Chapter 53: Deal Contract

After waiting for nearly a minute, Kyle finally received a long message from the seller containing answers to his questions.

He immediately opened it.

[BroomBroomLady: Regarding the effectiveness of the ring, it is generally between 80% and 90%, although this may decrease depending on the purity of the mana being stored. The ring performs optimally when the mana has at least 90% purity. If the purity falls below that threshold, the overall efficiency will gradually decrease.]

Kyle nodded as he read.

So there was a quality requirement for the mana itself.

That made sense, considering this was apparently some kind of magical device rather than an ordinary battery.

Another message arrived before he could even finish processing the first one.

[BroomBroomLady: However, even under extremely poor conditions, the ring’s effectiveness should not fall below 50%. I have personally tested it multiple times in a heavily corrupted and miasma-ridden environment where the concentration of pure mana was below 10%. Even there, the ring maintained an effectiveness of approximately 55.98%–63.67%.]

Kyle’s eyebrows rose.

"That’s... actually pretty damn good."

He had expected the efficiency to collapse completely if the mana quality was terrible.

Instead, even in an environment that sounded practically poisonous, the ring still retained more than half of its normal effectiveness.

Another message immediately appeared.

[BroomBroomLady: Regarding mana utilization, approximately 90%–95% of the mana stored within the ring can be utilized by the user. Under normal environmental conditions, a completely depleted ring requires approximately one full day to recharge.]

Kyle’s eyes moved down the message.

[BroomBroomLady: This assumes an environment with a mana concentration above 50%. In environments with lower mana concentration, the recharge time will increase. Generally, for every significant decrease in environmental mana density, the recharge period may increase by approximately 30–60 minutes. The exact time depends on the severity of the decrease and the quality of the available mana.]

Kyle leaned back.

The seller had answered two of his questions in surprisingly clear detail without any ’trust me, bro.’ She had given him actual numbers.

Kyle appreciated that.

"Okay..."

He rubbed his chin.

"Now I have to figure out something else."

He stared at the ring’s description.

"Does Earth even have mana?"

The thought immediately bothered him.

If Earth had absolutely no mana, then the ring wouldn’t be able to recharge itself here.

That wasn’t necessarily a deal-breaker since he wasn’t planning to use it as his primary source of power on Earth. The entire reason he was considering buying it was to prepare for his eventual trip to another world.

But it would still be incredibly useful if he could recharge it before leaving.

He didn’t want to arrive in another dimension only to discover that the first thing waiting for him was some giant monster trying to eat him while his shiny new magic ring sat there with an empty battery.

’Yeah... I’d rather not find out whether I can outrun a dragon with zero mana.’

As Kyle continued thinking, another message appeared.

[BroomBroomLady: Regarding your question about spell compatibility, under optimal conditions, the ring can provide enough usable mana for approximately 10–15 high-grade First Circle spells of an element compatible with the user’s affinity.]

Kyle’s eyes widened slightly.

[BroomBroomLady: Alternatively, you may cast approximately 3–5 Second Circle spells, or around 2 high-grade Third Circle spells. If you use ordinary or moderate-grade spells rather than their highest-grade variants, the number of available casts can roughly double.]

Kyle stared at the message.

"Alright..."

A grin slowly appeared on his face.

"That’s actually really promising."

Since he realized It had genuine firepower.

Even if he couldn’t use the strongest spells available in a magical world, being able to cast ten or more First Circle spells—or several Second Circle spells—could potentially make an enormous difference for someone who currently had absolutely no magical abilities.

"But what does she mean by an element compatible with my affinity?"

He looked down at his own body.

"My body possesses nothing."

He frowned.

"I’m literally just a normal human."

’Unless getting angry at my computer counts as fire affinity.’

Kyle shook his head.

That was obviously nonsense.

He immediately opened the chat again and typed another message.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Alright, thanks for answering everything so clearly. That clears up a lot of my concerns. But I have one last question. I’m from a world where mana and magic aren’t known to exist, so how would I know whether I possess an elemental affinity? And how would I know whether I can actually use the ring?]

He sent the message.

The reply came almost instantly.

[BroomBroomLady: I see. In that case, why don’t we check that first before you purchase the ring? We should determine your elemental affinity and also check whether your world contains enough ambient mana to recharge the ring.]

Kyle’s eyes widened.

She made it sound so simple.

"Wait..."

He sat upright.

"She’s actually going to test me?"

The idea sent a strange excitement through him.

A month ago, the concept of magic had been nothing more than fiction to him.

All of those things had belonged to books, games, anime, and manhwa.

But now?

They were apparently real and he was about to find out whether he had an elemental affinity himself.

Kyle’s imagination immediately went into overdrive.

’What if I’m some kind of hidden genius?’

He pictured himself placing his hand on a glowing crystal.

The crystal would shine.

Then shine brighter.

Then—

BOOM!

Every element would erupt simultaneously.

Fire.

Water.

Wind.

Earth.

Lightning.

Darkness.

Light.

The magical crystal would crack under the sheer magnitude of his talent.

A crowd would gasp and some old master would point at him in disbelief.

"Impossible! A thousand-year genius!"

Kyle’s grin became wider.

"Maybe I’ll be a multi-element user."

He was already imagining himself standing dramatically in a fantasy world while everyone stared at him in awe.

"Maybe they’ll call me the Chosen One."

Then he remembered reality.

He was sitting alone in his apartment.

Kyle cleared his throat.

’Calm down.’

He opened the chat again.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Surely, we can do that. But how exactly do I check it?]

He genuinely wanted to know.

The seller’s response arrived almost immediately.

[BroomBroomLady: You can purchase the complete testing kit for 100 SP. However, since you have expressed your intention to purchase the Mana Storage Ring if you possess an elemental affinity and your world contains sufficient ambient mana, I can offer the testing kit for 50 SP if you agree to a purchase contract.]

Kyle blinked.

"Fifty?"

He looked at the message again.

That wasn’t bad at all.

Especially considering he was already planning to purchase the ring if he could actually use it.

Then he noticed another part of the message.

[BroomBroomLady: The testing kit is not disposable. It can be reused multiple times and can be taken to other locations for additional testing.]

Kyle’s eyebrows rose.

"So it’s reusable too."

That made the deal considerably more attractive.

He didn’t even have to think about it for long.

"Fifty SP isn’t a bad deal."

He began typing.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Okay, I’ll sign the deal.]

The moment he sent the message, a system window appeared directly in front of him.

[Deal Contract]

[Description: This Deal Contract has been generated by the Marketplace for the purchase of the product "Mana Storage Ring" if the following conditions are fulfilled.]

[Conditions:]

[1. User possesses at least one elemental affinity.]

[2. User’s world contains a sufficient concentration of ambient mana to recharge the Mana Storage Ring.]

Kyle carefully read through the conditions.

So if he didn’t possess an affinity, he wasn’t obligated to purchase the ring.

And if Earth didn’t have enough mana to recharge it, the contract wouldn’t force him into the purchase either.

That sounded fair so he scrolled down.

[Do you wish to sign the Deal Contract?]

[Y — Yes]

[N — No]

Kyle didn’t hesitate.

"Of course, I’m signing it."

He pressed Yes.

For a brief moment, the system screen shimmered.

[Deal Contract accepted.]

[Testing Kit discounted price confirmed: 50 SP.]

[Purchase obligation activated upon successful fulfillment of contract conditions.]

Kyle stared at the final notification.

His heart began beating faster because it was a test.

A test that could answer a question he had never once thought he’d be able to ask seriously.

’Do I have magic?’