A day passed.
Inside the underground passage of Zachary Manor.
Leon opened his eyes from his meditative state, excitement written all over his face:
“Finally, it leveled up!”
Opening his Divine Art panel, a few silver lights flickered across it.
【Divine Art Casting Grade: Poor】
【Walking Meditation Experience +2】
【Walking Meditation Lv1 (99/100) → Walking Meditation Lv2 (1/300)】
【You have leveled up Walking Meditation. You may choose one of the following three traits for enhancement:】
【Trekking: Based on your walking speed, increases the meditation speed of 'Walking Meditation'. The faster you walk, the higher the boost, up to a maximum of 300%.】
【Silent Recitation: 'Walking Meditation' can run continuously and automatically without active maintenance, increasing its meditation speed by 100%.】
【Linkage: Links with the Divine Art 'Sacred Light Meditation'. Each time you execute 'Walking Meditation', you can simultaneously practice Sacred Light Meditation and enhance the meditation effect of its trait 'Arduous Meditation'.】
Sweeping his gaze over the three available traits, Leon's eyes lit up, and a look of joy spread across his face:
“I choose Linkage!”
【Selected Enhancement Trait: Linkage】
The moment he selected the Linkage trait, Leon suddenly noticed that as he silently practiced Walking Meditation, dazzling particles of Sacred Light began to drift from his body.
This was a special effect that only occurred when practicing Sacred Light Meditation, absorbing external Sacred Light power to strengthen his Sea of Mental Power!
“The meditation effect of my Sacred Light Meditation, which I previously leveled up to Lv2, is good, but I have to set aside dedicated time for it, and the process can't be interrupted by other tasks.”
But now, with Walking Meditation linked to Sacred Light Meditation... it's the equivalent of running both Sacred Light Meditation and Walking Meditation all day long!
It's practically double the experience and double the mental power growth!
Now, under the effect of Linkage, Sacred Light Meditation could run completely automatically.
This way, Leon could free up the time he used to spend practicing Sacred Light Meditation to train other Divine Arts!
In the grand scheme of things, the effect brought by this 【Linkage】 trait of Walking Meditation was far greater than just one plus one equaling two!
“And it even enhances the effect of Sacred Light Meditation's 【Arduous Meditation】 trait...”
Leon looked at the Sacred Light particles gushing from his body, feeling that the special effects were even cooler than when he practiced Sacred Light Meditation normally.
With these kinds of light effects, Leon felt like he could practically cosplay as the God of Sacred Light...
“God of Sacred Light above, please forgive my insolence!”
Realizing his irreverent thought, Leon quickly and devoutly performed a Sacred Light salute to apologize.
His Wishing Art still relied on the server of the God of Sacred Light to respond. He didn't dare offend Him, or else it would be over if the God of Sacred Light stopped responding to his prayers in the future...
“Leon, Priest.”
Inside the passage, Alicia watched Leon, who had finally finished his meditation. She tilted her head and said:
“You... have... light... spots... on... you.”
Hearing this, Leon also noticed that after linking with Sacred Light Meditation, the Sacred Light particles were gushing out fiercely, making him look rather conspicuous.
But on second thought, so what if he stood out? As long as it expanded his Sea of Mental Power, nothing else mattered.
Besides, the more eye-catching he was, the more Divine Art experience points he could harvest.
Looking at it from this perspective, emitting Sacred Light particles was actually a good thing!
As he walked up to the manor with Alicia, the Sacred Light particles on Leon's body immediately drew the attention of the Falcon warriors and the Imperial Shadow Agent, Doncic.
However, seeing that Leon didn't bring it up, they didn't ask either.
“Ratahn, take the other warriors downstairs to guard the area and keep watch on those Gramophone Golems.”
Leon instructed:
“You don't need to engage them in direct combat, nor do you need to worry about them. Just observe the movements within the ruins while I'm away, and make sure those golems don't leave the ruins.”
“If an accident occurs and any golems do escape the ruins, don't fight them. Quickly seal the underground passage, retreat to safety, and wait for my return to handle it.”
Ratahn struck his chest with his right hand and saluted. “Understood!”
With his instructions given, Leon left with Alicia and Doncic, who had been following in secret.
Scott, the alchemist captured yesterday, had been locked in the bunker of Zachary Manor, closely guarded by two Falcon warriors.
Having finally leveled up Walking Meditation, Leon was now preparing to head to Stormveil City. On one hand, he wanted to consult the mages of the Alchemists' Association regarding information about the ruins.
On the other hand, he planned to obtain a few buff-type Divine Arts from Miles.
For now, the mermen of the Dusk Sea didn't dare cross the boundary lightly, and the remaining Four Kings were busy jointly exploring the ancient ruins, having no time to cause trouble on the southern shores of the Heron Empire.
At the same time, the ruins beneath Zachary Manor provided Leon with a perfect spot to grind experience points.
With everything quiet, it was the perfect opportunity to solidify his foundation and develop steadily!
...
By the time they returned to Eldenborg from Jellyfish Town, dusk had already fallen. Leon was in no hurry to go to Stormveil City, so he decided to spend the night at Rose Cathedral first.
“Where is Prince Aaron?”
After finishing dinner, Leon asked Old Hunter.
Old Hunter replied respectfully, “Early this morning, Prince Aaron took everyone to go fishing at the small lake west of Eldenborg.”
“He certainly is quite leisurely...”
Hearing this, Leon thought to himself that Aaron had been ordered by the Sage King to head to the Dwarven Kingdom, yet several days had passed and he was still idling around Eldenborg.
It was as if he wasn't in the slightest hurry to reach the Dwarven Kingdom and complete the task assigned by the Sage King.
This immediately reminded Leon of his past life—how, on the very last day of summer vacation, he would pull off a miracle of completing all his homework in a single night with just one pen.
But since that old fellow entrusted this mission to Aaron, he must have long anticipated Aaron's slow and steady style... It seems retrieving whatever it is from the Dwarven Kingdom isn't particularly urgent, Leon thought to himself.
After enjoying dinner, Leon sparred with Alicia in the backyard, earning another small pocket of experience points.
Under the sparse stars and bright moon, just as he was about to return to his room to rest, he suddenly sensed something.
“Hmm?”
Within his perception, a figure quietly slipped out of Rose Cathedral, scaled the courtyard wall, and headed toward the high ground east of the cathedral.
“Is that... one of the maids Aaron brought?”
Aaron had taken a group of people to go fishing in the west, but he hadn't brought along the maids or cooks who served him, leaving them behind at the cathedral instead.
Right now, this maid of Aaron's was slipping out of the cathedral in the dead of night. Her movements certainly didn't seem like they were directed by Aaron...
Leon pondered for a couple of seconds before immediately calling Alicia and Doncic. Casting his 【Refraction Distortion】 and 【Simulated Aura】 Divine Arts, he slipped out of the cathedral to follow her.
There were two possibilities for Aaron's maid slipping out of the cathedral at night: one was that she was colluding with the enemy and transmitting intelligence.
The other... was that she wanted to meet a lover under the moonlight.
Considering the latter possibility, Leon chose not to alert her and instead trailed quietly behind the maid.
He watched as the maid looked back with every few steps. Only after confirming that no one was behind her did she walk up to the high ground west of the cathedral, pulling a palm-sized, smooth stone from her inner garments.
“A communication stone?” Doncic recognized the stone and immediately explained:
“This is a type of magic item that comes in a paired set. Depending on its grade, it can enable real-time communication across distances ranging from a small town to multiple cities.”
“The one in her hand has an extraordinary quality and is clearly of a very high grade. It's definitely not something a mere maid like her should possess!”
Leon frowned slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't step forward immediately. He only said, “Let's see who she's trying to contact first.”
Doncic nodded and continued to watch.
He saw the maid pull out the communication stone and tap it in a specific frequency. The stone then glowed with a faint, eerie light, as if connecting to its counterpart.
The maid gripped the communication stone, her voice filled with respect as she spoke:
“Prince Guilliman, Prince Aaron has not yet departed from Eldenborg. Instead, he has taken Lord Aleph-One and the others to go fishing at the small lake to the west.”
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