Chapter 62: Next Skill (Buy Privilage Please)

After another forty eight hours of nonstop practice, Kyle’s Proficiency in Magic Missile had finally climbed above ninety percent.

Yet after reaching that point, the number barely moved. He had tried everything he could think of.

"Guess that’s the limit..."

He had already exhausted his mind trying to perfect every aspect of the skill, and he was beginning to realize that there wasn’t much more he could do with Magic Missile without gaining more practical experience or discovering something entirely new about the skill.

He had spent the total of three days relentlessly honing his control over the spell.

He learned exactly how much mana he needed to invest into each cast depending on what he wanted the projectile to accomplish. A low-mana projectile could be used for piercing attacks, while increasing its density allowed him to create something far more destructive.

He experimented with different shapes as well.

The default form of Magic Missile was useful, but it wasn’t necessarily the best form for every situation. A thin projectile was excellent for piercing, while a wider and denser one could deliver more destructive force. He also experimented with the length and width of the projectile, eventually discovering shapes that suited different purposes.

More importantly, Kyle learned that mana density mattered just as much as the amount of mana used.

By compressing the mana into a smaller space, he could increase the destructive power of the projectile without necessarily making it larger.

He practiced casting speed, projectile speed, range, and accuracy.

Eventually, he even learned how to alter the trajectory of the projectile after it had already been fired.

That discovery had been particularly useful.

Instead of simply launching Magic Missile in a straight line and hoping it hit the target, Kyle could now slightly adjust its path after firing it. It wasn’t enough to make the projectile perform impossible movements, but it allowed him to correct its trajectory and hit targets that moved unexpectedly.

He also experimented with creating multiple missiles at once.

At first, he could barely maintain two simultaneously.

Then three.

Then more.

He practiced firing them in rapid succession and eventually learned how to control each projectile independently instead of treating them as a single attack.

The most important thing he learned, however, was mana efficiency.

Kyle quickly realized that having a powerful spell meant nothing if he couldn’t afford to use it more than a few times.

So he spent hours figuring out how to minimize mana wastage.

Every adjustment, every compression technique, every change in shape and every improvement in casting became another small step toward making the spell more efficient.

What had originally been nothing more than a simple beginner spell had become something Kyle could manipulate in dozens of different ways.

And now, after forty eight more hours of practice, he had finally reached a point where he could genuinely say that he was satisfied with his work.

Kyle stood before a tree.

His body was exhausted and he was absolutely filthy but there was a satisfied grin on his face.

He raised his hand one final time.

"Magic Missile."

A tiny projectile appeared above his palm.

Unlike the default Magic Missile, this one was incredibly small. It was roughly the size and shape of a 9mm bullet.

The mana inside it was compressed to an extreme degree, giving the projectile an almost unnaturally dense appearance despite its tiny size.

Kyle had spent countless hours experimenting to create this version.

It was neither his strongest Magic Missile nor it was the largest but it was most efficient and fast magic missile that he had created after hours of work and practice.

The instant Kyle released it—

BOOM!

The projectile shot forward like a bullet.

It crossed the distance between him and the tree almost instantly.

A small hole appeared directly through the trunk.

The tree remained standing, but the projectile had punched straight through it, leaving a clean path through the wood.

Kyle stared at the result with a tired but satisfied expression.

"My best wor—"

[Well done, Kyle. You have exceeded my expectations.]

Kyle’s eyes slowly widened.

He didn’t even have enough energy left to respond. His knees buckled.

THUD!

His body collapsed directly onto the soft soil and grass beneath him.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was the System’s message floating in front of him.

Then everything went black.

....

Twitch.

Twitch.

Chirp. Chirp.

The first thing Kyle noticed when he woke up was the sound of birds.

It was dawn.

A cool breeze passed through the forest, carrying a comfortable chill with it.

Kyle slowly opened his eyes.

For a moment, he simply stared at the sky through the gaps between the trees.

Then he remembered where he was.

"Oh..."

He had fallen asleep outside directly on the dirt and grass.

Kyle had completely forgotten about buying anything after exhausting his last bit of mana. The moment he had finished his final attack, his body had simply given up.

He slowly sat up and yawned.

*Yaaawn...*

He rubbed his eyes.

He was lucky because nothing had disturbed him during the night.

Although this forest was considered relatively safe, that didn’t mean it was completely harmless. There were still predators living inside it like wolves and coyotes.

Even herbivores couldn’t necessarily be considered harmless. Being a herbivore didn’t automatically mean an animal would calmly allow a strange human to approach it’s territory.

Kyle looked around.

’Guess I got lucky.’

Then he smelled something.

His expression immediately changed.

"Argh! Fuck! What the hell is that stench?!"

Kyle nearly gagged.

He looked around in confusion before realizing the source was directly underneath his nose.

Himself.

He hadn’t taken a proper bath in nearly three days.

During that time, he had spent countless hours sweating, rolling around in dirt, lying on the forest floor, and practicing magic nonstop.

The result was stinky causing Kyle to cover his nose.

"Fuck! I need to shower right now!"

He couldn’t tolerate the smell anymore.

Without wasting another second, Kyle opened the Marketplace.

He had originally considered buying a tent, but now he had something far more important to purchase.

He remembered an item he had seen previously.

[Do you want to buy ’Shed’ for 50 SP?]

Kyle didn’t even bother reading the rest.

"Buy."

[Item ’Shed’ has been credited to your inventory.]

[Item: Shed]

[Description: A small shelter equipped with the basic facilities required for living. Once deployed, the item cannot be returned to the inventory.]

Kyle immediately selected the option to deploy it.

BUILD!

The empty patch of soil in front of him suddenly changed.

A small structure materialized out of nowhere.

Kyle stared at it.

Calling it a shed was honestly underselling it. It was essentially a small wooden house.

There was a living area, a bathroom, a small kitchen, furniture, storage space, and even a closet containing several sets of clothes.

Kyle didn’t care about any of that right now.

"Fuck, I want to take a shower."

He immediately rushed inside.

....

Several minutes later, Kyle emerged from the bathroom completely clean.

He had changed into a fresh pair of clothes and looked considerably more human than he had a few minutes earlier.

He had also helped himself to the food available inside the kitchen. After eating his fill, he collapsed onto the couch in the living room.

Kyle looked around.

He glanced at the comfortable furniture, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

"Damn..."

He looked down at his clothes.

"Why the hell am I paying rent when I can have this?"

The thought genuinely bothered him.

His current apartment suddenly felt like an awful financial decision.

Kyle picked up his phone and checked the date.

His expression changed.

"Fuck..."

He had been in this forest for three days already.

"I need to hurry up and learn the other two skills too and get out of here."

Magic Missile alone had taken him nearly three days of practice.

And he still had Water Prison and Earth Shield waiting for him.

Kyle stood up from the couch.

"I need to wrap all of this up as soon as possible."

He walked outside again.

The moment he stepped into the forest, he looked at the System interface.

"Alright."

He took a deep breath.

"Let’s learn the second skill."

Kyle swallowed.

He knew what was coming now.

The last time he had learned a skill, the System had basically dumped an entire ocean of knowledge directly into his brain.

Knowing that didn’t make him any less nervous. In fact, it made him significantly more nervous.

Kyle stared at the next skill notification.

[Do you want to learn the skill ’Water Prison (Common)’?]

[Yes / No]

Kyle stared at the Yes button.

His finger hovered over it.

"Ah shit, here we go again."