Chương 131: Profit Isn’t a Stat

Sieghart spent the next several days almost entirely inside his room, emerging only for food, bathing, market visits, and the occasional reminder that other people still existed. Mira complained once through the closed door, but Sieghart answered that he was technically developing a practical profession instead of hiding without purpose.

She replied that hiding productively was still hiding, then left before he could explain why uninterrupted experimentation was considerably more valuable than wandering through hallways. Sieghart ignored the criticism and returned to the dismantled lantern covering his desk, surrounded by screws, metal plates, conductive paste, and several copied circuit diagrams.

He had purchased the lantern cheaply from Seraphina's market after confirming that nothing inside it possessed historical, sentimental, or dangerously experimental value. That final requirement had become important after meeting Vessa and Orin, since apparently ordinary-looking equipment could contain prototypes capable of removing nearby walls. Sieghart separated the lantern's housing, polished the internal plate, then engraved a simple illumination rune connected directly to a narrow charging circuit.

The work required steady hands, careful depth, and enough patience to stop whenever the engraver's tip became warm or the conductive material flowed unevenly. Once reassembled, the lantern produced brighter light than before, consumed less stored mana, and included a sliding cover that controlled illumination without modifying the rune. Sieghart sold it the following morning for slightly more than the previous price of the original lantern, replacement materials, and the merchant's commission.

The profit was modest, but the result confirmed that Infinite Mana could support an extremely slow money-printing exploit without requiring combat, monsters, or suspiciously generous guild rewards. Unfortunately, the exploit possessed several irritating bottlenecks. Materials cost money, engraving required time, buyers had limited demand, and craftsmanship refused to improve merely because Sieghart never became tired magically.

He repeated the process with canteens, coat clasps, utility knives, miner lamps, warming plates, and several simple tools whose owners wanted convenience rather than battlefield power. Sieghart avoided complicated weapons because selling unusually advanced gear would attract attention, while one mistaken circuit could transform a profitable hobby into an investigation involving property damage. Every project followed the same sequence.

He purchased ordinary equipment, dismantled it, cleaned each component, prepared a blueprint, engraved one modest effect, tested everything, and sold the result. His money increased gradually, and his hands became steadier with every completed circuit. Even his diagrams improved as repeated mistakes taught him where measurements needed additional space. The System remained completely unimpressed throughout the entire process.

No Runic Engineering skill appeared, Mana Rune gained no level, and none of Sieghart's parameters increased after several days of careful physical craftsmanship. Apparently, learning a profession manually remained different from activating Rune Magic, even when both methods produced nearly identical symbols and manipulated the same energy. Sieghart found that distinction irritating but informative.

The System recognized supernatural techniques, while ordinary knowledge still demanded practice without offering convenient numbers for encouragement. That did not make the work useless. Money, tools, blueprints, and practical skill remained valuable even when a translucent screen refused to congratulate him. Still, the battle against the Orc King had proven that craftsmanship alone would not keep Sieghart alive when something powerful reached striking distance.

His enchanted equipment remained too simple for serious combat, while building the armored suit he imagined would require years of materials, testing, engineering, and explosions. Spells were available immediately, and several had improved during the siege. More importantly, Black Magic had finally reached Level Eighteen after the Orc King died. Sieghart cleared his desk, stored the unfinished tools carefully, sat on the bed, and summoned his complete Status for the first time since returning.

The translucent display expanded farther than before, requiring several sections because his collection of magical paths had become increasingly unreasonable for someone only ten years old.

Name: Sieghart Emberhart Race: Human Age: 10 Level: 14 Experience: 150/1400 Free Status Points: 0 Health: 300/300 Mana: ∞ Stamina: 300/300 Strength: 23 Strength: 25 Endurance: 30 Vitality: 30 Dexterity: 25 Magic: 258 Mentality: 120 Resistance: 57 Perception: 14 MAGIC PATHS ══════════════════════════════════════ BLACK MAGIC — Level 18 ├── Fire Magic │ ├── Flame — Level 12 │ ├── Fireball — Level 30 │ └── Giant Fireball — Level 13 ├── Water Magic │ ├── Water Creation — Level 14 │ └── Water Cannon — Level 23 ├── Wind Magic │ ├── Breeze — Level 12 │ └── Wind Blade — Level 23 ├── Earth Magic │ ├── Sand Control — Level 13 │ └── Earth Bullet — Level 24 Love this story?

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├── Ice Magic │ ├── Frozen Floor — Level 19 │ └── Ice Shuriken — Level 18 ├── Lightning Magic │ └── Spark — Level 11 └── Poison Magic └── Poison Sphere — Level 1 WHITE MAGIC — Level 12 ├── Support Magic │ └── Protection — Level 17 ├── Reinforcement Magic │ └── Muscle Reinforcement — Level 16 ├── Healing Magic │ └── First Aid — Level 18 └── Enchanting Magic └── Elemental Imbuement — Level 12 SUMMONING MAGIC — Level 11 └── Construct Magic ├── Mana Sword — Level 17 └── Mana Shield — Level 13 ARCANE MAGIC — Level 14 ├── Transmission Magic │ └── Mana Transfusion — Level 40 ├── Rune Magic │ └── Mana Rune — Level 13 └── Illusion Magic └── Phantom Image — Level 12** PSIONICS — Level 1 └── Psychokinesis └── Telekinesis — Level 2 PERCEPTION MAGIC — Level 1 └── Sensory Enhancement └── Enhanced Smell — Level 5 NECROMANCY — Level 1 └── Undead Creation └── Zombification — Level 1 SIN MAGIC — Level 1 └── Wrath └── Fury — Level 1 Sieghart studied the numbers carefully, beginning with the parameters because they offered the simplest evidence that his recent progression had mattered.

Health and Stamina had increased dramatically alongside his personal levels, while Endurance and Vitality finally looked less embarrassing beside his magical attributes, all thanks to his free status points. Strength remained comparatively low, but Fury's passive reward and Muscle Reinforcement raised it enough that ordinary physical tasks no longer felt designed for larger people.

Resistance had reached fifty-seven because Zombification granted three points despite remaining sealed, an advantage Sieghart accepted without feeling grateful toward Necromancy. Perception had climbed substantially through personal growth and Enhanced Smell, yet the Orc King had demonstrated that noticing danger remained different from escaping it.

Magic reached two hundred fifty-eight after several offensive spells improved during the siege, although raw magical power had never been Sieghart's greatest limitation. His problem was applying that power correctly. He dismissed the two paths mentally and returned to Black Magic, examining every branch according to what had failed, worked, or nearly killed him.

Fire provided destruction, Water and Ice controlled movement, Wind created speed and penetration, Earth shaped terrain, and Poison bypassed durability slowly. Lightning alone remained embarrassingly underdeveloped. Sieghart's gaze stopped on Spark at Level Eleven, far below Fireball, Water Cannon, Earth Bullet, Wind Blade, and nearly every spell he trusted during serious combat.

Spark had paralyzed muscle tissue inside the unfinished guardian, although corrupted magic allowed the skeleton to continue moving without depending upon those muscles. The Orc King had remained completely biological, regardless of the corrupted core reinforcing him. Nerves, muscles, balance, and pain still existed beneath that impossible skin.

A stronger lightning technique might disrupt those systems without needing to burn through every defensive layer, especially when water could improve conductivity across an entire target. That idea immediately connected with several combinations Sieghart had already used. Water Cannon could soak an enemy, Ice Magic could restrict movement, and Lightning might attack internally. The danger was obvious.

Electricity spread unpredictably through metal, wet ground, nearby allies, and anything else conductive enough to become part of the attack. Sieghart smiled faintly while considering the risk, because danger had never made an experiment less interesting when the potential result could solve a genuine weakness. He looked once more at the complete Status, comparing the arsenal that defeated the Orc King with the weaknesses that nearly allowed the monster to kill him first.

The question was not which spell possessed the largest number. Fireball had already proven that high levels alone could not solve every opponent. He needed something fast, disruptive, difficult to block, and useful during the brief openings created by his movement and terrain control. Sieghart's eyes returned to the smallest number inside Black Magic, where the neglected spell waited like an accusation against his usual preference for larger and louder attacks. Spark — Level 11.

Apparently, his next project had been waiting inside the Status all along, quietly remaining weaker than almost everything else while Sieghart searched for a complicated answer. Sieghart dismissed the Status screen and remained seated on his bed, studying the empty air where dozens of spells and increasingly questionable magical paths had been displayed.

Spark had looked like the obvious weakness inside Black Magic, but Lightning Magic remained too volatile for careless experimentation inside a room surrounded by stone, metal, and other residents. Water, wind, earth, ice, and fire were easier to control because Sieghart already understood their basic behavior and could usually predict where a failed spell would travel.

The Orc King had also taught him that making an attack larger did not automatically make it stronger, especially when durability allowed an enemy to endure most of the surface damage. Giant Fireball remained powerful, but it demanded preparation, created collateral damage, announced his position, and gave fast opponents enough time to interrupt or avoid the attack entirely.

Sieghart needed spells he could control while moving, release repeatedly, and combine with other effects without requiring several seconds of uninterrupted concentration every time. A technique that leveled quickly would be even better, especially if its growth provided useful parameters instead of another reward connected to rage, corpses, or suspicious emotional requirements.

He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and mentally reviewed every spell he already possessed, separating their useful principles from the limitations attached to their current forms. Fireball compressed flames into a projectile, Water Cannon maintained a continuous directional stream, and Wind Blade proved that narrowing an effect could increase penetration without increasing overall size. The solution was close enough that Sieghart felt slightly annoyed for not considering it earlier.

He did not need another enormous flame spell; he needed sustained fire with pressure. A continuous stream would be easier to redirect than Giant Fireball, faster to activate than repeated projectiles, and useful for forcing enemies to defend while Sieghart prepared something else. It would also combine naturally with Wind Magic, Water Creation, poison vapor, heated terrain, and any future runic equipment capable of focusing the flames farther.

Sieghart opened his eyes and cleared the area in front of his bed, moving books, clothes, tools, and unfinished equipment beyond the direction his hand would face. The far wall stood several meters away, which provided enough room for a short-range experiment as long as his control prevented the flames from crossing the entire chamber. He extended his right hand and gathered Flame above his palm, allowing ordinary orange fire to cover his fingers without producing enough heat to damage his skin.