Chapter 14: First Request and a New Spell
After leaving the guild, Jin didn’t head straight for the weapon shop. First, he stopped by the plaza in front of the guild to fill his stomach.
What he bought was a sandwich made from a hard, baguette-like bread split open and packed full of vegetables, slices of spicy grilled meat, and plenty of cheese that had been seared and melted. Each one was easily twice the size of a typical hot dog roll and more than enough to fill him up. But Jin didn’t stop there—he added three skewers of sweet-and-spicy grilled meat, a donut for dessert, and a glass of sweet-and-tart fruit juice, 100% pure. It was as though he was making up for the breakfast he had forced himself to skip, eating with unrestrained gusto.
"Ahh, that hit the spot."
Finishing his meal, Jin moved on, careful not to linger in anyone’s way. His hand rubbed his full stomach, and his expression was one of deep satisfaction. Apparently, things like spices and sugar weren’t all that rare here, since every dish he’d tried so far had been properly seasoned and delicious. He’d noticed it at the inn too—the food in this world seemed to be at least on par with that of his old one.
That was a relief. Jin had always loved eating—sweet, spicy, you name it—but his diabetes had kept him on a strict diet for years. Of course, he hadn’t followed it perfectly, but still, not being able to eat what you wanted was stressful. Now, though, he had a young, healthy body again. To be able to enjoy food freely was something truly precious to him.
That said, today had been a bit of an overindulgence. Jin had no intention of making gluttony a habit. Even with his Health skill keeping him immune to illness, he still intended to live a balanced lifestyle. Relying on a skill as an excuse to give in to every whim would be disgraceful… not to mention hard on his wallet.
Reflecting just a little on his overeating, Jin walked on. He was headed for the weapon shop that Aria had recommended. While it mainly carried weapons, it also stocked armor and other essentials for adventuring, all of high quality. The shopkeeper, a former adventurer, had purposely set up his store to cater to beginners, which meant the prices were reasonable.
Aria had shared a lot of other tidbits of advice with him as well, but Jin decided, for her dignity’s sake, not to dwell on those.
"Mm, this must be the place. Excuse me—anyone here?"
Pushing open the door, Jin stepped inside. The shop was neatly arranged: weapons dominated the displays, but there were also clearly organized sections for armor and tools.
"Ouh, welcome."
From the back workshop emerged a stout figure—one of the classic fantasy races, a dwarf. He had a thick beard down to his chest, muscular arms, and a broad, sturdy build. Though not tall, he looked strong and dependable. It was the first dwarf Jin had met since coming to this world, and he couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
"Hello. My name’s Jin. I just registered as an adventurer today. Aria-san recommended your shop, so I came to get the gear I’ll need. I’d be grateful if you could give me some advice."
Jin spoke with his usual bright smile.
"O-Oh, Aria sent you, huh? All right. So, what kind of weapon are you after?"
"A sword. Ideally, something like this wooden one—something I can use with one hand or two."
Jin drew the wooden practice sword from his hip and showed it to the dwarf.
"Hm… Where’d you get this?"
"A friend gave it to me. It’s a treasure."
The shopkeeper had been staring intently at the wooden blade for a while. At Jin’s simple, sincere reply, his stern expression softened.
"Heh. Didn’t mean to pry. That’s a fine sword, though. Take good care of it."
"I will."
The dwarf chuckled, and Jin beamed in response.
"Oops, sorry. Name’s Gantz. Good to meet you."
Extending his right hand, Gantz offered a smile. Jin shook it firmly.
"That type of sword’s on the heavy side—not really ideal for beginners. I’ve only got two in stock that fit the bill. Go ahead, try them out."
He brought over two swords. Typically, low-level adventurers lacked the strength to handle heavy weapons, so most opted for short swords or other lighter blades. But this shop had cleared space in the center for customers to test weapons, and Jin gave the two swords a few trial swings.
Of course, he had no problem. Unknown even to himself, Jin’s beginner stats were way above average—he could’ve swung the heaviest greatsword in the shop without breaking a sweat.
"No trouble, I see. The difference between the two is simple—iron or steel, and of course the price. The iron one’s a small gold coin, the steel’s two."
Jin planned to spend up to seven small gold coins on his entire adventurer kit. If the budget allowed, naturally, the steel would be better. Then he remembered his Appraisal skill and decided to test it.
Activating Appraisal, he felt something drain from him, and a window crammed with information popped up:
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Type: Steel Bastard Sword — A straight sword with a long grip usable one- or two-handed
Maker: ○××
Total length: 130 cm
Blade: 95 cm
Grip: 35 cm
Weight: 4.23 kg
Age: ○○○ days
Condition: A
Slashing: C
Blunt force: D+
Piercing: D–
Durability: B–
○×× C
○△○ D–
Overall Rating: C+
Materials: Iron ○○% / ○×○○% / ○○○% …
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Too much. Whole sections were redacted, but even so, the flood of detail was overwhelming. Hastily, Jin adjusted his mental image.
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Type: Steel Bastard Sword
Condition: A
Attack: C
Durability: B–
Overall Rating: C+
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That was plenty for now. Again came that draining sensation—as if something was being pulled from his body. It was probably MP. He remembered Appraisal was supposed to cost 3 MP, but when he checked his Status, it read: MP 0/20.
"…Something wrong?"
Gantz looked at Jin, who had gone still, staring at the sword.
"No, I was just thinking."
Jin smiled faintly, glossing over the truth.
"Well, budget’s always a concern. Want to check out some other gear before deciding?"
"Yes, please."
Jin accepted the suggestion, both to change gears and because he suspected the MP drain had been caused by displaying too many details at once. Whatever the reason, equipment came first.
With his budget of seven small gold coins in mind, Gantz recommended a set of armor made from the hide of a beast called a Mad Boar. Though technically leather armor, it boasted defense on par with chainmail—excellent for a beginner, though slightly pricey. Outfitting his torso, gauntlets, knee guards, and greaves in the same Mad Boar leather brought the cost a bit over four coins.
But when Gantz insisted, "Good armor is what keeps you alive," Jin readily agreed. For boots, he picked a sturdy pair of plain leather reinforced with iron plates. On top of that, Gantz helped him select gathering tools, a waterskin, and other adventuring essentials.
In the end, after tallying everything up, the cost came out to a little over five small gold coins. Even so, Jin boldly decided to upgrade his weapon to a steel sword. Altogether, it went beyond the seven small gold coins he’d originally budgeted, but since the deposit he’d left with Burke would eventually be returned, he figured it was fine.
"This should about cover it. Normally, I’d tell you to pick up a backup weapon too, but you’ve already got a fine one of your own. You’re planning to keep using it, right?"
Glancing at Jin’s wooden sword, Gantz gave him a wry grin.
Now equipped in leather armor, Jin had the steel sword at his left hip and the wooden sword hanging at his right. Since the wooden blade had no sheath, he kept it secured with a leather clasp, but with a flick of the wrist, he could still draw it quickly. If the situation demanded it, he’d be able to swap weapons in an instant. Technically, he could just use Change when no one was looking, but Jin decided it was best not to rely on that.
He jumped lightly in place, drawing and sheathing the sword several times to test the fit. Donning proper arms and armor—things he had long admired—Jin couldn’t help the broad smile spreading across his face.
"Looks like no issues. Alright then, the bill comes to seven small gold coins total. I’ll cut you a deal. And here—this one’s on the house."
Saying that, Gantz handed Jin a steel knife.
"It’s decent enough to use in a fight if you need to, but mostly it’ll serve you well for dismantling beasts you bring down. Since you were introduced by Aria, I’ll throw in a little extra service."
"Thank you. I’ll take good care of it."
Jin gratefully accepted the kindness without protest, making a mental note to thank Aria again as well. With his purchases completed to his satisfaction, he offered Gantz one last bow of gratitude before leaving the shop.
After walking a short distance, Jin found a shaded spot out of sight and stopped. There, with some light camouflage, he stowed his new gear and spare shoes away in his Item Pouch. Checking his status, he saw his MP had recovered to 11 out of 20.
Since he still had some left, Jin decided to try out an Appraisal on the knife he’d just received, figuring the bare minimum of information would be enough.
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Type: Steel Knife
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"Really is bare minimum, huh."
Jin chuckled. Checking his MP, he saw that it had only consumed 1 point. Back in the game, the cost had been fixed at 3, but here it seemed to fluctuate depending on the effect. Maybe it had always worked that way in this world.
If so, then perhaps the same applied to Non-Attribute Magic… Jin furrowed his brow. His Unique Skill was just Menu, but it was odd that standard skills like Appraisal and Non-Attribute Magic didn’t show up under Basic Info. Things like Health made sense not to appear, since they were just a matter of constitution. But could it be that those skills didn’t actually exist in this world at all?
"Well, no use overthinking it. For now, I’ll just test things out."
He set aside the unanswered questions and decided to experiment with Non-Attribute Magic somewhere secluded. He’d also check the guild’s archives later. Shaking off the doubts, Jin resolved first to complete his current request.
At the town gate, he found that Burke wasn’t on duty today. After showing his card to another guard and exchanging greetings, he stepped outside the walls. Once he was out of sight, Jin stopped and decided to test something he’d been wondering about since before taking this quest.
"Ohh… it worked."
Opening his Map, he temporarily disabled hostile markers and searched for "Chiriru Grass." As he’d hoped, countless dots lit up across the display. The screen was a bit cluttered, so he shrank the dots and narrowed the display range, making it much clearer. Then he searched for "Mel Grass" as well, displaying those in blue alongside Chiriru’s red. There was a dense patch a little farther off, but even nearby, the plants were scattered in small clusters.
"Man… this feels like cheating."
The sheer convenience left him almost guilty, as though he were breaking the rules.
"Better avoid the dense areas. I’ll just gather the scattered ones."
That way, he wouldn’t risk interfering with other adventurers’ work. And so, after carefully confirming each plant with a low-cost Appraisal, Jin collected just the required amounts of both grasses. Normally, it would have been difficult to locate scattered herbs like these, but thanks to prior study at the archives, he finished quickly without straying far from town.
Once he’d made sure no one was watching, Jin decided it was time to test Non-Attribute Magic.
"Let’s start with the normal version. O power of mana, gather and strike down my foe—Mana Bullet!"
A ball of magic shot forward with force, slamming into the ground he’d chosen as his target. With sharp eyes untroubled by age, Jin could clearly see the impact point. Approaching with satisfaction, he confirmed a fist-sized hole in the earth. The destructive power was just as it had been during the tutorial, and the MP cost was unchanged at 8.
"Alright… time for experiments."
A fist-sized projectile had cost 8 MP. But what if he imagined something smaller? A bullet rather than a cannonball. Splitting that fist-sized sphere into eighths, compressing just one part into a small caliber shot. Once he had a clear image in mind, he chanted again:
"O power of mana, gather and strike down my foe—Mana Bullet!"
This time, from his outstretched finger, a much smaller projectile shot forth. On inspection, it had indeed left a smaller hole in the ground. Checking his MP—only 1 consumed.
"Yes! It worked!"
Though the power was a bit weaker, the reduced cost meant he could fire far more shots with his limited MP. Grinning, Jin immediately thought of another experiment.
This time, he imagined a rifle round. Still using 8 MP, but compressed into a long, narrow shape unique to rifle ammunition. Bullets spin when fired, right? Pistols too, come to think of it. A spiral motion increases power, like a boxer’s corkscrew blow. With that image sharpened, Jin chanted again:
"O power of mana, gather and strike down my foe—Mana Rifle!"
Without even thinking, he replaced "Bullet" with "Rifle" as he spoke. Grammatically strange, sure, but what mattered was the clarity of the image. With a slight kick of recoil—something he hadn’t felt before—the spell unleashed cleanly.
Overjoyed, Jin hurried over to inspect the impact point. The ground had been gouged out violently, as though something had exploded upon impact.
"Could it be that the compressed mana burst after impact?"
Jin didn’t really understand the principle, but that explanation seemed to make sense. Stronger than the usual Mana Bullet, and with the MP cost still fixed at 8—far better than he had imagined. Jin couldn’t help but beam with satisfaction.
"Man, magic really is fun~"
In high spirits, Jin sat down on the spot to let his MP recover so he could practice more. Even while resting, his mind kept turning.
(So just like with Appraisal, I can adjust Non-Attribute Magic depending on MP spent and how I shape it. That’s good to know. But why did the power increase even when the MP cost stayed the same? …The difference must be Skill: Mana Control Boost. If compression and spin worked thanks to that, it all adds up. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that Mana Bullet and Mana Rifle cost the same MP but have different power.)
"…Wait. Mana Rifle? That spell never existed, did it?"
Finally realizing this, Jin opened up his skill menu and checked Non-Attribute Magic.
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〔Non-Attribute Magic〕 – Control magic without element. (LV: MAX)
・Mana Bullet – Fires compressed, elementless mana as a projectile. (Cost: MP 1 / Power: 2)
・Mana Rifle – Fires compressed mana at high speed while spinning. (Cost: MP 8 / Power: 20)
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"It changed… and even added a new one."
The descriptions matched exactly what Jin had imagined earlier. Mana Bullet had its MP cost slashed, but its power dropped to less than half. Mana Rifle, on the other hand, had quadruple the original spell’s power—about 2.5 times stronger than an elemental spell of the same rank. Isn’t that too strong?
That thought led him to wonder: what if he added the high-speed spin image to Mana Bullet as well? He tried it at once.
"O power of mana, gather and strike down my foe—Mana Rifle!"
The spell triggered without issue. Jin checked Non-Attribute Magic again.
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〔Non-Attribute Magic〕 – Control non-attribute magic. (LV: MAX)
・Mana Bullet – Fires compressed, elementless mana as a projectile. (Cost: MP 1 / Power: 3)
・Mana Rifle – Fires compressed mana at high speed while spinning. (Cost: MP 8 / Power: 20)
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Now the descriptions matched, and the power of Mana Bullet had even increased slightly.
Back in the tutorial, Chris had told him, "It’s all in your imagination." But even so, Jin hadn’t expected this much. The effect of imagination is way too strong… Maybe there’s another reason.
As he thought through his skills, something clicked. All the skills without ranks—like Mana Control Boost—had been marked with "R: MAX." Could it be that when the god reincarnated him, He had actually boosted those corrections to their absolute maximum, just like the wording implied? If so, then extraordinary feats like extreme compression and spinning became possible. And since Mana Bullet was vague to begin with—just "fire a mass of mana"—that looseness made it even easier to manipulate.
"…Which means things like Body Control Boost and Health are probably boosted too."
Jin recalled the other R: MAX skills. Thinking it over, he realized that compared to the tutorial, his body now moved much more smoothly. His coordination wasn’t "better, maybe"—it was definitely improved. Like the bonus money he’d received, these effects might not have been what the god intended—but Jin had no reason to complain. They were blessings. And so, he decided he needed to stay humble and not get carried away.
"Once again, thank you so much. I’ll strive forward without arrogance."
He bowed his head in heartfelt gratitude.
After practicing his magic once more, Jin returned to the town.
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