[Magic That Keeps Cup Handles from Burning Your Hand]
[Magic That Prevents Eyelashes from Falling Out When Rubbing Your Eyes]
[Magic That Stops Toenails from Growing Into the Flesh]
…
Looking at the huge pile of grimoires Frieren had carried over, Shane felt extrely conflicted.
Girl, your taste is really… sothing else.
"Hehe, what do you think? They're all amazing grimoires, right?"
The white-haired elf, completely oblivious to Shane's mood, humd proudly.
…
Ah, whatever. It's rare to see you this happy.
"Let's go. Ti to check out."
The elderly receptionist was also startled when he saw the large stack of books Frieren brought over.
Putting on his reading glasses, he carefully compared each title against a long price list beside him.
"Six books in total. With the half-price discount, the total cos to 19 silver coins."
"How much?"
"19 silver coins, sir."
"…"
Shane nearly choked.
Even at half price, it's this expensive?!
And they're all weird little everyday spells. If these were combat spells or powerful defensive magic, wouldn't the price be astronomical?
Raising a mage really does burn money.
After paying, Shane was left with only 1 silver coin. He squeezed his now deflated wallet and silently sighed.
Ti to figure out how to make money.
Just as he was feeling down, the corner of his eye caught sight of a short bookshelf beside the counter.
Only four or five books sat on it, but each one was about twenty centiters thick—like bricks.
Curious, Shane walked over and picked one up.
[??? Magic]
Type: ??? Magic
Effect: ???
Status: Not Learned
What's going on? Why is everything question marks?
Shane squeezed his eyes shut, focusing his ntal energy to appraise it again.
A wave of dizziness hit him, and he had to grab the shelf to steady himself, barely avoiding passing out.
He imdiately realized—his ntal strength was too low. He couldn't activate the effect of [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask], so he couldn't simplify and directly grasp the grimoire in front of him. That's why all the information appeared incomplete.
"Are you interested in that grimoire, sir? If you want it, I can offer an additional 1 silver coin discount on top of the half price."
Another 1 silver coin discount?
I don't even want to know the original price.
"Sir, why are these books placed here separately? Are they defective?"
The old receptionist smiled.
"No defects. They're displayed here intentionally. These are so of the most powerful spells in the entire hall. However, their learning difficulty is extrely high. Ordinary mages could spend their entire lives without even getting started, so they've never been sold."
"They're placed here in case any mage takes a liking to them—as collectibles."
Collecting grimoires, huh?
Shane glanced at Frieren.
To his surprise, her gaze hadn't even brushed those "brick-like" books. She was completely focused on the ones she picked, happily packing them up.
…
On the way back from the grand library, Shane remained absent-minded.
Even the airheaded Frieren noticed.
"No need to feel regret over not buying that grimoire."
"The one you saw—if I tried to analyze it, it would take over a hundred years. And after that, it would take several more decades of practice to fully master it. For humans, such magic is simply impossible."
"So spells created in ancient or even mythical eras are extrely difficult to analyze due to their complex theoretical logic and operation thods. Most of them also have very strict usage conditions. From a practical standpoint, they're not particularly appealing."
Shane nodded. Frieren's explanation made sense.
For ordinary people, that was indeed the case. Many mages likely spent their entire lives analyzing a single spell, making no progress until their dying breath.
That was the limitation of a human lifespan.
But he was different.
He possessed [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask], allowing him to simplify all magic into concrete attributes and master them directly.
Yet despite having such a powerful passive skill, his ntal strength was too low to make use of it.
Wasn't that like dying of thirst next to a well?
Raising his ntal strength couldn't wait!
…
That night, Shane began his first attempt at cultivation.
It was his first ti, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
Following Frieren's earlier instructions, he sat cross-legged on the balcony, facing the cool moonlight, and began ditating.
The night breeze brushed against his face, gradually calming his mind.
He focused on sensing the blood vessels and bones within his body, trying to find the ripples of magic within.
Ten minutes passed…
Half an hour passed…
An hour passed…
Shane opened his eyes. He was about to fall asleep, yet he hadn't felt anything at all!
Is this right??
[Goddess's Barrier], activate!
Buzz—
A ripple spread through the air, and a transparent barrier ford within a one-ter radius around him.
Magic worked.
Then why couldn't he sense the "magical ripples within the body" that Frieren ntioned?
…
"Because you don't have any mana. Not even a little."
While flipping through a grimoire, Frieren answered Shane, who had co to her room for advice.
"You don't have the aptitude to beco a mage."
"But since you can use divine magic, it ans you have the talent to beco a priest. You should consider training as one—recite the Scripture, strengthen your faith, and beco a devout priest."
No way!
I'm not practicing so magic that requires staying single for life!
"Is there really no other way to train?"
Frieren put down her book and thought for a mont.
"There is one."
"What is it?"
"It's the training thod of a Sage."
"A Sage's training thod?"
Shane frowned. He didn't recall seeing anything about Sage training in the magical history texts he read earlier.
"The Sage lineage has been lost for over a thousand years. I only heard a few ntions of it from my teacher, Flam. It's similar to a mage's ditation, but instead, the practitioner must try to control their ntal energy."
"Control ntal energy during ditation? How does that work? What exactly should I do?"
Frieren shook her head.
The Sage lineage had long been lost, so even she didn't know the details.
Back in his room, Shane pondered this idea of "controlling ntal energy" for a long ti, and a faint guess began to form—
When he focused, he could use his ntal energy to extract attributes. Could it be that a Sage's training was to continuously extract attributes?
Like grinding monsters to level up—extract more attributes to strengthen ntal energy, and stronger ntal energy allows extracting even more attributes.
Hmm…
Looks like he still had to go back to the dungeon and keep picking up scraps.
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