Chapter 27
Title: Novice Skillcrafter
Description: Increases primary stats by 5%.
The title was a pleasant surprise.
Keith noted that its description included the word ‘primary,’ something he’d seen in many other places, making him wonder whether there were other types of stats. It was exciting to think about.
The next notification informed Keith about his new skill.
(Legacy skill) Quickdraw
Description: Consume mana to engrave an array in your mind. You can instantly conjure copies of engraved arrays without drawing them manually. Mana cost, mental stamina consumed, and maximum quantity of arrays engraved depend on skill level.
Remark 1: The distance you can summon copied arrays from your location varies based on your Mana Manipulation and Rune Imprinting skills.
Remark 2: The mental burden to engrave, conjure, and maintain an array depends on its complexity.
Remark 3: You can teach other people this skill.
“It’s perfect,” Keith clenched his fists.
When Keith saw the power of the Laegur Beam array, he knew that using arrays to fight was a feasible idea. There were only two problems. First, it took time to draw an array, and second, you couldn’t afford any distractions. A monster wouldn’t sit still and wait. It would harass and interrupt your drawing process.
Quickdraw solved both these problems.
With Quickdraw now a part of Keith’s arsenal, he raised a finger and drew the Laegur Beam array. It took a minute. After that, he activated Quickdraw, focusing on the floating array.
Whoosh.
There was a gust of wind as the Laegur Beam array shrunk into a small dot that flew into Keith’s forehead, engraving itself in his mind. At that moment, Keith felt a space open up in his consciousness. Closing his eyes and focusing, he found the Laegur Beam array. In this unique space, his thoughts were omniscient, allowing him to view the array at any angle or distance. Zooming in, he saw every rune with impeccable clarity.
Even when Keith opened his eyes, he could still sense the Laegur Beam array in his mind. He shook his head and muttered, “How spectacular…”
Keith’s consciousness, something abstruse and intangible, had gained a new capability.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
It made him think.
What other magical things could the mind do?
While nobody in the Innate Nation understood much about consciousness, Keith had a gut feeling there was much to discover. For example, there was a mental burden when drawing arrays, but no value corresponded to mental endurance like stamina, health, or mana.
What was up with that?
Furthermore, Keith constantly wondered about the difference between his mana and the mana ambient in the world. Why could he control one and not the other? What was the mechanism that converted ambient mana to his mana? And why did Keith’s Mana Body increase his resistance to Mana Sickness?
Not even Frisk knew the answers to Keith’s questions.
He had asked.
Regardless, Keith wasn’t frustrated by the lack of knowledge.
Instead, it invigorated him.
Only when there was something to pursue did Keith truly feel alive.
Putting these mysteries aside, Keith walked out the back door onto the small dock connected to the lake. Once he ensured no one was underwater or in the surroundings, he activated Quickdraw.
The space before Keith flickered, and a fully formed Laegur Beam array manifested almost instantly. Satisfied with the speed, he tried to quantify the mental burden it took to conjure it. He vaguely felt there was no problem to summon dozens of Laegur Beam arrays.
Next, Keith activated Mind Enhancement and conjured another Laegur Beam array through Quickdraw. He found that the boost significantly reduced his mental burden.
Following further tests, Keith discovered he could use Quickdraw to conjure arrays within a hundred feet of his location. Any further than that, he couldn’t maintain the connection to his mana, causing the array to collapse.
Keith sat down on the side of the dock, feet hanging over the edge as he wrote down all the parameters of Quickdraw in his magic tablet. Overall, he was very happy with the skill, especially how many times he could conjure copies of engraved arrays.
Now, Keith simply lacked arrays to engrave in his mind.
Although the Laegur Beam array was powerful, it took over a hundred thousand mana to activate every time. He needed other types of arrays to use in different situations.
Unfortunately, while Keith was making great progress in his array studies, he couldn’t yet create anything close to the capabilities of the Laegur Beam array. It was better to rely on skills than any array he could make.
Keith planned to ask Frisk for help when he had some downtime. Right now, the man was working on improving the Laegur Beam Cannon, and it would be irresponsible for Keith to interrupt such an important job.
As for the delegate from the Elemental Nation arriving tomorrow, Keith tried not to think about it. He trusted that Markus, Ska’dur, and everyone else would make the correct decisions.
It wasn’t that Keith didn’t care.
He simply didn’t have the ability to make an impact.
Keith would rather spend his time getting stronger instead of growing anxious from factors outside his control.
And that was what he planned to do.
Heading to bed a few hours earlier than usual, Keith awoke before sunrise and set off for Mandara Desert on his Dire Desert Eagle. Passing by the area where he killed Orcus, Keith pushed deeper east, wiping out any monsters he encountered. He noted that the monster’s levels increased the further he went, nearing level 700 and eventually above it.
By the time the sun peeked over the horizon, Keith had arrived at the border of Mandara Desert and a new zone. There was a clear dividing line, where on one side lay the desert and a wall of fog on the other.
Keith wrinkled his nose, smelling a putrid stench in the air.
Sensing something, Keith looked down and saw the hairs on his arms curl and wither away. Getting goosebumps, he touched his head and pulled off a clump of hair. Keith’s eyes went wide. “There’s poison!”
As if his life was on the line, Keith hurriedly withdrew a mythic grade antidote potion from his inventory and swallowed its contents. At the same time, he opened his status and saw his falling health stabilize.
Even then, fear gripped his heart.
Slowly pulling out a mirror, he looked at the top of his head and sighed in relief after he saw that everything was still there.
“That was close,” Keith muttered as a breeze blew past, bringing the rest of his hair with it. He froze, dazed by the reflection in the mirror. Unwilling to believe what he saw, he ran a hand across his scalp, finding nothing.
All his hair was missing.
Gone in the wind.