My health recovery is incredibly fast.

"Promise me, okay?"

Xia Zuo lowered his head, gently tapped the other person's forehead, and solemnly said, "Okay, I promise you."

He picked up the menu on the table and waved it around. "Let's have dinner."

"Hmm~ Just order me a steak with vegetable soup. I'm going to get my drink."

Anru smiled, stood up and walked towards the large round table in the center of the restaurant.

Xia Zuo stared blankly at her retreating figure.

The school provides excellent and nutritious meals, which contribute to the rapid physical development of students.

Two years ago, when I first met Anruer, she was slender and dragged a heavy suitcase onto the carriage heading to the academy. Now, she has grown into a healthy, slim woman with a noticeable figure.

His mental age has also grown considerably, and he has become much more mature and composed.

Anru walked over from the direction of the large round table with a drink in hand, and Xia Zuo's gaze remained fixed on her.

They have indeed grown a lot.

...

the next day.

In the morning, Xia Zuo was in the large alchemy room refining Black Eye Poison and its second refined powder.

In the afternoon, he went to his tutor's study for class.

At the same time yesterday, Beatrice introduced the overview of the meditation method at Starry Night Academy.

Today is the formal Advanced Level Poison Alchemy course.

Beatrice sat behind her desk, took out several textbooks from a drawer and handed them to the students opposite her, then began to explain the knowledge in a friendly voice. The shifting silver sand beside her transformed into a blackboard.

A skilled poison alchemist must master 20 new poison recipes, 10 antidote recipes for common deadly poisons, and the thought process behind creating antidotes.

Besides that, the highlight of the proficient level is the removal of the poison's effects.

Beatrice knew that Xia Zuo had an exceptional memory, so during class she deliberately skipped the easier parts and focused on explaining the most difficult parts.

The class continued until before dinner.

Xia Zuo, carrying a heavy schoolbag, went to the terrace outside the corridor to breathe in the evening air.

The advanced level of knowledge is significantly more difficult than the beginner level. After an afternoon of cramming, it's inevitable to feel a bit drowsy.

Thankfully, I don't have to go to class tonight.

Every morning and evening was the time for refining poisons.

Shazo rubbed his shrunken belly, walked to the stairwell, and found Anru waiting in the castle hall.

Dinner was spent in intimate moments.

Xia Zuo escorted his girlfriend into the oil alchemy area, then slowly walked up the spiral staircase and entered the Great Alchemy Chamber.

...

In the regular course of life, time flies by like a wild horse.

Xia Zuo devoted himself to learning the proficient level, mastering the poisons and antidotes at this stage, and incidentally improving his resistance.

Three months later, at 1 p.m.

Today is a cloudy day.

The blue sky hid behind the clouds, revealing only a small patch of azure on the horizon.

Xia Zuo stood on the tower's terrace.

A gentle breeze rustled the hem of her long robe.

His gaze swept across the lake beneath the castle, the walls and corner towers of the academy, and drifted along the wide central avenue of the city, eventually taking in half of Starry Night City.

A month ago, he met the minimum requirement for becoming a mage apprentice—5 in all four elemental resistances.

With the help of her mentor Beatrice, she successfully entered a shallow meditative state. (Note ①)

To be on the safe side, he chose to continue stacking resistance.

Just a few days ago, as he poured the last bottle of Black Eye Poison into his mouth, his four elemental resistances reached 6.

This is the maximum resistance a skilled poison alchemist can achieve.

A short, strong gust of wind blew across the side of the terrace.

Xia Zuo pressed down on his collar, which was being blown up by the wind, and rubbed his brow with his other hand.

For some reason, he has been feeling particularly heavy-hearted lately.

He himself didn't know what was going on.

"Whoo~"

He exhaled a long breath towards the cloud-covered sky, and Anru's worried expression flashed before his eyes.

Perhaps it's because I'll be separated from my girlfriend for several months.

There's no way around it; what's meant to happen will happen. It's time to start practicing beginner-level meditation.

"Xia Zuo." Beatrice's voice came from behind.

Xia Zuo turned around and greeted him humbly, "Good afternoon, Professor."

Beatrice's hands hung loosely in front of her, her eyes slightly narrowed:

"You look a little down. Is something bothering you?"

"Professor, I plan to practice meditation."

Xia Zuo stepped forward and said:

"I want to practice basic meditation techniques first, and then try the [Poison Crystal] meditation technique."

"Yes. Just as I suspected. Professor Kulov thought so too. He and I both think you are very cautious and wouldn't prioritize the [Poison Crystal] meditation method."

Beatrice stepped forward and stood beside the students, speaking gently:

"If you're in a bad mood, I suggest you take it easy. There's no need to rush into practicing meditation."

Xia Zuo smiled helplessly, touched his hair, and said somewhat embarrassedly:

“Professor, once I start practicing meditation, Anru’er and I will not be able to see each other for several months. I think this is what’s making me so depressed.”

Beatrice glanced at the other person with a smile:

"In that case, I can offer you some comfort. In the more than two hundred years I've managed this academy, not a single couple has broken up because of practicing meditation."

"Hmm~ Let me think back... They all eventually became mages, and they didn't abandon each other. You will be like that too."

Xia Zuo's face flushed slightly, a rare sight for him. "Really?"

"Do you remember when the academy established the Mage Guild? After becoming a mage apprentice, you can earn rewards and points by completing bounties."

"There is a redeemable reward prepared for mage apprentices in the subject of elemental representation."

"I think you can use it too."

Beatrice took a small booklet out of the pocket of her robe.

The manual is filled with numerous trivial matters recorded by date, and it looks like a memo.

Beatrice turned to a page in the booklet, handed it to the student to look at, and said:

"If you can earn enough points, you can exchange them for a Master-level Elemental Bottle to give to Anru'er."

Xia Zuo stared at the words on the page, and the words in his ear helped him understand the root of his depression.

He was worried about Anjou. He feared she would fail in her first attempt at meditation. He was also afraid of being powerless to change the situation.

The gloom in my heart began to dissipate.

Xia Zuo now has a goal to strive for.

However, this goal seems quite far away.

This page of the manual contains dozens of lines of text, numbering the points required for each redeemable reward.

The intermediate basic meditation method requires 8000 points. Other intermediate meditation methods have exchange prices ranging from 8000 to 10000 points.

A Master-level Elemental Bottle requires 25000 points, which is far more expensive than an Intermediate Meditation Method.

In other words, Xia Zuo would have to pay a considerable price to help Anruer increase the success rate of her first meditation session.

Is it worth it?

worth it.

Even without knowing how difficult it is to earn points, do you still think it's worth it?

Yes, it's worth it.

With a determined look in his eyes, Xia Zuo handed the manual back to his mentor.

Beatrice understood the other person's change of heart and smiled:

"Hmm~ It seems my words had an effect; you're not as down as you were before."

She stretched her arm out into the depths of the corridor:

"Come on. Let's go to the study to prepare the tools needed for our first meditation practice. Then we'll go to your dorm room to set it up."

About half an hour later, Beatrice arrived at the students' dormitory in two large suitcases.

She avoided the tatami mats and chairs, and placed her suitcase on the open floor.

Xia Zuo knew his mentor might come here today, so he tidied up in advance and put away anything he didn't need for meditation into the wardrobe and storage cabinet.

Beatrice stood beside the suitcase, rubbing her fingers together.

The two boxes were opened together, and the bottles and jars inside floated steadily onto the desk.

Silver sand appeared beside Beatrice, flowing along the wall like water, enveloping the room, and then disappeared without a trace.

Beatrice manipulated a parchment scroll to the desk and unrolled it on the table.

She waved to the students waiting at the dormitory entrance, pointed to the parchment scroll, and said: