Chapter 4

### Chapter 4: Special Ability

**Quest Completed!**

My magic power stat increased by 1 as a quest reward. Not only did I gain a new ability, but getting to know Moon Soo-rin was also a significant gain. Of course, it’s not like I’d fall in love just from seeing her once, but it could be helpful in the future.

After that, I wandered around to familiarize myself with the area. I focused on the back alleys where there would be fewer people, as I might need to run away at some point, and I’d have to cross six bridges.

There were quite a few spaces where people could walk between the large buildings. It’s not scary during the day, but it would probably be quite eerie at night.

After roughly memorizing the layout of the alleys, I returned to the dormitory. I sat at my desk and took out a notebook and a pen.

"I should learn more about this special ability."

The special ability is the only key to unraveling the situation. To be honest, I still don’t understand why I received this special ability or who the god of bets is.

Well, it’s already absurd that I was possessed by a game, so what’s so strange about receiving a special ability?

Since I thought about it, I might as well clearly organize the special ability.

First, [Mana Sensing].

——–「 Mana Sensing 」——-

▶ Special Ability

▶ The ability to sense and understand mana

—————————

When I recalled Mana Sensing, a skill window appeared in front of me, just like in a game. In this world, ability users can objectify their talents or skills. In simple terms, there’s a status window, but you don’t need to verbalize it. It appears in front of you when you need it.

Anyway, [Mana Sensing]. If I had to explain it, it’s the ability to sense mana, but I still don’t fully understand it.

The ability to sense and understand mana?

What does that mean? Could you be more specific?

Maybe I should read a textbook. You should mainly study from textbooks.

I took out a textbook on the basics of mana, which is known for being difficult.

—————————

1 - Everything about Mana.

Mana is an intangible 'energy.' It is something that all living beings possess and is an essential element in the world.

………

The method of awakening mana varies from person to person, and the attributes and characteristics of the mana they possess are also different.

………

The most common method of controlling mana currently is to control it by feeling the movement of blood in the body.

………

————————–

Is that it?

There’s a strange paper-like thing written after that, but it doesn’t seem to contain any helpful information.

'Feeling the movement of blood?'

I imagined the blood moving from my heart to the tips of my fingers.

But nothing happened!

"Yeah, it would be strange to suddenly feel something... huh?"

Something existed. Inside my body, in this room, and in this world.

It had always been there. I just became aware of its existence now.

As soon as I realized the existence of mana with just one line of thought, the awakening began.

Sensations I had never felt before.

A feeling as if I owned the world. This joy, pleasure, ecstasy, floating sensation, and bliss.

A flood of ecstatic emotions surged in. But something from my core firmly held me, allowing me to maintain my sanity.

The act of awakening mana. I savored the moment, intoxicated by the ecstasy, and then quickly regained my senses.

"Phew..."

Had it been a minute? But I felt like a completely different person from before.

I picked up a book titled [Basic Practical Magic] from the bookshelf where I had taken out the textbook and opened the first page.

Even the most basic magic had six lines overlapping to form a rather complex magic incantation.

Whoosh!

A flame ignited in my hand.

"Wow, damn. This is crazy."

Magic is originally a realm of pure talent.

Because the efficient form and attributes of magic vary from person to person.

If not, you would need to learn a standardized common magic array.

Most people learn this process at an academy.

But I had skipped these steps.

When I brought my hands together and thought of the concept of a flame, a sphere of fire ignited in my hand again.

Whoosh!

Even though such a phenomenon occurred, I wasn’t at all surprised.

There was no sense of dissonance or inconsistency with reality.

Mana had already become a natural phenomenon for me.

I even wondered why I couldn’t do it before.

"This is Mana Sensing..."

Easily doing something that was supposed to be impossible. It was truly a special ability.

Next, [Clear Mental Strength]. I’m not sure about this one.

―――「 Clear Mental Strength 」――

▶ Special Ability

▶ Maintains a firm mental state in any situation.

――――――――――――――――――――

It’s strange that I didn’t panic when I was suddenly possessed by a game. It seems like my clear mental strength helped me understand the situation and try to do something... Maybe the sensation I felt when I awakened mana was due to this special ability.

But, I might just be exceptionally good, so I can’t be sure yet.

Still, since it’s marked as a special ability, it will be helpful someday.

Finally, [Memory Enhancement].

―――「 Memory Enhancement 】――

▶ Special Ability

▶ Enhances the user's memory.

――――――――――――――――――――

The most frustrating thing is that the notification when I received this ability said it had an '80% compulsion.'

Why 80% and not 100%? I recalled my memory.

In a Kakao Talk message, the god of bets asked, "Wanna bet?" and I replied, "Sure, do whatever you want."

Damn... Indeed, it’s a world full of absurdity.

But the special ability itself is good.

It’s not just that my memory improved; it became almost perfect.

I can recall every word, expression, and even the magical aura of Moon Soo-rin from our conversation.

If I wanted to, I could probably draw the structure of the cafe we talked in, including the floor tiles.

It’s a very helpful ability.

I was worried about how to keep up with the academy classes, but now I’m not.

I finished organizing my special abilities.

I’m worried about going to the academy tomorrow.

Victoria Academy is a place that trains ability users. It’s recognized as one of the top three academies in the world, not just in Korea.

I have to go there tomorrow, and the problem is whether I can adapt to the academy, given that I have no combat experience and have never even hit anyone.

"Should I go to the training center?"

It was 10 PM. I should prepare for a good start to my first class tomorrow, but the idea of going to the training center is growing stronger.

"I should go, it’s the right thing to do."

I’ve always relied on cramming, even staying up all night before the college entrance exam.

I headed to the training center, which is filled with the latest training equipment. Victoria Academy has made the training center unnecessarily luxurious.

The training center is a facility where you can do various types of training, including physical training and mana training, all in one building.

I placed my smartwatch at the entrance.

I passed through the first-floor lobby and headed to the elevator inside.

When I arrived at the third-floor mana training room via the elevator, there was almost no one there. After all, it’s 10 PM on the day of the opening ceremony, so almost no one would come to train.

It’s surprising that there’s anyone at all.

I entered a private room for individual training.

The private room was nothing special. It was an empty space surrounded by walls made of special materials. A spatial magic spell was cast to make efficient use of the space.

When I pressed the button next to the entrance, a hologram and a mechanical sound appeared.

"Training dummy. Maximum strength. Distance: 10M"

As the voice was recognized, the hologram disappeared, and a dummy appeared 10 meters in front of me.

"Hmm."

Swish—

Mana gathered in my hand, forming the shape of fire. To be honest, I don’t have deep insights into the concept of mana. All I’ve done is use magic by pressing keys on a monitor.

But I could still use magic, thanks to the special ability [Mana Sensing].

The talent to move mana and use magic even without any knowledge of magic power. That’s what [Mana Sensing] is, and I knew how extraordinary it was.

Moreover, the calculations and delays before using magic are a chronic issue for mages. But I didn’t need to worry about them.

Swish—

Just thinking about it was enough. The magic power responded to my will, forming a shape and manifesting in reality.

Of course, the number of spells I can use is limited by my magic power, but I understand how absurd this talent is.

"Grunt."

After focusing mana on the fireball in my hand for about a minute, I felt the limit.

I raised my hand, aimed at the training dummy, and shot the fireball.

Boom!

"Phew... Huh..."

The dummy was in a terrible state. It was charred, burned, and its arms were gone.

22% damage? Usually, the protagonist would need about a year of training to destroy a training dummy in one hit.

"Should I try one more time?"

The sensation of squeezing all the mana out of my body was surprisingly not bad.

I was also starting to enjoy using magic. You enjoy anything if you’re good at it.

I gathered mana in my hand again. This time, I imagined the shape of a spear.

If I were to cast a verbal spell, it would be "Fire Spear!"

The spear of fire gradually took on a proper form.

"Good, like this..."

Thud.

Suddenly, my legs gave out, and I collapsed.

"Huh, why..."

No matter how hard I tried to get up, I couldn’t muster the strength.

My vision started to blur, and a severe headache came on.

Thud.

And my memory ended there.