The library was large, a little old, but at least it had everything we needed. There weren't many people either, since classes hadn't started yet, many students were trying to enjoy their last day of vacation.
I headed to the reception where there was an old man who was in charge of the library. After giving him my library card and checking my student ID, I headed to a fairly isolated corner, took out my computer, and searched for the first-year courses.
The idea I had was that instead of just studying the essential chapters, I would try to study the subjects in depth. This way, I would master the subject more and have a head start for the coming years. Plus, I still have a few concentration pills that the system gave me last time.
The following days passed, and I created a fairly simple routine for myself.
I wake up in the morning around 5am, practice the ether technique for 2 hours, eat breakfast, and spend the day at the library. I work for 20 minutes and take a 10-minute break, which was the method I had been using since I was a child. During the few breaks when I went out of the library to smoke, I met some students from my class. Students in physics, cybersecurity, biology, etc.
There were people who were there just for the scholarship, because the state grants a scholarship to all students if their families were not too rich, and there were also people who were serious about their studies. I return to the dormitory around 7pm. My roommates force me to play a game or two of League of Legends, we have dinner together, and everyone does what they want after that.
On the 10th day, I woke up as usual, washed up, and started meditating. Everything was normal at first, but as time went on, I felt like I was in the middle of a sphere of water, the sphere shrinking little by little. And I started to have trouble breathing, and to hallucinate. I saw black holes die, stars explode, advanced civilizations die. It was long but at the same time very short, and just when I couldn't breathe anymore, I heard the system notification and woke up from my stupor.
[Congratulations to the host for reaching level 1 of ether mastery]
[Reward: 50 points]
[The host has passed from a normal being to a practitioner]
[Reward: 100 points]
I was extremely happy, damn it, finally I'm going to fly!
[No]
Why do you always break the mood like that? And by the way, why is the reward for becoming a practitioner higher than the mastery of ether?
[Becoming a practitioner is quite simple if you have a good technique]
[But becoming one using ether is very risky]
[The hallucinations you saw just now were real]
[It happened thousands of years ago, or maybe it's happening now]
[Ether is the noblest element in the universe]
[It has already developed a consciousness, and when it felt that someone was trying to master it, it defended itself]
[If I hadn't woken you up, you would have been stuck in the hallucinations until your death]
Oh my God, you mean I almost died again !!!?
After calming down for a few seconds, I asked the system
- you said earlier that I couldn't fly, what can I do then?