Shane didn't know how to describe his current mood.
It was just… absurd.
[Shane]
Status: ntal Power · Normal (Depleted, recovering)
Attributes: [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask (Gold/Legendary)] [Accelerated Thinking (Gold/Legendary)] [Ti Manipulation (Gold/Legendary)]
Evaluation: A human.
The mont he finished extracting the attributes, he had fainted imdiately. In his haze, he had heard the sound of sothing hitting the ground.
Looking at it now, he must have landed face-first.
Did he literally slam right into the attributes?
"People can actually be enchanted with attributes… Is this just a special case for , or can anyone do it?"
Shane couldn't figure it out.
And it seed impossible to truly figure out.
Because stripping attributes would cause the original item to collapse and vanish. He didn't dare experint on himself. As for experinting on other people—once an attribute was applied, it couldn't be changed. It would completely alter soone's life. That was far too shaless.
But on the other hand… what about the dead?
At that thought, Shane shook his head violently, cutting off the idea. People were off-limits. Absolutely off-limits.
Unconsciously, those crimson, madness-filled eyes appeared in his mind again.
Was he being influenced?
Looking at the "ntal Power Depleted (Slowly Recovering…)" in his status, Shane figured his mind was just unstable due to low ntal power.
He pulled the blanket over his head and went back to sleep.
…
When he woke up again, it was already afternoon.
He first knocked on Frieren's door, but there was no response.
Thinking of her habit of sleeping in, he figured she wouldn't wake up until the next morning at the earliest. So he went downstairs, ate sothing simple, slung a bag full of mushrooms over his shoulder, and headed toward the Adventurers' Guild.
First, to exchange them for money.
Second, now that he had the [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask] attribute, which could simplify complex magical formulas and principles into "attributes" for direct mastery… did that an he could finally learn magic?
When he had first arrived in this world, he had been full of expectations about that.
Unfortunately, he had no talent for it at all.
But now, if he could learn magic through attributes, becoming a "magic swordsman" didn't sound bad—offense and defense both covered.
'Adventurers' Guild – Ramiel Region Branch'
After confirming the na at the entrance, Shane stepped inside.
Unlike the guild halls he had seen in novels or ani, there were no rowdy drinking groups, no walls covered in quest notices or bounty posters, and definitely no pretty catgirl attendants.
Instead, it felt more like a shop.
Shelves lined the left side, filled with bottles, jars, and semi-processed herbs, ores, and other miscellaneous materials. The right side displayed various weapons and armor. In the center stood a single long counter, behind which hung notices like "Mage Rank Examination Schedule and Rules" and "Adventurer Code of Conduct."
Hearing his footsteps, a beautiful woman peeked up from behind the counter.
The mont she saw him, her eyes lit up. With a clatter, she hurried out, tidying her clothes and fixing her hair as she walked.
"Welco to the Adventurers' Guild. You must be Shane."
"?"
"Haha, don't be nervous. I heard about you from the owner of the Iron Hoof Inn. She said you're the most handso adventurer she's ever seen. Oh, Goddess above, I've been looking forward to your visit."
The woman winked at him.
"Uh…"
Shane was montarily speechless.
The innkeeper sure had a lot of close friends.
"So, what can I get you? Whether it's dicine for diarrhea or armor forged from refined iron, we have everything here. Of course, if you're looking for a grimoire, you'll have to go to Gostan City's Grand Library. We don't carry anything that precious here…"
No grimoires?
He had wanted to buy one to test the effect of [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask].
Going to Gostan City wasn't impossible. It was the largest trade city in the Ramiel region, about three to five days away on foot.
The woman kept enthusiastically recomnding items, leaving Shane no chance to interrupt. Shopkeepers in another world weren't much different from those in his previous life.
Finally, during a brief pause for breath, Shane seized the opportunity and dumped his backpack onto the counter.
"Oh! Glowcap Mushrooms—what a rare material! I haven't received any in years. Let check the current market price… Ah, here it is. Seven silver coins per pound."
"The price has really gone up. Last ti I bought these, they were only six silver coins. Now look at it—an entire silver coin more."
Even while talking nonstop, her hands moved quickly as she took out a scale and began weighing them.
"Let's see how much you have… Oh, quite heavy. Exactly three pounds. That makes twenty-one silver coins."
While she chattered, Shane's attention drifted to the equipnt section nearby.
He appraised the displayed weapons and armor one by one. Most of the attributes he saw were things like [Sharpness], [Weight], [Basic Resistance], and [Mana Conduction]—all white-tier attributes, nothing particularly valuable.
This confird what Frieren had said earlier. Since the Unified Empire era, sages skilled in alchemy and forging had vanished.
Modern equipnt no longer possessed powerful enchantnts. At best, they provided basic protection and support.
Even Frieren's staff only carried a simple attribute [Mana Conduction].
Adventurers of this era relied purely on talent and physical ability.
For soone like Shane—a "blank slate" with no talent—there was no path forward except stacking equipnt stats.
Looks like if I want strong gear, I'll have to make it myself.
But now that he had money, he could at least buy a few cheap items, strip their attributes, and use them as fodder for upgrades.
"Ma'am, I'd like nine leather bracers."
"Of course. Nine leather bracers—forty-five silver coins in total. Would you like them wrapped?"
"Actually… I suddenly feel like I don't need them that much."
…
With twenty silver coins and a hundred copper coins in change, Shane returned to the inn.
Inside the room, Frieren was still sleeping.
Worried she might get hungry in the middle of the night, he planned to ask the innkeeper to send so bread and water to her room.
But after looking around, he couldn't find the innkeeper anywhere.
"Strange… Not just her, there's no one in the inn at all. What's going on?"
He circled the place again, then was shocked to discover that not only was the inn empty, but the once-busy street outside was now completely deserted.
The entire street was empty. Not a single person in sight. Even the shops with their doors still open had suddenly lost all occupants.
Shane's heart skipped a beat.
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