"If you don't feel the arrival of the sleep phase, then you might remain in the young dragon state forever."

  "What? Never growing up? What effects does it have?"

  "There are many. Every time a dragon finishes a sleep phase, their body gets stronger. The sleep phase is also a metamorphosis period for dragons, and each one is very important."

  "...This isn't good news." Zephyr looked down at his claws with a hint of helplessness. He had never experienced any sleep phase; even if he could sleep for two or three days straight, he wouldn't feel sleepy after that.

  "Not having a sleep phase can be a good thing too. For dragons, while the sleep phase signifies transformation, it's also a weakness, though not many dare to exploit this," Loris said calmly. "As for you, although it seems like you haven't gone through a sleep phase, your body has been continuously strengthening. Among the dragons I've seen, yours is the best."

  She wasn't just comforting Zephyr. Over the past two days of observation, she noticed his body was constantly improving, albeit subtly but consistently.

  "Growth and enhancement against natural laws ultimately feel unreliable," Zephyr muttered.

  Loris glanced at him without mentioning that she had discovered numerous things about Zephyr that defied the rules of this world. Violating natural laws wasn't such a big deal here!

  "You need to master at least one basic array pattern within three days. Any kind will do."

  "Aren't you worried about whether my talent is enough?"

  "If I say you can, then you can," Loris replied calmly. When she touched Zephyr's consciousness in his dream, she found that his soul was also slowly strengthening along with his body. This enhancement likely stemmed from the special 'factors' from his original world that influenced his soul post-crossover.

  The abnormalities in his body were likely due to these special factors from another world clashing with this one, causing his body to lean more towards his own understanding or the growth rules of his original world.

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  However, this inclination wasn't entirely twisted, leading to such abnormal growth until it hit the first growth sleep phase of dragons.

  These were merely Loris's speculations but could be gradually confirmed. In short, unless something unexpected happened, Zephyr might forever remain in the young dragon state. Dragons entered sleep phases to transform their bodies to adapt to stronger power growths.

  Zephyr's physique, however, was continuously improving, making the so-called growth sleep phase a joke. With such abnormal improvement, even normal dragons would likely skip one or two unnecessary sleep transformations.

  Squinting his eyes, Zephyr looked at a book still magnified by Loris. This wasn't a primer but a genuine record of magic... a beginner's guide.

  Even as an introduction, it made Zephyr's head spin. Where was the legendary magical talent of crossovers? He didn't seem to have it!

  "Do we have to memorize all of this?" Zephyr asked, feeling a headache looking at a complex array pattern. And this was supposed to be the simplest one!

  "Yes, all of it." Loris nodded slightly.

  "What if I forget later..."

  "Once you engrave them into your mental consciousness, forgetting becomes hard. After reaching the entry stage, you can start modifying magic to better suit yourself," Loris explained. "These are basics. It's fine to memorize everything now; later, you can choose which system or systems you find easier to master as your main force."

  "Oh... Since a while ago, I've been curious about what you mean by 'entry stage.' The primer doesn't mention level divisions for professions, so what is the entry stage?" Zephyr asked curiously.

  "The entry stage isn't a level division but a symbol—a symbol that your mastered powers have their own characteristics," Loris clarified. "For mages, it means being able to adjust array patterns. For warriors, it means adjusting the paths of combat techniques and developing personalized or improved versions. For battle aura warriors, it means fully mastering the wild nature of battle aura."

  "Hmm, aren't there levels like apprentice mage or bronze warrior?"

  "No need. Once you grasp the power, you're considered initiated. Getting stronger is a gradual accumulation. Not every race can achieve significant leaps in strength like dragons through growth and metamorphosis."

  "And... mana accumulation?"

  "Practicing magic involves drawing external forces, part of which gets absorbed by your body becoming your power. Warriors achieve similar effects during combat technique training, and battle aura warriors intensively train using related methods."

  "I thought there might be some meditation techniques..."

  "There are, but they aren't suitable for you." Loris glanced at Zephyr. "Dragons have their unique methods stored in inherited memories, so I'm unaware of them. Conventional mana accumulation methods don't mean inefficiency. After reaching the entry stage, you can develop practices suited to yourself, which is the norm for most who reach that stage."

  "Understood." Zephyr nodded, somewhat disappointed but without extra thoughts. The more he learned, the more he realized the authenticity of this world's cultivation methods. To become strong required steady accumulation!

  Creating 'cultivation techniques' and such would have to wait until reaching the entry stage. Though the levels were vague, they were more realistic.

  To master an array pattern magic, one must first thoroughly understand the array pattern. Understanding meant being able to visualize and draw it perfectly from memory.

  After all, the array pattern needs to be engraved into mental consciousness. Without sufficient recognition, how could it be engraved? This engraving process is akin to visualization; the deeper the impression, the higher the success rate. This applies to basic magic.

  For more advanced magic, besides detailed understanding, one must also master the complex pathways of the array pattern. Basic and low-level magic don't require this since they can be drawn smoothly in one stroke. Higher-level magic could wait; mastering the basics was the priority...

  Incidentally, the magic array patterns in this world weren't those intricate circular designs with mysterious lines. Although Zephyr found such arrays cool, changing them would have to wait until reaching the entry stage.