11 Meditation
Chapter 11 Meditation
Jasmine didn't wander around for long.
Less than an hour later, she returned to the library to continue her studies.
However, the differences in their thinking and behavior were already apparent.
They stayed in the library until evening, then went to the cafeteria for dinner before parting ways and returning to their dormitories.
Link returned to his dormitory, rested briefly, and used his "Brain Lockdown Technique" to enter his mental palace and organize his day's learning before getting up to shower.
After changing into his pajamas, and since it was still early, Link went to his study and skimmed through the four books he hadn't read during the day before going to bed.
The next day, Link woke up early again.
After washing up, he took his books, pen, notebook, and personal smart device, ate breakfast in the cafeteria, and went to the teaching building where his classes were scheduled for the day.
During this time, as agreed before parting the previous night, Link sent Jasmine a message through his smart device, asking her to join him.
But Jasmine didn't reply, and Link didn't mind. He found the classroom and sat down in the middle of the second row, reserving a seat for Jasmine with his books and his personal smart device.
Jasmine arrived late, only arriving ten minutes before class started.
...
Two weeks flew by.
Link's life was extremely monotonous but fulfilling.
He went back and forth between his dormitory, the cafeteria, the teaching building, and the library every day. Apart from that, he neither explored the academy's campus nor participated in the recreational activities organized by the new students he was gradually getting to know, nor did he deliberately try to build connections. At most, when he was tired, he would log into the "forum" on his smart device to relax.
Hmm...
It was Jasmine who discovered and told Link about the "forum" function.
Jasmine's life was much richer.
She mastered the balance between studying and entertainment very well. In her spare time, she would go to the library with Link to read books, and she would also participate in recreational activities and make friends.
Jasmine, born into a noble family, was naturally gifted in social interaction from a young age.
Soon, a small circle formed around Jasmine and several other newcomers with similar noble backgrounds from the Storm Sea islands.
Link privately advised Jasmine to focus more on her studies, but seeing that she didn't seem to care and still managed to dedicate her daily study time, he didn't say anything more.
Everyone has their own way of living, and everyone is responsible for their own choices.
However, alas…
the junior academy of the Rivosos Biological and Medical Academy was divided into two campuses: the newcomers from the various islands of the Storm Sea were in the south campus, while the local apprentices from the west coast of the main continent were in the north campus.
There was very little, almost no, interaction between the two sides.
The underlying implications, combined with the agreement that the newcomers were required to sign, were chilling to contemplate.
To avoid becoming a slave, Link chose to abandon entertainment and study relentlessly.
…
Effort eventually paid off.
While most of the newcomers couldn't even manage the first hurdle of meditation, "gathering distracting thoughts," Link was already prepared for his first formal meditation session.
Meditation has three stages.
The first stage is to clear your mind of distractions, empty your brain, and focus your attention without any extraneous thoughts.
Link could do this immediately after using the "Occupy Mind" learning card, let alone after he had mastered "Occupy Mind" to its highest level.
The second stage is to capture mental energy. Mental energy is formless and intangible, scattered and wandering. It is extremely difficult to control mental energy and condense it into threads or lines.
When Link was in the Occlumency stage, where he could freely fake memories, he had already achieved complete control over his mental energy.
The third challenge was to open his Sea of Consciousness and construct runes.
The term "Sea of Consciousness" is Link's own translation. Wizards called it the Ocean of Mental Energy, but Link found it too long and cumbersome, so he translated it as "Sea of
Consciousness." The Sea of Consciousness is the location of the temple of thought, situated three inches inward between the eyebrows, a place that is both real and illusory.
Constructing runes was the real obstacle standing in Link's way.
Through studying Runeology, Link learned that runes are mainly divided into three categories: Will Runes, Element Runes, and Rule Runes.
The structure of each rune, whether Will Rune, Element Rune, or Rule Rune, is extremely complex and three-dimensional.
The essence of meditation is to use threads condensed from mental energy to construct Will Runes and Element Runes in the Sea of Consciousness, and then connect the constructed runes into specific shapes, forming a cycle.
Depending on the meditation method, the will runes and elemental runes that need to be constructed will also differ, as will their shapes and cycles.
The academy distributes targeted meditation methods based on the new students' wizarding aptitude.
After completing the course "Overview of Mental Power and Meditation," Link went to the library to retrieve his copy of "Water and Wood Mutual Generation Meditation Method." After
repeatedly reading and contemplating it, confirming that he had fully mastered the first level of the meditation method—the initial stage applicable to mortals to third-tier wizarding apprentices—Link prepared for his first formal meditation. In his
dormitory, in his study ,
Link sat cross-legged on the floor, adopting a posture of facing upwards, calming his mind, and fully activating "Brain Lockdown."
Within his sea of consciousness, the mental palace disappeared, returning to its original state when it was first opened.
Without a frame of reference, unaware of up, down, left, or right, he felt lost and indistinct.
Tranquility and silence seemed to be the eternal theme of his sea of consciousness.
After a long while, a spark appeared.
The formless and intangible spiritual power, under the "burning" of the equally formless and intangible "fire of divine thought," condensed into threads, which then intertwined into a single line.
The thread moved, following a specific trajectory, constructing a complex, layered three-dimensional structure within the vast sea of consciousness.
This three-dimensional structure was a rune of will, the core of the first level of the "Water and Wood Mutual Generation Meditation Method," its main function being to generate spiritual power and increase its quantity.
The newly constructed rune appeared extremely ethereal and was not yet imprinted on the sea of consciousness.
Link controlled the threads of spiritual power, repeating the construction process again and again.
The rune gradually solidified from ethereal to tangible.
After an unknown period of time, the rune finally took root and was imprinted on the sea of consciousness.
As long as Link himself did not destroy it, or it was not subjected to a powerful attack from external spiritual power, the rune would exist permanently, undeniably real.
During this process, the highest level of "Brain Closure Technique" played a crucial role, providing Link with immense assistance.
It can be said that Link's successful construction of a Will Rune on his first meditation attempt was largely due to the "Brain Lock Technique"!
Link pressed on, creating a water elemental convergence rune and a wood elemental convergence rune in succession.
Then, using the derived rune as the apex, the water elemental convergence rune as the left base angle, and the wood elemental convergence rune as the right base angle, he connected the three runes, forming an equilateral triangle.
The first level of the *Water and Wood Mutual Generation Meditation Method* was thus completed!
From then on, Link was a genuine wizard apprentice.
Hmm…
a first-class wizard apprentice who hadn't mastered any magic.