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I stopped in front of a turbulent, blue-colored magic portal.
From what I understand, the Gates were created by the Rulers, with the intention of saturating the human world with mana so it could withstand their war against the Monarchs.
I'm already looking forward to having enough power to face them.
And, above all, the Monarch of Destruction, the King of Dragons, Antares.
Why, you ask?
"That's because I hate those goddamn winged lizards!!"
I quickly covered my mouth when I realized I had shouted too loudly.
It hadn't been easy to sneak into the facility where the E-Rank Gate was located.
This place was one of the Hunter Guild's training grounds.
It would be a huge problem if I were caught.
From what I've read on the internet, there was little time left before the Gate suffered a dungeon break, and the Hunter Guild had already selected a team of rookies to face it.
Because of this, this E-Rank Gate was perfect.
They would open an investigation, I was sure of that, but there wouldn't be any scandal if it suddenly disappeared.
My status had also undergone some changes while I was getting here.
It wasn't much, but my mana statistic had increased.
---
[STATUS]
Name: Liam Abernathy (Kuratauras)
Race: Human
Job: Apprentice Mage.
Level: 1
| Strength: 18 | Stamina: 21 | Agility: 22 | Mana: 7 | Luck: 35 |
Points: 0
Specialty: None
Skills: Magic, Mana Usage.
---
Unfortunately, my passive mana increase had completely disappeared.
From now on, I could only increase my mana from Magic Stones or by leveling up.
Without looking at my status anymore, I took a step forward, entering the E-Rank Gate.
"A cave," I muttered, looking around.
Looking more closely, I could see a few Mana Crystals on the walls.
Although Mana Crystals are not worth as much as Essence Stones due to their lower mana content, they could still be useful to me.
"Gah! Grrrk! Raka!"
At that moment, when I was about to approach the mana crystals to extract them, a small green creature, with a mace, jumped toward me.
I barely had time to turn and cast a spell.
"I command you as the minister of magic, protect me!"
"Shield!!"
A magic dome materialized instantly, surrounding me. The impact of the mace was repelled, throwing the Goblin face-first against the ground.
While this was happening, I could only think of one thing.
DAMN IT, I HATE RECITING THE CHANTS!!
As the Sorcerer King, I had long since stopped reciting the chants out loud. I didn't need to do so.
But now? Now I had no choice.
<< YOU HAVE ACQUIRED THE MAGIC SKILL - SHIELD >>
Seeing the shield protecting me, all hint of bravery left the Goblin's ugly face. It let out a sharp squeal of panic, turned around, and ran away.
"I'm sure he's going to look for his friends..." I muttered, shrugging.
It was a little disappointing that this was a Goblin dungeon.
Did the Hunter Guild, the most powerful in the entire country, really train its rookies in this place?
Shifting my gaze from the direction the Goblin left, my eyes fell upon the mana crystals.
"I command you as the minister of magic, extract these minerals..."
"Extraction!"
The mana crystals on the wall dissolved into specks of light which, an instant later, regrouped on the ground, taking their original form.
Only the gap in the wall marked where they had been.
<< YOU HAVE ACQUIRED A MAGIC SKILL - EXTRACTION >>
I looked at the system and sighed with resignation.
Would the system send me a notification like this every time I used a new spell?
I have hundreds of thousands of spells in my head, after all...
I looked at the mana crystals and placed my hand on them, with a small smile.
I needed at least 15 Mana to create a Mana Cube, the most basic weapon among mages, but also the most efficient of them all.
Therefore...
"There are enough mana crystals in this place. It seems I won't have any problem."
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED BY 0.01 PERMANENTLY >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED... >>
<< MANA STAT HAS INCREASED... >>
For the next two hours, I was absorbing the mana from the crystals, making it mine.
I didn't stop until there was not a single mana crystal left in sight.
I only left one large mana crystal, which I would use to fabricate the Mana Cube.
I also took a small kitchen knife from my pocket.
It was dangerous to carry out the Mana Cube fabrication process in a dungeon since it requires great concentration...
Pfft~ But we are talking about me, this is a piece of cake.
The first thing was to enchant the knife with the appropriate enchantments.
Luckily, I had found a way to silence certain types of notifications, so I would no longer receive notifications of newly acquired skills.
"I command you as the minister of magic..."
"Sharpen!"
The blade of the kitchen knife instantly sharpened with absolute perfection. Every nick and scratch disappeared, leaving an immaculate blade, worthy of an expert chef's hand.
"I command you as the minister of magic..."
"Enhance!"
With all the enchantments cast on the knife, now I can start carving and giving the mana crystals the correct shape.
It is a slow and tedious process, especially because if I cut my finger with the magically enhanced blade, I could lose it.
And while I was concentrated on the fabrication of the Mana Cube, several Goblins tried to attack me...
Nothing that a shield around me couldn't stop.
I was now sitting on the floor of the dungeon, protected by a semi-transparent shield that separated me from at least thirty Goblins. The horde waited, impatient, for the barrier to yield to attack me all at once.
With the Mana Cube finally created, all that was left was to engrave the magic circles on its surface.
"I think this looks good."
Now, you may be wondering...
What the heck is a Mana Cube for?
In simple terms, it is a spell storage device. Imagine it as external RAM or a hard drive for magic.
Casting spells is slow, which is why the Mana Cube is known as the most basic weapon among sorcerers, and the most efficient of them all.
It can store the structure of an already prepared spell and cast it instantly without having to recite it aloud in the middle of combat.
When I need it, I simply activate the cube and the spell shoots out instantly.
I gripped the Mana Cube tightly in my right hand and, with a simple thought, dispelled the shield that separated me from the Goblins.
The horde of Goblins roared with bloodlust and lunged without thinking.
At that instant, the Mana Cube shone with a violent light around me as my voice echoed through the cave walls.
"I command you as the minister of magic... stop their movement."
"Paralysis!"
Immediately, the Goblins froze solid, paralyzed in time in the middle of their frantic run.
Okay, they were not literally paralyzed in time—I can't do that yet... but, for all practical purposes, they were perfectly immobilized.
"I can finally cast my spells mentally, as expected of the Mana Cube!"
Unfortunately, this spell will only last five minutes...
Without losing a second, I slid forward and firmly gripped my knife.
It was time to level up a bit.
The first Goblin had a wild expression frozen on his face, probably imagining himself tearing me apart.
I plunged the blade into his neck without hesitating twice.
Then the second. And the third. And the fourth.
The knife sank in and came out without resistance, cleanly and quickly.
I moved through the dense crowd of Goblins and made sure every cut was clean, a single strike to the jugular or base of the skull to guarantee instant death.
Twenty, twenty-five, thirty.
When I finished, the Mana Cube stopped shining and the magic paralysis dissipated.
It had taken exactly the five minutes the spell lasted.
The bodies of the Goblins, which had been standing an instant before, collapsed with a dull thud, forming a carpet of corpses around me.
I observed the trail of bodies and put away my knife.
"A Sorcerer knows when to invest and when to conserve his mana."
It would be stupid to waste my mana on paralyzed targets.