Chapitre 2: Daily Tasks!
Leonard stepped out of the ominous inner chamber and entered a brighter room near the outer edge of the building. This space had a small patio, its ceiling open to the sky. Cold, white sunlight streamed down, bathing four tiny flower pots arranged at the bottom.
Each pot contained a petite plant resembling a miniature honeysuckle. The plants were unassuming, with only a few round leaves and a slender stem that supported a single, oversized flower bud. These buds, pale pink and tightly furled, showed only the faintest hint of opening. Their surfaces glistened with tiny, crystal-like dewdrops.
Leonard retrieved a glass bottle and a delicate glass rod from his pouch. Gently, he touched the rod to the dewdrops, watching as they clung to its surface as if magnetized. He carefully transferred the collected dew into the bottle, repeating the process until all four flowers were bare of their glistening droplets. By the end, the bottom of the bottle held only a thin layer of liquid, shimmering faintly.
These plants were 'Purple Phoenix Flowers', a valuable ingredient for potions. They thrived on the paradox of their environment, requiring both direct sunlight and cool, humid air, making their cultivation especially challenging. Over three months of careful nurturing, the daily dew from their petals developed potent magical properties, acting as a critical 0-level potion material with strong channeling effects. Alfonso often used it in his experiments.
All of this information Leonard had gleaned from a handwritten notebook Alfonso had given him as a reward for his diligence in tending the magical plants and managing daily chores. The notebook, though disorganized and incomplete, was a treasure trove of scattered wizardly knowledge. It detailed the properties of potions, magical plants, mutations, anatomy, and even the basics of bloodline theory.
For Leonard, this notebook was more than a collection of information, it was a key to another world. Each page opened his mind further, offering glimpses of the boundless possibilities of wizardry. Holding it in his hands felt like standing at the threshold of something extraordinary, peering into an unfamiliar but thrilling landscape.
---
Later, in the quiet of the kitchen, Leonard busied himself over a bubbling iron pot. Inside, a thick yellow-green stew simmered as he stirred it with a heavy iron spoon. The appearance was less than appetizing, but the aroma was surprisingly decent.
"Not bad," he murmured, taking pride in his creation. His experience in cooking, a talent carried over from his previous life, allowed him to transform even the simplest ingredients into something palatable. Though the options here were limited, his skill made the most of what was available.
He fished out three mushy, sweet-potato-like roots that had softened into an unrecognizable state after prolonged boiling. Their taste was sweet and sticky, making them one of the few ingredients he genuinely enjoyed. Next, he added a handful of wilted vegetable leaves to his bowl and finally claimed the only piece of meat in the pot, a single bone with scraps of flesh clinging to it.
Leonard examined the meat with mild curiosity. It had come from a creature Alfonso had brought back two days ago, something resembling a rat but as large as a cat. Whatever it was, it was now dinner.
Alfonso, of course, refused to eat any of it. "I'm a wizard. I have no need for food," he had declared with characteristic arrogance. Leonard had accepted this without question until the day he spotted grease stains on the old man's lips, a telltale sign that Alfonso had been sneaking better meals in private.
The memory brought a faint smirk to Leonard's face as he sat down with his bowl. If there was one small advantage to being the one who cooked, it was that he got to eat before anyone else, enjoying his hard-earned meal without delay.
Leonard poured the food from the iron pot into a bucket and headed toward the basement. As he walked down the dim corridor, the clanging of the bucket and the spoon echoed around him. Behind the doors lining the hallway, the prisoners stirred. One by one, they shuffled to their cell doors, bowls clutched tightly in their hands, their eyes hollow with hunger.
In this grim place, there were only two meals a day. The food was sparse, thin soup, watery porridge, and a few stray vegetable leaves. Meat was a luxury they could only dream of; even oil was scarce. To stave off hunger, the prisoners drank as much as they could, but their meals did little to sustain them. Most of their days were spent lying on the cold ground, conserving what little energy they had.
Leonard methodically ladled the meager portions into each outstretched bowl. Pleas for more echoed in the corridor, but he had none to give. The bucket was empty before long. Ignoring the disappointed murmurs, Leonard returned to the kitchen and sat down to eat his own meal; a similar, unimpressive portion.
As he finished, a faint notification appeared in the corner of his vision:
"Daily Task Completed: Cooking (I) Cook a complete pot of food."
"Completion Level: Pass."
"Reward: 5 General Experience Points."
But completing the daily task wasn't as simple as just cooking. The task required him to consume every last bit of the prepared food. This rule crushed any notion of mass-producing meals for easy rewards. Efficiency had no place in this system.
After cleaning up the pots and bowls, Leonard retreated to his room. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he closed his eyes and began his nightly meditation. The familiar stillness enveloped him, and the dark void of his mind became populated by tiny, floating specks of light.
The specks came in various colors; red, blue, white, purple, and green, representing the elements that wizards manipulated to cast spells. However, Leonard wasn't searching for these. What he sought was something much rarer: faint blue dust-like specks, the essence of mental power.
Focusing on the Earth Ring meditation method, Leonard visualized the intricate construct in his mind. Each ring was a masterpiece of delicate runes and precise lines, far more challenging than it appeared. Thankfully, the hardest step, the creation of the first ring; was already behind him. That had taken nearly a week of painstaking effort. Now, with six rings completed, the process was smoother.
Time blurred as he worked to form the seventh ring. His breathing was steady, and the flickering candlelight on the nearby table cast long shadows across the room. Slowly but surely, the seventh Earth Ring took shape, its intricate runes locking into place. The faint blue specks in the air seemed to gravitate toward him, pouring into his mind like a rushing tide.
A sharp clarity overwhelmed him, flooding his thoughts with lucidity. His mental strength surged ever so slightly, sharpening his focus and enhancing his memory.
When the sensation finally faded, Leonard opened his eyes. He felt refreshed, his mind clearer than it had been before. Another step forward, another ring complete. The path was long, but with every meditation, he grew stronger.
Leonard
Level: 2 (1/100)
Physical Fitness: 1.32
Mental Strength: 2.0
Mastery: Earth Ring Meditation (7%)
General Experience Points: 80
Leonard noticed his mental strength had increased by 0.1. It might not seem like much, but it was equivalent to one-tenth of an average adult's total mental capacity; a significant gain. The progress in his meditation was accelerating. Constructing the seventh Earth Ring had taken just two days, a pace far faster than when he first began. If this continued, reaching the hundredth ring no longer felt like an impossible dream.
The moon hung high in the night sky, signaling the late hour. Leonard stood and poured himself a glass of water. The cold liquid refreshed him as he moved to the window, gazing outside.
Above, the moon glowed like a silver disc, round and luminous. But its beauty was haunting. At the moon's center, the silhouette of a woman stood with arms crossed over her chest. Her entire figure, silver like a statue, seemed carved into the moon itself.
According to Alfonso, that figure was a god, one imprisoned on the moon by a wizard's hand.
Leonard's fingers rested on the windowsill as his gaze drifted downward, past the moonlit sky to the tall pines surrounding the estate. Through their dense, shadowy outlines, he could just make out the distant silhouette of a town. Its rooftops and spires cast jagged shadows against the faint glow of the horizon.
His thoughts wandered, pulling him into memories of the past.
It had been a year since he awakened to the memories of his former life. At first, the flood of memories was disorienting, blending the realities of two lifetimes into a confusing haze. For days, he lay in bed, unable to distinguish truth from illusion, until he finally pieced it together.
This world resembled the era just after the Industrial Revolution but with a darker twist; rigid class systems and the presence of extraordinary powers. War, famine, and plagues were constant threats, tearing apart lives and communities.
A year ago, Leonard had been part of the great refugee tide, fleeing south with his family to escape the famine. Rumors spoke of Bangor Port, a haven untouched by war and starvation. It was said one could take a ship from there to safer continents.
During their desperate journey, Leonard witnessed the extraordinary power of knights. These warriors, their bodies enhanced to monstrous levels, fought and destroyed the plague-born creatures that preyed on the refugees. The battle was chaotic and devastating, scattering the refugees in all directions.
In the chaos, Leonard was separated from his family. Lost and terrified, he fled with a small group of refugees, only to fall into the hands of Alfonsoa, a wizard conducting experiments in secret.
Now, months later, he still found himself under Alfonso's control.
In this chaotic world, disappearances were common, and no one except close family mourned the missing. Leonard didn't know if his parents or siblings in this life had reached Bangor Port safely. That uncertainty gnawed at him.
He sighed softly, his expression clouded with sadness. He had been fortunate to survive this long, and he didn't dare ask for much more. At least Alfonso had given him access to the path of extraordinary power. Compared to those who perished on the wizard's operating table, Leonard considered himself lucky.
Even so, he couldn't stop worrying about his family. He had asked Alfonso for help finding them, but the wizard dismissed his pleas coldly. Alfonso's experiments, he claimed, were at a critical juncture. Once they were complete, he might consider assisting Leonard.
But Alfonso also warned him of something chilling: wizards live far longer than ordinary people. Through alchemy, blood rituals, and other transformations, they could extend their lives for centuries. To such beings, family was nothing more than a fleeting memory, a brief chapter in an endless existence.
Leonard's grip on the windowsill tightened. He couldn't accept that. His family wasn't just a passing detail in his life he who had awakened his memories of his previous life recognised them as his family; they were his anchor, his reason to keep fighting. He vowed silently to find them, no matter how long it took.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone