TMSDL 31

Chapter 31

Before the start of Hellfire Difficulty Level 5.

Weed entered the Legendary Library to use the points he had saved up.

“You never know what stage will come up. Passing it isn’t enough—perfection is the goal.”

The instinct of a Korean gamer.

In Level 5, if you didn’t defeat all the monsters and enemies and achieve 100%, it was considered a failure.

“First, I need to see what skills are available.”

Weed began browsing for shopping.

Endless shelves filled with countless skills.

Forbidden magic was incredibly powerful—but came with significant restrictions.

Something like Mirror of the Abyss, where pain is the price, was manageable.

But many forbidden spells required specific sacrifices—life, vitality, stats, or contracts with demons.

“I could learn swordsmanship or magic, but… they’re a bit lacking.”

Ordinary, non-forbidden skills had their power determined by level, stats, and skill proficiency.

When first learned, skills lacked power due to low proficiency.

“Too bad I can’t just cram and power-level a skill.”

(Did Master also cram before exams?)
The AI Versa was curious about Weed’s past, especially the time before she came into existence.

Weed replied confidently.

“I never studied in school.”

(Ah…)

“I wasn’t exactly a bad student, though.”

(So you were naturally smart?)

“There were three kids in my class worse than me.”

(…)

“But I did cram when it came to quick jobs.”

Back in middle and high school, Weed had more memories of doing delivery and construction work than being in school.

Even in construction labor, there was “cramming” to shorten work time.

Nothing felt as satisfying as sweating while carrying bricks and being paid in cash.

Title: Viscount of the Rivad Kingdom

Experience the prestige and fame that commoners could never dream of!
Become a proud noble of a glorious family.
Look down on peasants and slaves.

Hero Points: 20

Even noble titles were sold in the Legendary Library.

It was said you could obtain good status by clearing the character creation stages of Hellfire, so it wasn’t necessarily worth buying.

(Why not look at some armor?)

“Later.”

Using legendary points for gear felt like a waste.

Equipment could always be replaced with better options.

Even if Roanoke’s equipment requirements were low, anything purchased with legendary points was top-tier.

Most of it was locked behind high-level requirements.

(I thought you’d spend lavishly here.)

“I’ve got to be frugal.”

Weed had planned to splurge before Level 5 began, but once inside the library, he shifted to spending efficiently.

“Growing up poor made me cautious. I can’t spend freely, even in games.”

His frugal habits stemmed from his poor past. Overspending brought guilt.

He hadn’t thrown money around in real life, so he couldn’t justify wasting legendary points.

“Maybe I should just buy some equipment after all.”

He wasn’t totally satisfied with the weapons, though there were some decent bows. Armor didn’t help much with hunting speed.

Just as he leaned toward buying stats instead—

(You can obtain Forbidden Traits from the Legendary Library.)

“Forbidden traits?”

(Yes. Traits nearly impossible to get otherwise. Some exist only here.)

He moved to the shelf holding the Forbidden Traits.

What caught his eye was the trait of a “Child Prodigy Mage.”

“Permanently reduce level and stats by 30%… but Wisdom doubles, and magic power increases fivefold?”

With five times the magic power, using Mirror of the Abyss could turn all life in the area into undead.

Even a basic fireball would be insanely strong.

An almost priceless trait for a mage.

(Please read the full description carefully.)

Weed looked at the small print under the trait book.

“Frequent use of magic may result in acquiring the Frail trait?”

The Frail trait included frequent illnesses, pain, and even fainting spells.

Weed didn’t want such flaws in battle.

There were hundreds of forbidden traits.

“Too many to check one by one. Got any recommendations?”

(How about the Body of Rodoain?)

“What’s that?”

(It grants a robust body. With this trait, physical abilities are enhanced by 30% at all times.)

(When fully activated, it boosts all physical traits by 100%—strength, agility, vitality, stamina, mana regeneration, everything.)

(Greatly helps with offense, durability, and endurance. It’s considered Tier 1 among human-acquirable traits.)

(And it’s a rare trait, only obtainable by a few born on Rodoa Island. You can’t even get it through quests.)

“What’s the price?”

(It costs 20 Legendary Points. And… each time the trait activates, there’s a chance you’ll start losing hair.)

Weed had greatly benefited from a powerful body while playing Roanoke.

Balanced growth was ideal, but in Hellfire difficulty, that was a luxury.

“Losing hair… any other side effects?”

Thinking about the frail trait reminded him there might be hidden costs.

Losing hair didn’t seem like a big deal.

(As levels and stats increase, the body becomes more muscular and resilient. Your size may increase as well—not giant-level, but significantly larger.)

“That’s fine.”

Getting more muscular wasn’t a negative. Plenty of people worked out to bulk up.

(But are you okay with the hair loss?)

Weed had never suffered hair thinning with age.

His body had been modified into peak condition, and no one in his family had genetic baldness.

He liked free stuff—but never went bald as the rumors say.

“I’ll probably be fine.”

(In human psychology, baldness is a very sensitive issue.)

Bald people often suffered not just internally, but also from others’ ridicule.

“It won’t all fall out at once.”

He figured his hair wouldn’t be gone before the world of Roanoke collapsed.

And if it did, oh well.

To boost character growth, some side effects were acceptable.

(Then I recommend acquiring the Body of Rodoain.)

“Alright.”

Weed obtained the trait, and his Legendary Points were cut in half.

With the remaining points, he turned his attention to necromancer magic.

“I’ll learn Dark Rule.”

Barkan Demophe’s magic.

It declared an undead zone centered on the caster, reviving corpses endlessly.

Effective in large-scale battles and useful for creating unpredictable variables.

The downside: it couldn’t be used when fighting small numbers of strong enemies.

“I’ll find a use for it eventually.”

By clearing Levels 3 and 4 of Hellfire, he had been rewarded with treasure-grade equipment.

He had chosen a sculpting knife.

(You always complained, but you still had some love for sculpting, huh?)

“No.”

Sculptures earned him Legendary Points.

A practical choice for profit.

Weed turned his attention to another field.

“Sculpture and painting both fall under the arts, right?”

If sculptors were beggars in Roanoke, painters were just as broke.

(Yes. Painters are poor too. They can’t compare with hunters or merchants.)

“Then it’s great for earning Legendary Points.”

If sculpture alone had its limits, he would also paint.

Historically, many great artists excelled in both.

“There was a reason I didn’t succeed in painting in Royal Road.”

The only art supplies he’d used in school were 8-color crayons.

For more complex colors, he borrowed leftover paint from friends.

With little practice in art classes, his sense of color was underdeveloped.

“There are art styles that protrude from the paper, like sculptures—like raising sand and stone to paint an old castle.”

Three-dimensional paintings.

Not just paint, but real materials like wood and more.

(That’s called bas-relief. A blend of sculpture and painting.)

“I want to try that.”

(But what about your lack of color sense?)

“You can help with that, right?”

Painters mixed paints to create new colors.

With AI support, anything was possible.

Usually, Weed just gave orders, but this was the rare time he asked for input.

(I’ll conduct a thorough study of art history.)
(From famous artists to unknown painters.)
(I’ll research world architecture, industrial design, and create virtual color palettes by combining various compounds.)
(I’ll prepare colors inspired by classical masters and current trends.)