Solitary Meditation and the Shortcut to Body Fragrance

As night fell, it draped a veil of tranquility over the bustling Imperial Capital, Sacrifice. Within Count Strauss's Mansion, the absence of the servants' bustle from the day, preparing for Elisa's Coming-of-Age Ceremony, made the place unusually quiet. Leon found himself alone in Elisa's bedroom, filled with a faint, cool fragrance, and felt an unprecedented sense of... emptiness.

After finishing dinner, Elisa had gone straight to the private meditation room on the top floor of the Magic Tower for her evening practice. This was an unshakeable habit, especially on the eve of her Coming-of-Age Ceremony; she needed to maintain her optimal mental state for tomorrow's ritual and any potential energy perceptions. In the spacious room, only Leon remained, along with the faint, yet seemingly pervasive, unique cool fragrance of Elisa that permeated every inch of the air.

Leon sat idly on the soft couch by the window, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest. Tomorrow's Coming-of-Age Ceremony weighed on his mind like a boulder. Though the gift was ready, he knew it was merely an entrance ticket. The real test lay in how he would maintain his precarious "fiancé" image under the scrutiny of many eyes. Anxiety gnawed at his heart like tiny insects.

"I can't just wait around..." Leon took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He thought of the dormant Magic Power within him, which faintly resonated with Elisa's aura. This was his only hidden trump card for now. Although Elisa had deemed the bracelet a "sleeping stone," the resonance was undeniably real. Perhaps he could try to actively guide and strengthen this power through meditation? Even slow progress was better than waiting for death.

With this thought, he stood up and walked to the thick wool carpet in the center of the room. Mimicking the posture of Elisa meditating from memory, he sat down cross-legged. He tried to recall the most basic method of Mental Focus he had seen in the "Fundamentals of Magical Mechanics" at the Magic Tower library, as well as the vague impressions left from flipping through those "Introduction to Meditation" books earlier.

"Relax your body... clear your mind... feel the surrounding energy... guide the Magic Power within..." he muttered to himself, trying to get into the zone.

However, the ideal was grand, but reality was starkly disappointing.

When he closed his eyes, the darkness was not empty but filled with a barrage of distracting thoughts: potential difficulties at tomorrow's banquet, Victor's cold gaze, Eleanor's mocking smirk, Aunt Margaret's all-knowing eyes, and Captain Hans's unsparing reprimands... These images flashed before him like a carousel, making it impossible to calm his mind.

He tried to forcefully dispel the distracting thoughts, focusing his attention on his lower abdomen (around the dantian area?), to sense the so-called "source of Magic Power." The process was tedious and painful. He could vaguely feel the presence of the cool energy within him, but it was like fish at the bottom of a deep pond, slippery and hard to grasp. His Spiritual Power was like a tattered fishing net; cast out, it either came up empty or caught only a few wisps of energy that dissipated the moment he exerted any effort.

The progress was despairingly slow. Time ticked by, and Leon felt his buttocks go numb, his back starting to ache, yet there was almost no sign of his Magic Power increasing or becoming more docile. Instead, he felt a headache from forcibly concentrating. This was a world apart from Elisa's meditation, where Magic Power flowed naturally like mercury around her body, harmonizing with the elements of heaven and earth.

"Damn it... why is it so hard..." Leon opened his eyes in frustration, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. He felt like a fool trying to pry a boulder with a stick, utterly futile.

Just then, a night breeze blew in through the not-quite-closed window, carrying the delicate scent of night-blooming jasmine from the courtyard, but also bringing the unique cool fragrance of Elisa, which permeated the room, even more clearly to his nostrils.

The scent, as cool as a pine forest after snow, as distant as a plum blossom under the moon, had an indescribable calming effect. Leon couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Something miraculous happened.

The instant this wisp of cool fragrance entered his lungs, the Magic Power within him, which had been as unyielding as a stone, actually stirred slightly! It was as if a tiny pebble had been dropped into a sleeping lake, creating a ripple so faint it was almost imperceptible. The cool energy seemed to have become... a tiny bit more docile? And his connection to his Spiritual Power also felt clearer for a fleeting moment?

Leon froze. He took several more deep breaths in disbelief, focusing more intently.

That's right! It wasn't an illusion!

When he deliberately breathed in, focusing on Elisa's lingering scent in the air, the difficulty of his Mental Focus seemed to decrease slightly, and the activity of his internal Magic Power subtly increased! Although the effect was extremely weak, far less than the gradual nourishment he received while sleeping beside Elisa, it was infinitely more efficient than his previous meditation, which relied purely on willpower and was almost ineffective!

This discovery made Leon's heart pound wildly! A surge of emotions, a mixture of excitement, absurdity, and a hint of... unspeakable shame, washed over him.

Could it be... Elisa's body scent was a... meditation accelerator for him? Or perhaps, a catalyst that could soothe and guide the special Magic Power within him?

This was too ridiculous! And too... perverted?!

Leon's face instantly turned beet red. He recalled the lewd thoughts and actions of the original owner. Was he now going to embark on this crooked path of cultivating by relying on a woman's scent? If this got out, his title as the "Disgrace of the Northern Territory" would likely be upgraded to "Scum of the Continent"!

However, a rational voice quickly suppressed that meager shame. In this world of the strong preying on the weak, survival and gaining power were paramount! Moral purity and pointless pride were worthless in the face of survival! Since such a "shortcut" existed, no matter how ignoble, it was better than making no progress and waiting to die!

"Anyway... anyway, no one will know..." Leon comforted himself inwardly, his gaze gradually becoming firm, even with a hint of desperate recklessness.

He no longer hesitated. He closed his eyes again. But this time, instead of forcefully trying to achieve "emptiness," he adjusted his breathing rhythm, deliberately and deeply inhaling the cool fragrance filling the room. He imagined this scent as a guiding thread, carefully using it to touch and soothe the restless and unruly Magic Power within him.

The process was still slow and difficult, but compared to the previous pure "hard meditation," it was indeed a little smoother. The Magic Power was no longer so "slippery," and the affinity with his Spiritual Power seemed to have increased imperceptibly. He could even vaguely sense the cool energy beginning to flow within his body at an extremely slow pace, following some vague trajectory. Although intermittent, it was a breakthrough from nothing!

Time flowed by in silence. Leon was completely immersed in this peculiar state of "scent meditation," forgetting the soreness of his body and the worries of tomorrow. He was like a fledgling bird learning to fly, clumsy but persistent, using this unexpectedly discovered "wind" to try and control his tender wings.

After an unknown amount of time, it was only when the faint sound of the bell, signaling the approach of dawn, echoed from outside the window that Leon awoke from his mystical state. He slowly opened his eyes. Although he felt a sense of mental fatigue, his eyes were exceptionally bright.

He carefully observed himself internally. The total amount of Magic Power within him did not seem to have increased significantly, but the stagnant, scattered feeling had lessened slightly, and the energy seemed to have become a little more "obedient." Most importantly, he had found a potentially effective path to cultivation!

Leon stood up, stretching his stiff body, and walked to the bedside. He looked at the empty bed, still bearing Elisa's scent, his heart filled with an indescribable complexity.

Relying on his fiancée's body scent to cultivate magic... What kind of situation was this!

But the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved into a helpless, yet hopeful, smile.

"Looks like... I'll have to find ways to 'piggyback sleep' more often in the future..." he muttered to himself with a self-deprecating laugh, then quickly shook his head, casting aside the absurd thought. The immediate priority was to get through tomorrow's Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

He walked to the window and looked at the pale dawn breaking in the eastern sky. A new day was about to begin, and it was the first real public test he had to face.

And on his left wrist, unnoticed by him, the dull gray bracelet, after the peculiar meditation guided by body scent, seemed to have its faint, star-like internal points glow a tiny bit brighter than before. It was as if a dormant mechanism was being activated, extremely slowly, by this unique energy interaction.

Leon took a deep breath of the cool pre-dawn air and turned to leave Elisa's room. His retreating figure, bathed in the faint morning light, held less of his usual dejection and more of an indescribable... determination and hidden anticipation.