Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 619: Growth
That feeling was not the recovery of physical strength or the healing of wounds, but a more essential sense of fulfillment and extension, as if quietly adding a handful of fine sand to the hourglass of life.
At the same time, another cooler, more lucid nourishing force of spirituality surged straight up along the spine, gently immersing itself into the Spiritual Sea.
In the center of Duke’s Spiritual Sea, the stable spinning Six-Element Compound Spiritual Crystal, upon contact with this force, shone brilliantly like a gemstone carefully polished, its rotation speed noticeably increasing, becoming more agile.
The internal structure of the crystal also seemed to undergo extremely subtle yet beneficial optimization and growth under the nourishment of this force.
He could clearly perceive a slight but discernible increase in his total Spiritual Power within just a few breaths.
Although minor, this growth was solid and well-founded, far surpassing the effects of ordinary meditation.
After confirming the safety and effectiveness of this minuscule amount, Duke hesitated no more.
With a slight mental movement, he brought the entire Golden Fruit to his lips and gently bit down.
"Crunch..."
The fruit’s skin was crisp with a strange toughness, and the moment it broke, an even more surging yet remarkably gentle golden flood rushed into his mouth.
This time, it was no longer a trickle but a gentle tide sweeping through his entire body.
Sitting cross-legged, Duke assumed a meditative posture and quietly activated the Meditation Technique, guiding the massive energy for orderly absorption to prevent waste.
The Life Energy within the fruit transformed into countless warm light points, merging into every corner of his body.
The marrow hummed, the blood sang, and the functions of his organs seemed to be subtly enhanced.
He could see his intangible life veins within becoming sturdier and brighter, an unprecedented vitality filling his entire being.
The extension of a century of life was more than just a number; it truly manifested in the depth and longevity of his life’s essence.
The accumulated Spiritual Power converged into a cool stream, continuously flowing into the Spiritual Sea.
The Six-Element Compound Crystal, like a thirsty sponge, greedily absorbed this pure source of Spiritual Power.
The entire absorption process lasted about a minute, during which Duke’s body and spirit were immersed in unparalleled comfort, as if returning to the warm and nourishing embrace of life’s origin.
No pain, no stagnation at any bottleneck, only a smooth and natural enhancement.
As the last trace of golden energy was completely absorbed, Duke slowly opened his eyes.
A glimmer seemed to flash in the depths of his pupils, then returned to profound calmness.
After absorbing, Duke glanced at the attribute panel on the skill tree.
[Spirit: 202.3->210.3]
This single fruit increased Duke’s Spiritual Power by eight points, a value significant given his base of over two hundred points.
The higher one’s Spiritual Power and other attributes, the harder it is to gain even one point.
Duke was already over two hundred in Spiritual Power, yet eating this fruit still resulted in an eight-point increase.
If he had consumed it when his Spiritual Power was lower, perhaps the increase would be even more substantial.
Duke was unsure how many of these fruits he could consume and did not plan to eat the remaining four all at once.
These fruits seemed quite precious, presumably not easy to grow and mature, and would need further study after the competition.
If he consumed them all hastily now, he might miss a lot of information.
If the remaining four fruits continue to enhance his Spiritual Power, each by eight points, then along with free attribute points, he would reach the advancement standard to a Level 2 Mage.
However, as his Spiritual Power increases, the Spiritual Power provided by these fruits will inevitably decrease.
Even if diminished, overall, it would not be too far from the Level 2 Mage threshold.
...
For the next five days, Duke roamed the vast and ancient towering forest like a cautious specter.
He adopted the most prudent strategy, prioritizing survival and observation, conducting efficient yet low-key resource gathering under relatively safe conditions.
Leveraging his powerful Perception Ability and exploratory methods, Duke meticulously planned his route, avoiding areas with intense energy reactions or suspected lairs of powerful creatures, and cleverly circumvented traces of other participants he discovered, finding evidence of scattered battles and temporary camps.
He seamlessly integrated himself into the forest environment, moving silently and choosing the most concealed natural barriers for rest.
During these days, Duke discovered numerous high-quality magic potion materials hidden in secluded corners and of considerable age.
After harvesting these materials, they weren’t placed physically into the Space Ring but awaited post-competition settlement for retrieval.
These resources were provided by the competition officials and belonged to any participants who could acquire them.
The Seville Empire indeed had substantial resources, as Duke found the resources he calmly gathered were at least Level 2, spread out like cabbages all around.
Given the vastness of the competition venue, one could only imagine how many resources were poured in.
Duke continued to conduct himself these few days until, five days later, he discovered a somewhat anomalous area.
Far on the horizon, the clouds above a certain region spun slowly in an implausible vortex, though extremely faint, it was caught by Duke’s keen observations in the twilight.
Sensing something amiss, different from other places, he moved cautiously in that direction to investigate.
As the distance shortened, the signs became more evident.
The ground began to transmit extremely slight but rhythmic tremors; an invisible pull in the air grew stronger, even causing some light leaves and spores within the forest to drift in a determined direction.
The sensation of energy gathering became increasingly clear, and he perceived not only himself but multiple breaths of varying strength and nature also drawn to this gradually awakening gravitational source, like bees to honey.
Just before dawn on the sixth day, Duke arrived silently at the edge of the anomaly.
He hid within the dense boughs of an enormous fir tree tens of meters above the ground, peering down through gaps in the foliage.
Below was an ancient low-lying valley slightly recessed compared to the surrounding forest, where the ground no longer merely trembled but rose and cracked like a living entity.
Elaborate chains of ancient runes, emanating faint golden or dark silver radiance like the spines of a massive buried beast, were slowly surfacing from the fissures.
