Chapter 23 – Within The Academy Compounds
Within The Academy Compounds
“Tick Tock! Tick Tock!”
The hands of the bronze clock in the room swivelled around once more, as another hour passed.
[The first mind rune has been analysed, start transmitting or not?] The A.I. Chip prompted.
“Has it finally been analysed? Begin transmission!”
In this period of time, Leylin had also been studying the blueprints of the meditation technique, but it was to no avail.
The mind rune appeared as a 3D image and the patterns inside were extremely complicated, with no room for errors.
To display this image in book form, not only would the author need to have outstanding training in the fine arts, but the reader’s comprehension skills would also be put to the test.
Leylin estimated that regular acolytes would need to spend a good number of days to even begin to understand a single mind rune, before starting to construct them in their brains. However, with the A.I. Chip, it was done in a matter of hours.
“This pace may very well be comparable to a fourth or fifth-grade acolyte!” Leylin estimated.
After the A.I. Chip’s transmission, Leylin had already completely comprehended the structure of the first mind rune. It was in the shape of an ‘A’, without the horizontal line in the middle, and was filled with patterns and helixes, making one dizzy the more they looked at it.
“To begin the meditation, I must first have peace of mind and imagine a serene lake……”
Leylin slowly closed his eyes.
In the dimly lit room, the youth sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, as if he was in a slumber.
After an unknown period of time, there were a few spots of lights flickering in the youth’s surroundings. They entered the body of the youth, and very soon they disappeared.
Leylin’s eyelids fluttered, and he opened his eyes.
“So tiring! It seems like the meditation technique and a Knight’s breathing technique is the same, there is a time limit! A.I. Chip! Check my body’s status!”
[Beep! Scanning the Host’s body!] [The Host’s brain cells have been stimulated, and all of the cells in the body have increased in activity as a whole!] [Beep! The Host’s vitality has increased by 0.05!] [Oh…… Meditation techniques, there’s no doubt that they are cultivation techniques for Magi. I can feel that the key purpose of this meditation technique is to increase the spiritual force, and the increase in vitality is only an added benefit.”
“The spiritual force affects my stats! After practicing the meditation technique, my vitality has actually started to exceed my previous limit!” Leylin’s expression was complex, and there was an indescribable joy in his heart.
“According to the introduction in the data, sleeping right after meditation will provide the most optimal effects!”
Leylin stripped his outer robes, laid on the bed, and then entered into a deep sleep.
[Beep Beep! The alarm is ringing!] The A.I. Chip’s voice rang and brought Leylin out from his sleep.
“It is already the time that I set my alarm for, time really passes quickly!” Leylin stretched lazily and saw that the clock showed the time as 5:30.
“I’d better hurry up and tidy up! I still need to see mentor Kroft!” Leylin washed up quickly, went to the dining hall and gobbled down a bread for his breakfast, and then rushed to the experiment lab from yesterday.
“Good morning Sir!” Leylin greeted.
He noticed a female acolyte beside the white haired Kroft. She had fine curves and looked beautiful, and seemed to be another apprentice of the professor.
“Hm? You attempted the meditation technique?” Kroft furrowed his brows, “How did it feel?”
“My head ached, and I felt a little dizzy!”
“This is a common aftereffect of the transmission from the memory crystal ball; you just need to get more rest during this period!” Kroft said.
“Come, let me introduce you! This is Bicky, my other apprentice. This is Leylin, the new acolyte from yesterday!”
“Hi!” Bicky bowed, giving a virtuous greeting.
“Hello!” Leylin placed his right arm on his chest and displayed the elegance of a noble.
“Bicky is your senior, besides her, you also have another senior called Merlin. His Potioneering skills are excellent!” Kroft said to Leylin.
“Merlin has been called a once-in-a-century genius of Potioneering, and is regarded as the most likely successor of our mentor!” Bicky added.
“Haha! Indeed! Merlin has shown outstanding talent in Potioneering! If there is anything you don’t understand, you may seek his help!” Once he mentioned Merlin, Kroft’s face revealed a smile, and he seemed extremely satisfied with that student of his.
“So Leylin, are you familiar with my rules?”
“I have seen them when going through the professor requirements during the selection of mentors!” Leylin nodded.
“Okay! From now on, you have to come here every day and help with the cleaning up, but you may go listen to the free lessons during breaks! As for the benefit of being under me, which is receiving information on a topic, you can choose and ask me after learning the basics!”
Kroft said.
“Thank you, Sir!” Leylin hurriedly bowed. Right now, he had no inkling whatsoever about the Magus world, so even if Kroft wanted him to choose, he would not know which was best. It was only right to choose at a later time when he could reap the most benefits.
“Right now, I will give both of you half a day’s break. Let Bicky accompany and show you around the academy. Bicky, tell him about the few restrictions!”
“Yes!” Leylin and Bicky nodded their heads and left the laboratory.
“This is the residence of the professors, acolytes usually aren’t allowed to enter……This is the trading post, where acolytes can make transactions with others. And here, we have the mission area. The different missions and levels will be written on this stone wall. acolytes can complete these missions and obtain contribution points and magic crystals!”
Bicky’s voice was extremely pleasing to the ears, and she was beautiful too. Her personality was also lively. Leylin’s mood improved a lot by spending time with her.
The two of them strolled through the academy. It was mostly Bicky leading Leylin around, as she spoke of a few places and restrictions along the way.
Unknowingly, the two of them walked into a garden.
“Fayle, well done!” “Good, once more!”
The sound of voices caught Leylin’s attention. In the middle of the garden, a group of acolytes were standing around a large, sturdily-built youth and chatting continuously.
In the centre of the crowd was a youth with a bright silver hair, with dark green eyes, and he seemed to have some sort of strange charisma.
“That is senior Fayle. He’s a genius; he became a level 2 acolyte just half a year after entering the academy!” Bicky’s eyes were widened, and her face shone radiantly as she muttered.
“This expression? It seems like Bicky has a good impression of this Fayle!” Leylin rubbed his nose.
“Bicky! Bicky!”
“Ah……What is it?” Only after Leylin called out to her several times did Bicky avert her gaze. At this moment, her face was a little flushed.
“Oh! I wanted to ask, why are there so many plants here underground!”
Leylin sniffed a red flower; the flower had a strong fragrance.
“There are huge patches of sunlight moss on the roof of the gardens, and these mosses can emit a light similar to sunrays, hence plants can also grow underground in here.”
Bicky explained.
“Oh!” Leylin nodded his head and wondered if he should come here more often in the future to bask in the sunlight since being exposed to more sunlight was not bad for a person after all.
Seeing Bicky’s reluctance to leave, Leylin purposely pretended to have a strong interest in the garden, until Fayle and the others left.
Only, Bicky would only glance at Fayle secretly, although she did not muster any courage to walk up to greet him even after such a long while. This made Leylin roll his eyes, as Bicky’s attitude towards romance can be considered rare in this academy.
“The academic area will often post the following day’s class schedule, and there are many free and public lessons to choose from. As a newbie, you cannot afford to miss these!”
After leaving the garden, Bicky brought Leylin to the academic area, and pointed to a large wooden board. In front of it were many other acolytes who were taking down notes.
“Free public lessons? That means there are lessons which one must pay for?” Leylin asked.
“That’s right! There are lessons which have fees, and many advanced topics charge 1 magic crystal for 10 lessons. Although they are much better than public lessons, they are still somewhat inferior to the knowledge given by our own mentors!”
Bicky smiled a little bitterly, “I’m afraid the only advantage is them being less expensive!”
Leylin nodded. On one side, there was a professor teaching dozens of students, while the other was an individual lesson, the advantages between the two are definitely different.
However, he had the A.I. Chip, so his learning capability was outstanding. He was confident that he would do well even in a large class.
“With this method, I can definitely save some magic crystals!” Leylin stroked his chin.
He only had two magic crystals left. Earlier, when he was in the mission area, he saw that the missions that awarded magic crystals generally had more troublesome tasks and required one to be a level 1 acolyte at least. Right now, Leylin did not meet the requirements.
“As for the cleaning tasks, they are all done by those spell slaves, and the rest are all snatched by others. There is simply no place for me!”
Leylin was a little frustrated. magic crystals were the currency among Magi and were also the most common way to obtain greater knowledge in the academy. Without magic crystals, his studies would be hindered.
“Hm…… I had better attend those public classes first and advance to a level 1 acolyte. After that, I’ll consider taking up missions to earn some magic crystals!”
Leylin sighed.
“A.I. Chip, how is the mapping of the academy?”
[Beep! 66.7% has been mapped]
The A.I. Chip replied. In front of Leylin was a blue image, each layer of the buildings was displayed and divided into multiple parts, and it looked like a beehive.
Some areas even had names attached, with Bicky’s explanation for them on the side.
The areas that could be entered freely were marked in green, while the dangerous areas were in yellow. As for the areas that even Bicky did not dare enter, the A.I. Chip indicated them in red, representing extreme danger.
For those red coloured danger zones, Leylin decided to walk around them. He even decided not to ask about them before becoming a level 3 acolyte.
“The mapping has been recorded!” Leylin nodded his head and said farewell to Bicky, “Bicky, thank you for accompanying me for a day, I remember most of the important areas of the academy now!”
“That’s great!” Bicky played with the little white flower in her hands, “If there are any things that you don’t understand, you can ask me!”
“Of course!” Leylin gave a small smile.
After bidding farewell to Bicky, Leylin ate his dinner and went back into his room. He began to practice the meditation technique.
A Magus’s meditation is a continuous journey, only with daily devotion and perseverance, can one achieve enough spiritual force to become a being that can control mysterious powers.
“The A.I. Chip is only useful for analysing the meditation technique. As for the creation of the mind runes, it was completely dependent on my own spiritual force, and it also relied a little on my comprehension and aptitude. In these areas, the A.I. Chip was not much help!”
After meditating, Leylin felt his spiritual force increase by another tiny sliver, and then he entered into a deep slumber.