Chapter 11: The Novice’s First Cast

The moment his hand closed around the Withered Wood Staff, it was as if it had been instantly equipped.

Yet, with the GM class boasting such an elevated stat panel, the minuscule attribute boost offered by the staff was so negligible that Leaf Su felt no discernible change within himself.

It was high time to apply a ‘patch’ to the monster currently wreaking havoc across the city.

As Leaf Su touched and equipped the Withered Wood Staff, a jolt coursed through him, and a flood of information surged into his mind.

[Class Trait: Novice – Low probability of acquiring equipment-type skills]

[Magic Missile Lv.1 Acquired – Added to Novice Class Skill List]

A skill, suddenly acquired, and for the Novice class at that? Though confusion swirled within him, he decided to switch to his Novice class for the moment. After all, his mission was simply to land an attack and deliver the patch, and this newly manifested skill was undeniably a ranged one, perfectly suited to the situation at hand.

Upon switching back to Novice, the boundless sensation of power instantly vanished. He felt utterly pathetic, a profound weakness washing over him—the inevitable consequence of adapting to immense strength only to revert to a state of utter powerlessness (TL Note: ‘咸鱼状态’ or ‘salted fish state’ is a Chinese slang term referring to a state of being listless, unmotivated, or utterly weak, akin to a dried fish).

Leaf Su swiftly moved to the window, the Withered Wood Staff clutched in his hand. Thanks to its recent modifications, the staff felt incredibly light, and its equipped status had visibly altered his attribute list.

‘My Spirit stat has risen; that should surely impact my skill output,’ he mused.

Leaf Su

Novice Lv.2

Hidden Class (Switchable): GM Lv.1

Title: None

HP: 20/20

MP: 10/10

Attack: -1

Spirit: 17

Defense: 0

While he had no one to compare himself against, he surmised that among other Level 2 novices, his Spirit stat must be remarkably high, bolstered as it was purely by his equipped gear.

Though he had no precise knowledge of how to cast skills, the general principles of spellcasting were not entirely foreign to him. Holding the Withered Wood Staff by its base, Leaf Su aimed its tip towards the distant humanoid monster, silently chanting the activation for [Magic Missile] in his mind.

A milky-white luminescence flickered from the staff, and Leaf Su felt as if something vital was being siphoned from his very being. His vision blurred instantaneously, his body became immobile, and he was overwhelmed by a complete, debilitating weakness, utterly devoid of the ability to move.

‘Under most game systems, this would signify a complete depletion of MP,’ he realized.

‘Skills consuming mana is a basic tenet every gamer knows, but… a starting skill that drains all your mana and knocks you unconscious after a single use? That’s just unfair!’ he thought, exasperated.

Clinging to his last vestiges of consciousness, he swiftly propelled the small patch—a luminous orb he held—into the milky-white sphere of light coalescing at the staff’s tip. The two orbs merged seamlessly, without any strange phenomena, blending as perfectly as water into milk, utterly harmonious.

“Go! Fix that bug for me!” he roared, perhaps hoping that sheer volume would somehow amplify his output. With that, Leaf Su unleashed the skill, watched the luminous orb streak into the distance, and promptly succumbed to unconsciousness.

The Magic Missile, resembling a shooting star against the twilight sky, advanced steadily towards its target. Its speed was not remarkable, yet the humanoid monster engaged in battle with Fiona was utterly incapable of resistance, held fast by the relentless bonds of the Blood Prison. Though unharmed, it remained completely immobilized.

This incapacitation perfectly set the stage for the Magic Missile to strike her.

Stark, ensnared by the Blood Prison, watched as the white Magic Missile drew closer. While the mana imbued within it was utterly minuscule—an attack so feeble she would typically not even deign to defend against it—an inexplicable sense of dread emanated from the approaching projectile.

It seemed to carry a power capable of her demise, a terrifying realization that startled her to her core.