My health recovery is incredibly fast.

She pointed to the chair opposite the desk, "Sit down first, wait for me a moment."

About 10 minutes passed.

Beatrice placed the pen on the pen holder and looked at her student, saying:

"Are you feeling unwell at all? Are you still a little tired after two nights of sleep?"

Xia Zuo knew that his mentor was asking about the severity of the side effects of the [Poisonous Crystal] meditation method.

He also knew that his mental state and healthy complexion could not escape the other party's perception.

"I don't feel unwell, and my energy is good. There's been no change since before," Xia Zuo said sincerely.

"Hmm~ That's good. Willpower is hard to measure; you can only rely on yourself to control it. Containing the obedient element with a highly toxic elemental crystal was somewhat difficult for you, but thankfully you pulled through."

Beatrice reached out to the bookshelf against the wall, and a heavy book floated over:

"Since the Temple of the Mage permitted the promotion of the meditation method of [Highly Toxic Crystals]."

"A total of 1712 people successfully contained a small, obedient elemental during their first training session using the [Poisonous Crystal] meditation method."

“Once I record your meditation process and send it to the Temple of the Mage, you will be the 1713th person.”

Beatrice turned to a blank page in the book, uncapped the fountain pen, and said:

"There is no concept of time when you meditate. So just describe the general process, how your soul felt, and what countermeasures you took."

Xia Zuo remained completely calm in the face of his mentor's questions.

From the moment he summoned his mentor yesterday afternoon, he had been considering every possible way to give himself away.

Creating a flawless meditation process is just one key point.

Xia Zuo paused for a few seconds to gather his thoughts, and then calmly and slowly recounted his meditation process.

Beatrice manipulated the pen to write words while rubbing her chin, imagining the scene as the other person spoke.

She also asked some detailed questions based on her own meditation experience.

E.g.

When the soul feels some pain, is it intermittent or continuous, maintaining the same level of pain?

Xia Zuo answered these questions frankly.

Half an hour later.

Beatrice put down her pen, turned several dozen pages, and said:

"Based on your description of the meditation process, and considering your good recovery ability, I'll be the last mage apprentice in a similar situation to you."

"Yes, that's him."

Beatrice stopped turning the page, tapped a page with her fingertip, and dictated the words on it:

"That mage apprentice, like you, has a strong will and an extraordinary ability to recover his physical strength. 21 years ago, when he first practiced meditation, he used the [Poisonous Crystal] meditation method to contain a small water elemental with the [Surging] property."

“However, he is not a student of poison alchemy, nor does he have the help of a master-level elemental vial.” Beatrice looked up and said, then looked down again to read the words on the page:

"By the time the Mage Temple inspection team came last time, this mage apprentice, whose situation was similar to yours, had successfully been promoted to a formal mage."

According to his own account, during his apprenticeship as a mage, he used the [Poisonous Crystal] meditation method to contain a total of four small elements, one each of fire, water, wind, and earth.

"I think his experience can be a reference for you."

"As long as you use the [Poisonous Crystal] meditation method to contain no more than 4 small elements, there shouldn't be any trouble."

Xia Zuo nodded, secretly praising Beatrice's sense of responsibility as a mentor. "Thank you, Professor. I'll remember that. Four. I won't easily exceed that number."

"Well, you can decide the exact number yourself. Your safety comes first."

Beatrice closed the book, paused for a moment, and said:

"The elemental toxin you used earlier was provided free of charge by the academy. As for the elemental toxins you need later... I haven't figured out how to give them to you yet."

"These precious materials, essential for practicing meditation, are found in one or two types in every discipline, like the elixir of life or the elemental bottle."

"Moreover, these materials are also what is needed for various alchemy disciplines to advance to the master level."

"Normally, you should be able to exchange points for elemental toxins. But poison alchemy is a special case. It has the fewest participants, the meditation method is incomplete, and the side effects are significant."

Beatrice rested her head on the armrest of the chair, lost in thought.

Xia Zuo waited quietly opposite her, also lost in his own thoughts.

Beatrice mentioned that elemental toxins are what's needed to advance to the Master-level Poison Alchemist.

Xia Zuo's first thought was that the master-level advancement test was to research out the formula for the elemental toxin.

If that's the case, wouldn't it be possible to openly and legitimately crack the formula for elemental toxins in the future?!

Beatrice stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment before saying:

"Here's what we'll do. I'll leave this matter to Professor Kurov and his toxicology teacher to decide, since it's more closely related to toxicology and alchemy. Whenever you need elemental toxins in the future, just go directly to Professor Kurov."

“Yes, Professor,” Xia Zuo nodded.

Beatrice snapped her fingers, and the heavy books on the table flew back to the bookshelf.

"Give me your pendant, and I'll get you a new one."

Beatrice took the old pendant from the student, and after the student put on the new pendant, she took out a box of light blue potion and handed it to him.

"This is a diluted concentration potion. Take it before bed from now on. Replace your nightly sleep with meditation. This diluted concentration potion is provided free of charge by the academy. You can get another box from me when you run out."

After the students put the medicine boxes into their bags, she waved for them to follow her, saying as she walked:

“Starting from the apprenticeship stage of a mage, you will take an additional course called Spell Science.”

"This course will teach you how to cast spells correctly and teach you some spells that every mage apprentice must learn."

"Let's go to the spell training room in the tower."

Chapter 9 Spell Training (Two-in-One)

A spacious training room.

Bright sunlight streamed down from the glass windows in the ceiling, casting several square beams of light onto the smooth wooden floor.

Xia Zuo had been to this training room during the class where he learned about the academy's meditation method.

Beatrice walked toward the training field in the center of the training room. As she passed, the wall lamps lit up one by one.

A small wisp of silver sand drifted onto the glass window, blocking some of the sunlight and making the light in the practice room more even, no longer as dazzling as before.

"Come on, stand next to me."

Beatrice crossed her arms and looked at the students beside her, saying:

"Before we officially begin the course on spellcasting, we'll use the [Floating] trait element to test your spellcasting talent. Follow my instructions."

"Yes, Professor."

Beatrice held up one finger in front of her:

"You need to enter a shallow meditation while standing. This is the first hurdle in casting spells."

"It's difficult, and you should know why. Once you enter a shallow level of meditation, your consciousness's control over your body weakens considerably, and you might sway and fall to the ground."

"In short, you need to keep the part of your consciousness that is in the body in a good balance and not interrupt the state of shallow meditation."

Xia Zuo took a deep breath and nodded, a serious expression on his face.

In order to cast spells and become a true mage, he diligently studied books, memorized knowledge, and improved his mental attribute value to reach the minimum threshold for a mage apprentice.

By mastering the ocean of the soul and spirit, the docile element of the "floating" quality was successfully contained using basic meditation techniques.

During this process, not a single free attribute point was used.

It was all earned through my own hard work.

It's time to truly experience what it feels like to cast a spell.

Xia Zuo squinted, staring intently at the target directly in front of him.

Before long, he felt an extremely calm state of mind take over.

His face was expressionless, and he remained extremely calm.

Beatrice had witnessed Shazo entering a shallow meditative state dozens of times, and she was all too familiar with his current expression.

At this moment, Beatrice raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, a hint of emotion appearing on her pretty face, as if she was somewhat surprised that he was able to maintain his balance on his first attempt.

After confirming several times that the other person's body was completely still, Beatrice said in the softest voice:

"In the ocean of your mind, there is a small element with the quality of 'floating'."

"Now, you need to imagine the [floating] texture in your mind and communicate with this little element in a state of shallow meditation."

"I know you haven't yet mastered the language of elemental patterns. But believe in yourself; the patterns you create by relaxing your mind and unleashing your imagination are definitely correct."

"Because this pattern is deeply etched into the ocean of your spirit."

Relax your mind and unleash your imagination.

Xia Zuo let his thoughts drift freely in his mind, outlining complex and mysterious patterns.

Circle after circle, horizontal line after vertical line...

Even Xia Zuo himself didn't know if he could draw the same route when he tried to use the fantasy pattern again.

Beatrice's gentle voice came again:

"If you think the imagined pattern is fine, raise your right hand, palm facing forward, gaze into the air in front of you and silently say 'float'."

"This is the most primitive method of spellcasting, an excellent choice for testing spellcasting talent."

Xia Zuo nodded expressionlessly, slowly raised his right hand, and silently recited as his lips moved:

"Floating".

An inexplicable fluctuation emanated from his palm, colliding with the air in which his gaze was focused, and a subtle breeze drifted forward.

"Huh?" Xia Zuo was taken aback, snapping out of his shallow meditation.