novelraw Chapter 336: Meditation Skill Upgrade, Intermediate Meditation Technique
Chapter 336: Meditation Skill Upgrade, Intermediate Meditation Technique
Although he couldn't understand Eve's train of thought at all, Lin Mo wholeheartedly agreed with the content of the book she was reading.
Since she had already made such an effort to get up, not doing anything would be a real mood-killer.
So, Lin Mo unceremoniously reached out, carefully savoring the sensation.
You know what, even though Eve's figure is on the slimmer side, it's not nearly as extreme as Sherfilia's. There's still a bit of flesh.
Pert, soft, and bouncy...
"Mmm~"
A faint, almost imperceptible whimper escaped Eve's nostrils. Her entire face was flushed crimson, her breathing was erratic, and her eyes held a trace of bewilderment.
"Ahem, ahem—"
Lin Mo noticed her sound and coughed twice. Even though Eve stubbornly refused to shy away, he ultimately didn't continue.
He withdrew his hand, sent her into the Portable Space, and followed right after her.Once Lin Mo himself entered the Portable Space, the space lost its physical anchor. Combined with the ongoing movement, this required a bit of extra mana consumption. However, it wasn't a big problem. Lin Mo's current total mana pool was already quite substantial. Even traveling for a full day would probably only consume about 10% of his total mana, which would recover after a night's sleep or a short period of meditation.
If any unexpected situations arose, he also had mana potions as a backup.
The Superior Mana Potion's effect was incredibly potent, completely justifying its price. Even for the current Lin Mo, drinking one Superior Mana Potion could restore roughly half his mana within a few minutes.
At this moment, inside the two-story villa within the Portable Space, the girls were momentarily stunned upon seeing the newcomer who had just arrived.
"Eve?"
"Teacher Flora?"
Flora looked at her with a face full of surprise, and Eve looked back at Flora with equal astonishment.
"How did you end up here too?" "What are you doing here?"
Their expressions then both turned somewhat awkward.
A few days ago, when Eve came looking for Lin Mo and the others, they had talked for a long time. They both knew they were in the same unfortunate boat, yet at that time, neither had mentioned taking any action. They were just lamenting and sighing, as if the matter was already settled.
But in reality? Each had silently resolved to seize the opportunity, each with their own little schemes.
"I... actually, I wanted to find you these past few days, but I couldn't locate you."
Flora took the initiative to attack, and as she spoke, she grew increasingly self-righteous.
Eve blinked somewhat dumbfoundedly. She was bad with words and didn't know what to say. Moreover, it was genuinely difficult to explain.
After all, something like directly hiding in someone else's carriage was indeed a bit... shameless.
And she had completely failed to consider Teacher Flora, who was also a fellow "unfortunate soul."
Just as the atmosphere was getting awkward, Lin Mo happened to enter.
"All chatting?"
Ellie politely sat in the middle of the sofa. Lin Mo, quick-eyed and swift-handed, immediately occupied the spot to her right, while the left side happened to be Finnie.
Lena, who had just started to get up, revealed a look of regret.
Sherfilia, however, remained calm and composed, very naturally walking behind Lin Mo to massage his shoulders and neck.
No one could compete with her for this position.
After all, the techniques of the others couldn't compare to the professionalism of this maid who had studied and practiced hard.
"Ahhh—"
Lin Mo let out a long, comfortable sigh and slumped completely into the sofa.
The little maid understood him too well. She knew exactly where to press for maximum comfort, how much force to use, and how long to press for the perfect effect. She had it all down pat, leaving no room for complaint.
Including in technical aspects, she was also the one who progressed the fastest.
Ellie was the wild type, focusing on raw numbers and having a robust enough body.
Lena and Finnie also had no technical finesse to speak of.
Especially the former, who would only meow...
Only Sherfilia possessed the most "scientific research" spirit, constantly striving to delve deeper, seriously study, and conduct practical experiments.
After chatting with the girls for a while and having some fruit, Lin Mo didn't continue to immerse himself in the gentle haven. Instead, he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
This meditation session lasted a very long time.
Several hours later, Lin Mo suddenly opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.
At the same time, a prompt floated before his eyes.
"Skill [Primary Meditation Technique] Lv6 (300/300) has leveled up!"
"Current skill [Primary Meditation Technique] Lv7 (Max)"
"Gained basic attribute point: Mana +5!"
"Has automatically evolved into a new skill — [Intermediate Meditation Technique]!"
"Comprehended skill [Intermediate Meditation Technique]! Gained basic attribute point: Mana +5!"
[Intermediate Meditation Technique] Lv1 (0/20): Enter a meditative state, increasing Mana recovery speed by 50% and Spirit recovery speed by 50%! Has a moderate probability of increasing the base Mana attribute!
Note: This state requires high concentration and will moderately reduce Insight!
[Intermediate Meditation Technique] showed a very significant improvement compared to [Primary Meditation Technique].
First, the recovery speed increase from meditation itself jumped directly from 20% to 50%! The probability of increasing the base Mana attribute also became higher. Simultaneously, the Insight reduction effect caused by entering meditation was also slightly lessened.
Lin Mo tried out the new [Intermediate Meditation Technique], and its efficiency was indeed noticeably higher than before.
Furthermore, the 10 points of Mana attribute gained from maxing the skill and learning the new one also caused Lin Mo's Priest and Mage levels to increase again, reaching level 20! Only one final step remained before reaching Transcendent Level!
"Universal promotion condition met. Profession Mage (lv19) promoted — current profession Mage (lv20)"
"Gained profession attribute enhancement: Constitution +3, Agility +3, Spirit +7, Mana +15!"
"Universal promotion condition met. Profession Priest (lv19) promoted — current profession Priest (lv20)"
"Gained profession attribute enhancement: Constitution +3, Agility +3, Spirit +10, Mana +12!"
The base attribute requirement to reach level 21, which is the Transcendent Level, was currently unknown.
However, Lin Mo estimated it was most likely 350 points, meaning 50 points higher than level 20.
So, there was still some distance from promotion. He also needed to slightly control the growth rate of his base Mana attribute, as the Mage profession's progress was now about 20 points ahead of the Warrior profession.
Additionally, the progress of the Knight, Assassin, and Ranger professions could also be pulled up further. These were all things he could do on the road.
These ten days of travel wouldn't all be spent moving through safe zones.
Especially since, to pursue speed, Lin Mo had chosen a more aggressive route that would pass through several adventure zones. By then, they would definitely encounter many magical creatures, allowing him to incidentally grind some proficiency.
As for now, in the relatively safe areas, of course, it was time for "infrastructure development."
Lin Mo's current favorite skill to research was [Spatial Creation].
The feeling of gradually expanding the space bit by bit was like playing a farming simulation game, incredibly satisfying.
Especially since he could personally enjoy the fruits of his labor, which gave him even more motivation.
Continuing to expand the space, today's goal was 12×40×40.
While Lin Mo was diligently expanding the space, Ellie and the others weren't idle either.
Finnie had already learned meditation and was now meditating with her eyes closed. Flora accompanied her, also meditating.
Lena was reading a book, diligently studying planting and cooking techniques.
Although Planter was her main focus and she didn't put as much effort into cooking, she still had some achievements. Now, besides Sherfilia, Lena could also serve as a main chef at home.
Ellie and Eve were sparring, though the space wasn't quite sufficient yet, so they were just doing some simple exercises. They also discussed skill and swordsmanship techniques together.
As for Sherfilia, she naturally began with her maid duties.
Such as cleaning and tidying the villa, then brewing a pot of hot tea for everyone.
Only after completing these tasks did she start to delve into and practice her skills, joining Ellie and Eve, just like when they practiced together before the Academy Grand Competition.
It's just that now, Eve's strength had fallen too far behind. And the gap between Sherfilia and Ellie was actually also quite large.
For now, with the space still not big enough and lacking sufficient room to fully utilize their skills, it was okay. But later, when Lin Mo expanded the space enough to create a dedicated sparring area, this imbalance in strength would lead to a lack of quality in their practice sessions.
So, he needed to think of a way later to quickly improve Eve and Sherfilia's strength.
And Teacher Flora. For now, she could still serve as a sparring partner for Ellie, but she probably couldn't beat her anymore either.
Ultimately, those "enhanced" by Lin Mo, although not comparable to a Hexagon Warrior like himself, were at least a "triangle warrior." In battles at the same level, they basically couldn't lose.
The first day of the journey passed in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Because the horses pulling the carriage were themselves magical creatures of no low level, those magical creatures that were too weak simply didn't dare to approach. The entire journey was smooth and uneventful.
Naturally, they didn't travel at night.
It wasn't out of fear of danger, but both the horses and the people needed rest.
Now that they had the Portable Space, there was no need to spend nights on high alert like before, sleeping fitfully and having to arrange night watches.
Now, they could completely rest easy and get a good night's sleep.
If they continued traveling at night, they would have to stay somewhat alert to observe the situation outside.
Anyway, if the carriage horses were well-fed and well-rested, the travel speed the next day would be faster. Lin Mo wasn't in that much of a hurry either. Traveling day and night would only save two or three days, which wasn't necessary.
For dinner, everyone gathered around the table, creating a lively scene.
Now, the Silver Radiance Team's membership had reached seven people, making it a medium-sized adventurer team.
Among them, Flora was a Silver Level adventurer. All the others were Bronze Level... Lena was Black Iron Level, having just registered before leaving the Royal Capital.
It was just a matter of putting her name on the roster. They could take her along to accept missions later.
Lin Mo's current strength definitely surpassed that of an ordinary Silver Level adventurer. He just hadn't completed enough missions... I wonder if there's a shortcut to promoting adventurer ranks?
In principle, of course not. But on this continent, most of the time, strength *is* the principle.
Dinner was prepared by Lena and Sherfilia together. The main chef had shifted from Sherfilia to Lena. Recently, the cat-eared girl had devoted more energy to researching cooking and had already achieved some small results.
Of course, nothing could be faulted with Sherfilia's culinary skills; they were completely competent, even excellent. But since she wasn't a true Chef, she still couldn't surpass Lena.
However, she could help with ingredient preparation and miscellaneous tasks.
Because they were now quite financially comfortable and had also stockpiled a considerable amount of Magical Creature Meat, the ingredients used for every meal were quite luxurious.
This dinner, if priced according to market rates, was equivalent to eating several thousand Gold Coins.
But it was all meaningful, so no one felt heartache over it.
The two newcomers seemed a bit nervous. Although they had eaten together before, their current status and situation were different now, so their mindset was naturally completely different from before.
Eve's eating movements were noticeably stiff. She would sneak glances at Lin Mo from time to time. In her mind, she recalled the contents of the book she had been reading these past few days. Although she didn't fully understand it, her face inexplicably grew hot. That strange feeling she had while reading the book resurfaced, even more pronounced, making her unconsciously clench her thighs.
Flora, who was usually bold, straightforward, and passionate, also spoke very little today. She almost kept her head down, shoveling rice into her mouth. Yet, after eating for a long time, the rice in her bowl didn't seem to diminish.
The atmosphere at the dining table was quite subtle.
Finnie and Ellie would occasionally put food in his bowl. Lena also occasionally followed suit. Sherfilia stood right beside him, holding a bowl and chopsticks, bringing food to his mouth.
This also allowed him to enjoy the decadent lifestyle of a noble...
It must be said, it felt really damn good!
...
At night, everyone tacitly returned to their own rooms. No one came looking for Lin Mo either; they were giving the newcomers a chance.
However, Lin Mo didn't have immediate plans to take any action.
Being newcomers, it was better to let them both adjust first. Moreover... the relationship hadn't quite reached that level yet.
Especially Flora. Her inner thoughts were still quite complex. It was better to give her a bit more time.
Thinking this, Lin Mo pushed open Ellie's door.
Tonight, he'd let her break through to level 16...
The journey the next morning remained relatively calm. After a day and a half of travel, they were already quite far from the Royal Capital. There were no other cities nearby either; they had reached true wilderness.
Although it wasn't a magical creature-dense adventure zone, magical creatures would still appear here.
At noon, while eating, Lin Mo suddenly put down his chopsticks and went outside the Portable Space.
Lifting the carriage curtain, he looked towards a spot some distance away. About a kilometer from the carriage, a burly wild boar was staring in their direction.
"Not a low level..."
Its threat level had actually reached level 9. In the wild, this should be quite rare.
Perfect, they could add something extra to the menu tonight.
Lin Mo took out the "Bow of Hurricane," nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring to its full extent, and aimed at the wild boar magical creature.
"Piercing Air Arrow!"
In the next moment, the arrow shot out like a streak of light, instantly embedding itself in the wild boar's body.
[Piercing Air Arrow] Proficiency +70
"Skill [Piercing Air Arrow] Lv1 (10/10) has leveled up!"
"Skill [Piercing Air Arrow] Lv2 (20/20) has leveled up!"
"Skill [Piercing Air Arrow] Lv3 (40/40) has leveled up!"
"Current skill [Piercing Air Arrow] Lv4 (0/100)"
"Gained basic attribute point: Agility +3!"
It just happened to level this Exceptional-Grade Skill to level 4, granting the basic attribute.
Lin Mo couldn't be bothered to get off the carriage. He directly used the [Shadow Split] skill, sending his clone to retrieve the wild boar's corpse.