First Meditation

When Roland returned to the house he had rented, Old Nob had already rolled up his sleeves and was carrying a bucket of clean water as he scrubbed the first floor inside and out. His movements were swift and practiced; in just a few strokes, he had wiped a piece of furniture spotless and gleaming.

Roland did not sit idle either. He softly chanted an incantation, and as his voice rose, a breeze stirred around him. Under his control, it gently swept through every corner of the room, carrying away the dust on the surfaces.

This was a Level 1 wind spell with a pleasant name: Wind Dance.

In less than a minute, the entire first floor had taken on a fresh new look under Roland's spell. Though the floating dust was gone, it still needed a deeper cleaning.

Even so, Roland had given Old Nob a small demonstration of why mages were respectfully called Mage Lords by the outside world.

Not only were they experts at killing, they were also remarkably good at cleaning.

Roland was satisfied by the astonished look on Old Nob's face.

"Young Master Roland, how can you possibly do such menial work? Wouldn't that stain your spell? Please never do this again," Old Nob said hurriedly and anxiously.

Clearly, what had shocked him was not Roland's spell, but the fact that Roland had actually used magic to help him clean the room. That had never happened before.

"Grandpa Nob, spells are meant to be used. Any spell with no practical value will sooner or later be eliminated by history." Having left the Solomon Family, Roland had become much more confident. He no longer cared too much about the differences from his former self. Even if Old Nob became suspicious, he could hardly pose any threat to Roland.

Moreover, after inheriting all of his former self's memories, the chances of that happening were nearly nonexistent.

"But you still shouldn't use magic for this kind of rough work," Old Nob said worriedly.

"Grandpa Nob, I did plenty of this when I was little too. Let's keep cleaning. You don't want us to still be sleeping in the carriage tonight, do you?" Roland replied with a relaxed smile.

Roland's sudden mention of that dark period in the past brought a trace of gloom and dejection to Old Nob's face. He seemed to blame himself for not taking proper care of Roland back then.

"Let's continue, Grandpa Nob."

"Alright, alright." Seeing Roland's relaxed expression and how unaffected he seemed by his cruel childhood, Old Nob's complexion improved considerably. He hurriedly threw himself back into the cleaning.

Working together, the two of them cleaned the entire two-story house from top to bottom in less than two hours. Most of the time had been spent clearing out the clutter in the basement.

Afterward, they carried their belongings from the carriage into the house one by one. By the time everything had been put in order, night had fallen.

That evening, Old Nob prepared a delicious meal for Roland in their new home.

Soft white bread, tender lamb chops, and a bowl of savory mushroom soup left Roland eating to his heart's content.

After dinner, Roland took a comfortable hot bath, changed into clean clothes, and went straight to bed for a peaceful sleep.

More than half a month on the road had left not only his body exhausted, but his mind worn to the bone as well. That night, Roland slept especially soundly.

The next morning, after a full night's rest, all of Roland's fatigue had vanished. He looked refreshed and full of energy.

After washing up and enjoying another hearty breakfast prepared by Old Nob, Roland headed straight for the basement.

After yesterday's cleanup, the basement's original clutter had disappeared. Roland had rearranged it into a small laboratory, containing almost all the belongings left behind by his former self.

One hundred and four gold coins, and forty-five silver coins.

A set of beginner potion-brewing equipment, more than twenty portions of Magic Materials, one bottle of Tier 3 Fire Element Resonance Potion, and over a hundred books on various branches of magic.

Yes, Roland's former self had not only been a Level 4 Mage, but also a prospective Beginner Apothecary. Based on the memories Roland had inherited, his former self truly had little talent for potion-making.

He had relied entirely on countless experiments to force his potion-making level upward. His success rate for Tier 1 and Tier 2 Potions barely met the standard, while his success rate for Tier 3 Potions was less than ten percent. The income simply did not match the cost.

It was precisely because potion experiments had wasted too many resources that otherwise, his former self's class level could have risen by at least another level.

But this was good news for Roland. With his former self's foundation in potion-making and the Chip's assistance, he refused to believe he could not become a true apothecary.

Roland did not begin brewing potions immediately. He had something more important to do: meditate.

It could also be called cultivation. Mages used meditation to temper their Mental Power and increase the Mana within their bodies, while warriors strengthened their battle aura through training.

"Nuwa, monitor my entire meditation process and record and store it."

"Understood, Master. Monitoring begins."

Roland then sat cross-legged on a wooden bed in the basement. After slightly adjusting his breathing, he slowly closed his eyes and silently began chanting the meditation incantation according to the memories left behind by his former self.

The Meditation Method left behind by his former self was called the Fire Element Meditation Method, a Beginner Meditation Method.

Time passed. With the help of the Meditation Method, Roland gradually entered a state of deep meditation.

"Beep! An abnormal change has been detected in the Master's mental state."

"Beep! An abnormal change has been detected in the surrounding fire-attributed elements."

"Beep. The activity of fire-attributed Mana within the Master's body has increased by thirty percent."

"Beep! Influenced by the Fire Element Meditation Method, the Master has increased by 0.001."

"Beep. The Master's Mental Power consumption rate has accelerated."

The Chip's repeated alerts did not affect Roland in the slightest as he entered an even deeper meditative state.

Only after two hours did Roland slowly open his eyes, and the Fire Elements gathered around him gradually dispersed.

"My head hurts a little? Looks like I've reached today's limit for meditation." Roland gently rubbed his temples and murmured.

Compared to an Advanced Meditation Method, a Beginner Meditation Method was undoubtedly much cruder. As a result, the daily training time it allowed was far inferior to that of an Advanced Meditation Method.

"Nuwa, open the monitoring record."

"Understood, Master."

As he examined the meditation process recorded by the Chip, Roland gained a deeper understanding of meditation.

Essentially, one used a Meditation Method to stimulate a mage's Mental Power, accelerating the absorption of surrounding elements. The process both tempered Mental Power and increased the body's Mana capacity. With persistent practice, one could raise one's class level.

"Nuwa, how much Mental Power and Mana did I gain from this meditation?"

"Master, this meditation increased your Mental Power by 0.003 points and your Mana by 0.003 points."

"Open my Body Attribute Panel."

"Understood, Master."

As a faint blue light appeared, Roland's current Body Attribute Panel was displayed in the dim basement.

Strength 1.2

Constitution 1.1

Agility 1.3

Mental Power 4.5/6.2

Mana 5.4/6

Level 4 Mage

"Refine the Mental Power and Mana values to the utmost limit you can detect." Roland continued issuing commands to the Chip.

"Understood. Beginning further scans."

This scan lasted nearly five full minutes and even consumed a considerable amount of Roland's Mental Power.

"Beep! Scan complete."

Strength 1.2

Constitution 1.1

Agility 1.3

Mental Power 4.1/6.214

Mana 5.4/6.121

Level 4 Mage

Looking at the more precise Mental Power value, Roland could not help clicking his tongue inwardly.

Two hours of meditation had only increased his Mental Power and Mana by 0.003 points each. At this rate, reaching Level 5 Mage would take nearly two years at the very least, and that was assuming he meditated without fail every day.

But in three months, he would be entering the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands. By then, simply staying alive might be difficult. Where would he find the time to meditate?

"Nuwa, based on today's meditation results, roughly how long will it take for me to reach Level 5 Mage?"

"Beep! Mental Power will require 595 days, and Mana will require 626 days, to reach the standard of a Level 5 Mage."

"A year and a half, a little less than I estimated, but even so, it's far too slow." Roland felt somewhat irritated.

"Nuwa, can the Meditation Method be optimized to improve its effects?" Roland's eyes shifted, filled with expectation.

"Insufficient data. Attempting optimization rashly may produce uncertain effects."

Hearing Nuwa's response, Roland was somewhat disappointed, though it was only reasonable. His former self's memories contained only a few Beginner Meditation Methods. If Nuwa could optimize a Meditation Method with such limited data, then it would not be a Semi-Intelligent Chip—it should be called a Transmigrator System.

After finishing his meditation, Roland did not rest. He once again devoted himself to brewing potions.

Time was pressing. In three months, he would head to the Sea of Ten Thousand Islands to establish a territory, so he had to use this time to accumulate sufficient resources.

Potion-making was his most important means of accumulating resources. Roland believed that with the Chip's help, he could absolutely become a true apothecary.

"Nuwa, begin monitoring every part of my upcoming potion-brewing process, then analyze and store it."

"Understood, Master."

Roland took a deep breath and focused all of his attention on the potion brewing ahead.

His former self possessed a total of twelve beginner potion formulas and four intermediate potion formulas.

However, there were only four kinds that his former self was best at and had successfully brewed, with the highest being Tier 3.

They were the Body Recovery Potion, Spirit Recovery Potion, Fire Element Resonance Potion, and Spirit Agility Potion.

The first two were easy to understand. They could be broadly classified as healing potions, and Roland, after transmigrating here, had even been fortunate enough to use them.

The Fire Element Resonance Potion and Spirit Agility Potion could improve a professional's training efficiency. The former enhanced meditation, greatly increasing the speed at which one absorbed fire-attributed elements and increasing Mana, while the latter directly increased the user's Mental Power.

Roland's target was the latter two potions that could increase strength. Not only could he use them himself, but they were also more favored by mages and sold for higher prices.