Chapter 83: Preparation! The Orb of Death: Mana Infusion and Mana Storage?

Fire Moon, the 15th day.

This is the eighth day since arriving in E-Rantel.

Tang Zheng’s original plan was to restock supplies and equipment before heading to the Baharuth Empire, but the acquisition of scroll-making technology...

...caused him to temporarily change his plans over these past few days.

Tang Zheng devoted almost all his energy to manufacturing magic scrolls, even consuming a skill point to raise "Papermaking" to the third tier.

……

Skill: Papermaking (Tier 3)

Cost: 15 MP. Effect: Produce 500 sheets of high-quality paper.

……

Tier 2 Papermaking could produce 700 sheets of Tier 2 paper, but at Tier 3, it can only produce 500.

Just like making Tier 2 magic scrolls, manufacturing Tier 3 magic scrolls also requires consuming twenty sheets of Tier 3 paper.

His current mana value is 28 points; since he lacks a true spellcaster class, his mana only recovers at a rate of one point per hour.

Over the course of a day, the total mana he can use is 52 points.

To make a Tier 2 magic scroll, one must first consume 5 mana to craft the scroll, then activate the "Tier 2: Magic Accumulation" enchantment spell to inject the Tier 2 magic into the scroll.

This process requires a total of 25 mana points.

Manufacturing a Tier 3 scroll requires 30 mana points.

It takes over a day of effort to produce one Tier 3 magic scroll and one Tier 2 magic scroll.

Eight days have passed.

Counting those made today, Tang Zheng currently has 10 "Tier 3: Summon Angel" magic scrolls and 5 "Tier 2: Summon Angel" magic scrolls in his possession.

"Ten Flame Angels should be enough to suppress the opponent. Five Guardian Angels will be used to mislead them with false information."

Tang Zheng sat on the inn bed, looking at the 15 magic scrolls laid out before him; his eye bags were slightly dark, but his gaze was heavy and focused.

"It’s not enough. I need to be more stable; I’ll prepare for two more days and make a few more magic scrolls."

Thinking of this.

Tang Zheng waved his hand at the magic scrolls before him, collecting them all into that item box.

During these past few days, by calculating the time to ensure no loss occurred during the mana recovery process, Tang Zheng would immediately craft magic scrolls whenever his mana was sufficient, regardless of whether it was day or night.

This led to his dark eye bags, which inexplicably reminded Tang Zheng of the miserable days of clocking in during his past life.

There was no help for it; his current mana was too scarce, and every point had to be used reasonably.

Although the "Magic Swordsman" class can increase mana, at this stage—or rather, before obtaining the "Cursed Knight" and "Valkyrie" classes—he would likely not level up "Magic Swordsman."

Naturally.

Before that, Tang Zheng would not waste experience points by taking on mid-to-high-tier magic classes.

This is why Tang Zheng set his sights on Khajiit, one of the twelve disciples of Zuranon hidden in E-Rantel.

To be precise, it was the magic item in the opponent's possession: the "Orb of Death."

The "Orb of Death" item.

Its most prominent feature is that it is a magic item with independent intelligence, something that did not exist in the YGGDRASIL game.

Another feature.

Is that it can autonomously absorb and store negative energy!

This ability, whether in the anime or the light novel version, is actually not very eye-catching.

Tang Zheng didn't pay much attention to it at first, but after obtaining the "Magic Swordsman" class, especially the characteristics shown by the passive "Mana Infusion" provided by this class...

...a thought suddenly flashed through Tang Zheng's mind.

Could this passive ability be combined with the storage capacity of the Orb of Death?

What is negative energy? For an undead-type spellcaster, it is merely another form of mana or a special energy. Since the "Orb of Death" can store energy, perhaps it can also store mana, as mana is also a type of energy.

Especially by using the "Mana Infusion" ability to forcibly inject mana into it, turning the "Orb of Death" into an item specifically for storing mana.

Of course!

This is only Tang Zheng's current speculation; whether it can truly be realized depends on getting his hands on this magic item.

After all!

Neither in YGGDRASIL nor in this other world do mana-restoring potions exist.

To increase one's own mana, recovery speed, or reduce mana consumption, one must rely on classes, top-tier magic items, or even pay-to-win items.

Tang Zheng cannot compare to Ainz in these regards.

Otherwise!

At this stage, Tang Zheng would have no need to provoke an organization like Zuranon.

In the eyes of ordinary people.

An underground organization like "Eight Fingers," whose influence spans the entire kingdom, is already a terrifying existence.

Then Zuranon is a secret cult society capable of threatening various nations!

The entire organization has only 13 members, with twelve disciples under their banner, as well as a mysterious leader.

In the anime and light novels, among the information revealed, there are only two disciples mentioned, besides Khajiit who is currently in E-Rantel.

The other is Clementine, a member of the Slane Theocracy's strongest scripture, the "Black Scripture," also jokingly called the "Funny Sister."

And Clementine, who possesses strength in the upper tier of the Hero realm, has at least three people among the twelve disciples who are stronger than her.

As for Khajiit, he doesn't even make the rankings.

At this current point in time, Tang Zheng is not sure if Clementine has already joined Zuranon.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Tang Zheng had five more Tier 2 magic scrolls in his hands; he had originally intended to make Tier 3 magic scrolls.

However, to make his strategy more deceptive, he prepared a few other spells to guard against unexpected situations.

During these few days.

Besides making magic scrolls, Tang Zheng rarely left the inn openly, while secretly, he gradually disposed of the beast and magical beast carcasses he had harvested from the Tob Forest.

Especially that black-green magical snake; it took quite some time.

His funds suddenly reached 1200 gold coins, but now, only 600 gold coins remained.

To make moving in the dark more convenient, he spent a huge sum—half his wealth—to purchase a magic item.

At this moment, it was already late at night.

The streetlights enchanted with perpetual light were turned off in sequence, making the night, already obscured by dark clouds, even deeper and darker.

"Awoo."

The small evil spirit dog lying by the window noticed the darkening street immediately, its bone chains extending to nudge Tang Zheng, who was sitting on the bed with his eyes closed in meditation.

"Is it time?"

Tang Zheng opened his eyes, glanced toward the window, and picked up the black robe he had placed to the side, wrapping it around himself.

Swish! A bottle of magic potion appeared in Tang Zheng's palm; without the slightest hesitation, he downed it in one gulp.

"Stay in the room; you don't need to come out with me this time." Tang Zheng waved his hand at the small evil spirit dog and said faintly; as he spoke, a hoarse voice like that of a middle-aged man came from Tang Zheng's mouth.

This was the effect of the potion he had just drunk; it was very cheap, costing only one gold coin to temporarily change his voice.

"Awoo~" The small evil spirit dog's light green beast eyes revealed disappointment, and the bone chains on its body rattled a few times.

Step! Tang Zheng had already reached the window, his figure leaping over it with ease and landing in the small alley below.

(End of chapter)