Repetition dulled everything.
The screams, the resistance, even the act of killing itself began to blur into a single, monotonous process. Swing, evade, cut down. Again and again.
That was precisely what unsettled Saelran.
He knew very well that efficiency born from habit was a dangerous thing. Once killing became routine, judgment would inevitably suffer. And in a world like this, a single lapse in judgment could cost far more than a life.
The river flowed steadily beside him, indifferent to bloodshed or purpose.
Saelran exhaled slowly.
No matter how justified the target was, he could not allow himself to lose awareness. Strength without restraint was no different from recklessness, and recklessness was something he could not afford.
He rose to his feet, his gaze calm once more.
Rest was enough for now.
After eating and drinking his fill, Saelran looked at the attribute panel before him.
[Ability List]
Innate Ability:[Player]
Overall Level: Lv. 19
Experience Bar: 5893 / 9500
Classes:
Basic Class: Genius Lv. 9 (Warrior, Priestess, Alchemist, Magic Caster, Thief, Guerrilla, Forest Priest)
Intermediate Class: Sword Saint Lv. 10
Skill Points: 39
Passive Skills: Inventory Box, Slash Damage (10%)
Active Skills:
Warrior: Instant Reflex, Light Consecutive Slash, Rapid Slash, Stealth, Tracking
Magic Caster: Paper Creation (Tier 2), Heating (Tier 2), Minor Healing (Tier 1), Magic Arrow (Tier 1), Odorless (Tier 0), Camouflage (Tier 1), Item Appraisal (Tier 2)
Class Skills: Potion Crafting, Alchemy
...
Because leveling up the Genius class did not increase stats, the attribute list itself remained unchanged. However, the ability list had undergone significant changes.
Three days ago, Saelran raised his "Genius" level to level Nine, allowing his Magic Caster level to meet the requirements for using Second-tier magic.
Most importantly, he finally achieved his goal of mastering these second-tier spell "Item Appraisal.
However, the mana consumption of tier second-tier was also higher, requiring 10 mana points per cast.
Saelran's mana pool was far too small. He could only use a second-tier spell once per attempt. Including mana recovery time, he could only cast it twice a day.
Because of this, Saelran needed two full days to finally understand the appraisal information of the magical items he had obtained earlier.
Item: Magic Equipment, Armor, Protective Necklace
Tier: Lowest tier (1 to 10)
Effect: Low tier magic attribute.
Low tier physical resistance, once per day, capable of blocking one low tier physical attack.
Description: A magical necklace used to guard against close range attacks.
...
Item: Magic Item, Weapon, Arcane Staff
Tier: Low tier (11 to 20)
Effect: Low tier magic attributes.
Active: Defense Against Evil, two times per day, reduces necromancy damage by 10 points.
Passive: MP recovery plus five percent.
Description: A common low tier magic staff. Its creator seems to have had a grudge against necromancy users.
...
Item: Magic Item, Special Craft, Short wand
Tier: Consumable
Restriction: Magic type, magic user
Effect: Silence (2 of 5), eliminates all sound within a 50 meter radius centered on the user.
...
Item: Magic Item, Weapon, Mithril Dagger
Tier: Low tier (11 to 20)
Effect: Piercing attribute.
Active: The blade can be manually coated with paralysis poison, light grade.
Passive: Increases piercing damage by 10 points.
Description: A dagger weapon infused with mithril metal.
...
With the "Item Appraisal" ability, Saelran finally understood the information of these four magical items.
Among them, only the mithril dagger did not suit Saelran's current combat style. The other three were still usable.
The most valuable item was the arcane staff.
Even Saelran was slightly surprised that it could increase mana regeneration.
Even though the effect was modest, equipment with such an effect was worth at least one thousand gold coins.
It was important to note that although "Oblivion Gate" had healing potions to restore HP, it did not have potions that restored MP.
This was different from other games Saelran had played in his previous life.
For magic casters in "Oblivion Gate," mana was their lifeline.
Therefore, every magic caster prepared magical equipment to accelerate mana regeneration.
Furthermore, in "Oblivion Gate," different classes could not use each other's weapons.
Even after Nine Gate of Helldusk descended upon this world, this rule should still apply to the Gurath Goat Govenant and its companions.
However, the natives of this world had no such restrictions.
Even magic caster could wield short swords and draw bows.
Saelran was the same. Class restrictions shown in item appraisal did not affect him.
In this situation, the "Item Appraisal" skill was able to identify job restrictions, data that did not originally exist in this world.
This showed that the information identified by "Item Appraisal" was related to the user's own perception.
At present, Saelran had obtained two additional Second-tier spells besides "Item Appraisal."
Yes, those two Zero-tier spells.
As the user's level increased, both "Heating" and "Paper Creation" displayed the upward indicator once again.
Each spell consumed one skill point, raising them to second-tier.
Skill: Paper Creation, Tier 2
Mana Cost: 10 MP
Description: Creates 700 sheets of high quality paper.
...
Skill: Heating, Tier 2
Mana Cost: 10 MP
Description: Heats the contact area up to 300 degrees Celsius within one minute, instantly raising it to 100 degrees Celsius.
...
The changes after upgrading these two spells to second-tier were quite obvious, especially "Heating."
Originally a basic life type spell, it underwent a drastic transformation after reaching second-tier.
The ability to instantly heat an object to 100 degrees Celsius already demonstrated the offensive potential of this magic.
A temperature of 100 degrees alone was enough to destroy the human body. Ordinary people could be killed outright, even though many common second-tier spells could achieve similar results.
The key point lay in this spell's growth potential.
More importantly, life magic existed entirely outside the magic system of the game "Oblivion Gate," so there was no related information about it in "Nine Gate of Helldusk."
Another aspect was "Paper Creation."
Originally, this spell could produce 800 sheets of paper, with additional mana consumption allowing continuous production. Now, it could only produce 700 sheets.
The quantity did not increase. Instead, it decreased.
Saelran's thoughts raced as he took out two sheets of paper from his inventory.
One was created using the first-tier spell, and the other using the Second-tiers pell.
Both sheets looked extremely white, but the paper created by the Second-tier spell was not only white. It also emitted a faint shimmer under sunlight.
"So what exactly is this magical paper used for? And this glow… it feels familiar."
Saelran stared at the paper in his hand. A fragment of memory flashed through his mind, yet he could not recall where he had seen such a glow before.
After thinking for a moment, Saelran used "Item Appraisal" on the paper.
Item: Material, White Paper, Tier 2
Tier: Lowest
Effect: Paper containing a small amount of magic. Not easily damaged. Writing on it will remain unchanged for one hundred years. Alchemy material.
Description: White paper.
...
Seeing the appraisal result, Saelran raised one eyebrow.
"The writing can remain unchanged for a hundred years?" Saelran was somewhat surprised.
Books made from this paper could already be considered magical books. Some high ranking nobles would likely need this kind of paper to preserve written records for long periods of time.
Saelran thought for a moment and guessed that this magical paper could potentially be sold.
Wait a moment, Saelran narrowed his eyes slightly.
Previously, he had heard the Guard team mention that some nobles indeed possessed books capable of preserving text for extended periods.
This meant that "second-tier paper creation" did exist in this world.
When he purchased scrolls at the Magic Caster Guild of Antara, he had only seen scrolls containing "Zero-tier Paper Creation" and "First-tier Paper Creation."
Naturally, this frontier Magic Caster Guild did not seem to openly sell Second-tier magic scrolls.
Only after Saelran revealed his identity as a faith based magic caster was he able to purchase the "Item Appraisal" scroll, which had no offensive capability at all.