Deep Meditation

Yusuf remained vigilant of the Necromancer inside the carriage, while Rhode, within the carriage, was clearly in a different state.

Rhode had no idea what was happening outside the carriage. Although in a state of Meditation, Rhode frowned, clearly finding the process difficult.

Rhode attempted to summon all surrounding Magic elements, but in Rhode's perception, the surrounding Magic elements were indifferent, with few choosing to respond to Rhode's call.

For Rhode, currently unable to get a response from the Magic elements, let alone expend Mana to establish a connection, continuing like this meant even the Meditation state couldn't be maintained.

Deep Meditation was generally something only formal Mages could fully master. Due to Rhode's low Spirit attribute, despite constantly trying to disperse Mana, it had been ineffective.

Rhode hadn't expected that Deep Meditation, which was so easy to achieve in his past life, would be this difficult now.

After repeated failures, Rhode had to change his plan.

Rhode stopped summoning all categories of surrounding Magic elements and instead, based on the existing Beginner Fire Magic, focused solely on establishing a connection with Fire Magic elements.

Initially, the surrounding Fire Magic elements still didn't respond to Rhode, but with Rhode's persistence, a few scattered Fire Magic elements began to respond to Rhode's call.

Rhode's past life experience told him not to rush at this moment. Rhode didn't try to summon more Fire Magic elements but instead attempted to release Mana to deepen the connection with the surrounding Fire Magic elements.

Feeling the Mana slowly decrease, Rhode knew he had begun to establish a connection with the surrounding Fire Magic elements.

Rhode concentrated his mind, focusing all his attention on this subtle connection, ignoring everything else around him. As Rhode's concentration intensified, everything around him began to blur, leaving only these surrounding Fire Magic elements.

As Rhode's connection with these Fire Magic elements deepened, the other surrounding Fire Magic elements began to actively respond to Rhode's call, joining the connection.

Rhode's Mana consumption accelerated, but overall, it was still at an extremely slow rate. At this moment, all Rhode could perceive were the vast amounts of Fire Magic elements; physical sensations had completely faded.

Maintaining this connection with Magic elements was an extremely mentally taxing process. If a Mage's concentration wavered or they became tired, the effects of Deep Meditation would be greatly diminished, or they could even suffer backlash. This was why Rhode had chosen to sleep for a night to replenish his mental energy before beginning Deep Meditation.

With the experience from his past life and his own persistent efforts, Rhode successfully entered the state of Deep Meditation.

Nearby, the Vampire, who had been absorbing Death Energy, seemed to sense something. It quickly opened its eyes, stared at Rhode for a few seconds, and then closed its eyes again.

At this moment, inside the central carriage of the merchant caravan.

A spellcaster dressed in blue robes seemed to sense something and let out a soft exclamation. He then put down the book he had been reading, pushed open the carriage window beside him, and looked towards a direction not far away.

His gaze landed on Rhode's carriage.

The blue-robed Mage tapped twice on the window frame. Hearing the sound, Yusuf immediately came to the carriage side and looked into the window.

The blue-robed Mage whispered a few words to Yusuf. Following the blue-robed Mage's gaze, Yusuf also looked towards Rhode's carriage.

"You're saying... he's performing Deep Meditation?"

Yusuf's tone was full of disbelief, as if he couldn't believe it.

Although not a Mage himself, Yusuf clearly understood the cultivation methods of Mages, knew what Deep Meditation meant to them, and also knew the backlash a Mage could suffer if Deep Meditation failed.

Seeing the blue-robed Mage nod, Yusuf was stunned for a moment.

Yusuf couldn't understand why this Necromancer would choose to perform Deep Meditation here.

Even now, Yusuf was still speculating about the Necromancer's purpose for coming, with various theories flashing through his mind, yet he couldn't confirm any of them.

At this moment, seeing this seemingly deliberate display of vulnerability, Yusuf felt as if he had realized something and finally confirmed his suspicions. He then gave Rhode's direction a deep look.

Inside the carriage, seeing Yusuf remain silent for a long time, the blue-robed Mage couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Should we take this opportunity..."

As a spellcaster, the blue-robed Mage understood the consequences of interrupting Deep Meditation and also knew what a great opportunity this was, thus proposing it to Yusuf.

Although the blue-robed Mage didn't finish his sentence, Yusuf understood the implied meaning. Yusuf continued to look in the direction of Rhode's carriage and shook his head.

Seeing this, the blue-robed Mage didn't insist further.

Despite being a spellcaster, the blue-robed Mage understood that while he could offer suggestions to the leader, the ultimate decision rested with the leader.

The blue-robed Mage knew that the leader must have his own reasons for making such a decision. He could offer suggestions but couldn't interfere too much with the leader's judgment.

Seeing Yusuf still gazing in the direction of Rhode's carriage, the blue-robed Mage closed the window, sat back in the carriage, and resumed reading his book.

Finally, Yusuf let out a deep sigh, stopped looking in the Necromancer's direction, and turned to face the front of the caravan, preparing to issue commands.

Even as he moved to the front of the caravan, Yusuf's mind was still occupied by the Necromancer's previous actions.

In Yusuf's opinion, the Deep Meditation was intentionally performed by the Necromancer.

The Necromancer's doing so was undoubtedly to let Yusuf know, through the caravan's Mages, that they had no ill intentions and merely wished to travel to the City of Wailing with the caravan.

Similarly, for the merchant caravan, even though one of them was undergoing Deep Meditation, for safety reasons, they wouldn't attack them without knowing their full capabilities.

This seemingly weak act had almost completely nullified the previous forceful act of joining the caravan, making the caravan relax its guard. This made Yusuf look at the Necromancer with newfound respect.

Suddenly, a strange thought arose in Yusuf's mind.

Ever since the Necromancer entered the merchant caravan's camp, all of Yusuf's actions had been within the Necromancer's predictions. The Necromancer had seen through all his thoughts, from the transported goods to the current certainty that they wouldn't be attacked.

Although they hadn't truly fought, based on this series of judgments, Yusuf had concluded that the Necromancer who had spoken earlier was no ordinary person.