Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 26: Basic Meditation Class

Only when Xiao Lin left the swordsmanship hall did he notice a partitioning of the training halls. Swordsmanship belonged in Zone A: the same zone as sabers, axes, and other physical weapons. Zone B and Zone A were very close to each other, and–although the number of training halls in Zone B was relatively small–the size of each training hall was rather huge.

Following the tutor’s directions, Xiao Lin quickly found himself in the first row, standing before Classroom Three. A sign displaying the words ‘Basic Meditation’ hung at the door.

“It’s probably here. I hope I didn’t take too long.” He tried pushing the door, but it was locked from the inside. He raised his hand to knock on the door and it immediately opened with a creak. Xiao Lin had already stretched out his hand; it was past the point of no return. He could only watch as his hand gently rapped against a beautiful girl’s forehead.

She was a delicately petite girl with short hair, neat bangs, and a pair of spectacles. She gave off the impression of a cute, petite girl-next-door.

“You’re not the teacher, are you?” Xiao Lin blurted out.

“I’m the teacher for Basic Meditation for this batch of freshmen. Is there a problem?” The woman’s voice was very sweet, but was not as pleasant coupled with her cold look of superiority.

Xiao Lin retracted his hand in embarrassment and laughed dryly. “That was a misunderstanding… I really didn’t know you’d open the door so suddenly.”

“If a mage like me fails to sense an ordinary person’s presence within ten meters, then I might as well quit this school and head back to Earth to sell tofu! Don’t you think so?” The girl’s words were very cutting and she was not as sweet as her voice suggested. With that, Xiao Lin’s impression of her as a charming girl-next-door crumbled all at once.

Xiao Lin repeatedly said no and tried to explain himself.

Nevertheless, the girl irritably waved her hand, as if swatting a fly. “No need to explain. I understand! Come on in!”

Xiao Lin was on the verge of tears seeing the girl’s disgust toward him. He wanted to ask her, ‘Big Sis, what exactly do you understand!’

Having experienced lessons in history and swordsmanship, Xiao Lin could sense the paramount importance the school attached to the present batch of freshmen. Even though the girl in front of him looked petite, Xiao Lin guessed that she was a graduate, who might even be centuries old, like Professor Dai.

The girl spoke as she walked. “Senior Sister Cheng Na called me. You are Xiao Lin?”

“That’s me.” Xiao Lin nodded and sighed. He finally found out that the violent beauty’s name was Cheng Na.

“You’re interested in cultivating both magic and martial arts?”

“Yes!”

“You used underhanded means to make Senior Sister lose the bet and force her to agree to your unreasonable request?”

“Mmhmm! Hm?” Xiao Lin was subconsciously nodding and quickly waving his hand. “Wait, what do you mean by underhanded means! I did everything fairly, but your senior sister didn’t keep her word. I’m glad she eventually did, though.”

The disgust on the girl’s face increased even more and she waved her small hand. “No need to explain. I understand perfectly!”

‘Again, what exactly do you understand!’

Xiao Lin sighed helplessly. He felt that his words fell on deaf ears, regardless of how much he explained, and so finally gave up talking. In any case, the important thing was that he be allowed to listen well in the class.

The meditation hall was very empty and there were no windows around, like a sealed dark room. A couple of white headlights made the room bright as day, and rows of cushions were neatly arranged on the smooth floor. Students of both genders sat on those cushions and curiously looked at Xiao Lin.

“My surname is Li. I’m a fourth-year senior. You can call me a teacher or Senior Sister, but frankly speaking, I really don’t want to hear your voice. If it weren’t out of courtesy for Senior Sister Cheng Na, I wouldn’t have allowed a despicable person like you to enter my meditation classroom!” the girl coldly said to Xiao Lin.

The girl raised her head. She had to look up to see Xiao Lin’s face because of the height difference. Xiao Lin’s nonchalant expression seemed to irritate her a little and she added, “This Basic Meditation course is three-months. If you fail to meet the requirements after the duration, I hope you’ll get out of the way immediately. Staying here is just a waste of both our time!”

‘God knows what Senior Sister Cheng Na said to this Lolita to make her hate me so much,’ Xiao Lin thought helplessly. Even though he was an acting class monitor, all he could do was nod earnestly and answer ‘yes’ whenever he faced seniors or graduates.

Xiao Lin’s attitude was submissive and the girl seemed irked for not being able to find fault in him. “Although I won’t stop you from coming to my class, I’ve been lecturing for almost an hour. I won’t repeat it again just for your sake. You ask your other classmates and see if anyone is willing to help you!”

Xiao Lin felt a headache coming on. “I’ll ask my classmates.”

Xiao Lin’s gaze swept across the hall and everyone immediately avoided it. They could clearly see that the girl did not like Xiao Lin and so no one was willing to take on a thankless job.

After about ten seconds however, Xiao Lin’s eyes lit up when a familiar figure came into view. As a genius with an intelligence of 36, Gu Xiaoyue had no reason not to apply for the Basic Meditation course. As always, the silent girl kept a low profile and chose the corner-most position in the room.

Gu Xiaoyue did not disappoint Xiao Lin and simply said, “I’ll do it.”

The teacher was just about to watch Xiao Lin make a spectacle of himself, but was left with a stiff expression. She had a helpless look upon seeing that the person who spoke was Gu Xiaoyue. Despite not being a talented student, Gu Xiaoyue was the one who stood out the most among that batch of freshmen. Indeed, she was none other than the person whose individual intelligence broke a record that dated back to when the school was founded!

The teacher was a senior, but she found it imprudent to say anything to Gu Xiaoyue. In the end, she nodded and agreed. “You can sit next to Gu Xiaoyue!”

Xiao Lin went to Gu Xiaoyue’s side and sat cross-legged on the cushion, just like everyone else. He then whispered to her, “Thank you!”

Gu Xiaoyue nodded.

Xiao Lin noticed a notebook beside her and felt a rush of joy. He remembered that she had a good habit of taking notes in class and was just about to suggest that they not waste anyone’s time by just having her lend him her notebook.

Gu Xiaoyue did not plan on doing that at all and adjusted her spectacles. With her voice still as crisp as an oriole, her bright pupils looked at Xiao Lin as she said, ” Do you know anything about computer programming?”

Xiao Lin did not understand why she asked that out of the blue, but he nodded and replied, “I don’t, but I definitely know what programming is.”

Gu Xiaoyue explained, “There are four major elements in the world—wind, fire, water, and earth. Those elements are used as codes, and casting spells follows the same principles as programming. It is the process of rewriting the element’s codes through a certain pattern, then finally executing the corresponding magic spell.”

“Then what’s meditation?” Xiao Lin asked again.

“Do you know what monks are?”

“Of course…”

“Well, simply speaking, meditation is to meditate and recite sutras.” After that, Gu Xiaoyue closed her mouth and with no intention to speak further.

Many people, including Xiao Lin, were speechless. From their viewpoint, magic was like a beautiful woman wearing a lace veil, but Gu Xiaoyue’s explanation completely removed all the mystery from it.

She had always been a girl of few words and Xiao Lin was all too aware of that. Even so, her summary was so extremely simple, nourishing doubts as to whether it really was that simple.

However, Xiao Lin soon discovered that many other students who had attentively listened to her wore looks of enlightenment.