(3 months later, Real World)
In the past 90 days, Leo barely logged into Terra Nova Online for a grand total of five times as he instead dedicated all his energy to advancing with the Marrow Meditation Manual in the real world.
Since his encounter with the Demon King, Leo felt as if he'd unlocked a profound new outlook on life and to consolidate this newfound clarity, he believed meditation was the ideal state of mind to embrace.
Until now, his life had been a relentless quest to survive by any means necessary— which meant that achieving victory was his only option.
But in chasing success so fiercely, he had scarcely noticed the exact moment where he had transformed from the underdog into the favorite and only after meeting with the Demon King did he realize that he could no longer continue behaving the way that he was, and that he needed to revamp his entire personality.
He was a champion now, a man aiming to be the Emperor, hence, he needed to start acting like an Emperor now, because that was the only way that the masses were ever going to embrace him.
Leo recognized that winning at any cost was no longer a sustainable solution to his problems and once this understanding dawned on him, his focus shifted from chasing the short-term gains to seeing the bigger picture and pursuing lasting growth.
"Focus…. Focus on the creation of new cells" Leo mumbled, as beads of sweat formed on his forehead from the strain of his meditation, however, he did not stop.
Today was the day he was going to reach 10% replacement rate of his RBC's, which according to the manual was the first minor stage of completion.
It had taken him nearly 4.5 months in total to reach this point, and although on his first day practicing the manual, he could barely create any cells before losing all mental strength, after 4.5 months of practice, he was finally creating enough new cells to reach a positive replacement rate.
On an average he achieved a +0.11% progress everyday, taking him roughly 90 days to hit the 10% mark.
*Flutter*
*Flutter*
The moment Leo reached the 10% replacement mark, the meditation manual before him fluttered ever so slightly, as the text [ Congratulations for completing the first minor realm ] appeared on it.
Reading the text, Leo let out an exhilarated sigh or relief, as tears of joy began to streak down his cheeks.
"I did it! I really did it—" he said, crashing flat down on his back, as he stained the cotton matt of the meditation room with the sweat on his back.
Although the concentration of the new cells in his body was at merely 10%, Leo could already observe the benefits it brought, as with only 10% enhanced cells, his muscles strength, reflex speed and mana holding capacity had already shown significant improvements.
At first, when he was just another normal player, Leo could not understand how a grandmaster level fighter was considered to have enough strength to flatten a mountain alone, however, now as he was on the road to becoming a grandmaster himself, Leo could finally understand how.
The strength that he felt coursing through his veins although he was a far-cry from the grandmaster realm was no joke and even at his current limited capabilities, Leo felt his fists being strong enough to punch through steel walls, which was by no means a laughing feat.
Killing a man was as simple as flicking a finger at his skull for Leo now, as although he was not strong enough to split mountains yet, he was surely strong enough to split skulls with a casual flick of his pinky.
These gains, while not translating to levels, or immediate improvement in combat abilities, were crucial to pursue long-term growth, which was why instead of focusing on the politics of the uprising, or the state of the world within Terra Nova Online, Leo chose to focus solely on his meditation for the past few months.
*Knock*
*Knock*
As Leo laid flat on his back, enjoying the strength coursing through his veins, he heard a soft knock on his meditation room door, as he sighed and said "Come in".
*Slide*
The entrance door soon slid open, as a smiling Luke entered.
"Blurghh–" Leo said, seeing the stupid grin on his brother's face, as although his brother had not spoken a single word yet, Leo could already understand the reason behind his smile.
"Oh come on now…. I haven't even said anything yet" Luke complained as Leo covered his eyes with his arm and rolled over to show Luke his back as he said "No! My answer is No! Brother, tell the witch I will not spar with her".
Without Luke even uttering a single word, Leo already knew that he was smiling because PinkLotus had come over, however, Leo simply did not wish to fight that woman.
Every few days she would come requesting for a spar and every few days Leo had to coldly decline that request, because he was simply not interested.
If it were someone else, they would get the hint and stop bothering the other side, however, PinkLotus was as stubborn as they came.
No matter how Leo rejected her, she came back with a thick skin next week, and somehow, his brother seemed to enjoy every last moment of it.
Ever since he had quit the DarkSky guild, his relationship with both Leo and PinkLotus had improved significantly, as without the baggage of the guild dragging him down, Luke once again became the chill, fun guy that he used to be back on Earth.
"At Least come outside and reject her to her face Leo. Don't make me do it on your behalf... Come on…. Man up" Luke urged, as he grabbed Leo by his foot and dragged him out towards the courtyard, while Leo remained completely still with his head towards the floor.
This was the 12th week in a row that she had came asking for a fight, and Leo was really fed up of this routine now.