Seeing the panel, Ronan's spirits lifted slightly.
The effect of high-intensity meditation was significant.
His spiritual power had grown by two percent, bringing him closer to the realm of a Level 2 Apprentice.
The Skill Bar now showed "Energy Missile," with a Proficiency at (entry-level 14/100).
"It's really nice to see tangible rewards for one's efforts..."
Ronan couldn't help but sigh.
Now lying in bed, emptying his mind and body, and reflecting on a day of hard practice, Ronan slowly noticed something odd.
He felt that his practice with "Energy Missile" went too smoothly.
According to the memories of his predecessor, it was normal for many novice wizards to take several weeks, or even a month, to successfully master their first Zero Rank Spell.
Yet he had done it in just one day.
And this was without any guidance, all by figuring it out on his own.
"Could it be that I'm a one-in-a-million magic prodigy?!"
Ronan shook his head, thinking it over, he felt that the reason might still be due to the panel.
This character panel seemed to have some magical ability to "solidify" every little bit of his progress.
During the practice of "Energy Missile," he could almost truly avoid repeating any mistake he had made once.
This became even more apparent after reaching entry-level proficiency with "Energy Missile."
After each casting, small epiphanies would arise naturally from the bottom of his heart, serving as nourishment for a better casting next time.
The same was true for the Meditation Skill.
Ronan's time to enter the meditation state was getting shorter and the effects of meditation were significantly enhanced.
"If it's really as I suspect... Then I've really struck it big..."
Ronan murmured in bed.
No lights were on, and the moonlight shone in from the window.
He looked at the pitch-black ceiling, feeling the tide of sleepiness surge, and unwittingly, he fell into a dream.
Ronan was too tired, after all, he was still unable to completely replace sleep with meditation.
...
In the days that followed, Ronan became completely self-disciplined.
He would rise early for morning exercises, then practice spells and meditate, followed by two hours of physical training in the afternoon, continuing until late at night.
He hardly had less than four hours of natural sleep each day.
Unconsciously, half a month passed.
"Wuru, Bazidamu!"
In the quiet oak forest, the deep sound of a spell chant rose.
The air flow in the forest suddenly changed, and a ping pong ball-sized mottled Light Ball appeared out of nowhere, rapidly disappearing into a bush.
"Bang!"
A violent explosion sounded as if something had let out a wail.
Accompanied by the splattering of countless grass fragments and soil, that bush was instantly cleared, leaving a mess.
"Huh?!"
Far away, Ronan, who had just released an "Energy Missile," looked different, he lowered his head, seemingly contemplating something.
"Just now when I was casting, I skipped two syllables of the chanting and did a few less hand gestures... and it still successfully released..."
Ronan opened his own character panel.
Sure enough, on the Skill Bar of the panel, the skill indicator for "Energy Missile" had changed from the entry-level to (Proficiency 1/200).
"The Skill Proficiency level has increased?!"
Ronan was pleased, yet not surprised.
The Proficiency of "Energy Missile" had been stuck at (entry-level 99/100) for a day or two, so this improvement was a natural progression.
"After proficiency improved, with fewer chant syllables and hand gestures, the casting time again reduced by several seconds..."
After reaching proficiency with "Energy Missile," Ronan felt that his understanding of the spell had deepened considerably.
The essence of spellcasting is actually the resonance of spiritual power with Energy Particles; chants and gestures are only methods to help achieve this resonance better.
If one day Ronan could fully grasp this rhythm of resonance, bypassing the lengthy chants and complicated gestures, instant casting wouldn't be impossible.
"After the skill was improved, the casting time is reduced to slightly less than seven seconds, which is much faster than when I started, but the reading time is still long...
"If it's a melee profession, that would be enough time for several attacks..."
Ronan shook his head and walked towards the spot where the Energy Missile had hit.
The Energy Missile had left behind a crater two meters wide and half a meter deep.
Inside the crater lay a wild elk, its flesh mangled beyond recognition.
Ronan squatted down, pulled a dagger from his waist, and began to cut usable parts from the dead elk.
Now that he had mastered an offensive technique, he could finally conduct simple hunting activities in the nearby area. His daily menu finally included meat.
The Energy Missiles Ronan now fired were significantly faster and more powerful than the initial ones.
One reason was the increase in the skill level of Energy Missile.
Another reason
was that a few days ago, Ronan had successfully advanced to a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice!
[Name: Ronan Damien]
[Age: 16]
[Talent: No Attribute Affinity]
[Strength: Second-level Wizard Apprentice (3%)]
[Skills: Basic Meditation Technique (entry-level 87/100)
Energy Missile (Proficiency 1/200)]
After ascending to Level 2, Ronan's spiritual power had increased significantly, now sufficient to cast Energy Missile four times in a row with some to spare.
Following this trend, his proficiency in Energy Missile would increase faster, the need for meditation due to depletion of spiritual power would become more frequent... It was like a snowball effect; he was unwittingly speeding down his own path of cultivation.
"It's just that the rate at which the energy particles erode the body... has also increased..."
Ronan frowned and subconsciously touched his chest.
His physical conditioning and improved diet had enhanced his physique, and his complexion had gradually improved, but a hidden pain in his chest every morning had not gone away—instead, it seemed to be intensifying.
Ronan believed that his lungs might have suffered erosion damage.
"I must find a way to stop this... My training gains are too low; it would be better if I could get a Knight Training Method, certainly better than my unsystematic practice..."
Ronan recalled back in his Earl's Domain, he had quite a few knights under his command.
A common trait among these knights was their formidable physical strength, far exceeding that of ordinary people.
Unfortunately, his former self had not practiced with them.
Thinking thus, Ronan stored his dagger.
He got up and, holding the fresh elk meat, started walking towards home.
He had not walked far when the bushes rustled and the sound of light footsteps reached him.
Ronan narrowed his eyes and silently stopped moving, his tongue curling in his mouth, ready to start chanting a spell at any moment.
Seconds later, a figure appeared in his line of sight.
It was a middle-aged man in a dark green robe, holding a black water bottle.
The man was clearly startled upon seeing Ronan.
But quickly, his expression calmed.
His eyes swept over Ronan, lingered briefly on the blood-dripping elk meat in Ronan's hand, then he stepped aside slightly and swiftly walked by without any expression.
Not until they had passed each other did Ronan and the middle-aged Wizard speak a word.
"Phew—"
Watching the middle-aged Wizard's retreating figure, Ronan exhaled softly, quite pleased with his own performance.
Compared to half a month ago, he no longer fled at the slightest rustle of wind-blown grass like a startled rabbit.
He had gained courage.
It was the strength of a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice and the Zero Rank Spell Energy Missile that had given it to him.
In fact, Ronan had also noticed that the "real" Tree House District wasn't as terrifying as he had imagined.
Although the Tree House District was in the wild, unadministered lands, most Wizards who chose to live there were like him, Low-level Wizard Apprentices who could not afford the Magic Stones required for towns' residence.
He was afraid.
Others probably were even more so.
Most Wizards cherished their lives and would actively avoid conflicts, except for some mentally disturbed desperadoes.
Over the past half month, as the scope of his morning exercises increased, Ronan gradually got to know several "neighbors" living near his home.
He had even met a few of them face to face, and the middle-aged Wizard he had just encountered was one of them.