Chapter 94 Training 3 (1/2)

Truen ate when he starved and slept when his eyes could no longer focus. Other than that, he was focussed on the task at hand: To record the title of every book.

Three days passed and the wood elf was finally beginning to see the fruit of his labour. Information was power. Without knowing what kind of books there were, Truen would be wasting a lot of time slogging over something that could be done using a shorter route. He was done with forty-odd thousand books and the wood elf came to realise something. If he prioritised the kind of magic to learn, he could exponentially increase his speed of information processing.

For instance, there was a book that taught multiple casting which is related to parallel thinking. It's a passive skill learnt by magicians for high-tier casting. Often, high-tiered magic had to be prepared beforehand in the form of sacrifice, magic circles or chanted by a group of magicians. However, few demigod magicians were able to pull off multiple casting without chants. That was due to their ability to think parallelly.

Many thought that parallel thinking was an innate ability only available to demigods. However, after scanning through the titles, Truen deduced that it wasn't true, Parallel Thinking was a skill that could be trained and cultivated to a certain extent. He took a few hours from recording titles to read the basic theories about parallel thinking for there were only a handful of books about that topic. The wood elf had an inkling that this was his key to resolving the information overload bottleneck.

Parallel Thinking can be trained to a certain extent. As explained in one of the books, the ability to think will depend on the number of limbs or body parts a creature could control at any one time. Hence, insects were usually better at it if they evolved into demons who could learn magic. The chances of that happening were rare but there were cases of Demon Lords recorded in books. They single-handedly wiped out nations and many heroes had to be sacrificed to save many species from genocide.

Having said that, humans can generally master from two to fourteen levels of Parallel Thinking. Every level requires a certain minimum level of intellect and that was the second physical limitation. In the past, mana regeneration was decided on birth. There was no way for anyone who isn't sensitive to mana to progress. However, after the Age of Magicians, many races found ways to overcome that barrier by fusing magic with technology or dark arts. The secret in acquiring more Parallel Minds lies in the progression of technology.

Alchemy was the key to that solution and it wasn't found until much later. There were cases of human minds reaching up to ten Parallel Minds with the aid of machines and equipment. Some humans were able to exceed that limit but they were rare. Arithmetic was something invented by humans to compete with the other species in terms of physical limitations. Humans had lesser limbs to control as compared to beast folks or elves. They did not have well-honed instincts to guide them into achieving a higher level of multi-levelled thinking. However, with arithmetic, alchemists were born. These magicians specialised in increasing intellect through brain exercises. After a certain level of high-speed arithmetic was attained, these alchemists found that they could access a higher level of Parallel Thinking without much effort. With gnome and dwarves coming to help them create new mana infused equipment, alchemists discovered that false limbs counted as limbs and were able to surpass the physical limits of fourteen Parallel Minds.

Truen was in a body of a wood elf but he was in actual fact a living wood spirit. Limbs didn't apply to him and he was glad that human alchemists discovered a way to overcome the natural disadvantage. His first aim was to master Parallel Thinking. If he had more Parallel Minds, he was able to free up more time to read instead of analysing. With that goal in mind, the wood elf got to work.

***

Before he knew it, Zero was waking up before Hua Tuo could get to him. He didn't need Mii's reminder either and it was a huge sign of improvement. The brunet got up and was becoming more familiar with the strange exercises. Hua Tuo was pleased to see his apprentice learning so quickly. He was initially worried about not being able to prepare Zero sufficiently before their travels but his worries were for nought. Hence, the teacher began correcting Zero's stances while they went through the routine.

It was tiring but Zero felt as if his body was becoming stronger each time he did that strange exercise. He no longer felt so fatigued and was brimming with energy throughout the day. Hua Tuo had him fetch water from the river five times in heavy buckets to tend to the fields. Zero's arm ached badly yesterday but after a good night's rest, he was back to normal.

Hua Tuo was impressed when he tested his apprentice about what he'd read and understood. The physician estimated that Zero would have completed his theory study by the next week. He was eager to start on the practical lessons but reminded himself to take things one step at a time. Zero was very new to things and the physician didn't want to overwhelm the poor kid.

On the other hand, Zero was enjoying himself. He heard from Hua Tuo that Truen was very busy and that Merlin was a very strict teacher. So instead of calling his friend, Zero learnt how to take pictures and write short messages. Often, it was about what he ate or the strange plants he read about. Occasionally, it was about what they found in the forest. Zero thought he'd seen it all when foraging in the same forest but he was amazed when they found a new kind of bird the other day. It was the first time Zero hunted anything apart from fish and he was thrilled. Hua Tuo taught him how to make a basic trap using grass, leaves, ropes and branches. It turned out to be a royal pheasant and Zero enjoyed it.

Today, they discovered that the waterwheel was broken and had to fix it. Hua Tuo wasn't good at fixing things so Zero had to call for some help. Luckily, Buddha was able to offer some advice. It took them half a day to fix it so Zero did not have much time to read.

”What's the waterwheel for?”

Hua Tuo grinned. ”It serves many purposes. Firstly, it fills up this well here which we can use to fill this tank to store water for when the river dries. Secondly, it helps to make medicine powder or flour for noodles. Lastly, we can use it to grind beans and make bean curd. Of course, if Steve was here, he would set it up as a power generator but there isn't a need for it since your communicator is mana consuming.”

Zero raised his brow. ”So this is used for food? We spent half a day fixing this for food?”

Hua Tuo coughed and looked away. He didn't want to admit it but he was craving some noodles very badly.

”Well, I'm sure you will come to understand the importance of a waterwheel one day. How does homemade noodle sound?”

Zero drooled. Hua Tuo's food was usually simple but tasty. Homemade noodles sounded more complicated to make and he was dying to find out how they tasted.

”What do we need to do?”

Hua Tuo grinned. ”Do you want to try foraging and hunting for ingredients on your own today?”

The brunet grinned. ”Can I catch pheasant again?”