Chapter 4: Meditation

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Chapter 4: Meditation

Aye’s method of meditation was divided into two parts: the inner and the outer.

The outer part was about sensing the universe.

The book said that the universe was composed of four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. These four elements transformed into one another, giving rise to all things.

The inner part was about examining oneself.

The four elements corresponded to the organs within the human body. Earth corresponded to the spleen, air to the liver, water to the lungs, and the gallbladder to fire. If the universe was composed of four elements, then so was humanity.

Combine the two, and man became the universe, while I became its master.

The actual meditation method was very simple. Since this was a crash course in becoming a mage in one hundred days, there was no gradual process of starting from the inside and moving outward, or vice versa. You simply went for it.

The process had three steps.

First, close your eyes and forget that you exist, allowing “I” and the “universe” to achieve unity.

Second, unleash a storm of imagination, making the magic elements within this unified universe dance according to your imagination and form the shape of a dragon.

Third, destroy the dragon and kill it.

Charlie’s expression remained unchanged as he turned to the next page. It read:

[First, kill it a hundred times.]

[Congratulations. You’ve entered the magic path.]

Very good. Truly worthy of someone who devoted three chapters to dragon slaying.

Charlie slowly raised his head, then turned to Ben’s bones, which were still hiding beneath the bed, and asked, “Is this Lord Aye holding some kind of grudge against dragons?”

The bones shifted. After a long pause, Ben finally answered, “I don’t know either. I forgot.”

There was a hint of petulance in his voice. Charlie didn’t press him, and after waiting a moment, Ben indeed couldn’t resist speaking again. “I told you already. He’s an arrogant madman. I may not know magic, but I heard my master say that elemental perception is also called elemental affinity. It’s meant to make friends with the elements, not turn them into a dragon and beat them to death.”

Charlie fell into thought.

Sensing the elements, growing close to them, and becoming inseparable companions with one another was probably the orthodox path of magic. Aye, on the other hand, was all about conquest, using an overwhelming presence to force the magic elements to serve him. That was certainly a little more insane.

“Will it backfire?” Charlie asked.

Ben didn’t know that either. But after thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice and warned him again in a terrifying voice that sounded as though air were leaking through his throat. “Either way, this is definitely a forbidden grimoire. A forbidden grimoire!”

Whether it was a forbidden grimoire or a grimoire, once Charlie made up his mind about something, nothing could stop him. He had been like that since childhood.

Over the past few days, he had occasionally been able to sense the existence of magic elements. Today, it was time to try taking the next step.

With that in mind, he said nothing more. He steadied his breathing, adjusted his state of mind, sat cross-legged on the floor, and began to meditate.

Although Aye hadn’t explained the method in much detail, Charlie felt that the theory of the four elements and the theory of the Five Elements seemed to have something in common, so it wasn’t difficult to understand. The difficult part was figuring out how to forget his own existence and make “I” and the “universe” overlap and become one.

It seemed like a deeply mysterious thing to accomplish.

Charlie closed his eyes, and his world became pitch-black.

Over the past few days, his perception of the elements had always been passive, mostly occurring in his dreams. This was his first time actively trying to sense the existence of magic elements. Where were they?

Right. I have to forget that I exist first.

But my existence is me. How am I supposed to forget myself? In more familiar terms, perhaps this state could be called “forgetting self and object.”

Charlie didn’t think he possessed such an otherworldly state of mind. Wasn’t everything in this world like that? The more you wanted something, the harder it was to obtain. He looked outward with all his mind, but the world was as black as ink, utterly empty. There wasn’t even a trace of magic elements to be seen.

After a long while, Charlie opened his eyes and lowered his gaze to his empty hands, sinking into thought.

No. This isn’t the right method.

Aye had taken an unconventional path. His method wasn’t suitable for most people, so why should Charlie follow it? After all, his soul did not belong to this world.

Although he had inherited the original owner’s memories, it was more like watching the highlights of his life from a God’s-eye view. He had hidden behind the window and watched the believers outside argue and make a commotion, watched the knight’s long sword become bathed in moonlight, watched the noise gradually die down. The soul from another world had observed everything. He could remain detached, within this game yet outside it.

To him, this world could be an illusory dream in which meteors fell, or a game that had simply been loaded. He could remain clear-headed and step outside the world, observing it from beyond.

Charlie closed his eyes again.

Does this world truly exist?

It was the first question the soul from another world had ever asked of this world.

If the world truly exists, then what is its essence?

Answer me.

Respond to me.

Answer me.

In the vast, pitch-black universe, each question spread like ripples on water, circle after circle, traveling toward the deeper reaches of the cosmos, continuing without end.

Gradually, a faint point of light finally appeared before his eyes.

At first, it was barely noticeable. But as time passed, the point of light grew brighter, and more appeared. The lights belonging to different elements also took on different colors.

The world began to fill with vibrant colors.

Next came the storm of imagination.

A dragon? What do Western dragons look like?

The soul that belonged outside this world let his imagination run free. In the world of imagination, nothing was impossible, so he wasn’t bound by any particular form. He seemed to be sitting lazily with his chin propped on one hand, thinking. Then, at a certain moment, he raised his hand and drew a single stroke across the boundless universe.

Ah, sorry. My hand slipped.

Again.

He was an art student with a unique appreciation for beauty, so he drew another stroke. Yet the line was still crooked and wobbly. Or rather, the points of light were simply not arranged very neatly.

They were like clumsy recruits who couldn’t even tell left from right.

He wasn’t satisfied. He frowned slightly, and a storm rose within this world of imagination.

All the points of light were swept away by the storm. In an instant, the entire world began to collapse, and Charlie himself opened his eyes with a muffled groan.

Light returned to his eyes. It was as though he had instantly returned to normal from a vacuum. He took deep breaths until his pounding heart finally began to settle.

He raised a hand and wiped the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, there was no blood.

Is this meditation?

Charlie vaguely felt that his meditation might be different from everyone else’s, even Aye’s. But he had indeed seen the magic elements, and he had indeed guided them.

Does this first attempt at meditation count as… a success?

As Charlie was thinking, Ben’s bones came hurriedly rolling out from under the bed. He had already told Charlie that it was a forbidden grimoire and that he shouldn’t follow its methods, but Charlie simply refused to listen.

Look at him! His face is almost whiter than my bones!

“Are you all right?” Ben asked worriedly.

“I’m fine.” Charlie genuinely felt that everything was still within an acceptable range. It was better than when he had gotten into a car accident as a child, or fallen down the stairs. His head was a little dizzy, and there was some cold sweat on his palms and back, but he had been prepared for this.

Ben was utterly baffled. “You’re going to try again?”

Charlie turned his head. His pale green eyes seemed to carry an innate melancholy, but at that moment, all emotion had settled within them. They were cold, yet filled with a light that was impossible to ignore. “Why not?”

Ben froze.

Charlie suddenly smiled. He picked up the bone and brushed the dust off him. Then he folded a blanket and placed it beside him before setting the bone on top of it. “If I die, Your Excellency, loyal retainer of the great necromancer, could you save me one more time? Once my body is covered in pinecones, perhaps I’ll wake up again.”

Ben settled onto the cushion, his bones feeling warm.

He really didn’t want Charlie to die. This person cleaned his bones, gave him a cushion to sit on, and even talked to him. How could he just die so easily? So he couldn’t help suggesting, “How about not turning it into a dragon, then?”

“Then what should I turn it into?”

“T-Turn it into a squirrel? Dragons are terrifying. You can’t beat one. A gigantic evil dragon, breathing flames, could burn an entire village to ashes. No one would survive.”

Charlie shook his head. “In the world of imagination, an evil dragon and a squirrel are no different. Besides…”

Charlie didn’t say the rest aloud. In his heart, dragons were totems, symbols. He had drawn many dragons before: beautiful, powerful, majestic creatures, practically perfect creations.

Dragons from another world? If I have to kill one a hundred times, then I’ll kill it a hundred times.

Of course, for Charlie at his current level, merely sensing the existence of magic elements and drawing a few barely recognizable lines was already his limit. He needed to keep trying and keep training.

Become a mage in one hundred days… How many days will he need?

Charlie found a hint of amusement in the challenge and continued meditating without hesitation.

He moved too quickly for Ben to stop him. Fortunately, Charlie’s second attempt at meditation didn’t last long. This time, he sensed the magic elements with ease, but he still failed at the very first stroke.

Ultimately, he could only sense a very small number of magic elements, and as soon as the storm of imagination began to blow, he would be rapidly thrown out of his meditative state, let alone kill a dragon.

There was nothing he could do about it. He was a beginner, and Charlie’s talent was recovering far too slowly. This limited elemental perception only put him slightly above an ordinary person.

“Whew…” Charlie took a deep breath but didn’t stop to rest.

He wanted to find out where his limits lay.

Ben could only watch as he tried again and again, his face growing paler each time. Ben was both worried and amazed.

What a strange person. Strange like Aye, but a good kind of strange. No, that’s not right… Ben was confused, unable to find the right words to express it. And just then, the squirrel appeared again.

A squirrel passing along the branches of the pine tree outside the window stared incredulously at the scene inside with its beady little eyes. The human closed his eyes again. His face is deathly pale!

“Squeak! Squeak-squeak!” The squirrel let out strange cries and jumped up and down.

Ben’s heart lurched, and he wanted to call out, but he was afraid of disturbing Charlie. Just as he was getting anxious, he saw the squirrel dart away with a whoosh, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But half a minute later…

The squirrel came back clutching a pinecone. It squeezed through the still-unrepaired window, raised the pinecone high with both paws, and hurled it forward with all its strength.

Whoosh—

At the critical moment, Ben’s bones shot up from the blanket and intercepted the pinecone midair.

“Smack!”

The pinecone was knocked back and slammed into the window.

The window shattered.

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