***
Up until now, while playing Chronicle Online, I'd only ever thought of the MP displayed alongside HP as mana, but I'd never actually felt its presence.
No matter how realistic it was, a game was still fundamentally a game.
[The creation of the circle is complete.]
That was why the quiet rotation of mana in my chest felt so alien to me right now.
-Ziiing!
When I placed my hand on my chest, the single circle representing 1st Circle increased its rotation speed.
It felt unfamiliar, but there was no issue in manipulating the mana.
The circle followed me perfectly, as if it had been there from the very beginning.
'I've created a 1st Circle, so there should be skills to match it, right?'
I'd been sitting quietly on the floor, waiting for the circle creation to finish, but now I dusted myself off and headed to the bookshelf tucked into one corner of the mage tower's second floor.
[Would you like to search the materials?]
There were so many books that I'd wondered how I'd ever get through them all, but they even had this convenience?
As expected of the fortuitous encounter from Manuel Lucas, hailed as humanity's greatest mage.
I happily instructed it to search and scanned the lengthy list of books that appeared.
A quick glance showed they could be roughly divided into four categories.
And among them was exactly what I'd been looking for.
[Spellbooks]
[Skillbooks]
[References]
[Records]
The references and records contained Duke Lucas's research materials and magical know-how.
Most were basic rather than core techniques, but they had all passed through the hands of a 9th Circle mage.
Leaking even one to the outside world would net a fortune.
Of course, doing something like that would likely draw pursuit, so it was best not even to dream of it.
I'd look through the references and records later. For now, I filtered out the spellbooks and skillbooks that would help immediately.
[1st Circle Fire-Attribute Spellbook]
[1st Circle Water-Attribute Spellbook]
....
....
[Skillbook: Mana Comprehension]
[Skillbook: Mana Recovery]
[Skillbook: Mana Accumulation]
All the 1st Circle spells, plus the essential basic skills for any mage.
[Would you like to acquire the Skillbook: Mana Comprehension?]
And with a light touch, the skills and spells were acquired just like in the game.
'If spellbooks and skillbooks come this easily, leveling up might be simpler than I thought.'
Normally, skillbooks and spellbooks weren't that easy to obtain.
Chronicle Online was fundamentally an item-collection game, so skills and spells had to be directly acquired and used according to their rank.
Skills weren't just learned and done either—every spell and skill had proficiency levels, and the power difference between a mastered one and an unmastered one was huge.
But the process of acquiring magic and skills revealed even more differences from the game.
"Urk!"
It was that each acquisition etched the principles of the skill directly into my mind.
It was great for me since I could understand magical principles through attributes, but the process was incredibly unpleasant and painful.
Still, I couldn't afford not to learn them.
My head throbbed terribly, but I stubbornly pressed on with the spells and skills.
"Ugh...."
Eventually, I couldn't hold back the headache and vomited next to the bookshelf.
Since this was a game world and not reality, the trash would clean itself up soon enough, so I ignored it and picked up the last remaining skillbook.
[Skillbook: Circle Concealment]
-Hides your circles and possessed mana.
-Usless against Aura Master-level knights, 7th Circle or higher mages, or top-tier detection artifacts.
It felt like considerate treatment tailored exactly to my situation.
A cheerful laugh escaped me.
I acquired the final skillbook right then.
-Zing.
Unlike the previous ones, it seemed to have a higher inherent rank, as the headache intensified and I even started hearing ringing in my ears.
But since all of this was a miracle for me, my mood was great despite the discomfort.
I lay spread-eagled next to the vomit, waiting for the headache to subside, and it took about two hours before I could finally stand.
-Zing!
As soon as I rose, I recalled the magical theory imprinted in my mind and attempted casting.
In response, the magic circle began spinning furiously, and I felt the surrounding mana gathering together.
"Magic Missile."
After about 1.5 seconds of short casting, the completed spell shot toward the wall as a mana bullet.
-Pew!
The mage tower's walls seemed to be made of metal or something, as the Magic Missile fizzled out harmlessly, but it confirmed that the spell had activated without issue.
In Chronicle Online, magic ended with just saying the incantation, but now I fully understood the spell in question.
[Based on real-world time, you have been connected to the game for 10 hours without rest.]
[Please log out and take a break.]
Had time passed that quickly already?
I'd been planning to log out anyway to check if a real circle had formed in reality, so I obediently followed the warning.
[Logging out of Chronicle Online.]
A slight sense of floating came over me, followed by the feeling of my body being pushed backward, and then a blackened world welcomed me.
-Swish.
I removed the headgear covering my entire head, and the familiar ceiling that had tormented me until moments ago came into view.
Dawn had broken before I knew it, with light seeping through the blackout curtains on the terrace window.
I swallowed dryly and placed my hand near my solar plexus.
"Perfect."
Just like in the game, the mana circle was distinctly felt.
There was no longer any room to doubt the existence of this fortuitous encounter.
I savored the surging elation and clenched my fist.
In my past life and this one, I'd thought I'd end up accomplishing nothing, but it seemed this life would be different.
'To be precise, I've only taken a single step forward so far.'
But that one step was a monumental leap for me.
What I wanted from Manuel Lucas's fortuitous encounter wasn't much.
'Just peace and safety for me and my mother.'
Of course, that wish included rejecting any interfering presences, so it wasn't exactly peaceful.
* * *
Rondel's current population is around 7 billion.
However, including all non-human races, it would be at least as much as Earth's, if not more.
There are only 20 countries spread across the four great continents—less than a tenth compared to Earth—and with so few nations relative to the landmass, it feels imbalanced.
Or, thinking differently, even the smallest countries classified here have populations of 50 million and land areas on par with Mongolia, so perhaps the balance between nations is actually better here than on Earth.
Even small countries become a force not to be trifled with when three or more band together, providing significant deterrence against war.
Of course, that doesn't mean wars never happen, but no major conflicts threatening national extinction have occurred in the last 500 years.
This world is certainly more stable than Earth, not just in technology but in international relations as well.
In this world, the kingdom I belonged to, the Reinhartz Kingdom...
Excluding the four great empires (Bringem Empire, Croisen Empire, Elisian Alliance, Prius Republic), it was a powerhouse with military and economic might matched by few.
Though it shared a border and hostile relations with Croisen—one of the four great empires—the kingdom was managed without major crises through alliances with neighboring kingdoms.
Population: 180 million.
Land area: comparable to India.
Thanks to that, even our Lawrence family, which held only a baronial title, managed a territory of 1 million people, with 6,000 private soldiers and 300 knights.
Over 20 knights and 300 soldiers were stationed at my out-of-the-way mansion alone, so it wasn't right to view us as typical medieval feudal nobles.
Lawrence family estate training grounds.
"Huh? Sword training?"
Vice, my guard knight, looked shocked as he repeated my sudden and out-of-left-field request.
Naturally, this drew the gazes of the surrounding knights.
Among them were surely lackeys of my stepmother Anna and Cedric.
I waved my hand to dispel any misunderstandings.
"Lately, my body's felt heavy. I thought I'd try some exercise as training—is that no good?"
"Of course it's fine. I'd welcome it anytime. Honestly, I've been worried about your health since you've just been playing games every day, young master."
In truth, I wanted to train in reality too, wondering if it might help with activities inside the game.
My real body and game character synchronized, which had made combat quite troublesome.
Even as a mage by class, a mage couldn't just stand still.
Moreover, game combat could become an extension of real life.
"Shall we start with physical training, then?"
Vice showed considerable enthusiasm.
The other surrounding knights looked at him like they couldn't understand, seemingly thinking, 'What's the point of sucking up to such a weakling?'
"You're full of surprises. Your stamina's better than I expected."
"Is that so?"
It seemed the stat improvements from the game were affecting reality.
Compared to a knight, I was still frail, but for a shut-in gamer, it was apparently respectable.
But more than physical endurance, I focused on the fact that no one had noticed I was a mage, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Hiding the circle from mana-sensitive knights had been the issue, but Duke Lucas's consideration solved it too easily.
Thanks to that, I could build my strength in secret without any problems.