Meditation Method

Inside Wilson Castle, Green began studying the Gelfis Meditation Method, Third Edition the moment he obtained it, carefully poring over its contents.

It was his first encounter with a Meditation Method, so he took particular care. He did not rush to practice it, afraid that one reckless mistake could spell disaster. Green was not worrying over nothing. Every year in the Lorenzo Kingdom, quite a few Magic Apprentices made mistakes while practicing Meditation Methods. Some were lucky enough to recover, but others suffered permanent damage: mental disorders, confusion, even a complete loss of reason. In the worst cases, a blood vessel burst in the brain and the victim died on the spot. Besides, the origins of this particular Meditation Method were murky.

So after his initial excitement at obtaining it, Green quickly calmed down and began to read closely.

As he read, Green waited for a notification from the Graveyard.

He remained wary of this Meditation Method that had fallen into his hands by chance. He had already made up his mind: unless the Graveyard verified it, he would give up on practicing it.

Time crawled as he waited...

After half an hour, Green had read the entire Meditation Method. At last, a notification from the Graveyard sounded in his mind:

Ding! [Gelfis Meditation Method, Third Edition] recorded. Logical analysis has identified three errors, five abnormal mental nodes, and three abnormal Psychic Energy nodes. Correct them for [100] Psychic Energy?

Green's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face. "I knew pies didn't just fall from the sky. There really is something wrong with this Meditation Method. Five abnormal mental nodes and three abnormal Psychic Energy nodes—practicing it recklessly would certainly end badly. Too bad Ms. Franton doesn't know the Graveyard exists."

Without hesitation, Green spent [100] Psychic Energy to make the corrections.

Fifteen minutes later, with the Graveyard's corrections complete, Green finally felt safe enough to practice the Meditation Method.

He sat cross-legged on the low bed, quieted his mind, and closed his eyes. Concentrating fiercely, he pictured the intricate gears of a watch in his head.

This was the first step of the Gelfis Meditation Method: picture something relatively complex, then meditate on it repeatedly, refining the image to strengthen one's mental power. According to the book, someone who practiced this Meditation Method to its end could become a Magus. By then, the imagined object would turn from illusion to reality, condensing into a powerful bonded magic device. Gelfis, the High Archmage who had created the method, had already begun to form his own bonded magic device. Once he advanced to Magus, he would achieve the method's ultimate goal.

The most intricate thing Green remembered clearly was his grandfather's watch, which he had secretly taken apart as a child. He had been only five or six. When he opened the back, he saw tiny gears meshing with still smaller ones, all turning in perfect order within a space no wider than a palm. The sight had left such a deep impression that he could still see it vividly now.

Green did not dare meditate for too long on his first attempt. Once he had formed the rough outline of a watch in his mind, he slowly opened his eyes.

His first experience practicing the Meditation Method was hardly pleasant. With no one to guide him, Green had walked on thin ice, afraid of making a mistake midway through. The whole process had felt as though each moment lasted a year. As for feeling refreshed afterward, or having black sludge seep from his body as it did in novels—none of that happened.

Fortunately, Green had not pinned much hope on the Meditation Method to begin with, so he was hardly disappointed. Instead, the dilemma that had been troubling him resolved itself.

Green entered the Graveyard, went to the Town Hall, and selected the Zombie Crypt for construction.

A sudden rumble came from within the Town Hall, like a mild earthquake.

When Green went out to look, a new building had appeared in the Graveyard.

It was a half-underground Palace built from dark gray stone. Green smoke occasionally spilled from its aboveground windows, lending it a sinister, frightening air.

With a thought, Green entered the crypt.

Inside was a hall filled with stone coffins. The Hard-Skin Ghoul he had unexpectedly brought under his command showed signs of delight. Previously, he could only wander the ruins. Now, almost by instinct, he chose the largest coffin and lay down in it. Green vapor enveloped him, and he seemed more vigorous than before.

Green also noticed the units available for recruitment in the crypt: Zombies and Ghouls. Both cost ten Psychic Energy, but judging by their appearance and fighting ability, he favored Ghouls. Zombies were not weak. They had thick hides, could take plenty of punishment, and were extremely hard to bring down. But they moved too slowly. Ghouls were fast and could climb; in a city, they could run across roofs and walls as though flying. Zombies would certainly be useful in a frontal battle, but for now, the mobile Ghouls were a better match for Green's Gun Skeleton Soldiers.

Green made up his mind and immediately recruited all five Ghouls that came with the crypt.

Low growls sounded as five Ghouls climbed out of their coffins one after another...

After all that, the more than a thousand Psychic Energy he had possessed was reduced to scraps. Green could not help lamenting how quickly it vanished.

Over the next few days, Green kept to himself and devoted most of his energy to practicing the Meditation Method.

As he practiced, the watch he imagined gradually took shape and grew more lifelike. He could even hear the ticking of its mechanism.

Green discovered something else as well. After he began practicing the Gelfis Meditation Method and forming the watch in his mind, it appeared in the Graveyard too: a Clock Tower had risen atop the Town Hall! Its great clock looked exactly like the one he imagined. Every twenty-four hours, it chimed, its deep tolling echoing throughout the Graveyard.

Green had not expected the Meditation Method to affect the Graveyard, and it made him uneasy. The Graveyard was the foundation of everything he had; nothing could be allowed to go wrong with it. Fortunately, the clock that had appeared alongside his practice seemed to have no harmful effect. On the contrary, it had manifested the watch he was building through meditation. According to the Gelfis Meditation Method, Third Edition, completing that mental construct meant mastering the Meditation Method. From then on, he only needed to practice, polish, and refine it, in the hope that it would one day evolve into a magic device.

Ordinarily, even a gifted magical prodigy would need three to five years to reach that stage.

Green's magical talent was average. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken him at least seven or eight years. Instead, he had unexpectedly saved a great deal of time.

But a Meditation Method was only a method. It could not make Green's mental power surge overnight; ultimately, he still had to cultivate it step by step. With the Meditation Method's help, though, he could achieve twice the result with half the effort. Green felt that keenly. Since the clock had appeared in the Graveyard, his progress had soared. His mental power rose rapidly whenever he practiced, and within a few days he had reached the level of an Intermediate Magic Apprentice.

He made another unexpected discovery: practicing the Meditation Method actually produced Psychic Energy! He had never anticipated that. By his rough estimate, six hours of meditation generated one Psychic Energy in the Graveyard. That number seemed tiny. A person's energy was limited; even at the outside, he could meditate only six hours a day. Even if he kept at it every day, rain or shine, that would amount to just over three hundred Psychic Energy a year.

But Green had only been practicing for a few days. Even with the Clock Tower manifested in the Graveyard, he had merely begun to learn the Gelfis Meditation Method. Once he advanced to Formal Mage, or even became an Archmage, the Psychic Energy his meditation produced would surely be an astonishing amount.

One morning, after practicing the Meditation Method all night, Green stood on the balcony and stretched. His mind felt excellent, though his body had inevitably grown stiff. Then he saw a chestnut horse gallop in through the castle's main gate.

Green was mildly surprised. He did not know who had arrived, but whoever it was had dared to ride straight into the castle.

Under Green's gaze, the chestnut horse rode all the way to the castle entrance, where the angle hid it from view. He could not be bothered to investigate the visitor's identity. Instead, he was thinking about going to Old One-Eye's place later to pick up the Enchanted Rifle he had ordered.

Old One-Eye had actually sent word yesterday that the rifle had arrived and Green could collect it whenever he liked. But other small matters had held Green up. By the time he finished dealing with them, it was dark and Old One-Eye had closed for the day, so he had put it off until today.