Meditation

The last item left in the Spatial Ring was a magic book. To Edward's senses, it had a cover made of some unknown leather, its surface covered in mottled cracks that made it look ancient. It lay quietly in the pitch-black space, faintly giving off an eerie red glow.

Edward, who knew all the usual webnovel tropes from his previous life, resisted his curiosity and didn't take the book out. It was obviously strange. If he took it out, he might end up with some kind of curse plastered on him, and then he'd be in trouble if he couldn't get rid of it. If it were a curse that marked him, the entire vampire clan might hunt him down, and he could end up wandering the world.

Edward considered himself a homebody. Going out for a bit now and then was fine. But setting off on a life of wandering just to satisfy his curiosity, and getting caught up in the tired old trope of defeating the young one only for an older one to show up, wasn't worth it.

The two identities Edward had adopted back then had different origins. "Destroyer Dragon of the Empire" was a name given to him by the Ayrland Empire's Police Department after he'd set off a few explosions in deserted places, demolishing several unused buildings. "Silver-Winged Magician," on the other hand, was an identity he'd come up with purely to steal the things he needed. The diversionary tactic worked well. To this day, Edward had never actually killed a "person."

Back then, he'd wondered how his fellow transmigrators, all of whom had received Nine-Year Compulsory Education, could be so amazing. How could they wake up one day and start slaughtering their way through everything, while he couldn't get over that mental hurdle?

He reminded himself again and again that curiosity killed the cat. He'd just leave the magic book in the Spatial Ring. It took up no space and didn't even affect the other items. He'd once tried putting homemade stinky tofu in the ring, then taking it out a few days later. None of the other items had picked up the smell. The Spatial Ring seemed to isolate each item placed inside it. That was one of the ring's properties he'd discovered.

After putting away the cleaned gold coins and various gemstones, he checked the time. It was already late, but he wasn't sleepy. Realizing he hadn't properly cultivated in quite a while, he tidied up his alchemy lab, returned to his room, changed into his pajamas, and began meditating.

Two days earlier, after making those two Black Knives for Monica, he'd nearly exhausted the "Mana Spring" in his Sea of Consciousness. So he'd crammed at the last minute and upgraded his "Spiritual Root": he'd implanted the Magic Array from the formal alchemist's Meditation Method beneath the Magic Array already inside his body. He'd also added switches to both arrays.

Perhaps because Carbon Nanotubes were such a "Super Magic" material, his new "Spiritual Root" was astonishingly effective. If the first-layer apprentice-level Magic Array had operated like drops of water dripping into his "Mana Spring," then the second-layer array was like a downpour. That was why he didn't dare leave it on for long. This rate of magic absorption could restore his Magic Power quickly, but if he kept it up, his body wouldn't be able to handle it. And the Mental Power he used up could only be restored through proper meditation or sleep.

When he sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness, the "water level" of the Mana Spring had risen to ten times what it had been when he first advanced. His Magic Power now matched his Mental Power perfectly. But why was there still so much space left in his Sea of Consciousness? It seemed the "Spiritual Root" he'd come up with earlier was something extraordinary.

Resisting the urge to switch on his second "Spiritual Root" and fill his Sea of Consciousness to the brim, he began using his Mental Power to sketch out a new Magic Array within it.

The funny thing was, his Meditation Method required him to draw the Magic Array in his Sea of Consciousness with as few strokes as possible—ideally in a single stroke. The more smoothly he drew it, the faster the meditation and the better the results.

Wasn't this just an elementary-school math puzzle? To determine whether a figure could be drawn in one stroke, it needed to have either zero or two odd-numbered points. For any other figure, the minimum number of strokes was half the number of odd-numbered points. Yet no one at the Magic Academy had ever taught him this. The Mentor just gave him a Magic Array and told him to try drawing it in his Sea of Consciousness.

Take the simplest Concentric Hexagram Array, for example. He could draw it in a single stroke, while his classmates could only draw a circle first, then an upright triangle and an Inverted Triangle inside it. He figured some of them would soon discover the trick, but they all seemed intent on keeping it to themselves. And since he'd been ostracized at the Magic Academy, he hadn't felt like sharing the trick either.

Before long, he'd drawn a rather complicated figure at the top of his Sea of Consciousness, using his Mental Power as a pen. The Magic Array glowed with an unusual light, illuminating the entire Sea of Consciousness. A "light rain" fell inside it. Each drop was Magic Power, nourishing his Sea of Consciousness and his soul. A strange sense of pleasure welled up, surpassing the desire for good food and reproduction. It was a sign that his Mental Power was growing, a reward for life advancing to a higher level.

He wondered why so many Mages were single. It wasn't that being a "virgin" made someone a Mage. Rather, once you became a Mage, you didn't need a girlfriend anymore. This felt much better than "the Five Maidens"...

His wild imaginings didn't last long. The glowing Magic Array vanished, and he felt a pang of loss. Then he braced himself, picked up his pen in his Sea of Consciousness, and began drawing a second round...

He didn't know how much time had passed when he vaguely heard a ringing sound. It was the Doorbell outside. Reluctantly, he withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he felt full of energy. A faint light was already filtering in past the curtains. He glanced at the wall clock. It was six in the morning.

Still in his pajamas and slippers, he jogged to the Backyard gate and opened it.

Standing at the door were Princess Andrea, captain of the knights Reinhardt, Mage Alice, and priest Elwin. A large group of City Guard soldiers stood behind them. The Princess and the captain of the knights were dressed like tin cans, their expressions tense. The Magic Girl was wearing her Mage's robe and holding her delicate Magic Wand. Even Elwin was clutching a wooden staff taller than he was.

"What's going on?" Edward thought the Princess had brought people to raid his house. She'd certainly brought quite a crowd.

"Edward, something's happened!" the Princess said urgently.

"What happened? Don't worry. Come in and tell me." Edward was remarkably calm.

Princess Andrea showed no sign of coming inside. She said anxiously,

"There was a vampire killing aboard the ship to White Eagle Port yesterday, and another at the Flower Hotel! We think vampires have infiltrated White Eagle City, so we're preparing to impose a citywide lockdown. Hurry and get dressed. We'll search for the vampires together!"

"Oh, those two actually killed people. I guess they deserved to die. All right, tell your people to disperse and get on with their business. The four of you, come in and have some tea. I'll explain everything in detail."

Andrea stepped through the doorway and grabbed Edward by the wrist, asking urgently, "When you say 'those two,' do you mean two vampires came here? The news I got this morning said the vampires disembarked yesterday during the day. Vampires who can move around in daylight are monsters at the Great Knight level or above. Did those two vampires come looking for you yesterday?"

"Yeah, it was nothing serious. Two guys who called themselves counts came to cause trouble, and I already killed them." He said it as casually as if he'd killed two chickens last night, then said to the others, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Why don't we eat together?"