Upper Fire Moon, 15th day, the eighth day since arriving in E-Rantel.
Adam had planned to restock supplies and gear before heading to the Baharuth Empire, but acquiring scroll-making skills changed his plans.
Over the past few days, he'd poured nearly all his energy into crafting magic scrolls, even spending a skill point to upgrade Papermaking to third tier.
…
[Skill: Papermaking (Third Tier)]
[Cost: 15 MP]
[Effect: Produces 500 high-quality sheets.]
…
Second-tier Papermaking yielded 700 sheets; third-tier, only 500.
Like second-tier scrolls, crafting a third-tier scroll required 20 third-tier sheets.
Adam's mana pool was 28 points. Without a true caster class, he recovered just 1 MP per hour, totaling 52 MP daily.
Crafting a second-tier scroll consumed 5 MP for the scroll itself, then Second-Tier Magic Accumulation and infusing the spell, totaling 25 MP.
A third-tier scroll required 30 MP.
It took over a day to craft one third-tier and one second-tier scroll.
Eight days later, including today's work, Adam held 10 Third-Tier Summon Angel scrolls and 5 Second-Tier Summon Angel scrolls.
"Ten Archangel Flames should pin them down. Five Guardian Angels will mislead their intel." Adam said, sitting on the inn's bed, eyeing the 15 scrolls before him. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, but his gaze was sharp and focused.
"Not enough. I need to be surer. Two more days to craft a few more scrolls."
With a wave, he stored the scrolls in his item box.
To maximize mana recovery, Adam had crafted scrolls day and night, whenever his mana was full, leading to his current eye bags. It reminded him of his past life's grueling workdays.
No choice, his mana was too limited, and every point had to be used wisely.
The Magic Swordsman class boosted mana, but until he acquired Cursed Knight or Valkyrie, he likely wouldn't level it up.
Naturally, he wouldn't waste experience on mid- or high-tier magic classes either.
This was why he targeted Khajiit, one of Zurrernorn's Twelve Disciples, hidden in E-Rantel, specifically, the Orb of Death in his possession.
The Orb of Death stood out for two reasons.
First, it possessed independent intelligence, unheard of in YGGDRASIL.
Second, it could autonomously absorb and store negative energy.
This ability seemed minor in the anime and novels.
Adam hadn't paid it much mind initially, but after gaining the Magic Swordsman class and its Magic Infusion passive, an idea sparked.
Could he combine Magic Infusion with the orb's storage capacity?
Negative energy, for necromancers, was akin to mana or a unique energy type.
If the Orb of Death could store negative energy, could it store mana, another form of energy? Especially if he forcibly infused mana using Magic Infusion, turning the orb into a mana storage device.
It was just a theory. He'd need the orb to test it.
After all, neither YGGDRASIL nor this world had mana-restoring potions.
Increasing mana, recovery speed, or reducing costs relied on classes, top-tier magic items, or pay-to-win gear, things Adam couldn't rival Ainz with.
Otherwise, he'd have no reason to tangle with an organization like Zurrernorn.
To common folk, the Eight Fingers, a kingdom-spanning underworld group, was terrifying.
Zurrernorn, a cult threatening entire nations, was far worse.
With only 13 members, 12 disciples and a mysterious leader, Zurrernorn was elite. Known disciples included Khajiit, currently in E-Rantel, and Clementine, formerly of the Slane Theocracy's Black Scripture, nicknamed "Clown Sister."
Clementine, with upper-hero-tier strength, was outclassed by three other disciples. Khajiit didn't even rank.
Adam wasn't sure if Clementine had joined Zurrernorn at this point.
Two days passed in a blink.
Adam crafted five more second-tier scrolls. He'd planned for third-tier but opted for variety to counter unexpected scenarios.
Beyond scroll-making, Adam rarely left the inn publicly. In secret, he'd sold off beast and monster corpses from the Great Forest of Tob, including the Black-Green Great Serpent, which took effort.
His funds hit 1,200 gold coins but were now down to 600 after spending half on a magic item for easier nighttime operations.
It was now deep night.
The enchanted streetlamps, imbued with Continual Light, dimmed in sequence, deepening the cloud-shrouded darkness.
"Woof."
The Invisible Hound by the window noticed the darkening street, its bone chain nudging Adam, who sat meditating on the bed.
"Time, huh?"
Adam opened his eyes, glancing at the window. He grabbed a black robe from the side, draping it over himself.
Swish!
A potion appeared in his hand. Without hesitation, he downed it.
"Stay here. You're not coming this time." He told the Invisible Hound, his voice now a raspy, middle-aged man's, thanks to the potion's cheap, one-gold-coin effect.
"Whine~" The hound's pale green eyes drooped, its bone chain swaying.
Step!
Adam reached the window, vaulted over the sill, and landed silently in the alley below.
***
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