I thought I was gonna die.
Well, technically HP-wise, I did die.
If I didn't have Perseverance, I would've actually died for real.
Going out like that wouldn't have been going out in a blaze of glory or anything.
System Admin, if you were watching that just now, please delete it from the logs. Pretty please.
Anyway, I inadvertently confirmed the effect of Perseverance.
Rather than "reviving after HP runs out," it's more like "even when HP hits zero, MP substitutes for it and I can keep going."
Judging by how MP was burning earlier while I was on fire, I think it temporarily treats MP as HP.
So, the damage that should've hit my HP instead becomes a reduction in MP.
It's basically like HP and MP got fused together.
Which means, if I take an overkill attack, MP could drop all at once and I could still get taken out.
But thanks to Star Mage, my MP has increased to an absurd degree, so you could say I've gotten way tougher.
Still, MP gets used for its original purpose too, so I should probably keep some in reserve as insurance and not get too careless.
So, Star Mage caused my magic-related stats to skyrocket, but if I'm not using these stats, I'm just wasting them, right?
Enter: Pinnacle of Sorcery!
Yay!
This skill is actually the ultimate evolved form of Magic Power Operation — exactly what I've been wanting!
Amazing!
And it even comes bundled with handy MP-related skills — what a bargain!
Wonderhoy!
Right now, the price is: absolutely free, as a bonus from Lady Wisdom!
Wh-what did you say!?
Already purchased, so no worries!
Congratulations!
Anyway, this Pinnacle of Sorcery.
It's seriously an incredible skill.
It's basically the equivalent of maxing out "Magic Power Operation," "MP Recovery Speed," and "MP Consumption Reduction" all at once.
My MP, which was down to about half after nearly dying just now, is already fully recovered.
At a recovery rate of about two or three per second, that means I can fully recover in about ten minutes.
What the — that means I can use MP as much as I want!
And since MP Consumption Reduction is in effect too, my consumption should be reduced for everything except Perseverance.
Even without trying, I can basically spam skills freely.
Keeping Evil Eye active all the time barely costs anything compared to before.
Let me switch it to permanent activation right away.
Now, with all this preparation, it's time to try out magic, right?
But I don't know how to use it.
Well, that's changed now!
I've finally learned how to use magic!
Thanks to Lady Wisdom's new search function, I figured it out.
I'm nowhere near a great sage, but if you search for terms related to the skill system, it displays their descriptions.
The manual function I'd been desperately wanting has finally been implemented!
So, I searched for how to use magic too.
According to that, using magic requires going through several stages.
First: magic power perception.
This corresponds to what's called Magic Power Perception.
If you can't perceive the existence of magic power, you fundamentally can't use magic that runs on it as fuel.
So this is the absolute prerequisite for casting magic.
Thanks to Lady Wisdom, my Magic Power Perception is perfect.
Next: magic power operation.
The image of magic power inside me is a thick, viscous liquid.
Moving this liquid of my own will — that's Magic Power Operation.
The faster and more complexly you can move it, the better.
Normally, you'd have to train over time to gradually improve, but thanks to Pinnacle of Sorcery, I can move it freely and at will.
Then: spell formula construction.
Various magic skills correspond to this, and selecting the appropriate spell automatically constructs the formula.
The image of the constructed formula is like a pipe, I suppose?
The speed at which this gets constructed also varies depending on stats.
My spell formula construction speed is maxed out, so the moment I select a spell, it's ready to cast instantly — talk about broken.
Finally, once you pour magic power into the constructed formula, the magic is complete.
It's like pouring liquid into a pipe.
When the liquid reaches the end of the pipe, the magic finally manifests as a phenomenon that affects the real world.
At this point, increasing the amount of liquid flowing through the pipe raises the magic's attack power, and increasing the flow speed shortens the casting time.
However, this puts extra strain on the pipe.
Depending on the pipe's thickness, there's a limit to how much can flow through, and if it's not sturdy enough, it'll burst from the water pressure.
If the strain is too much, the spell formula can fizzle out, or in the worst case, backfire explosively.
Higher-tier magic has more complex and longer spell formulas, so this tendency becomes stronger.
To stabilize the formula, you need to build a larger, sturdier pipe.
For this too, Pinnacle of Sorcery makes it no problem.
Just casting a single spell requires going through all these steps.
However!
As someone with Pinnacle of Sorcery, I don't need to worry about any of that tedious stuff!
Magic Power Operation feels as natural as moving my body, and spell formula construction completes optimally the instant I select a spell — in a split second.
I can cast magic with the ease of pouring water into a cup!
So, since there are no monsters around right now, let me try casting something with a visible effect.
Oh, right, I completely forgot to appraise Shadow Magic.
"Shadow Expression: Allows shadows to be generated even in light."
Ugh.
That's underwhelming again.
It's still this weak at Level 3?
Shadow Magic isn't going to be useful until the level is much higher.
Alright then, let me try magic for real this time.
I think Poison Bullet is the way to go here.
Heterodox Magic would be pointless without a target, and honestly, even if Shadow Magic succeeds, it's not going to be that impressive.
Abyss Magic is... yeah, using it right off the bat feels like too high a hurdle.
Alright!
Spell formula deployed!
Magic power filled!
Poison Bullet — activate!
Almost the instant I got into position, something black and round materialized in front of me and shot forward with momentum.
O-oh!
It succeeded with almost anticlimactic ease, but still — that's magic.
Awesome.
I'm a little moved.
But this Poison Bullet doesn't have much power.
Because this poison isn't Deadly Spider Venom.
The Poison Bullet usable with Poison Magic isn't a spell that fires your own poison — it's a single unified spell that fires poison.
So the poison it uses is specific to this spell, and it's different from Deadly Spider Venom.
And even with my magic attack power, it can't match the potency of Deadly Spider Venom.
I could increase the power by consuming more MP, but if I'm going to do that, it'd be better to just use Poison Synthesis directly.
It's a skill I just learned, but I probably won't have that many opportunities to use it...