‘Huh? That easy?’ A flash of surprise and relief crossed Matthew's mind.
This formed a sharp contrast with the sluggish difficulty he had experienced earlier when extending his Spirit and drawing the particles.
He had a faint guess that his "6 points of Spirit," which far exceeded that of ordinary people, was probably playing a key role at this moment.
According to the description of the cultivation steps in the notebook, the "drawing" phase tested the precision and control of extending one's Spirit.
These were the skills and proficiency he lacked most as a novice. Therefore, even though his base stat was as high as 6 points, his first attempt had still been extremely difficult.
On the other hand, the "conversion" phase focused more on the "quality" of Spirit, which was related to the ability to assimilate and endure foreign energy.
His base Spirit of 6 points possessed a "strength" and "resilience" that were more than enough to easily crush and assimilate these few wisps of the most basic and gentle non-attributed elemental energy.
The thought flashed by, and Matthew did not dwell on it. The warm, soothing sensation after completing the "conversion" was something he had never experienced before.
...
Before he knew it, the noisy voices of people and the scent of cooking smoke drifted in from outside. Matthew slowly opened his eyes from his meditation as a sliver of blinding sunlight pierced through the gap in the window.
“Without realizing it, it's already noon?”
A flash of surprise crossed Matthew's mind.
“But once this meditation method is up and running, it really does make one feel comfortable. It's no wonder time flew by so quickly.”
He carefully savored this first meditation session, the feelings exceptionally clear and unique.
Throughout the entire meditation process, the second step, "absorption," was the most difficult. It was like trudging through a swamp, requiring a massive amount of mental effort to extend his Spirit and draw in the elemental particles. Every single step carried a strong sense of sluggish resistance.
However, when the elemental particles were finally guided to his spiritual core and began to "convert," a warm and comfortable current—something he had never experienced before—slowly rippled through his mind. It was as if his tense consciousness was enveloped in a gentle spring, quietly washing away all fatigue.
And the physical manifestation of this for Matthew was that the Spirit he had depleted last night had been completely replenished.
He sank completely into that sense of comfort after the completion of the conversion, forgetting the passage of time.
“This meditation method can actually be used to restore energy. Not only does it increase Spirit, but I don't even feel hungry after meditating!”
“I just don't know if it can completely replace sleep...”
“But even so, it's truly a wonderful treasure!”
As he was savoring this wonderful spiritual nourishment, two familiar lines of small black text quietly emerged in the center of his vision—
【You have successfully mastered the 【Elemental Meditation Method】. The current level of 【Elemental Meditation Method】 is Mastered. Your Spirit has slightly increased.】
【Elemental Meditation Method: Mastered (1/500)】
“It's much easier now that the panel can record it!” Matthew rejoiced.
“A slight increase in Spirit?”
With a slight thought, the familiar panel quietly expanded in his field of vision:
【Name: Matthew
...
Spirit: 6 (+0.1)
...】
Looking at the tiny "0.1" increase in the 【Spirit】 column, a sense of reassurance and satisfaction welled up in Matthew's heart.
“Not bad.”
Matthew knew this "0.1" increase was granted by the panel. After all, he didn't expect a noticeable increase in Spirit from his very first meditation.
From all indications, the meditation method was bound to be a slow and steady process. Rushing for success was out of the question.
Although he well knew that learning spells was by no means easy, the excitement of his first successful meditation had not yet faded. Coupled with his curiosity and desire for 【Energy Missile】, a practical offensive spell, he was eager to give it a try.
“My Spirit is fully restored and has even grown a bit. This is the perfect opportunity to try out 【Energy Missile】!”
Once the thought arose, Matthew hesitated no longer.
He picked up the notebook for the 【Elemental Meditation Method】 and quickly flipped to the page containing the spell model and incantation syllables.
The principle behind 【Energy Missile (0-Circle)】 was very simple: construct a stable spell model in the spiritual core, and through specific mental guidance and Spirit compression, stimulate the non-attributed energy in front of oneself to form and fire an invisible missile containing concussive energy.
“Spell model...”
Matthew looked down at the spell model required for 【Energy Missile】 clearly depicted on the page:
It was a relatively simple yet precise three-dimensional geometric configuration composed of several spiritual nodes and threads of Spirit. It wasn't complicated; in fact, for a college student like him, it was somewhat simple.
Next to the model, the corresponding incantation activation syllables and key points of mental guidance were also annotated.
“It really doesn't seem too complicated...” After reciting it a few times, Matthew closed his eyes with confidence. He began to mobilize his Spirit, attempting to construct this structure within his spiritual core according to the model.
He carefully condensed his mind, trying to sketch out the first node. At first, things went smoothly. Under the guidance of his thoughts, the speck of Spirit slowly positioned itself in his mental space.
However, when he began to connect the threads of Spirit between the nodes, trouble arose.
His thoughts felt like clumsy fingers, unable to precisely control that formless power to weave the simple geometric pattern.
Either the threads were too thick, causing the nodes to shift out of place, or the threads snapped, instantly destabilizing the entire structure.
Every failed construction was accompanied by a minor depletion of Spirit and a wave of formless spiritual fluctuations, bringing about a dizzy sensation similar to mild motion sickness.
“Again!” Matthew took a deep breath and tried once more, refusing to give up.
Half an hour passed.
He repeatedly checked the notes, concentrating his thoughts with absolute focus.
But the result was still frustrating.
There was one time when he barely succeeded, but the moment Matthew poured in a little Spirit, the entire structure collapsed instantly, like a sandcastle hit by water!
It couldn't stabilize at all, let alone guide external energy for compression and activation.
“Whew...” Matthew exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Fine beads of sweat had already broken out on his forehead. While this wasn't highly draining on his Spirit, it dealt a heavy blow to his confidence.
“Damn, this is way too hard!”
Matthew leaned heavily against the wall and stared at the magic book, a doubt crossing his mind for the first time: Could there be a problem with the notebook itself? Was it drawn incorrectly?
As soon as this thought popped up, he shook his head to dispel it.
“No, it shouldn't be a problem with the book.”
“The notebook's descriptions of every step of the meditation method are clear and accurate, guiding me to a successful meditation. There's no reason for it to make a mistake on the spell model. Besides, as the most basic 0-Circle spell, Energy Missile's model should be the simplest...”
“In the end, it's still because my own proficiency isn't high enough.” Matthew's eyes refocused, revealing a sober realization. “My control over Spirit is just too crude!”
“I still have to grind!”
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