Chapter 12

After challenging the dungeon, I realized that I need to train to use mana. While I had purchased the ability, it had slipped my mind until now. Despite being able to perceive mana particles in the air, I need a phenomenon that disturbs mana in the environment or a focus.

Due to facing the elves, I was able to visualize mana particles swirling when the elves used magic to attack, reminding me of the ability. However, I don't know how to train to use mana.

While looking through the dungeon's shop, searching for something interesting or something I hadn't paid enough attention to, I discovered that the shop has various tabs and sections, each with a different style of items.

In one of these tabs, you can find all possible monster drops. Most of these items are inexpensive, with prices based on their rarity.

Another tab had various books, with each book categorized by style, subject, and content. Here, you can find all sorts of topics, from comedy to horror, instructional books, technique and skill books, experimental books, cookbooks, architecture books, and even diaries from different people. However, their value is quite low.

"System, why are the books so cheap compared to other items?"

[Books serve as items of leisure for dungeon masters, offering pastime entertainment. While some contain valuable knowledge, their worth is only realized by those possessing the aptitude to comprehend or utilize such knowledge. For example, a book on mana manipulation wouldn't confer magical abilities upon an individual lacking the inherent talent or skill.]

This explanation sparked an idea in my mind. What if I created a library within the dungeon and filled it with these books? The question of whether to establish a school-like setting or charge an entrance fee for access to the library arose.

Each approach had its own set of merits and drawbacks. For a school, you'd need someone who knows and understands the subject to teach, which takes time depending on the book's topic.

Anyway, I managed to find a book that teaches how to manipulate mana and includes some simple spells and incantations.

I decided to invest the dungeon coins I have in creating a private library and buying all the interesting or useful books.

Well, I think it's better to discuss this with the others and come up with a better plan for how to use it.

While browsing the shop for other useful things, I found an ability that allows something similar to an item box. I also found a section that sells pets/animals, and I bought a baby fox monster from there.

I can use this baby as a companion and also as a mascot for the dungeon, but before that, I needed to tame and nurture it.

Luna's excitement upon spotting the baby fox was palpable, and she eagerly offered to assist in its care. Taking advantage of her help, I began to read the books I bought.

First, I started reading the books on how to manipulate and use magic and spells. The book began by explaining a bit about what mana is.

MANA is a form of energy that is static and neutral, meaning it does not change over time unless someone acts upon it. This form of energy is used to create what we know as magic.

To use mana, you must be able to manipulate it and add your intention for what you want to accomplish with mana. The way you do this influences the final outcome of the spell. Thus, the same spell can end up being different for different people.

The better the manipulation and conversion of mana, the better your understanding of the phenomenon you want to create, and the more experience you have, the better the spell will be. This results in more potent, swifter, or mana-efficient spells.

To begin magic, you need to absorb mana from the environment, circulate it throughout your body, and finally gather all the mana in one place. Each step serves a purpose.

Absorbing mana from the environment allows your body to gain a way to obtain this new energy.

Circulating mana throughout your body allows your body to adapt and become accustomed to this form of energy, and enriches the body facilitating smoother manipulation.

Gathering this mana in one place allows you to store mana within your body, enabling you to use mana to cast spells. It's possible to use mana without going through this whole process, but it's much more complicated.

I started training, following the step-by-step process outlined in the book. However, even though it was well-explained, it's much more difficult than it sounds, as these actions depend on the understanding and imagination of the person performing them.

After two hours of sitting in a comfortable position and almost giving up, I managed to absorb mana and feel it. This rekindled my motivation to continue.

But this was just the beginning of the challenge. After spending some more time trying, I decided to stop and rest, despite my lack of physical fatigue. I decided to share my findings and discuss with others to see if anyone has ideas about what to do.

After two hours of discussion, we decided on a combination of both ideas. While opening the library and making various basic or entry-level books available, we're also going to create something akin to a dojo school, teaching both basic and advanced knowledge.

We also decided to provide some of these books to the organization and the government, which will help us earn points with them, making it easier to execute dungeons and gain other benefits.

Rick took the initiative to procure additional books, broadening our collection. We also decided to buy the ability that allows everyone to sense and manipulate mana.

With that, each of us decided to train and develop the ability. After all, who hasn't wished to be able to use magic at least once in their life?

Due to the profit generated by the dungeon, almost everyone in the group decided to leave their previous jobs and focus more toward the dungeon's management. This provided the group with greater freedom, allowing them to avoid being tied down by work schedules. Working less and earning more, although I and Rick are considered the owners, each person is responsible for a department within the dungeon. This increased the responsibility for each individual, despite having more freedom compared to their previous jobs.

To address the issue of teachers, we decided to purchase AI assistants and let them read and learn from the books. Over time, this showcased the power of my talent. While not an astonishing speed, the time needed to absorb knowledge from the books turned out to be much faster than expected.

During a week, we focused on training and managed to begin using mana in a basic manner. As we circulated mana throughout our bodies, we could notice improvements in various bodily functions, along with a slight increase in the strength and durability of our skin and bones.

This made navigating the dungeon slightly easier, as monster attacks caused less damage, and our ability to observe and process events increased. We also gained a newfound control over our bodies.

I decided to check my current status after all this time:

[Name: Jeffrey Stark

Profession: Novice Dungeon Master

Strength: 13

Agility: 10

Dexterity: 14

Intelligence: 9

Vitality: 12

Talent: Adaptability

Skill: Massage (Level 3)

Rehabilitation (Level 3)

Observations (Level 3)

Mana Sense (Level 2)]

I noticed that each "level up" improves the characteristic we are focusing on and training, although with each advancement, it becomes harder to sense. As there is no visible experience bar or level, it's challenging to have a clear notion of progress.

I learned that every 5 points, our attributes experience a quality increase, which means each point after multiples of 5 has a more significant impact than the previous ones.

Our attributes have shown significant advancement since we began, but this was only possible due to the number of monsters we faced. Thanks to the temporal distortion, we extended the time before being expelled from the dungeon to 4 hours, although only 1 hour passed in the real world. We are considering purchasing an improvement to the temporal distortion, but for that, we need to gather more dungeon coins. This would provide us with the chance to defeat more monsters.