Mana Pool

Jialan frowned, repeatedly mulling over the meaning of every line of the poem.

"Silver leaves... ancient trees... mirror lake..." Jialan murmured. "These are all symbols of the elves' sacred lands, but what do 'true meaning' and 'origin' refer to...?"

He recalled his insights from the earlier star map trial. Everything about the elves was closely tied to nature, and their wisdom also came from their understanding of nature.

"Could it be understood this way?" Jialan's eyes lit up. "This isn't testing knowledge, but one's understanding of nature!" With that thought, he decided to give it a try.

He pressed his palm against the stone tablet, closed his eyes, and allowed his mental power to resonate with the natural elements around him. A gentle breeze brushed across his cheeks, the fragrance of earth filled his nostrils, and the soft babble of a stream seemed to drift in from afar.

The stone tablet emitted a gentle glow, and a staircase leading deeper inside slowly appeared...

Jialan was overjoyed. Compared to the three years of college entrance exams and five years of mock tests from his previous life, this was nothing.

Jialan carefully walked down. When he stepped off the final stair, the entire space suddenly lit up. He found himself in a circular crystal hall, filled with soft blue light, as though he had entered a vast starry sky. Countless flickering specks of light floated around him.

"This is..." Jialan discovered in astonishment that those specks were actually pure crystallized mana. They slowly gathered around him and merged into his body.

Suddenly, a warm energy surged from his dantian and rapidly spread throughout his body. Jialan felt his Mana Pool begin to tremble violently, like an overflowing container that was constantly expanding.

"Ah!" He could not help crying out in pain. The expansion brought not only a sense of fullness, but also tearing agony. Every nerve in his body screamed, and the pain of his mana circuits being forcibly widened nearly made him collapse.

Jialan gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain conscious. He knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he could endure it, his Mana Pool would undergo a qualitative leap.

He sat cross-legged and began using the Meditation Method. His mental power became like a fine net, guiding the incoming mana into an orderly flow. Gradually, he found the rhythm.

The expansion of the Mana Pool was like opening up a new world within his body. Jialan could clearly feel his originally narrow Mana Pool expanding at an astonishing speed. If it had once been like a small pond, it was now transforming into a lake.

The process lasted nearly an hour. When the last trace of pain vanished, Jialan felt as though he had been reborn. He opened his eyes and found that his vision had become clearer, while his perception of the surrounding elements had grown far sharper.

He tried to mobilize his mana, and an unprecedented sense of abundance welled up within him. Spells that once required him to carefully control his mana output could now be cast with ease. He could even feel that his mana reserves had increased by at least twofold!

"So this is the gift of the Ancient Elves..." Jialan murmured. He raised his hand, and an ice-blue radiance flowed across his palm, purer and more powerful than ever before.

Jialan stood in a hidden corner of the ruins, feeling the abundant mana within his body. Since his Mana Pool had expanded, his perception of the surrounding environment had become even sharper. This seemed to be a forgotten corner, far from the dangerous areas of the ruins.

"This place should be safe," Jialan murmured. He carefully inspected the surroundings and finally let out a sigh of relief after confirming there were no traps or magical fluctuations.

Fatigue swept over him like a tide. Jialan felt his mental power was already on the verge of collapse. The necromancer's repeated mental attacks and the consecutive battles had inflicted severe damage on his mind. He knew that if he did not treat it in time, it might leave permanent damage. In serious cases, he might even suffer a drop in rank.

Jialan found a relatively clean spot and sat down. From his backpack, he took out the notebook containing the Meditation Method that he had obtained from the necromancer. The notebook was made from some unknown leather and emitted faint mana fluctuations.

"I hope this can help me." Jialan carefully opened the notebook. It was filled with complex runes and patterns that seemed to contain profound wisdom.

He carefully studied the entire Meditation Method. With his knowledge, he found no traps, which eased his mind somewhat. But then again, the necromancer was not a god. How could he have arranged traps within the Meditation Method in advance?

He followed the notebook's instructions, adjusted his breathing, and relaxed his body. He closed his eyes and began guiding mana through his body. Soon, he entered a wondrous state.

In that state, Jialan could clearly "see" his own spiritual world. It should have been a tranquil lake, but it was now covered in cracks and stains. These were the mental injuries he had suffered during battle.

Jialan began using the techniques in the Meditation Method, guiding mana to repair those injuries. The process was exceptionally painful, like stitching wounds shut with needle and thread. Cold sweat seeped from his forehead, and his body trembled slightly, but he gritted his teeth and endured.

As time passed, Jialan discovered that this Meditation Method was indeed effective. The cracks in his spiritual world began to heal, and the stains gradually faded. What delighted him even more was that during this process, his mental power became more condensed and powerful.

Suddenly, Jialan's consciousness was pulled into a strange space. There was no concept of up, down, left, or right here—only an endless starry sky. He saw countless points of light flickering.

"These are... stars?" Jialan felt everything in shock. He realized that this Meditation Method could not only repair mental injuries, but also allow one to come into contact with higher levels of existence.

In this space, time seemed to lose all meaning. Jialan immersed himself in the wondrous sensation, feeling the pulse of the stars. His mental power continued to grow throughout the process, and his understanding of mana became even deeper.

After an unknown amount of time, Jialan's consciousness returned to his body. He opened his eyes and found that his perception had become even sharper. Even without deliberately using magic, he could sense the flow of mana around him.

"This feeling... is incredible," Jialan murmured. He checked his condition and found that his mental injuries had basically healed, while his mental power had become far stronger than before.

Feeling the surging mental power within his sea of consciousness, he finally understood why that necromancer had been so insistent on attacking him with mental power after this deep meditation.

This Meditation Method had an astonishingly good effect on condensing mental power. It was practically tailor-made for battles of mental power.