After more than two hours of meditation
[You have awakened the meditation]
"Huh?" Darlick was surprised, as he hadn't heard a sound in a long time.
"Should I open the window and interrupt my meditation?"
"No, it's an innate skill anyway, it won't go away."
Darlick and many other students continued meditating. It was a difficult and long exercise, but none of them were weak-willed.
The session lasted for hours, with most of the students taking breaks to use the restroom or eat and then returning.
Some of them even fell asleep during meditation.
The instructor, Mark, watched them all. He was not meditating because he did not need to. They thought he was meditating because he was not moving and his eyes were closed.
But someone at his level did not need to open his eyes to see. He recorded all the students in his mind and what they did.
Only Darlick, Leo, and three others reached the end at once.
There were 36 students, but the meditation course was for 25 of them. Only five passed.
Well, giving the final exam for the course in the first lecture is not a common idea, but the chaotic state of the world is not common either.
More than 12 hours passed, but the instructor left them, waiting for something specific to happen, and it did.
[Your skill Meditation has reached the requirement for evoltion]
[You have obtained a trait]
Darlick opened his eyes and broke his meditation.
"Advancement? Trait? I haven't done anything yet." He turned around and found the last person sitting
around him, Leo, the instructor, and three others eating sandwiches.
"Congratulations, Darlick, you passed the course," the coach congratulated him and threw him a bottle of water that appeared out of nowhere.
Then Darlick realized how thirsty he was. He had a lot of questions, but he was really hungry, thirsty, and tired too.
But why was the coach eating when he hadn't suffered like them?
"With your success, the five of you now have more options going forward." He pulled a few cups out of thin air and, after filling them, offered them tea.
It turned out that the trait was "contemplative." The condition for achieving it was to meditate for more than half a day during the first meditation session. Those who interrupted their meditation lost the opportunity to obtain it forever.
The trait [Meditator] is one of the basic conditions for a few classes, including the class [Immortal].
"The five of you are free to choose between several classes starting now."
And just like that, the rest of them lost the opportunity to obtain many powerful classes forever, and it was only the second day.
"But why didn't you tell us about it at the beginning? Many of us could have obtained it," said the only girl among them.
She had bright emerald eyes and dark black hair that fell over her shoulders.
"It won't change anything. Everyone who left knows that they will fall behind the rest, and thus they have fallen below the minimum level of determination for the powerful classes. It may also make you nervous, so your contemplation may be interrupted by anxiety or a slow sense of time."
"And I also suspect that things will get worse. The trait [contemplative] is given to those who are fascinated by contemplation and have fallen for it, not to those who just sit around to get the trait."
"You're just rationalizing. You only want to see the talented, not the successful," said a new person, the only one capable of saying such a thing.
"You were wrong to let your mother give you a lunch box. If it were up to me, you wouldn't eat for a week."
He was the only one who was really open about eating. His golden hair looked like it contained the nuclear fusion reactions of the sun, and his sharp honey-colored eyes made him a neglected version of his father.
"I'd like us to get to know each other. I'll start. My name is Darlick," he said, looking at them.
"I'm Lionel Gastaroff," Leo finally corrected his name, so he was surprised why a stranger was calling him by his first name.
"I'm Reynard Hanson, but call me Ray."
"I'm Kyle, nice to meet you."
"I'm Meri, Kyle's sister. Nice to meet you too."
"Well, we're late for the fencing lecture, so I'll explain on the way." Coach Mark got up and started walking toward the next destination.
On the way, Darlick took the opportunity to see his new children.
[Meditation]
[Classification: H]
[Class: Innate]
[Description: A moment of calm in a chaotic world]
[Promotion Guide]
[H+: Practice (10/10)]
[G: Chi Breathing (8/100)]
[G: Mana Breathing (0/100)]
[G: Spiritual Energy Breathing (0/100)]
'A moment of calm in a truly chaotic world' Meditation time was peaceful, far from the regrets of the past and worries about the future. Even the time after the session was pleasant, calm, and spontaneous.
[Meditator]
[Description: Your soul seeks peace and your heart is filled with determination]
'The description of the system sometimes gives me goose bumps,' he thought as he walked. Was his kindness during the meal truly spontaneous, or was it a result of his character? Did the coach know about it, which is why he did it in the first place?
"It's time to develop my first skill." He opened the [Meditation] window again and allowed the development.
[You have awakened deep meditation]
[Deep Meditation]
[Classification: H+]
[Class: Innate]
[Description: Is there immortality in this world?]
[Upgrade Guide]
[G: Chi Breathing (0/100)]
[G: Mana Breathing (0/100)]
[G: Spiritual Energy Breathing (0/100)]
[G: Attaining Enlightenment (0/1)]
'Immortality, spiritual energy...' The trainer explained that the spiritual energy mentioned in both skills is the lifeblood of several classes, most notably the immortals.
'I think the purpose of the description is to inspire us to search for energy that will lead us to immortality, even if it is outside our world.'
The instructor also said that enlightenment is not really clear, it may or may not happen, their instructor did not achieve it.
In the end, their instructor did not even achieve the [Contemplative] trait.
Darlick also taught him about dueling and what to expect. He will learn about the sword because it is mandatory. The academy believes that adaptation is not important, whether you like the sword or not, you will learn and master it, as it is a mandatory course and not optional like meditation.
He also opened up the conditions for developing [breathing] and [rhythm].
[H+: Breathing Exercises (1/10)]
[G: Tree Breathing (12/100)]
'The first condition requires multiple exercises, not just meditation.'
[G: Harmony and Communication with Others (5/100)]
'Damn, does every person count as a point? Do I need to befriend a hundred people?'
It's not really his goal to develop it in that direction, but it's something he did and wanted to see progress in.
'Rhythm is important in fencing. I might be able to develop it with that. I also wonder what would happen if I merged [rhythm] with [deep meditation].'
His choices are important and decisive in the skills he acquires. He can merge them immediately or wait for them to develop and then merge them.
"Do I talk to myself a lot?"
...
The group entered a spacious enclosed space. They certainly won't be training outdoors in the evening
Darlick took the training sword, a light sword? He doesn't really know the types of swords yet.
He will learn several skills here and combine them to form [basic fencing], the key to many offensive skills later on.
The students were already there and training. The group didn't delay and began their training.
The students were being trained by a man in his forties with sharp eyes and black hair with white sides. Apparently, he was the fencing instructor, but the group had become a little special, so now Coach Mark was training them.
The first training was to push forward and strike straight towards the chest, chest, or throat of the training dummy.
Despite Darlick's exhaustion and need for sleep, his "contemplative" nature helped him regain his mental energy. Since he was enthusiastic and determined,
He did several sets in a row, his rhythm was perfect, he was tireless, he did not make any unnecessary movements, and he did not get distracted.
[You have awakened a straight sword strike]
There is almost no description for it, and the only way to develop it is through practice and his H+ rating.
He now has two options: to seek to develop it or to learn other skills.
He looked around and saw Leo and Ray drinking some water and talking, so he walked over to them.
"Guys, should we develop this skill or seek out the rest?" They looked at him in surprise.
"You already got it? How?" Ray's eyes lit up and he asked him directly.
He barely realized that this was a mistake and tried to take back what he said.
"The skill I got yesterday helped me predict it." After he said that, it became clear. His stance was straight and there were no obvious gaps. His grip on the sword was comfortable and secure.
But that was the end of the conversation. It was socially taboo to ask someone how they acquired their skills. Skills were the lifeblood, and sometimes they had flaws. In either case, knowledge was a weapon that could be used against a person.
"I can share my skill in exchange for yours," said Leo, looking at the other two. He really wanted Darlick's skill to help him with fencing.
"I agree, but it's acquired," Ray agreed immediately.
"Same here," agreed Leo.
"Okay, but it's not a deal, it's just because we're friends, okay?"
"Of course," the two agreed.
Ray began to speak.
"Merge [Perception] and [Five Senses] with [Simple Perception]."
"Merge [Health] with [Sight] and [Perception]."
They exchanged their combinations, and Darlick did the same.
"Use statistics? Sure, they're skills, but I never thought of that."
Statistics may be the most obvious thing to start merging with, but some people still miss it.
[You have gained peripheral vision]
[You have gained the ability to see weaknesses]
[Peripheral vision]
[Classification: +H]
[Class: Acquired]
[Description: Your five senses constantly analyze your surroundings and send information to your brain]
[Seeing Weaknesses]
[Rating: +H]
[Class: Acquired]
[Description: You see through defenses]
[Upgrade Guide]
[H+: Practice with different races (0/10)]
At almost the same time, the three changed. Darlick looked around cautiously like a frightened cat, reevaluating the place and the people.
Ray's posture changed immediately, as if he were in harmony with the place, like the spirit of the training ground. He also looked at the people around him in amazement.
Leo was like a sharp sword, also like a frightened cat, but in a fighting stance, looking around as if ready to fight everyone, including the trainers.
Darlick and Ray turned their eyes toward Leo and noticed something important that they had missed.
"He's strong." The two sweated and retreated like frightened cats, but their swords were raised high.
Leo sighed and was the first to calm down.
"Maybe awakening battle sense skills in the middle of a battlefield with armed people isn't a good idea."
The other two calmed down as well.
"Why doesn't [peripheral sense] have development paths?"
It's the same with many skills, such as senses, perception, and vital functions.
"My father told me that development paths depend on what is possible for us, not what is possible in absolute terms," Ray replied.
"We have no way to develop [peripheral vision]?" Darlick asked naively.
"It seems so."
"After we calmed down, it became clear that these skills are really useful, even in our training," Leo was now the most enthusiastic.
"I asked if we should develop or expand, right? We will develop because we are already highly efficient, and even after development, we will never fall behind, but rather we will be ahead."
They continued talking about how to train and so on.
"Should we tell Meri and Kyle?" Darlick asked with a frown.
"I don't think it's necessary. They're from the Legacy, so they have their cards, and the Legacy is very strict about keeping secrets," Ray replied.
"I think we can share with them too, but not now. By the way, I don't even see them here," Leo frowned as he looked around.
And he was right, they had disappeared....
They chatted a little and then each went to their training.
Darlick's efficiency increased more and more. He became more accurate using [Seeing Weaknesses] and it took him less than two hours to achieve the upgrade.
[Your skill Straight Sword Strike has reached the advancement requirement]
[You have awakened Precision Sword Strike]
[Precision Sword Strike]
[Rank: +H]
[Class: Innate]
[Description: A quick and accurate strike toward a specific target]
'No development yet? I can't break through the limits of humanity so easily, even though [Rhythm] seems simple to develop.
'Also, I didn't specify rushing forward and striking, but rather striking in any direction as long as the target is specific.
He was satisfied with his progress and excited about the rest of the skills.
After resting with the young men, he moved on to the next exercise.
The next exercise is the horizontal cut, a strike across the body from right to left or vice versa.
It is also useful in many situations, of course.
He began the exercise without tiring or slipping, his performance flawless, although he became a little slow, but he finished in just half an hour.
[You have awakened horizontal sword cutting]
He did not hesitate and continued.
[Your skill horizontal sword cutting has reached the advancement requirement]
[You have awakened Wide Sword Cut]
[Wide Sword Cut]
[Rank: +H]
[Class: Innate]
[Description: Wide horizontal cut]
"There is no development either." He frowned and sat down to catch his breath.
He was really tired today, he had never made such an effort before.
We stayed to watch Ray and Leo, who were already practicing the next training session.
'Leo is really strong, he had no obvious weaknesses when I looked at him with [Weakness Vision], it seemed hopeless to defeat him in a fight.
He was really tired, so he packed his bag and headed to his room.
"I am not the son of a legendary warrior or the elite of humanity, but rather the son of a despicable abomination..." He clenched his fist and headed to his bed.
"Tomorrow, I will solve everything."