Free Web NovelChapter 18: Chapter 18: Time
"Master, I understand now!" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Heeding Radak’s words, Andre realized his mistake. He had been so focused on making progress in Demon Pattern Study that he’d neglected the fundamentals.
"Spiritual Power is the foundation. Without strong enough Spiritual Power, you won’t even be able to cast the most basic Witchcraft."
Seeing that Andre was repentant, Radak said nothing more and vanished.
’Spiritual Power is the foundation!’
Andre sank into a chair, mulling over his next steps.
But he knew he wouldn’t have a moment’s peace as long as the Divine Art, the Chain of Hatred, remained on him.
’What should I do?’
Andre scratched his head. He racked his brain but came up with nothing, so he decided to follow Radak’s advice and begin practicing the Meditation Technique.
But the moment he closed his eyes, he realized something was different.
This time, Andre found he could practice the Meditation Technique with incredible speed.
Previously, he’d had to struggle to clear his mind of extraneous thoughts, but now, that was no longer necessary. He entered a meditative state automatically the moment he closed his eyes.
’What’s going on?’
Andre opened his eyes and examined himself again.
That’s when he noticed a faint layer of grayish-white grime covering his body.
’This looks like the grime from going days without a bath, but that’s impossible. I’ve been bathing every day.’
Andre rubbed at it with his hand, instantly recognizing the substance. He shot up and rushed to the bathroom to take a shower.
After his shower, Andre looked at his skin.
Before, his skin had been a normal, somewhat pale color. Now, it was fair and clear.
’Could this have happened when I was using the System?’
After a moment’s thought, Andre pinpointed the likely cause of the changes to his body.
’So the System has this function... And this must be the Magic Power described in the Meditation Technique. But I’ve only just outlined my very first Spirit Rune. How do I already have Magic Power?’
Andre stared at his body in disbelief, utterly bewildered.
’What in the world happened while I was analyzing the Demon Pattern to cause all these changes?’
’But in any case, these changes are all benign. They’re beneficial to me.’ fгeewebnovёl.com
Andre checked himself over, and seeing no mutations or bizarre new limbs, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t know why his body was undergoing these changes, but as long as they were beneficial, that was enough!
After changing his clothes, Andre walked over to his bed, sat down, and began practicing the Meditation Technique.
He closed his eyes, directing his Spiritual Power with his will to outline a Spirit Rune.
’Huh? Where did these runes come from?’
Just as Andre was about to start outlining his second rune, he suddenly discovered two unfamiliar runes in his mind. They were huge—at least five times the size of the one he had created himself.
Andre’s eyes snapped open. He wanted to go find Radak and ask about the changes to his body.
But the thought that Radak might draw his blood to analyze the issue made Andre hold back.
If his blood were drawn, his master could discover his secret: that he was a Divine Descendant.
’What a pain. This Divine Descendant identity is nothing but trouble.’
Andre lay on his bed. If it weren’t for his status as a Divine Descendant, he wouldn’t be stuck in his room all alone, without a single friend at the academy. He wouldn’t be so timid all the time, too scared to even ask his master, Radak, for help when he ran into problems.
’Sigh. Could this also have appeared while I was comprehending the Demon Pattern?’
’If that’s really the case, can I risk using the System to analyze Demon Patterns again?’
Andre’s mind was in turmoil. He got up and, after checking one more time that there was nothing else abnormal about his body, headed to the Wizard Inheritance Hall to search for any relevant records.
After searching for a long time, Andre actually managed to find a record of such an occurrence.
"Spirit Rune Enhancement Talent: In a very small number of individuals, Spirit Runes will fuse together during meditation, producing a single, more powerful Spirit Rune. This is considered a unique Talent."
After finding this passage, Andre took the book back to his room. He read through it carefully, and only after confirming that many people throughout the history of the Wizard World had possessed this Talent did he finally feel at ease and begin to meditate again.
The next morning, Andre opened his eyes, got out of bed, and stretched.
He had actually meditated the entire night, yet he felt just as rested as if he’d had a full night’s sleep.
’Was that deep meditation, or deep sleep?’
Andre was still pondering this on his way to the dining hall. He hadn’t gone far when someone blocked his path.
"What do you want?"
Andre’s expression turned cold as he looked at the group of people blocking his way.
"Have you been using Spirit Potions recently?"
the leader of the group asked Andre directly.
"Why do you ask?" Andre narrowed his eyes. Magic Power began to swirl around him as he prepared to enhance his strength and take them down.
"Do you have any more on you?"
the speaker asked tentatively.
"If you want to buy something from someone, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?"
Andre didn’t answer directly, staring coldly at the speaker.
"My apologies. My name is Curry."
Sensing Andre’s hostility, Curry hurriedly introduced himself.
"Why were you asking me about that?"
Andre’s expression softened slightly after the introduction, but he was still clearly displeased.
’I took the Potion in my own room. How could this guy possibly know?’
’Did someone sneak into my room while I was meditating?’
But the thought vanished as quickly as it came.
A master was always guarding the Wizard Inheritance Hall. No one could get past that guard and into his room, not unless they were the dean or one of the vice-deans. Even an Official Wizard from the academy couldn’t possibly manage it.
"If you have any extra Potions, I’d like to buy some from you," Curry said, revealing his purpose.
"Aren’t these Potions quite common? Why would you need to buy them from me?"
Andre sensed something was off. For new wizard apprentices, Spirit Potions were prohibitively expensive.
But the fact that Curry wanted to buy Potions from him meant he certainly wasn’t short on Magic Stones. He was lacking something else.
And what Curry lacked, Andre suspected, was time.
