6 Hours before the incident in Bhairava forest
"Let's hunt!" Stretching my body by pulling my arms up and turning my body left and right after arriving at the low-level monsters outside the village walls.
"But, how should I hunt?"
"There is no weapon in my hand anymore"
"Inventory only contains books, pens and fragments and the handle of my broken knife." Scratching the back of my head because I was confused about how to hunt.
"If you hit the slime, it might cause quite a lot of damage, but the exp you get from the slime is still relatively small."
"And if I force myself to attack a monster with an exp level above the slime, it will take a lot of time and the damage it produces won't be that great."
I was thinking about how to hunt quickly and efficiently.
Others exploit their class's advantages to hunt en masse. But how can I exploit my class's strengths? It has no offensive skills, and its active skills are incapable of defensive use.
Mages in other games and movies share one unique trait. They cast spells without an intermediary or through a wand. However, what makes them unique is that the magic they produce is derived from the caster's imagination.
However, the output varies depending on the caster's imagination. Mana itself functions as the maximum volume or magnitude the caster can exert based on their imagination.
So, for example, if the caster has a large imagination of power but the volume he has is small, then the imagination will be trimmed to adjust to the size of the volume that can be released by the caster.
In my case, currently the volume I have is 75. So if I were to imagine something beyond the volume I currently have, it would probably immediately use up all my mana.
Until now, the stats I have allocated are mostly to agility, strength, and stamina, while the main stats that I should have allocated, namely wisdom and intelligence, I have not put any of them there.
Think for a moment
After thinking, I started trying to create my first spell because maybe the system in Avarice for creating attack or defense skills is like that mechanism.
"Fireball" My palms face up and my mind tries to imagine the shape of a fireball like in most movies or comics.
However, nothing appeared. The result was a failure, just a gust of wind blowing across my body.
"Emmh. Maybe my imagination is lacking." A flat expression was clearly visible on my face in that situation.
"Come on, Fireball!" This time I tried with my palms forward as if I wanted to shoot, but it still didn't produce anything and only a gust of wind hit my body.
"Fireball"
"Fireball"
"Fireball"
I tried over and over again with different positions and poses but nothing came up.
"Ahkk"
"How do you conjure magic?"
In the midst of this confusion, the imagination arose of how fire works in the real world.
I took a notebook and pen from my inventory and started writing down all the theories that came to my mind.
In the real world, fire doesn't appear without a cause. Fire is an element that arises with a cause. Fire's bond is based on three main elements, or what is known as the Fire Triangle, that form fire.[1]
That is, fuel is a material that is easily burned, such as wood, paper, plastic and so on.
Then there is Oxygen, the air we breathe every day is also one of the elements that form fire.
And finally there is heat, which is the energy source so that the previous 2 elements become complete and form a fire.
So, how can we find these 3 elements?
In the real world, fuel can be found in objects containing hydrocarbons. However, in Avarice, I can replace it with mana because, based on its function, mana should also be able to act as fuel.
Then there's oxygen, which in the real world is invisible to the naked eye. However, since I acquired this mage class and the [Mana Sight] skill, I can see mana with my naked eye.
So I assume that the oxygen we feel in the real world is the same as the flow of mana in all the elements in the world of Avarice, including the wind itself because in my view, wind has its own mana.
The last thing I need is heat. According to the rules, I already have the two basic ingredients for making fire. But how do I get this heat?
In the real world, heat is generated in various ways. Starting with lightning strikes, which are relatively unlikely to occur because they require a fast and powerful strike.
Then there are the methods of rubbing stones, reflecting sunlight, and rubbing wood on a campfire.
All of these methods share a commonality: they both maximize heat at a single point, creating a small spark that then grows larger as the resulting spark grows stronger.
After I had completed all the frameworks of thought and clearly recorded the flow in the notebook.
I closed my notebook and put the book and pen back in my inventory. Then I extended my right hand forward, palm facing up.
I began to imagine how to create a fireball again. But this time, it was different. Instead of imagining what it would look like, I imagined the process of fire formation, with principles modified to follow the rules of the mage class.
In general, the basic formula for the formation of fire is:
CnHm + (n + m/4) O2 is then given initial heat which causes the formation of carbon dioxide gas and water vapor (smoke/combustion results) or if written with the formula it becomes nCO2 + m/2 H2O + Heat + Light.
With Heat + Light is the visible energy that we often call fire.
With this, we can assume that CnHm is my mana and (n + m/4) 02 is the surrounding mana that I see with [Mana Sight]
So the formula will be [Muser] + [Maround] + heater, the heater here I will use the same method as the 3 traditional methods of forming fire previously. That is, concentrating the heat in one point.
I will merge my mana and the surrounding mana around my palm to create the initial fire by concentrating it in a round shape first like rolling up a wool rope.
And finally, I will speed up the rolling until it gets hot enough to ignite the first spark.
My mind kept thinking about concentrating mana on my palms. My eyes kept concentrating, ensuring the rolling didn't slow down, but instead increased the flow.
Based on the principles of physics, the formula for heat formation itself is divided into 2 stages:
The first stage is heat generation, this is what I am currently doing by relying on a combination of fire triangle elements and speed control based on physics principles.
Qmagis = 1/2 Mwind x (ΔVmana)²
With Qmagis as an expression of the heat that will be generated based on the acceleration of the merger that is carried out.
Then, an adiabatic compression is performed to trim the initial vortex into a tighter, denser vortex as the focal point. This is described as:
Tcore = Atmosphere (VOLearly / VOLfokus)
After the first stage is complete, proceed to the second stage, namely the first ignition process.
In this stage, the focus is on producing a complete fire from the results of the first stage. This is formulated as:
Creativity = Imagination xe - Eactivation/Muser x Tcore
Note: Imagination here is a substitute for material to focus the ignition.
My body was as still as a statue, only the sounds of animals and other players who were also hunting around me.
During those moments, I continued to focus my attention on my palms. Until finally, the initial roll was completed successfully.
"Come on, a little faster" Trying faster to light the fire in my hand.
However, what I didn't realize was that because I was so focused on the speed of the fusion between my mana and the surrounding mana, I forgot to regulate the amount of surrounding mana I was infusing.
With that thing I didn't realize, the unexpected happened.
BOOM
It wasn't a small fire that emerged from the palm of my hand, but a large fire that I saw directly with my eyes.
"Ack" I fell down in shock at the unexpected result.
"Ahh, there's something wrong with my output." I straightened my clothes and stood back up.
However, another thing I didn't realize was that when I looked around, I saw many eyes watching me. There were players who had been hunting for experience, as well as animals all around me.
"Aha aha, sorry to surprise you all." Trying to explain and then running as far as possible from the crowd, I didn't even realize I had entered the Bhairava forest, a forest famous for having high level monsters.
"It seems safe here" I checked around and there was no one around me.
"Okay, time to try again"
I tried repeating the previous method. However, this time I did it with extreme care and maximum focus to avoid repeating the previous mistakes.
"Let's focus!"
Seconds passed by.
"A little bit more"
WHUMP
The first fire appeared in my hand perfectly.
at that very second, an achievement notification appeared from Avarice.
[ ... ]
"It's not over yet, just the final stage." I wasn't distracted by all of that and continued until the fire in my hand became a fireball.
According to the rules, Fireball is a very dense fire like a burning lump.
To make a Fireball, I have to make the fire in my hand spread evenly in all directions like forming a spherical geometry.
This is written as Volfireball = Volfocus (Tfire / Atmosphere)
The next step is to make the ball adjust its size and strength according to how much mana I have to spend.
This is written as Vfireball = 4/3 πr³ ≤ (for mana if you want to combine)
I tried to put in a little bit of my mana first
After all the theories crossed my mind and entered my imagination for the output.
This also made me focus even more on condensing the existing fire into a spherical vortex.
Even the passive skill [True Magician] was also active at that time.
"[User is in a state of intense focus]"
"[Increases intelligence and wisdom by 200% and increases mana and magic sensitivity]"
In the final moments, my first fireball finally happened.
VHUMMP
"Phew, finally my first fireball."
Sweat and heat appeared all over my body because I had been at maximum focus before.
And after that, another notification from Avarice appeared.
Since this time I had finished my focus, I opened the notification.
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ First Ignition |
├────────────────────────────────────────┤
│Thanks to your strong dedication, you are the first mage in this world|
│The one who blew the first fire.│
│ Reward: Ignite (Flowstring skill)│
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
The first thing I saw was a congratulation on my first fire, maybe this was a previous notification that I hadn't read yet.
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ First Magic |
├────────────────────────────────────────┤
│Congratulations on your first magic in making a fireball |
│Your strong desire has come to fruition│
│ Reward: Fire Affinity +3│
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
"Flowstring skill?"
"Fire Affinity? What does this all mean?"
With curiosity I opened the explanation regarding this.
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Flowstring Skill: Ignite |
├────────────────────────────────────────┤
│Basic magic to trigger fire elemental magic. |
│All fire element magic will start from igniting first│
│Creates the first fire. This skill cannot be used defensively│
│Or attack because the function of this skill is only for source |
│magic only, but can still be brought out for performances│
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Fire Affinity |
├────────────────────────────────────────┤
│Affinity for the fire element. The greater your affinity for|
│Fire element, makes the use of mana in the fire element more efficient│
│And the formation of fire magic in the future will become much easier│
| Or faster spellcasting |
| Current Fire affinity: 3 |
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
"So... basically, the fireball I created earlier won't be a permanent skill that will cast quickly? Instead, I have to start the process all over again?" I tried to digest the words written in the explanation.
"And it all has to start with ignite?"
"However, if my fire affinity increases, it won't take long for fast casting in the future."
Without realizing it, 2.5 hours (game time) have passed.
"What is this place? It's so quiet, there are only big trees around, not even a single animal can be seen here." With curiosity, I went around the forest.
Less than half an hour after I left, I was confronted by a giant snake monster.
The snake has venom and quite sharp fangs.
"It seems like my luck is pretty bad today," I grumbled to myself as I encountered a large monster that probably also had a level that wasn't low.
I tried to get away from the monster but was blocked by its large body surrounding me.
"Unlucky"
"That monster must think it can easily kill me after coiling around me like this."
After I was trapped, the monster began to attack. It thrust its head towards me, and I narrowly avoided it.
"Good luck" In the midst of that evasion, it crossed my mind to try fireball even though in my mind I thought that it might take a long time to cast just 1 fireball.
"Fireball" The first reaction doesn't produce anything until a few seconds later.
WHVUMPP
It takes a few seconds for the results to appear.
After the fireball appeared, I threw it at the snake, hitting its left eye.
The snake stopped attacking and raised its head in pain.
"Okay, it works"
Remembering that one chant alone takes a few seconds to produce results, I prepared another fireball in my hand.
The snake attacked again. But this time the pattern was different, it sprayed its venom at me.
I tried to block the poison with the fireball in my hand. I enlarged my fireball and tried to fight the liquid against my fireball.
"Feel this" I threw as hard as I could.
As a result, the liquid was burned by my fireball and my fireball continued to advance and hit the other eye again.
The snake backed away, unwrapping itself around me and going as far away as it could.
"Damn, if it's too far I can't throw a fireball to a distance that my throw can't reach." I ran after him so that the distance between us wouldn't be too far.
I kept chasing until I didn't realize that what was waiting in front of me was something I had probably never imagined before.
"Stop, you stupid snake."
"Come on, attack me again!" I chased after him, continuing to throw fireballs at him. But they had no effect on his body.
Arriving at a certain place, the snake stopped and slowly moved away in a backward position.
"Haha, stop it, you jerk." A wide smile was clearly visible on my face.
At that moment, much smaller snakes appeared around me, coming all at once. There were about a hundred of them from what I could see.
"Seriously?!" My face gaped at him.
"You damn snake, did you deliberately lure me into your nest so your group could attack me?"
PHEWW
The snakes started attacking me while protecting the big snake that was regenerating its eyes.
"Damn it!"
The first thing I did was try to attack one of them using fireball.
However, the result is only a quarter of the HP reduction. It might take about three more attempts to completely finish it.
And, fireballs aren't mana efficient, as a single fireball costs 3 mana. I've been using a lot of fireballs all this time.
My current mana remaining is 42 and the mana recovery is 1 mana every 5 seconds.
"I need a much stronger magic right now." I thought about creating a magic area that could instantly wipe them all out.
But, I didn't have time to think about it because before I could think about making the magic, one of the snakes came charging at me.
WHUSSH
"UNLUCKY"
"If this continues I could be killed here."
I threw a fireball at the snake until it died and a notification appeared.
"[Kaigo Has Killed Misty Poison Snake]"
[Exp +3114]
[+100% exp bonus]
[Exp +6228]
[Fire Affinity : +0.01]
"What?"
"The exp gained from this small monster is so big? How about the big one?"
"And fire affinity also increases as I kill those monsters"
However, the most surprising thing for me was the fact that the fireball I threw dealt continuous, cascading damage. So, monsters around the target hit by the fireball would also be damaged.
After being quite shocked, I then decided to just spam fireballs to focus on killing the little snakes.
I just remembered that one of the innate skills of this mage class has a passive to deal 3x damage and mana usage effectiveness as well.
"Mana Field" Releases mana field and a circle appears in my view with visible edges.
Most of these monsters are within my reach.
"I have to hurry, the field only has 1 minute"
I threw another fireball at one of the monsters. However, this time it was killed instantly with just one fireball.
[Critical Hit!]
[Kaigo Has Killed Misty Poison Snake]
[Exp +4222]
[+100% Exp Bonus]
[Exp +8444]
[Level Up 10 -> 11]
[Fire Affinity +0.01]
I kept throwing my fireballs and killing the little snakes. Critical hit notifications kept popping up in front of me, accompanied by level-up notifications every few monsters.
After the mana field ran out, it turned out I had only finished off about 25 of them.
"Damn, one minute with this non-fast casting time is not easy"
I still had quite a bit left in my sight, but my mana was starting to dwindle. I'd reached level 15 thanks to the massacre, and I'd allocated most of my stat allocation during the level-ups to intelligence and a little wisdom to increase my magic power.
I really need a magic area that can immediately take care of all these little monsters.
To Be Continued
[1] Here Kaigo draws a picture of the fire triangle.