Chapter 5 (1/2)

Mightiest Melee Magician

Chapter 5

Skills.

It was easier to think of them as a type of magic.

However, compared to magic in which anyone could use so long as they could feel mana, Skills were unique abilities only for me.

That’s right.

They were only for me.

In the Skill window, there were a total of two Skills.

I clicked on the first one.

Force Circle

Passive

Mana is replaced by strength.

Mana Circles are replaced by the Force Circle.

All spells of the Player are now affected by strength.

All movements of the Player are now affected by strength.

That was all the explanation given to me, but I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

“Replaced mana… with strength?”

Mana, the fundamental essence required for magic.

It was mixed in the air, but it was lighter, burnt more easily, and if any impurities got mixed with it, it would break down and disappear.

A very difficult substance.

It was precious, not because it was rare, but because not everyone could manipulate it.

You needed to be able to handle mana to utilize magic.

It was both the beginning and the end of a magician.

But to substitute this with something else?

Regardless of if you were a low-ranking 1st-class magician or a grand magician with 8th-class magic, mana was the one thing that couldn’t be replaced by anything else.

“What the hell? This doesn’t make any sense…”

I was muttering in my confusion, but quickly snapped out of it to check my Mana Circle.

Mana Circle: for anyone who could feel mana and study it, a circle existed somewhere near their heart.

A type of mana storage area.

Not only that, it was a central function in spellcasting, used to amplify and ignite the mana.

It also increased the amount of mana one could utilize at once, and as you train your magic, the number of circles would also increase.

At the time, the number of mana circles I possessed was four.

It was overwhelmingly stronger than my peers, but since I couldn’t release it, it was the same as having none.

But now,

“It’s gone… All gone…”

My mana circles had all disappeared.

In place of my previously densely-packed circles, a band with a red glow had appeared.

It was a symbol meaning ‘infinite’.

And in the centre of this ‘circle’, strength was raring to go.

“What the… What is this?”

It was a nonsensical situation.

For my mana circles that I’d spent my heart and soul into cultivating to all suddenly disappear.

A magician without mana circles?

Wait, would I even be a magician at this point?

“Then what about my magic…”

I began panicking. I started getting lightheaded as my heart pounded and a dreadful chill went down my spine.

I choked in fear.

The fear that I wouldn’t be able to use magic for the rest of my life.

“Augh… shit.”

Was there ever a time in my life where I felt this suffocated?

I took a deep breath in to try and calm myself down.

If-

If I couldn’t use magic at all…

Then I was…

“Sigh…”

I shut my eyes, took in a sharp breath, and stretched open my hand.

As I tried to cast like I usually did, something interesting happened.

* * *

First, collect the raw mana scattered about.

Second, empower the collected mana through the mana circle.

Third, process the empowered mana and materialize it.

Then, you could release it.

This was the fundamental called the ‘Rule of Three’, the basis for all magic.

However,

“But… How?”

I had completely flipped the fundamentals on their head.

The spell I had cast was the basic 2nd-circle spell ‘Fireball’.

As soon as I started casting, my mana circle…

No.

Just as my new circle started thrashing about uncontrollably, a burning ball of fire suddenly appeared atop my palm.

“That’s… so fast.”

Collect, Empower, Process.

Through strength alone, I had forcefully charged through these steps which would normally take 10 seconds.

It was easy.

It was as fast as it was easy.

Decreasing one’s casting time would infinitely increase the effectiveness of that magician.

“How in the world…”

Fwhoosh!

At just a glance, you could tell that the Fireball conjured through strength was more powerful than one made through mana.

‘How about other types of magic…?’

I experimented with the other types.

Water, Fire, Earth, Air.

The four fundamental magics responded the same.

They all skipped the three-step operation of collect, empower, process, instead directly materializing the effect.

All at an insane speed.

‘I can use each type of magic the same way…’

It was only that mana was now replaced with strength, and my mana circles with the Force Circle.

Nothing really changed.

Right.

I could still use magic.

Released from the restraints of mana and mana circles, a new type of magic that utilized a different source of power.

It became a magic that only I could use.

“This is… the strength of an artifact.”

I was getting oddly excited.

I turned to look at the other Skill window.

Then.

I saw it.

The Mad Magician

Passive

A method of magic designed by Draka, who had trouble releasing mana.

You can attack enemies by loading magic into your body.

“……”

A new world had opened up to me.

You can attack enemies by imbuing magic into your body.

You are not affected by magic cast by you.

Strength is added to your magic.

Your magic damage will also deal additional physical damage.

“Loading magic into my body to attack?”

This was the reason I needed ‘Strength’ instead of mana.

The reason that the first quest was to punch and kick.

Draka, who couldn’t release magic.

He had fought by imbuing himself with magic in his hands and legs.

“Who would come up with such a thing?”

At that moment, the quest window started flashing.

“A new Quest?”

I looked into it.

Quest

Demonstration of the method

Using the Force Circle and ‘Strength’, hit a physical target with an attack.

Physical Targets Hit: 0/1

* Reward: Strength +10

A quest to use the Skill to hit something.

“……”

My excited breathing finally returned to normal.

My burning heart also started cooling down.

The future which looked as dark as the void started brightening up just a little bit.

As soon as I regained my composure, I started seeing new things.

‘This method… This is something I’ve never even thought about before.’

To hold the magic in your fist and just punch with it.

‘Could I do it?’

I was not asking trivial questions such as,