Chapter 56: Skills

Quickly, right after Kyle sent the message, a contract window appeared directly in front of him.

[Deal Contract]

[Description: This Deal Contract has been generated by the Marketplace for the borrowing, learning, and purchase conditions of the following items:]

[1. Magic Missile]

[2. Water Prison]

[3. Earth Shield]

[Total Price: 10,000 System Points]

[Discount: 20%]

[Final Price After Discount: 8,000 System Points]

Kyle’s eyes immediately widened when he saw the final price.

’Eight thousand?’

He continued reading the conditions.

[Conditions:]

[1. The purchase of the listed skills will only be initiated if the Buyer successfully proves to possess multi-element magical talent and affinity.]

[2. If the Buyer possesses only a single elemental affinity, only the skill corresponding to that element will be sold to the Buyer at a 15% discount.]

[3. If the Buyer possesses multiple elemental affinities but any of the provided skills do not match those elements, the mismatched skills will be replaced with equivalent skills corresponding to the Buyer’s confirmed elemental affinities.]

[4. If the Buyer does not have sufficient System Points to purchase the applicable skills immediately, the Buyer will be given up to two and a half months to complete the payment or may choose to pay through a monthly EMI arrangement.]

[5. If the Buyer fails to complete the required payment, the Buyer’s Marketplace account may be suspended and a penalty equivalent to 100% of the unpaid item cost will be applied. Further Marketplace measures may be taken to recover the outstanding amount.]

[6. If the Seller refuses to honor the accepted Deal Contract without a valid reason, the Seller’s Marketplace account will be subject to penalties, including possible suspension.]

[7. The purchase conditions will only become applicable to a skill once the Buyer has successfully learned more than 25% of that skill. If the Buyer learns more than 25% of one skill but less than 25% of another, the purchase condition will only apply to the skill that has crossed the 25% learning threshold.]

[8. The Buyer will have at least one month to learn and become familiar with the provided skills before the purchase conditions are enforced.]

[Do you wish to accept the Deal Contract?]

[YES / NO]

Kyle carefully read through the entire contract.

He went through the conditions twice just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

Overall, it looked pretty straightforward.

There was only one thing that caught his attention.

"What are the measures they’re going to take if I fail to pay for the items? Isn’t that a little too vague?"

He frowned at the fifth condition.

The contract mentioned that the Marketplace would take measures to make him pay, but it didn’t explain exactly what those measures were.

Still, he quickly dismissed the concern.

’Well, the same thing applies to the seller too.’

If the Marketplace was willing to punish him for breaking the contract, then it was also willing to punish the seller if she refused to honor it.

As long as the rules applied equally to both sides, Kyle wasn’t too worried.

Besides, the price was far too good to pass up.

"Since the price is much better than what’s available on the Marketplace, it’s better to sign this one. And it’s not like I have to worry about earning eight thousand System Points."

A diabolical grin spread across Kyle’s face.

"I’m going to call Stacy to help me with that."

He had already checked the Marketplace prices before signing the contract.

Magic Missile alone started at around 10,000 System Points.

And that was considered one of the most basic magical skills available.

Water Prison and Earth Shield weren’t exactly cheap either.

So getting all three skills for only 8,000 System Points was practically a steal.

Kyle didn’t hesitate any longer.

He pressed YES.

[Congratulations, User.]

[You have successfully signed the Deal Contract.]

[The contract has been registered by the Marketplace.]

[You have received the following items:]

[

Item 1

Name: Magic Missile

Category: Skill

Description: Creates a magical projectile that automatically tracks and strikes a designated target.

Effect: The missile can change its trajectory to follow the target and deals moderate magical damage upon impact.

Limitation: Can only pursue targets within 30 meters. It cannot pass through solid objects, and its tracking can be disrupted by stronger magic.

Mana Cost: 20 MP per missile (Standard).

[Duration: Depends on the user.

]

[

Item 2:

Name: Water Prison

Category: Skill

Description: Traps a designated target inside a sphere of water, restricting their movement and hindering their breathing.

Effect: Completely restricts the target’s movement while the prison remains intact.]

[Limitation: Requires continuous concentration and becomes easier to break for targets with greater physical strength or magical power.

Mana Cost: 10 MP (Standard).

[Duration: Depends on the user.

]

[

Item 3

Name: Earth Shield

Category: Skill

Description: Creates a solid barrier of earth that protects the user from incoming attacks.

Effect: Blocks physical attacks and can absorb a limited amount of magical force before breaking.

Limitation: The shield cannot move independently and becomes progressively weaker as it absorbs damage.

Mana Cost: 30 MP to cast.

Duration: Depends on the user

]

Almost immediately after he signed the contract, the three items appeared in his System inventory. Kyle stared at the three skill description and his excitement continued to rise.

’Magic.’

’Real fucking magic skill!’

For a second, he couldn’t believe it himself. He was actually going to learn real magic. He had only ever seen this kind of stuff in anime, movies, and books, but now he was going to experience it for real. No matter how real it was, he still couldn’t believe that he was about to learn actual fucking magic and magic skills.

Another notification popped up.

[BroomBroomLady: Hello. You should have received the skill books in your inventory. Since these are very basic skills, you should be able to learn them simply by reading them. If you have any trouble or difficulty understanding them, please feel free to message me. I would gladly help you.]

Kyle quickly typed a short reply.

[FeatherlessBiped69er: Alright, thanks. I’ll let you know if I have any trouble.]

He closed the chat and immediately opened his inventory.

He expected to see three physical books that he could pull out into the real world.

But instead, something unexpected appeared.

Rather than an option to withdraw the item, the System displayed a completely different option.

Kyle stared at the screen.

’Learn?’ ℯℯ𝑙.

He clicked on the first skill.

A new notification appeared.

[Do you want to Learn Skill ’Magic Missile (Common)’?]