“Like this? ‘Mana Drain… whoa, it’s working. And then, ‘Magic Transfer’… oh? It’s flowing out. So if I…”

After finding only the disappointing “Longevity Set” in the treasure chest, I had slumped to the ground, sulking for about five minutes.

But, the dragon’s snoring snapped me back to reality.

Lamenting over it wouldn’t solve anything, and I couldn’t afford the time for that right now.

I needed to figure out how to escape with the skills and equipment I had.

So, I decided to test and understand the full effects of the “Mana Drain” and “Barrier” skills from the chest.

Simply knowing their names wasn’t enough.

To my surprise, a glimmer of hope appeared.

The Barrier skill, honestly, wasn’t very useful at the moment.

Its strength depended on the amount of magic I infused into it, and with my F-rank magic, it probably wouldn’t hold up against a dragon’s attack.

The Mana Drain skill, however, was promising.

It could absorb the magic within both living and non-living things from a distance within my line of sight. Even better, it could absorb magic within a specified area.

Unlike Magic Transfer, which required physical contact, I could absorb magic without touching the target.

This meant I could safely drain the dragon’s magic from a distance.

Concerned there might be restrictions on such a powerful skill, I used “Appraisal” on myself.

To my relief, I could indeed use it.

Moreover, my Mana Drain, Magic Transfer, and Barrier skills were classified as “Unique Skills.” Here’s what my status looked like:

Hikaru Akutsu

Race: Human

Health: F-

Magic: F+

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Strength: F-

Agility: F

Dexterity: F

Unique Skills: [Mana Drain], [Magic Transfer], [Barrier]

Skills Acquired: [Appraisal I], [Detection I], [Night Vision I], [Body Enhancement I], [Small Heal I], [Alchemy I], [Synthesis I]

Skills Restrictions: [Wind Blade I], [Harden I], [Flame Lance I], [Ice Spear I], [Middle Heal I], [Glacial Shift I], [Crush I], [Terrain Manipulation I]

Unique… I think it means “distinctive” or “one-of-a-kind.” In otherworldly reincarnation novels, Unique Skills are special abilities that only a few people possess.

Additionally, there was no grade in Unique Skills, which I took to mean there were no limits.

For example of attack skills, Fire Lance I, there is one fire lance/spear that can be made. But for Fire Lance II, there are two of them. And I think the destructive power of the skills depend on the magic power I used for it. Probably….

If there are no restrictions such as grade, maybe I could absorb magic infinitely?

Combining it with the Magic Transfer skill could make me invincible… at least, that’s what I hoped.

To confirm the theory, I decided to practice the skills to see if there were really no limitations.

I first took out a fist-sized magic stone from my Magic Bag which were in great numbers inside the bag, I assumed it would fetch around a million each if sold.

I decided not to absorb a head-sized magic stone, assuming it could be sold for even higher price.

So, I used the smallest magic stone I had in my bag.

For comparison, goblins magic stones were the size of pebbles. So any of the magic stones inside my Magic Bag definitely comes from stronger monsters

After absorbing the magical power from the fist-sized magic stone, I tried transferring the absorbed magic into another stone.

Although using an empty magic stone would have been ideal, none were available, so I transferred magic into a stone that already contained magic, watching it darken as it filled.

Satisfied the skill didn’t drain my own energy, I repeated the process until the movements became smooth.

I thought that the skill maybe also consumed my strength or vitality, but I didn’t feel particularly tired.

After about 30 minutes, I was transferring magic between stones with ease.

The imagine inside my mind was like letting go of your emotions from being lectured by your boss.

It seemed my past corporate slave experience had an unexpected use here. I even felt the transfer became more efficient.

I placed all the magic stones in the room behind the doors.

And then… its time!

There it was… the dragon’s massive tail. From behind the door, I extended my face and right hand cautiously.

In case I managed to escape, I had already placed valuable items, coins, and jewels in the space-storage bracelet.

This black bracelet, made from some unknown material, had adjusted to fit perfectly on my arm.

To store items, I simply had to think “store” while touching the item.

When a full plate armor set vanished in front of me, I was elated.

I left 80% of the treasures untouched, fearing the dragon would detect the sudden absence of their magic.

My life was at stake here, so better to play it safe.

Okay, it’s time! If the dragon notices, I’ll dash out of this room without hesitation.

With no chance to evade a dragon’s breath attack in this confined space, this is my only option.

Calm down… let’s start by absorbing magic gradually and gauge the dragon’s response.

Here we go… “Mana Drain,” “Magic Transfer.”

Trembling, I aimed my hand at the dragon, activating the Mana Drain skill, and immediately transferred the absorbed magic into a head-sized magic stone.

Perfect!

The dragon didn’t react. Now, let’s try a little more… “Mana Drain,” “Magic Transfer.”

Excited by the dragon’s lack of response, I gradually increased the absorption. However, the color of the magic stones quickly becomes darker, and I felt like I couldn’t put anymore magic in it.

Dragons truly are in a league of their own… Even 10 of these stones might not be enough. I’ll have to use fist-sized stones, though it’ll take longer.

I continued absorb magic, transferring it into one stone after another.

After an hour, I was mentally and physically drained, but my efforts had paid off. I felt a noticeable drop in the dragon’s magical intensity.

The flame near its mouth had faded, and the oppressive aura around it seemed weaker.

Around me lay an impressive amount of darkened magic stones, each one filled to the brim with absorbed magic.

That was close. I hadn’t expected to use nearly all 500 stones.

At this point, the dragon likely couldn’t breathe fire anymore, so I began packing up the stones and preparing to leave.

As I stepped out the door… our eyes met.

Wait… did it… just wake up?

Growl

In that moment, I knew I was facing the greatest crisis of my life.