"No hunting for the next two months?"
"Understood."
Oliver watched Luke's messenger depart.
With harsh weather and heavy snowfall imminent, Luke had sent word to suspend hunting for the coming months. He advised conserving resources to avoid the embarrassment of borrowing money.
Though the treatment level's salary was substantial, it was a one-time boon. Contribution points slowly drained to maintain one's current status.
First-level treatment lost 5 points monthly. If it dipped negative, the monthly stipend ceased.
Second-level lost 10 points per month, third-level 20 points.
Team Four's recent monster hunts barely offset this drain, insufficient to climb treatment tiers.
Their cautious approach, avoiding deeper territory, ensured stability. Eight months had passed without further casualties.
In this ancient-like setting, such prudence was warranted.
As heavy snow blanketed the village, Oliver focused on Energy Cultivation, honing his senses and incrementally improving his internal energy.
His remaining time was devoted to digestion studies.
He acquired ample paper, pens, and ink to document his experiments and calculations.
Oliver's new approach involved using minute amounts of internal energy to forcibly construct meridians.
He sensed that areas of unimpeded energy flow constituted meridians.
Macroscopically, this manifested as energy flowing freely from the dantian throughout his body.
Only upon reaching deeper organs did the energy flow encounter resistance.
This realization sparked an idea in Oliver.
If blockages existed, what would happen if he used internal energy to clear them?
In many areas, energy flow caused no harm but struggled to penetrate. Compared to exploring unknown regions and risking injury, clearing safe areas seemed far more practical.
From October to January, Oliver focused on unblocking these areas, facilitating smooth energy flow.
The results proved effective. Oliver's baseline life force absorption rate was about 12%. Opening a meridian increased this by 1%.
Across twelve meridians, his absorption rate would double regardless of food consumed.
The question became: how long to open a meridian?
"Less than seven days..." Oliver mused, his eyes brightening.
With internal energy meridians established, the energy cost of circulation decreased dramatically – a practical boon!
Twelve meridians in just three months seemed negligible compared to the returns!
"Focus on the digestion technique first. Everything else can wait!"
Oliver's decision was immediate.
...
◇
Ordinary Skills
Farming (Level 4: 350/600, yield increased by 50%)
Energy Cultivation (Level 4: 700/2000, practice speed increased by 100%)
◇
Three months passed swiftly. Oliver spent half a month farming and researching yield improvement methods.
The remainder split between Team Four hunts and digestion technique practice.
As meridians opened one by one, Oliver's digestion accelerated, absorption rates soared, and his technique progressed ahead of schedule.
However, this forcibly created pathway seemed to harbor hidden dangers, causing occasional stinging pain. This unsettling sensation prompted Oliver to halt at twelve digestive meridians.
Concurrently, Oliver amassed 100 silk-like internal energy strands, poised to enter the third level of Energy Cultivation.
"Twelve basic internal energy cores can self-circulate, drawing energy from the entire body. At this stage, internal energy power increases dramatically."
This self-contained cycle manifested as a circle condensed in the dantian, connected end-to-end.
Oliver condensed one hundred silk-like strands. Upon cultivating his twelfth basic core, these energies naturally linked in his dantian, forming a circle.
In this state, the twelve basic cores unified, their power and purity significantly enhanced.
Even at rest, Oliver felt a constant state of amplification, light as a swallow.
"The gap between realms is vast. It's time to learn some survival skills..."
Oliver stood by the pond, his internal energy surging.
He'd focused solely on cultivation, neglecting combat abilities.
It wasn't disinterest in strength, but as a modern man, fighting didn't come naturally.
Despite long practice with the Monster-Slaying Sword Technique, he'd only reached proficiency. How could he hope to match others at this level?
Even if Luke reduced his internal energy to match, Oliver would surely lose.
The realm gap was indeed huge, but not absolute.
Outdated methods risked relegation to background character status, easily felled by higher-level opponents.
Oliver sensed this potential in Quentin, whose Wind-Chasing Arrow technique was superb.
If Oliver's swordsmanship was proficient, Quentin had achieved minor success at minimum.
Minor success in archery yielded high accuracy. Add internal energy infusion, and arrows could indeed chase the wind.
Quentin's arrow speed likely exceeded sound.
Once locked on, he'd loose before the sound reached him, with enough power to slay monsters.
At greater distances, even Oliver's third-level Energy Cultivation might prove insufficient.
This realization instilled a sense of crisis in Oliver.
He possessed a treasure, yet his combat prowess lagged behind peers, even those of lower levels. It was laughable.
Change was imperative. Blind cultivation wouldn't suffice!
"The third level requires twelve basic cores, but the fourth jumps to thirty-six! Fifth and sixth demand seventy-two and one hundred eight respectively!"
"Twelve cores were already challenging. No wonder many hunter families stall at the third level for life. Breakthrough isn't achievable with ordinary meat. Vast quantities of monster meat are essential!"
"Fortunately, my digestion technique doubles food absorption efficiency. With sufficient ordinary meat, I can force cultivation to twenty-four basic cores!"
Oliver remained confident.
His enhanced cultivation speed now yielded eight silk-like strands daily.
Twenty-four basic cores could be mastered in just three hundred days.
With ample meat, miracles were possible!
Compared to monster meat, ordinary meat was far more accessible, purchasable without limit if funds allowed.
Oliver sometimes pondered the implications of taking over the Village Chief's livestock business...
He'd likely be shot dead for such presumption.
This method of recovering monster meat and copper coins was strictly off-limits to outsiders.
Even knowing that livestock didn't require six times the feed for one pound of meat growth with proper methods, Oliver couldn't capitalize on pig farming.
Fortunately, these were remnants of his past life. Unable to guarantee their applicability here, Oliver wasn't too disappointed. He redoubled his cultivation efforts.
This time, his mindset shifted. If he couldn't master offensive techniques, he'd focus on dodging and evasion.
Simple speed and endurance didn't require fighting talent or physical instinct, right?
As the saying went, the ultimate counter to martial arts was superior speed!
If victory wasn't the goal, speed could render one invincible!
This concept was generally termed "lightness skill."