Chapter 15: Bonds, Something is Off

"Lucien, I feel I've got it all. I need some time to digest this myself," Carly's voice was somewhat tremulous, clearly showing that after nearly a day of intense learning, she too was reaching her limit.

Then, Carly closed her eyes and entered a state of meditation.

[Your student Carly has learned the Greybone Meditation Method·Modified II. Congratulations on acquiring {Bonding·Graybone Meditation Method}!]

"Bonding?" Lucien was momentarily taken aback before he opened the panel to check the details.

Soon, he understood what this bonding was.

In simple terms, it was the ultimate reward after mastering the knowledge. As long as he and Carly were within a certain range, the bonding effect could be triggered, allowing both parties to enjoy a 10% enhancement in effect when using the Greybone Meditation Method·Modified II for meditation.

"It seems that once a piece of knowledge is enhanced to its final version, a bonding boost is added," Lucien nodded slightly in his mind, quite satisfied with this.

While Lucien was examining the effects of the bonding properties, Carly, who was in a state of meditation, was utterly immersed in bliss.

If the Greybone Meditation Method·Modified was what brought Carly light from the darkness, then this Greybone Meditation Method·Modified II was like fitting her with a pair of glasses, sharpening her once blurry vision spectacularly!

In Carly's Perception, the light suddenly became dazzling.

She could even sense those "naughty" Magic Essences tracing paths around her body, and with a slight tug of her spirit, these little fellows would obediently fall into her gentle grasp with ease.

Just when Carly thought this was the pinnacle of happiness, the next moment, under the pull of an unknown force, many Magic Essences began to move toward her on their own. Many wandering essences collided into her Spirit Sea during the motion and became the fuel refining her spiritual power as the Meditation Method operated.

"I..." Carly's mind was somewhat muddled, and she almost couldn't maintain her state of meditation anymore.

She felt that even at her current "slacking" pace of meditation, the time needed to solidify the first spiritual rune wouldn't be long!

And what if she were to fully harness the Magic Essences around her for meditation?

Carly's heart thudded fearlessly.

Now, she could no longer maintain her meditative state, her consciousness separated from her Spirit Sea, and she opened her eyes.

At this moment, Lucien was watching Carly, with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

Carly blinked her eyes, somewhat confused.

Mirroring her, Lucien also blinked, looking a bit silly.

"Lucien..." Carly's eyes became misty again, perfectly embodying the phrase "tearful eyes."

[Your student Carly has a deep reverence for you, reverence value +15]

Lucien silently handed out a towel.

"Alright, starting tomorrow, I'll teach you one of the basic disciplines, anatomy," Once Carly's emotions had subsided, Lucien stood up, picked up a thick workbook from the side, and handed it to Carly. "This book is for you. Tonight, when you go back, remember to preview pages one to three."

"Ah... Yes!" Carly hurriedly took the brick-like book from Lucien, the heavy knowledge making it slightly difficult for her to hold. But thinking that this was a book given to her by her Lucien, Carly held it close and refused to let go.

"Furthermore, after mastering the Meditation Method, you can gradually replace sleep with meditation, striving to solidify the first spiritual rune sooner. Once you've solidified the spiritual rune, we can gradually start to learn witchcraft," Lucien watched Carly, injecting a dose of enthusiasm into the young one.

"Yes!" Carly's eyes sparkled brightly.

Lucien glanced at the still beaming Carly and couldn't help but shake his head.

So young!

However, when Carly was about to leave, Lucien suddenly thought of a key issue.

It seemed that once Carly left his side, she wouldn't be able to enjoy the bonding boost anymore. This would undoubtedly slow down their meditation pace.

Lucien's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but after only a moment's hesitation, he called out to Carly.

"Mentor Lucien?" Carly, clutching a tutor book, looked puzzled.

"You will meditate here with me for a while," Lucien said sternly, "to avoid getting into another fight when you go back. And later, during the preview session, feel free to ask me if there's anything you don't understand."

Carly's face turned red, and she lowered her head slightly.

During her time as a servant at the Earl's estate, she often heard stories about sisters who were sometimes taken for various reasons...

But if it was Mentor Lucien, it seemed...

Carly's cheeks grew redder, and her head buried lower.

[Your student Carly admires you, respect value +1]

Lucien: ???

He now wanted to know whether it was a system issue or a human issue.

This respect value is somewhat exaggerated.

However, Lucien didn't think too much about it. After giving Carly a few instructions, he cleared the bed for her, and then casually found a spot to sit down and soon entered a meditation state.

After all, as long as Carly was nearby, whether or not she was in a meditation state, the bonding was valid.

Lucien settled down, but Carly on the other side seemed a bit lost.

She sat on the bed, but her gaze occasionally drifted towards Lucien not far away.

This scene seemed slightly different from what those sisters had secretly told her.

Carly couldn't help but fall into confusion.

"Could it be, Mentor Lucien is really just worried about me causing trouble again if I go back on my own?" Carly gently rubbed her little nose, contemplating the possibility.

She covered her cheeks, feeling especially embarrassed.

But at that moment, she had been too agitated to not react... Carly explained to herself internally. In order to ease the tumultuous emotions inside her, Carly's gaze slowly shifted to the hefty book that Lucien had given her.

...

Meanwhile, Lucien, with his eyes tightly shut, began a very important task.

That was to revise the Meditation Method for himself.

After all, strictly speaking, both he and Carly were at the Apprentice Rank; it's just that he had solidified 97 spiritual runes, while Carly had just started the process of solidifying spiritual power.

Previously, he practiced the basic Meditation Method from Greybone Academy, the limit being the solidification of 108 spiritual runes. Moreover, solidifying spiritual runes became increasingly difficult as one progressed.

Although Lucien himself had a decent fourth-grade talent, if he continued training with Greybone Academy's basic Meditation Method, he would need at least five years to solidify the final 11 spiritual runes to reach the threshold of becoming a Formal Wizard.

However, now Lucien had the system-upgraded basic Meditation Method, which drastically altered the pace.

Soon, as Lucien entered the meditation state, his consciousness appeared in his Spirit Sea.

This was a mysterious space, faint and speckled with drifting spiritual power. Here, 97 spiritual runes floated, interlinked in a special structure, stabilizing Lucien's Spirit Sea.

At the same time, this structure was slightly vibrating, seemingly using this special vibration to continuously compress and condense Lucien's spiritual power.