Watchtower One

A few days passed.

At this time, the sky was nearing dusk, and the crimson of the evening glow reflected in the woods. The merchant caravan had set up camp in a clearing.

Beneath this crimson light, inside a carriage belonging to the caravan, Rhode, who had been in a deep state of Meditation, slowly opened his eyes.

Having depleted all his Mana, Rhode's connection with the surrounding magical elements instantly vanished, forcing him to end his deep Meditation.

Compared to shallow Meditation, deep Meditation consumed more time. A single session of deep Meditation often lasted for several days, while for a formal Mage, it could even last for several weeks.

Generally speaking, with the same amount of Mana, the longer one meditated deeply, the longer the connection with magical elements was maintained, and the better the effect of the deep Meditation.

During deep Meditation, due to the focus of the mind, one's metabolism was reduced to a minimum. Therefore, even without eating for several days, the body's burden was not significant.

Listening to the noisy sounds coming from outside the carriage, Rhode looked at the system log.

"Maintaining deep Meditation..."

"Through the deepening connection with Fire Magic elements, your Beginner Fire Magic has improved..."

"Maintaining deep Meditation..."

"Your Spirit attribute has improved."

"Maintaining deep Meditation..."

"..."

"Insufficient Mana to maintain deep Meditation..."

"Meditation ended."

"Through this deep Meditation, you have gained Spirit +2, Beginner Fire Magic progress 4%."

"You have obtained the Speed Achievement [Heart of Calm]."

"[Heart of Calm]: Perform a deep Meditation. Base reward Spirit +2. When equipped, Meditation effects increase by 20%."

Closing the system log, Rhode understood the gains from this deep Meditation.

Firstly, after this deep Meditation ended, Rhode's Spirit attribute, including the additional bonus from the Speed Achievement, had increased by a total of 4 points.

Drawing on his past life's experience, Rhode knew that spellcasters experienced a rapid period of improvement in their Spirit attribute when they first began deep Meditation.

This was equivalent to stimulating the improvement of one's spirit through deep Meditation. Even Mage apprentices with poor aptitude could increase their Spirit by 5 to 10 points through deep Meditation.

Additionally, through this deep Meditation, Rhode had also obtained an achievement.

Obtaining the achievement was within Rhode's expectations. Wearing the newly acquired achievement, the increased Meditation effect was stronger than Rhode's original Beginner title, which was an improvement for him.

Furthermore, because he had entered deep Meditation by relying on Fire Magic elements, Rhode had gained 4% progress in practicing Beginner Fire Magic. However, this 4% progress was almost useless; as long as it didn't reach 100%, it wouldn't result in any further improvement.

Rhode only needed to consume 1 Skill Point to upgrade Beginner Fire Magic to Intermediate. To achieve this solely through his own efforts would likely require several months of deep Meditation.

Even for special skills, what Rhode had learned through the system was mostly how to use them. As for how to improve them through training, he could only figure it out himself.

Rhode recalled that when his rank was not high, he would improve special skills by rapidly increasing his character level and obtaining Skill Points. Only in the later stages, when the Experience Points required to level up were extremely high, would he improve special skills through his own training.

Improving special skills was extremely time-consuming, and ordinary skills were the same.

Rhode could certainly, like the native inhabitants in the game, polish his combat skills through his own efforts, repeatedly, to improve his strength. However, the returns were too low, requiring a large amount of time, far less efficient than improving through Experience Points.

After checking his gains, Rhode looked around.

Beside him, the Vampire was still absorbing the energy released by the Soul Crystal, and Rhode paid it no mind. Pushing open the side door of the carriage, Rhode stepped out to observe his surroundings.

What first caught Rhode's attention was the towering Watchtower nearby. Under the setting sun, the surface of the Watchtower was shimmering with a crimson light.

Not far from Rhode's carriage, the members of the merchant caravan were gathered around a campfire, talking loudly and waiting to be served hot, fresh food.

Rhode looked closely. Whether due to rotation or some other reason, the Scout who had been responsible for monitoring Rhode's every move in front of the carriage was now holding a weapon and cutting up a freshly hunted animal by the campfire.

Even the caravan leader, Yusuf, was by the campfire, rubbing his hands together as he waited to get food.

It was currently dusk, and night had not yet fallen. The caravan could still continue their journey while there was ample light, but today, they clearly had no intention of moving on and had set up camp here.

Perhaps knowing that his identity as a Necromancer was not well-received by the others in the caravan, Rhode ignored those around him and focused his interest on the Watchtower he saw. Rhode walked directly towards the nearby Watchtower.

Although the original Scout had left, the caravan had clearly not lowered their guard against Rhode. There was still a Practitioner sitting in front of the carriage Rhode had ridden in, the very Scout who had reported the situation to Yusuf earlier.

Although the Scout knew that a Necromancer was traveling with the caravan, he hadn't seen him for the past few days. Upon seeing Rhode get out of the carriage, the Scout was momentarily stunned.

Seeing Rhode head towards the Watchtower, the Scout stopped his intended pursuit and prepared to report to the caravan leader.

Rhode arrived at the base of the Watchtower. Looking at the entirely crimson Watchtower, Rhode reached out and touched its surface.

The surface of the Watchtower was crimson, not due to the light, but because of a special coating that effectively prevented corrosion from wind and sun. The crimson rays of the setting sun shone on the surface, making the crimson even more vibrant.

Rhode entered through the entrance at the bottom of the Watchtower. The light inside was adequate. On each level, there was a spot where light entered, allowing Rhode to see the steps beneath his feet. He climbed towards the top of the tower along a spiral staircase.

In Rhode's memory, to save construction resources, common Watchtowers were simply structures of wood erected in a stable manner, with rope ladders for ascent. He had rarely seen Watchtowers like the one he was currently in.

Before long, through the uppermost staircase, Rhode reached the top. The summit was a spacious platform surrounded by simple wooden railings to prevent accidental falls.