I Never Run Out of Mana - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

90 . The Luckiest Man

[Drain Monarch has been successfully enhanced . }

[Magic power increased by 10% . ]

[Does not apply if the equipment is unequipped . ]

“Good…”

There were only 100 Gems of Magic Power .

Looking at the success rate of the other gems, even a single success would be difficult .

It said 10% chance, but in reality, it would be surprising to have a 0 . 01% chance instead .

But as I just witnessed, the Drain Monarch ring had been enhanced on the first try .

“I knew I was a lucky guy!”

20 minutes ago, I was the very definition of unluckiness, but that was no longer the case .

If thousands of these lesser gems were the appetizer, the Gems of Magic Power and Gems of Blessings were the main dish .

Thanks to the Gem of Blessings, the Titan Boots already received such an amazing bonus effect .

I didn’t feel any exhaustion at all despite staying up for two days, but instead felt awake as though I had taken anti hypnotics .

I was the proof that there was no end to humankind’s greed .

I had obtained 3 Drain Monarch rings in the Unknown Dungeon .

Since 3 duplicates dropped, one could think of it as misfortune .

However, this ring had the bonus effect that I needed desperately .

If I used the Gem of Magic Power, the item could be destroyed .

You could think if this one as a spare .

The ability on it was as follows .

-Drain Monarch-

*Recovers 1% of the damage dealt to enemies as stamina .

*If a single attack deals 70% or more damage of the target’s max health, Monarch’s Authority skill activates .

*Monarch’s Authority: Summons servants of Marice, Monarch of Blood .

*Magic power increased by 10% .

Just from the name, one could infer that the ring had the ability to steal the health of the enemy .

Out of the artifacts I’ve gathered from the Unknown Dungeon, there were only a few with bonus skills attached to them .

Well, the only thing from it that I really needed was the ability to absorb stamina .

Generously, the description explained the skill in great detail .  

“Is it like with Ghost, summoning those that one absorbed previously?”

My thoughts didn’t remain on the skill for long .

My attention shifted to the magic power bonus instead .

I had high expectations for what this newfound power could do .

I took out the M/F ranking sword that I got from Jong Ho before to test out the enhancement conditions of Butcher’s Sword .

Taking off my my enhanced ring, I casted Frost orb at it .

If it was the dungeon, I would have poured down Meteor, but this was my home sweet home .

Even if it was made with nanomaterials, it wouldn’t be durable enough to take my Meteor .

Despite being the lowest ranking F spell, it did quite a lot of damage due to being level 200 .

It wasn’t enough to break the sword, but it completely froze the sword to the point of unusability .

Checking its power, I condensed an Explosion in my hand .

It was a fireball that wouldn’t go out until the target was reduced to ash .

If I threw this at the sword, it should melt instantly .

I moved the condensed Explosion near the sword .

To do a test, I needed the sword in its original condition so I could compare and find the differences .

I needed the frozen sword to thaw out so it would return to its original condition .

Thankfully, the sword was completely thawed out without breaking .

Confirming that, I immediately equipped the Drain Monarch Ring .

Soon, I would be able to find out what the magic power stat meant .

“Now, shall I see the force of 10% increased magic power?”

Preparing the Frost Orb at my fingertips, I fired .

-CLANG!

“Shit! What… What the?”

Was the durability lowered due to having been frozen and then thawed out?

Was it because I wasn’t able to return it back to its original condition before testing?

Almost as if throwing a stone at a glass vase, the sword shattered into pieces .

It didn’t turn completely into dust, but the pieces were scattered everywhere .

Gathering them up, I quickly dashed outside .

****

It didn’t long to arrive at my destination, which was the Awakened market .

This was the place that I first sold the bloodstones that I earned .

The middle aged owner happily greeted me .

“Welcome . ”

“Hello?”

“It’s been awhile since you’ve come here . How… . Is the Awakened life treating you well?”

“Wow… It’s been a very long time, but you still remember me?”

“Of course . You’re the one bought Lightning Spray with the money from cashing in the stones . ”

“Feels good to be remembered . ”

“Hoho . Is there an item you’re looking for? Or are you here to cash in stones?”

“I’m here to buy a decent shield . ”

“A shield? Weren’t you a magician? Well, um… . Would you be okay with a D or C ranking one?”

“No . I would like the A ranking ones . ”

“Huh? A, A ranking ones?”

“Yes . ”

I could see the surprise on the owner’s face .

It’s to be expected, since he knows that I’ve become an Awakened only 5 to 6 months ago .

At the time, I didn’t even know what Awakened credits were and how to use them .

But here I was, trying to purchase an A ranking shield .

If it was a regular Awakened, it was hard to tell if they really had the money to buy it or was joking .

With a flustered look, the owner continued .

“We do have A ranking shields . The price though… . ”

“With one Awakening Essence, how many could I get?”

“You can get at least 4 . But why do you ask…?”

“Here it is . ”

“No… No way!”

I put the essence on top of the register .

To others, this would be a jaw dropping item of extreme value, but that wasn’t the case for me .

I had an entire pouch filled with these index finger sized Awakened Essences .

Picking up the essence, the owner moved about rapidly to confirm the authenticity .

Looking at me, he finally spoke .

“Due to the item being used as a trade medium in extremely expensive trades, I needed to check the… If you felt offended, I can apologize . ”

“No . It’s fine . ”

I purchased 4 A ranking shields and left the market, then headed into a nearby dungeon .

“Now the starting conditions are all the same . If I can see a clear difference, it means that magic power increases the damage of the spells… . . ”

I put each shield on a different cardinal direction far from me .

“If it’s an A ranking shield, should I at least use Lightning Spray? I could also check the 30% increase in lightning attacks as well . ”

-ZZZZZZZ

****

As expected, magic power increased the damage of magic spells .

However, 10% magic power did not equate to 10% increase in magic damage .

Without the ring equipped, the A rank shield was destroyed in 10 hits from the Lightning Spray .

While wearing the ring, it was shattered into pieces in 7 hits .

There were 50 Gems of Magic Power left .

I could enhance them safely by enhancing all the rings with the first stack before moving on to the second stack of enhancements .

Alternatively, I could risk it all and push on enhancing one as much as I could .

It was hard to decide, because I didn’t have that many gems left .

If the ring breaks, I could never get that 10% magic power increase on it forever .

“That’s why gambling is so scary . It makes you expect a ton from a very low chance . ”

I used the rest of the gems on the rings that weren’t enhanced to second tier yet .

Due to my growth, I didn’t need the shield from the Louver set that much anymore .

If the ring successfully becomes enhanced again, I was planning to equip Drain Monarch even if it meant giving up the set bonus of Louver .

That’s why I was cautiously enhancing it, one gem at a time .

However, the failures continued .

[Enhancement failed . ]

[Enhancement failed . ]

[Enhancement failed . ]

.

.

.

[Equipment has been destroyed . ]

“……”

The ring popped just like that .

In an explosion of dust, it blew away into the wind .

I became the unlucky man once more as another ring was destroyed .

“I’m going crazy! Whew… . . I think only 3 are left?”

Maybe due to being focused so much, I was sweating despite the chilly weather .

The enhancement failures and the destruction of the rings was driving me boiling mad .

Only 3 gems remained .

Seeing the effect of magic power enhancement firsthand, I couldn’t give up like this .

“Yeah . No matter which ring I equip, as long as I can raise the magic power stat, the gains are massive . ”

I picked up one of the many accessories spread across the floor and put the gem next to it .

It didn’t matter what the original effect the equipment carried .

The 10% magic power increase was what was really important .

[Enhancement failed . ]

[Enhancement failed . ]

“One…… . ”

I couldn’t help but hold tightly onto the gem with enough force to the point where I wondered if it would be crushed .

The last Gem of Magic Power .

[Drain Monarch has been successfully enhanced . ]

“What? Drain Monarch has been enhanced? What the fuck… . Holy shit!”

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I got goosebumps .

The hand that was holding onto the gem also had the Drain Monarch equipped and had been activated to enhance .

If I was really unlucky, this ring could have been destroyed as well .

I was shaking for a while as beads of sweat covered me before I was able to think again .

“2… 20% It succeeded?”

Damn . Who knew I was the luckiest man in the world .

It was a mistake .

With enhancements, there was no acceptance or denial for activation unlike when you learn skills or Awaken skills .

This happened because the enhancement would be attempted via gem activation just by placing it on an equipment .

To think that it would be followed by such luck .

“Yeah! Woo!”

I couldn’t help but shout .

I was able to achieve something that could be considered a life changing comeback .

Stretching my arms up, I laid down just like that .

Then I began to think of what I’ve obtained with my battle with Ghost .

It was as if all the stress I got due to him evaporated all of a sudden .

‘Over 30,000 points worth of stats . Gems and Transcendence Essences . The bonus stats I gained from the gems . Out of all of them, the best is magic power . ’

My moment of grinning ear to ear didn’t last long .

I urgently stood up .

“Staff!”

It was because of the Roa’s Staff that had easily absorbed the transcended Meteor .  1

It was a weapon that absorbed all magic until the durability of the weapon ran out .

However, it was an artifact that couldn’t be used unless the user was the original owner .

I had just remembered that I brought it back with me, hoping that it could be absorbed by the Butcher’s Sword .

“A staff with no stats… . Would it be possible to use it to enhance Butcher’s Sword?”

I immediately headed into my room and brought back the staff .

After placing the sword next to the staff, sparks immediately began to fly from the sword .

Now I was sure that this was an artifact that absorbed weapons that had lost their owner .

-crackle crackle .

-crunch .

It didn’t make long for the staff to lose its form .

It was completely removed from existence, absorbed by the sword .

Before, the sword had absorbed Joker’s Asura’s Twin Blades, growing sharp jagged shark like teeth at the back end of the sword .

Now, a jade colored gem was embedded into the handle, glowing brightly .

I was sure that this was a sign that the weapon was absorbed completely .

“No way . Hey . That can’t happen . Perhaps . How can that make any sense?”

Inwardly, I had very high expectations .

However, I was trying to hide that feeling by being pessimistic .

Just like that, I looked over at the insane stats on the Butcher’s Sword .

-Butcher’s Sword . -

*Strength +2200+350

*Dexterity +150

*Total Strength increased by 15% .

*Two handed .

*Obtains 5% of stats from slain enemies .

“Absorbs all magic attacks . (88/250)

“Let the celebratory music play!”