NABC Chapter 42 "Afterglow Meditation Method"
Chapter 42 "Afterglow Meditation Method"
After hesitating for a moment, Roland decided to go in and investigate.
These ancient ruins may contain valuable information or artifacts.
He had Bahamut stand guard above the entrance, while he activated a simple lighting rune attached to his shoulder armor and cautiously stepped inside.
The interior space is not large; it appears to be a foyer.
Scattered on the ground were fragments of decaying tools and dust.
There may have been murals or inscriptions on the walls, but they are now blurred and indistinct.
His gaze swept across the corner and suddenly settled on a relatively intact metal cabinet.
The cabinet surface was also covered in rust, but the latches seemed to be intact.
Luo Lin tried to pry it open with his dagger, but it wouldn't budge.
I tried injecting a little magic power again, but the lock still didn't respond.
After thinking for a moment, Luo Lin recalled a simple unlocking technique based on energy frequency resonance recorded in ancient scrolls.
He adjusted his own magical energy fluctuations, simulating several common ancient energy frequencies, and tried them one by one.
When the third frequency was simulated, a slight clicking sound came from inside the latch.
Luo Lin was overjoyed. He gently pulled the drawer, and the cabinet door opened with a click.
There weren't many things in the cabinet.
Several fragments of magic crystals that had long since lost their energy, some heavily rusted metal parts of unknown purpose, and a small stack of pages made of special waterproof and fireproof material, on which information was recorded in ancient script and patterns.
Rowling picked up the stack of pages, and the spell [Literary Proficiency] was quietly activated.
Obscure and difficult-to-understand information flooded my mind; these seemed to be fragments of experimental logs about "energy stability monitoring".
The author complained about the increasing instability of the Secret Realm's energy field, mentioned the abnormal fluctuations in the elemental pool in the core area, and recorded several methods for drawing simple rune arrays to temporarily stabilize the energy field.
Although this information did not involve the core inheritance, it provided him with valuable reference for understanding the environment of the secret realm.
In particular, those simple and stable runes might be useful in dealing with energy turbulence.
He carefully put the pages away.
Leaving the small ruins, Rowling continued his exploration.
Based on the direction of the element pool mentioned in the experiment log, he adjusted his route.
The further you go in that direction, the more active the energy particles in the air become, and even visible electric arcs begin to jump in the air.
Suddenly, Baha let out a sharp cry, its Dark Gold Eye fixed on a seemingly peaceful patch of scorched earth in front of it.
Luo Lin immediately stopped and focused his mental energy.
In his perception, beneath the land ahead lurked an extremely subtle yet destructive energy fluctuation.
That is an unstable energy node, or rather, a natural energy trap!
Luo Lin slowly retreated, bypassing that area.
A chill ran down my spine. The secret realm was indeed fraught with danger at every turn. A moment's carelessness could lead to being swallowed up by these hidden perils.
Over the next two days, Rowling encountered several dangers.
Once, he accidentally entered a region where time flowed abnormally. He felt like he had only taken a few steps, but it felt like half a day had passed in the outside world. He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly withdrew.
On another occasion, Roland encountered a group of mutated, giant scorpion-like metallic constructs that had been corrupted by the energy of the secret realm.
These constructs were extremely well-defended and highly resistant to acid attacks. Rolin had to use a [Corrosion Rune Bomb] to turn them into scrap metal, which also consumed a lot of his mana.
The harvest also exists.
Roland found some strange crystals unique to the secret realm, containing unstable energy. Although they could not be used directly, they might be used as materials for certain special potions.
Inside a broken metal pipe, Rolin discovered a small, well-sealed bottle of liquid shimmering with iridescent colors. Based on its energy properties, it was highly likely to be a high-purity "elemental harmonizer," an important ingredient in the formulation of many advanced potions.
Through Baha's keen perception and his own careful exploration, he gradually gained a certain understanding of the environment of this area and drew simple topographical maps.
On the afternoon of the third day, as he climbed over a low slope made of piled-up metal debris, the sight before him made him gasp for breath.
Ahead lies a relatively open basin.
In the center of the basin, instead of the elemental pool he had envisioned, was a bottomless, enormous pit.
The edges of the pit were irregularly torn, as if a piece had been forcibly scooped away by some terrifying force.
Inside the crater, it wasn't pitch black, but rather filled with a constantly churning, terrifyingly colorful turbulent energy flow.
The violent energies collided and annihilated each other, emitting a deep roar. Occasionally, the residual energy that splashed out would instantly vaporize the rocks at the edge of the pit.
At the center of that turbulent energy flow, several clusters of pure and exceptionally bright light could be vaguely seen floating and drifting.
The pure and immense elemental aura emanating from that ball of light resonated slightly in Rolin's mind, even from such a great distance.
"Elemental Essence!"
Rowling was almost certain.
Those orbs of light were one of his primary targets on this trip.
However, looking at the raging, all-consuming energy turbulence and the charred remains scattered on the ground around the pit, which were clearly left by previous explorers, Roland's heart sank.
This elemental pool has clearly gone out of control and gone berserk.
The difficulty and danger of obtaining the energy essence from it far exceeded his imagination.
Luo Lin lay in ambush behind the low slope, observing carefully.
The space around the pit is extremely unstable, with visible ripples constantly spreading.
The energy turbulence was completely unpredictable, sometimes swirling around the center and sometimes erupting outwards suddenly.
Charging straight in would be suicide.
He had to find a way to find a relatively safe opportunity, or a way to briefly resist or guide the violent energy.
His gaze swept over the charred remains at the edge of the crater, then he looked at the stack of pages about energy stabilization runes in his hand. An extremely risky plan began to slowly take shape in his mind.
Luo Lin took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening.
He discovered that although the energy turbulence seemed to be completely random, the intensity and range of its eruptions appeared to be slightly related to the movement trajectory of the few clusters of elemental essences at the center of the crater.
When the essence of light clusters approaches the edge, the turbulence tends to be relatively calm.
The eruption is most violent when they sink deep into the center.
"Perhaps... we can take advantage of this gap?"
Luo Lin pondered to himself.
But even during relatively calm periods, the energy turbulence at the edges is something he can't withstand by force.
Additional protective or guidance measures are necessary.
He turned his gaze to the charred remains scattered around the edge of the pit.
These are likely relics left by previous explorers, or perhaps some useful items can be found among them.
Taking advantage of a gap in the energy eruption, he transformed into a cheetah and darted out, quickly approaching the edge of the area, his mental energy sweeping over several relatively intact remains.
Most of the items had been destroyed, but next to the wreckage of a burnt and deformed metal box, he found a leather roller made of a special material that seemed to have some energy resistance.
The surface of the roller drum was charred, but the structure was largely intact.
Luo Lin immediately picked it up and quickly retreated to a safe distance.
Open the scroll tube, and inside is a tough scroll made of some kind of animal hide.
Unrolling the scroll, the opening words made Rowling's heart skip a beat.
The Afterglow Meditation Method!
This is exactly the advanced meditation method he has been dreaming of!
However, as he carefully read using his [Language Proficiency], his excitement quickly cooled down.
This "Afterglow Meditation Method" is indeed a meditation technique that leads directly to the first-level wizard, but its content... is incomplete!
Only about two-thirds of the entire text is missing; the most crucial part, the guidance of spiritual energy crystallization, and the subsequent methods for stabilizing the environment are completely absent.
There are obvious tear marks at the end of the spool.
"It wasn't that simple after all..."
Rowling sighed.
An incomplete meditation method is far less valuable.
Forcibly cultivating the incomplete part might barely guide crystallization, but the risk is extremely high, and the subsequent path will be cut off, which is almost equivalent to ruining one's future.
This is probably one of the reasons why this scroll was left here.
For most people, it's like a chicken rib – useless.
Luo Lin put away the tattered scroll of "Afterglow Meditation Method" with some disappointment.
Although incomplete, the first half, with its ideas on how to temper and compress mental energy, still offered him some inspiration and could serve as a reference.