Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Just as Lu Mingfei was wondering why Lu Mingze hadn't arrived yet, Fingel beside him suddenly disappeared.
"Looks like you missed me, big brother." Lu Mingze pushed open the dorm room door, a well-ordered dinner laid out on a silver dining cart.
He wasn't much taller than the cart, but he was dressed primly in a white chef's uniform, shaking a black bottle in his hand.
"Do you want vinegar in your Spicy Soup?"
"Add some and let's try it." Lu Mingfei waved his hand, lifting the lid from the dining plate.
"Apricot blossom cake with honey, braised pork with preserved vegetables and spring pancakes, and Spicy Soup with vinegar." Lu Mingze acted like a waiter, meticulous and attentive. "Does the guest need two fried dough sticks?"
"No basic training tonight?" Lu Mingfei ate a piece of apricot blossom cake and asked curiously.
"You need to eat your fill to have the energy to study, big brother. You make me sound like some inhuman internet addiction counselor." Lu Mingze pulled up a stool and sat opposite Lu Mingfei.
"You've been studying for two weeks, big brother, and you still only know how to make bombs."
"Kassel's Rune studies don't cover that. World Melody seems to be a very niche concept. I couldn't even find any related papers in the library, okay?"
Lu Mingfei took a sip of Spicy Soup, stuck out his tongue, and exhaled. Damn it, Lu Mingze had actually removed the heat from the Spicy Soup! It was almost hot enough to peel a layer off his mouth!
"Of course! This is an exclusive secret technique I customized for you, big brother, a super basic training that no one has ever taught before." Lu Mingze seemed very sincere.
"But your progress is too slow, big brother. I really don't feel comfortable with you going out on field missions."
"Field missions?" Lu Mingfei frowned, rolling up a piece of braised pork with preserved vegetables.
"Someone might take you out for a spring outing tomorrow. You'll need some skill, but you're still at the level of melody explosion, big brother. Your little brother is truly worried about your safety." Lu Mingze's face was full of concern.
But for some reason, Lu Mingfei felt like he was seeing crocodile tears.
"Didn't you say I was about to get started? Tonight, I'll put in more effort and try to enter the first stage of basic training."
"Not practicing martial arts anymore?" Lu Mingze teased.
"Not anymore."
"Actually, I prepared a temporary Rune for you."
"No matter how useful a temporary Rune is, it's fake." Lu Mingfei sighed, "No matter how good a cheat code is, it's not as satisfying as winning with skill."
"Very insightful, big brother." Lu Mingze raised an eyebrow, surprised that Lu Mingfei would refuse him for such a reason.
"No matter how insightful I am, I'm only C-level right now. Others wake up as level 100 big shots, while I still have to slowly meditate and level up." Lu Mingfei only complained like this, grumbling about the world, in front of Lu Mingze.
Looking back on the evening classes of the past two weeks, this elusive boy, despite looking down on him, taught him diligently.
At least the melody bomb hadn't exploded in the dorm anymore.
"Tomorrow will always be better than today, at least you won't regress." Lu Mingze comforted Lu Mingfei.
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Lu Mingfei smiled. He wasn't wrong. With each improvement, he could feel the surge of blood in his body. What he learned, he would never forget.
"What about tonight?" he asked Lu Mingze.
"Same as usual. I don't ask you to slow down the elemental flow melody, only to be able to block the elemental flow in an area, achieving a pause effect. Even a 0.1-second pause counts as success."
Lu Mingze sat down on Lu Mingfei's bed, picked up an apricot blossom cake, and threw it into his mouth. "Come on, big brother who studies hard."
Lu Mingfei stood in place, took a deep breath, and first sought out the spatial area where Lu Mingze had restored the normal melody.
By the window.
The wind was strong tonight, and the teru teru bozu hanging by the window swayed from side to side.
According to Lu Mingze, one should feel the elemental flow melody around the teru teru bozu. There is no perfect creation in the world; no single thing can balance all elemental melodies.
World Melody is composed of elemental melodies.
As long as you find a weak point in an object's elemental melody, imagine yourself cutting down with a knife, severing the operation of the elements. The World Melody will briefly fall silent on this object, achieving a pause effect.
The recovery time depends on the severity of the mark left by the cut.
Lu Mingfei had seen Lu Mingze demonstrate this move. Visually, it was quite similar to a body-binding spell.
Once he learned it, the weakness in the numerical value could be greatly compensated for by the abnormal mechanism.
Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei's concentration heightened. For the upcoming Kui Men Plan, he had to quickly master the body-binding spell and use it skillfully to increase the duration of the binding.
Lu Mingze said that only after fully experiencing the feeling of severing the melody could one observe the elemental flow when the melody recovers, thereby using consciousness to slow down the melody.
The night wind blew his bangs, sweeping aside the blue curtains behind the window, revealing Lu Mingze sitting on the bed.
The teru teru bozu danced in the wind with a sweet smile. Lu Mingfei stared intently at the teru teru bozu's dance moves, like a critical reviewer looking for flaws.
"I didn't expect it to feel like this." Lu Mingfei suddenly let out a sigh of relief and looked back into Lu Mingze's eyes.
"Ultimately, it's about creating a brief blank in the World Melody near an object, and that blank needs to be filled with one's own spirit."
"The longer you occupy the blank, the longer the binding time." Lu Mingze added.
"If I imitate the World Melody with my spirit while occupying the blank, can I achieve the effect of slowing down the melody?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Still far from it, big brother. You need to learn to seize every opportunity. To slow down the melody, you have to cut off many, many melodies, and then instantly fill them with your spirit. Only then can your consciousness control the melody speed." Lu Mingze was pleased with Lu Mingfei's sudden association.
"The more gaps you cut, the more blanks you fill, the longer the slowing time."
"Does this Rune have a name?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Why would basic training need a name?" Lu Mingze said, "You can name it, big brother."
Lu Mingfei looked around the room. The teru teru bozu showed a clear stutter, like a skipped frame, then returned to normal.
He remembered the feeling of experiencing this space during his first lesson.
"How about Measure the Days?"
"Measure the Days feels like a year." Lu Mingze smiled faintly, understanding his big brother's thoughts. "A very good name."
He walked over to Lu Mingfei, watching the teru teru bozu sway, and suddenly reached out to touch Lu Mingfei's forehead.
"Let's call it Rune · Measure the Days."
An unspeakable warmth flowed from Lu Mingze's palm into Lu Mingfei's body.
Lu Mingfei was startled. Before he could respond to Lu Mingze, Fingel's large face reappeared before him.
At the same time, a series of texts appeared.
【Lower-mid fortune, refuse field missions, slowly improve yourself in a comfortable environment, will encounter disadvantages after a period of time, ominous】
【Mid fortune, accept field missions, rapidly improve yourself in a stressful environment, but greatly increase the risk of casualties, neutral】
【Upper-mid fortune, accept field missions, drag others into it, rapidly improve yourself in a stressful environment, and cooperate tacitly with teammates to successfully complete the mission, auspicious】
Lu Mingfei analyzed, going on field missions would definitely take up a lot of time. He could use field missions to improve his strength, but others might not be able to.
Chu Zihang and Caesar were both busy preparing for the Kui Men Plan, so he definitely couldn't waste their time.
Currently, all A-levels in the entire academy probably couldn't spare the time. If he wanted to drag someone into it, he would probably have to choose from those below A-level.
Below A-level...
But how many people below A-level did he even know?
Fingel's big face swayed into Lu Mingfei's line of sight again. "Junior brother, I'm telling you, this Spicy Soup is really delicious. Why don't you order another bowl?"
He stared at Fingel's large face. Who said all A-levels were busy?