The banquet had ended.
Ention stayed at the mansion for another week after the banquet before departing for Utrecht Castle with Gent.
I monitored Ention's every move. However, he merely attended to occasional business matters within the mansion and quietly rested.
What surprised me most was that he didn't have sex with Ellaine even once during his stay.
Could he have a mistress hidden in Utrecht Castle?
It wasn't an impossible scenario. Otherwise, his abstinence from Ellaine made no sense.
Ention didn't punish Baron Jukai.
Ention generously forgave Baron Jukai's impudence. To be fair, the baron's offense wasn't particularly severe.
"I made my presence known at this banquet."
Among my vassals, those interested in money approached me directly, drawn by the scent of wealth. I treated them with sincerity.
Even if some prove unnecessary later, it's crucial to maintain friendly relations with them for now.
"And the House Helbrit suspects Yuria."
During the banquet, twelve individuals sought out Yuria. Eight were commoners merchants or Mages interested in her culinary skills.
They tried to recruit her, but she refused them all. Three even proposed marriage.
The remaining four were nobles.
Three of them, upon seeing Yuria's beauty, were said to have casually suggested she become their concubine. Naturally, she rejected them.
The remaining visitor was a noble sent by Halius. He asked Yuria various questions about her background before leaving. Yuria handled the situation well. Even if Halius sensed something was off, he wouldn't be able to confirm his suspicions.
I can stop worrying about House Helbrit for now.
My current focus needs to be on money.
I've already accumulated about 20 billion Ner. The cosmetics are selling even better than I expected.
The Mana Awakening Potion costs 40 billion Ner. I've already saved half the amount. A sense of greed is starting to stir within me.
I should sell perfume to the merchants.
If I liquidate all the perfume I currently have, I could make around 5 billion Ner. If I acquire more perfume, I could earn even more.
Ah, the Mana Awakening Potion! I can't wait!
[Sung Yujin]
[Level: 35]
[Strength: 23, Stamina: 23, Agility: 22, Intelligence: 20, Vitality: 30]
[Available Points: 56]
I glanced at my stats and dismissed them. That wasn't what mattered right now.
I retrieved an item from my inventory:
A transparent glass bottle containing a faintly blue liquid the Mana Awakening Potion.
"I finally got my hands on it!"
In the world of Plum Blossom Sword Saint, I had accumulated wealth far faster than I had anticipated, thanks largely to Yuria's assistance.
Without her guidance, it would have been impossible to amass 20 billion Ner in just three months.
Yuria had assassinated over ten merchants and nobles in the process... but whether they lived or died was none of my concern.
The important thing was that I had obtained the Mana Awakening Potion and brought it back to reality.
I openly purchased the Mana Awakening Potion from the Magic Tower. There was no need to hide it; I deliberately flaunted my wealth.
"Ugh~ Just look at that color!"
I carefully caressed the bottle of Mana Awakening Potion. In truth, such caution was unnecessary.
The bottle itself was enchanted to be unbreakable, even if dropped from a two-story height unless this wasn't reality.
"My only worry is if it's like the Illusioner, where the potion's effectiveness diminishes in the real world and fails to awaken my mana..."
If the potion fails to awaken my mana, I'll be absolutely furious. What I might do in my rage... even I don't know.
I paused, my hand hovering over the glass stopper.
Wouldn't it be better to analyze this substance using modern science and mass-produce it?
But I quickly shook my head.
According to the Magic Tower, the herbs used in the Mana Awakening Potion were extremely rare and had undergone a special magical refinement process.
Moreover, completing the potion required the combined efforts of one top-tier mage and two high-tier mages.
Even if I could analyze its composition, I'd never be able to recreate it.
While mages existed in the real world, they were fundamentally different from those in fantasy novels, making it impossible.
I abandoned my futile hopes and opened the glass bottle.
Pop!
The stopper flew off, releasing a refreshing aroma from within. I inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of the Mana Awakening Potion.
No matter how many times I smelled it, I couldn't get enough. I almost wanted to bathe in it.
"I'm drinking it! I'm not a mana cripple anymore!"
I tilted the bottle, covering its opening with my mouth. Not a single drop could be wasted. I began gulping down the Mana Awakening Potion.
"This is so refreshing and sweet! It tastes exactly like a carbonated drink!"
Glug, glug. The liquid went down smoothly.
"Oh?"
I could feel the Mana Awakening Potion settling in my stomach. My abdomen felt unusually cool.
Soon, the potion began spreading throughout my body down my arms and legs, up to my head, reaching every corner before vanishing completely.
"Wow... Wow...!"
A faint foreign sensation lingered throughout my body, but it wasn't unpleasant. I quickly grew accustomed to it, and the feeling of something foreign faded. It felt like this was something that should have always been part of me.
I knew what this was.
"This is Mana...!"
There was no mistaking it. This was what I had longed for so desperately.
The Mana Awakening Potion worked perfectly in reality. I had awakened my Mana.
[Condition met.]
[Unlocking Mana Attribute.]
A notification window popped up before my eyes a notification from the Pleasure World App. It was rare for these notifications to appear directly in my vision rather than on my smartphone.
"Seriously?"
I hurriedly checked my smartphone.
[Sung Yujin]
[Level: 35]
[Strength: 23 Stamina: 23 Agility: 22 Intelligence: 20 Vitality: 30 Mana: 1]
[Available Points: 56]
It was real.
The Mana Attribute had appeared. It seemed I could now increase my Mana as a stat.
"As expected. This is the Pleasure World App. It never disappoints."
I was glad I hadn't recklessly increased my other stats.
I was about to use my remaining points to increase my Mana Attribute when I stopped.
Wait a minute. My current Mana Attribute is 1. How significant is that?
I didn't yet fully understand how to manipulate Mana, but I possessed the Yeongcheon Sytle trait. As my Yeongcheon Sytle level reached 7, I had naturally learned the Yeongcheon Qi Technique.
Following the technique's principles, I channeled Mana to strengthen my body. I clenched my right fist. Though outwardly unchanged, it was now reinforced with Mana.
I'll test this fist by striking into the air...
I paused.
The faint Mana I had felt within me vanished. A Mana Attribute of 1 was utterly insignificant.
Use all remaining points on the Mana Attribute!
[Sung Yujin]
[Level: 35]
[Strength: 23, Stamina: 23, Agility: 22, Intelligence: 20, Vitality: 30, Mana: 25]
[Available Points: 2]
The moment my Mana Attribute reached 25, everything changed.
The small, faint mana within my body now felt surprisingly substantial.
I used the Yeongcheon Qi Technique, just as before, to manipulate my mana and reinforce my fist. I threw a punch into the air.
Paang!
A shockwave erupted, and the force of the recoil sent me flying backward. I hadn't anticipated this at all.
W-what was that? What kind of power is this?
The force far exceeded my expectations. I never imagined that striking the air could generate such a powerful recoil, enough to send me tumbling backward.
No wonder mana-awakened hunters are considered the real deal.
...But that one strike drained over half of my mana.
It wasn't permanently gone. Think of it like a game. When you use a skill in a game, your mana depletes, but it replenishes over time because the total mana pool remains unchanged.
The same principle applies in reality. Mana regenerates over time, and using the Yeongcheon Qi Technique accelerates this recovery.
Huh? Is it because of my Mana Attribute? I'm moving more effortlessly than when my mana was at 1.
Perhaps the Mana Attribute doesn't simply represent the quantity of mana. It might also encompass factors like mana control or natural mana regeneration rate.
This hypothesis seems plausible. After all, vital energy also influences semen production and ejaculation control.
This is interesting.
I began manipulating the mana within my body, channeling it this way and that.
Suddenly, a ridiculous idea struck me. Even I thought it was insane, but I was already acting on it.
I pulled down my pants and whipped out my magnificent member.
Focusing Mana into it, I felt it stiffen and harden as it began to erect.
"Ha ha! A Mana-enhanced cock! This is the true Mana Weapon!"
I thrust my hips forward.
Thwack!
"Gah?!"
My upper body folded over, and my knees slammed to the ground. The moment my member struck the air, the recoil and shockwave surged straight back into it.
My vision went white. Overwhelmed by pain I'd never experienced before, I couldn't think straight. Drool dripped from my slack jaw.
A man stood before me, clad in a black robe and wearing a Black Hat over his pale face. He stared down at me silently.
"Fucking hell! Full Recovery!"
In a daze, I activated the skill.
The pain vanished.
The man who had been standing before me disappeared as well. It must have been a hallucination. There's no way a grim reaper would exist in reality.
As I checked my body, I was shocked to discover that the Mana I had used had been restored. It seemed Full Recovery also restored Mana.
"I need to learn how to control Mana."
I contacted Jin Seyoung.
Jin Seyoung already considered me an unparalleled genius of the century. Even if I suddenly told him I had awakened Mana, he wouldn't question it.
Being a genius has its perks.
People naturally want to try out new things, even if they don't really need them.
And that's exactly how I feel right now.
Having recently awakened my Mana and learned how to use it from Jin Seyoung, I was eager to test its power firsthand.
Hunting monsters in an E-Rank Dungeon?
Those weaklings are so trivial, I could take them down in an instant even without Mana.
Using Mana on E-Rank monsters would be an insult to its potential.
D-Rank monsters required entering a D-Rank Dungeon, which demanded extensive preparation. Going solo was too risky, and forming a public party would take too long. So, that was out.
But I have the Pleasure World App.
Current Ongoing Games:
1. Vampire Detective
2. Reincarnated Plum Blossom Sword Saint in the Baek Family
3. -
Vampire Detective. A remarkably convenient place. In this world, I bring modern goods from Earth and sell them in the Plum Blossom Sword Saint world.
"In the world of Vampire Detective, I have no equal."
Vampire Detective is a world without monsters, making it unsuitable for Mana-based combat.
Conversely, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint world is far too dangerous. Though monsters exist, I must also consider the worst-case scenario.
What if I were to fall to a monster? I would never be able to enter the Plum Blossom Sword Saint world again, losing all chance of reuniting with Yuria.
Moreover, I haven't yet achieved my goal of collecting as many Mana Awakening Potions as possible.
"There's no need to take unnecessary risks in the Plum Blossom Sword Saint world. Dying there would be a massive loss."
Fortunately, I had a third slot available to start a new Pleasure World. There was no need to test my Mana in the Plum Blossom Sword Saint world after all.
The world I would enter had already been decided. My sole purpose was to use mana, but I had at least gathered and memorized the minimum necessary information.
This is just a tutorial. I'll complete the tutorial and leave, grabbing a Mana Elixir as a bonus.
Going beyond the tutorial would be too difficult.
And then there was the elixir that increased my mana capacity. Wasn't that exactly what I needed right now?
I opened the Pleasure World App and selected the pre-determined creation.
[God's Atlantis has been selected.]
[A Worldview Penalty exists.]
[No Avatar settings are available.]
[An Avatar is being generated.]
[Game start.]
"Greetings, citizens of Earth AL-401. I am the Star Spirit of Earth AL-401. You may call me AL."