It seemed there was a reason mages had to be trained from a young age. For one thing, growing up meant losing that advantage. For another, adults had been shaped by life and had more complicated thoughts.
Especially someone like Matthews, who had lived through the Information Age. He had too much knowledge and too many distractions in his head. Reaching that meditative state was no easy feat!
After trying all night, Matthews still hadn't succeeded.
It wasn't until the following evening that he managed to meditate successfully for the first time. He saw colorful specks of light. As he breathed, some purple and blue specks slowly entered his body.
Matthews got so excited that he snapped out of his meditative state.
"Bro, did you succeed?"
Mia had been teaching him all day, and children were naturally restless. Seeing that Matthews still couldn't meditate successfully, she was starting to get anxious!
"Hahaha, your brother's a genius. Of course I succeeded!"
Hearing Matthews say that, Mia finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmph, I managed it in just an hour. It's been a whole day for you, and you still call yourself a genius. I think you're a silly big brother!"
"That's right, my little sister's a little genius. Your big brother's a big genius."
Mia gave Matthews a look that said he could figure out what she thought of that, then said, "Bro, let me teach you how to absorb magic elements."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Matthews nodded excitedly. Only then did he hear his little sister Mia's stomach growl.
"Oh, it's already evening. Let's eat first."
Matthews got up to make dinner. After they ate, Mia resumed her teaching. Now that Matthews had successfully meditated once, he managed it again in no time.
Absorbing the magic elements went quickly. When his consciousness followed the absorbed elements into his inner world, he saw lightning coursing through his meridians. The Water Element was immediately expelled from them, while the Thunder Element merged directly with the tiny bolts of lightning.
As the lightning sank into his dantian, it gathered into a mass there. The force of the lightning jolted his consciousness out of his inner world.
"Hahaha, I knew there was no way I didn't have a cheat!"
"Bro, what are you babbling about? What's a cheat?"
Seeing the concern in Mia's eyes, Matthews smiled and said, "Your brother's just happy he succeeded in absorbing the elements."
"That's good. I also went to the Lightning Element magic class and took notes on a level-one spell, the Thunderball Spell. I'll teach it to you now."
Hearing Mia's words, Matthews' excitement faded. His adopted little sister was actually willing to put her own training on hold for his sake, wasting her time sitting in a class for magic she had no talent for just to take notes for him.
"Don't do that again next time."
Seeing Matthews' expression turn serious, Mia asked, confused, "Don't do what?"
"Please, don't go to the Lightning Element classes again. You'll only hold back your own training. Don't do that anymore."
"But, Bro, you don't have magic..."
Matthews hugged his adorable little sister and patted her shoulder. "Your brother won't be happy if you do that. Don't go again. Your brother's counting on you to get strong and protect him. If you keep doing this, you'll only hold yourself back and won't be able to protect me properly!"
"Mm, I'll remember."
Matthews gave the little one's nose another playful tap. "Go to bed. We'll keep studying magic tomorrow!"
"Okay!"
In the quiet night, bright moonlight streamed through the window and lit up the floor. But Matthews' thoughts were anything but calm. The darkness of uncertainty and unease that had settled in his heart since arriving in this world was once again pierced by a ray of light.
No matter how silly or happy he acted before, he had always been shrouded in the fear of being unable to control his own fate. Now, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Bro, I'm off to school."
"Mm, go ahead. But don't go to the Lightning Element classes anymore. I don't need any more spells for now."
Mia waved a hand. "I know, I know. You've told me more than ten times already, you annoying big brother."
After Mia left, Matthews immediately dropped his aloof air.
"O omnipresent Thunder Element, in the name of the great Thunder Sovereigns, hear my call. Thunderball Spell!"
As soon as Matthews finished chanting the spell, a fist-sized ball of lightning appeared in the empty space before him.
"Hahaha, I really am a genius. I succeeded on my first try!"
He hadn't had a chance to try out the spell he'd just learned while Mia was there. Like a curious child playing with a toy for the first time, Matthews gleefully toyed with the only spell he knew!
Getting something you'd long wanted could easily become addictive. During the month after Mia left, Matthews often devoted large chunks of his time to meditation and absorbing elements.
Now, with tiny bolts of lightning in his meridians, he didn't need a Battle Qi technique. He could get stronger simply by absorbing the Thunder Element, and it felt great.
"I haven't worked at the forge in ages. I should tidy things up."
Now that Matthews had found a way to get stronger, he no longer needed to forge weapons in preparation for adventuring in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. He could grow stronger just by steadily absorbing elements. And because there was a mass of lightning in his dantian, he didn't have to face the Battle Qi hurdle of liquefying his power to advance from level six to level seven.
That mass of lightning inside him was probably the bolt that had struck him earlier. Perhaps because the world had changed, the Laws of the Coiling Dragon World had compressed the lightning—which hadn't yet dispersed from his body—right inside him. Now, the mass had almost become solid.
That mass of lightning was like his Magic Beast Core. As long as he absorbed elements, it would grow stronger.
Matthews swept the pile of dirt on the ground. A glint of light caught his eye.
"Hmm, what's that?"
Matthews brushed the dirt aside and found something small and glasslike, stuck to some black, burnt material.
"Glass?"
Matthews held it in his hand and examined it for a moment. He realized it must have been made when molten iron had accidentally dripped into the dirt while he was forging, heating the sand into glass.
"Right! I've never seen glassware in this world. It should be easy to make."
"Now that I can cultivate and get stronger, I don't need to risk my life for money in the early stages. I can just make a few glass items and sell them. That'll be enough to get me through this initial period!"
"Bro, why are you so happy today?"
Matthews smiled at his little sister Mia. "It's nothing. How have your studies been going lately?"
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