Panel

In the pitch-black void, a point of white light appeared.

The white light slowly revolved.

If one were to trace its path, it would have formed a continuous circle that kept expanding outward.

Like a mosquito coil constantly growing larger.

During this process, scattered specks of multicolored light emerged from the edges of the void and merged into the white light's rotating path.

Round and round and round. After who knew how many revolutions, Ronan opened his eyes.

At that moment, Ronan felt exceptionally alert, as if he had just woken from a deep, satisfying sleep—refreshed, clear-headed, with his thoughts moving unusually fast.

"Did it work?"

Ronan's lips moved slightly, unable to suppress the joy on his face.

It had indeed worked.

He could already sense what the Basic Meditation Technique described: it was as though there was a lively, transparent current of air inside his mind. Difficult to describe, yet undeniably real.

That was what they called spiritual power.

Being able to sense the existence of spiritual power proved that Ronan's first meditation had been successful. He had officially taken his first step inside.

"Thank you."

In high spirits, Ronan reached out and stroked the small word "soul" on the bedboard, murmuring softly.

This successful meditation owed much to the little word beneath his hand. Ronan planned to find something tomorrow to clean the dust and grime from the carved grooves. From then on, he would look at it once every day, to keep himself vigilant and encouraged.

As he thought this, Ronan was about to get out of bed and pour himself a drink to moisten his throat when he suddenly felt something flash past his eyes.

As though a bug had suddenly flown into them.

He blinked hard, trying to squeeze it out, but the light at the corner of his vision suddenly warped several times. Then, a pale blue screen popped up.

Name: Ronan Damien

Age: 16

Talent: Non-attribute Affinity

Strength: Level 1 Wizard Apprentice (86%)

Skill: Basic Meditation Technique (Beginner 1/100)

"Uh..."

Ronan was completely dumbfounded.

He suspected his eyes were playing tricks on him and rubbed them hard, but the screen before him did not move in the slightest.

At a thought, the screen immediately vanished.

When the thought returned, the screen appeared again.

After repeating this several times, he realized it was controlled by his mind.

"Is this... a Character Panel from a game?!"

Was it the cheat ability that had come with his transmigration, or was this place actually an incredibly realistic game world? Ronan thought it over and decided the former guess was more plausible.

Or rather, he preferred the first possibility.

Of course, whichever it was, the outcome was unimportant. He could not return anyway. What truly mattered was how to make good use of the panel before him, survive well in this place, and live a better life.

Once the shock passed, Ronan suppressed the joy in his heart and began studying the many pieces of information displayed on the panel.

"So I have Non-attribute Affinity."

According to the basic knowledge about wizards left behind by the original owner of this body, Non-attribute Affinity meant that he received no bonuses when studying wizard spells of any school. Correspondingly, there were no obstacles either.

This was not really a good thing.

If Ronan had fire-element energy affinity, for example, learning fire spells would be easier for him than for ordinary people, and the fire spells he cast would also be more powerful.

Although learning spells of other schools would be harder than normal and their power would be weaker, that drawback could be avoided by choosing the right primary direction for his studies.

At Hoddam Wizard Academy, enrolling in any spell elective allowed one free test of their elemental affinity talent. Unfortunately, after the original owner had paid the admission fees and bought four Inheritance Wizard Books, he had spent nearly all his magic stones and had no money left to enroll in a spell course.

Which was why Ronan had only now learned about his elemental affinity talent.

It would have been a lie to say he was not disappointed, but he could not choose to start over. He could only accept it.

The Strength section on the panel showed Ronan's current realm: Level 1 Wizard Apprentice. The 86% after it was probably his progress within that realm.

Reality dealt Ronan another heavy blow. The original owner had already spent nearly half a year in the land of Hoddam wizards.

Even without anyone to guide him, relying entirely on his own exploration and struggling to get started, he had meditated for so long and was still some distance away from reaching the standard of a Level Two Wizard Apprentice. That was enough to show that his talent was truly quite ordinary.

"I heard that some wizard seedlings with good talent can build up their spiritual power to Level Two within a few weeks, or even a few days, after getting started with meditation.

Comparisons really do make people furious."

When Ronan thought again of the little words carved into the bedboard, he felt that every stroke was filled with mockery.

"With such a huge gap in innate talent, does hard work after the fact really matter?"

Ronan asked himself with a self-mocking laugh, unable to keep from feeling somewhat disheartened.

But when his gaze fell on the panel, a few glimmers of hope immediately rose within him.

"Perhaps."

He continued looking down.

There did not seem to be much else to see.

There was only a bare skill section, containing nothing but the Basic Meditation Technique he had just begun learning, with a pitiful proficiency of only 1.

No wonder he had been unable to feel the original owner's memories when he tried meditating earlier. They had apparently been wiped clean after his transmigration.

"Forget it. It doesn't matter. I'll start from scratch, starting now!"

"At least I'm a man with a cheat ability now. If I train hard, anything is possible!"

Ronan encouraged himself. Having just completed a meditation session, he was full of energy and had no desire to sleep at all.

So he decided to stay up and study, reading through the remaining books while researching the cheat ability he had just awakened.

Before he knew it, the fireflies in the gauze lantern overhead had stopped flying, and its faint glow had dimmed.

"Chirp chirp—"

Dawn and birdsong awakened the sleeping forest.

High atop an Old Oak Tree, tall and dense with twisted vines, the door of a gray little wooden house opened with a creak.

A boy in a gray robe stepped out of the cabin.

The boy was of average build, with slightly curly chestnut hair. His eyelids and cheeks looked somewhat swollen, giving him a weak, puffy appearance, though his spirits were fairly good.

It was Ronan, who had stayed up all night and come out for some air.

"Ha—"

Ronan yawned, then poured the chamber pot he had filled over the night through a gap in the Old Oak Tree's branches.

He then went back inside and emerged with another, somewhat smaller clay jar, beginning to collect the morning dew that had gathered on the leaves.

Ronan was not actually very sleepy.

He had spent the whole night studying wizard books, meditating whenever he felt tired. It could not completely replace sleep, but it was far better than truly pulling an all-nighter.

Still, Ronan always felt a dull, faint pain in his chest.

His arms and legs were also somewhat weak, and he had nearly fallen from the tree while collecting dew.

He felt as though his body had become a little weaker than it had been yesterday.

Maybe he was hungry from not eating all night.

Or maybe... there was something wrong with his body?!