Chris left after giving his reminder.
After seeing Chris off, Leo continued practicing the meditation method.
Several cycles passed.
A gentle voice sounded in Leo's mind.
"Mastered the inferior-quality Intermediate Meditation Method Codex. Refinement Points +10."
Hearing the voice, Leo could not help but smile.
"I've finally mastered the inferior-quality Intermediate Meditation Method Codex."
"Now I need to keep it up."
"Consume 100 Refinement Points."
[Intermediate Meditation Method] Quality: Superior Effect: Obtain mental energy Cost: 500 Refinement Points
The codex's refinement was divided into four qualities: inferior, ordinary, superior, and perfect.
However, he could only obtain qualities up to two tiers beyond the portion he had already mastered.
Before Leo mastered the inferior quality of a codex, he could not refine that codex to superior quality.
Higher-quality codices could accelerate Leo's learning progress.
After refining the codex, Leo experienced the advantage of a higher level of meditation efficiency.
The meditation efficiency of the superior-quality version was far greater than that of the inferior-quality version.
However, the superior-quality Intermediate Meditation Method also required more time to master.
After meditating for thirty cycles, Leo stopped practicing.
This was the most efficient meditation duration Leo had worked out through the codex.
After thirty cycles, if he did not take a brief rest, his subsequent meditation efficiency would decline.
"Mr. Danville, it is time to eat."
Just as Leo stopped meditating, he heard a servant's voice from outside the door.
Leo opened the door and found a humanoid creature standing outside.
It had a lizard-like head, wore only simple clothing, and its entire body was covered in dark green scales.
Esmond Lodge had servants responsible for attending to the gathering members' daily needs, and the Lizardman before him was one of them.
Leo had been startled when he first saw a Lizardman as well.
It was his first time seeing such a demi-human race.
At the same time, he became even more curious. Since Lizardmen existed, could he also see races such as dog-headed people, elves, goblins, gnomes, and dwarves?
It had to be said that this Wizard world once again drew Leo in through its unique ways.
After finishing his bread and drinking the thick soup, Leo immediately headed to his mentor's office.
At the entrance to the mentor's office, Wizard Tesla was speaking with someone.
Leo stepped forward, gave a slight bow, and said, "Greetings, Wizard Tesla."
"Mm." Wizard Tesla nodded slightly, then pointed to the person beside him. "Danville, this is Freddy, a teaching assistant from the Almon Gathering."
Freddy wore glasses and had a fat, round face.
Leo said, "Greetings, Wizard Freddy."
Freddy glanced at Leo and said, "Tesla, this is the Wizard Seedling Mentor Almon did not want, is he? I didn't expect him to end up at your Esmond Gathering."
Tesla frowned at those words.
He disliked Freddy's phrasing. It made it sound as if the Esmond Gathering had picked up a student the Almon Gathering did not want.
However, Tesla had a good temper and pretended not to hear it.
Tesla flipped through the roster in his hand and said, "Freddy, you have twenty-seven new students this year, but only five were sent to participate."
Freddy smiled. "Tesla, sometimes quality matters more than quantity. You only have three this year, so you can only send those three. We selected the best five from among our twenty-seven."
Tesla said, "All right. I'll accept this list."
Freddy glanced at Leo and asked, "Tesla, I think you'd better not lead the team to this year's exchange event. It would save you the embarrassment."
"Thank you for the reminder, but I will indeed be leading the team again this year. Wizard Sally is in her first year as a teaching assistant, so this sort of thing still has to be handled by me."
Freddy smiled, then stepped forward and patted Leo on the shoulder. "Young man from Plos, work hard. Don't let your teaching assistant Tesla lose face."
With that, Freddy left with the students from his gathering.
Anyone with eyes could hear the provocation in Freddy's words.
Yet Tesla seemed unaffected, his expression remaining calm.
Tesla said, "Danville, go in. Wizard Sally is waiting for you."
"Wizard Sally."
"Come in."
When Leo pushed open the door and entered, Sally was holding a quill and recording something.
From Sally's appearance, Leo noticed that her complexion had improved somewhat. It seemed she was gradually growing accustomed to the current state of the Esmond Gathering.
Besides Sally, Chris and Molly were also in the room.
Sally looked up. When she saw Leo, a smile appeared on her face. "Since everyone is here, we'll begin the test."
Sally pointed to the crystal ball on the table. "Next, each of you will undergo a mental power assessment. The results will be uploaded to the central crystal of the Tower of Dawn and entered into this year's student rankings."
"Chris, you go first."
"Yes, Wizard Sally." Chris stepped forward and placed both hands on the crystal ball. A flash of light passed through it.
Sally said, "Chris, mental energy 1.4, ranked eighty-seventh. That is a very good ranking. There are a total of one hundred and twenty-five people in this class with mental power talent of level 3 or above. Making it into the top one hundred is already impressive. You should receive thirty points in this month's mental energy assessment. Converted into Magic Stones, that is thirty Magic Stones."
Chris's face immediately filled with pride as he made faces at Leo.
Leo responded with a speechless expression.
"Next, Molly..."
"Mental energy 0.7, ranked five hundred and eighty-ninth... Molly, you've worked hard enough. You may simply be lacking some talent. Keep it up, and you'll definitely find a Wizard laboratory willing to accept you, though laboratories like that do not offer many assessment points. You will probably receive twelve points."
Molly lowered her head, her face filled with disappointment.
With just one simple test, Molly realized the role talent played in a Wizard's career.
Sally also felt regretful. Her assessment of Molly was that she did not lack diligence, but unfortunately lacked talent.
"Lastly, Danville."
"Mental energy 3, ranked seventh... Very good, very good." When Sally saw Leo's mental energy, she was so delighted that even the corners of her eyes seemed to smile.
Even Tesla beside her raised his head and looked toward Leo. He studied him as though considering something, lightly resting the back of his hand beneath his chin.
"Among this year's Wizard Seedlings, aside from one student with level 6 mental power talent who is not participating in the Comprehensive Assessment, there are only four students with level 5 mental power talent. Reaching seventh place shows that your mental energy cultivation speed is outstanding even among those with level 4 mental power talent."
Chris asked curiously, "Wizard Sally, how many Comprehensive Assessment points can Leo earn this month with that ranking?"
Sally's alluring red lips parted slightly. "At least seventy points."
"Seventy points?!"
Before you continue