After his encounter with Radiant Historia, Sol returned to his routine in the dungeon, this time staying far away from the monster house to avoid being overwhelmed by more than 30 Sentient Gems.
After killing 20 more Sentient Gems, Sol was able to evolve [Basic Earth Magic] into [Intermediate Earth Magic] and maxed out [Increased Mana Regeneration].
[Intermediate Earth Magic] Lv 1: Can cast intermediate earth spells; mana cost varies.
[Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv MAX: Increases mana recovery speed by 500%.
Sol was glad upon reading the descriptions of these two skills.
’With [Increased Mana Regeneration], my worries of running out of mana during a fight have greatly lessened. While I still am unable to cast any intermediate earth spells, as the Sentient Gems did not know any for me to learn, I have become much more efficient in casting basic earth spells.’
This not only covered his weakness regarding having enough mana but also opened the doors for him to be able to use earth magic almost as well as his fire magic.
"Now I am able to defeat the Earth Giant ten times faster than what it originally took me. But that’s enough fighting for today; I should complete the quests I have been postponing and turn them in."
When Sol originally bought the guide to the dungeon, he also accepted three quests at Trevors. While one can’t easily take monster bodies out from the dungeon, there are other things one can find inside. When the dungeon creates the environment, it also produces many other by-products that have various uses. For example, this dungeon has plentiful minerals and gems one can find and mine. Even the glowing gems that are found all over the roof and walls of the dungeons providing a light source are a crucial component to make magic lamps.
Sol then spent his remaining time collecting the requested items that are found throughout the dungeon. Having already walked through the floors and having the guide as a reference, he was able to finish it by the end of the day.
With his backpack full of minerals and gems, Sol made his way back out of the dungeon and turned in his quests. When leaving the Adventurers Guild, Sol was contemplating how he could increase his leveling efficiency with the few days he has left.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
’If I want to make the most of it, I should not spend time on any more quests. At least for now. I also noticed that some people set up camp in the dungeon. If I can afford the items for it, I should camp in the dungeon as well.’
With a plan in mind, Sol toured the different camping and adventuring shops in the area and got all the essentials needed to stay overnight in the dungeon: a sleeping bag, preserved food, and other tools to make sleeping on the cold stone floor of the dungeon more bearable. Surprisingly, he found all the items cheap until he realized they also sell items that have high rarities like the Warding Tent.
Warding Tent
Rare
Skills:
[Camouflage] Lv 3, [Temperature Control] Lv 3, [Energizing] Lv 3
’It was very tempting, but it was more than double the price of Warhawk’s Talon… I can’t buy it even if I wanted to.’
After his shopping, Sol went back to The Rusty Bed but unlike his normal routine of immediately going to bed, he actually sat by the desk and took out a book. It was the basic water magic book he obtained from the goblin camp.
"Magic and You: The Road to Discovering Your Water Talent"
Using the knowledge he already gained from the goblin shaman, Sol was able to skip to the second half of the book. Starting from the point the shaman left off, Sol began to read with his full attention.
2 hours later.
"Enchant my weapon with the strength of a typhoon, [Water Blade]!"
Moisture from the air started gathering around his Warhawk’s Talon and slowly covered all the blade. Just as more water gathered, it started to swirl and expand, creating a strong complementary force to his sword. Just as Sol was about to celebrate, the water swirl started shaking and becoming unsteady. He tried to correct the spell but quickly lost control, and the water splashed in all directions, getting everything in the room wet, including himself.
"... This is much harder than I thought it would be. I thought magic was easy because it’s just a simple chant but it takes a lot of control to form and maintain the spell."
Because Sol learned all his spells from siphoning off enemies, the techniques and knowledge of that specific spell were ingrained into his body. Subconsciously, Sol has been casting these spells with no issue because of that, but now that he is learning a new spell, his lack of true knowledge and talent is stopping him from successfully casting.
If he had talents affiliated with the type of element he was studying, it would make the process of learning much easier. There are also skills that magic talents are able to gain that increase their reading proficiency and their magic manipulation. Both of which would make the challenge of learning spells much easier.
"While I know I can learn the spell, it will take me significantly longer than the average mage to do so. Maybe I should just sell the book."
In the end, Sol decided not to sell the book as he can use it to learn slowly at his own pace if he ever had some free time. It’s not like he was in desperate need for gold.
Closing the book for tonight, Sol jumped into bed, appreciating the soft feeling of the mattress as he wouldn’t have this luxury when he delved back into the dungeon.