gathering (Super Rare)
Core and Body Development Assessment (Rare)
Order (Rare)
Limit (Common)
Evaluation (Rare)
Auto Mana Spending (Rare)
Mana Regeneration (Rare)
Permanent Mana Increase (Rare)
———○ Abilities ○———
The Emperor's Sword Mastery (???)
It's unbelievable—but true.
In just one day, my MP skyrocketed from 22,582 to 886,582. And it keeps fluctuating by a thousand every second.
If this trend continues, in 115 days, I'll have the same MP level as someone of the Ancient Tier. That's nearly 10,000,000 stat points. For context, the Mysterious Tier caps at 2,500,000, and Ancient is exactly four times that.
The thing is, the only powerful tiers anyone really knows here are Legendary and Mysterious. And as far as I know, there's only one Ancient-tier being.
In just three months… I could be on par with them.
Wait. What if a master Breeder notices my Mana value? Even a Platinum-tier alone could wipe me out in an instant. I need a way to hide my aura.
"System, if I create a passive skill 'Aura Concealment' at Rare Tier, up to which Tier creatures can I conceal my aura?"
[Ding… At most, Mysterious Tier. Each skill tier initially hides three tiers above it. After that, Rare Tier hides two tiers, then one. For Rare Tier, "3 + 3 + 2" applies. Maximum: Mysterious Tier.]
"Okay, create it."
[Ding…
Skill: Aura Concealment
Tier: Rare
Type: Passive/Active
Description: Conceals your aura (i.e., Mana level) from other creatures up to Mysterious Tier.
Cost: 1,000 Energy
Energy Gained Today: 386.1
Current Energy: 6,005.3]
6,005.3 − 1,000 = 5,005.3
Skill Creation Initiated!
1%… 3%… … 99%… 100%!
Skill Creation Successfully Completed!
New Skill: Aura Concealment
Perfect. Now, anyone below Mystic Tier can't detect my Mana unless I want them to.
Right now… I can't just sit here. Should I go find Syr? But even waiting isn't entirely bad—I just need my Energy to reach 10,000 to upgrade Order to Super Rare.
Then an idea struck.
I haven't even faced real monsters yet. The only one I've fought was that Silver-tier wolf that nearly killed me last time. But I don't need to stay home and wait. If I ask my dad, he'd take me hunting—or at least let me help protect the village.
After all, he knows I'm strong… but he's even stronger. So even if a Gold-rank monster shows up, he can handle it.
With that decided, I went to find him. Today's Monday—his only day off for the week.
I found him and said, "Dad, I want to hunt monsters!"
Carlos frowned. "What do you mean?"
I explained, "Either take me to the forest, or wherever the monsters are, or let me go with you on your village protection routes tomorrow or the following days."
He paused, then nodded slowly. "…Alright. Today, I can take you to a monster territory with the lowest danger level. Not many monsters attack the village anyway. I'll take you along for protection."
"Even if you came to work, the only thing you'd probably do is run errands," my dad said.
I grinned. "Perfect! Let's go then! When are we leaving?"
"Right now. Get ready. If we run at 30 km/h, we'll be there in thirty minutes. It's fifteen kilometers away, in our territory," he replied.
I dashed to my room, quickly putting on the light armor Dad had bought me after the incident with Kurt. I strapped my sword into its sheath at my waist and raced downstairs—but Dad wasn't ready yet.
Mom saw me in full armor with my sword and raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going? What's all this for?"
"We're going to the Lowest Level Monster Zone with Dad," I told her.
Mom hesitated, then said, "Hmm… okay. Be careful."
"Don't worry, Mom. The strongest monsters we'll encounter are only Bronze Rank," I reassured her and stepped into the garden to wait.
A few minutes later, Dad came downstairs, fully ready. I couldn't resist teasing him. "Finally! I thought you'd had a heart attack from old age."
Dad laughed. "Hahaha, my heart isn't that weak. Otherwise, how could I… you know, try to make you a sibling every night?"
Yes. Every night for 2–3 hours, and no matter how quiet they try to be, my Silver Rank senses hear everything.
…Good thing I'm not a teenager.
Mom, blushing and clearly annoyed, tapped Dad on the shoulder. "How could you say that in front of Kael?"
Dad just leaned in and kissed her passionately. "We'll be back in four hours at most. Take care of yourself, Marian—Maria."
I think he almost said Marianne, but I didn't let it slip.
"Hmm, tonight I'll give you a really bad punishment, so hurry back," Maria said, a little annoyed.
I crossed my arms, looking bored. "Come on, at least don't play around in front of your child. Every evening is hell."
Both of them flushed bright red. …I guess they forget I'm Silver Rank.
After a quick farewell, Mom ran back inside. We left the house at 8:20.
As we walked before picking up speed, Dad said quietly, "Sorry, Kael. Sometimes I forget you're still a kid… and Silver Rank. We just… forget."
I smirked. "It's fine. If you manage to make me a cute little sibling, I'll forgive you. You're not the only one who wants a kid, after all."
Dad chuckled. "Sure, I'll work hard, Kael. Don't worry, your sibling will sprout in the oven soon."
I blinked in surprise. "Dad! I'm still a child… you know that, right?"
He laughed. "Kael, don't act like you don't understand. You've read enough books to know how these things work."
He wasn't wrong. I had read books with that kind of information.
"…Okay, you're right. But still—when there are people around, treat me like your child, not your friend. Otherwise, people will think you're weird."
We started running down the road. For thirty minutes, we ran nonstop at 30–34 km/h, silent except for our breathing. At the end, Dad finally stopped me.
"We're here, Kael," he said seriously.
"Get ready. There are all kinds of monsters and colonies here. The zone probably covers 1.000 to 2.500 km²," he added.
"That's huge… there could be thousands, maybe tens of thousands of monsters," I said, swallowing nervously.
Dad's expression hardened. "Hundreds of thousands, Kael. Maybe even millions. Hundreds of monsters could surround us at any moment."
"And this is just a Low-Level Monster Zone?" I asked.
"Exactly. No matter how dangerous it seems, it's still considered low-level," he said.
I took a deep breath. "We're already here. No backing out now. Let's go."
Dad smiled slightly. "You're right, Kael. Let's go."
On the way to our first target, dozens of monsters tried to stop us, but I killed them all without using any MP—they were just mortal-tier, stats between 40 and 60.
After about ten minutes, we found the first Monster Den. I estimated at least 2–3 Bronze-tier monsters were inside.
"I'll limit my power using Mana, just like before," I told Dad.
This was my way of explaining the Boundary skill without revealing that I could create skills and equipment. No need for anyone, even family, to know that yet. I can't create Talents right now and will only start making equipment once I leave home. Better to save the rare creations for later.
"They'll probably ask how I can control Mana like this," I thought. I smiled. "I'll explain everything when I'm two years old."
I planned to explain everything, even my reincarnation… I wonder how they'd react to that.
[Ding… Limit skill used. Stats reduced by 92.5%.]
Stats:
HP: 86,600 / 86,600 → 6,700 / 6,700
MP: 886,582 / 886,582
Strength: 866 → 890 → 67 [1 hour]
Vitality: 866 → 890 → 67 [1 hour]
Agility: 866 → 890 → 67 [1 hour]
Intelligence: 1,999 [MAX]
Hmm… I can't get used to this sense of weakness. I also need to upgrade this skill and tweak its description—there's no reason to reduce Vitality so drastically. Reducing my life force just feels… silly.
"System, upgrade the 'Limit' skill to Extraordinary Tier."
Ding…
Skill: Limit
Tier: Ordinary → Extraordinary
Type: Active
Description: Using 50 MP (down from 100), this skill reduces Mana, Vitality, and other stats by 92.5% for 2 hours (previously 1). It can be toggled on or off during this duration.
Much better. Now using Limit won't feel so harsh; the health reduction had been bothering me.
I activated the skill.
Power: 890 → 67 [2 hours]
Vitality: 890
Agility: 890 → 67 [2 hours]
Perfect. I could focus without feeling weak.
After a few seconds of internal preparation, Dad and I moved toward the Monster Den.
The monsters noticed us immediately and attacked—but slicing through them was effortless. My sword skills, combined with my Intent, applied a 1,000% damage bonus.
Why 1,000%? Even 2,500% would obliterate Bronze-tier monsters too easily. I consciously adjust my Intent's bonus to avoid overkill. And the minimum 1,000% bonus is necessary; without Intent, my sword would break instantly.
Assessment:
[-100 MP]
Name: None
Type: Equipment
Tier: Common
Description: Common Sword
Durability: 100 / 47 (47%)
Effect: None
Skill: - (Indestructible: 1.3%)
(Requires 100% to gain skill)
After nearly ten minutes, I transferred 1.3% of the sword's durability toward unlocking the Indestructible skill. At this rate, 16–17 hours of Intent application would complete it.
Within half an hour, we had cleared hundreds of monsters. But then, three powerful auras appeared. Three Bronze Rank monsters had finally noticed us.
"Don't interfere," I told Dad.
He just shook his head, dealing with the remaining minor threats.
I faced the three Bronze-tier monsters: a bear-like beast and two hound-like creatures. The hounds were around two meters tall, the bear nearly three to four meters—intimidating, but size didn't matter here. On this planet, only tier matters. Even a 30-meter Bronze-tier dragon wouldn't scratch me.
I approached and waited for them to strike. Unsurprisingly, they lunged immediately.
Dodging the bear's swipe, I focused on the hounds. Within seconds, a not-so-clean strike to the first hound's neck killed it. The second hound approached more cautiously.
The bear tried to flank me from behind, but such tactics were childish. Dodging its attack, I delivered a clean vertical cut to the hound's back. Blood sprayed as it whimpered in pain. Its attacks slowed, making it easy to evade.
Just as I prepared to finish the wounded hound, the bear lunged at me with 50% more speed, claws slashing. I couldn't dodge, so I instantly spent 10,000 MP to create a compressed fire shield. The bear's claws hit the shield and ignited.
Within a second, I seized the opportunity: lunging, I slashed sharply upward at its belly. The bear thrashed, still alive. I finished it decisively by taking its head.
The three Bronze-tier monsters lay defeated before me.
I joined my dad in clearing the remaining monsters. Within twenty minutes, we had slain nearly 500 more, leaving the area completely empty.
I walked up to him and asked, "Dad, how much are the cores of these Bronze-tier monsters worth?"
He answered, "About 80 silver and 1.5 gold each, depending on their size and quality."
I blinked. I had expected at most two or three silver per core.
"Then why don't you have guards in the village if your salary is only 50 silver?" I asked.
Dad shook his head. "Life isn't only about money, Kael. Some things in this world can't be bought. Even if I earned enough, why would I go far from home?"
I thought about it. I guess I hadn't fully understood Dad before.
I spoke calmly. "Father, when I turn two and tell you everything, please tell me about your past too… and why you used a false name."
Dad looked surprised. "How do you know our name is fake? And how do you know that?"
I shrugged. "I can't say yet. Like I said, when I turn two, I'll tell you everything—what you know and what you don't."
He studied me carefully. "How could there be anything I don't know about you? You've been with us since you were born," he said hesitantly.
I met his gaze steadily. "I believe that when I tell you everything, you won't yell. You'll listen until the end."
He didn't reply, but the way he looked at me suggested he already knew something.
For the next two hours, we moved from den to den: kill everything inside, then find the next. By now, we had cleared four dens and collected thirteen Bronze-tier cores.
We'd sell them—after all, they only gave 0.1% experience, hardly worth using. I wondered what would happen when my system leveled up; the Shop was useless to me except for referencing Skills to create new ones. I doubted it would pop up and say, "Look, 10% off today!"
…
[Ding… Yes…]
Yes?
[Ding… A 10% discount on skills and equipment from Common Tier to Rare Tier. That's the effect of your upgrade.]
I exhaled in disbelief. A 10% discount on skills I could create in a few days? Amazing.
I thought about Assessment. Previously, it had capped at Mysterious Tier. Surely that would increase?
[Ding… Yes, user. You are correct. Assessment now goes from Mysterious Tier to Transcendent Tier.]
Even artificial intelligences can forget sometimes. Amazing. And why did it add a "Ding" afterwards?
"System?"
[Ding… Listening, user.]
"You're amazing."
[Ding…]
[Ding… Reminder: I have feelings too :'-(]
…A crying face? System, are you serious?
[Ding… Seriously. I'm serious, user.]
"You're not the Master of Reality, are you?"
[Ding… Of course not, user. I'm just one of his w- ohm.. the AI he created.]
"Created…" Wait, did it almost say "his wife"? That's strange. Why would the Master's wife be watching me here?
Anyway, I wasn't going to get an answer. The system keeps roleplaying. And now I knew… Wait a minute,she was a woman who had seen me naked—many times.
"System, can I shut you down?"
[Ding… Of course not, user.]
Exactly. You're a crazy woman who enjoys looking at a child's body. Fine, I'll ignore it and move on.
After 3.5 hours, we decided to head back—but then something happened.
[Ding… Danger!!]
Dad and I immediately switched forms. He applied a sword aura to his blade, while I focused my Intent to the maximum.
[Ding…
Name: Hellhound
Age: 489
Type: Monster
Status: Aggressive, Angry
Cultivation: ???
Body Refinement: Mortal
Hp: 499.900/499.900+
Mp: 49.990/49.990+
Strength: 4.999+
Vitality: 4.999+
Agility: 4.999+
Intelligence: 4,999+
Skill(s):
Red Claw – Uncommon, Active
Envelops its claws in hellfire, inflicting a burning effect on the target.
Cost: 8,000 MP
Effect: Burn (2% HP loss per second)
Duration: 4 seconds
Hell Breath – Rare, Active
Releases the hellfire within it, scorching the area in front.
Cost: 4,000 MP
Effect: Burn, Area Damage
Duration: 5 seconds
Flame Armor – Rare, Passive/Active
Covers itself in flames, reducing physical damage.
Cost: 1,200 MP
Effect: Physical Damage -15%, nearby enemies burn
Duration: 8 seconds
"At least Platinum Tier," I told my dad immediately.
He nodded and prepared himself without asking how I knew. After all, we were teetering on the line between life and death.
Then the Hound spoke: "Humans… my little ones… kill them… humans… enemies!"
It had intelligence. A smart monster. I was shocked, but Dad didn't flinch—he had been a Peak Diamond Rank once; this was nothing new to him.
I opened the skill creation menu and created a new spell in under two seconds.
[Ding…]
New Skill: Beginner Level Water Magic
Tier: Rare
Type: Active
Description: Allows the user to cast beginner-level water element spells—offensive or defensive—based on imagination and MP. Examples: Water Arrow, Water Spear, Water Ball, Water Shield.
I now had about 3,900 Energy left, but it was worth it. This beast, the Hellhound, was tied to fire, so using water attacks was the smart choice. Feeding it with fire spells was out of the question.
I poured 500,000 MP into creating a massive Water Ball. Initially ten meters wide, I compressed it to 2.5 meters and sent it hurtling toward the Hellhound.
It immediately activated Flame Armor three times. Its HP only dropped by 20,000—but within a second, it seemed to regenerate. Not true regeneration, but still frustrating. I would need to upgrade my Assessment skill soon.
I couldn't afford to worry about that now. Mom was waiting at home, and we had to survive this fight. Of course, Syr would sad if i'd die and I had died a virgin in my previous life, and I wouldn't allow the same fate this time.
Yes, in my previous life, I died a virgin. After all, I never did anything with Lora—at most, just a simple, ordinary kiss.
Whenever I tried to take things further, she would stop me.
So I waited. I waited for her to accept me… but she never did. She never gave me an answer, and in the end, she even betrayed me.
...
I focused entirely on the battle. I spent 800,000 MP to create a three-meter Water Arrow and swung it at the Hellhound. It teleported in front of me, anticipating the attack.
Quickly, I spent another 800,000 MP to conjure a shield, then thrust my sword forward, blocking the attack as the shield shattered.
Dad unleashed his full power in an Aura Sword attack. The Hellhound tried to escape, but I cast another 800,000 MP spell, summoning tentacle-like water streams to restrain it.
Dad's blade sliced cleanly through its belly. The Hellhound's HP dropped by 200,000. Flames erupted from its wound due to Flame Armor—but I was ready. I extinguished the fire with a 250,000 MP Water Spell before it could reach Dad.
The Hellhound countered with Hell Breath, igniting the ground and triggering the burn effect. I quickly cast shields over both of us, consuming 400,000 MP per second. Dad immediately understood, holding his position for five seconds.
The Hellhound took advantage of the pause, activating Crimson Claw twice and lunging at me.
"Damn it," I muttered, quickly fusing a water spell with my Sword Intent, consuming 100,000 MP per second. Thankfully, my Sword Intent could merge with any element.
I lunged at the Hellhound, activating an Outer Armor that drained 200,000 MP per second. The armor taxed my mind heavily, reducing my focus, but I ignored the hound's attacks and unleashed dozens of precise sword strikes.
Each attack carried both my Full Sword Intent and Killing Intent. The quality of my Killing Intent stunned the hound for a moment, allowing me to land exactly eighteen hits—each dealing 20,000 damage.
The hound howled in fury, knocking me back.
"Ahh…"
Its roar slammed into me, dropping my HP by 20,000. I abandoned the Outer Armor and poured 500,000 MP per second into a healing spell. My health only regenerated 10,000 per second—Basic Level skills have limits—but it was enough. Another 500,000 MP and I was back at full health. The effect lasted just three seconds, but in that time, Dad had only taken minor scratches from the Greyhound. I didn't care; I kept pressing the attack.
I increased the Sword-Intent-infused Magic to 500,000 MP per second, boosting the damage multiplier from 2x to 8x. Not that it was additive like 26×8=206x it was combined it to 26 + 8 = 34x.
Every strike I unleashed transferred 300,000 MP per second into healing, ignoring the strain on my body. With Dad's support, nearly every blow connected. The Greyhound's health fell by 10,000–20,000 every second. Before this flurry, we had already shaved off 730,000 HP. Thirty seconds later, we had cut another 1.07 million.
Finally, I saw its health bar drop: only 300,000 HP remained.
During the brief pause while Dad prepared his next attack, I checked my stats—and froze:
Stats:
HP: 86,600 / 86,600 → 90,300 / 90,300
Mana: 886,582 / 886,582 → 1,253,105 / 1,253,105
Strength: 890 → 893
Vitality: 890 → 903
Agility: 890 → 898
Intelligence: 1,999 [MAX]
I had completely forgotten about the Permanent Mana Increase skill: "After every 10,000 MP used consecutively, MP permanently increases by 100 points."
Since the battle started, I'd used roughly 36 million MP. No wonder my Mana shot up so drastically. I had assumed it would only increase passively—but even passive usage applied here.
I shook my head, grinning. This works perfectly.
Refocusing, I merged Sword Intent with Water Magic again, this time at 1.2 million MP per second. The multiplier surged between 20x–22x, giving a total effective damage boost of nearly 47x.
Dad's senses picked up the threatening aura from my sword—the same level of tension he felt with his own sword back when he was Diamond Tier. Of course, he wasn't measuring raw power; his strength had been around 75,000, while mine hovered in the 900s. He couldn't support this spell, but he didn't need to. My current power exceeded even Peak Gold Tier.
As soon as Dad sensed the dangerous aura, he adjusted his stance to support me. It felt as if we were two bodies sharing one soul.
The Jackal, with 300,000 HP remaining, felt the pressure emanating from me. Fear coursed through it, but it only fueled its aggression. Instantly, it unleashed every ability it had, swarming me with fire and claws. Even when its attacks didn't connect, the burning effect licked my body, setting me aflame.
The dangerous feeling I had earlier became all too real.
The Hellhound unleashed a terrifying Howl, channeling all its magic at once. My health began dropping by 10,000 per second, even through the armor. The effect lasted five agonizing seconds.
I immediately canceled the armor and funneled 600,000 MP per second into healing. Twelve thousand HP flowed back over three seconds.
Then I saw Dad—his health had dropped to 24%. I raced over in an instant and poured 1.2 million MP per second into him. Seven seconds later, he was stable again, his HP restored to 208,000—about 72.5% of his total.
Glancing at the monster, I saw its health was down to 1,000. I wasted no time, casting a Water Arrow from beneath and striking its head. It exploded into pieces.
…Breathing heavily
I walked over to my dad. "It's done," I said.
He simply nodded, sitting down on the ground. "Exactly."
I healed him again for three seconds at 1.2 million MP, fully restoring his health. Physical and mental exhaustion, however, couldn't be healed by magic. We collapsed side by side, catching our breath.
Curious, I checked my stats.
Statistics:
HP: 90,300 → 92,000
Mana: 1,253,105 → 1,706,105
Strength: 893 → 897
Vitality: 903 → 920
Agility: 898 → 905
Intelligence: 1,999 [MAX]
Another 45 million MP used, and my Mana surged by 450,000. It was staggering.
After five minutes of lying on the ground, we rose and approached the Hellhound. Dad extracted its core, cut off the valuable parts, and stored them in his bag.
Almost 12:20 p.m.—we had promised Mom we'd be back by noon, yet we were still in the Monster's Lair.
I asked, "Dad… do you have any questions for me?"
He didn't hesitate. "How much Mana do you have?"
"Almost infinite," I replied. Dad blinked, but he simply nodded. "I understand…"
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll tell you everything about me when I turn two," I said.
He smiled gently. "Kael… you're my son. No matter what happens, I won't judge you."
"I know, Dad. There's nothing to judge me for," I reassured him.
We walked for ten minutes on the way home. "Can you run now?" Dad asked.
"Yes," I replied. We ran the remaining distance home for twenty-eight minutes.
When we arrived, Mom saw the blood on us and immediately panicked. "What happened?!"
Dad calmly said, "We encountered a Platinum-Level monster."
Mom's eyes widened. She guided us inside and to the bathroom—there was no way we could stay outside with all that blood.
It took about forty minutes to wash off the dried blood. By 12:40, Dad and I returned to our rooms, dressed, and joined Mom in the living room.
We recounted our adventure: clearing four Monster Dens in three hours, walking thirty minutes searching for another den, and encountering a Platinum-Level Hound. I described my skillful use of magic and how, despite his Gold Tier strength, Dad couldn't do much without my help.
Mom didn't know Dad was Gold Tier—if she had, she wouldn't have needed to invent that cult story back when I was awakening to Bronze Tier. After telling her everything, Dad apologized for hiding his true strength.
After nearly an hour of discussion, I said, "I'm going to my room," and fell asleep immediately.
Once I left, Dad turned to Mom. "Maria, on January 1st, Kael will tell us something on his second birthday. I ask only one thing—whatever he says, let him speak without interruption. Afterward, you can respond."
Mom wasn't naive; she understood exactly what he meant.
Status: Healthy
Cultivation: Silver (Beginner) (2.27%)
Body Refinement: Silver (Beginner) (2.27%)
System Level: Low (10%)
Physical Stats: ??? (Insufficient Level)
Statistics:
HP: 92,000 / 92,000 (100%)
MP: 1,706,105 / 1,706,105 (100%)
Strength: 897
Vitality: 920
Agility: 905
Intelligence: 1,999 [MAX]
——— Skills ———
Art of Infinite Creation (Super Rare)
Master of All Languages (Super Epic)
Fist Novice (Rare)
Energy (Super Rare)
Double Mana Gathering (Super Rare)
Core and Body Development Assessment (Rare)
Order (Rare)
Limit (Common)
Assessment (Rare)
Automatic Mana Spending (Rare)
Mana Regeneration (Rare)
Permanent Mana Increase (Rare)
——— New Skills ———
Aura Concealment
Tier: Rare
Type: Passive/Active
Description: Conceals your aura—your Mana Level—from other creatures up to the Mysterious Tier.
Beginner Water Magic
Tier: Rare
Type: Active
Description: Allows you to create attack and defense spells using the Water element, limited to beginner-level spells. Completely dependent on imagination and available MP.
Examples: Water Arrow, Water Spear, Water Ball, Water Shield, etc.
...
End of Episode