Earth Dungeon 45.1

Test

Chapter 45.1. Efficiency

The sun was setting, and evening darkness enveloped the world. Looking out the window, Sakimori yawns and prepares to relax with a glass of whiskey. He took a glass from the shelf and poured a special drink.

Deep brown liquid filled the glass, and he touched his fingers to the glass mouth. A perfectly spherical ice ball floated, creating a tinkling sound as it swirled around.

He lifted the glass, took a sip, and leaned back on the sofa.

"Pretty hardboiled, huh?"

The man grinned, and the sparkling fairy, Shizuku, laughed as she spun in the air, enjoying herself. The graceful dance of the beautiful girl, Shizuku, was enchanting.

[For me, you've always been the epitome of hardboiled, Sakimori-san.]

"I'm glad you said that. So, tell me the reason for obtaining [Magic Maximum Efficiency Conversion]."

Shizuku stopped dancing and playfully wagged her index finger with an intriguing expression.

[Sakimori-san, I said it allows me to convert mana to aura without losing any. Do you remember?]

"Ah, it's a pretty handy skill. After acquiring it, our power has increased significantly."

[Exactly. That's what I thought too. Sakimori-san, did you immediately raise your aura skill level?]

Shizuku smiled mischievously, bewildering Sakimori. He raised the skill level by circulating aura within his body, right? Huh? Could that have been weird?

[You've noticed, right? That's right. Normally, your skill level is progressively increased by absorbing aura from enemies to increase your skill level. It should be like how your other skills level up.]

"So, you're saying I absorbed my enemies' aura...?"

[You can absorb mana to raise physical and mana-based skills, and you can absorb aura to raise aura-based skills.]

Understanding the mechanics, Sakimori nodded. Then, wouldn't it be reasonable for his aura arts skill to increase? He should have absorbed the aura of his previous enemies. Even non-aura users possess aura as it's a life force.

[That's right. However, it's impossible to level it up instantly. The aura circulating in your body must gradually integrate and increase your skill level.

"I leveled up, right? Is there some trick? Ah, maybe I circulated it efficiently? Able to circulate it in my body without loss?"

The flow of the conversation finally clicked. It was an amazing revelation. This skill has incredible power!

The excitement of understanding everything overwhelmed him. If that's the case, it's no wonder Shizuku acquired [Magic Maximum Efficiency Conversion].

[It's a skill that exists nowhere else. It's called [Appraisal]. Because of that, verifying skills requires repeated tests and verification. You can probably figure it out from the skill name, but we need to confirm it. For the [Aura Maximum Efficiency Conversion] skill, it converts mana to aura without loss. We have also verified that.]

"Is that right? It was something like [Mana Maximum Attack Power Conversion]? Is that why you couldn't figure it out? With [Magic Maximum Efficiency Conversion], you couldn't tell?"

[Yes, that's correct. People with that skill never made it to the front. Having [Magic Maximum Efficiency Conversion] without aura skills would be meaningless, and they didn't have any combat-oriented skills.]

I see. On the other hand, it was [Aura Maximum Efficiency Conversion] skill that had been verified. There was no need for forced analysis.

[Until now, there were skills like [Experience Points Acquisition x1000] and [Mana Absorption x1000]. The experience points acquisition was meaningless, and [Mana Absorption x1000] transformed the body into a demon as it couldn't withstand the strain.]

Skills with deceitful growth potential, to skills with fatal flaws rendering them useless.

[This was because of that, it was believed that there were no skills for growth. But... the [Maximum Efficiency Conversion] allows you to use your mana and aura at their maximum efficiency to level up! Efficiently, without surpassing your limits. Safely! The mana and aura conversion rate you absorb should have been low. This skill enables efficient conversions! Fatal flaws are things you wouldn't notice unless you fought for a long time!]

With excitement, Shizuku twirled around. It was an incredibly powerful skill, and I got excited too. Utilizing the cards I have on hand, I can never exceed your limits. If I previously thought I needed hundreds of thousands of experiences, what if the conversion efficiency was 1%? What if it's 100% now?

[This is the ultimate cheat skill! That's why, by using only the dormant aura within you, your skill level rose to 3. Your leveling-up efficiency has improved further, considering you already reached skill level 3 in magic. Following a path you have already established should be easier, right?]

"So, that means my next level up will be faster? From several decades to a few years or maybe even a few months?"

Fantastic. I can strive for even greater strength.

[Considering how quickly you upgraded your aura skill in a short time, I have considered this possibility all along. And now that you know, I believe you will further deepen your understanding.]

"That makes sense..."

I took a deep breath, feeling the mana within me. As the name suggests, efficiency conversion enables my body's power to be converted effectively. The process should be efficient even when it comes to absorption. And the process of leveling up skills should also become more effective.