“It seems you can’t transmit too much information at once.”
Ivan knocked heavily on the sides of his head, nearly passing out from just teaching the Meditation Method.
As his head cleared from the grogginess, he began to examine the information about the Meditation Method.
Ode to Spring Trees, a basic Meditation Method during the apprentice stage, suggested by its name, is more suitable for those with an affinity for Plant-type energy.
He remembered the test results clearly; those five nobles specialized in Water-type, he and Feyen were biased towards Plant-type energy affinity, and Thomson, with his 1st Class talent, tended towards Earth-type energy.
That meant only he and Feyen would practice the ‘Ode to Spring Trees.’
Meditation and visualization as he knew from his past life were quite similar, involving the delineation of meditation runes in the mind to enhance mental power—the more runes one could outline at once, the stronger the mental power.
Based on the level of mental power, apprenticeship could be divided into three levels: 1st Class apprentice, 2nd Class apprentice, and 3rd Class apprentice.
“So the meditation runes are directly infused into the depth of memory to ensure they aren’t forgotten; no wonder my head felt like it was hammered several times.”
“The Ode to Spring Trees contains 40 meditation runes in total, corresponding to the entire apprentice stage—Sorcerer Toyennes really went all out by transferring them all at once.”
“Considering the mental power of an average adult is 1 graduated degree, being able to delineate the first 5 meditation runes indicates a mental power exceeding 2 graduated degrees, entering the realm of a 1st Class apprentice.”
“Outlining the first 10 meditation runes allows for mental power exceeding 3 graduated degrees, equivalent to a 2nd Class apprentice.”
“Outlining the first 20 meditation runes allows for mental power exceeding 6 graduated degrees, reaching a 3rd Class apprentice, with the last 20 runes corresponding to mental power from 6 to 15 graduated degrees.”
Ivan realized a problem, the meditation runes were three-dimensional, and each subsequent one was more complex than its predecessor; the 40th rune was the toughest, making him feel slightly uncomfortable just looking at it, let alone figuring it out.
He reassured himself not to aim too high. The symbols were definitely intended to progress sequentially, and eventually, he would be able to trace the last rune.
As stated in the information, the progress of meditation is linked to the sorcerer’s talent, and intuition is secondary. A 3rd Class talent belongs to the intermediate level, and in the right environment, it would only take about a month to become a 1st Class apprentice. A 2nd Class talent would need about three to four months, and a 1st Class at least half a year.
There was something called the ‘mental power potion’ that could help apprentices accelerate their meditation.
“It should be something like the Breathing Secret Medicine. I shouldn’t hope for this; I don’t even have a single magic stone on me. I’ll just meditate earnestly.”
“Wait, my current mental power is at 1.6 graduated degrees; maybe I won’t need a month.”
Ivan’s spirits lifted as he delved into his mind; the first meditation rune entered his vision, and he meticulously pondered the structure of the rune, trying to meditate and trace it out.
Similar to the principles of painting, everyone can see an object placed there, yet only a few can draw it. Meditation requires even stricter measurements of every part.
Outlining meditation runes was particularly mind-consuming, necessitating breaks in between.
“Done.”
Late at night, Ivan let out a heavy breath, finally having traced the first meditation rune.
[Apothecary Skill: lv3 (6/300)]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv3 (157/300)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv1 (15/100)]
[Meditation Skill: Lv0 (2/10)]
[Runes Skill: Lv0 (1/10)]
A membrane of light showed new changes, adding the [Meditation Skill] and [Runes Skill], with different amounts of Experience Point increase, which he pondered for a moment.
He then checked the attribute panel, with no change in his graduated degrees.
“It’s just the first rune; still a long way to go.” Your journey continues with мѵʟ
After resting for a brief moment, he outlined the first meditation rune again, completing it faster this time.
The next day, when Ivan went to the cafeteria for breakfast, he noticed that everyone else, like him, had donned new apprentice robes.
“How is it?”
“Aren’t they all the same?”
Justine, in a light blue robe, showed off in front of Ivan.
Only the robes of Justine and Charlene were light blue; the boys’ were all gray. Sorcerer Toyennes was quite considerate, making Justine feel valued by the sorcerer.
Justine pouted, “You really don’t know how to talk.”
“I’ve always been this way.”
The cafeteria food was plentiful, including vegetables, fish, bread, desserts, and more, all free as long as you didn’t waste. For the average civilian, it was undoubtedly a dream life.
Back in the dorm, Justine said, “I think the danger might be coming from around the castle, that ruin behind seems suspicious, don’t you think?”
Ivan gently tapped her head, surprised she had changed her mind so soon—could it be that the apprentice robe had bought her off?
“What are you doing?”
Justine stepped back a few steps and watched him warily.
Ivan said, “I’m going to meditate now.”
Justine stood by the door and pleaded, “I know you’re strong; if you hear any noise from my side tonight, you must come and save me. After all, we’re fellow apprentices.”
She was quite afraid of dying, so she played a little trick.
Ivan laughed, “Then let me hear you say ‘Senior Brother’.”
“Senior Brother Ivan, Junior Sister Justine sends her sincerest greetings to you,” Justine, who could say ‘the person who wants to marry Leider,’ was always flexible and now seemed exceptionally docile, “Senior Brother, we had an agreement.”
Watching the closed door, Ivan chuckled quietly to himself.
Sorcerer Toyennes hadn’t assigned any other tasks, so aside from practicing, there were no other trivial matters in the castle, making the days pass easily.
Ivan was busy practicing, including meditation methods and Breathing Methods, while familiarizing himself with Combat Energy and silently learning the knight’s killer move, ‘Bat Ring Dance Stab’.
On the third day of meditating, he conjured the second meditation rune in his mind.
On the sixth day, he conjured the third meditation rune and could simultaneously conjure the first three runes.
While his spiritual power did not increase, his Experience Points in the Academic Prodigy panel improved across subjects.
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv3 (159/300)]
[Meditation Skill: Lv0 (6/10)]
[Runes Skill: Lv0 (3/10)]
By then, he had also mastered the knight’s killer move called Bat’s Eyes—Bat Ring Dance Stab.
This was a particularly skillful stabbing move, good at leveraging and following force, capable of delicately adjusting the move when someone blocked, creating a circular change, and still accurately hitting the target unexpectedly.
It gave him an added confidence.
On the eighth day, it was exceptionally serene within the castle. Ivan continued mulling over the fourth meditation rune; he could now fluently conjure the first three runes in his mind. The effects of the meditation method began to show as his spiritual power increased from 1.6 to 1.7 on the graduated scale.
Soon, he realized the fourth meditation rune was significantly more challenging and time-consuming than the third.
On the morning of the tenth day, a Cloud Fog servant appeared and knocked on every young apprentice’s door.
Different from the previous Cloud Fog servant, the body of the one before them was like confined wind and fog, twice as big as the previous one with distinct facial features and limbs, also appearing quite simple-hearted, but nobody dared to underestimate it.
“Chirp chirp.”
The Cloud Fog servant gestured, conveying a message to everyone – a summoning by Sorcerer Toyennes.
