Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 157: The Battle Test

[NOTICE]

[You have unlocked a new [Event Quest].]

This is the notification I've gotten after witnessing a mysterious guy destroy almost all of the targets in the courtyard. I guess that guy somehow triggered it with his magic. But the proctors say he was able to cast high-level spells early in his age. Not only that, his crystal is blue, a sign that he's an NPC of this game, not a player. Put those together, and I know that the scene must be the trigger to a new event, or in this case, an [Event Quest].

And it's not just me. Most players in the test also got the same notification as mine. I didn't see the said windows, but they mentioned that it suddenly popped up after the important NPC's demonstration. Looks like it's a bit different from the usual [Hidden Quest] that we know of.

After that incident, the rest of the second test has proven uneventful once the destroyed targets are replaced. It seems like it only occurs with one NPC. Maybe it's the game's way to introduce some kind of main character into its story. Either way, I sigh in relief as I leave the courtyard with Yur1 and Hiroshi and take my time catching my breath from what we saw.

"Geez... That guy almost gave me a heart attack," Yur1 comments. "I still can't believe he's nothing but an NPC. And yet, he can cast spells like a high-level mage."

"Yeah. If he's a real player, he might have all of the elemental magic filled almost all of his [Mastery] slots and leveled them up in a few months," I add. "I'm surprised he managed to hold most of his power, not to destroy all of the courtyard."

Yur1 then stops walking and hums. "But that's the thing. Is it possible for anyone to master all of the magic [Masteries]? I doubt it's possible."

I raise my eyebrow. "How come?"

"You said he almost filled up all of the [Mastery] slots with only magic, right? I think Yur1 has a point there," Hiroshi answers. "Having one or two magic is nice and all, but I heard you need one [Talent Mastery] to help you master magic more easily with full benefits with your magical stats."

A [Talent Mastery] that can give us the benefits and control over our magic...

"You mean the [Magical Aptitude Mastery], correct?"

"That's the one. Plus, you have to remember all of the elements included in [Isekai] lore. Nine of them, I might add," Hiroshi explains. "If you're planning to take on other [Masteries] such as [Scribe], [Artistry], or any [Crafting Mastery], you will have no room for them."

"In other words, mastering all elements sounds strong on paper. But you won't be able to do anything other than having all of that magic in other situations," I guess. "Is that right?"

"Yeah. Think about it. Not having a [Talent] or [Crafting Mastery] means you're missing out on other benefits such as creating your own weapons and tools and giving yourself bonus stats along with useful skills like [Investigate]," Hiroshi finishes. "There are some downsides to having a [Crafting Mastery] thanks to some updates from the expansion. But you might as well be flexible if you want to have a unique gaming experience."

"Yeah. I would love to master all elements. But that would also mean that I can't learn [Swordsmanship] and [Physical Enhancement] if I go with that route," Yur1 adds. "Variety is the key to a great character build. You just need to experiment a lot with it."

I guess that makes sense. Guess choosing only [Wind] and [Thunder] at the start wasn't a bad move after all. Since I only have 2 slots left, I really need to think carefully about what kind of [Mastery] I need in the near future.