Cultivation
[...?]
[Doctor...?]
[You there?]
'I'm here...' -Thought Leylin as he stood up from his crunched-over position. Snapping noises were heard as he stretched out and inspected his surroundings.
[Good morning, Doctor. It's eleven pm and everyone is out sleeping. Also, I have two very good news.]
'Go ahead.' -Leylin perked up at this, as he rubbed his back where he was injured.
[First and foremost: the optimization for the breathing technique has been completed. The negative side effects are gone for good, obviously. The time taken for one revolution is now 5 minutes 23 seconds, and your stats will receive a flat increase of five percent with each revolution.]
[Second piece: Your health has greatly improved its condition after so much rest you've been having. If I was a medic and this was a hospital, I'd clear you to go home. Give it a week and you'll be good as new.]
'Nicely done. And that medicine of George's did some miracles... That is indeed some good news. Not bad at all.' -The results made Leylin very satisfied.
Regarding the breathing technique; if the effect was a 5% increase each time, then dozens of repetitions or even hundreds would result in huge advancements. The outlook for Leylin's increase in strength was remarkably optimistic.
'Viscount John said that both the Cross Blade Assassination Technique and the Cross Blade Breathing Technique were obtained by House Farlier's ancestor after waging dozens of bloody wars. He subsequently obtained it from a fallen Knight comrade as part of his last will... Amongst the many families with Knights, it is considered to be in the upper-middle grade...'
'Nonetheless, after your optimization, I bet it might even be comparable to the Secret Scroll Techniques of the richest kingdoms... You have truly surpassed my expectations, Aralis.' -Praised Leylin, with a genuine smile that he sometimes forgot about.
[I'm glad you like it. I did have something like that in mind. In our categorization levels, I'd put it at A-Class, with whatever technique Lord Angelo uses as an S-Class. I'm of course talking stat gains only.]
'Maybe it's not an S-Class, but I don't care about that. What I wanted was 100% effectiveness and no drawbacks. I doubt the same could be said about that so-called S-Class...'
[Exactly my thoughts.]
Leylin quietly pondered, and immediately said: 'No use in dawdling any longer, go ahead and transfer the optimized breathing technique to my memory.'
Aralis duly carried out her orders and brought large amounts of images depicting the breathing technique into Leylin's mind.
A few minutes of transfer later, Leylin gently rubbed his head: 'I feel a little dizzy...'
[I've been monitoring your brainwaves and it's all green.]
'Well, it has been a while since I last transferred so much data into my brain in such a short lapse of time. And this is a teen's brain... Guess I'll just sit down for a bit...'
Right now Leylin's mind was filled with large amounts of memories about the breathing technique and the many matching sequences of practiced experience.
The breathing technique had many contradictions, and some of them required more than a verbal explanation to be understood. One had to go through the experience of training and along some complicated paths. Only then would they be able to achieve enlightenment.
But these things could all be avoided with the A.I.'s analyzing abilities. Compared to everyone else, he did not have to go on the roundabout route. It was as if he had practiced the optimized technique all his life. Years of know-how gained in a second.
'Time to give it a try.' -Leylin told inwardly to his assistant.
He laid his body on the floor in the shape of a cross.
According to the suggestions on the breathing technique which was presented by Aralis, there was no need to have any special actions to complement it, but just to find the most suitable and comfortable position.
'First, I must hold my breath for 65 seconds. Then take three long and one short breath. The duration and frequency must be...'
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Leylin followed the description of the breathing technique and gradually entered a state of cultivation.
He looked unconscious; his face was bright red and his temples throbbed as if carrying out some kind of exercise.
As time passed, Leylin's face grew redder, and eventually, he began to perspire out some faint black-colored fluid.
He had maintained this process for over 20 minutes until Leylin opened both of his eyes and opened his mouth to exhale.
A black-colored breath was exhaled just like this. Within his body, some cracking noises could be made out.
Leylin stood up and moved his four limbs. His whole body was warm as if he had just undergone vigorous exercise.
'Aralis, do me the honors.' -Leylin thought enthusiastically.
[With pleasure. Here you go, Doctor. I changed the method of display and moved the data back to 3 decimal figures. I also took the liberty to make comparisons with the data before your cultivation...]
//
Dr. Fang Ming (Leylin Farlier's body)
<Physical Stats>
Strength - 0.463 (.063+)
Agility - 0.525 (.025+)
Vitality - 0.420 (.020+)
<Status Effects>
-Adverse health conditions: Mild injuries across the body (healed 73%).
//
'I've only cultivated for a bit over 20 minutes, but the stats increase is already fairly considerable. At this rate, it's just a matter of time before I have the stats of a black-robed man...' -Leylin smirked in anticipation.
'What a pity though. According to my memories, breathing techniques have cultivation limits. The Farlier family's breathing technique can only be practiced once a day. Additional practice will stop delivering benefits, and it will even cause harm to the body...' -Leylin lamented.
[That much is true. However, with my optimization, that last part is effaced from your technique. If you cultivate like crazy, you'll only be wasting your time, but not damaging your body.]
'At this point, I'm just waiting for you to tell me the methods to let me cultivate further...' -Leylin thought impatiently.
[Yeah, there is a way: to supplement your inner energy with medicinal items...] -Aralis commented.
'List to me all of the necessary medicinal items.'
[There are a lot, and some of them were even present in our former world... Want me to put it on the holo display?]
'Forget it; is it possible to substitute any of them with stuff found in the wilderness around here?" -This seemed to be an impossible task, but Leylin furrowed his brows and asked anyway.
[Samples would be needed to analyze the medicinal properties of the herbs of these parts. As of now, my data is insufficient... And you know what that means...] -Aralis replied.
'So long as there is a way, then it's alright. I'll get you those samples soon enough.' -Leylin heaved a sigh of relief.
He looked at his own body again. Because of the large amounts of black gooey substance produced after the breathing technique training, his body felt very sticky, which was extremely uncomfortable.
Leylin grimaced: 'Looks like I'll have to wash up first though! I'm covered in some kind of disgusting goo! Damn!'
[I'll establish the closest route to a river or something...]
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Leylin made his way out of the horse carriage.
It was well into the night by this hour, and the various young nobles were all sleeping soundly in their tents.
Leylin quietly stepped out of the campsite and moved towards a small river that was nearby.
[Warning! Black Robe incoming!] -Leylin's assistant warned.
Leylin pretended that he was oblivious though, as he continued his advances.
[Coming in close, watch it!]
"What are you trying to do?" -A deep voice reverberated right behind Leylin.
Leylin's pupils shrank. 'Well, shit. I was already aware of him, but if he meant harm to me, I would've been fucked regardless... I underestimated him greatly!'
On the surface, he pretended to be scared out of his wits: "Ah! Who?! Who is it?!" -Leylin turned around his body to look back, seeing the black-robed man who had been distributing the rations that day.
"Hel- Hello Lord Angelo! I just felt that I was a little dirty and simply wanted to wash myself!" -Leylin's face was pale, as if he was frightened, and did not even have the capabilities to speak properly. Those were only the effects of the lack of sunlight though.
"Wash yourself?" -The black-robed man furrowed his brows and wrinkled his nose. He could indeed smell a stench coming from Leylin.
"Alright... But it is rather dangerous here at night, especially for young nobles like you bunch! Return quickly after washing!" -The black-robed Angelo said.
Not paying any more mind to Leylin, he turned around and walked towards the heart of the encampment, where his tent was.
"Thank you for your reminder, Lord Angelo! Have a good night!" -Leylin exclaimed with a respectful bow, no matter whether this man had heard him or not. He had been careless enough for one night.
After seeing Angelo leave completely, Leylin then strode out of the camp and headed to the small river.
Angelo walked into his own tent and pulled down his mask, exposing his scarred face: "The substance expelled from the body after practicing Knight breathing techniques...?"
"Aagh, if I had also been born of nobility, I wouldn't have risked being part of a Magus' experiment and ended up in this state..." -Angelo muttered angrily. His shadow and the tent's overlapped into one, as he blew out the candles inside.
Leylin spoke to his assistant just as they entered the woods near the campsite: 'I made a big mistake, Aralis.'
[Which one?]
'I relied too much on you. A mistake I won't make again.'
[Meaning? I just did what you asked.]
'Exactly. I trusted that you would, and forgot that even if you identify threats, it is still up to me to evade or neutralize them...'
[Oooh, I see... Then, what should we do now?]
'The plan doesn't change. Getting you samples, cultivating, growing in power. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum. I wanted to wait till I was a bit stronger, but now I realize it's folly thinking that I'm not already in mortal danger inside the camp.'
[Let's do that then. I'll be here if you need anything, Doctor.]
Leylin promptly changed the subject: 'I think that Angelo must have realized something... But it doesn't matter, a noble practicing a passed-down Knight breathing technique is just a normal occurrence.'
'Furthermore, he already has the physical qualities of a Knight, so he definitely has his own breathing technique, and won't need to get mine. Besides, even if he wanted it, it wouldn't be a big deal. I can just write it down and give him a copy...'
Since there was such a large difference in strength, Leylin did not have any intention of protecting the secrets of House Farlier. However, it seemed that Angelo did not even fancy the Knight breathing techniques of small noble families. Even better for Leylin.
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Along the way, Leylin casually plucked the wildflowers and plants he found and popped them into his mouth from time to time.
Chewing a grass stalk in his mouth, there was a bitter taste to it. However, Leylin did not mind.
[Aaaand that's more useless grass...]
Leylin immediately spat out the grass stalk in his mouth and replaced it with another plant.
'First batch is done. Now we will proceed with another round of analysis.' -Leylin declared in his mind.
[I admire your dedication, Doctor. And don't worry, if I detect any poisonous plants, I'll let you know immediately.]
'Good to know... So? What about that one?'
[Experiments completed... Analyzing qualities... Oh, this plant has a mild paralysis effect! Finally something interesting!]
'Indeed. Was beginning to think that nothing useful would come out of me chewing on random weeds... Anyway, in Leylin's memories, this is called the TriNight Grass.'
[Saving it inside the database.]
'Okay, next...' -Leylin had seen a bunch of fruits from a collection of shrubs.
These fruits were only the size of Leylin's thumb, and they had ripened on the top of a barbed vine. Their appearance was quite beautiful actually, having a bright glossy red hue.
Leylin carefully avoided the barbs and plucked one of the fruits. He placed it into his mouth and bit down with a crisp noise. A sweet juice was squeezed out from the fruit, filling his mouth.
'Mmn... This is called 'Red Fruit', and the taste is not bad. I might actually start eating these instead of that plain bread.'
He brought a couple more to his mouth: 'The taste is the same as an apple's, just a tad sweeter.' -Leylin evaluated.
'Now, I've got another batch for you to analyze.'
[Ready and able.]
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Ten minutes turned into one hour, and Aralis had already saved data on over 30 different kinds of plants and herbs. Unfortunately, none of them were of any use to Leylin's cultivation.
Nevertheless, he had finally arrived at the small river. The earpiercing sounds of the trickling stream of water crashing against the rocks broke the silence of the night.
With his constant chatting and bickering with Aralis, Leylin had actually forgotten all about the sticky goo on his body. It was time to bathe himself.
[I've scanned the surrounding 10 km. You're good to go.] -Aralis faithfully reported the message. She had calmed down a bit from her data-hoarding high.
'Well, it's good that there is no danger. I don't want to run back to the camp midway through my washing. That would definitely make me the biggest laughing stock...' -Leylin said as he took off his outer robes and underwear, entering the river naked.