Geometric Mage: First Spell, Circle

Lian's face darkened as he listened to Rea's words. He did not expect such a loss. "Well, it is pointless to cry now… 1% is still better than nothing, right?" He turned to Rick.

Rick blinked rapidly, still confused about the percentages. He nodded distractedly at Lian before turning his head to Rea. "And what happens if I, a Bronze 3, take a Bronze 4 pill? Why can I not do it?"

Rea looked at him for a second before shaking her head, a sigh escaping her lips. "There are always people like you who do not believe the words of experts and tend to do things their own way."

Rick looked down, slightly embarrassed. But before he could bury himself in embarrassment, Rea continued.

"The reason you cannot take a Mana Pill or a Vital Pill higher than your rank is because you risk overloading your mana. The mana of a Bronze 3 can never be compared to that of a Bronze 4."

Can never be compared? Lian listened carefully to Rea's words. If he had not experienced it himself, perhaps Lian would have believed her. Yet he had a mana amount greater than a Bronze 5… Maybe I could assimilate a Bronze 5 Mana Pill even as a Bronze 4? He thought.

With this thought in mind, Lian asked, "Suppose someone does not know and still takes a higher-rank pill… what would happen?"

Rea did not answer immediately. Her eyes simply observed Lian's curious expression. "Well, let us say you would face a Mana Overflow, in the best case. In the worst… your body could explode from the mana overload."

Rick took a step back, frightened. "Damn, that is very serious…"

Lian nodded, thoughtful. He had already experienced a Mana Overflow early in his Mage career, when he was in his first Gate with Patrick, Sera, and Dax… he did not want to experience that deadly sensation again.

"However—" Rea spoke again, interrupting the two's thoughts. "If someone managed to assimilate a Bronze 4 Mana Pill while being Bronze 3, then the dantian capacity increase would not be just 10%, but 20%."

Lian clenched his fists as he considered the implications. If he could absorb the Bronze 5 Mana Pill, when he reached Bronze 5, he would have a much higher mana amount than a normal Bronze 5 Mage who gets the 10% increase.

After all, each rank increase boosted mana amounts by at least 50% of the base value. So, if one was confident, it was better to absorb higher-rank Mana Pills to build a much stronger foundation.

As Lian's thoughts reached this point, his mouth moved on its own. "I am an idiot—"

Rea and Rick turned to Lian at the same moment.

"I said—" he repeated with a cough. "That I will take one Mana Pill for each rank, from Bronze 1 to 5. Also—"

Turning his head to Rick, Lian nodded with conviction. "Add three more Mana Pills from Bronze 1 to Bronze 3."

Rick squinted for a moment before speaking. "You are not planning to take the Bronze 5 Mana Pill, are you?! Look, you could explode; do not do anything stupid!"

Lian had a slight blush on his face. He had called himself an idiot because he had not inquired about the pills earlier. He had many available, given by the headmaster; he did not need to buy them.

However, he could not say that openly; it would attract unnecessary attention, so he ended up buying pills for himself too…

"Relax, buddy, it is definitely not my intention!" Lian lied through his teeth, a smile on his face. "It is just that I am close to a breakthrough. I am preparing the material for when I am Bronze 5."

Rick let out a sigh of relief, though he did not entirely believe his friend's words.

Rea, on the other hand, shook her head. She presented the other pills to the two, with their effects and limitations, but Lian had decided. The woman could only advise, not force.

Lian and Rick would have liked to buy something else, but their limited funds and the need to check out potions restricted them.

"Do you want to pay now, or shall we also look at the potions? They are more versatile, with interesting temporary effects. They will surely be useful for killing more monsters during the event," Rea stated with an expert salesperson's smile.

"Let us take a look at the potions too," Lian replied, with Rick giving a firm nod.

Without wasting time in chatter, Rea took the screen again, but this time, instead of pills, potions appeared.

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Quick Healing Potion (Bronze 1-5)

Effect: Heals minor wounds in 10 seconds. Lasts for a single application.

Cost: Bronze 1: 30 gold coins. Bronze 5: 150 gold coins.

Risk: Used more than three times in an hour, it loses effectiveness and causes nausea.

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Swift Wind Potion (Bronze 3-5)

Effect: Increases movement speed by 20% for 15 minutes, ideal for escaping or pursuing.

Cost: Bronze 3: 150 gold coins. Bronze 5: 250 gold coins.

Risk: Causes muscle fatigue after the effect, leading to a slowdown for 10 minutes.

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Eagle Eye Potion (Bronze 5)

Effect: Improves visual perception for 10 minutes, allowing detection of mana traces or rapid movements.

Cost: 100 gold coins.

Risk: Causes sensitivity to bright light for an hour after use.

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Mana Potion (Bronze 1-5)

Effect: Recovers about 60% of the mana in the dantian. The effect varies based on the potion's rank and the user's rank.

Cost: Bronze 1: 50 gold coins. Bronze 5: 500 gold coins.

Risk: May cause difficulty in absorbing mana for the following minutes.

---

Lian whistled, impressed but frustrated. There was a lot of interesting stuff, but unfortunately, they did not have many gold coins left. After subtracting what they would spend on the pills, they had just over 400 gold coins.

Moreover, he was not even too interested because the headmaster had given him many potions.

"Wait a moment!" Lian froze for a second. "We need to go redeem the staff, idiot! We cannot spend too much money here—" he said, giving himself a light slap on the forehead.

Rick forced a smile, his fingers trembling. "Damn, you are right…"

The two looked at Rea, their eyes slightly red from embarrassment. "Um… Rea—" Lian grabbed the edge of his robe, but before he could continue, Rick interrupted with a look that meant, let me handle this!

"Rea, dear Rea… Right now, we do not have many gold coins with us; they are in… the bank. Can we ask for a small discount of… 200 gold coins? Do not worry, we will pay you back by tomorrow!"

Rea narrowed her eyes in annoyance. She did not expect such a thing. "In the bank, you say? No problem—" With a swift hand gesture, Rea made a small device appear in her palm. "If you have money in the bank, then you surely have a credit card linked to your account. Just insert it here, and it is done."

The smile on Rick's face froze. Damn, I am an idiot… he thought.