Chapter 17: From the Bottom to Being on Par with the Top Student?! (1)
[Ore Extraction]
▶Allows you to extract desired ores from the ground using Earth Spirit Magic. The type of ore you can extract depends on the composition of the ground. Extracting higher-grade ores consumes more mana.
※Can only be used while an Earth Spirit is summoned.
▶Skill Level: Shared with 『Summon Earth Spirit』 skill
▶Skill Type: Active
▶Skill Rank: Shared with 『Summon Earth Spirit』 skill
[Mod attempts to extract a rare ore.]
[A large amount of mana is consumed.]
“Ugh……!”
More than 80% of Kyung-joon’s mana was drained in an instant.
The feeling of Mana Exhaustion, something he hadn’t experienced in a while.
Fortunately, he still had a sliver of mana left, narrowly avoiding complete Mana Exhaustion.
Mod’s Ore Extraction was still in progress.
If it weren’t for Kyung-joon, who had over 100 mana, Mod’s Ore Extraction would have definitely failed midway.
[Ore Extraction successful.]
[Affinity with Earth element increased by 1.]
Thud!
Having finished the Ore Extraction, Mod emerged from the ground.
━Huure!
[Mod wipes the dirt off his forehead, saying he barely managed to succeed.]
In Mod’s outstretched hand lay a transparent crystal.
“Oh……. “
It was glass.
However, unlike ordinary glass mixed with various chemical additives in reality, this was a very expensive glass made of pure silica (SiO2).
It was so valuable that even oil tycoons in the Middle East would replace all the glass in their buildings with this if they could to show off their wealth.
Moreover, it was about 20 times harder than regular glass and could even create sparks when struck against steel.
Its name was as follows:
[Acquired rare item 『Quartz』.]
Just like the Middle Eastern oil tycoons, Kyung-joon planned to replace every single window in his Study Villa with quartz glass.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
The amount of quartz obtained from one Ore Extraction was far from enough to make windows.
Then the next step was simple.
Grind endlessly until enough was collected!
[Mod attempts to extract a rare ore.]
[A large amount of mana is consumed.]
．
．
．
[All MP consumed.]
[Status condition 『Mana Exhaustion』 applied.]
[Headache will persist until MP recovers to a certain level.]
[Your mana has increased by 1 through continuous mana consumption.]
．
．
．
[Ore Extraction successful.]
[Affinity with Earth element increased by 1.]
[Acquired rare item 『Quartz』.]
“Ugh…… My head. Mod, one more time!”
━Huure……?
[Mud is worried about you as he spills the dirt.]
“It’s okay……! I need to finish this today so I can focus on studying from tomorrow. Mod, one more time!”
━Huure…….
[Mod says he’s worried about you but will do as you say.]
[Mod attempts to extract a rare ore.]
[A large amount of mana is consumed.]
[Your mana has increased by 1 through continuous mana consumption.]
“Grr……!”
Kyung-joon felt a large chunk of mana being drained from his body once again.
But he was fine.
Even as he was consuming mana like this, his HP and MP were continuously recovering.
[Kyung-joon’s Ash Wood Chair with Lumbar Support]
▶HP/MP recovery: 5% per minute.
▶When HP/MP is fully recovered while sitting with correct posture, all continuous recovery effects are extended for 1 hour.
[Kyung-joon’s Sturdy Ash Wood Desk]
▶When used with the spirit-infused chair, adds an additional HP/MP recovery of 5% per minute to the chair’s effect.
[Kyung-joon’s Study Villa]
▶HP/MP recovery: 5% per minute while resting.
Including the basic passive regeneration, the total was 16%!
Just by sitting still in his chair, Kyung-joon was recovering HP/MP at a rate of 16% per minute.
No matter how much mana Mod’s Ore Extraction consumed, it was no problem for Kyung-joon!
He was practically an infinite power source.
[HP and MP fully recovered.]
“Alright! Let’s go again, Mod!”
━Huure…….
[Mod says he wants to rest now.]
“No way! We’re friends! We’re going all the way today!”
[Mod, with tears welling up, attempts to extract a rare ore.]
[A large amount of mana is consumed.]
[Your mana has increased by 1 through continuous mana consumption.]
[Affinity with Earth element increased by 1.]
．
．
．
And so, Kyung-joon continued with Ore Extraction until he had collected enough quartz.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Kyung-joon, who had logged out briefly after finishing the Ore Extraction, returned to the game.
He was expressing his gratitude to Mod.
“Mod, thank you so much!”
━Huure…….
[Mod, struggling to lift his head, says it’s only natural because they’re friends.]
“Yeah! You’re my best friend, Mod! I’ll ask for your help again next time!”
━Huure……?!
[Mod says he’ll have to think about next time.]
Mod, startled by Kyung-joon’s words, crumbled into dust and disappeared.
It was an effect as if his life had come to an end, but that wasn’t the case.
[Rare skill 『Summon Earth Spirit』 has been deactivated.]
The summoning was simply deactivated.
After canceling the spirit summon, Kyung-joon deactivated one more thing.
“Dimensional Study Room deactivate.”
[Mythical skill 『Dimensional Study Room』 switching to OFF.]
▶Accumulated time: 59 hours 47 minutes → 58 hours 04 minutes
Kyung-joon had spent almost 3 hours and 40 minutes extracting quartz.
But in reality, only about 1 hour and 50 minutes had passed.
It was all thanks to the Time Dilation effect of the Dimensional Study Room.
Through this process, Kyung-joon’s inventory was now filled with dozens of quartz.
[Quartz (53)]
▶A crystalline mineral with a hexagonal crystal system. Its transparent and hard properties make it a popular material for luxury goods among nobles. It is also frequently used as a magic material due to its ability to resonate with mana.
▶Item Grade: Rare
In addition to luxury goods, it was also used for wizards’ orbs, staves, rods, and so on.
Quartz, a highly sought-after and expensive material for excellent wizard items!
“This should be enough to make the windows and then some.”
But this precious magic material was ultimately destined to become windows that would aid him in his studies.
<Master, to process quartz, you need to raise the temperature to at least 1,600 degrees, ideally up to 2,000 degrees for proper processing.>
2,000 degrees!
That was the melting point of quartz.
Considering that iron melts at about 1,500 degrees, it was an incredible temperature.
Even in reality, quartz was impossible to process until industrialization took hold.
Similarly, in World, processing quartz required high-grade coke (fuel) and a high-level blacksmithing skill.
<Have you considered how to address the temperature issue?>
Kyung-joon didn’t show any sign of trouble at Teemo’s question.
“Of course, I’ve thought it all through from the beginning.”
Kyung-joon took out five pieces of quartz and gathered them in one spot on the floor.
Then he placed his hand over them.
[Rare Skill 『Fine Mana Manipulation (Lv.1)』]
▶Allows for more delicate control of mana. 『All magic skill levels +1』
※Does not apply to skills of a higher rank than Rare.
An ordinary player would have just seen 『All magic skill levels +1』 and left it at that.
However, Kyung-joon didn’t focus solely on the increase in skill level.
As the skill name and description suggested, Kyung-joon focused on 『Allows for more delicate control of mana』.
Kyung-joon began to meticulously control each individual mana particle, just as the description stated.
‘Quartz is a hexagonal crystal made of SiO2…’
Woooong.
Kyung-joon concentrated mana in his hand and pictured the hexagonal crystal in his mind.
He already knew what a hexagonal shape looked like, having searched for it while logged out earlier.
At the same time, Kyung-joon recalled the knowledge he had learned in Chemistry 1.
‘Quartz isn’t a simple intermolecular bond, but a covalent bond between atoms, making it very strong. So, to break it down and melt it, I need to focus each mana particle on a single point.’
He closed his eyes and began to concentrate his mana, focusing it more and more.
[Your mana has increased by 1 through continuous mana consumption.]
[Mana has fallen below 20%.]
[Risk of Mana Exhaustion.]
[HP/MP recovered by 16% due to buff effect.]
The mana consumed by the prolonged use of magic was restored by the Study Villa’s buff.
Woooong!
The moment the mana was concentrated on a single point of the quartz, Kyung-joon used another skill.
[General Skill 『Energy Bolt (Lv.6)』]
▶A skill that condenses mana into a spherical shape and fires it forward.
Energy Bolt, originally used for offensive purposes!
Kyung-joon was using this not for attack, but as a means to melt the quartz.
Kyung-joon was probably the only one, player or NPC, who had ever used Energy Bolt in this way.
Sizzle.
The mana concentrated in Kyung-joon’s hand was all converted into energy, and began to break down each and every atomic bond of the quartz.
Breaking the bonds was synonymous with melting.
In other words, the quartz began to melt!
Without any high-grade coke, high-level blacksmithing skills, or a blazing furnace!
He began to process the precious quartz using only mana!
[You have independently learned the Rare Skill 『Transmute』.]
[Transmute]
▶Allows you to transmute various materials into your desired form. The materials you use determine what you can transmute. As the skill level increases, you can perform more complex transmutations.
▶Skill Level: Lv.1
▶Skill Type: Active
▶Skill Rank: Rare
[10 hours have been added to the Dimensional Study Room.]
[The level of the General Skill 『Energy Bolt』 has increased to 7.]
[The level of the Advanced Skill 『Spell Delay』 has increased to 3.]
[The level of the Advanced Skill 『Spell Modification』 has increased to 3.]
[The level of the Rare Skill 『Fine Mana Manipulation』 has increased to 2.]
The Spell Modification and Spell Delay skills, which were used together to finely control the Energy Bolt, also leveled up.
And the newly acquired Rare Skill ‘Transmute’.
With this, manipulating mana felt much smoother.
“Alright! Let’s keep going!”
Kyung-joon continued to transmute the quartz.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Before long, Kyung-joon had processed all the necessary quartz into quartz glass and installed it in his Study Villa.
[Kyung-joon’s Quartz Glass Windows (5)]
▶Glass windows made of 99.99% pure quartz, free of any impurities. Possessing a purity unattainable through ordinary processing, they are extremely strong and transparent. Imbued with the energy of earth spirits, they make the building more durable.
▶Increases the building’s durability by 10% when installed.
▶Increases Creativity by 5% when used by the Infinite Knowledge Seeker.
▶Item Grade: Rare
He installed a total of five windows: one in the front, two on each side, and two in the back of the Study Villa.
And that wasn’t all.
[Kyung-joon’s Quartz Glass Ceiling]
▶Made of 99.99% pure quartz… (omitted)…making the building more durable.
▶Increases the building’s durability by 30% when installed.
▶Increases Creativity by 15% when used by the Infinite Knowledge Seeker.
▶Item Grade: Rare
Kyung-joon had replaced a portion of the wooden ceiling with a quartz glass skylight!
Now he could study under the bright moonlight even at night.
It was practically a natural lantern.
He also made it possible to cover the skylight with a wooden panel when needed, so there was no problem even if the sunlight was too strong during the day.
Thus, another buff was added to Kyung-joon’s buff window.
[Currently Applied Buffs]
▶Kyung-joon’s Ash Wood Chair with Lumbar Support: Tenacity +10%
▶Kyung-joon’s Sturdy Ash Wood Desk: Tenacity +10%
▶Desk/Chair Placement Bonus: Tenacity +10%
▶Kyung-joon’s Quartz Glass Windows (5): Creativity +25%
▶Kyung-joon’s Quartz Glass Ceiling: Creativity +15%
▶Kyung-joon’s Study Villa: Tenacity +10%
A total of +40% Tenacity and +40% Creativity!
Kyung-joon felt his mind clearing and becoming more flexible.
All sorts of new approaches that he hadn’t been able to think of before were popping into his head.
“Creativity problems, you’re all mine now.”
Kyung-joon picked up his pencil once more and challenged the creativity problems that had defeated him until now.
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