"The meditation method held an extremely important place on the Mage Plane in ancient times. As everyone knows, spiritual power is the power of the soul, and the soul is the foundation on which most Mages bear their mana. In that era, the Mages' infighting was so savage that research into knowledge barely advanced at all, to say nothing of innovation in magic; the power of a spell usually depended on the total quantity of a Mage's spiritual power. And so the meditation method became every Mage's most closely guarded secret."
James glanced down at his notes, then went on: "In ancient times, one meditation method was one Mage school. Mages cultivated cautiously according to their meditation method, and very few ever attempted innovation. That is also why ancient Mages were so weak — judged by the standards of that time, I would already count as a full-fledged Mage."
"Then came the age of civilization, and everything changed utterly. The backward meditation methods of the old days were overturned wholesale. Once Mages began to try innovation — and proved good at it — the very notion of schools faded out of the meditation method; today, almost every person's meditation method is different."
When James finished his introduction he brought out something concrete. He tapped once on the lectern, and a beam of light rose up; no energy fluctuation could be felt from it, so it was probably an alchemical product akin to a 3D projector.
Sure enough, a group of nine runes appeared within the light.
James stepped to one side and, pointing at the first rune of the group, said to the apprentices, "Before you came to the academy, you should all have successfully constructed one spiritual-power solidification rune. This one."
The apprentices all nodded.
"It, together with the other eight runes, forms the foundation of every meditation method on the Mage Plane today: the most universally applicable meditation method there is, created by True Spirit Archmage Prometheus while he was still an apprentice, and opened free of charge to all Mages by the First Elemental Spire."
James manipulated the light screen, and the nine runes combined in sequence, changing from a single flat structure into a slightly more complex three-dimensional one. It looked a little like a single plate of armor?
"This meditation method is now called the Basic Meditation Method, but it had another name before — Prometheus's Mage Armor. What it does is build a suit of armor outside the soul. Each time you successfully construct a complete rune group, you may add one armor plate; once the plates have fully wrapped the soul, the meditation method is at its initial completion, and the cultivation from then on consists of making the plates finer and denser, more and more seamless and natural. That cultivation has no grades and no limit — even True Spirit Archmages are still at it."
"The greatest advantage of the Basic Meditation Method is its compatibility. As your knowledge accumulates and you come to possess your own unique spiritual-power solidification rune group, you can convert it without any adverse reaction whatsoever."
"Because it is so old, its main role today is to familiarize apprentices with rune construction. But do not underestimate it. The reason Mages can withstand the pressure of transdimensional travel and the rejection of other planes' world will to wage planar war, the reason they no longer fear Curses as they did in ancient times, is precisely the invention of the Basic Meditation Method. Whatever knowledge you use in the future to create a meditation method of your own, you must follow its design to form the Mage Armor."
"You could say the Mage Armor is the cornerstone of Mage civilization."
Adam committed the forms of the nine runes firmly to memory, and could not help but feel deep admiration for the inventor of this meditation method, True Spirit Archmage Prometheus. To carve out the road of civilization amid utter hardship and savage ignorance — what magnificent wisdom that was.
James paused briefly to let the apprentices digest what he had said, and spoke again ten minutes later: "The first-year rune knowledge course is mainly to guide you in constructing your own meditation method. I will not give you a direction, and there is no homework. If problems arise with the runes you construct yourselves, you may consult me — though at most I will give you some help with stability."
"Each of you gets one free request for guidance per month. In other words, apply more than once and it costs money."
James said at last, "The rune knowledge course meets only once a week, but the optical projection will remain here. Does anyone among you wish to apply for individual guidance?"
James was only asking out of routine; he did not think this bunch of rookies, most of whom were meeting the Mage Armor meditation method for the first time, would have any questions.
But Adam was not among them. In the course of the lecture he had already flawlessly constructed several armor plates, and now something else important in James's words had caught his interest, so he used this month's one free consultation without hesitation.
"I'd like to apply for individual guidance, Mr. James," Adam said, rising to his feet.
"You're sure?" James looked at Adam doubtfully. He thought Adam was simply grandstanding — the fellow had not even tried the most basic construction, so where would a question come from?
James was not alone; almost everyone thought so. They made no attempt to hide their scornful noises and looked at Adam with contempt.
The islanders put their heads together, and Landi said to the group, "See? Life on that ship made him arrogant and stupid. Sooner or later he'll pay for it."
Ophelia frowned. She and Adam did not see eye to eye, but they had known each other a long time and had come to the Mage Continent together, and she did not want Adam to ruin his future out of arrogance.
Perhaps the only one present who believed Adam truly had a question to ask was Cristel. She looked at her companions sitting together as though she wanted to speak, but in the end said nothing.
"Yes, I'm sure," Adam said to James, ignoring all the talk.
"All right, then. Come with me." James had no reason to refuse. Teaching was a task he had taken on, and after a year he would receive a decently generous reward; besides, the clash of minds with so many apprentices while lecturing and answering questions did his own path as a Mage a great deal of good.
Foolish questions excepted, of course, James thought. He had already made up his mind that if Adam asked something stupid, he would announce it publicly — not to humiliate Adam, but simply in the hope that the other apprentices would not come and waste his time.
Leaving the classroom, Adam followed James to another building, where James had a laboratory of his own. Once they were inside, James gestured for Adam to sit wherever he liked, then asked, "So. Now you can tell me your question."
A Mage's time is precious, and they rarely waste words in conversation — which suited Adam's own style. So he skipped the pleasantries and said directly, "What does it mean to construct a meditation method with your own knowledge?"
Somewhat surprised, James said, "That question isn't stupid, but it's not something you need to understand at your stage. You haven't even successfully constructed the Basic Meditation Method, you know."
Adam knew any explanation would be less convincing than action, so he projected his spiritual power out of his body, completely constructed a single armor plate, and drew it back inside himself.
Now James was stunned. Materializing spiritual power and constructing a rune group outside the body was nowhere near as easy as Adam made it look; many senior apprentices who were not gifted in spiritual power could not manage it at all. And yet a raw beginner had just done it in front of him?
He leapt up from his seat and stared at Adam. "During your aptitude test, how long did it take you to fill the crystal ball? Did it reveal a soul inclination?"
Adam did not know what he meant by that, but he could feel the urgency in James's voice. It was not the sort of thing worth keeping secret anyway, and he had no intention of hiding it.
Before Adam could answer, James slapped his own forehead, turned, and strode off into another room. He came back quickly, a crystal ball in his hands. "Here, try this!"
Adam looked at him uncomprehendingly and said nothing. James explained, "Don't worry. It won't do you any harm — in fact it might do you a great deal of good. Try it, just like you did back then."
Adam did not distrust James. Given the Mages' basic principle of openness and fairness, and their unexpectedly stubborn adherence to the spirit of contract, he believed James would not harm him.
Adam placed both hands on the crystal ball. Unlike the aptitude test, this crystal ball did not require him to feed spiritual power in actively; instead it produced a faint suction, drawing his spiritual power into itself.
It lit up instantly once again, its glow even more dazzling than before. Adam noticed a number displayed on the crystal ball's surface, climbing steadily, and finally coming to rest at 100+.
James's gaze darted back and forth between Adam and the crystal ball, and he muttered excitedly, "All right, you can stop now. Astonishing. Absolutely astonishing!"
Adam let go as told, then said, "Mr. James, this is...?"
James came back to himself, and the look he turned on Adam was as though he were gazing at a rare treasure. His voice came out a little shrill: "100+! Good heavens, I can hardly believe it. Do you know what this means?"
Adam was calm. "Sir, obviously I don't."
James picked up the crystal ball. "This thing is an advanced product of the Aptitude Tester. Its function is to precisely measure total spiritual power. Each unit of the value represents the total initial spiritual power of one apprentice with the most basic Mage aptitude. Its detection ceiling is one hundred. Good heavens — praise all the great True Spirit Mages, praise the Mage World — you actually possess initial spiritual power beyond its ceiling! Unbelievable!"
Hearing James out, Adam was not surprised. If spiritual power was the power of the soul, then he had destroyed a full ten billion souls before. Even if each soul's quality could not remotely compare with a human of the Mage World, even if only an unmeasurably faint trace of each had been absorbed by him, multiplied by ten billion that would still accumulate into an astonishing total.