Chapter 21: Terrifying Neighbor: Hidden Crisis

Luo En was dining in the public cafeteria when the idle chatter of several probationary apprentices at the next table reached his ears:

"I heard Da Lun De bought that kind of medicine?" a thin, tall man with medium-long hair asked mysteriously.

"What medicine? The kind that develops the brain?" his companion widened his eyes in surprise.

"Yes, he said he wanted to complete the conception of that sonic spell..." the long-haired one nodded, his expression both surprised and somewhat disdainful.

"Are you crazy? How many people have tried that thing and failed..."

The third person shook his head with a sneer:

"With his little bit of spiritual power, using that kind of medicine will only turn himself into a monster."

Luo En was originally chewing on the unpalatable black bread while thinking about the potion-making content he needed to review.

But hearing them mention his neighbor Da Lun De, he frowned and put down the tray in his hand.

In the past few days, the experimental noise from Da Lun De had become less and less. He originally thought that the crazy researcher had finally entered a bottleneck period and chose to rest temporarily.

Now it seems that the situation might not be so.

"The dormitory area has indeed been too quiet recently, I hope it's not what I think..."

He whispered to himself, looked at the half-eaten black bread in his hand, and also lost his appetite.

Speaking of which, when he first came to the Black Mist Jungle, he and this neighbor named Da Lun De were still considered familiar.

The first meal he had after coming here was eaten at the same table with Da Lun De.

"My home is in Cedar City in the northern part of the Black Mist Jungle."

At that time, the other party's temper was not as eccentric and irritable as it is now. The slightly chubby boy stirred the beet soup in the bowl while introducing himself softly:

"Our family has been musicians for generations, performing music and writing movements for the nobles in the city."

His eyes became unusually bright when mentioning music:

"Can you imagine, Luo En? Music is not just sound, it is a fluctuation of energy, a resonance of the soul. Since I was a child, I have been able to perceive the connection between different musical notes, their rhythm, their power..."

Luo En remembered that he just nodded politely at the time and didn't quite understand Da Lun De's enthusiasm.

"My spiritual power aptitude is not high, not even five-star, and I was almost desperate on the way here."

Da Lun De stirred the soup bowl, his voice low, seemingly unaware that the food in the bowl had gradually cooled down:

"But on the first day of school, I saw an opportunity on the bulletin board."

He lowered his voice mysteriously:

"In addition to the regular spiritual power test, the school has another path for promotion—perfecting the rewarded spell conception. If one can develop a semi-finished spell to a practical stage, one can also obtain the qualification to stay."

"And I found a topic that perfectly fits my specialty..."

Da Lun De's eyes shone: "Sonic conduction spiritual power field, the moment I saw this name, I knew it was prepared for me."

In the following months, Da Lun De indeed devoted himself wholeheartedly to this research.

Luo En would occasionally catch a glimpse of the equipment and notes piled up in his room when passing by, and the walls were covered with strange symbols and musical scores.

For the first two months, Da Lun De would regularly knock on various metal utensils every day, sometimes emitting some strange tones, and then curse and start over.

At that time, Luo En often complained to Andre, feeling that the noise of this neighbor affected his meditation.

But about a month ago, Da Lun De began to become frustrated.

The research seemed to have fallen into a bottleneck. No matter how he tried, he could not make the sound waves truly affect the spiritual power field.

"The problem is that my spiritual power is too weak." Once he complained to Luo En in frustration: "If I could be a little stronger, I could break through this obstacle."

In the past few days, these sounds have become less and less.

At first, Luo En thought Da Lun De had finally given up, but when he accidentally met him in the public bathroom yesterday, he noticed a kind of near-crazy light flashing in Da Lun De's eyes. The other party's face was sallow, and his originally slightly chubby body had become so thin that it was almost out of shape.

"Are you okay?" he asked casually at the time.

Da Lun De looked at him and smiled, the smile revealing an eerie feeling: "Good? Of course good... I will succeed soon, Luo En."

After speaking, he ignored him and left without looking back.

Now that I think about it, Da Lun De had already shown signs of abnormality at that time...

Thinking of this, Luo En washed the last bit of sauce in the tray with bread, forced it into his mouth, and walked towards the wash area.

Perhaps... he should be more guarded against this neighbor, he thought while washing the tray.

Returning to the room, Luo En opened the "Basic Meditation" and continued to meditate. He should be able to meditate for a while today.

Although he had consumed a considerable amount of energy, the effect of the refreshing potion in the past few days kept his mental state at a fairly high level.

【Basic meditation starts】

This time, he tried to integrate the knowledge learned from Princess Yi Fu into meditation.

No longer just simply outlining runes, but feeling the natural flow of spiritual power.

Whenever the flow of spiritual power encountered resistance, he would guide it gently, letting it move along the most natural path, just like an experienced helmsman using the power of the water flow rather than fighting against it.

In the consciousness space, the rune composed of three arcs began to flicker with faint light.

Different from the stiff form in the past, the rune now seemed to have life, trembling slightly with the fluctuation of spiritual power.

【Trigger special effect: Rhythm resonance—this meditation effect slightly increased】

【Basic meditation experience +1】

【Basic meditation experience +1】

【Basic meditation experience +1】

【Today's practice time has reached the limit, rest is recommended】

Luo En opened his eyes. Although it was a little less than when purely using the refreshing potion for meditation, it was still much higher than at the beginning.

"It seems 'rhythm' is indeed the key."

Luo En whispered to himself, recording today's insights in his notebook.

His notes had become quite perfect, from the initial scattered observations to forming a relatively systematic theory now.

After finishing organizing the notes, Luo En picked up the training wooden sword and began to practice the basic moves of "Corona Sword Art."

Although there was no professional coach to guide him, he could refer to the notes given by Andre and explore bit by bit.

Every sword swing was coordinated with the rhythm of the "Corona Breathing Method," allowing the movement and breathing to reach a certain delicate balance.

As the practice deepened, he found that this coordination became smoother and smoother, and the movements became more and more fluent.

【Basic sword art experience +1】

【Basic sword art experience +1】

【Basic sword art experience +1】

The sky had gradually darkened. Luo En tidied up the room, put down the wooden sword, took off his clothes, and lay on the bed, preparing to rest for a while.

Just as he was about to fall into a dream, a strange feeling suddenly surged into his heart.

It was a hazy induction that was difficult to describe, as if someone or something was spying on him.

A very eerie sound suddenly came from the room next door, sometimes high-pitched, sometimes low, as if someone—or some kind of thing—was struggling in pain.

(End of chapter)