After work, Aibo passed a bunch of drunken louts on his way back to his private dorm room.
Aibo stared at the system before him, lost in thought.
Just moments ago, he had poured 1,000 inspiration points into Painting Magic, and the system had unexpectedly changed.
From the original panel:
[Molding Magic LV0, 333/1000], [Painting Magic LV0, 1/1000]
It had become:
[Molding Magic LV1, 334/10000]
[Painting LV1, 1/10000]
After investing 1,000 inspiration points, Painting Magic had disappeared, becoming LV1 Molding Magic and LV1 Painting.
This had never happened before.
What did it mean?
This damn system was impossible to figure out without a manual.
So when a subordinate skill was leveled up, its experience was folded into the higher-level skill?
Had he lost out or come out ahead?
So his skill list could record not only magic, but also other life skills?
Then his writing ability should count as a skill too, right?
How come it wasn’t there?
Just as Aibo was thinking this, the panel changed again:
[Writing LV1, 107/10000]
Damn!
It appeared!?
This lousy system even patched itself!?
No, no, calm down—this should be because he still hadn’t completely figured out how the system worked!
Before today, he hadn’t thought of writing as a skill, so it hadn’t appeared on the panel?
Looking back, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
The names of the skills he possessed had all been taught to him by others.
At the very beginning, when he had just awakened his memories, the system showed that the first skill he possessed was [Telepathy LV4].
After Gildarts told him that the magic he had awakened was Thought Projection Magic, [Telepathy] became [Thought Projection Magic].
At the time, Aibo hadn’t paid attention to this minor detail, but now it seemed to conceal a secret of the system.
The system recognized skills entirely according to Aibo’s own will.
In other words, this was a foolproof system that only passively quantified and organized data; discovering any other functions required him to explore them on his own initiative.
Then… did cooking count as a skill?
[Culinary Arts LV0, 233/1000]
“…”
He really couldn’t cook, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the system was mocking him.
So running, working out, and exercising counted as skills too, right?
[Body Forging LV0, 69/1000]
Whoa, that’s wild.
What about music?
[Music Performance LV0, 6/1000]
[Inspiration Value: 4377→4496]
Wait, the inspiration value didn’t look right.
Aibo suddenly realized that his inspiration value had jumped several times just now.
Although it had quickly filled back up, it had definitely gone down! This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
So creating new skills consumed inspiration too?
But compared with how happy he felt right now, that tiny expenditure of inspiration was utterly insignificant.
Since life skills could be created, could he create magic skills himself too?
Mages needed to control magic, so control over magical power should count as a skill too, right?
[Magical Control LV1, 555/10000]
It really worked!
[Inspiration Value: 4496→3245→4063]
!?
The inspiration value jumped several times right before his eyes, startling Aibo.
Damn, that used up more than a thousand inspiration points?
But it was worth it!
It was absolutely worth it!
[Inspiration Points: 5156]
I’m practically Superman!
Happy Superman!
[Hehe~ Tomorrow, after finishing the request, I’ll go find Miss Jane. Miss Jane’s big butt~ Hehehe~]
[Ah, Tom is coming back next week. I need to go to his place a few more times these next few days; who knows when I’ll get another chance.]
[Sigh, all the beauties in the guild have boyfriends. Where is my spring~~~]
“…”
Aibo’s expression darkened.
Damn it, those old lechers had all returned to the dormitories, and they had ruined his good mood!
In his anger, Aibo threw a series of punches at the air, venting his impotent rage.
Since it did nothing, he could only sit at his desk and start writing his book.
But the chaotic voices in his head never stopped, churning together with all kinds of jumbled thoughts and leaving him irritated and restless.
“Ahhhhh! I can’t take it! I can’t stand it anymore! I’m moving!!!”
Aibo clutched his head and raked his fingers through his hair, leaving it a tangled mess.
He had realized that moving couldn’t wait.
Staying another day in this crappy dorm was torture.
He was Happy Superman and needed to maintain a good mood to grow stronger; staying here would only make him sink into a mire.
I!
Am!
Moving!
Having made up his mind, Aibo picked up a thick book, lay down on the bed, raised it, and brought it down on his forehead, knocking himself gloriously unconscious.
“What? You’re not staying in the boys’ dorm anymore? Why?”
The next day, Makarov looked at Aibo, who had submitted a “resignation,” with surprise and curiosity.
“I plan to move to a place outside the forest east of town. I want to find somewhere to practice magic.”
This was the excuse Aibo had come up with.
The guild master knew he had learned Shattering Magic, but had forbidden him to use it in town.
That excuse should be enough to get his permission.
“Emmmm, the forest to the east…”
“Master, don’t worry about my safety. I already know how to use a lot of magic. If it really comes down to it, I can also use Thought Projection Magic to call for help…”
“?”
Makarov tucked his hands into his sleeves and explained:
“An old friend of mine lives in the forest to the east. How should I put it… she doesn’t really like humans…”
“Uh, I won’t go out of my way to disturb anyone, and I generally won’t even go into the forest.”
“All right, as long as you know what you’re doing. But what about building a house?”
“Can I pay someone to help me build a house?”
“This… is a bit troublesome, because you haven’t purchased the land. Building a house at the edge of town counts as illegal construction, so no one will take the job.”
Aibo scratched his head:
“You mean, ironically, people would be willing to build a house in the forest?”
“Yes.”
“Then will the illegal structure be demolished after it’s built?”
“Normally, yes, but you’re a mage, so it won’t.”
All right, then.
Aibo sighed and held out his hand toward Makarov:
“Master, do you have any introductory magic books on Earth Magic and Wood Magic? The most basic ones will do.”
“There are, but what do you want to do?”
“I’m going to teach myself to build a house.” (expressionless)
“?”
Eventually, Makarov found the magic books Aibo needed in the guild library, then watched the kid read two pages, clap his hands, and leave the guild, leaving him with a head full of question marks.
In fact, Aibo had only glanced at the books, received the skill prompts, and then spent 2,000 inspiration points to instantly instill both magics in himself.
[Earth Magic LV1, 1/10000]
[Wood Magic LV1, 1/10000]
[Inspiration Points: 3210]
Although he felt that teaching himself these two magics wouldn’t take much time, Aibo couldn’t wait any longer.
With a small pack on his back, he jogged to the edge of town and chose a spot by the riverbank, several hundred meters from the nearest residence, as his new homesite.
“Mhm, the environment’s pretty nice. It’s a little far from the guild, but… that suits me just fine!”
After combining elemental magic with Molding Magic and testing it a few times, Aibo successfully cast “Earth Molding Magic” and “Wood Molding Magic.”
It wasn’t very easy to use and was quite a struggle, but he didn’t need anything fancy—functional was enough.
He could just treat it like playing Minecraft.
He first used Earth Molding Magic to make a foundation, then put together a simple unfinished shell of a house.
At LV1, Wood Molding Magic required plant seeds, but it could also be used directly beside a tree.
He found a nearby hardwood tree, pressed his hand against the trunk, and fed it magical power, making the branches grow according to his will and yield the wood he wanted.
Roof beams, doors and windows, wall pillars, a chimney, tiles, furniture…
Without a doubt, magic was the primary productive force in this world.
Work that should have required many people working together, Aibo figured out and completed all by himself.
Just like that, Aibo spent a day as a construction guy at the edge of town and finally, toward evening, cobbled together his first house.
Although it was very crude, perhaps under the influence of his LV1 Painting skill, the little house actually looked quite pleasing.
His body was exhausted and much of his magic power was gone, but because he was far from the crowds and couldn’t hear much noise, his mood was more tranquil than ever before.
Having completed the entire building project by himself as a DIY job, an unprecedented sense of satisfaction washed over his soul.
This feels amazing.
Magic really is incredible!
[Inspiration Points: 4410]