Three hours later, Dago finally cultivated the "Wizard Universal Meditation Method" to the 9999th stage of transformation.
He started Meditation once again.
A hundred-meter-wide sphere of light floated in the boundless Spiritual Mist, with a churning, pitch-black ocean below.
Just like his first Meditation, countless incandescent light points seeped out from Dago's soul body and merged into the sphere of light, like a platinum crucible suspended in space.
Then, it slowly descended towards the black sea until it stopped at a certain height. The platinum crucible continuously emitted a warm energy in the form of light, flowing into every corner of the Spiritual Space.
Dago could feel the black sea, lingering in the Spiritual Space of his mind, starting to 'gurgle' and emit mist, like water being heated to a boil, forming a thick layer of black misty clouds.
The slowly rotating platinum crucible drew these black clouds into itself, creating a massive vortex within the pitch-black cloud layer.
As the incandescent energy and the pitch-black energy intertwined and influenced each other, they slowly turned gray, and in their rotation, finally transformed into a large amount of gray spiritual power powder that merged into Dago's soul body.
At the same time, in the quiet dormitory.
Dago, sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, suddenly had his wizard's robe blown high up as an invisible and immense force field emerged from his body, lifting him into the air, suspended.
The next second, Dago opened his eyes, and a gray-white halo slowly revolved around them.
Instantly, the entire room suddenly became quiet again.
Dago called up his system panel, wanting to see the changes after the Meditation's transformation.
However, he was slightly stunned the moment he saw the information on the panel.
The "Wizard Universal Meditation Method," which had been stuck at Transformation Level 9999, had transformed into "Dago's Gray Sun Meditation" (Extreme).
Dago softly read the skill name aloud.
After a moment of thought, he descended from the air back onto the bed, closed his eyes, and re-entered his Spiritual Space.
The Gray Sun hung in the vast black clouds, its light like crumpled tin foil, casting mottled cold shadows on the pitch-black ocean.
Dago's soul opened its eyes from the center of the Gray Sun, its curled body stretching out, the contours of its joints still faintly trembling, as if it had just solidified from liquid time.
His soul now possessed a faint sensory ability within the Spiritual Space.
His gaze penetrated the Gray Sun's interior, looking directly down at the pitch-black abyss below. This was the first time he had seriously gazed at this black sea in his Spiritual Space.
In his perception, this was despair itself, older than time, with the sea as its body.
The waves were billions of drowning hands; their impact was not the sound of water, but the muffled thud of all unanswered prayers being crushed.
Those waves never advanced, only churned repeatedly in place, engraving 'futility' into the marrow of every observer.
It had no fixed form, yet it could condense countless overlapping faces at the crest of its waves—the final expressions of the drowned, the blankness of the abandoned, the hollowness of those who had lost their loved ones forever.
These faces changed with the tide, but always kept their pupil-less eyes open, gazing at everything that tried to escape.
Its whispers were hidden in the sound of the tide, not language, but 'cognitive pollution' that directly pierced the consciousness.
It made Dago's soul see the worst outcomes of all choices, made missed moments loop endlessly in his mind, and allowed 'what ifs' to grow into seaweed entwining his heart.
Souls targeted by it would gradually forget the word 'hope,' even forgetting that they once had expectations, eventually willingly drowning in the sea, becoming part of its body.
"At first, this sea almost drowned and swallowed me, but thankfully the system saved me. However, the system is also useless now. The light sphere of the remains has always protected me. I'm really touched to tears."
Dago's soul withdrew its gaze, not daring to carefully stare at the Sea of Despair below any longer. If he continued, he would be polluted into a soul of pure despair and fall into it.
He absorbed the spiritual powder generated within the Gray Sun, continuously completing his soul. The power of despair in the Gray Sun kept increasing, gradually becoming imbalanced, and only then did he reluctantly return to the real world.
In reality, Dago's tightly closed eyes trembled, then opened.
At this moment, Dago felt his brain's processing speed was incredibly fast; in every second, countless inspirations seemed to collide and burst forth.
With the transformation of the Meditation, the quality of his spiritual power improved, becoming more active, even forming a spiritual force field within a range of about one to two meters, allowing him to float and fly freely in the air.
It was foreseeable that his casting speed and the corresponding spell power would also be enhanced accordingly.
Given his current total spiritual power, two Flame Core Air Bullets were no longer an issue, and the duration and power of the activated Ice Crystal Technique were also greatly increased.
More importantly, he gained an incredibly clear and calm brain.
And a more potent mana regeneration ability in combat, equivalent to constantly consuming low-level Mental Potions during a fight.
However, it was regrettable that low-level Mental Potions might no longer be effective for him.
Even so, Dago's mood remained joyful.
These two effects greatly boosted Dago's strength; the former significantly upgraded his combat reactions and ability to handle battle situations.
The latter's role was also crucial, especially for someone like Dago, who had mastered two The Pinnacle of Arts and thus had an exceptionally high demand for spiritual power.
However, after the transformation, the Gray Sun absorbed the mist mixed with black clouds, which contained a large amount of despair. If it was too much, something bad would probably happen. Although he escaped the limitation of soul damage, something even more toxic came along.
"My spiritual power is almost at the standard of a Half-step Formal Witches. I can open Viser's box now."
Dago thought quietly, feeling his vast spiritual power.
What he had to do next was open the box left by the Hailam Wizard Family for Viser and see what was inside.
But for now, his stomach was the priority; it was more important to go to the dining hall to eat first.
Dago tidied his wizard's robe, straightened his appearance, and got up to leave.
The sun was setting in the west, and he slowly walked along the corridor beneath the dormitory building.
Occasionally, he would see young Academy Wizards in their robes walking towards him, each with innocent and pure expressions.
Dago shook his head, thinking about how long these comfortable days could last. Even if the current Dago were to face Flax, he would still be like a fish on a chopping board, at his mercy.
After eating in the Academy's dining hall, he planned to first pay his respects to the Academy Dean, as he still had a reward: the option to become the Dean's disciple.
Even if he didn't plan to become his disciple and completely bind himself to the Academy, he still needed to meet the Dean; it was basic courtesy.
The Academy Dean's residence was not a secret in the Academy. Dago followed the cobblestone path lit by magic stone crystal lamps and soon arrived at a small villa area with a lake, which was the living area for the Academy's high-ranking officials.
There weren't many, perhaps about ten villas built around the lake, mostly two-and-a-half-story brick-and-stone buildings, each with its own independent yard.
And the Dean's villa was naturally in the most scenic spot by the lake, the most beautiful villa, given the level of a Formal Wizard.
Soon, Dago arrived at the villa with a small sign hanging at the door that read 'No. 1'.
It was a small gray-white house with a small garden, where a runic fountain gushed water onto the lawn.
"Is the Dean in? Academy Wizard Dago requests an audience."
Dago glanced inside and called out; most of the small house's windows were lit.
Then he withdrew his gaze and stood obediently at the door.
After a short while, an older, elegant woman opened the garden gate and welcomed him in.
The elegant woman looked at Dago with a smile and said, "I am the Dean's wife. Dean Jodes is already waiting for you in his study inside. You can just follow me."
Dago's appearance was exceptionally outstanding; in the Wizarding World, he was definitely a rare, elegant handsome man.
Naturally, he made the elegant woman look at him a few more times. Dago nodded and made a 'please' gesture, indicating for the Dean's wife to lead the way.
Led by the elegant woman, he soon arrived at a room on the third floor. During this time, he also wondered if the old Dean was still capable, having such a beautiful wife.
Dago had met the Academy Dean before, at the handover ceremony of Rosalind the Witch's ashes.
Pushing open the door, Dago walked in, and the Dean's wife gently closed the door.
He saw an old man with white hair and a white beard engrossed in reading a wizarding book.
However, he did not feel the spiritual force field like a scorching sun, similar to Formal Wizard Flax's, which meant the Dean had restrained his own spiritual force field.
Hearing the sound, Dean Jodes reluctantly put down his book and looked at Dago.
"Dago, you are very good. To have such strength at such a young age, I truly admire you."
Dean Jodes's old but very spirited voice rang out.
"Thank you for your kind words, Dean. I merely worked a bit harder than other wizards."
"Dago, do you want to become my disciple? On the path to becoming a Formal Wizard, one cannot do without a guide."