Chapter 54: 54

Chapter 54: The Wand Is Complete

After all, Basic Meditation LV10 was different from Basic Meditation LV1. LV10 allows meditators to clearly distinguish each element, while those at LV1 could only vaguely perceive the amalgamated elements.

For others, meditation would proceed progressively in stages, but Xiao Lin had experienced LV10 Basic Meditation. Even though it lasted for only three minutes, it etched a lasting and unforgettable impression on his mind.

It was analogous to a top master who suddenly lost all of his martial arts skills and became a beginner again. His experience would surely allow him to practice faster than other beginners. One could say that Xiao Lin’s current situation was akin to that example.

If other people meditated by trial-and-error while groping around in the dark, then Xiao Lin’s meditation realm already had a beacon of light. Trial-and-error was unnecessary; all he had to do was move straight toward an already clear end goal.

Xiao Lin might not have realized it, but as an SS-level talent, his Academic Genius conferred a huge advantage that was slowly beginning to manifest.

After the lesson ended, Xiao Lin’s meditation had increased by 30 XP. It was now Basic Meditation LV1: 80/100.

The speed at which that happened shocked him, even with his 100% efficiency. He had only meditated for an hour, while a genius like Gu Xiaoyue needed two lessons to upgrade her Basic Meditation to LV2. At that speed, Xiao Lin felt that he was not much different from Gu Xiaoyue.

As the students left the meditation room, they unwittingly exchanged their meditation experience with each other. Xiao Lin walked behind and listened silently. He was rather surprised to discover that everyone’s meditation realm was actually very different.

For example, after Xiao Lin entered meditation, the realm he perceived was a starry sky similar to a galaxy, where the elements were just like the stars in the sky.

Not everyone’s meditation realm was the same—some saw the ocean, the sky, a forest, a desert, or sometimes just a dark hut.

Teacher Li Meiling mentioned that meditation was a manifestation of one’s personal consciousness. There were a thousand different interpretations of Hamlet by a thousand different readers, and the same principle applied to meditation. Different people had different consciousness, and it was only natural for them to have a different concept of elemental microcosms.

The Lolita explained meditation from its definition and concept, but she never mentioned a single word about the specific process. It was not that she was incompetent, but rather, her own meditation experience may not be suited for others.

Xiao Lin somewhat understood why spell courses were more difficult to learn than melee courses, and why the number of mages was far less than actual warriors. Such conceptual consciousness was undoubtedly several times more difficult than combat training with real weapons.

“Mages and magic are just so cool!” Xiao Lin could not help but exclaim as he looked at the red sunset.

…

Nothing out of the ordinary happened during the second week of lessons and everything was basically the same as the previous week. In other words, the freshmen were still building their foundation, so it was unrealistic to teach them anything too advanced.

The compulsory courses and melee courses did not change much, but there was additional weight training for their Basic Fitness lesson. In particular, everyone realized a significant drop in the rate at which their XP increased after their level of fitness had improved. It was very similar to Basic Swordsmanship in that it was difficult to maintain those same training methods if one wanted to raise one’s basic skills to the maximum level.

Therefore, their Basic Fitness class started with weight training. Xiao Lin’s Basic Fitness had reached LV2, and his physical fitness had improved to five points. It was nowhere near outstanding, but it could just barely keep up with the level of most ordinary people. The most noticeable change that Xiao Lin sensed was a decrease in his belly fat.

Of course, he also knew that the amazing result owed much more to the therapeutic effect of the hybrid iron comb chicken.

Xiao Lin took the initiative to propose doubling weight training during the class, but the response was very lukewarm because his fitness was completely depleted about halfway through the lesson. Xiao Lin left the training hall and went to the classroom for Basic Perception, and no one stopped him because of his relationship with Department Head Song.

Afternoon classes lasted for four hours, but Xiao Lin only used two for each class. With the help of his Academic Genius talent, the effects of his training were at least on par with everyone else. It was advantageous for him because it allowed him to continue his magic-martial arts dual cultivation.

The Basic Perception class continued to develop the students’ hit rate, but no one knew how to use magic at that stage. Those who had a novice wand ran out of juice fairly quickly and were unable to cast energy bombs, just as Lu Renjia mentioned.

Once theoretical knowledge for perception was completed, Xiao Lin’s basic perception had reached LV1. From then on however, leveling up necessitated the use of spells. Doing so would also accelerate the rate at which the students could increase their meditation level, as did their Basic Focus lesson during the same week. Most of the time, spell-related courses were for students to conduct their meditation training.

Xiao Lin’s elective was Basic Body Technique and he also went for class that week. It was a course that mainly cultivated agility, comprising physical flexibility, physical coordination, and control. The basic lesson was also very simple, and most of the content was familiar training. For example, quick-walking on a balance beam, standing on a balance board, making a perfect landing after doing a trampoline jump, and so on. They were not difficult, but they were still strenuous if one wanted to properly execute them.

If spells relied on intelligence, then close combat relied on physical fitness and strength. Agility comprised a blend of auxiliary attributes, which was why many did not value it that highly and chose not to take it.

Xiao Lin’s after-school life did not change much either. In addition to checking the forum at night, he also started doing meditation training in his dormitory, though the efficiency of his meditation was severely reduced because of the daytime fatigue and the fact that he was not inside the dedicated meditation room. Even so, the passive effect of his Academic Genius talent narrowly made up for those deficiencies.

Over the weekend, Xiao Lin received a reply from Lu Renjia, saying that the new ice bullet wand he ordered was successfully completed. Following their agreed-upon location, he went to the third-year’s dormitory building, though was unable to enter because he did not have enough authority. As a result, he could only wait at the entrance.

Some suspicion was aroused when a boy in a green freshman uniform came out on patrol in front of the third-year dormitory building. It was not until Lu Renjia hurried out that the passersby felt at ease. Lu Renjia specialized in providing weapons to the freshmen and was considered something of a celebrity among the juniors.

Lu Renjia was very young, and seemed to be younger than Xiao Lin, even though he was in his third-year. Nevertheless, there was no specific age limit for enrolling into Dawn Academy.

Lu Renjia had tousled hair, gold spectacles with thick lenses, and had two dark circles under his eyewear. Xiao Lin sensed the familiar traces of an otaku on the guy.