Chapter 31
The wall was far too thick to simply blow it up or melt it with fire and heat alone.
So Dojin decided to use “Fusion,” a spell specialized in melting things like rock.
The problem was that “Fusion” was a 5-star magic. Starting from 5-star magic, the conditions for acquisition become seriously demanding. While this wasn’t a concern for Dojin, who possessed the broken-class skill “Book of Truth,” his absolutely insufficient level was another issue.
The minimum requirement to learn a 5-star spell was level 100 or higher. Dojin, currently only at level 43, couldn’t even dream of touching such a high-tier spell.
But Dojin had his ways.
‘If I didn’t have the money, it’d be impossible, but with this much gold, I can manage.’
Dojin sold the now-highly-valuable “Curse of Smoldering” skill book, as well as every accumulated material item and piece of equipment he could sell.
The total amount he gathered: 17,800 gold. Converted to real money, that was over 17 million won.
For a moment, Dojin stared at the number displayed in his inventory with the eyes of a salaryman checking his bank account on payday. His gaze was wistful… because he knew this money would soon vanish beautifully.
Just like the fleeting salaries of everyday workers that linger only momentarily in their accounts.
‘This is all an investment for faster leveling.’
Money could always be earned again later. Having resolved to stand at the peak in this life, he had no hesitation.
“This is just a temporary goodbye… it’s not like we’ll never meet again.”
By the end of five hours, Dojin’s remaining balance in his inventory was down to 1,200 gold.
* * *
A magic workshop rented from the Adventurer’s Guild branch for a fee.
On the table, expensive material items were neatly laid out.
Leather and blood from a deformed frill-necked lizard. Magically liquefied pure gold, and likewise liquefied pure silver.
Magic-grade charcoal, and mana stones.
All of them expensive items, and not just in small amounts, he had gathered quite a lot.
The reason Dojin had emptied his wallet to buy all this was simple. He was going to craft a magic scroll containing “Fusion.”
‘When a 3-star mage attempts to craft a 5-star magic scroll, the success rate is around 1%… but if I try about 150 times, at least one should succeed.’
A probability barely reaching 1% even if you’re generous. Even if successful, the resulting scroll’s power and effects wouldn’t fully match those of a real 5-star spell.
That’s why no user ever attempts it. It’s seen as a pure waste of money, just a pointless stunt. But to Dojin, it was a gamble well worth taking. What he needed now was a way to melt the wall, not a perfect 5-star spell.
“Let’s begin.”
As always, his heart pounded when facing a gamble with probability involved. A thrilling mix of anxiety and anticipation coiled around Dojin’s body. But no matter how much his chest raced, he couldn’t let his head be swept up with it.
To raise the chance of success, he had to give his all as a magician. To that end, Dojin recalled each and every crafting process that had become second nature to him, as if burned into his muscle memory.
Then, he activated the Book of Truth. There was no guarantee that opening the Book of Truth would increase his chances of success.
But Dojin had faith. Faith that a magical supercomputer hidden in the deepest vault of Elthomagia’s Ten-Thousand-Mile Library would help with anything related to magic.
His golden-hued hand lifted the leather of a monster that was like a cousin of a relative of a dragonkin’s relative and placed it on the crafting table as the base of the scroll.
‘Next is the magic charcoal…’
Time to draw the foundation of the magic circle. A task that didn’t allow for even a single mistake. He had to complete the base sketch without lifting the charcoal even once.
With incredible concentration, Dojin drew the initial outline of the magic circle in one go.
Then swiftly moved on to the next steps. He crushed the mana stones into powder, then mixed the powdered stones with magically treated liquefied gold and silver before they could degrade.
He stirred them at the right pace to produce magical pigment. Using that pigment, Dojin painted the actual magic circle over the charcoal outline.
“Phew…”
Now came the final step. Injecting mana into the scroll, the most important and failure-prone process.
Dojin placed mana stones of varying sizes on a scale. This scale measured not weight, but mana. He adjusted the combination until the amount of mana was just right, adding and removing large and small stones.
Then he placed the chosen mana stone in the center of the magic circle and began the actual crafting. Everything up to this point had merely been preparation to improve the odds of this very moment’s success.
Taking a deep breath, Dojin recalled the magical code for “Fusion” and opened the circuit. Since it wasn’t a spell recorded in the circuit, he had to complete it purely from memory, an incredibly difficult task.
The mana stone responded. So did the magic circle, as the gold and silver in the pigment began to shimmer and bounce. Carefully, ever so carefully, he guided the mana. But then—
Crackle!
Contrary to his intentions, the controlled mana twitched violently, like a sudden burst of anger. It lasted only a moment, but it was enough to rupture a mana channel inside him.
“Aah!”
Feeling it, Dojin immediately shut down the circuit and stepped back.
In that instant, the workshop’s safety system activated. The unstable mana was forcefully diffused through magical dispersal. But the half-baked spell had already burned the materials into a tar-like mess.
“Damn it…”
Dojin knew it in his head. There was no way he’d succeed on the first try with just a 1% chance. But hope isn’t governed by logic, it belongs to the realm of emotion.
Watching more than 100,000 won in materials turn into a black, sticky lump made his insides churn.
『Your crafting ability is severely lacking!』
『A failure that was inevitable and expected!』
『Do not overestimate your abilities!』
『Scroll crafting failed, all materials have been lost!』
What a joke.
Staring at what used to be 100,000 won, now just melted tar, made Dojin feel physically sick.
Irritated, he swiped the system messages away and steadied his breath as he began a new crafting attempt.
‘Losing my composure only hurts me. I need to stay calm to maximize my chances.’
Time, money, stamina, mental strength… This was a gamble where he was pouring in everything he had.
Repeated failures began exponentially inflating the damage to his wallet.
* * *
『The consequence of reckless ambition!』
Bang!
Before the messages even finished displaying, Dojin slammed the table.
“This makes no sense! If it’s 1% and I’ve tried 130 times, shouldn’t at least one have worked?”
Each trial was independent. It wasn’t cumulative, so whether you tried 100 times or 1,000 times, failure was always possible. But such textbook logic meant nothing to someone who had just watched over 1 million won turn into burnt leftovers. And this wasn’t even the kind of gamble where you press a button and get a result.
No, it was an exhausting process of drawing, inscribing, mixing. each attempt a grueling labor of focus and sweat.
“I’ve only got about 20 tries left now…”
When he had 150 tries, he believed at least one would succeed. But now, with only 20 left, a creeping sense of dread emerged.
Dojin looked at the faint golden shimmer rising from the Book of Truth with a troubled gaze.
Was this all for nothing? Had all the mana potions he drank to replenish his spent mana gone to waste?
Everything felt like a loss. But it was too late to back out now.
He had to empty his mind and press on.
“It’s not like I haven’t blown money on dumber stuff. If I lose it all, I’ll just work harder and earn it back.”
That’s what he said, but he still gritted his teeth hard.
Once again, he started the crafting process. More desperately, more focused than ever.
Try 1, try 2, try 3… then try 6.
More failures piled up and he said nothing.
He simply drew. Broke. Mixed. Drew again.
Until once again, all steps under Dojin’s hand were completed. As the extreme focus faded, a wave of dizziness struck. And then something different happened.
『You have repeatedly challenged a magical domain beyond your understanding.』
『A true mage sometimes finds their path in recklessness.』
『Exceptional focus and terrifying obsession!』
『Your understanding of ‘magic’ deepens ever so slightly!』
『You find it slightly easier to interpret recorded spells.』
The mana swirling and refracting suddenly glowed brighter, and the Book of Truth formed a new inscription. It was a message indicating an increase in overall spell interpretation ability due to enhanced magical comprehension.
The moment he saw it, Dojin felt it instinctively.
A shiver ran down his spine.
『An unbelievable success!』
『Through relentless obsession, you’ve succeeded in inscribing a spell of far greater rank onto a scroll!』
『Intelligence +3.』
『Stamina +1.』
Just as he expected, a success message appeared.
“Waaaaaah!”
Dojin let out a scream. Not of joy, but of relief, knowing all the money, materials, and effort he had spent hadn’t been wasted.
Prepared for 150 attempts. Success on attempt 147.
With just 3 sets of materials left, Dojin held in his hands a scroll containing “Fusion.”
“There’s definitely some damage.”
Due to the caster’s inability to perfectly control the spell, many flaws were visible in the magic circle. Roughly half the mana injected had been lost.
But so what? A success was a success. As long as it could melt the damn wall, that was enough.
And there was an added bonus.
With the increased magical comprehension, he’d be able to improve all recorded spells more effectively. Having gained both what he aimed for and an unexpected reward, Dojin checked the time.
Only about 7 hours remained before the meeting time. Considering that it hadn’t even taken a day to gather materials, it meant he had been holed up in this workshop for over 30 hours straight.
“I won’t even get five hours of rest if I go out now. Might as well just sleep here in sleep mode.”
It sounded like something a shut-in would say, but it couldn’t be helped.
Once he melted the wall and entered the dungeon’s depths, it was going to be a tough fight.
He had to rest while he could. The moment he decided to rest, exhaustion hit him like a wave, perhaps because he had been so hyper-focused.
System-induced drowsiness descended on his in-game avatar, and player Dojin’s own physical fatigue layered on top of that, a sleep he could no longer resist.
‘It’ll cost more in workshop rental fees… but I can’t move.’
Rustle. As he collapsed and slumped against the wall, Dojin, even in sleep, tightly clutched the magic scroll he had created.