In the faint morning light, the leather notebook lay quietly on the wooden table where he had left it last night.
Matthew took a few steps forward, hesitated for a moment, and picked it up.
The silver-threaded old man on the cover gleamed with a mysterious luster in the morning light. The bone-chilling cold and dizziness from last night still faintly lingered in his throbbing temples.
“‘Elemental Meditation Method’... It seems everything last night wasn't a hallucination.” He took a deep breath, his fingertips lightly brushing over the cover. “Instead, it feels like my... opportunity.”
In his past life on Earth, he had read web novels where the protagonist fell off a cliff and picked up a peerless cultivation manual... He never expected that such good luck would actually befall him this time!
Harboring intense excitement, Matthew opened the notebook once again.
This time, the mental sting from last night did not strike. He let out a deep breath.
On the pristine inner pages, 「The Bard's Record」 and the list of kingdoms had long since vanished, replaced by several lines of unique text.
It was a script he had never encountered and definitely did not recognize, yet it seemed to carry a direct interpretation to his soul, allowing him to naturally understand its meaning.
Matthew focused his mind and read along.
Title: 【Elemental Meditation Method】;
Origin: 【Fire Vortex Tower】.
“Fire Vortex Tower?”
Matthew frowned slightly. Compared to a meditation method that he couldn't master overnight, he currently wanted to understand information about the wider world.
However, after reading the entire page, aside from these two clear pieces of information, there was no background description, emblem image, or contact information regarding the "Fire Vortex Tower."
This mysterious notebook seemed only responsible for marking the source, yet was stingy about revealing anything more.
Other than that single line marking the name and origin, there were no related descriptions, emblems, or signatures whatsoever.
“Huh?” Matthew let out a soft grunt, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.
Logically speaking, an organization that disseminated extraordinary knowledge would definitely have its own interests to protect.
Yet, the notebook before him only provided the knowledge of the 【Elemental Meditation Method】 and the name of the 【Fire Vortex Tower】, without a single word regarding recruitment, allegiance, contracts, or even a location.
This completely went against Matthew's common sense.
“Could it be... this meditation method has become so widespread that it is distributed freely without any cost?”
Matthew immediately dismissed this idea.
If that were truly the case, this world would probably have long become a place where everyone could use magic.
He recalled what Instructor Calm had said: “Learning spells requires a specific talent.”
He carefully recalled his experience from last night and suddenly understood the key—that bone-chilling mental sting!
“That's it! This notebook itself is a screening process!”
It was not open to everyone; rather, it would screen and test the spiritual aptitude of the person who opened it.
The freezing cold and dizziness from last night, which had nearly caused him to faint, was a rejection or test fraught with the threat of death. Only by enduring it and waking up did he truly gain the qualification to view the content.
As for Brody, he might have failed this screening, which was why he couldn't see the real 【Elemental Meditation Method】 and only saw the illusion of "The Bard's Record."
This also explained why he possessed this notebook but was never seen casting any spells in battle.
“If my original body didn't have the aptitude, I probably wouldn't have encountered this.”
As for why there was no location for the "Fire Vortex Tower," Matthew had no way of knowing. Perhaps it was out of safety concerns, or perhaps it was just a casual setup by someone else; both were possible.
Matthew shook his head, temporarily suppressing his various speculations about the "Fire Vortex Tower."
Regardless of its purpose, the 【Elemental Meditation Method】 before him was a tangible opportunity. He needed to understand and master it first.
He looked at the detailed description of the meditation method in the notebook.
Those unfamiliar words automatically translated into understandable information in his eyes, explaining the core principles of cultivating Spirit, perceiving elements, and guiding them.
According to the description, the 【Elemental Meditation Method】 was a basic but complete system of meditation.
It aimed to absorb free magical elements from the environment through specific visualization, gradually increasing the practitioner's spiritual strength.
Looking at the principles of spiritual cultivation and elemental guidance described in the notebook, Matthew felt both excited and a slight sense of pressure.
At the same time, he realized that this 【Elemental Meditation Method】 seemed somewhat similar to breathing techniques, except they followed two different paths.
“Does this mean I'm practicing dual cultivation of martial and magic?”
“Fortunately, my breathing technique is already at the Novice level, so I don't need to sit and practice specifically to increase its progress. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have any time during the day.”
Matthew snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the "essence" portion.
Wizard meditation was divided into three steps:
Trance and Perception: First, one needed to enter a state of deep tranquility through meditation, pulling in distracting thoughts and concentrating consciousness on one's own spiritual core.
On this basis, one would gradually extend their Spirit to "touch" and "identify" the formless and qualityless yet omnipresent elemental particles in the surrounding environment.
Absorption and Conversion: Once one could perceive magical elements relatively stably, they could attempt the next step.
Using Spirit, one would extremely gently and cautiously "attract" a tiny amount of the corresponding elemental energy, letting it flow into the body along the specific path prescribed by the meditation method.
Afterward, through a spiritual cycle, this guided elemental energy would ultimately merge into and nourish one's own spiritual core, thereby achieving the growth of Spirit.
(Depending on different elemental affinities, the efficiency of converting various elemental particles also varied.)
Accumulation and Stabilization: Through repeated practice of meditation, perception, and conversion, one would continuously accumulate the growth of Spirit. The speed of a wizard's realm progression was heavily dependent on this step.
Matthew slowly finished reading these pages, a trace of admiration and understanding flashing in his eyes.
What he admired was:
“This ‘Fire Vortex Tower’... though mysterious in its ways, the guidance in this Elemental Meditation Method is written in a very detailed and pragmatic manner. There's no playing mystics or making empty boasts; it simply lays out the principles, steps, and risks of cultivation very clearly.”
This pragmatic style unexpectedly made Matthew feel a bit more favorable toward this organization he had never met.
At least, this "opportunity" seemed clean for now.
What he understood was:
“So those who use spells are called wizards...”
With anticipation of exploration, Matthew flipped to the last page of the notebook.
On the paper, still written in that unfamiliar yet directly interpretable script, were—
【Energy Missile (0-Circle)】, 【Fireball spell (0-Circle)】, 【Detection Spell (0-Circle)】
“Spells?!”
Matthew's spirits rose, and many thoughts suddenly popped into his mind.
Although they were only the simplest 0-Circle spells, they were still spells! Something that only a tiny fraction of people could ever access!
“If I can also master such means, even if it's just the most basic spells, I'll have another option when facing enemies, and might even turn defeat into victory!”
Matthew had not forgotten the fireball launched by that kobold, and its terrifying power!
That was also a 0-Circle spell, albeit boosted by a staff.
Rate on N.U.
