Chapter 23: Inside the Academy "Tick-tock!! Tick-tock!!"
The floor-standing copper clock in the room had completed more than one full revolution of its hour hand — over an hour had already passed.
"The first
"Finally done analyzing? Begin the transfer!"
During this time, Leilin had also been studying the original Meditation Method manual, but it had proven completely useless.
The Will Rune existed as a three-dimensional construct, its patterns exceedingly complex — not a single step could be wrong.
Representing such a rune in book form not only demanded excellent artistic skill from its creator, but also tested the learner's comprehension ability.
Leilin estimated that an ordinary apprentice would need several full days just to begin understanding a single rune, and only then could they start sketching it out in their mind. For the Chip, it took just a few hours.
"This speed is probably comparable to fifth-rank or even fourth-rank talent!" Leilin quietly estimated.
As the Chip completed the transfer, Leilin fully grasped the structure of the first Will Rune — it was a pattern resembling the letter "A," but without the horizontal stroke in the middle, surrounded by intricate patterns and spiral structures that grew more dizzying the longer one looked at them.
"Begin meditation. First, you must maintain inner purity. Imagine a vast, tranquil lake…"
Leilin slowly closed his eyes.
In the dim room, the young man sat cross-legged with his eyes shut, looking as though he had fallen asleep.
After an unknown stretch of time, a faint point of light seemed to flicker near the young man, then sank into his body and quickly vanished.
Leilin's eyelids fluttered, and he opened his eyes.
"So exhausting! It seems the Meditation Method, like the Knight's Breathing Technique, has a time limit as well! Chip, check my body!"
"Beep! Subject's condition analysis in progress!"
"Subject's brain cell activity has intensified. Vitality of all cells throughout the body has increased!"
"Beep! Subject's constitution has increased by 0.05!"
"Hah… Meditation Method, worthy of being the
"Spirit affects matter! Through practicing the Meditation Method, my constitution is actually beginning to break past its limits!" Lin Lei's expression was complicated, tinged with an indescribable delight.
"According to the literature, after meditation it's best to get some sleep — that gives the best results!"
Lin Lei stripped off his outer clothes, lay down on the bed, and sank into a deep sleep.
"Beep beep!!! Alarm reminder initiated!" The Chip's mechanical voice rang out, pulling Lin Lei from his slumber.
"My alarm time is already here — it passed so quickly!" Lin Lei stretched and saw that the big clock showed half past five.
"Hurry up and get ready! I still need to go see Mentor Guofate!" Lin Lei quickly freshened up, then headed to the dining hall where he wolfed down a piece of white bread for breakfast in just a few bites before rushing to yesterday's laboratory.
"Good day, Mentor!" Lin Lei bowed.
He noticed that beside the white-haired Guofate stood a female apprentice — shapely and quite pretty. She appeared to be the mentor's other student.
"Hmm? You've started attempting the Meditation Method?" Guofate furrowed his brow. "How does it feel?"
"My head hurts, and I'm a bit dizzy!"
"That's a normal aftereffect from the Memory Crystal Ball transmission. Make sure to get plenty of rest recently," Guofate said.
"Come, let me introduce you. This is Biji, my other student. This is Lin Lei, the new apprentice who arrived yesterday!"
"Hello!" Biji curtsied politely.
"Hello!" Lin Lei placed his right hand over his chest, displaying the refined manners of a gentleman.
"Biji is your senior apprentice. Besides the ones who've already completed their training, you also have a senior brother named
"Merlin is known as a once-in-a-century genius in Potionology. He's the one everyone believes is most likely to inherit the mentor's legacy!" Biji added.
"Haha! That's right! Merlin's talent in Potionology is truly outstanding! If any of you have questions you don't understand, you can always ask him!" The moment Merlin was mentioned, a smile bloomed on Guofate's face — clearly, he was very satisfied with this student.
"As for Lin Lei, do you understand my rules yet?"
"I saw it in the mentor selection materials!" Lei Lin nodded.
"Mm! From now on, you're to come here every day — help with the cleaning, organize the medicinal herbs, and when you have free time, you can sit in on the free lectures! As for my special perk, once you've mastered the fundamentals, you can request one piece of paid knowledge from me!"
Guofate spoke matter-of-factly.
"Thank you, Mentor!" Lei Lin quickly bowed. He knew virtually nothing about the world of Wizards right now — even if Guofate told him to pick something, he wouldn't have the slightest idea what was best. Putting off the choice until later would let him maximize the benefit.
"Now, I'm giving you half a day off. Let Biji show you around the academy, and there are certain taboos and forbidden rules — Biji, fill Lei Lin in on those as well!"
"Yes!" Lei Lin and Biji nodded and left the laboratory.
"This area is where the mentors live — apprentices are generally not allowed to enter… This is the trading zone; apprentices can trade with each other here. And this is the mission board — the tasks and their difficulty levels are listed on the stone wall. Apprentices can earn Contribution Points and Magic Stones by taking on missions!"
Biji had a pleasant voice, was quite pretty, and had a lively personality. Being around her naturally lifted Lei Lin's spirits.
The two wandered through the academy while chatting, with Biji mostly acting as Lei Lin's guide, pointing out place names and explaining the various rules and taboos.
Without realizing it, they had strolled into a garden.
"
Voices rang out, drawing Lei Lin's attention. In the middle of the garden, a group of apprentices crowded around a tall, handsome young man, chattering away.
The young man at the center of the crowd had brilliant platinum-white hair and striking green eyes that gave him an almost uncanny charm.
"That's Senior Feile — a genius Wizard! He reached Second-rank Apprentice in just half a year after entering the academy!" Biji's eyes went wide, a radiance Lei Lin had never seen before lighting up her face as she murmured.
"That expression? Looks like Biji has quite a crush on this Feile," Lei Lin thought, rubbing his nose.
"Biji! Biji!"
"Huh… what is it?" Lei Lin had to call her name several times before Biji finally tore her gaze away. By now, there was a visible blush on her cheeks.
"Oh! I just wanted to ask — how come there are so many plants down here underground?"
Lei Lin leaned in and sniffed at a red flower. Its fragrance was rich and heady.
"The academy has transplanted large patches of Sun Moss across the ceiling of the garden zone. This moss emits a light similar to sunlight, so even underground it can sustain plant growth."
Biji explained as she spoke.
"Oh!" Lei Lin nodded, thinking that perhaps he should come here to get some sunlight more often in the future. After all, it wasn't good for a person to never see the sun.
Seeing that Biji seemed reluctant to leave, Lei Lin deliberately pretended to be very interested in the garden, staying until Feile and the other apprentices had gone before finally departing.
However, Biji only dared to steal a couple of glances at Feile, never once mustering the courage to go up and say a few words despite having such a long opportunity. It made Lei Lin roll his eyes — in matters of romance, Biji's personality was probably classified as a rare species within the academy.
"The teaching area posts the next day's course schedule every day. There are many free public lectures here, and as a newcomer, you can't miss any of them!"
After leaving the garden, Biji led Lei Lin to the teaching area and pointed to a large wooden board at the front. Several other grey-robed apprentices were gathered below it, taking notes.
"Free public lectures? So that means there are paid courses as well?" Lei Lin asked.
"That's right! There are paid offerings too — a lot of advanced knowledge. The fee is one Magic Stone per ten class hours. They're more effective than the public lectures, but they're still far short of knowledge taught directly by a mentor!"
Biji smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid the only advantage is that they're relatively cheap!"
Lei Lin nodded. On one side you had a single teacher lecturing dozens of students; on the other, your own mentor teaching you one-on-one. The difference in effectiveness was obvious.
But for him, with the Chip, his learning ability was extremely powerful. Even in a group lecture setting, he was confident he could learn well.
"With this method, I should be able to save some Magic Stones!" Lei Lin stroked his chin.
He only had two Magic Stones left. He had also taken a brief look at the mission area earlier — to earn Magic Stones, you essentially had to take on rather troublesome missions, with a minimum requirement of being a First-rank Apprentice. Lei Lin didn't yet meet that requirement.
"As for things like cleaning and other chores, they've mostly been taken care of by spell servants. The few remaining tasks get snatched up almost instantly — there's no chance for me at all!"
Lei Lin felt a bit troubled. Magic Stones were the universal currency among Wizards and the most common means of acquiring advanced knowledge in the academy. Without Magic Stones, his learning progress would be delayed.
"Alright… I'll finish the public courses first, then advance to First-rank Apprentice. Only after that can I consider taking on missions to earn Magic Stones!"
Lei Lin let out a long breath.
"Chip, how's the academy map recording going?"
"Ding! 66.7% recorded."
The Chip responded, projecting a blue three-dimensional image in front of Lei Lin. Layer after layer of buildings appeared, divided into individual compartments, looking much like a massive underground beehive.
In certain areas, names were also marked, with Biji's annotations written beside them.
Areas free to explore were marked in green, areas with some degree of danger were marked in yellow, and places even Biji couldn't go, the Chip labeled directly in red, representing extreme danger.
As for the red danger zones, Lei Lin planned to avoid them entirely — he wouldn't even bother asking about them until he became a Third-rank Apprentice.
"The map has been fully recorded!" Lei Lin nodded and took his leave of Biji. "Biji, thank you for spending the whole day with me. I've more or less memorized the academy layout!"
"That's good!" Biji fiddled with a small white flower in her hand. "If there's anything you still don't understand, you can always come ask me!"
"Of course!" Lei Lin smiled.
After parting ways with Biji, Lei Lin ate dinner, returned to his room, and began his daily meditation.
A Wizard's meditation was a process of constant perseverance. Only through persistent daily effort could one condense Spiritual Power and become a powerhouse who commanded mysterious forces.
"The Chip is only helpful for understanding the Meditation Method, but tracing the Will Rune in one's mind relies entirely on one's own Spiritual Power. It even involves aspects of the subconscious and aptitude — the Chip isn't of much help in that regard!"
After meditating, sensing that his Spiritual Power had increased by an almost imperceptible sliver, Lei Lin fell into deep thought.