Thanks to Green KiTea for the constant support! Enjoy the bonus chapters for this new story!

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By the light of the fire, Qiyu took out the two books he’d obtained from the silver chest. 

The first item he opened was the golden-quality *Manual of Mental Cultivation*. 

Flipping open the rich, dark-green cover, he saw a line of exquisitely beautiful text.

It was a font he had never seen before, but strangely enough, the moment his eyes met the text, he understood its meaning.

To be precise, it wasn’t just his mind that understood; he also heard an elegant yet haughty voice ringing directly in his head:

“If you are mediocre, please close this book immediately and stay away from my notes.” 

Qiyu thought to himself that the owner of this voice must be none other than the legendary elven Archmage Aegnor.

【Do you wish to study *Mental Power Cultivation Manual*?】 

“Yes.”

The next second, Qiyu realized he had been careless.

He felt as if his entire body had been tossed into some high-speed mixer—dizzy and disoriented, one moment hurled into the sky, the next plunging into the depths of the ocean.

It felt like a lifetime of torment.

Yet when he finally came to his senses, the campfire was burning quietly beside him, and the world outside was pitch black. He glanced at his personal interface; the time had barely moved.

“So this is what it feels like to have your head stuffed full of knowledge.” Qiyu rubbed his temples, taking a long moment to recover. 

But his spirits were high; he realized he had indeed obtained something extraordinary.

As mentioned in the previous voice message, *Mental Power Cultivation Manual* is more like a notebook. In addition to teaching how to cultivate mental power, it also contains many of Aegnor’s personal insights on the cultivation and application of mental power.

Most importantly, this free-spirited elven archmage often has little flashes of inspiration regarding magic pop into his head, which he casually jots down in his notebook. 

A long list of notifications appeared on the interface:

【You have successfully learned the basic techniques of mental energy application.】 

【You have successfully learned the spell “Heal”.】

【You have successfully learned the spell “Bless.”】 

【You have successfully learned the spell “Purify.”】

【You have successfully learned the spell “Guard”.】

……

Perhaps because the owner of the notes was an elven mage, most of the entries dealt with nature magic and life magic.

After reading this Archmage’s notes, when Qiyu looked at *elementary magic introduction*, he felt as relaxed as if he were solving a simple math problem like 1 + 1. 

True to its reputation as an introductory guide, it fills your mind with a wealth of basic knowledge about magic and even throws in two magical Easter eggs.

【Magic Easter Egg: Unlocks any basic spell.】

Qiyu opened it.

【You have successfully learned the basic spell “Fireball”.】 

【You have successfully learned the basic spell “Waterball”.】 

【Detected that the player has mastered knowledge of magic and mental power cultivation, with a proficiency in basic magic exceeding 5. The class module has been unlocked.】 

【Recommended class: “Mage.” Do you wish to change classes?】

Mage?

Qiyu recalled the power of magic he had witnessed. He selected “Yes.”

【Congratulations! You are the 131st player in the entire server to unlock a class.】

Upon hearing this, Qiyu felt a surge of joy.

He still remembered the previous announcement: he was the 500th-plus player in the entire server to upgrade his sanctuary.

Now, his class unlock rank was 131.

Who could say this wasn’t a huge improvement? Now, Qiyu’s personal profile is as follows:

Survival ID: I Love Survival Game Age: 19

Level one shelter, Sturdy Log Cabin, Upgradeable 

Class: Mage

Innate Skill: Planting·Mutated (Beginner)

Magic Skills: Fireball, Waterball, Basic Healing Magic, Basic Purify Magic, Basic Bless Magic, Basic Guard Magic. 

Satiety: 100/100 

Stamina: 100/100 

Health: 140/140

Attack: 16 (barbarian fang bracers +3) 

Defense: 11

Agility: 17+3 (jade boots +3)

Mana: 83+3 (jade necklace +3)

Equipment: Jade Necklace, Jade Boots, Barbarian Fang Dagger, Phantom Poison Needle, Phantom Armor.

After the class change to Mage, both Spirit and HP have changed.

Mana jumped from the initial 73 points by 10 points, reaching 83. Combined with the bonus from the jade necklace, his Mana stat reached 86. HP also increased from 100 to 130, and with the bonus from the jade equipment, it reached 140.

Facing these changes, Qiyu felt as though he had undergone an evolution.

His mind, which had been somewhat foggy from being flooded with so much knowledge at once, was now crystal clear once more.

He felt his vision sharpening in the darkness, his ears picking up the faintest sounds, and his nose detecting a faint scent…

It seemed to be the scent of his own body. 

Qiyu rubbed his nose and thought to himself that people had become so delicate since entering the survival game. In the post-apocalyptic world, he would be considered exceptionally clean by any standard. 

Who would’ve thought his own nose would turn on him now?

Still, when resources were scarce, you’d do whatever it took to survive. Now that he had the means, it would be foolish not to use them.

He dug out a clean starter outfit, headed to the bathroom, and took the most luxurious shower he’d ever had—combining both his past and present lives.

When he stepped out, he paused in front of the bathroom door, puzzled. Had his line of sight always been this high?

A minute later, Qiyu finally came to a realization: he had grown taller. 

He had previously stood at 175 cm, which was considered tall in the post-apocalyptic world where malnutrition was widespread.

Now that he’d switched to being a mage—whether due to increased health points or not—he estimated he’d grown another 3–4 centimeters.

This discovery thrilled him. He was only nineteen, and now that he could eat his fill and sleep soundly every day in this survival game, could he still keep growing? 1

The Survival Game is truly wonderful. 

After his customary praise for the survival game, he sat on the wooden bed and began meditating according to the instructions in the *Mental Power Cultivation Manual*.

His mind gradually cleared.

He wasn’t sure when it had started, but he felt as though his spirit had separated from his body. He saw silver particles of light drifting through every corner of the wooden cabin.

The next moment, his perspective shifted to the silver particles, and he saw himself lying on the bed with his eyes closed, meditating. It turned out that seeing his own face from a third-person perspective was such a strange sensation.

The next moment, as his thoughts shifted, he passed through the wooden cabin and “looked” into the darkness that had always intrigued him.

“Whoa!”

Qiyu’s eyes snapped open.

He glanced at his personal panel—it was already 5:00 a.m. It felt as though he had only sat down to meditate a moment ago.

Yet, despite sitting upright like that for several hours, he wasn’t the least bit tired; on the contrary, he felt refreshed and full of energy, as if he’d just had a wonderful night’s sleep.

Looking at his personal panel again, he saw a series of small red dots:

【Meditation: Gained insight; Mental Power +0.5.】 

【Meditation: Became more proficient in the use of Mental Power.】 

【Meditation: Made a minor breakthrough; Mental Power +1.】

Adding it all up, after meditating all night, his mental power had actually increased by a full 3 points!