Chapter 64: Chapter 63: We Can’t Hold On Much Longer
After returning to the dormitory, Ron carefully locked the doors and windows, checked the trap markings arranged last night, and only relaxed a little after confirming everything was intact.
He decided to attempt the Meditations of Star Eater’s Ravings again tonight but with more caution, trying to avoid triggering that intense inspiration.
Ron re-arranged protective runes in the four corners of the room, lit special calming incense, and then placed the silver pocket watch beside him for potential emergencies.
"Stay steady, don’t rush things." He reminded himself, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes.
This time, he didn’t immediately attempt to construct a complete meditation rune but started with Basic Meditation instead, allowing Spiritual Power to flow along familiar paths, forming a stable base state.
Once he felt in a good state, he began attempting to transition to the structure of Star Eater’s Ravings, taking care with every step, fearing a repeat of last night’s intense inspiration.
As the rune structure gradually took shape, Ron could feel the subtle change in the quality of his Spiritual Power.
Unlike that peaceful and gentle feeling during Basic Meditation, the Spiritual Power guided by Star Eater’s Ravings was sharper, more active, like turning tranquil lake water into rushing rapids.
This change brought him a peculiar sensation—his thinking became sharper, perception more sensitive, even able to detect subtle magical fluctuations in the room’s air.
At the same time, he felt a faint spiritual abnormality.
Unlike last night’s almost maddening intensity, today’s contamination felt more like background noise, faint yet constantly present.
[Star Eater’s Ravings Experience Points +1]
"Indeed, as long as that kind of inspiration isn’t actively triggered, meditation progress may be slower, but spiritual contamination is also much weaker. Last time it was so dangerous because the Spiritual Flow trait accelerated the meditation technique progress too much, triggering inspiration all at once."
Ron pondered to himself.
He focused on the stable rune structure taught by Lady Allen, avoiding deliberately pursuing the deep realms that might bring inspiration.
However, despite the relatively light spiritual contamination, Ron decided to use the pocket watch of Time Guardian for purification.
He closed his eyes, concentrated on sensing the faint contamination, then guided it into the pocket watch.
[Successfully reset negative state: Mild spiritual contamination, Energy -2]
As the pocket watch absorbed the spiritual contamination, Ron felt his mind becoming increasingly clear.
The subtle discomfort during meditation completely vanished, replaced by a relaxed and joyful state.
"Not bad, even with cautiously steady cultivation, pairing with the pocket watch can maintain very considerable progress speed." Ron nodded satisfied.
He looked out the window, the night deepened, yet his mind remained exceptionally alert.
This might be a side effect brought by Star Eater’s Ravings, after the enhancement of Spiritual Power, the needed sleep time correspondingly reduced.
Ron immediately began a comprehensive review of his own condition, facing potential dangers and difficulties without blind optimism:
[Ron Ralph]
[Age: 15]
[Current Combat Profession: Wizard Apprentice (One and a Half Stars), Knight’s Squire (One Star)]
[Current Life Profession: Magic Potion Apprentice (One Star)]
[Attributes: Constitution 1.5, Spirit 2.6, Magic Power 0.7]
[Skills: Basic Magic Potion Making (Skilled), Star Eater’s Ravings (Skilled), Zero-Ring: Slime Splash (Skilled Max), Magic Potion Refining (Beginner), Herb Recognition (Skilled), Basic Swordsmanship (Skilled), Breathing Body Refining (Beginner), Magic Construction (Beginner), Spiritual Interference (Beginner), Sound Wave Vibration (Skilled)]
[Special Talent: Dual Soul, Sun’s Protection (Residual)]
[Power Level: Elementary Apprentice]
Unknowingly, the progress of various skills was visible to the naked eye.
From Basic Magic Potion Making to Star Eater’s Ravings, from Herb Recognition to Basic Swordsmanship, each was steadily advancing.
Especially Basic Swordsmanship, with the help of the pocket watch of Time Guardian, the progress had reached almost half of the Skilled level, and the next qualitative leap was not far off.
"Even in the most conservative estimate, at this speed, I should reach the Middle Apprentice level within two months."
Ron muttered to himself in his heart: "As estimated, reaching 3.0 Spiritual Power should cross the threshold of Middle Apprentice, the goal of entering the Candidate Wizard sequence is just around the corner."
These achievements, placed on any apprentice, would suffice for pride and arrogance, but he became increasingly cautious.
Just as Lady Allen warned, the more of a genius, the easier to fail due to arrogance.
"Must remain vigilant, especially in monitoring one’s spiritual condition."
After recording, he took out the silver pocket watch again, preparing to start tonight’s cultivation cycle.
Although the daytime work already consumed substantial energy, the pocket watch’s ability allowed him to easily reset this negative state.
[Successfully absorb negative state: Fatigue, Energy -1]
With the reset complete, Ron no longer felt any fatigue, rather he was full of energy, as if just awoken.
"The pocket watch’s ability is truly convenient."
He picked up the ironwood sword, began the evening’s swordsmanship training, each move aiming for precision and fluidity, perfectly combining Crown Breathing Technique with swordsmanship.
The sword light flickered in the dim room, like a dark-colored swimming fish, graceful and deadly.
Training lasted for two hours, when the muscle soreness reached a certain level, Ron again used the pocket watch for reset.
The repetitive training-reset-training cycle allowed his Basic Swordsmanship experience points to continue accumulating.
Ending the cultivation, in dreams he saw himself walking in a sea of stars, those ravings murmuring around his ears, though the meanings were still unclear, they were no longer completely incomprehensible noise.
......
Faruk Kingdom, Earl Ralph’s Mansion.
The winter sunlight weak and powerless, slanted through the tall windows of the study, unable to dispel the somber atmosphere within.
Count Ralph sat in front of the desk, brow furrowed, the open ledger before him like a mountain impossible to climb.
The flames in the fireplace emitted a faint crackling sound, barely adding a touch of vitality to this solemn space.
"Father, we need to talk."
A tall young man pushed the door open and entered, this was Ron’s elder brother Edmund, the Ralph Clan’s heir, now the main handler of clan affairs.
The Count raised his head, his eyes once sharp now streaked with blood, the wrinkles at the corners marked the passage of years: "What issue is it this time?"
Edmund sat down on the chair opposite his father, took a deep breath:
"The wheat fields on the west side have had poor harvests for three consecutive years, last year’s plague took away a quarter of the serfs, the estate’s expenses far exceed income, especially..."
He paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words: "Especially the magic stone fragments sent to Ron every month, which have pushed our finances to the brink of collapse."
The Count’s eyes flickered briefly but quickly returned to calm: "What do you want to say?"Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt
"Father, you mortgaged the vineyard to the east last month and sold grandmother’s silverware this month, all to make up for those ten magic stone fragments."
Edmund’s voice carried pain: "I know the family’s situation better than anyone—we’re almost at breaking point."