But Matthew's practice at this moment was completely different.
With every 【Melting Slash】 he unleashed, the fluidity of his movements, the stability of his energy channeling, the consistency of its power, and the control over its consumption did not look like they belonged to a novice who had just mastered a combat technique.
Instead, it resembled the performance of a veteran who had honed the combat technique hundreds or thousands of times, reaching the Practiced rank or even higher, and was deliberately controlling its power to practice.
And this was precisely one of the greatest advantages of the panel: stability.
Once a skill was recorded and rated at a certain rank by the panel, as long as the conditions were met, its power, effect, and consumption would remain within an extremely stable range.
This guaranteed that every single one of Matthew's practices was effective, steadily building up his proficiency points. There were almost no instances of the technique failing to activate or its power fluctuating wildly.
What seemed like an unbelievable “stable mastery” to others was, to Matthew, merely a “standard” granted by the panel that could be consistently replicated.
Matthew continued practicing 【Melting Slash】 until his stamina was completely depleted.
The familiar black text notifications popped up in the center of his vision at just the right time:
【Melting Slash proficiency +1】
【Melting Slash proficiency +1】
【Melting Slash: Mastered (3/30)】
Seeing his proficiency steadily increase, Matthew felt reassured.
At this rate, he would be able to raise 【Melting Slash】 to the Novice level in less than half a month!
By then, with the perfect fusion of his combat technique, breathing technique, and physical constitution, he would truly step into the ranks of Black Iron Rank Class holders and undergo a transformation of his life level.
“I'm actually looking forward to it...”
He sheathed his sword, carefully wiped the wood shavings from the blade, tidied up the scattered dried meat pouch and other miscellaneous items on the ground, slung his pack over his shoulder, and turned to walk toward his home on the south side of the village.
On his way back, he made a detour past Old Joel's house. The courtyard gate was still tightly shut, and there were no lights inside the windows; Old Joel had not yet returned.
Matthew stopped and calculated in his mind. It had been two days since Old Joel set off for the town to purchase the “Green bow.” Normally speaking, considering the travel time and the time needed to make the purchase, it was perfectly normal that he hadn't returned yet.
Sometimes, a round trip could easily take four or five days, not to mention that Old Joel also needed to sell his own goods.
It was just that Matthew was looking forward to the effects of the Green bow once he got his hands on it, which made him a little impatient.
After all, once his archery reached the Practiced level, his Constitution would increase by another margin.
He stopped dwelling on it; after all, the journey was difficult.
The sky gradually darkened as the cool autumn wind swept across the village path. Matthew quickened his pace and soon returned to his simple yet tidy wooden cabin.
Pushing the door open, he placed his pack in the corner, hung his longsword back on the wall, and washed his face with some clean water from the water jar.
The exhaustion from practicing washed over him completely now, but his heart felt incredibly at ease.
Today's progress was clear and visible. Having successfully mastered the combat technique, his path forward had become increasingly bright.
Matthew shook his head, pushing these thoughts aside. He lit the stove, heated up some multigrain porridge he had prepared earlier, and devoured it along with the remaining rye bread. Only then did his body gradually warm up.
After cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, Matthew sat down on the edge of his wooden bed.
The food in his stomach brought a wave of warmth, and he closed his eyes to carefully sense the subtle changes in his body.
Unlike simply eating dried meat, the nourishment from these coarse grains was not very obvious.
However, under Matthew's “inner vision,” he discovered that the coarse grains, like the bread, were currently turning into threads of warm energy, slowly and continuously nourishing his life energy cyclone, which had been nearly depleted from over-practicing.
It was just that the efficiency was extremely low; even in the state of inner vision, he could not accurately gauge the specific details.
“It seems anything can be converted into life energy, just with different efficiencies.”
Matthew understood.
“If the Black Iron Rank is already this slow, how do the Brass Rank and Silver Rank recover?”
“It seems there are specialized potions, high-energy foods, or unique cultivation methods that are currently beyond my reach.”
He recalled his previous battle with Flynn and the kobold priest in the forest; those stronger existences definitely possessed more efficient means of recovery.
After all, practicing combat techniques and spells consumed an immense amount of energy. Without a stable supply, it would be impossible to sustain.
“Once I go to town later to exchange the corrosive lizard's venom sac and carapace for gold coins and purchase winter supplies, I must keep an eye out for these kinds of resources.”
Matthew made up his mind.
“I might be able to gather information about potions or special ingredients that quickly restore life energy at the town's adventurer guild or those ‘private trading spots’ Sierra mentioned.”
With his thoughts settled, he stopped worrying about his current efficiency. The urgent matter at hand was to make full use of every second to increase his strength.
“I can't waste time...”
Matthew muttered softly and blew out the oil lamp.
The room fell into darkness, with only a faint sliver of moonlight filtering through the crack in the window. Instead of lying down to sleep immediately, he sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, adjusted his breathing, and focused his mind.
As his thoughts quieted, he once again entered that focused and transparent state—the 【Elemental Meditation Method】 quietly began to operate.
His mental perception turned inward, rapidly sinking into his spiritual core.
A familiar cool sensation spread, as if his consciousness was being washed by gentle spring water.
The fatigue accumulated from repeatedly practicing 【Melting Slash】 during the day, the soreness in his muscles, and even his mental tension were gradually smoothed over and melted away as the meditation method operated.
What was even more wonderful was that the faint warm current converted from the coarse grains in his stomach seemed to be guided and absorbed more efficiently under the state of meditation, flowing thread by thread into the life energy cyclone in his dantian. Although slow, it was slightly faster than simple rest.
“As expected, the meditation method can not only restore Spirit but also seems to assist in the natural recovery of life energy...”
Matthew's heart stirred slightly, but he did not allow himself to be distracted. Banishing all stray thoughts, he completely submerged his mind into his spiritual core.
In the deep tranquility of meditation, his mental feelers once again extended into the air around his body like invisible threads, in an extremely subtle manner.
This time, with his experience from during the day, he controlled his mental power with greater ease. Soon, he “perceived” the free-floating magical elemental particles of various colors drifting around him—red, blue, cyan, yellow, as well as pure, colorless spots of light, flickering in and out of his mental vision.
He focused his mind. This time, instead of specifically choosing the pure, colorless spots of light, he targeted those with color, carefully using his mental intent to “draw in” a few of them.
His thought process was simple: although the conversion of the white ones went smoothly, with the condition of elemental affinity in play, Matthew was also somewhat curious about what his own attribute affinity was.
If he happened to strike gold by pure luck, the progress of his meditation method might become much faster.
Rate on N.U.
