Chapter 4: Shop (2)  

After finishing my conversation with Neike, I dragged my exhausted body to the dormitory building.

Elinia Academy's dormitories are divided into several locations.

Naturally, males and females have separate buildings—staff members are not restricted—and they are also separated by grade.

Theo has a preference for high places.

Thus, my room is located on the top floor, the 20th floor.

However, this dormitory doesn't have an elevator.

So, I had to walk up to the 20th floor, carrying my heavy body.

I wanted to climb the stairs hunched over, but I straightened my back and walked with dignity.

Rather, I was forced to walk like that.

Finally arriving at the 20th floor,

"······."

A girl was standing near my door.

She was a slender woman with long black hair.

It was Amy.

Did she hear my footsteps and come out?

Or had she been standing there waiting for me all along?

I was curious.

Clip-clop, clip-clop-

Amy, whose eyes met mine, approached and bowed her head 90 degrees.

"······You have arrived, young master."

Her voice was still emotionless.

"Yes."

I felt uneasy.

I had clearly told her to rest comfortably.

I was curious how long she had been waiting, but decided not to ask.

Old habits from the past few years wouldn't change easily.

Amy, who raised her head gracefully, licked her lips.

"Young master, it is getting late. It would be best for you to go to bed soon for tomorrow's class."

"I understand."

Of course, I had no intention of going to sleep right away.

I needed to look into the shop more.

After passing by Amy, just as I was about to enter my room,

"Then, have a good night, young master. I will see you in the morning. Have sweet dreams."

Amy bowed her head again.

"Alright. You too, have sweet dreams, Amy."

Amy hesitated for a moment before bowing her head 90 degrees and murmuring.

"······Yes."

As soon as I entered the room, I took off my sweat-soaked clothes.

It felt incredibly uncomfortable.

I've been feeling a tingling pain for a while now.

I should take a shower first.

I grabbed the bathroom doorknob.

The luxurious bathroom greeted me as always.

The warm stream of water soaked my long silver hair.

······I feel exhausted.

But it's good.

The world of 'Kyren Zena Chronicles' is a mix of medieval and modern.

The plumbing facilities are modern.

It's not much different from the present.

I should be grateful for this······

It seems that Neike is on the Spearmaster route.

I can't guarantee it 100%, but after talking to him, there's a 90% probability.

Unlike the mage or the paladin route where hidden pieces are practically unnecessary, the Spearmaster route requires a minimal amount of pieces.

Having a route that doesn't require countless hidden pieces to clear, like the merchant or martial artist, is a relief.

An overpowered class like a mage can clear the game just by following the main quests.

In contrast, a martial artist, a weak class, must collect all the sub-quests and hidden pieces to barely clear the game.

It takes a veteran like me to see the ending as a martial artist.

Anyway, there's a 90% chance that Neike is a Spearmaster.

In other words, there's a 10% chance he'll choose a different route.

I'll know the route with 100% certainty in six months, but the time until then is too precious.

I know all the methods of obtaining hidden pieces.

But knowing them doesn't mean they'll come straight into my hands.

Some hidden pieces take more than a week just to travel to their hidden locations. So, from now on, I must carefully plan and collect hidden pieces.

I'll start with those that can be obtained near the academy.

I'll trust the 90% possibility and my intuition.

Honestly, it's not a desperate situation.

If there's a 90% chance in gambling, one should bet their house.

With various thoughts, I finished my shower and dried my body.

I changed into the provided white robe.

It smelled fresh and soft, as if laundered daily.

My reflection appeared in the full-length mirror in front of me.

Even in the loose robe, my elegance shows.

I wouldn't be wrong to call myself the most handsome character in the story.

"Really, if only my specs were half as good as my face."

I sat on the bed, pondering the unchangeable bitter reality.

Then, I opened the shop window.

Though I saw it earlier in the training field, the shop's interface was quite intuitive.

It felt light.

"······Huh?"

However, the items for sale were anything but light.

Let's see······.

***

"Buying traits is definitely the right choice."

That was my conclusion after spending over an hour browsing the shop.

There was nothing the shop didn't have.

As long as you had the shop's currency—gold, silver, and copper coins—you could buy almost anything.

Potions and food were just the basics.

High-tier artifacts like Ogre Power Gauntlets and Dragonbone Armor were available too.

Even stats and traits could be purchased.

They even sold unique traits like Weapon Master, Mana Ruler, and Agent.

"Hmm."

The only things missing were unique items and bloodline abilities.

Unique items were one-of-a-kind items within the game.

Items like holy swords and chalices belonging to various factions fell under this category.

Bloodline abilities were traits exclusive to certain lineages, such as Descendant of the Hero.

"Artifacts aren't useful to me right now."

I'm only a first-year student.

Before becoming a third-year, I can't bring outside artifacts into the academy.

I can only use ordinary artifacts provided by the school.

It's also a waste to spend money on stats right now.

I currently have two gold coins and ten silver coins.

At this point, it would cost one gold coin to raise a single stat.

It's clear that raising two stats wouldn't make much of a difference for someone like me, who lacks any decent traits.

It's inefficient to spend limited currency on stats.

So, I should buy traits, but...

There's a big problem.

Good traits are expensive.

'Weapon Master' costs 100 gold coins.

'Agent' is a whopping 1,000 gold coins.

I've barely earned two gold coins and ten silver coins, even with the initial special reward.

From now on, it's certain I won't earn as much as I did today.

My goal is to graduate from the Hero Department with excellent grades.

At least one unique trait, like 'Weapon Master,' is necessary to have any hope.

But when will I gather 100 coins?

Even if I focused solely on farming gold coins, it would take at least a year.

Unlike other departments, taking a leave of absence isn't possible in the Hero Department.

Gulp, gulp.

Feeling frustrated, I gulped down some cold water.

In the end, unique traits were merely a pipe dream.

I had no choice but to pick lesser traits.

"Hmm?"

While browsing through the cheap traits and reading their details, a particular one caught my eye.

[Magic Nullification] Price: 2 store gold coins

Magic Nullification.

It's an ability and trait that nullifies magic below a certain level targeted at the holder.

It can also nullify magical buffs—like Strength or Haste—on contacted targets.

This trait was occasionally possessed by villains who mainly used physical attacks in the latter part of the story.

Its effects seemed overpowered.

Depending on the situation, it could be even more useful than unique traits. However, unlike other games where Magic Nullification is considered an overpowered skill, it's a useless trait for players in 'Kyren Zena Chronicles.'

The reason is simple.

The higher the Mana stat, the lower the level of magic that can be nullified.

Moreover, it permanently reduces the amount of Mana a person has.

It's a trait only useful for those with low Mana stats.

In other words, it's extremely inefficient for protagonists—players—with top-tier Mana stats from the beginning.

In exchange for the enormous penalty of permanently losing Mana, the effect is only enough to block a novice mage's Fireball.

A niche trait that no one uses, except for a handful of masochistic players who enjoy suffering.

However,

"...This is it."

My Mana stat is 0.

Even the local innkeeper has a Mana stat of 2 or 3, but mine is a complete zero.

I don't have any Mana to lose in the first place.

With my 0 Mana stat, I should be able to block quite high-level magic.

And Magic Nullification is a trait, not magic.

Traits don't require Mana to use.

There's a daily limit, but no one can make better use of this trait than me.

'Fools. Who asked for a character with a 0 Mana stat to be possessed?'

I immediately purchased [Magic Nullification].

[Purchase completed.] [Remaining funds: 10 store silver coins]

Nothing happened except for the appearance of the message window.

There were no special effects, nor did I feel any power.

It just felt familiar, as if I had always possessed this ability.

I tilted my head and looked up at the high ceiling.

There, three magical lamps powered by magic stones were hanging.

Hooong-

I jumped and touched one of the magical lamps, thinking, 'Let's turn it off.'

Swoosh-rung-

The magical lamp I touched went out, as if it had always been that way.

Good.

It's working according to my will, even though I just bought it.

I need to find out the level of magic I can nullify as soon as possible.

A sense of satisfaction fills me, making me feel drowsy.

I should go to bed now, as I have an early class tomorrow.

I turned off the lights and closed the curtains.

Though the day was tiring, it was equally fulfilling.

I drifted off to sleep almost instantly.

***

Knock. Knock. Knock-

"..."

The rhythmic knocking sound woke me up. It was probably Amy.

Knock. Knock. Knock-

The knocking continued.

"I'm awake."

Finally, the knocking stopped.

─Understood, Young Master. I will wait.

"Alright."

I wanted to tell her not to wait, but I didn't know the specifics of Theo's daily schedule.

For now, I'll just go along with what Amy has arranged.

I pulled back the heavy curtains and opened the window.

Warm, golden sunlight filled the room.

I quickly showered and changed into the freshly laundered academy uniform.

Like the robe, it had a soft, fragrant scent.

Now that I'm ready... I looked around the room.

Old-fashioned paintings hung on the walls, a mood lamp made of precious metals gleamed softly, and a plush-looking chair sat beside a large bed.

However, I couldn't find the textbook I was looking for.

As I suspected, the textbook I saw in Amy's room yesterday was mine.

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue and looked in the full-length mirror. With a natural motion, I adjusted my clothes.

With this, 'that trait' shouldn't bother me.

However, just as I was about to grab the door handle-

"Uh, ugh."

A sharp pain struck me again.

─Young Master, is something wrong?

Amy's voice came from beyond the door. At the same time, my head turned involuntarily.

There was a dressing table. On it were various colorful perfume bottles.

There must be at least ten of them.

"… It's nothing. Just wait a moment."

Damn it.

I still can't get used to this.