The Mage's Method of Cultivation

"...Are you planning to keep getting high on your own, or are you going to explain so I can get high along with you?"

After a moment of silence, seeing that Benjamin did not continue, the system asked with some helplessness.

"Thanks, I'm fine getting high on my own." Benjamin naturally would not let this opportunity to retort to the system slip by.

"..." If the system had facial features, it would surely be fuming with rage right now.

It was not that Benjamin genuinely wanted to anger the system; it was just that the cultivation method he had just conceived was still in its infancy, and he would be mocked by the system if it turned out to be unworkable. Moreover, he was truly fed up with the system's eccentricity. Finding opportunities to keep the system in check should be beneficial for their future communication.

Returning to the main topic, through the experiment just now, he had gained a relatively systematic understanding of magic.

Water elements were the foundation of everything he did with magic. To him, water elements were divided into two types: those gathered within his consciousness space and those drifting in the real world. He could perceive and communicate with the water elements in the real world, but they were very difficult to mobilize. Recalling the only time he had used the Water Ball Spell in reality, he realized he had actually mobilized the water elements from within his consciousness space.

The water elements in his consciousness space gathered around the Triangle Glyph, and Benjamin could control them through the glyph. Every time he used magic, it consumed a portion of the water elements. In other words, the water elements stored in his consciousness space were his "mana."

The more water elements he stored, the more magic he could cast, and the more powerful it would be.

Aside from learning new magic, this should be the only way Benjamin could find to make himself stronger. If he could learn new magic, he would certainly choose to do so. But right now, he was all alone—how could he learn? He wasn't confident enough to think he could invent magic, so he could only wait until he got his hands on Annie's relics.

Therefore, simplifying all his complex thoughts, the only thing he could do right now was to increase the reserve of water elements in his consciousness space.

So the question arose: how could he store more water elements?

What else could he do? Naturally, he had to draw them from the real world.

According to what was written in typical fantasy novels, this was probably what a mage's meditation was all about. Drawing magic elements from the surrounding world and then storing them to increase one's strength.

In fact, whether it was magic, battle energy, or any other supernatural ability, it was all a process of storage, accumulation, and qualitative change. If his expectations were correct, the world he was in was the same. As long as he kept accumulating his magic elements, he could become stronger.

This was the mage's method of cultivation as he understood it.

"Ah, I really am a genius!"

Having taught himself once again, Benjamin felt quite inflated.

"So you're really not planning to explain it to me?" The system's voice held a hint of resentment.

"Yes." Benjamin answered very crisply.

"..."

Action followed thought; Benjamin immediately began his attempt. He closed his eyes and pushed his perception of water elements to the limit. Although the air quality in the basement was poor, it was generally a relatively damp place, and there were plenty of water elements around. Benjamin tried hard to feel these drifting water elements, and then, he tried hard to communicate with them, attempting to absorb them into his consciousness space.

At the very beginning of this process, Benjamin was actually fumbling in the dark. He didn't know how to absorb water elements, so he could only instinctively use his will to try and command them, but nothing happened.

However, he did not get discouraged, and he soon realized where the problem lay:

He shouldn't be communicating with the water elements; he should be communicating with his consciousness space.

The consciousness space was a very wondrous existence. He should use it to absorb the water elements; otherwise, even if he could communicate with the drifting water elements, he could only absorb them into his body—and what was the point of that? He wasn't thirsty.

Benjamin began to sense his consciousness space. He didn't enter the space itself but maintained a state of semi-entry, feeling the depth of the consciousness space while struggling to remain in the real world.

It was a rather magical state: he was about to enter the consciousness space, but he forced himself to hold on with his willpower, keeping his vision in the real world. He personally felt his breathing and blood flow gradually slow down, as if his soul had left his body, watching himself from the perspective of a bystander.

A strange feeling welled up.

His intuition told him that this was the state.

Thus, he maintained his state and waited for a while. After the feeling gradually stabilized, he began his attempt again, reaching out to feel the wandering, ownerless water elements around him.

A change occurred suddenly.

Whenever Benjamin's perception touched a small patch of water elements, that patch would suddenly vanish into thin air, and within the consciousness space, a small patch of water elements would suddenly appear. The whole process was like tearing through space; the absorption of water elements happened in a mere instant, without any process, giving one an incredible feeling.

And Benjamin was overcome with uncontrollable ecstasy.

He had successfully found a way to absorb water elements!

Every time he absorbed a batch of water elements, a cool sensation would brush over his entire body, as if it were celebrating his success, and it felt so good that Benjamin couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Driven by this feeling, Benjamin didn't have time to think. Like an addict, he let his perception sweep through the basement again and again, sucking up every single water element within his range of consciousness until it was clean.

The consciousness space, which had been somewhat parched, was soon filled with damp water elements again. After another half hour, a feeling of fullness emanated from the consciousness space, and only then did Benjamin reluctantly stop absorbing the water elements.

He withdrew from that semi-conscious, semi-real state and took a deep breath, feeling a sense of comfort from the inside out.

"So refreshing, even better than a big sword!"

He exclaimed sincerely.

"...Is this the cultivation method you researched?"

At this moment, the system popped up. Having witnessed everything, it clearly understood Benjamin's method, and so it said this with some resentment.

"Yes, you don't have to say anything more. I know I'm a genius; you don't need to praise me." Benjamin tossed his hair narcissistically.

"...No one wants to praise you."

Listening to that dull, mechanical voice, the system was clearly holding back its anger.

"Fine, since you insist, I have no choice. Come on, don't be stingy with your vocabulary, praise me with all your might!" Benjamin clearly wasn't listening to what the system was saying, still inflated and unable to stop himself.

The system was silent for a moment, and then, it seemed to lose its temper, cranking its volume up three times higher. A sound like a rock concert erupted in Benjamin's ears:

"NO! ONE! WANTS! TO! PRAISE! YOU! YOUR! METHOD! FAILED!"

Benjamin was stunned by the sound, but he gradually came to his senses, frowned, and asked, "What did you say?"

The system calmed down and said in a normal volume, "No one wants to praise you. Your method failed."

Benjamin didn't take it seriously, thinking the system was just having another one of its old episodes.

He retorted, "Where did it fail?"

The system replied, "Go back into your consciousness space and see for yourself, and you'll know why I said that."

Hearing the serious tone of the system, Benjamin realized the other party wasn't joking, and he recovered from his floating, euphoric state. He returned to his consciousness space with some confusion. Everything in the space was as it had been: the pitch-black environment, the pale blue glyph, the drifting water elements...

It didn't seem like anything was wrong.

Wait... everything as it had been?

Benjamin suddenly realized where the problem lay.

The water elements in the consciousness space were the same as usual, but they shouldn't have been the same as usual. Benjamin had just been absorbing water elements so desperately; the reserve amount right now should have been much higher than the so-called "usual"!

Where did all those water elements go?

"In the short time you were being narcissistic, they all leaked away on their own," the system replied.

"Leaked away? Why did they leak away?" Benjamin was somewhat frustrated. So many water elements had leaked away all at once, making him feel like all his efforts had been in vain; it was a bit painful.

"Aren't you a genius? Why are you still asking me?" The system seemed to have learned the Old Madam's specialty; its ability to insult people was getting better and better.

Benjamin didn't care, however. Instead, he frowned deeply and muttered to himself, "That's not right. What could be the reason..."

He fell into thought once again.

He had a feeling that the real answer was right in his head; he had just missed something very important, which caused his idea to go wrong, like a race car missing a crucial gear.

In such a perfect "storage—accumulation—qualitative change" system, what exactly had he missed?

"Why wouldn't they leak away? The water elements are perfectly fine staying in the air; why should they stay in your consciousness space? Why shouldn't they leak away?"

While Benjamin was thinking, the system finally seized the opportunity and launched a relentless counterattack against him.

Benjamin was no longer paying attention to the system's words; he was completely lost in deep thought. The entire cultivation method, the entire consciousness space, played over and over in his mind. He felt his line of reasoning was correct, and that coming up with a feasible method should have been a sure thing.

But... the method had gone wrong.

Where exactly was the problem?

"Why..."

He began to mutter to himself subconsciously.

"Why, why, why wouldn't they leak away? Why shouldn't they leak away?" The system mimicked Benjamin's tone, making up words like a nursery rhyme, mocking Benjamin in every way it could.

Perhaps because the system was chanting with a certain rhythm, something rather hypnotic, Benjamin subconsciously followed along:

"Why... why... why wouldn't they leak away..."

Why... wouldn't they leak away?

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Benjamin's mind.

That's right, the extra water elements leaked away, but what about the ones that remained? Why didn't they leak away? What was it that allowed him to keep these water elements without letting them leak away as well?

Reversing his train of thought slightly, Benjamin discovered that the answer he wanted was far away, yet right before his eyes.

He looked up at the faint blue glow in front of him. The pale blue light shone on his face, outlining a smile of sudden realization.

How could he have forgotten this blue Triangle Glyph!

Everything originated from this triangle-iron-like magic glyph. It was what had split open the locked consciousness space, and it was what had gathered the abundant and lively water elements here. It was what had granted Benjamin the power to perceive water elements, and it was what allowed Benjamin to summon water balls.

It was the glyph that kept these water elements. And when the water elements in the consciousness space exceeded the capacity of the glyph, the glyph didn't have the ability to hold onto the excess. Therefore, they leaked away on their own in an instant.

Having figured all this out, Benjamin immediately adjusted his cultivation method: accumulating water elements was not the key to becoming stronger; the key to becoming stronger was to strengthen this blue rune so that it could control more water elements.

As for how to strengthen this glyph...

Benjamin thought for a moment and soon had an idea. He suddenly mobilized a patch of water elements in his consciousness space, controlling them to drift toward the glyph. Controlling these water elements out of thin air was still a bit strenuous, and the speed of their movement was not fast. It took a great deal of effort for Benjamin to get them close to the glyph.

Under his control, the water elements made contact with the glyph.

Hum! The glyph emitted a roar completely different from before.

Benjamin felt his vision blur, and then, he seemed to have entered a world of pure blue. All kinds of blue runes circled around him like celestial bodies, and a profound and strange feeling captivated his heart and soul.

But that was only for a brief moment. He just blinked, and he was back in that pitch-black consciousness space, as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination.

What was that?

Benjamin narrowed his eyes, looking at the still-hovering Triangle Glyph, and fell into deep thought again. But soon, his brow relaxed, and he aimed at the water elements gathered around him once more. He controlled the water elements again, drifting them toward the blue glyph.

This time, the water elements touched the glyph, but the previous event did not occur. Benjamin only saw the water elements merging into the glyph like a river flowing into the ocean.

The glyph glowed slightly and then returned to its previous appearance.

Benjamin did not get discouraged and began to repeat this action. He felt that he had cracked the mystery of the consciousness space and the blue glyph; all that remained was to use practice to prove his idea.

He controlled the water elements over and over again, letting them approach the glyph and then be absorbed by it. Because of his lack of control, this process seemed a bit slow. Therefore, even though it was taking place in the consciousness space where time did not pass quickly, it still cost Benjamin a great deal of time.

By the time he had fused all the water elements in the consciousness space into the rune, about twelve hours had passed in the real world.

Twelve whole hours—if he hadn't been locked in the basement, it would have been hard to continue like this without being disturbed.

And when the system told Benjamin that twelve hours had passed, Benjamin was quite surprised. Although this process was boring and repetitive, for some reason, he felt that he had poured his heart and soul into it, completely intoxicated, not even feeling the passage of time.

This magical feeling deepened his confidence.

This feeling was very similar to the feeling he had when he first saw magic, as if something in the dark was calling to him. If it weren't the correct method, he would never have had this feeling.

Thinking of this, he looked up again, gazing at the Triangle Glyph flickering in his consciousness space.

The glyph finally changed. It became more dazzling, its blue light like brilliant stars, silently confirming Benjamin's guess.

But having just this was not enough. He looked at the glyph, preparing to begin the final verification.

After resting for a while, he waited for the water elements in his consciousness space, which had been consumed, to slowly replenish themselves; he waited for about another half hour. Finally, the surrounding water elements had recovered, and they were even denser than before.

He reached out his hand, aimed at the glyph, and chanted the incantation for the Water Ball Spell once again.

Accompanied by the crisp "ding" of the glyph and the surging of water elements, a new water ball emerged in his palm, more than twice the size of the water ball he had summoned before.

Benjamin looked at the massive water ball in his hand and finally revealed a satisfied smile:

"Look, slapped in the face, didn't I? I'm a fucking genius."

Thanks to book friend 161205144327777 for the tip~~~