Max paid 12 silver coins to the Common rank equipment he bought to the store clerk.
His heart ached from the amount, but he convinced himself it would be for his own good.
In total, he bought four pieces of equipment.
The Wooden Training Staff cost four silver coins, the Basic Mage Cloak cost three silver coins, the Copper Mana Pendant cost two silver coins, and the Mana Catalyst Orb cost three silver coins.
As he wore the four pieces of equipment, the system notified him, showing him the status of the equipment he wore.
[You have equipped a Wooden Training Staff.
Wooden Training Staff (Common): A simple wooden staff used in magical academies.
Effect: +1% Spell Stability.]
[You have equipped a Basic Magic Cloak.
Basic Magic Cloak (Common): A simple magic cloak used in magical academies.
Effect: +2% Casting Speed.]
[You have equipped a Copper Mana Pendant.
Copper Mana Pendant (Common): A copper pendant imbued with mana to augment a mage.
Effect: +2 Mana Regeneration.]
[You have equipped a Mana Catalyst Orb.
Mana Catalyst Orb (Common): A must always grasp orb to activate the effect.
Effect: +2 Mana Regeneration.]
Max was deeply satisfied.
He then asked the system to show his current status.
[Name: Maximus Grant
Title: The First Awakener, The First Mage
Level: 10
Exp: 0/100
Rank: D-Rank
Class: Arcane Caster
HP: 120/120
Mana: 29/70
Mana Regeneration: 5.3/1min
Stamina: 40/40
Base Stats:
Strength: 13
Agility: 12
Durability: 11
Intelligence: 40
Skills: Mana Sensitivity (Intermediate), Mana Control (Intermediate), Arcane Bolt (Beginner), Mana Shield (Beginner), Mana Pulse (Beginner), Mana Thread (Beginner)
Free Stat Points: 0]
After he gained his class and became a D-Rank mage, the mana regeneration status was added.
In fact, every mage has 1/1min mana regeneration at the base level.
What was most important for Max was not the added mana regeneration effects from the equipment, but from the First Mage effects, which was having 5% mana regeneration, and the Mana Sensitivity effects, which was having 2% mana regeneration..
At the moment, it could only add .2 mana regeneration and the Mana Sensitivity effects added 0.1, but the higher the mana regeneration points, the higher the +5% and +2% percent would take effects.
If the addition effect of an equipment is static, then the percentage effect is dynamic.
It was why earning titles and focusing on their passive skills were more sought after by every player than earning equipment.
Equipment could be bought with money, but titles must be earned by achievements.
Now that Max was fully equipped, he wanted to spend his remaining time in the Controlled Mana Circle Room to increase his active skill's proficiency to basic level.
…
March 4, 2028. The social media has yet to cool down from the world announcement of Apocalypse Online.
Many were wondering the real identity of the first player to earn a global achievement title.
There were some speculations, with some of the players in the Greyfen Village, claiming that the first mage and first awakener came from them, who was also the personal student of an Archmage.
The Lewis Family also utilized their connections to publicly reveal that Julian Lewis could confirm about the speculations of the players in Greyfen Village.
Even then, that wasn't enough to confirm Max's real identity in the real world. Sketching his face based on his character inside the game wasn't enough as Max was not popular in reality.
Not even a bit.
Meanwhile, Max, who had just woken up when the alarm set at 7am rang, rubbed his eyes while trying to get accustomed to the sunlight gleaming through their broken windows.
He stretched for a while before delving back into the gaming capsule.
He was still at the Controlled Mana Circle Room. At the moment, he was the only player who was improving his active skills' proficiency.
After twelve hours of continuous hard work, gaining admiration from the other mage trainees because of his work ethics, Max had finally increased all his active skill's proficiency to basic level.
[Arcane Bolt (Basic) – a single-target type made out of pure compressed mana projectile.
Damage: 50 attack
Mana cost: 12 mana points.
Casting time: 2.5 seconds.]
[Mana Shield (Basic) — a defensive barrier made out of pure mana.
Durability: 40 defense
[Mana cost: 12 mana points (+2 mana points/sec)
Casting time: 2 seconds.]
[Mana Pulse (Basic) — an area shockwave type of skill made out of radial mana burst.
Area of effect: 2 meters radius.
Mana cost: 12 mana points.
Casting time: 2 seconds.]
[Mana Thread (Basic) — a utility or control type of skill made out of fine mana filament manipulation.
Mana cost: 12 mana points (+1 mana point/sec)
Casting time: 2 seconds.]
Reading the current status of each of his skills made Max satisfied. He chuckled when he recalled how ambiguous the system was before.
He thought. It'll be discouraging for players if the system would give the accurate information of their active skills, even the passive skills. If the descriptions it provided already hurt enough, what could it be if the system showed the accurate effects?
Max even thought if the system has emotions for it to be considerate to players.
Max read all the current effects and was satisfied.
The current effects wouldn't have been satisfying for him if it wasn't for the current foundation he established.
He increased his proficiency of his passive skills to intermediate, earned a global achievement title, and was able to buy Common rank equipment as soon as he gained his class.
If the past Max was to be told that such a thing had happened, he would certainly rather believe that the sun had risen to the west.
Now that Max had raised all his active skills to the basic level proficiency, he finally decided to leave the Arcane Cottage for the first time since he entered.