Meditation

The vast, complex body of knowledge and its abstruse concepts made Su Luo frown slightly.

Unlike the logical reasoning of [Appraisal], the practical techniques of [Gathering], and the physical training of the [Basic Body-Strengthening Technique], the [Meditation] Skill Book was filled from beginning to end with an ineffable air of "mystery."

However difficult those three Skill Books were, the knowledge and methods in them seemed fairly reasonable to Su Luo.

But [Meditation] was different.

Things like "focus the mind and calm the spirit, sensing the elements throughout the heavens," and "draw the elements into the body to temper the spiritual essence"...

Before he transmigrated, there had been two main systems of meditation in the world: traditional Eastern meditation and modern derived meditation.

The former emphasized spiritual cultivation and regulating the body and mind; the latter focused on relieving stress and improving concentration.

To Su Luo, the theoretical explanations and methods at the start of [Meditation] reflected ideas from both systems, though they leaned more toward the Taoist system of "inner alchemy meditation": imagining qi circulating through the body while regulating breathing and thoughts.

But what did absorbing elements from the outside world mean?

After gritting his teeth and working to understand and memorize all the key points in the first chapter, the familiar system notifications arrived right on schedule.

[Your "Meditation" has leveled up!]

[Meditation level 1 (0/100)]

[While active, Magic Power recovery speed increases by 50%]

[Spirit +0.1]

[Magic Power +1]

[Magic Power attribute unlocked]

In an instant, Su Luo felt as though a pump had suddenly drained away some of his mental strength. A powerful wave of dizziness and emptiness swept over him, and a slight stinging pain came from his temples. He still had to supply the energy needed to raise his Spirit attribute himself.

The system's immense power meant Su Luo didn't need to cultivate arduously. Once he had studied and understood the material, the system certified his progress and leveled up the skill, directly increasing his attributes. The cost was only a small sacrifice.

[Su Luo: alive]

[Age: 22]

[Level: 0 (0%)]

[Strength: 4.6]

[Spirit: 6.0]

[Constitution: 4.3]

------

[Magic Power: 1]

[Talent: Learning Gains:

Effect 1: a minimum return is guaranteed during the learning process

Effect 2: your focus while learning is significantly improved]

Su Luo had learned about the Magic Power attribute on the forum. Some survivors had it displayed from birth because of their talents.

"But... just one point."

"All right, better than nothing. At least it's a good start. I can't keep studying Meditation, though. Raising my attributes will drain me to death. I'd better hold off on leveling it."

[Meditation level 1 (92/100)]

After stopping [Meditation] short of leveling up, Su Luo opened [Frostbolt]...

Messages from Ye Xu kept popping up in Qin Lang's personal channel.

[Ye Xu: Qin Lang. Your Mutual Aid Association really knows how to play the game!]

[Qin Lang: Mr. Ye, what makes you say that?]

[Ye Xu: What makes me say that? Giving out tinder for free and teaching people to burn down houses? Your little act of "selfless devotion" has really thrown a spotlight on what a "profiteer" I am. My Lamp Oil has hit rock bottom now.]

[Qin Lang: Mr. Ye, please calm down. The Mutual Aid Association's purpose is to safeguard the basic right to survival of the majority of survivors and maintain their ability to explore.]

Qin Lang frowned. Ye Xu had already traded for a large amount of supplies and special items through the market, and he still wasn't satisfied?

[Ye Xu: Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents!]

[Qin Lang: One of your classmates is in the channel. She said you were an orphan.]

[Ye Xu: ...]

[Ye Xu: This isn't over! You don't think... Lamp Oil is all I have, do you?]

After that, no matter how Qin Lang questioned him, Ye Xu didn't reply.

[A post you follow has been updated!]

The notification pulled Su Luo from his thoughts. It was the poster who had also discovered that skills could be self-taught.

[Good news: you really can teach yourself...]

[Bad news: it's fucking hard!]

[First, to establish my credentials, I'm a master's student at a well-known 985 university. My talent increases my learning efficiency by 80%, and it was this talent that gave me the idea to study a Skill Book on my own.]

[After studying "Appraisal" closely for six hours, I'm starting to want to give up. Even getting started is extremely difficult, and each chapter after that is harder than the last.]

[System screenshot]

[Appraisal level 0 (24/50)]

[Maybe it's because I don't have any relevant background that my progress is extremely slow... but at least I'm faster than most people reading this post!]

[According to my calculations, even without accounting for physical exertion, I gain experience by using the skill more than 25 times faster than by studying it myself! And that's not even mentioning how much harder the later chapters are!]

[My first research post... ended before it even began... sob, sob, sob.]

[I'll keep studying and get "Appraisal" to beginner level as soon as possible! When I do, I'll make a dedicated post explaining the material in detail. Private message me if you're interested!]

[Please tip a little. Your poor kid is too busy studying to eat (crying).]

There were hardly any replies below. Everyone was busy trying to survive and had no time for this sort of thing.

Su Luo opened the pinned post and read the updated introductions to several level-zero monsters. Then he closed the forum and continued reading [Frostbolt].

[Your "Frostbolt" has leveled up!]

[Frostbolt level 1 (0/100)]

[Coats an arrow in frost, slowing and paralyzing enemies on impact]

The lack of an attribute increase made Su Luo breathe a sigh of relief instead. If his attributes went up any more, he really would starve to death.

Strangely, the [Frostbolt] entry was grayed out and couldn't be used.

Su Luo had skipped the "class" requirement and forcibly learned [Frostbolt], but he couldn't use it.

Su Luo couldn't use the skill through the system, but he had already learned its principles and methods and understood the way its power flowed.

Su Luo raised his hand. A thin trickle of Magic Power surged over it and slowly spread across an old stone brick beside him, giving off a chill.

"I can use it to chill cola. It doesn't have much combat power at the moment."

After the chill had poured from Su Luo's hand for a dozen seconds or so, half his Magic Power was gone.

He switched images again. This time, his target was [Gathering]. With so little Magic Power, learning attack and defense skills would be pointless, so he might as well solidify his foundations first.

But before he began, Su Luo decided to do something.

[Su Luo: I'm going to make a post in a bit. Your Mutual Aid Association might want to take a look.]

[Qin Lang: What's it about?]

[Su Luo: You'll see. Just some insights about "learning."]

[On a cost-free, efficient strategy for using "Skill Books"]

[As the title says, we know that the contents of Skill Books actually exist.]

[Borrow a Skill Book and study it yourself to raise the skill to level 1 (beginner). After that, you can use the skill normally to gain proficiency, with the same result as using the Skill Book directly.]

[This allows Skill Books to be reused indefinitely, greatly lowering the threshold for acquiring skills.]

[Please note: studying on your own requires a certain amount of talent, time, and effort. Please act within your means.]

[In summary]