A Hospital in Another World?

Chapter 49

"He's secretly copying!"

The boy shouted loudly. Seeing Magician Gelman ignoring him, he jumped forcefully, his face flushed with anger:

"Fine! You don't care about this! I'll tell my grandpa! Do you folks at the Magic Tower even want to pass this year's assessment?"

Who's this cheeky kid? Such an attitude! Could he be a second-generation mage, no, maybe even third?

Garrett quickly bent down, took out all the papers from his backpack, and tidied them a bit before handing them over. Magician Gelman flipped through them one by one, then suddenly snorted and slammed the papers down in front of Garrett:

"I asked you to organize, and this is how you organize?"

"Oh... huh?"

When did you ask me to copy?

Garrett was taken aback. But the magician's words clearly absolved him of the responsibility of secretly copying books, which was hugely advantageous. Garrett wasn't stupid, so he immediately apologized:

"It was my carelessness."

"You haven't even sorted uppercase and lowercase letters! The alphabet is a mess! Redo it!"

"Oh... okay!" Garrett was ecstatic, hastily agreeing. The magician paid him no more attention, walking away with hands behind his back. After a couple of steps, he threw down a second command:

"Copy two books, keep one for yourself. Hand them in within half a month!"

"Yes!" Garrett loudly responded. He could copy books now, openly! Fantastic!

Dictionaries are indeed useful!

I've always said, anyone learning a new language can't resist the charm of a dictionary! You've learned the magical script, but don't need to study Elvish or Dragon language? Wait, are those languages even present in this world?

He gathered his thoughts, quickly catching up and respectfully following the magician. Gelman suddenly stopped after a few steps and told his apprentice:

"Keep an eye on him!"

His tone had a slight edge. Elliott hurriedly agreed. Gelman shook his head and left on the elevator without another word. Elliott kept up his respectful stance until his teacher's figure disappeared, then turned to look at Garrett.

"Sorry for causing you trouble," Garrett apologized quickly.

When the kid was yelling earlier, Elliott pretended not to notice, walking away on his own, though Garrett had seen it all clearly in the library. Now, upon reflection, Elliott's deliberate leniency was clearly noticed by Magician Gelman. Garrett felt a bit sorry for him.

With Garrett's apology, Elliott's demeanor softened a bit. He picked up the papers and flipped through them, then suddenly raised his hand and patted Garrett on the back:

"You've got some luck!"

"Yeah," Garrett relaxed and smiled, still a bit shaken. Elliott glanced at the boy beside him and shook his head:

"You've hit the right time, you know? The Magic Council assesses all the magic towers every year, counting how many mage apprentices are trained and if there are any improvements in new magic. If the scores are low, the funding is reduced, and the next year becomes a tight one.

With the assessment coming up in June and the research not going well... you, this little thing, is actually quite interesting and might be able to scrape through..."

Thank goodness! Copying from the dictionary was indeed useful! Garrett breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping immediately. Magician Elliott flipped through two more pages of the papers, then suddenly sighed heavily:

"The teacher told me to watch over you... sigh, teaching someone who doesn't even know the alphabet is such a hassle. I'm rushing off to do an experiment, so here's the deal"

He muttered a few words, then suddenly raised his hand, pointing at Garrett's forehead. A chilly light flashed, and Garrett felt his head swelling as if it had been stuffed with countless things all at once. Elliott waved:

"You study on your own, I'm outta here!"

Garrett suddenly turned around. The pages spread out on the table, the magical script he hadn't memorized or learned at all, every word's meaning was crystal clear at that moment.

Level one magic: Language Proficiency?

Garrett flashed this phrase in his mind. In his past life, he'd seen this spell in web novels and games, seeming to have a time limit, depending on the mage's level for its duration. So, when the time's up, does it all vanish instantly?

Without time to express gratitude, Garrett hurriedly transcribed all the letters in order onto a sheet of paper. By the time he turned around, Elliott was already far away, walking hurriedly.

"Thank you!" Garrett shouted against the door frame. He lunged at the bookshelf, quickly pulling out "Basic Meditation."

Meditation is a fundamental for mages! The sooner, the better! While the language proficiency is still effective, memorizing this book now and being able to practice it properly at home is the right thing to do!

He flipped through the first few pages and relaxed a bit.

"Meditation is a lifelong pursuit for mages.

Hela Yuril, Magic History, Year 382."

Thank goodness, I can understand it.

This book is written in magical script, not some strange characters I'd need to decipher. I know every single word on these pages; the author of this book is really kind...

Garrett focused, reading through the text. Whether it was written for new entrants or the author's naturally friendly demeanor, "Basic Meditation" was extremely simple and easy to understand. It started by defining the purpose of meditation:

Meditation is a method for mages to refine their mental power, to then observe the world through their mental power, a way to reflect the world.

Ummm...

Every word is recognizable.

Every phrase is understandable.

But put together... what is mental power? My focus? Ability to think? The activity level of brainwaves?

Invisible, intangible. Would getting an EEG help?

Or maybe Musk's brain-machine interface can extend mental power beyond the body?

Or perhaps it's not brainwaves but a neural magnetic field?

Shaking off these thoughts, Garrett calmly started reading. Time was limited, and he didn't know if he'd have time to copy, so he had to read and memorize simultaneously. After going through it once, then a second time, halfway through the book, his mind suddenly blurred, and then...

The text in the book turned into distorted patterns, occasionally interspersed with a few familiar words.

The spell's duration ended.

OVER. Immediately erased, not a speck of memory left.

Garrett sighed in frustration. He spread out a new blank sheet, turned back to the first page of "Basic Meditation," and with the help of illustrations and a few scattered words on the page, he began to write from memory.

The meaning of meditation.

What meditation is.

How to start meditation, calming one's mind, entering a state between sleep and wakefulness, focusing first and then expanding.

How to use mental power to touch the world, what one might feel during initial meditation, and what taboos exist...

Line by line, page by page, unconsciously, a pile of papers filled with words accumulated on Garrett's left side.

An unexpected gain!

Tonight, I'll attempt meditation for the first time!

The world of magic, here I come!

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