I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Richard turned off the tap and dried his hands on a towel.

He sat down in the chair and focused all his attention on the panel.

Available points: 2.22

This is the largest sum of money he has ever accumulated.

He first tried to push it towards "knowledge".

A gray prompt popped up on the panel, with the exact same format as when he tried to add a second dot to [Breathing]:

This feature is now enabled. To advance to the next level, you must meet the following requirements:

Level reached Lv.2, progress bar 100%; 1 point available; Self-deciphered a double-overwritten encrypted text.

Below is a line of smaller text:

"Unlockable Effect Preview - Knowledge and Wisdom: "

Every book you read leaves a trace in your brain; retrieving it is like turning the pages of a book, and the forgetting rate is close to zero.

Richard stared at that line of text for a long time.

Learned.

If Lv.1 and Lv.2 brought accelerated learning, from dial-up to broadband and then to fiber optic, then Bowen is like installing a library in your brain.

Every book you see leaves a mark on your brain.

Retrieval is like turning pages in a book, with a forgetting rate approaching zero.

This means that every book he turned to, every page, and every line of code he read would be permanently stored deep within his consciousness and could be retrieved at any time.

For someone pursuing a scholarly career, the value of this trait is virtually limitless.

Deciphering encrypted text requires simultaneously maintaining four information flows in the mind: the original text, the reference table, the etymological network, and the contextual information.

Currently, he relies on the [Knowledge] bonus and the assistance of paper and pen, but paper and pen have limitations.

The desktop is only so big, and there are only so many sheets of white paper.

If the brain itself is an archive that can be retrieved instantly, the efficiency of deciphering will increase exponentially.

For someone who wants to appraise rare items, this trait is of immeasurable value.

Having a photographic memory means that the inscriptions, sealing structures, and staining characteristics of every strange object he has seen will be permanently stored in his mind.

After handling one hundred strange objects, he had a complete file of each one in his mind.

After handling a thousand items, he became a living archive of curiosities.

At that time, a glance would reveal all the information—inscription style, period characteristics, seal type, depth of contamination—automatically popping up from his memory bank and lining up, waiting for him to make a judgment.

This kind of disruptive advantage is a cheat-level advantage in any market.

But one of the advanced requirements blocked him:

"It can decipher a double-overwritten encrypted text itself."

Double overwrite—he searched his mind for the term.

He had already read through all twenty-six books on the third-floor bookshelf in Greenwood.

Most of these encryption techniques are single-layer substitution, acrostic poems, or skipped-number footnotes.

Double overwriting is completely different; he had seen a similar concept on the forum.

Some medieval monastery scribes would scrape off the original text from the parchment and rewrite new content on the same parchment.

However, scraping cannot completely remove all traces of ink, which will remain deep within the fibers.

Later scholars used special light sources to illuminate the text, which had been covered up, and were able to bring it back to light.

This type of overwritten parchment is called a "rewrite," or in Latin, Palimpsestus.

In the context of occultism, "double overwriting" is probably something similar, but with a higher level of encryption.

It is not only a physical overwrite, but may also involve the superposition of information at the ether level.

The two layers of text coexist on the same carrier, interfering with and obscuring each other. Conventional decryption methods can only see the surface layer.

To extract the underlying original text, one needs both linguistic expertise and sophisticated manipulation of the ether.

Richard carefully put away the clue and re-examined the advancement conditions on the panel.

Level 1 to Level 2 can be automatically upgraded by accumulating experience points. The panel will automatically upgrade without consuming points.

However, starting from Lv.2 to Lv.3, advancing requires additional points, which is a watershed moment.

This is only Lv.3.

If the panel design follows symmetry, a qualitative change occurs every certain level.

As you progress, the number of points required for a single advancement may increase significantly.

This doesn't even include the ununlocked [Spirit] category; the gap is still huge.

With that thought in mind, Richard pulled himself out of his thoughts and stopped thinking about things too far ahead.

Since the [Knowledge] skill also requires meeting certain conditions, he decided to proceed with the original plan and unlock [Eating] and [Sleeping].

The experience gain efficiency of [walking] is relatively low in his daily life, and he won't reap much benefit in the short term after activating it.

Eating improves the efficiency of nutrient intake, while sleeping improves the efficiency of bodily repair, both of which can form a closed loop with breathing skills.

The combined effect of breathing and the optimization of the three "body" skills will improve the body's foundation at a visible rate.

Moreover, the unlock condition for the [Spirit] item is: "Only when all four items of the body are activated can this door be opened."

Now that I've unlocked breathing, I'll unlock eating and sleeping. All that's left is walking to unlock "spirit".

I'll accumulate enough points to walk more and unlock "Spirit" in one go.

Richard made the decision.

He focused his attention on eating and gave a gentle push.

"confirm?"

After pressing it, the gray color faded.

[Eating Lv.1] Progress: 0%

He touched his stomach and, apart from feeling that his digestive system was a little clearer, he didn't have any other noticeable physical sensations for the time being.

Improvements in the digestive system won't be immediate; you have to wait until after a meal to see the results.

Next is [Sleep], which is initiated after the consciousness is locked.

"confirm?"

The gray faded.

[Sleeping Lv.1] Progress: 0%

This change was quieter than eating, so quiet that he initially thought nothing had happened.

But about half a minute later, he noticed his eyelids were drooping, giving him the feeling that he could fall asleep anytime, anywhere.

He shook his head, suppressing his sleepiness; now was not the time to sleep.

Available points: 0.22

Three of the four physical skills have been activated; only walking remains.

Once I get the prize money from the Cicero Cup, I'll go to old man Clement and buy the Sphinx lamp.

Let's find a way to break the seal. The remaining ether from the oil lamp should be enough to accumulate a little more.

Once you light up the walking area, the "spirit" can be activated.

No rush, let's take it one step at a time.

He got out of bed, walked to the sink, and washed his face with cold water.

The person in the mirror looks much better than they did a month ago.

Except for her cheekbones still being a bit prominent, the sickly look on her face has completely faded, and the dark circles under her eyes have also lightened.

He was somewhat looking forward to what the effect would be if he could operate the three functions of breathing, eating, and sleeping simultaneously.

Over the next few days, Richard devoted all his time to preparing for the Cicero Cup.

The guest room Ashford House arranged for him had a large desk and good lighting, which was much more comfortable than the narrow desk in his Briston bedroom.

My daily schedule is very regular.

After getting up in the morning, we had breakfast, a proper meal prepared by Ashford's family kitchen: fried eggs, bacon, toast, butter, jam, and milk, with plenty of everything.