I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Back in the research office, Holland was looking through something on the bookshelf on the wall behind him.

"There's still a month until the competition; just memorizing excerpts from the textbook isn't enough."

He took three books from the bookshelf and stacked them on the table.

"These three books are supplementary materials. Take one home and read it."

Richard glanced at the spine of the book.

The first book is a complete collection of Cicero's speeches with annotations, so thick it could be used as a brick;

The second book is an introduction to rhetoric, which discusses the classical oratory techniques, from breath control to gesture norms;

The third book has a rather long title: From Temple to Pulpit: The Evolution of Ritual Language in Classical Rhetoric.

Richard immediately chose the third book.

The evolution of religious terminology is a topic that spans both religious studies and linguistics.

If the code system in Appendix C is not an isolated case, then in the future, when encountering similar steganographic texts, what will be needed is this kind of reference book.

Reference books can help him trace the original meaning of terms from their lexical origins and determine whether a word is a general Latin word or a slang term for a specific sect.

"I choose the third book."

Holland scratched his Mediterranean-like hairline.

Most students will choose either the first or second book, one to get points and the other to learn techniques.

The third book was chosen randomly; it was a purely academic work and its help in the competition was the most indirect.

Are you sure?

"Sure."

"Fine, whatever you want."

When Richard caught it, it felt heavy in his hand. The paper was of good quality, and the lead type was clearly printed, so it must be a relatively expensive book.

"Sir, this book must be expensive?"

"It wasn't cheap. I got it through connections with an old classmate; you can't usually find it in bookstores."

Holland pushed the other two books back onto the shelf, saying without turning his head:

"The book is yours. Take it home and read it as much as you can, the more the better."

Richard's performance just now made him look good in front of his colleagues, which can be considered a reward.

"Thank you, sir."

Richard went out the door and walked down the corridor toward the stairwell.

[Knowledge] Lv.1 Experience: 147/200

The trial lecture I just gave, plus the conversation with Mr. West, has given me a significant boost in experience.

High-density knowledge output and immediate feedback are indeed more efficient than passive listening.

He lifted his schoolbag up a bit, and his steps were lighter than when he came.

………………

Wednesday morning, before it was fully light.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, Richard felt a burning sensation in his chest, as if someone had placed a warmed copper kettle between his ribs.

As the air rushed in, he vaguely heard a sound coming from his own chest.

The panel has changed.

[Breathing] Lv.2 Experience: 0/500

He took several deep breaths in bed, trying to feel the changes.

The air seems to enter the trachea faster, and the resistance is less when it flows through the bifurcation of the bronchi.

In short, breathing efficiency has improved.

Each breath brings in more oxygen and also expels more waste gas.

As a result, he felt more clear-headed than usual while lying in bed.

In the past, I would be in a daze for a few minutes every morning after waking up, just like when I had to wait for the hard drive to spin up when I turned on my computer.

This period of confusion is almost nonexistent today.

He reached out and checked the details on the panel.

Lv.2 did not display any new effect descriptions; only the experience bar's maximum value increased from 200 to 500.

The experience required to upgrade has more than doubled, but breathing efficiency has increased, and the quality of each breath has also improved.

Although the experience bar has become longer, the experience gain rate should not decrease too much.

Richard threw back the covers and sat up, resting on the edge of the bed for a while.

He has poor sleep quality and wakes up once or twice in the middle of the night, sometimes because he coughs.

But I slept soundly until dawn last night.

[Sleep] This feature is not yet activated, but after optimizing breathing, oxygen supply during sleep will be improved, and the body's repair efficiency at night will likely increase accordingly.

There are indirect connections between skills.

He picked up his notebook from the bedside table and drew a simple relationship diagram on a blank page:

Breathing → Oxygen Supply → Sleep Quality → Energy → Learning Efficiency → Knowledge and Experience

Breathing affects sleep quality, sleep quality affects daytime energy, daytime energy affects learning efficiency, and learning efficiency, in turn, affects the accumulation of knowledge and experience.

If level 3 Breathing Healing can truly achieve "gradual fading of chronic illnesses," then its indirect impact will be enormous.

A body that is constantly repairing itself can have its energy limit infinitely increased.

The time and intensity he can devote to learning, training, and work each day will increase, and as a result, the speed at which all his skills are upgraded will also increase.

When I went downstairs, my mother was already in the kitchen.

"You look good today," Margaret said, glancing at him.

"Yes, I slept quite well last night."

"That's unusual." The mother was a little surprised: "You used to cough for a long time every night, and it's gotten a bit better in the last two weeks, but you still cough a couple of times."

"Maybe it's because the weather is a bit warmer."

In early autumn in Briston, the temperature has actually dropped a bit these past few days.

But the mother didn't investigate further; she simply served the bread and tea.

Before her father came downstairs, the sound of rummaging through drawers and cupboards came from Evelyn's room, as if she was looking for something.

Richard sat at the dining table, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

The numbers on the panel were still quietly ticking.

[Breathing] Lv.2 Experience: 1/500

[Knowledge] Lv.1 Experience: 150/200

Breathing is running out, and only a quarter of the knowledge bar remains in the experience bar.

Once his knowledge level reaches Lv.2, his efficiency in absorbing knowledge will increase even further.

By then, the preparations for the Cicero Cup, the follow-up books beyond Appendix C, and the copy of "From Temple to Pedal" given to me by Mr. Holland will all enter a more efficient digestion cycle.

And that Sphinx oil lamp.

With Warren covering lunch and Gray covering breakfast, he was able to save all the spare change he would have spent on food after those two expenses were eliminated.

But the two-pound difference was too big, and no matter how much pocket money I saved, it wasn't enough; I still had to rely on the Cicero Cup.

Evelyn's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

The girl plopped down on the chair, her braids swinging behind her, and reached for the bread.

She glanced at Richard out of the corner of her eye, somewhat curious.

"Brother, you look much better today."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, there's color in her face now."

She broke the bread open and spread orange jam on it with practiced ease.

"Could it be because..." she whispered, a somewhat subtle expression on her face.

Richard immediately replied, "Because I slept well last night."

"Oh, you slept well."

Evelyn took a big bite of the bread spread with sauce, chewed it a couple of times, and then mumbled something else:

"That's good. Remember... um, rest."

Richard was a little speechless, picked up his teacup and took a sip.

This girl hasn't moved on from the misunderstanding from last time.

He decided not to offer any explanation, as he already knew all too well how explaining things could only make things worse.

Time will heal all wounds, including my sister's overly vivid imagination.

The mother poked her head out from the kitchen: "What are you two whispering about?"

"It's nothing," the brother and sister said in unison.

Outside the window, the chimneys of Briston began to puff smoke, and the low-frequency vibrations of large machinery in the distance seeped through the foundation.

a new day.

Richard finished his bread, drank the tea in his cup, and took the bowl and plate to the kitchen.

They left together, heading to the school bus stop, with Evelyn hurriedly stuffing a piece of bread into her mouth.

Today we have Mr. Hutton's history lesson, and he has many questions waiting for the old gentleman to answer.