Nasel stressed steady breathing.
"Ha… haa…"
It was an attempt to combat the wildly pounding heart in his chest.
Thump! Thump!
With every beat of his heart, the mana pulsated in his palm, thrashing like mad.
The power of that mana had grown incomparably stronger.
Inside him, the mana rampaged about as though it could not be contained within the cage of flesh, infuriated and beating against the walls of his skin.
A knife seemed to stab his heart.
It was almost unbearable.
The reason was obvious.
His mana stat had also risen too quickly.
And it wasn't just mana.
His whole body felt as if it was powered by this strength, but he overdid it. With so many attributes rising all at once, the balance of his body had been thrown into chaos.
Stagger.
It had nearly caused him to topple.
His center of gravity had become a problem all its own.
He drew an astonished breath.
It was exciting, but also absurd. Bonuses to stats were nothing to be disliked, but what kind of body was this exactly?
Everybody knew that it took time to adjust to one's body again after waking. The hunter community had always put these kinds of things around, and the teachers in the Raw Guild said this kind of thing too.
Though nobody told me it would be like this at times.
Instead of trying and standing, Nasel crawled to the floor. It was a lot safer that way. He had to know what state he was in first.
And before even that,
There was one thing he had always wanted to try.
The Status Window.
It was an honor only the awakened were able to see.
The method was simple: picture it in the mind.
It appeared effortlessly.
Before, no matter how hard he imagined it, nothing happened, but now the window opened as naturally as breathing.
[Name]Nasel
[Trait]Nasus's Dark Magic (SSS)
[Stamina]F [67] [Mana]F [53]
[Attack]F [57] [Defense]F [56]
[Evasion]F [55] [Magic Resistance]F [53]
[Skills]
[Achievements]
"Amazing…"
He forced his mind to remain calm and examined it.
His name. His trait. And beside it,
SSS.
"What exactly is an SSS rank?"
Unable to resist, he opened it and read the details.
[Nasus's Dark Magic]
[Rank] SSS
[Description] The dark magic of Nasus, a 13-Stars Mage and supreme being
[Current Domain]
A 13-Stars Mage.
At first I couldn't believe it. When I read it a second time, I still couldn't.
And yet,
A silly grin would break out on his face.
Instinct told him everything.
If it was 13-Stars dark magic and had an SSS rank, then it was above S rank.
An unknown, ultimate-level trait that the world had never seen.
That was reflected in the statistics on the window.
Stamina 67. Mana 53. Attack 57. Defense 56. Evasion 55. Magic Resistance 53.
These were the numbers of someone who had only just awakened.
Earlier, numerous system messages appeared in front of him saying that he had increased his ability in battle-related skills, and if counted one by one, there were three hundred.
All combat statistics were increased by fifty.
It was absurd.
"When someone awakens an S-rank trait, all stats are said to rise by twenty."
It was just that he happened to check on the computer beforehand and found that what he had seen matched the Hunter Association information.
Which meant,
Since S-rank gives +20 to all stats, SSS-rank would give +50.
Then SSS stood on a completely different level.
Laughter burst out uncontrollably.
The joy was overwhelming.
He could now become strong enough to take his revenge for his parents.
Nasel stood up, his body wobbling as it began to adjust to its newfound strength, but he still would not give in.
Again. And again.
He would adapt as quickly as possible.
From now on he intended to move without rest, but do what he had to do.
"Time to check the items."
Nasel could see the last messages still drifting in the air, but could no longer keep his balance.
[The first seal on 'Nasus's Staff' has been broken.]
[Partial information about 'Nasus's Staff' is now available.]
[The first seal on 'Nasus's Robe' has been released.]
[Partial information about 'Nasus's Robe']
[The first seal on 'Nasus's Dark Grimoire' was broken.]
[Partial information about 'Nasus's Dark Grimoire' is now available.]
Since these were the staff, robe and book that he had brought in the bag, all was clear.
"Let's start with the staff."
He took Nasus's Staff and checked the information.
The sight of it froze him where he stood.
[Nasus's Staff]
[Rank] SSS
[Description] The scepter of Nasus, an Mage of 13 Starss and a supreme being. First seal
[Effects] Bonus magic skill growth, Nasus's Ego
"SSS… The item too?!"
Even S-rank items were said to be extremely rare worldwide.
And yet he possessed an SSS-rank item.
His heart was racing again, having just started to calm down.
Regaining his composure, he focused on the effects.
You could tell, without even looking at the statistics, that his growth in magic had improved.
But the second effect,
Nasus's Ego.
That was impossible to interpret.
He immediately checked the largest hunter information site, the Hunter Community, and found nothing about an "Ego" effect.
There was no information and no theories.
Which only deepened the mystery.
Regarding this, Nasel was not one to dwell on things.
There would be time to figure it out slowly. One thing was for sure, that effect attached to an SSS-rank item would be extraordinary. Even if only the first seal had been released, surely more abilities would manifest with the breaking of the second seal in the future.
It was an unbelievable windfall.
He already considered himself to be a mage. Even though he still didn't know how to use magic, he would quickly learn how to use magic with an SSS-rank staff.
Just as he was about to open the information for the robe, the one that had saved his life with its invisibility,
Bang! Bang!
Then the dormitory door pounded and banged.
"Nasel! Open the door right now!"
"Open it!"
But it was not just one voice; there were at least three yelling outside.
Trainees?
Nasel put this back in his bag, and with his back to the wall, without pushing, struggled to rise. He was better balanced than he had been, but keeping his body steady was problematic.
Click.
He opened the door.
The trainees were out there as usual, but this time there were far more than three and they were all wearing bright, satisfied, refreshing smiles.
And behind them,
"Instructor?"
The teacher's face flushed with anger.
"You insolent brat. You just entered the advanced program and you dare pull something like that during my class?"
That was definitely Nasel's fault since he rushed back to the dorm as soon as he heard the awakening message.
"My apologies."
He bowed immediately.
"You think a simple apology is enough? You will properly reflect on your actions. Listen up, everyone, Trainee Nasel is hereby suspended for one week!"
The instructor's authority-soaked declaration sent the trainees into excited murmurings.
"He really got punished! A whole week!"
"Heh, I hated how cocky he got after winning a few spars. Serves him right."
"A week in the advanced program is huge. He'll fall way behind us now."
"I thought the instructor would give three days at most, seven days! As expected of him!"
They were delighted. Clearly, they wanted him to fall behind.
To a normal trainee, three days suspension would have been a death sentence, they would have begged and cried for mercy and pleaded with the instructors.
But Nasel was different now.
A seven-day suspension was no problem.
If anything, he was glad.
He had always wanted to find a way to skip school.
It had taken him a while to adjust to his new body, but now he was used to it.
But still with bowed head, his smile struggling to escape, he answered quietly:
"Understood."
Eventually the group responsible for administering the punishment left, and with the instructor and trainees gone the dorm became quiet once more.
Nasel burst into laughter.
He had gained time.
There had been time to train and adapt to the new body, the Raw Guild maintained excellent facilities for this sort of thing.
And,
"Now he could check the items properly."
He continued where he left off, examining Nasus's Robe from his item bag with its info.
He released a silent gasp.
[Nasus's Robe]
[Rank] SSS
[Description] Robe of Nasus, 13-circle archmage and supreme being. First seal released
[Effects] Stealth, Subspace
The robe being SSS-rank was amazing, but that was not the thing that surprised him the most.
Subspace.
A legendary treasure that would allow virtually unlimited storage space to keep their inventories full, it was said to be owned by top-ranking hunters.
And it was an option attached to his robe.
Was this even allowed?
Shock after shock left his brain a blank. He barely had the energy to be surprised.
He opened the information of the final item in a daze.
[Nasus's Dark Grimoire]
[Rank] SSS
[Description] The grimoire of Nasus, an archmage of 13 circles and a supreme being. First seal released
[Effects] Mana Affinity, Increased Magic Comprehension
He gave a hollow laugh.
Even dog-eared books are classed as SSS-rank.
Options relating to mana itself, and understanding how magic works.
There were three fraud-level items, and all of them were his.
Nasel, stunned, fell back down onto the floor.
It was as if his mind was trying to figure out where he actually was.
Perhaps that was why,
He was starting to hear something that wasn't.
, Where is this place?