However, in the midst of the whole thing, a wild but exciting idea suddenly came to him. 'AI, scan my body and record every change in data in real time.'
Lucian was so engrossed in marvelling at this spectacular phenomenon that he almost forgot the very reason he had opened this Pandora's box. But once again, he had one trick up his sleeve that could potentially make his journey to becoming a Knight much, much easier than other people of this world.
With his AI scanning his body and recording every change in real time, he could gain much more accurate results from his first ever attempt at channelling his life force.
'In a world where everyone has one, you fail to realise just how helpful these AI implants really are. But in a world like this where only I have one, its abilities really start to come to light.'
His AI carried out its task and even provided a live projection of his body inside his mind for him to check at any time, but Lucian ignored that, as looking at it started to break his concentration. He was mindful not to cause too many distractions for himself after all, as he didn't really want to have to start this whole process all over again. Time was limited, and he couldn't afford to waste it because of stupid mistakes like that.
A familiar word Lucian had 'read' in one of the many training books in the library earlier popped into his mind. 'Enlightenment', this word was mentioned a few times across the many books, and every time it always had some mysterious and unknown connotations attached to it, like 'It is only when one reaches a state of enlightenment that their full potential is realised' and other poetic and philosophical terms similar to it.
Lucian ignored each and every one of them at first, as he was never one to enjoy reading poetry, but it was at this moment he realised just what this word meant in this world. It was hard to put into words, but he felt like his current state closely matched the idea. His mind was fully 'opened'; he could inspect and feel each and every inch of his body like some sort of 'mind's eye', but most importantly, he could feel his life force beginning to stir.
However, it was at this point of the technique where he was lacking the most information. As the breathing technique was built off the foundations of the breath control methods of his previous world's martial arts, where no such thing as 'life force' existed, he had no foundation or research model to point him in the right direction after he had reached this point. He could only proceed based on guesses and assumptions, and he started with what seemed like the most prominent gathering of life force.
He focused his inner gaze on the largest and most concentrated area of inner force, located right smack bang in the middle of his chest, slightly offset to the left a little bit. Lucian recognised instantly that it was exactly where his heart was.
'It makes sense. The heart is often referred to as the epicentre of life in medicine, with many religious facilities also stating that the soul is stored in the heart.' Lucian muttered to himself internally, making sure the AI was noting down every one of his thoughts. However, he soon began to hesitate. Was this really what he should start with? He was already basing his judgements on assumptions and educated guesses, since he had nothing else to rely on.
His heart was one of the two most important organs in his body, so if something went wrong, then there was very little chance he would be coming back from this. Lucian didn't want to waste his second chance at life so early after being granted it, and there wasn't any guarantee he'd be given another one after this. He had to treat this life like it was his last.
'Let's think carefully about this. I should perhaps start with one of the smaller concentrations of life force.' Eventually, he convinced himself out of experimenting and practising with his heart right off the bat and instead opted for a much smaller concentration located in his little toe. This was a much safer option — if something were to go wrong there, then the worst-case scenario was that he'd lose a toe, rather than his life. This was a risk he was willing to take, compared to the previous one.
Very carefully, Lucian focused his entire concentration onto that one small spot of life force, willing it to start moving. He could see the visualised channels which it would flow through and noted that they were like a central nervous system and veins combined into one, all eventually ending up at the same place — his heart. If he wasn't so concentrated at the moment, he would probably be affirming his decision to lay off starting with his heart for the time being.
Gradually, his face started to get redder and redder as his body forgot to breathe; it was so focused on this one task. Sweat gathered on his forehead and soon spread to the rest of his body. After nearly another 60 seconds passed, his face started to turn blue from the lack of oxygen, and his veins were protruding from his skin due to how strained he was.
'… Come… On.'
His head throbbed at this point, and his body was practically screaming for him to give up, but Lucian instinctively felt he was on the very cusp of success. He could feel that the tiny concentration of life force was about to shift from its spot, even if it was only a minute amount.
"PUHA!!"
*Huff* *Huff*
Lucian opened both his eyes and mouth to take in some desperate breaths, as his body could no longer hold it anymore without passing out.
*Cough*
But along with his exhalations came out a foul, black-coloured substance that splattered all over his wall and bedsheets.
"Ugh..."
And it stunk up one hell of a storm. Lucian had to immediately cover his nose to stop himself from regurgitating his breakfast. But even that failed to stop the incredibly disgusting smell from penetrating his sinuses. He had to run to the bathroom and open up the window just to get some fresh air.
"Fucking hell, what is this abominable smell?" Lucian cursed with all his gut, taking great care not to breathe any of the toxic fumes back in. The very thought that this substance came out of his mouth made him nauseous.
Only after spending 10 minutes carefully and thoroughly cleaning his wall and giving up on his bedsheets, having to resort to throwing them out, did his mind get back on track.
'Did I succeed?'