By the light of the fire, Qiyu took out the two books he had obtained from the silver chest.
The first one he opened was the golden-quality Manual of Mental Cultivation.
As he opened its rich, dark-green cover, a line of exquisitely beautiful text appeared before his eyes.
The script was unlike anything he had ever seen, yet strangely enough, the moment he looked at it, he understood its meaning.
To be precise, it wasn't merely that he understood the words. An elegant yet haughty voice also rang directly in his mind:
“If you are mediocre, please close this book immediately and stay away from my notes.”
Qiyu suspected that the owner of the voice was none other than the legendary elven Archmage Aegnor.
【Do you wish to study Mental Power Cultivation Manual?】
“Yes.”
The very next second, Qiyu realized he had been careless.
It felt as though his entire body had been thrown into a high-speed mixer. His head spun wildly, and he lost all sense of direction, one moment soaring into the sky and the next plunging into the depths of the ocean.
The torment seemed to last an entire lifetime.
Yet when he finally regained his senses, the campfire was still burning quietly beside him, and the world outside remained pitch-black. He checked the time on his personal interface and discovered that hardly any time had passed.
“So this is what it feels like to have your head crammed full of knowledge.”
Qiyu rubbed his temples, needing a long moment to recover.
Despite the discomfort, his spirits were high. He knew he had obtained something extraordinary.
As the voice had mentioned earlier, the Mental Power Cultivation Manual was more of a personal notebook than a conventional textbook. Besides explaining how to cultivate mental power, it contained many of Aegnor's personal insights into its cultivation and application.
More importantly, the free-spirited elven Archmage frequently experienced sudden flashes of inspiration concerning magic, which he would casually jot down in his notebook.
A long series of notifications appeared on the interface:
【You have successfully learned the basic techniques of mental energy application.】
【You have successfully learned the spell “Heal”.】
【You have successfully learned the spell “Bless.”】
【You have successfully learned the spell “Purify.”】
【You have successfully learned the spell “Guard”.】
***
Perhaps because the author of the notes was an elven mage, most of their contents concerned nature magic and life magic.
After studying the Archmage's notes, Qiyu found that reading elementary magic introduction was as effortless as solving a simple arithmetic problem like 1 + 1.
True to its reputation as an introductory guide, the book filled his mind with a wealth of fundamental magical knowledge and even included two magical Easter eggs.
【Magic Easter Egg: Unlocks any basic spell.】
Qiyu opened them.
【You have successfully learned the basic spell “Fireball”.】
【You have successfully learned the basic spell “Waterball”.】
【Detected that the player has mastered knowledge of magic and mental power cultivation, with a proficiency in basic magic exceeding 5. The class module has been unlocked.】
【Recommended class: “Mage.” Do you wish to change classes?】
Mage?
Recalling the power of the magic he had witnessed, Qiyu selected “Yes.”
【Congratulations! You are the 131st player in the entire server to unlock a class.】
A surge of delight swept through Qiyu when he heard the announcement.
He still remembered the previous notification: he had been somewhere beyond the 500th player on the entire server to upgrade his shelter.
Now, however, he had ranked 131st in unlocking a class.
How could anyone deny that this was tremendous progress?
Qiyu's personal profile now looked like this:
Survival ID: I Love Survival Game Age: 19
Level one shelter, Sturdy Log Cabin, Upgradeable
Class: Mage
Innate Skill: Planting·Mutated (Beginner)
Magic Skills: Fireball, Waterball, Basic Healing Magic, Basic Purify Magic, Basic Bless Magic, Basic Guard Magic.
Satiety: 100/100
Stamina: 100/100
Health: 140/140
Attack: 16 (barbarian fang bracers +3)
Defense: 11
Agility: 17+3 (jade boots +3)
Mana: 83+3 (jade necklace +3)
Equipment: Jade Necklace, Jade Boots, Barbarian Fang Dagger, Phantom Poison Needle, Phantom Armor.
After changing his class to Mage, both his Spirit and HP had changed.
His Mana had increased by 10 points, rising from its original value of 73 to 83. With the additional bonus from the jade necklace, his total Mana reached 86. His HP had also risen from 100 to 130, and the bonus from his jade equipment brought it to 140.
Faced with these changes, Qiyu felt as though he had undergone an evolution.
His mind, which had been somewhat muddled after being flooded with so much knowledge at once, was now crystal clear again.
He could see more clearly in the darkness, hear even the faintest sounds, and detect a subtle odor with his nose…
It seemed to be coming from his own body.
Qiyu rubbed his nose, thinking that people really had become delicate since entering the survival game. By the standards of the post-apocalyptic world, he would have been considered exceptionally clean.
Who would have thought that his own nose would betray him now?
Still, when resources were scarce, one had to make do with whatever was available. Now that he had the means to clean himself properly, it would be foolish not to take advantage of them.
He dug out a clean starter outfit, went into the bathroom, and took the most luxurious shower he had ever enjoyed across both his previous and current lives.
When he stepped out, however, he paused at the bathroom door in confusion.
Had his eye level always been this high?
A minute later, Qiyu finally realized what had happened: he had grown taller.
He had previously stood at 175 centimeters, which was already considered tall in the post-apocalyptic world, where malnutrition was widespread.
Now that he had changed his class to Mage, perhaps because of the increase in his health points, he estimated that he had grown another three or four centimeters.
The discovery thrilled him. He was only nineteen, and now that he could eat his fill and sleep comfortably every day in this survival game, perhaps he could grow even taller! 1
The Survival Game really was wonderful.
After offering his customary praise to the survival game, Qiyu sat down on the wooden bed and began meditating according to the instructions in the Mental Power Cultivation Manual.
His mind gradually grew clear.
At some point, he began to feel as though his consciousness had separated from his body. He could see tiny silver particles of light drifting through every corner of the wooden cabin.
The next moment, his perspective shifted to those silver particles, and he saw himself sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, meditating.
So this was what it felt like to see his own face from a third-person perspective. What a strange sensation.
Then, with another shift of his thoughts, his consciousness passed through the wooden cabin, allowing him to “look” into the darkness that had intrigued him for so long.
“Whoa!”
Qiyu's eyes flew open.
He glanced at his personal panel. It was already 5:00 a.m.
It felt as though he had only just sat down to meditate.
Yet despite having remained seated upright for several hours, he wasn't the least bit tired. On the contrary, he felt refreshed and brimming with energy, as though he had enjoyed an excellent night's sleep.
When he checked his personal panel again, he noticed a series of small red notification dots:
【Meditation: Gained insight; Mental Power +0.5.】
【Meditation: Became more proficient in the use of Mental Power.】
【Meditation: Made a minor breakthrough; Mental Power +1.】
Adding everything together, his mental power had actually increased by a full 3 points after just one night of meditation!