While Robb was eating in the communal dining hall, he overheard a few nearby apprentice candidates chatting.
"I heard Darude bought that potion?" said a lanky guy with shoulder-length hair, speaking in a hushed, secretive tone.
"What potion? One of those brain-enhancing ones?" his companion asked, eyes widening in surprise.
"Yeah. He said he's going to complete that sonic spell model..." The long-haired boy nodded, his expression a mix of surprise and disdain.
"He's nuts, right? Tons of people have tried that and failed..."
The third person chuckled and shook his head.
"With his weak spiritforce? Taking that kind of potion will just turn him into a monster."
Robb had been chewing on a piece of bland black bread while reviewing what he needed to study in Alchemy.
But hearing them mention his neighbor Darude, he frowned and put down his tray.
Over the past few days, the noisy experiments from Darude's room had almost disappeared. Robb had assumed the eccentric researcher had hit a bottleneck and decided to take a break.
Now it seemed that might not be the case.
"It has been a little too quiet in the dorm lately... I hope it's not what I think it is."
He muttered to himself, glancing down at the half-eaten black bread. His appetite was gone.
Back when he first arrived at the Black Mist Forest, he and Darude had actually been on decent terms.
His very first meal here had been shared with Darude at the same table.
"My family's from Cedar City in the northern part of the Black Mist Forest," Darude had said then, his temper not yet twisted and irritable. He was a bit chubby at the time, stirring a bowl of beet soup as he softly spoke:
"Our family has been musicians for generations, performing for nobles and composing songs."
His eyes lit up when he talked about music: "Can you imagine it, Robb? Music isn't just sound—it's a form of energy, a resonance of the soul. I've been able to feel the connections between notes since I was little. Their rhythm, their power..."
Robb remembered he'd simply nodded politely, not fully grasping Darude's enthusiasm.
"My spiritforce is weak—not even a fifth-tier rating. On the way here, I almost gave up."
Darude had kept stirring his soup, not even realizing it had gone cold.
"But on the very first day of orientation, I saw a chance on the announcement board."
He lowered his voice mysteriously: "Apart from the standard spiritual aptitude test, the academy offers another path to promotion—completing one of their posted spell concept bounties. If you can develop a prototype spell into a usable one, you also earn a place."
"And I found a topic that matched my strengths perfectly..."
Darude's eyes had gleamed. "Sonic Transmission of a Spiritual Field. The moment I saw that name, I knew it was made for me."
Over the following months, Darude had thrown himself completely into the research.
Robb would occasionally catch glimpses of his room filled with strange gear and scribbled notes, walls plastered with symbols and musical diagrams.
For a while, Darude had kept a strict routine—tapping various metal bowls daily, producing odd tones, then swearing and starting over.
Back then, Robb had often complained to Andrey that his neighbor's noise was interfering with meditation.
But about a month ago, Darude had started becoming visibly discouraged.
No matter how he tried, he couldn't get the sonic spell to interact with the spiritual field properly.
"The problem is that my spiritforce's too weak," he'd once told Robb gloomily. "If I were just a bit stronger, I could break through."
In recent days, the strange noises had all but vanished.
At first, Robb thought Darude had given up—but yesterday, in the communal bath, he'd bumped into him.
And he noticed something alarming in Darude's eyes—an almost manic gleam. His complexion was pale and waxy, and his previously pudgy frame had withered into skin and bone.
"You okay?" Robb had casually asked.
Darude had just looked at him and smiled—an eerie, unnatural smile.
"Okay? Of course I'm okay... I'm about to succeed, Robb."
Then he had turned and left without another word.
Now, thinking back, the signs of something being very wrong were clear...
With a sigh, Robb used a bit of bread to wipe up the last of his sauce, forced it down, and headed toward the wash area.
Maybe... he should be more cautious of his neighbor from now on, he thought as he scrubbed his plate.
Back in his room, Robb opened his Basic Meditation Manual and resumed his training—he could still fit in one more session today.
Even though his energy was mostly drained, the stimulant potion had kept his mind sharp and alert over the past few days.
[Basic Meditation Begins]
This time, he tried integrating what he'd learned from Madam Elena into his practice.
He stopped mechanically sketching runes and instead focused on the natural flow of his spiritforce.
Whenever it hit resistance, he gently guided it along the path of least resistance—like an experienced sailor working with the current, not against it.
In his consciousness, the familiar three-arc rune began to glow softly.
Unlike its previous rigid form, the rune now seemed alive, trembling slightly in sync with the waves of energy.
[Special Effect Triggered: Rhythmic Resonance – Meditation Effect Slightly Increased]
[Basic Meditation EXP +1]
[Basic Meditation EXP +1]
[Basic Meditation EXP +1]
...
[Training Time Limit Reached – Rest Recommended]
Robb opened his eyes. Although the gains were slightly less than when he relied purely on potions, they were still far above his early days.
"Looks like resonance really is the key."
He spoke softly as he jotted down his insights into his notebook.
His notes had grown increasingly comprehensive—from scattered observations to a semi-systematic theory.
After organizing his pages, he picked up his training wooden sword and began practicing the basic forms of the Solar Swordcraft.
Though he lacked a formal instructor, he could still use the notes Andre had given him as a reference and learn step by step.
Each sword swing matched the rhythm of the Solar Breath, creating a subtle harmony between motion and breath.
As his practice deepened, the flow became smoother, the movements more fluid.
[Basic Swordcraft EXP +1]
[Basic Swordcraft EXP +1]
[Basic Swordcraft EXP +1]
...
As night fell, Robb tidied up his room, put the wooden sword aside, and lay down to rest.
Just as he was drifting off, a strange sensation suddenly crept over him.
It was a vague, unsettling awareness—like something or someone was watching him.
Then, from the room next door, came an eerie, unnatural sound—sometimes high-pitched, sometimes low, like someone—or something—struggling in pain.