I Never Run Out of Mana - Chapter 120

Chapter 120

120 . Faster Than Anyone Else, Different from Everyone Else -Commander-

The skill book beyond ranking dissipated as it was put on Jong Ho’s chest .

He nodded, then stared off into blank space for awhile .

It seemed that he was checking the skill’s information on his status window .

If my prediction was correct, Limiter Release should reduce the cooldown of skills .

I didn’t know by how much the reduction would be, but I was sure that I would soon see the answer in Jong Ho’s expression .

After staring at the status window that only was visible to him for a long time, his facial expression hardened .

Since I had spent a lot of time with him, I could narrow down the reasons why he was giving off that look .

I could find the answer in his words .

With a expressionless look, he murmured .

“Huh… . . That’s weird . ”

“Pfft . ”

“Min-Cheol . It’s weird . ”

“Yes, it must be odd . Since you’re giving a lukewarm response with that kind of expression, the answer has a high chance of being number two . ”

“Hm? Number 2?”

“Don’t worry about it . So how is it? The Limiter Release skill?”

“That’s… . . Just like you said, the cooldown decreased . ”

“I got it right . But by how much? 10%? 20%? Maybe even 30%?”

“No . ”

“What . It doesn’t even reduce it by 10%? I’m kind of disappointed . Well, I guess it’s better than nothing… . ”

“That’s not it . It’s 50% . ”

“Huh?”

“The reduction is 50% . ”

“… . . ”

“Is it okay for a such cheat like skill to exist?”

“Are you serious, hyung? The Otherworldly Skin skill . You said that it had a cooldown of 15 minutes . Are you sure that it was reduced by half?”

“Yeah… . . It’s 450 seconds . 7 minutes and 30 seconds . It was exactly cut in half . ”

“Wow . That’s crazy . I thought that it would reduce by 30% at the most… . I guess we got a skill far more amazing than we thought . ”

“I’m kind of shocked . ”

“This is a perfect chance for you . You already know that I can only store offensive spells in that ring . That means that you had to take care of the defensive measures for yourself . Now that you have your cooldowns reduced, you won’t have a window where you won’t have any defensive skills up due to the long cooldowns . Just like me . ”

“That’s true, but… . .  That’s only possible if I have enough mana to do so . A warrior class like me lacks mana . ”

“Hm… . That’s true . I guess I thought wrong . ”

“……”

“Hyung-nim, the sword . ”

“Yeah . What about the sword?”

“I realized that the owner of the sword that I gave you shouldn’t be you . Why did I think that you needed a weapon that raised your strength in the first place . You’re going to attack using the ring anyways . ”

“……”

“Let’s raise your mana stat . ”

“But my class is that of a warrior . Isn’t it weird for me to wield a staff and wand?”

“If the head of a conglomerate didn’t have any clothes to wear so he got some from the lost and found, it would become a fashion statement . No matter what they wear, they’re still the head of a conglomerate . ”

“An odd example, but whatever . I guess I should raise my mana so I can use my defensive skills more often?”

“That’s right . Your attack skills eat up a certain percentage of your mana pool, but the defensive skills don’t . ”

“I see . There’s a set amount of mana that’s expended for using the skill . And on top of that, defensive skills for the warrior class doesn’t use up that much mana . ”

“Then that’s the end of that . Hyung-nim should focus on learning defensive skills . I’ll focus on learning offensive skills and raising their levels so that I can store them in the ring . ”

“It’s like how a cow catches the mice accidentally while stepping backwards… . . I’m ok with it for now . But it’ll be difficult to keep the spells on cooldown even with a lot of mana . ”

I pulled out the Mana Drain skill book in front of him .

Both skill books had dropped from a single boss .

It must be a coincidence, but both skills synergized with one another very well .

Limiter Release made it possible for skill levels to be raised quickly, while Mana Drain covered the lack of mana that would result from the reduced cooldowns .

Compensating for what one lacks and the other overflows with, one could say that these two skills were the example of a perfect synergy .

“Oho… . ”

“If your max mana increases due to an increase in the mana stat, the recovery amount will also increase . But if you still lack mana? You could just take it . ”

Receiving the skill book I handed over to him, he put it immediately on his chest .

Unlike the expression from before, he seemed quite elated .

In that moment, my mind was wandering elsewhere .

I was imagining us two arriving in the demonic realm .

A warrior with a staff in each hand and a magician that carried a sword .

If anyone else heard of such absurdity, they would laugh mockingly .

However, with the strength that each of us carried, no one would be laughing if they knew .

After all, neither nations nor Awakened from the international organization could stop us .

“You have the same expression from before?”

“Min-Cheol, I don’t think there will be a case where I’ll run out of mana . ”

“What do you mean?”

“It says that I gain back mana worth the damage I deal to enemies?”

“Huh? What . You’ll be only using defensive skills, so what good is that! Ruined, ruined . ”

“Let me finish . It says that I recover mana equal to the amount of damage I take when I use defensive skills . ”

“Hm…… . A way for someone to recover mana in the manner that the user would prefer… . To think that you’ll get mana back as you get hit . ”

“That’s right…  Huh? What? Hey take that back!”

“Pfft . ”

“Guess this means that it won’t be long before you enter the level 38 dungeon by yourself . You just need to get any defensive skills you can grab as you go, and raise the level of those skills as you get hit . One thing I am disappointed in is that you won’t be able to learn shields from other classes though . ”

“That’s right . I’ll need a weapon that increases mana and skill books . ”

“Then we’ll have to go get them . Let’s go back for now, hyung-nim . ”

“Younger brother first . ”

“Hyung-nim first . ”

****

The hidden boss Jewel Goat King that appeared on the first day appeared no longer .

The saying that a beginner’s luck doesn’t persist after the start was fitting here .

I knew that I couldn’t be satisfied from the first round of alcohol, but nevertheless, I couldn’t hide my disappointment .

After the hunting ended, it was decided that the two swords in Jong Ho’s hands were to be sent to the association .

After all, he would no longer need them .

It would be sent to the Awakened Association, finding its new fitting owner .

He didn’t seem disappointed that he had to part with Black Moon after 10 minutes, but he insisted with every fiber of his being that Banwol Jincheon would return home with him .

Since even I couldn’t change his stubborn mind, I decided to follow his decision this time .

He was going on about how it held the memories of the two of us or whatnot .

As per my request, Ho Yeong brought a high ranking healer from the association .

To avoid the toxins, Ho Yeong and other non-Awakened Association members waited from the hillside .

They could only meet us after all the poison on Jong Ho’s body was completely removed .

With a casual attire as usual, Ho Yeong walked over as I spoke to him .

“Sorry about that . It was because we received an attack that we didn’t expect . ”

“No worries . I’m just glad that you are relying on us . Huh?”

Ho Yeong quickly inspected Jong Ho and me all over .

Looking at the new sword and another pair of Titan Boots, he spoke with a higher tone due to the excitement .

“A hidden boss must’ve appeared!”

“Yes . It appeared in the level 39 dungeon . Due to it appearing on our first visit, we haven’t even been to the level 40 dungeon yet . ”

“That’s a good thing . Um……”

“Yes?”

“Sorry to ask you this, but if you have some spare time when you go out hunting again, could you clear the level 40 portal as well…?”

“Ah! Of course . I’ll be going there tomorrow . ”

“Thank you very much . Part of my duty is to remove as much risk a possible, and that includes portals that could potentially explode . ”

“Of course . I’ll do my part in preventing incidents from occurring . ”

“Thank you so much for your understanding . ”

“No need to thank me . Also, this . ”

I handed over Jong Ho’s new sword to the Association member standing next to Ho Yeong .

If I gave it to Ho Yeong, it would immediately fall to the ground .

The actual weight of the sword wasn’t that much, but this was the difference between regular civilians and the Awakened .

It was an item that non-Awakened could not use, no matter what method they employed .

Looking at the sword, Ho Yeong spoke with a confused expression .

“What is this?”

“It’s an item that I’ll be giving to the Association . ”

“Oh… Giving it to us? Thank you . ”

“Not just giving . ”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“Give and take . There’s something that we want as well . ”

“Ahaha! Yes, please go ahead . ”

“I want to rent a weapon with high mana stat . We won’t be using for long . A month at the most?”

“That won’t be difficult . If you asked the commander, he would even willingly give up his own weapon that he’s using, haha . It’s unexpected though . To think that Mr . Min-Cheol and Mr . Jong Ho will need something with a mana stat… . It doesn’t seem to match up with what I’ve heard from rumors?”

“Not me, but Jong Ho-hyung has had a class change . ”

“A class change?”

Jong Ho, who was listening to the two of us talk, spoke with an embarrassed look .

“My pride is hurt, but it’s the truth . ”

“Yes . It kind of ended up that way . There’s a reason for him to use mana, and a lot at that . ”

“Well, I won’t ask for details . I shall prepare what you’ve requested for then . Once again, we’re very thankful for the sword you’ll be giving us . ”

“Yes . We’ll be counting on you . ”

“Yes!”

****

“Commander, I’ve returned . ”

“Yes, so you have . ”

“You’re back?”

Midnight had already passed .

However, the light in the top floor of the Association building where the commander’s office room was did not know how to turn off .

Ho Yeong had immediately returned to the association as soon as he had finished meeting with Min-Cheol and Jong Ho .

Ho Jin was also working late, not having clocked out from work still .

As Ho Yeong finished his report, the commander sat up immediately and spoke .

“A magician class weapon!”

“Yes, commander . I do not know of the exact reas-… . ”

The commander did not even ask why they were asking for a weapon that require mana stats .

Cutting off Ho Yeong’s response, he immediately called for Ho Jin .

“Hey, Ho Jin . ”

“Yes . ”

“Go down the the underground storage area right away and bring us the Lich King’s Staff . ”

“Yes? Right… Right now?”

“That’s right . ”

“Yes… . . ”

“Pfft . Vice president, looks like you’ll be working hard . Everyone else would have left work by this late hour . I would help but I just came back… Also I’m not an Awakened, so I can’t even lift it in the first place . It’s a shame . ”

Making a motion as if to wipe his nonexistent sweat off his brow, he spoke smugly .

“Are you my sister-in-law trying to make fun of me or something? Whew . At least you have a silver tongue… . . ”

“What are you doing . Quickly!”

“Yes…”

Just like that, Ho Jin replied and headed for the underground storage area .

It was 30 minutes before he came back .

“Commander, I have brought it . ”

“Thank you for your hard work . ”

“Just in case, I brought some wands with similar mana stats . ”

“Very good . Then Ho Yeong, please deliver these items to them . ”

“Yes, commander . I shall deliver it to them the moment that-”

“The Awakened that left with you hasn’t left work yet, right?”

“Yes? What do you mean…?”

“Pff! I’ll explain it for you . Listen well, department head An . ”

“… . . ”

“Even though I, the commander, haven’t left work yet, where do you plan to go? Hurry up and take this to Mr . Min-Cheol and Jong Ho . That’s what he means . Do you understand? Okay?”

“How can this be . Sh… . ”

“Pfft!”

“Ho Yeong . What are you doing . Why aren’t you getting ready?”

“…”

“Pfft . Let us get going, vice president Kim!”

“Oh…”

And with the commander’s incredibly fast response to the request, Jong Ho was able to hold magician’s weapons in each hand .

The ideal hunting that Min-Cheol had planned was just beginning .