Chapter 50

On his way home, excitement continued to envelop Garet.

He even braved the night to fetch a few buckets of water, chopped wood, and started a fire, taking a good hot bath, using up half of the wood stored at home. Life in ancient times was truly troublesome. If there were tap water, a water heater, or even if he knew magic, he could directly use magic to heat the bathwater—

Tsk, even to improve his living standards, he had to quickly become a magic apprentice!

Garet sighed as he lay in the bathtub. No matter how troublesome it was, he still had to take a bath. To increase the success rate of meditation, bathing and changing clothes were necessary steps. He cleaned himself up, climbed into bed, and sat cross-legged—

There was a problem with the flexibility of this body! At 16 years old, he couldn't even cross his left leg over his right foot and his right leg over his left foot, forming a perfect lotus position!

This... Although the *Basic Meditation* didn't mention sitting cross-legged, as a Chinese person, not trying this posture before meditating always felt a bit unsettling, like the success rate would drop by -5, -5, -5...

Garet tried to bend his left foot, then his right foot, but to no avail. He attempted to relax his feet, loosely forming a square, but he couldn't sit steadily. Then he tried to stretch his legs, forming a triangle, but he kept leaning backward.

With no other choice, he fell onto the bed, rolled to the wall, and sat against it with his legs stretched out.

Hmm, comfortable.

Now, close your eyes and clear your mind. Inhale—exhale—in—exhale—imagine yourself in complete darkness, shutting off your vision... hearing... sense of smell...

Garet followed the description in the *Basic Meditation*, step by step, building up his mental state. Calm down... calm down... relax... quiet... empty...

Perhaps the self-hypnosis was having some effect, or perhaps the experience of crossing over had given him a boost in learning magic. When Garet focused his mind as he did before casting a healing spell, something seemed to light up in the darkness.

What is this?

Neither up nor down, neither left nor right, neither inside nor outside, this is... me?

Garet was greatly shaken, almost losing his state of emptiness. He closed his eyes and struggled to calm himself for a while, finally regaining his composure. He entered meditation and then, the next step!

According to the *Basic Meditation*, to train one's mental power, one first needed to construct a virtual "self." Then, absorb power from the outside world to gradually solidify this "self." Once it reached a certain strength, one could emit mental power to start influencing the outside world...

With this thought, the bright spot in the darkness began to change according to the illustrations in the *Basic Meditation*. A small figure with limbs, a head, facial features, and a skeleton, muscles, and blood flowing through it, was outlined by light and stood silently in the void.

In the next moment, like a stone dropped into water, ripples spread out from the light figure into the darkness and quietly fed back. Each time they fed back, the light figure, outlined by the ethereal light, seemed to become a bit more solid.

Is this me?

Is this virtual light figure my mental power?

Garet was slightly bewildered. In the depths of his mind, a connection seemed to tell him: Yes, this is you, this is your mental power. It is based on your physical body and fluctuates with your will. When it is strong enough, it can nourish your physical body and intervene in the real world!

But, this light figure, its details are wrong!

The muscles are wrong!

The blood flow is wrong! Arteries and veins are not separated, the left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium, and right ventricle, the direction of blood flow is not shown!

Nerves! Lymph! Capillaries! These are not even drawn!

Garet was somewhat frustrated. The illustrations in the *Basic Meditation* were too crude, many details were not drawn, and many were incorrect—on the honor of a medical student, he could easily find seven or eight, even ten errors!

This won't do! Garet focused his mind and began to recall the diagrams he had seen in his previous life. Unconsciously, the white light figure began to change according to his memories:

206 bones, connected by over 300 joints, from bottom to top, forming a stable and elastic structure;

640 muscles, attached to the bones by tendons, or directly connected to other muscles;

The heart beat strongly, pumping blood into the arteries, which was then recovered through capillaries and returned to the heart via veins;

The nervous system, respiratory system, digestive, urinary, endocrine, lymphatic and immune, reproductive systems...

Finally, the skin covered everything, hair grew, and nails sprouted...

Every detail, even if he hadn't personally dissected or treated them, he had studied, drawn, and memorized countless times. Now, they were vivid in his mind.

This is how it is, even in this world, the human structure must be the same. Garet was certain.

He had personally treated patients, opened up abdomens, clamped bleeding vessels, cut through tracheas, and pierced thoracic cavities. Each successful treatment told him that his understanding was correct!

When he came to his senses, the figure in the void was already much more intricate than the illustrations. Upon closer inspection, it was identical to the human anatomy he had studied in his previous life.

The heart made of white light beat strongly. Thump, thump, thump, one beat at a time. With each beat, a wave of ethereal light radiated out—this newly constructed figure emitted waves that were more than twice as powerful as before!

Is this it?

Does mental power need to be as consistent as possible with the body to resonate with it to the maximum extent, receive support, and simultaneously nourish the body?

Garet didn't know. But he had a strange feeling: his mental power was much stronger than when he first constructed it.

So, the next step to try is to perceive the world... what does the world look like through mental power?

Still following the description in the *Basic Meditation*, Garet actively controlled the waves emitted by the figure, extending them outward. Then, the entire world, under the perception of his mental power... changed.

A steady, heavy force, solid and reliable, supporting the world;

A light, graceful force, free and joyful, never ceasing;

A hot, restless force, unrestrained, bringing the greatest heat;

A gentle, dense force, calm and nourishing, quietly spreading life...

"Earth, water, fire, wind? The four elements?" Garet was very surprised. With the fluctuation of his emotions, the figure in the meditation environment trembled violently, almost dispersing:

"This... is the world perceived by my mental power?"

After the shock, Garet was delighted:

"According to the *Basic Meditation*, if I can vaguely perceive the four elements, my mental power has already reached the level of a magic apprentice?"

"From today, I can start analyzing magic!"

Garet was filled with excitement and determination.