“But it’s not magic— it’s just an innate ability. So the Iron Earthworm can only move through soil without magical properties. If it’s in soil with magical properties, its movement speed will be greatly reduced. If there’s a soil elemental spell, like Concrete Art, that solidifies the earth, it would be like an insect trapped in amber underground.
“This Iron Earthworm can deal with ordinary people reasonably well, but it falls short against experienced professionals.
“While it’s challenging for our field of mutation studies during the apprentice stage to create combat-ready creations like alchemical studies, once you reach a certain level of study, you’ll understand that mutation studies is far superior to alchemical studies. Alchemical studies’ creations are stiff and rigid, only possessing the most basic logic, incapable of handling more complex tasks. Mutation studies are different,” Angley said calmly.
“I understand, teacher. I will work hard to delve into mutation studies,” Lynn replied.
Angley nodded in satisfaction. “Study diligently on your own.”
With that said, Angley raised his right hand, and beneath his black robe, one dried and stiff finger pointed at the void.
In the next moment, a circular portal appeared in front of Angley.
Angley walked into the portal and disappeared.
Once Lynn was sure his teacher had left, he placed the diary back on the shelf.
He pondered for a moment, unsure if his teacher felt jealous when he saw Lynn exploring knowledge from other fields.The notes were also placed back on the shelf.
Lynn’s determination to study mutation studies and alchemical studies remained unwavering. For now, he would primarily focus on mutation studies since he had his teacher to consult when encountering unfamiliar concepts.
As the saying goes, the poor rely on mutation, and the rich rely on science and technology.
Alchemy, just from the second1 character “gold,” indicated that it was a costly side occupation.
Furthermore, alchemy couldn’t function without materials.
At present, mutation studies seemed to have more advantages.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Lynn began his daily meditation.
Daily meditation was a must. During the day, it was challenging to concentrate while riding in a carriage, so he could only read. At night, he had to allocate most of his time for meditation, with the remaining time dedicated to learning the Sleeping Curse.
And now that the teacher was gone, Lynn’s eyes flickered.
He opened the attribute panel.
Silently, he thought about leveling up.
The 2nd level instantly turned into the 3rd level.
‘Lynn
Level: Level 3 (0/100)
Physical Fitness: 1.62
Mental Strength: 3.6
Mastery:
—Earth Ring Meditation (10%)
Life Occupation:
—Level 1 Mutation Studies (10%) (0/10)
—Level 1 Bloodline Studies (1%) (0/10)
General Experience Points: 0′
A new force surged within his body. Not only in his flesh but throughout his entire being, new strength coursed through him. Lynn felt his power rapidly growing, as if he could knock out a cow with a single punch.
Of course, he knew this was an illusion. Going from 1.32 to 1.62 only meant a 22.7% increase in physical fitness. This comprehensive improvement in combat capabilities was definitely more than just 22.7%, but still far from being able to knock out a cow with one punch.
However, the increase in physical fitness was just an added bonus. What benefited him the most was not limited to the hidden improvements on the attribute panel.
Cross-legged in meditation, Lynn indeed felt that his meditation speed had increased quite a bit, becoming smoother.
Meditating for two hours, the eleventh earth ring was gradually forming, but halfway through, it collapsed.
Lynn opened his eyes, not discouraged. If it didn’t work today, he would try again tomorrow.
At least today’s efficiency was much higher than yesterday’s. This feeling of progress every day fascinated him. Originally, he estimated that it would take at least three or four days to condense the eleventh earth ring, but now it seemed he could do it much sooner.
Lynn discovered something— the process of condensing the earth rings was even more challenging than he had imagined.
It might require more time than anticipated.
After successfully condensing the first ten earth rings, the difficulty for the eleventh one had increased slightly.
It required more time as well.
If the difficulty increased with every ten earth rings, it would take even longer than before for him to achieve his goal. Given his previous aptitude, it would have taken at least two years to condense all the earth rings in the best-case scenario.
However, with his improved aptitude, as long as he kept leveling up, his aptitude would continue to improve. Although the increase each time was not significant, the accumulation over time would steadily boost his aptitude and, consequently, his meditation efficiency.
Of course, Lynn couldn’t be sure that the only factor affecting meditation efficiency was aptitude, but it didn’t stop him from temporarily defining it as “aptitude” in his mind. After all, meditation techniques could increase the limit of mental strength, so even if it wasn’t aptitude, it was still valuable.
For the next two days, Lynn read books, meditated, and attempted to comprehend the Sleeping Curse every day.
The efficiency of the Sleeping Curse had improved significantly. The Sleeping Curse required a total of 47 nodes.
Both meditation and constructing skill frameworks were time-consuming tasks.
Lynn aimed to construct three skill nodes every day, with an efficiency of one node per hour.
Time passed slowly.
Old Kim, after the initial panic on the first day, noticed that Lynn and the other person didn’t seem to have any intention of silencing him.
He felt relieved and began to drive the carriage more respectfully and carefully, hoping to deliver his two distinguished guests to their destination as soon as possible.
***
In Maple Leaf Town, a group arrived at a run-down lodge on the hill during the day. Twelve fully armored knights surrounded an elderly man in a brown linen robe. Although his beard was dark, his hair was gray. He was protected in the center.
The old man approached the lodge, palms open, and retrieved a crystal ball from his chest.
He held his hands out, and the crystal ball slowly rose from his palm, floating in mid-air.
As he chanted mysterious incantations, the surface of the crystal ball emitted a faint glow.
Then, within the crystal ball, a scene appeared.
Strangely, the scene inside the crystal ball was precisely what was happening at the lodge in front of them. However, the crystal ball displayed the scene from a high-altitude perspective, as if it had become the eyes of some entity observing the lodge from above.
Simultaneously, the scene within the crystal ball started to move, transitioning from static to dynamic.
The efficiency, however, had increased countless times, as if it were in fast-forward mode.
The old man closed his eyes and continued his incantations.
As he chanted, his previously gray hair gradually turned completely white.
One silver strand after another took on a frosty sheen atop his head.
Two wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened and slowly formed a third.
The scene within the crystal ball shifted from daytime to nighttime and then back to daytime. Suddenly, three figures appeared in the courtyard.
The image froze, and the once-clear picture within the crystal ball became blurry, flickering and stuttering.
The figures in the courtyard seemed as if veiled by a hazy mist, making their appearances indecipherable.
“Three people. These three must be the ones who killed Matthew.” A knight stood beside the old man, wearing a bright red cloak and silver armor that glistened in the sunlight. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist.
“Zoom in, let’s get a clearer look at their faces,” the knight said.
The old man continued chanting, and the image within the crystal ball gradually enlarged.
Suddenly, the floating crystal ball exploded with a resounding “bang.”
The old man let out a brief and sharp cry.
His once gray hair, now entirely white, turned pale in an instant.
Fragments from the shattered crystal ball pierced the old man’s face, and his entire face was smeared with red blood.
Then the old man fell to the ground, losing his life instantly. The knights watched this scene in silence for a moment, their fingers gripping the sword handles trembling slightly.
“Stop the investigation. This matter ends here.”
——
- TL/N: (Liàn jīn) is translated to alchemy, the second word refers to (jīn) which means gold.
炼金 (liàn jīn) : alchemy
炼 (liàn) : to refine / to smelt
金 (jīn) : gold ↩︎
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