[Magic That Keeps Cup Handles from Burning Your Hand]
[Magic That Prevents Eyelashes from Falling Out When Rubbing Your Eyes]
[Magic That Stops Toenails from Growing Into the Flesh]
…
Looking at the huge pile of grimoires Frieren had carried over, Shane felt extremely conflicted.
Girl, your taste is really… something else.
"Hehe, what do you think? They're all amazing grimoires, right?"
The white-haired elf, completely oblivious to Shane's mood, hummed proudly.
…
Ah, whatever. It's rare to see you this happy.
"Let's go. Time to check out."
The elderly receptionist was also startled when he saw the large stack of books Frieren brought over.
Putting on his reading glasses, he carefully compared each title against a long price list beside him.
"Six books in total. With the half-price discount, the total comes to 19 silver coins."
"How much?"
"19 silver coins, sir."
"…"
Shane nearly choked.
Even at half price, it's this expensive?!
And they're all weird little everyday spells. If these were combat spells or powerful defensive magic, wouldn't the price be astronomical?
Raising a mage really does burn money.
After paying, Shane was left with only 1 silver coin. He squeezed his now deflated wallet and silently sighed.
Time to figure out how to make money.
Just as he was feeling down, the corner of his eye caught sight of a short bookshelf beside the counter.
Only four or five books sat on it, but each one was about twenty centimeters thick—like bricks.
Curious, Shane walked over and picked one up.
[??? Magic]
Type: ??? Magic
Effect: ???
Status: Not Learned
What's going on? Why is everything question marks?
Shane squeezed his eyes shut, focusing his mental energy to appraise it again.
A wave of dizziness hit him, and he had to grab the shelf to steady himself, barely avoiding passing out.
He immediately realized—his mental strength was too low. He couldn't activate the effect of [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask], so he couldn't simplify and directly grasp the grimoire in front of him. That's why all the information appeared incomplete.
"Are you interested in that grimoire, sir? If you want it, I can offer an additional 1 silver coin discount on top of the half price."
Another 1 silver coin discount?
I don't even want to know the original price.
"Sir, why are these books placed here separately? Are they defective?"
The old receptionist smiled.
"No defects. They're displayed here intentionally. These are some of the most powerful spells in the entire hall. However, their learning difficulty is extremely high. Ordinary mages could spend their entire lives without even getting started, so they've never been sold."
"They're placed here in case any mage takes a liking to them—as collectibles."
Collecting grimoires, huh?
Shane glanced at Frieren.
To his surprise, her gaze hadn't even brushed those "brick-like" books. She was completely focused on the ones she picked, happily packing them up.
…
On the way back from the grand library, Shane remained absent-minded.
Even the airheaded Frieren noticed.
"No need to feel regret over not buying that grimoire."
"The one you saw—if I tried to analyze it, it would take over a hundred years. And after that, it would take several more decades of practice to fully master it. For humans, such magic is simply impossible."
"Some spells created in ancient or even mythical eras are extremely difficult to analyze due to their complex theoretical logic and operation methods. Most of them also have very strict usage conditions. From a practical standpoint, they're not particularly appealing."
Shane nodded. Frieren's explanation made sense.
For ordinary people, that was indeed the case. Many mages likely spent their entire lives analyzing a single spell, making no progress until their dying breath.
That was the limitation of a human lifespan.
But he was different.
He possessed [Wisdom Under a Simple Mask], allowing him to simplify all magic into concrete attributes and master them directly.
Yet despite having such a powerful passive skill, his mental strength was too low to make use of it.
Wasn't that like dying of thirst next to a well?
Raising his mental strength couldn't wait!
…
That night, Shane began his first attempt at cultivation.
It was his first time, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
Following Frieren's earlier instructions, he sat cross-legged on the balcony, facing the cool moonlight, and began meditating.
The night breeze brushed against his face, gradually calming his mind.
He focused on sensing the blood vessels and bones within his body, trying to find the ripples of magic within.
Ten minutes passed…
Half an hour passed…
An hour passed…
Shane opened his eyes. He was about to fall asleep, yet he hadn't felt anything at all!
Is this right??
[Goddess's Barrier], activate!
Buzz—
A ripple spread through the air, and a transparent barrier formed within a one-meter radius around him.
Magic worked.
Then why couldn't he sense the "magical ripples within the body" that Frieren mentioned?
…
"Because you don't have any mana. Not even a little."
While flipping through a grimoire, Frieren answered Shane, who had come to her room for advice.
"You don't have the aptitude to become a mage."
"But since you can use divine magic, it means you have the talent to become a priest. You should consider training as one—recite the Scripture, strengthen your faith, and become a devout priest."
No way!
I'm not practicing some magic that requires staying single for life!
"Is there really no other way to train?"
Frieren put down her book and thought for a moment.
"There is one."
"What is it?"
"It's the training method of a Sage."
"A Sage's training method?"
Shane frowned. He didn't recall seeing anything about Sage training in the magical history texts he read earlier.
"The Sage lineage has been lost for over a thousand years. I only heard a few mentions of it from my teacher, Flamme. It's similar to a mage's meditation, but instead, the practitioner must try to control their mental energy."
"Control mental energy during meditation? How does that work? What exactly should I do?"
Frieren shook her head.
The Sage lineage had long been lost, so even she didn't know the details.
Back in his room, Shane pondered this idea of "controlling mental energy" for a long time, and a faint guess began to form—
When he focused, he could use his mental energy to extract attributes. Could it be that a Sage's training was to continuously extract attributes?
Like grinding monsters to level up—extract more attributes to strengthen mental energy, and stronger mental energy allows extracting even more attributes.
Hmm…
Looks like he still had to go back to the dungeon and keep picking up scraps.