Master Nal waved his finger and conjured nineteen runes out of thin air. Wispy strands of pale blue magic solidified in the air, revealing the complete forms of all the runes, which were surprisingly animated!
No wonder deep meditation in the mind required such immense mental fortitude. These rune and spell symbols were different from pure text - they could not be drawn on paper, but were rather a carrier with its own set of rules, so vivid and intricate.
As Charlie committed them to memory, his chip began analyzing the model of the first rune. It looked simple, requiring just a single stroke to sketch, but upon closer inspection at the microscopic level, he discovered a wealth of additional details within each rune, like tiny worlds to explore. The more he tried to delve deeper, the more minuscule clues he could uncover, causing the complexity of deciphering them to grow exponentially.
Suddenly, Charlie felt a heat surge in his nostrils and instinctively covered his nose. A hot flow spilled out, and when he opened his palm, he saw red and white streaks, strikingly vivid.
Charlie's condition immediately drew the attention of the teacher and students.
Azure asked concernedly, "Charlie, are you alright?"
Charlie smiled and waved, indicating he was fine.
Wening chuckled, "Studying diligently is good, but you also need to be careful not to overexert yourself! It's not like physical labor where putting in more effort can solve the problem."
The other young disciples exchanged glances, their expressions tinged with a certain arrogance. While they did not openly express disdain, their disdainful aura was palpable, a deep-rooted sense of looking down on him.
"Are you sure you're okay? The first step is just memorization, you don't need to rush into meditation," Master Nal said with a tinge of regret in his concerned gaze. As a teacher, he had done his best, but talent was an unfortunate thing - those who lacked it couldn't succeed no matter how hard they tried.
"I'm fine, I wasn't attempting meditation, just trying to decipher these runes. The data volume was a bit overwhelming for a moment," Charlie replied.
"You can read so much from them?" Master Nal was taken aback.
Charlie silently nodded.
Master Nal studied Charlie intently and said, "There are clues suggesting the runes of will originate from an ancient divine language, which is not part of the pantheon of Wagran Continent. They contain many rules we cannot comprehend. The academy is still researching them, and if we can make a breakthrough, it may usher Wagran Continent into a new era of magic."
To be able to use a single symbol as a carrier for vast amounts of data must belong to a higher civilization. Charlie couldn't comprehend the mechanism behind it, and he dimly sensed that Wagran Continent harbored many secrets - the more he learned, the more ignorant he felt.
Linking this to Master Nal's previous remarks, the academy must have already achieved some results, and Stellar Meditation was likely their greatest breakthrough in researching the runes of will, though they were keeping it protected.
"Hmph! He's just pretending!" someone muttered dismissively.
Master Nal rapped the table and spoke sternly, "Alright, children, put away that arrogance and bias. I generally don't emphasize classroom discipline, but you shouldn't be too casual either. In the academy, the pomp and status of the secular world means nothing. As a teacher, I detest such students.
"Charlie has never targeted any of you, so you should also be more magnanimous. Learn from Azure - her attitude is correct. Learning should be a pure endeavor. If you want to compare, let's see who can be the first to reach the second stage of Stellar Meditation!"
Master Nal's expression of anger and his slight dressing down of some students refocused their attention. However, it also stoked the fire in these advanced disciples, making them determined to perform well.
How dare a mere Iron Seal disciple try to outshine them before the teacher?! Unknowingly, Charlie had offended all the other students except Azure. Of course, Prince Wening had been hostile to Charlie from the start.
But Charlie didn't have such complicated thoughts. After Master Nal announced the start of meditation, he simply immersed himself in a state of forgetfulness.
Failing to analyze the runes was the first setback the chip had encountered in this world. Charlie had to temporarily abandon that plan and focus on meditation in his consciousness instead.
The concentrated consciousness felt like a blade, slowly carving out the runes in his mind. The process was opaque and sluggish, like using rocks to etch on stone, accompanied by jolts of pain. The invisible strokes left behind trails of blue flames, etching the runes deeply and vividly in his mind, each one inflicting waves of agony.
Aided by the chip's exceptional memory, the carving process was slow but steady. As more runes were added, Charlie realized the greatest challenge - the pain was accumulating.
Each act of carving left an imprint on his young mind, the suffering prolonged and deepening. Towards the end, it tested one's willpower the most. No wonder the teacher recommended using the Iron Will Elixir together - it played a crucial role in pre-stimulating and protecting the brain.
Charlie was a resilient person, as he had been in his previous life. Despite the full-body heat and drenching sweat, his progress remained unwavered and stable.
At this moment, in front of Master Nal, the meditation progress of each disciple was being projected above their heads by an arcane magic. Seeing each person's progress with his own eyes made Master Nal deeply shaken.
Charlie's head was lit up with 16 runes, and the 17th was being carved, visibly struggling and in great pain, yet his progress remained remarkably steady. Master Nal had no doubt he would complete the remaining runes, his main difficulty being that he was too relentless on himself, not even resting, when rest could have alleviated the pain, as he had advised earlier.
The other disciples only had 3 runes lit up, with Azure's performance being the second best at 8 runes, still far behind Charlie.
The result was unexpected.
Master Nal chuckled coldly, magically recording the scene before him.
A mere Iron Seal disciple had effortlessly surpassed all the new student representatives of the Arcane Circle - how ironic. Even Master Nal himself felt a stinging embarrassment.
There had long been doubts about the academy's talent assessment rules, repeatedly refuted by the Testing Research Institute, as there was no evidence of flaws. Now, a special case had emerged.
Master Nal felt it was time to give those stubborn old-timers a wake-up call!
As Master Nal reflected on the talent assessment rules, Charlie had completed the final stroke in his mind, all 19 runes of Stellar Meditation fully carved.
Suddenly, a silent impact occurred, and Charlie found himself in a strange new world.
Before him stretched pure blackness, his consciousness completely detached from any sense of physical form, only vaguely feeling himself suspended in the void, solitary and disoriented. He didn't know what to do next or whether he should try to break the darkness.
Gradually, in the vast distance, a few faint points of light flickered into existence, their brightness fluctuating amidst the boundless darkness. These glimmers of light represented the only hope, capturing Charlie's full attention.
As his consciousness focused on them, he felt it beginning to extend, stretching out infinitely, as if it could reach limitless distances. After this long pursuit, he finally beheld the true nature of these light orbs - they were three stars.
Two were orange-red, constantly emitting violent solar flares, locked in a spiraling embrace as they hurtled into the dark void. The third was a serene blue sphere, surrounded by a colorful luminous ring, being pulled along by the twin stars.
Charlie found it peculiar - the stars felt immensely large, dwarfing him, yet his consciousness told him he was just as substantial as they were.
Perhaps due to the proximity, one of the free-floating energy particles touched Charlie's consciousness, eliciting a pained cry from him, as if a spark had struck his brain.
At that moment, a faint glimmer ignited in the parched well of his consciousness, detected by the chip, which immediately provided feedback.
Magic Power +0.01.
This was the secret of Stellar Meditation!
Joy enveloped Charlie as he finally found the key to meditation. He now had a solution to his equipment dependency issue.
Charlie began consciously collecting these scattered energy particles, alternating between pain and delight.
Soon, he realized a new challenge - the three stars were constantly moving, while the dispersed energy particles seemed to have no discernible pattern, escaping faster and faster, outpacing his consciousness.
After observing for a while, Charlie suddenly burst out laughing. This might stump others, but it was no match for a top quantum physicist like him. Astronomy was just a small part of his knowledge.
With the chip's assistance, he established models of the stars' trajectories and gradually deciphered the rules governing the energy particle dispersal. Under his conscious calculations, the efficiency of capturing the energy had greatly improved.
The long-dormant magic power pool was slowly beginning to replenish...