My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 61 Mental Power

last night.

Cape Point, a pile of rubble.

Huge stone pillars are leaning against the beach, some as tall as two people, others half-buried in the sand, looking like a stone forest from a distance.

A figure emerged from behind a boulder.

He walked very fast, but he still looked back every now and then at the way he had come.

After groping around in the dark for a while, they finally stopped at one spot.

This is a cave entrance that is half-hidden by boulders and withered thorns.

He took out a flat, black stone slab from his pocket. The surface of the slab was engraved with a ring of extremely fine lines, which faintly gleamed with a dark red luster under the moonlight.

He pressed the stone slab forcefully into the crevice on the left side of the cave entrance, pressed his fingertip against the center of the pattern, and rubbed it hard.

The stone slab emitted a very low hum.

The patterns on the stone slab lit up, and a dark red light spread along the engravings, as if something inside the stone slab had been awakened.

He didn't have to wait long.

Slow, even footsteps echoed inside the cave.

Then a very tall and thin man emerged from the darkness. He was wrapped in a dark gray cloak, the hood of which completely covered his face.

Only a small patch of pale skin was visible on the side of her neck, covered with a ring of intricate black lines that appeared to writhe under the dark red light emanating from the stone.

The moment the figure saw the other person, it instinctively took a half step back.

He steadied his breathing and whispered, "Marcus is dead."

There was no response from the other side.

He licked his chapped lips and added, "A new lord has arrived; he killed him."

The silence lasted for a few breaths.

The tall, thin figure spoke, his tone calm: "I'm only responsible for guarding this place. The church will handle the matters outside."

The figure paused for a moment.

He seized an opportunity and rushed over overnight to deliver the message, his heart pounding with fear the whole way, only to find that the other party didn't take it seriously at all.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

The tall, thin figure didn't look at him and turned to walk away.

Before the footsteps were gradually swallowed by the darkness.

Just as the figure was at a loss, the tall, thin figure calmly said, "Judging by the time, someone will arrive in the next few days."

At the same time, inside the castle.

Jiang Yuan opened his eyes and exited his meditative state.

They discovered that Tissa had already left.

The colorful specks of light still lingered in his mind, like the afterimages left on his retina after staring at the sun for too long.

Red, blue, cyan, brown, white, black —

There was also that extremely rare yet sharp, piercing light purple. He could sense it all; there was no mental energy that repelled him.

Seven elements? Jiang Yuan pondered.

According to Tissa, having a dual affinity is already considered genius, let alone three or more—

He recalled that when he was learning archery in the Frostclaw tribe, Ke Shan said that he had recklessly poured magic into himself and hadn't crippled himself.

He didn't think much of it at the time, but looking back now, it probably wasn't just good luck.

His body does not reject any type of magic.

He has more magical pathways than others, and his magical perception is broader than others.

It wasn't that he was lucky; it was that his foundation was inherently different from that of ordinary people.

Jiang Yuan quickly figured out why.

The cause of his abnormal physical condition is most likely that mysterious finger bone.

"—No matter what, let's first condense the magic core."

He let out a soft breath, did not get up, and soon after closing his eyes again, he entered a meditative state.

I don't know how much time passed.

The outside world is turning white again.

After some time, Jiang Yuan opened his eyes.

My temples were throbbing slightly, and there was a tingling, aching sensation behind my eyes, as if they had been pressed.

After a night of cultivation, the remnants of the magic power that he had repeatedly drawn into his mind still flickered in the darkness of his vision, like a swarm of fireflies that refused to disperse.

Still a bit short of the magic core —

He analyzed the results of his cultivation that night.

After a night of practice, he was able to reliably draw free magic energy from the surrounding air and direct it to the point on his chest.

The magic he tamed was obedient; it would stop when he told it to stop, and gather when he told it to gather.

But once it reaches the point of condensation, the magic begins to dissipate.

It's that feeling where you clearly feel them sticking together, but then they all float away as soon as you let go of them.

He tried dozens of times, but each time he got stuck at the same point.

When he compressed the gathered magic into a solid structure.

According to the booklet written by Tissa, this step requires strong enough mental power to apply pressure from all directions at the same time, allowing the magic to permeate and weave together at the center of the pressure.

Following the instructions in the booklet, he concentrated his mind and pressed in from all directions simultaneously.

For the first few seconds it was fine. The magic gathered in my chest was indeed contracting towards the center, and I could feel the distance between them shrinking, as if something was taking shape.

But once it's compressed to a certain extent, it can't be compressed any further.

A repulsive force emerged between the magic powers, like trying to squeeze a wet bar of soap with your hand; even though you've grasped it, it still slips through your fingers.

He could sense that if he gave it another push at that critical point, the magic core would be formed.

But that's precisely where the problem lies.

"Not enough mental strength?" Jiang Yuan muttered to himself.

It's not that his total mental strength is insufficient; after multiple level upgrades, his five senses have become clear, which is the result of his continuously increasing mental strength.

Rather, it's a lack of precision in manipulating mental energy.

Maintain multiple mental forces focused on a single point, with each force maintaining constant pressure, neither increasing nor decreasing it.

This requires a level of control far exceeding the level he has always relied on instinct.

Whenever he tries to fine-tune the strength of one of his mental forces at the critical point, the other forces will fluctuate, and the pressure will become uneven.

Then the magic that had been stuck together was torn apart, and the whole thing collapsed.

This requires real skill; there are no shortcuts.

He also read the notes that Tissa had written in the booklet.

Those who attempt to condense their magic core for the first time often fail repeatedly in the final step. This is normal and not a sign of a lack of talent.

It's because your mental energy hasn't yet adapted to the texture of magical elements. Try a few more times, and once your mental energy and the elements develop a "tacit understanding," it will come naturally.

"tacit agreement?"

Jiang Yuan looked at the horizontal line drawn under the two words, which was obviously Tissa's deliberate emphasis.

Indeed, even if his mental strength is weak, it should still be stronger than that of a beginner.

They can succeed if they don't exist.

In other words, as long as you gradually sense and reach this tacit understanding, you can also form a magic core.

This is another method.

If mental strength is likened to fingers, he is now like someone who has never touched anything before, suddenly asked to pinch a slippery glass bead with all ten fingers at the same time, and the strength of each finger must be exactly the same.

It's not that it's impossible, it's just that we haven't found the right balance yet.

Try a few more times, let your mental energy remember through repeated failures, remember the range that can just suppress it without scattering it.

Improving the precision of controlling one's mental power is also a method of achieving cohesion.

In Tissa's words, it could take anywhere from ten days to half a month, or even forever, to achieve the goal.

Jiang Yuan estimated that he should be able to stall for another day or two.

Having figured all this out, he rubbed his temples, yawned, and prepared to go back to Earth for a nap.

I've been in this other world for over a day now.

but----

"There's one more thing, I almost forgot."

39

Jiang Yuan pushed open the bedroom door, walked through the castle's empty corridor, and came outside.

He then discovered that in the open space outside the castle, Tissa and two knights were standing with their backs to him.

Several newly recruited maids stood before them, listening to her instructions.

There weren't many, only four or five girls.

"Tissa." Jiang Yuan walked over.

Tissa turned around at the sound, her long, pale purple hair gleaming with a unique luster.

She was wearing a dark blue mage's robe today, and when she saw Jiang Yuan, a strange look flashed in her eyes.

The other person seemed somewhat listless.

Logically, if one can enter a meditative state on the first try and subtly sense magical elements, their spirit should recover slowly.

Once you become more familiar with this, attempting to condense the core of magic power will consume less mental energy.

Could it be that as soon as I left yesterday, he stopped meditating and sat there all night?

Tissa voiced her question: "You didn't seem to be in good condition. How long did your meditative state last?"

"How long did it last?" Jiang Yuan asked curiously. "We practiced all night."

He spent the entire night trying to condense a magic core.

A knowing glint flashed in Tissa's eyes. She didn't press further, and said reassuringly, "It's always like this at the beginning. Take it slow."

Jiang nodded, his gaze sweeping over the girls, and asked, "Have you recruited everyone?"

Tissa shook her head: "We only managed to recruit five. Let them take care of the daily operations of the castle first."

Jiang Yuan nodded; leaving these trivial matters to Tissa made things much easier for him.

"I have a batch of wheat flour in my room. Have someone move it out and distribute it as soon as possible. Don't keep the batch from the warehouse either. Do as I said, distribute a little more each day."

That was the wheat flour he brought yesterday. He forgot to mention the dungeon incident when he went to find Tissa.

Tissa paused for a moment, "You have wheat flour in your room?"

"You'll see when you go." Jiang Yuan turned and went back to his room.

Tissa watched his figure disappear.

Immediately, she beckoned to lead several new maids towards the bedroom.

The door wasn't locked.

She pushed open the door and immediately saw that the room was full of bags, leaving no room to even step.

"?" Tissa was full of questions.

When did these things appear?

Tissa looked at the bag closest to the door; its material was strange, smooth and fine.

She bent down and untied the opening of a bag.

They froze instantly.

Is this what he meant by "wheat flour"?

Snow-white and fine.

She rubbed a little on her fingertip; it was dry and fluffy, with almost no grainy texture.

Staring at the fine white powder on his fingertip, his purple eyes narrowed slightly.

Behind me came the murmurs of the maids, who couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"What is this—?"

Tissa snapped out of her daze, looked down at her fingertips, then at the pile of things in the room, and remained silent for a long while.

"This is wheat flour." She closed the bag again, turned to the maids, and assigned them tasks: "Put all of this in the warehouse."

The maids responded quickly and carefully went to move the bags.

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