An intense hunger woke Wei'en up.
He stood up in a daze and looked around.
A bed, a table and chairs, a bookshelf, a wardrobe...
Messy clothes, neatly arranged printed books, a trophy, a blue and white striped box, a box with an oak base...
It wasn't until he saw the parchment clutched in his hand that he remembered.
That's right.
He had already exchanged for the basic Meditation Technique... and he couldn't help but recall his own handsome face on the parchment!
'What the hell was that thing!?'
'Was I hallucinating, or...'
'No, it must have been a hallucination!'
'How could my face possibly appear on the parchment that recorded the Meditation Technique?'
Wei'en hastily rerolled the parchment, tied it with its hemp rope, and tossed it onto the table.
"You really can't just touch these items with Extraordinary Abilities. They're too dangerous!"
'The Ghost Soul School isn't trying to screw me over, are they?'
'I spent my entire fortune, and this is what I get?'
After a long while, Wei'en finally sighed and turned to look out the window. The sky had not yet begun to lighten.
It seemed he hadn't been unconscious for long.
'But... I'm so hungry...'
'Why am I this hungry?'
'Nope, can't take it anymore. I have to get some food in my stomach first.'
Enduring his hunger, Wei'en walked to his bedside, found a piece of black bread, and began to devour it.
Ever since he'd learned about his predecessor's daily life, he felt more and more that his past life had been true bliss.
To save up the money to exchange for the Meditation Technique, his predecessor had gone to extreme lengths!
When hungry, he ate the cheapest whole-wheat black bread; when thirsty, he just drank tap water.
A bit of meat? Not a chance.
Even during the brutal cold of winter, he never once lit the fireplace, toughing it out for three whole months.
Unfortunately, this self-imposed hardship also led to his sudden death.
If it weren't for that, Wei'en wouldn't have ended up in this damned world!
"Hooo..."
Only after eating every last crumb of the bread did Wei'en's stomach feel a bit better.
'I wonder what that bizarre Meditation Technique did to me. Why does it feel like my body's been completely hollowed out?'
He opened his panel to see if there were any notifications.
Name: Wei'en Loft
Bloodline: Salutte
Profession: Wizard Apprentice (Beginner)
Resilience Level: 13 (13) (Represents physical fortitude, including strength, speed, constitution, etc.)
Spiritual Power Level: 20 (20) (Represents spiritual power, including perception, willpower, and soul.)
Origin: 2 (2) (Represents one's inherent origin characteristic.)
Talent: None
Skill: Ghost Meditation Technique Lv. 1 (0/10)
Survival Points: 21
[You have safely survived another day. Evaluation: The bare minimum reward. Are you satisfied? Reward: Survival Points +3.]
[Your clever words allowed you to escape the wrath of Senior Wizard Apprentice Olivia Tapia, but you won't be so lucky next time. Reward: Survival Points +2.]
[You have learned the Ghost Meditation Technique and made initial contact with the Extraordinary. Your understanding of the world has increased by 1. Congratulations! Evaluation: Though still a weakling, you are now on the path to becoming stronger! Reward: Survival Points +3.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Profession: Wizard! Level: Beginner Apprentice! Special Reward: Spiritual Power Level +3.]
[You were eroded by the Origin of an unknown existence. You successfully resisted the erosion, and your own Origin characteristic has mutated! Congratulations, you are no longer human! Special Reward: Origin +1, Spiritual Power Level +2, Resilience Level +4.]
The whole panel had changed drastically!
Not only did he now have a Profession and an Origin characteristic, but he'd also gained a Meditation Technique skill?
Wei'en stared at the notifications, especially the last one, reading it over and over.
"Eroded by the Origin of an unknown existence... Origin characteristic has mutated... no longer human..."
'In other words, if I hadn't resisted the Origin erosion... I would've died?'
'Isn't this a total setup?'
"No wonder when my predecessor came to Caster, everyone looked at him with such pity. So this was the huge trap waiting for him."
Wei'en cursed and slammed his fist on the table.
BANG!
The spot he struck shattered instantly.
"This is..."
He looked at his hand, then clenched it, feeling the explosive power coursing through his body.
Then, a thought struck him, and he opened his panel again.
'My Resilience Level is 13?'
His attention had been so focused on the Origin erosion that he'd only just realized what a generous reward he'd received for resisting it!
Besides the surge of strength, he could feel his body was much lighter, as if a small jump could send his head straight through the roof.
No wonder he'd felt such intense hunger after waking up.
It wasn't that he had been hollowed out; his body had just grown stronger, increasing its energy consumption.
And that wasn't all—
Wei'en noticed other changes as well. Everything around him became clearer—not just visually, but in terms of his overall senses.
The sensations from his five senses allowed him to see more clearly and hear things from farther away.
For instance, he knew that right now, he wasn't the only living creature in the room.
There were also three cockroaches, two mice pilfering under the cabinet, a small spider spinning its web behind the bookshelf... He was even perfectly aware of an ant in the corner.
He could even hear the distant footsteps of a black-robed Lantern Bearer, as well as his soft murmur: "Praise the Lord of Dawn, protect the peace of the Caster City State."
This was the effect of his Spiritual Power Level reaching 20.
This was the feeling of power.
This was what he had craved most since learning the truth of this world!
Wei'en pumped his fists in excitement. Power, power, power...
"This feeling... it's incredible!"
Wei'en grinned at the hole in the table, the panic and fear from the parchment's betrayal completely gone.
He couldn't help but think optimistically: 'Maybe the Ghost Soul School wasn't trying to screw me over. Maybe this was all a test?'
'Only by surviving the invasion from the bizarre entity within the Meditation Technique could I obtain my Origin and become a Wizard?'
'If that's the case, then everything makes sense!'
'Why not... try Meditating?'
Wei'en wasn't sure how to Meditate, but since his panel showed he possessed the Meditation Technique as a skill, he figured it couldn't be too difficult.
He then sat down in the chair as if it were the most natural thing to do, closed his eyes, and focused his mind...
Hm?
Wei'en felt a glimmer of light suddenly appear in the darkness behind his eyes.
He opened his eyes and looked around, confused. 'Can I see things even with my eyes closed?'
'Where... is this place?'
What appeared before him was not his familiar room, but a strange, alien world.
An expanse of black soil, an endlessly dark sky, and that single point of light—a tree, a colossal tree emanating a red glow.
Wait.
'What... what is that?'
'So the creature from the parchment is real...'
'And my face... it's really on that monster's abdomen!'