EFB Chapter 16 Exercises
Chapter 16 Exercises
After lunch, Fafnir said goodbye to Mr. Victor.
He quickly put "the Sacred Tree Feather Falling Period" and "Eldrasil" out of his mind.
Haha, what's the point of paying attention to these things?
Those things are too far removed from him. What he needs to do now is to live each day to the fullest and continuously improve himself. For example, he can start by practicing meditation and clairvoyance using the "ledger".
On the way back to school, Fafnir first turned a corner according to Mr. Victor's directions and found the "Old Mud Pit" tavern.
The tavern wasn't big; the wooden sign had the words "Old Mud Pit" written in the common language and a crookedly drawn barrel on it.
Fafner pushed open the heavy wooden door; the interior was dimly lit.
It was past lunchtime, and several tables were empty. Behind the bar, a dwarf was wiping glasses.
"Hello, I'm here to return the food container." Fafnir placed the cloth bag and an empty food container on the bar counter.
The dwarf looked up and glanced at it, muttered "Just put it there," and then lowered his head to continue wiping the cup.
……
Autumn is just around the corner, but the afternoon temperature is still a bit muggy.
Back in the faculty dormitory, the corridor was quiet. Martha and Allen's room doors were closed, and it was unclear where they had eaten lunch.
Fafnir went into the room and closed the door behind him.
He sat down by the bed and took a few deep breaths—the hearty meal had restored his spirit and strength, making it the perfect time to practice meditation and clairvoyance.
Fafnir closed his eyes, silently recited the commandments of the Church of the God of Death, and regulated his breathing.
Tranquility and focus arise; a meditative state descends.
Silver filaments emerged in his mind; they were no longer directly in the shape of raven feathers from Mr. Victor's guiding spell.
Instead, they were scattered and disordered, like spider webs blown about by the wind. Fafnir observed them carefully—they were his own spirit, in its unadorned, primal state.
Fafnir tried to gather them together, trying his best to concentrate.
The first time, Fafner guided all the threads together, causing them to move slightly closer to the center point.
However, they soon dispersed.
The second time, Fafner slowed down, guiding each thread one by one. The threads seemed slippery, threatening to slip away from the edge of his consciousness if he wasn't careful.
However, thanks to Fafnir's efforts, they finally coalesced into a blurry sphere of light, which, though small and much dimmer than the previous night, was steadily glowing.
He began to guide the faint spiritual energy towards his brow, which was the most difficult part—
The spiritual energy wandered within him, seemingly unable to find its way, dissipating whenever it reached the vicinity of his brow. Fafnir patiently tried to sense the area between his brows, bit by bit.
After repeated attempts, the light finally responded and slowly moved closer, following his guidance. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Fafnir's forehead.
Suddenly, Fafnir's body trembled violently, and spiritual energy surged into his brow.
A slight warmth rose between his brows, which then cooled. The rune of spiritual vision appeared—the eye-shaped rune, dimmer and with blurred edges than last night, but it was definitely there.
Fafnir slowly opened his eyes, half-open, leaving a thin slit between his eyelashes.
The perspective has changed.
He first looked at his hands. A very faint gray sheen floated on the surface of the back of his hands, as thin as rice porridge diluted with water, intermittent, and in some places it didn't even cover the skin.
Fafner turned his hand over, and his palm was the same. He had read in "An Introduction to Spirituality" that the spiritual aura of beginners was mostly like this—thin, unstable, and of poor quality.
Then he looked down. His chest, abdomen, thighs—everywhere he could see was enveloped in the same thin layer of light. The light radiated outwards by less than half an inch, its edges blurred.
However, after Fafnir tried to direct his vision deeper into his body—
Beneath that pale gray spiritual glow, patches of blackness were hidden.
This is neither a blood vessel nor any specific organ.
This is the hollow area beneath the gray spiritual glow.
This blackness is pure and deathly still, as if something has ripped a piece out of the spirit itself, leaving behind holes.
The gray spiritual radiance disappeared as soon as it shone there; it wasn't absorbed or obscured, it simply vanished.
Fafnir was stunned.
He recalled what the tall, thin boy had said yesterday: "It's black, like a hole."
So that's what it means? Beneath his spirituality, his body harbors this void of emptiness.
Fafnir stared at the holes for a few seconds, then looked away.
He turned to look around the room; the table was bare, as were the chairs; the porcelain cup that Mr. Victor had given him on the windowsill was also completely dull.
A little tired... Fafnir could only sustain the strain of his spiritual vision for a short while before he couldn't keep up.
Fafner rested for a while, then focused his spirituality on his eyes again. This time, he looked at the "Introduction to Spirituality" beside his pillow; a faint silvery glow emanated from its spine.
This must be a spiritual remnant left after someone has repeatedly read and examined it.
……
Fafnir's eyes were sore, and his vision was blurry. He felt that he had reached his limit in today's practice.
He opened his eyes fully, stopped all spiritual fluctuations, and the spiritual vision runes quickly dissipated.
Everything returned to normal.
A wave of fatigue washed over me—not physical fatigue, but a deeper kind of fatigue, like the feeling of having my mind completely emptied after doing accounting for several hours straight.
Fafnir felt a throbbing in his temples and his eyelids felt heavy. He fumbled for his porcelain cup and drank the remaining half-cup of cold water.
He slumped back onto the bed, sinking into the slightly firm pillow.
After lying down for a while, and waiting for the throbbing in his temples to subside, Fafnir closed his eyes.
In his mind, the abandoned ledger slowly surfaced, and lines of text appeared on the panel:
Name: Fafner Beckett
Bloodline: Ratman (Basic Night Vision)
Total: 1. Bookkeeping (full) (100/100)
2. Common Elvish (Max) (100/100)
3. Basic Meditation Method (Church of the God of Death) (3/100)
4. Visionary (Church of the God of Death) (3/100)
Owner: Viktor Zaitsev
Basic Meditation Method (Church of the God of Death) (3/100)
Visionary (Church of the God of Death) (3/100)
change:
Basic Meditation (Church of the God of Death) +2
Vision (Church of the God of Death) +2”
Last night's progress was 1, tonight's is 3. I didn't practice during the day, I only practiced once just now, and the progress increased by two points.
Victor's name is still listed as the "owner," but he no longer needs to rely on the guiding spell.
The writing on the ledger gradually faded. Consciousness sank into darkness.
School starts tomorrow, time to get some work done... mopping the hallway... then to the library... and maybe ask Victor for help sometime...
Continue practicing meditation and clairvoyance...
By the way, when will the employee ID cards arrive? I should take Allen and Martha to the cafeteria tomorrow to familiarize them with the area.
The distant clock tower chimed eleven o'clock, but it didn't wake Fafner. He turned over and pulled the blanket over his shoulder.