Chapter 15 - First Enlightenment

He sat down, his hand on his chin, deep in thought. "My skills need to be more efficient. one time damage is good, but I need something that can hit hard repeatedly over time like range attack," he muttered to himself. "Let's start with the basics of magic and mana again."

Sasaki closed his eyes and began to concentrate on the flow of mana through his body, especially how it interacted with his blood.

He imagined the corrupted mana circulating, imagining it not just as a static force but as a dynamic, pulsing energy. "If I can manipulate this corrupted mana to release from hand like a bullet, I can create a range attack," he thought.

He extended his hand, channeling his mana, feeling it pulse with the beat of his heart. "I need to synchronize the mana pulses with my heartbeats," he realized. "Each pulse will release an EAOE burst of corrupted mana."

Sasaki began to experiment, releasing small bursts of mana in sync with his heartbeat. He focused on maintaining a steady rhythm, ensuring each pulse was consistent.

After a few tries, he managed to create a small sphere on his index finger, his palm in shape of like gun and the condensed sphere of corrupted man on his index finger tip. The ground around him darkened with each pulse, mimicking the effect he desired.

A smile spread across his face as he observed the results. "This is it. An EAOE range attack," he said, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "With this, I can deal continuous bursts of damage, while maintaining my distance from them"

[Congratulations host, achieving the understanding of mana heart]

[New Passive skill acquired: 'Mana Heart']

[Description: Mana Heart is a passive skill that synchronizes the mana flow with the heartbeat, enhancing their magical abilities]

['Mana Heart' Passive Skill: ] 

[Steady Mana Flow: The mana flow becomes as rhythmic and consistent as heartbeat, reducing the chance of spell failures and increasing the efficiency of mana usage.]

[Improved Focus: The Plague Doctor gains better concentration and control over their magical abilities, enabling them to perform more complex and precise spells under pressure.]

[Enhanced Spell Power: Additional 5% DMG Stat to every active skill.]

Amidst all the notifications from the System, Sasaki's focus remained on the tip of his index finger, where mana was condensing into a small sphere.

He concentrated intensely, trying to shape it into a bullet and fire it. With his mind consumed by this task, Sasaki felt immense pressure building at his fingertip. He imagined the principle of a gun, understanding how it shoots a bullet with force.

"Yes, a force created by the trigger and gunpowder that burns, creating enough pressure to thrust the bullet outward," he thought.

Applying this principle to his mana, Sasaki realized he needed a trigger. He decided to use a second mana pulse traveling through his blood veins, creating a high-velocity pulse to trigger the mana sphere at his fingertip.

Imagining his hand veins as the barrel of a gun, Sasaki focused on generating enough velocity to shoot the mana sphere.

With a concentrated effort, Sasaki created a high-density corrupted mana sphere in a bullet shape. He sent a powerful mana pulse through his hand veins, acting like a trigger.

The mana sphere shot out from his fingertip like a bullet, a green, dense, plague-corrupted mana sphere. It traveled with high velocity and struck a nearby tree.

As the mana bullet hit the tree, it dispersed. At the point of impact, the tree bark corrupted and melted, like poison spreading through a small area. Sasaki watched the effect, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

[Congratulation host]

[Acquired new Skill: Epidemic Bullet (Level 1)]

[Description: Epidemic Bullet a long-range attack that harnesses the corrupted mana at finger tip. By concentrating the dense mana sphere and propelling it with a powerful pulse, can shoot a high-velocity, plague-infused bullet from the fingertip. This skill not only damages the initial target but also spreads corruption to nearby enemies, causing their health to deteriorate over time.]

[At Level 1:] 

[5% DMG HP per minutes]

[Contiguous Radius 5 meter] 

[Cooldown: 2 seconds]

['Magic Decode' Cool down countdown : '168:00:00' ] 

"Yes, ohho!" Sasaki exclaimed with a sense of accomplishment, jumping and striking his legs together while raising his hands above his head.

"Finally, a ranged attack," Sasaki continued, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "Now I can hide and defeat the hobgoblins, like a sniper."

Sasaki took a deep breath, attempting to calm the surge of excitement coursing through him. "Fuu... calm down, Sasaki. This is great, but do not forget this world," he reminded himself, his brow furrowing in concentration.

"There could be many geniuses out there, maybe even others with a similar system like mine," Sasaki mused, his expression thoughtful as he considered the implications. "I cannot rule out this possibility, especially when I do not fully understand how this world works."

His mind raced with the realization that the new world was not as simple as it seemed. "I need to gain absolute power and acquire every single piece of knowledge about this world," he resolved, determination flashing in his eyes.

"To survive in this world and rise above all," he concluded, his voice tinged with determination as he reaffirmed his purpose.

Sasaki took a breather, his brain buzzing with all these new thoughts. Yeah, he was stoked about what he'd achieved, but it didn't take long for reality to kick in. In a place like this, where you never knew what was around the corner, he couldn't let his guard down. There was a nagging sense that he wasn't alone in possessing extraordinary abilities.

Sasaki knew he was just getting started on this difficult journey, and getting the hang of how things worked in this world was gonna be key to staying alive. With a fierce determination, he promised himself he'd dig deep, figure out all the tricks and secrets this place held. He was dead set on gaining the strength and smarts to conquer whatever came his way.