Chapter 45: Sleep Ghoul

Inverted Alley No. 341.

The academy had allocated a small villa to Second-Class Wizard Apprentices, which came with a dedicated servant team of three individuals.

These servants were a special type of dwarf-elf hybrid known as Gray Dwarves.

Through the All Things Class, Locke learned that the brains of these Gray Dwarves had been altered due to prolonged magical enslavement. They were born with an innate worship of those with high spiritual power, making them extremely devoted to wizards. They would accept any command from wizards without any loyalty issues.

However, the trade-off was their low intelligence, which meant they couldn't be entrusted with complex tasks. At most, they could handle cleaning or moving objects.

After briefly instructing the three Gray Dwarves assigned to his villa to tidy up, Locke returned to his bedroom. He sat cross-legged on his bed and began his meditation.

Locke placed about 10 grams of Badan West Wood shavings into a bronze incense burner and ignited them with Magical Flame.

As wisps of white smoke curled up from the burner, Locke suddenly lowered his head and inhaled the fragrant smoke deeply.

Basic meditation required auxiliary materials, which were often quite expensive.

Locke had spent all his saved Magic Stones—a total of one hundred and fifty—just to purchase 300 grams of Badan West Wood shavings.

Fortunately, aside from the annual tuition of one hundred Magic Stones, Teacher Sophia hadn't charged him any additional fees. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to afford the course.

As Locke inhaled the Badan West Wood smoke, he felt dizzy. His vision blurred, and a kaleidoscope of colors appeared before him, as if he were entering a long, dazzling tunnel. After a turbulent journey, he found himself inside the heart of an ancient tree.

Sitting cross-legged at the core of the tree, he was surrounded by its concentric rings. He felt as though he had become one with the ancient tree, its core, and could even sense its breathing.

Gradually, his own breathing synchronized perfectly with the tree's rhythm.

During this process, Locke felt his legs transform into the tree's roots, drawing Elemental Particles from the earth. His shoulders became its branches and leaves, absorbing energy from sunlight.

His spiritual power was continuously nourished throughout.

'The meditation worked. I've entered the tree-core state described in the Root Vein Synchronization Meditation Method,' Locke thought. 'Now, I'm aligning my spiritual fluctuations with those of the Ancient Tree of Life, drawing energy from the earth and the void to nourish my spiritual power.'

The Root Vein Synchronization Meditation Method was originally developed by ancient wizards who studied the Ancient Tree of Life to understand why it grew stronger than other trees.

Of course, the Ancient Tree of Life was of a much higher tier. The Root Vein Synchronization Meditation Method only scratched the surface of its mysteries.

Locke was in a meditative state, envisioning himself as the heart of a tree, continuously drawing energy from beneath his feet and above his head, channeling it into his soul.

Having consumed the Moonlight Potion, his current meditation speed remained more than twice his original rate.

This caused his mental energy to rapidly increase from 60 towards 61 at an astonishing pace.

'So this is how it works,' he realized. 'Wizards who master the Meditation Method can draw energy from nature to nourish their mental energy.'

'That's precisely why wizards who use the Meditation Method grow at a pace incomparable to those who don't.'

'The only problem is that the auxiliary Badan West Wood is far too expensive. Just the daily consumption of its shavings is a burden. I need at least 10 grams of Badan West Wood shavings per day, meaning 150 Magic Stones can barely sustain me for less than a month.'

'Even if the academy subsidizes me with 30 Magic Stones per month, it's still nowhere near enough.'

Locke pondered. 'After a few more months of the Breeding Course, I can try selling synthesized plants.'

'Otherwise, I won't even have enough Magic Stones to continue my studies.'

Meanwhile, the Rose Ruby in Locke's hand, now in his meditative state, released its peculiar substance—the Aether Element—which flowed into his soul along with the natural energy he absorbed.

Locke was stunned. 'My efficiency in absorbing Aether Elements has more than doubled?'

'The Meditation Method also helps me better assimilate the Aether Elements within the Rose Ruby.'

'This is perfect. With this, my mental energy growth rate could increase by more than twofold.'

He estimated that his original improvement speed was already close to that of a 6th-grade talent.

Now, thanks to the combined effects of the Meditation Method, Rose Ruby, and Moonlight Elixir, his mental energy growth might have fully matched—or even slightly surpassed—that of a 6th-grade Wizard Seedling.

Locke opened his eyes, took out a jar of Contemplation Balm from his drawer, and applied it to his temples. The balm enhanced his focus, indirectly boosting his meditation efficiency and mental energy growth rate.

He was now utilizing every available method to accelerate his mental energy development as quickly as possible.

The next morning, Locke opened his eyes to find sunlight streaming into his room.

"Using meditation as a substitute for sleep seems feasible."

"My mana and thoughts simulated the heartwood of the Ancient Tree of Life, inducing a deep sleep-like effect. Combined with the calming properties of Badan West Wood, I meditated through the entire night without fatigue—instead, my mental energy was restored."

He reflected for a moment. "But the Meditation Method warns me to sleep at least ten nights a month."

"It doesn't fully replace the restorative function of sleep, likely because there are aspects of the soul and mind—still undiscovered by wizards—that require the body's natural sleep to recover."

"Prolonged meditation without sleep can lead to numerous side effects."

Locke flipped through the Meditation Method scroll in his hand, which depicted a 'monster' with ash-gray skin standing upright like a human, but with a pointed head, protruding skull, and sunken eye sockets.

This creature was labeled as a [Sleep Ghoul] on the Meditation Method scroll.

Some wizards once believed that continuous meditation could eliminate the need for sleep, allowing them to dedicate precious time entirely to enhancing their Mana and advancing their wizard ranks.

After decades of such meditation, some wizards began experiencing physical deterioration—their bodies gradually mutated, eventually transforming into the monsters recorded on the scroll: Sleep Ghouls.

Locke studied the illustration of the creature and pondered, "It appears to be some form of degeneration."

"Likely a consequence of prolonged meditation without sleep. Ordinary mortals still sleep to some extent—prolonged sleep deprivation would kill them. But wizards can survive for decades without sleep by relying solely on meditation."

"So, this seems to be an affliction unique to wizards. Sleep must still be crucial—probably for restoring some unknown aspect of the soul."

Locke reached into the continuously spinning Horadric Synthetic Cube, its surface flickering with silver sparks, and retrieved the batches of Growth Element Gel he had been synthesizing lately.

(End of Chapter)