Red Tree Inn, Second Floor Suite
Holding five lesser magic stones in his hand, Lynn slowly closed his eyes and chose to insight-read the complete third-rank apprentice stage of Hossen's Meditation Method.
Before long, he opened his eyes and glanced inward.
[Skill: Hossens Meditation Method · Third Rank Apprentice (Initiated)]
Although the meditation method's proficiency showed no visible change on the light screen, Lynn could feel his understanding of it deepen.
He got up, lit some calming incense, and prepared to begin his first meditation.
Before closing his eyes, however, his gaze fell on the slightly cluttered light screen. With a thought, the Hossen's Meditation Method and White Crow Sword Technique previously listed under "Skills" were moved into a newly created "Techniques" section.
Much better.
Satisfied, Lynn closed his eyes and began to meditate.
Once an apprentice successfully formed their basic meditation rune, they could use meditation to tame and draw in magic power from the outside world, storing it in their abdomen.
This reservoir was the wizard's source of mana, known as the mana vortex.
The key difference between the mana within the vortex and the free-floating magical energy in the world was that the former had been stained by the apprentice's mind, becoming gentle, stable, and perfectly obedient to their will.
Only in this state could magical energy truly be called mana, capable of strengthening the mind or powering spells.
During his past confinement, Lynn had already filled his mana vortex.
Now, all he had to do was follow the meditation method to channel his mana into strengthening his spirit.
Yet after only twenty minutes, his reserves were already exhausted.
He opened his eyes reluctantly. A faint glimmer flashed in his gray pupils the sign of a strengthened spirit.
It's a pity… my mana is still too little.
The amount of mana one could hold was entirely tied to the strength of one's mental power.
Lynn had only just advanced. Though his mental efficiency had greatly improved thanks to the meditation rune, his total mental capacity had not yet increased.
Thus, the mana he could store was still meager.
Shaking his head, Lynn began to restore his mana.
In theory, as long as the meditation rune existed, an apprentice's mana would passively recover at all times.
But this was only a passive effect; active focus was still needed for faster recovery.
It wasn't long before he frowned and opened his eyes.
This is too slow.
Back at the Hossens branch in Emeraldwood City, he hadn't noticed much.
But here, in the Red Tree Inn located in the Wooden House District, the magical energy density was several grades lower than at the school headquarters.
At this rate, it would take over an hour to fully restore his mana.
And that was with the Hossen's Meditation Method's specialty being stability and recovery, which already outperformed ordinary meditation methods.
At least tomorrow, I'll be able to move into my new home with high-grade tier-0 magical energy density…
Incidentally, apart from going to places with denser magical energy, wizards could also restore mana faster by using magic stones.
However, the magic inside stones was especially stable and required a special slow-release magical tool to be usable at least for apprentices like them.
Relaxing his brow, Lynn was about to resume recovering mana when a sudden thought struck him.
He lowered his gaze to his chest.
After breaking through to the second layer of the White Crow Sword Technique, a special cluster of magical energy had formed there, powering the technique's air-manipulating effects.
Strictly speaking, this White Crow mana cluster functioned much like the mana vortex in his abdomen.
The difference was that the mana in the vortex had been fully refined into true mana, which could strengthen the spirit and cast spells—
Whereas the cluster in his chest was still raw, unrefined magical energy, usable only for driving air currents.
Realization dawned. Lynn quickly grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down two lines:
Mana Vortex - For casting spells.
White Crow Mana Cluster - For generating sharp air currents along the blade.
It was obvious… the underlying principle behind the two was the same!
Lynn's heart suddenly began to pound.
Right now, the White Crow mana cluster had only one function: to coat the blade in a razor-sharp air current.
But that didn't mean it would always remain so limited.
If he could find a way to use the White Crow mana cluster to cast other spells, it would be the same as gaining an additional mana vortex!
That would be an enormous advantage.
Because more mana meant more opportunities to cast spells!
And not just one extra mana vortex… When the second layer of the White Crow Sword Technique was trained to perfection, he could also form four small mana clusters, one at each elbow and knee.
All told, that would be five extra mana vortices.
Even if their combined capacity might not equal the original vortex, the potential was tremendous.
Lynn put away the pen and paper, feeling a touch of awe.
He had thought the White Crow Sword Technique was nothing more than a crude bit of otherworldly knowledge, yet it had already surprised him more than once.
Of course, Lynn knew this was also thanks to his Insight talent.
Without it, forget about dreaming of extra mana vortices; he probably wouldn't have been able to modify the White Crow Sword Technique to suit Guern practitioners at all.
So now, the key to refining the White Crow Sword Technique is finding a way to use the White Crow mana cluster to cast more spells!
With that in mind, Lynn recalled the low-grade zero-ring spell he had received from the school.
Small Wind Shield.
It also manipulated air currents, so perhaps it could be the breakthrough he needed.
"Small Wind Shield: A low-grade zero-ring spell that creates a half-meter-wide vortex of air within a three-meter sphere centered on the caster's brow, for defense.
Effective against most attacks, especially poisonous mists, arrows, and other ranged strikes…"
Sitting at the table, Lynn began carefully studying the first spell he had ever learned.
Perhaps because the White Crow Sword Technique operated on a similar principle, his progress with Small Wind Shield was unusually smooth. Much of it he understood at a glance, and when he didn't, a little study paired with recalling the feel of performing the sword technique was enough to break through.
He quickly lost himself in the work, and only when Giggs knocked on his door the next day at noon did he pull free from that tranquil focus.
"Lynn, I hate to interrupt, but it's already midday. You reminded me yesterday, today we need to move into your new home, and there's also that business matter…"
"Coming," Lynn replied, rising with a heart full of satisfaction.
At this pace, even without Insight, I could master Small Wind Shield in just a few days!
Pity I have to deal with errands first.
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