A Hospital in Another World? C.202

Day one.

"Has Garrett started meditating?"

"No, he’s still scribbling away..."

Day two.

"Has he started meditating yet?"

"No, he’s still writing..."

Day three.

"Is he meditating?"

"No, he’s asked for another sheet of paper..."

Master Kairel the Great Mage stopped asking.

Switching meditation techniques is a serious and significant matter. Many mages, before taking this step, try to adjust their mood and prepare themselves as much as possible.

Some bathe, change clothes, and sleep for three days and three nights; some go fishing by the sea to relax; some go to indescribable places for indescribable activities...

Back in the day, Master Kairel himself obtained a magical equipment from his mentor, traveled hundreds of miles, and killed the enemy who had insulted his sister. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Compared to that, locking oneself in a room to write and scribble for three days, using up two sheets of paper, was as normal as it could get.

Master Kairel wasn’t worried that Garrett was too negligent; he was only concerned that Garrett might be too tense and unable to find the right state of mind... Garrett hadn’t even torn a piece of paper! Every sheet of paper was neatly arranged, stacked into a pile!

Garrett didn’t feel overly anxious. Seated at the table, he tirelessly transcribed—or rather copied—the contents of "Advanced Mathematics for Medical Use." Discussions, formulas, charts, exercises...

As he copied, memories of lectures, exercises, and insights from his university days flooded back. Unconsciously, Garrett had returned to the state he was in when he first took that course in his freshman year.

It was the pinnacle of his mathematical prowess in his past life.

With this peak state of mind, Garrett tirelessly tackled the new meditation technique he had acquired. In just one day, he calculated the curve of the meditation shell, and in another day, he calculated the positions of the filter discs and the ejection holes. Then, finally sated and refreshed, he applied for seclusion.

"The meditation chamber?

The Mage Tower has dedicated meditation chambers that provide mages with a safe, undisturbed environment rich in energy options and high energy density, making it more suitable for mage advancement.

The primary meditation chamber is on the third floor, costs 100 contribution points per day, and is suitable for mages of levels 1-4; the intermediate meditation chamber is on the seventh floor, costs 1000 contribution points per day, and is suitable for mages of levels 5-9..."

The low-level mage who was responsible for running errands in the Mage Tower, paused, looking meaningfully at Garrett. The implication was, you shouldn’t need to use the advanced meditation chamber, right?

Indeed, Garrett didn’t need it. In fact, he was at that moment mentally calculating how many contribution points he had:

- Three points for that X-ray article; thirty for the one on bat-borne diseases; three for the ultrasound article...

- Those recent papers, one point each for the aseptic principle and the two on microscopy; fifty for the dysentery article; plus the subsidies from the Magic Council after registration, one point per month for a first-level mage, five per month for an arcane adept...

No matter how he calculated it, it didn’t seem to add up to 100 points.

A sense of melancholy washed over him.

"Um, can the meditation chamber be rented by the hour?"

"..."

The low-level mage guiding him looked at him dumbfoundedly. By the hour? Renting the meditation chamber by the hour? Except for real big shots, anyone who rents a meditation chamber does it to break through barriers. Who would want to be interrupted halfway through meditation? Brother, are you really sure you want to rent it by the hour?!

Seeing the mage’s expression, Garrett realized it probably wasn’t feasible. After a moment’s hesitation, torn between "I might as well meditate in my guest room" and "I’ll ask Master Kairel to waive the fee for me," he resolutely chose the latter.

After all, he was now under the jurisdiction of the Thunder Horn!

If they were willing to provide the meditation techniques, surely they wouldn’t balk at paying for the meditation chamber!

Well, if they really refused, he could always borrow some money from them! With the paper on phosphorus already approved, earning him 100 contribution points, it should be enough!

And if that still didn’t work, he could write a few more papers, apply for research projects, and advance the funds to upgrade...

Garrett laid out three options in his mind and dashed off. Master Kairel patiently listened to his plea, neither agreeing to foot the bill nor offering to lend him money, but instead proposed a new solution:

"In fact, I think you should check how many contribution points you have..."

What was there to check? However, with a wave of his hand, the low-level mage beside him—also a level five mage—brought forth a magic array. Garrett hastily thanked him, took off his own badge, and placed it on the magic array with some skepticism:

"Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

In the center of the badge, against a black background, the two bronze stars remained unchanged. However, along the edge of the badge, white rings began to rise slowly—one, two, three...

Three rings?

Ah~~~ Three rings, one less than five...

But three rings were still quite impressive! The evaluation of arcane ranks by the Magic Council was generally related to a mage’s research ability and mastery of arcane knowledge. Generally speaking, a three-ring mage meant they could effortlessly wield third-order magic.

In other words, he wouldn’t encounter any obstacles until he reached level seven or even eight.

How did he suddenly jump to three rings? How many rewards did they give him for those submissions before? Garrett was dumbfounded. And in his shocked gaze, another row of numbers lit up on the magic array:

1592.

1592 contribution points...

Enough to rent the primary meditation chamber for half a month without any pressure...

Seeing Garrett’s astonished expression, Master Kairel leaned back, interlacing his fingers, silently savoring his reaction. Half a month has passed, and you’ve only just realized it?!

Other mages, after submitting their papers, are practically living in the Magic Review Department, checking their magic badges every hour, or even every minute. Garrett, on the other hand, has been in his guest room for half a month!

Food is delivered, dirty clothes are collected, and there’s a bathroom in the guest room for bathing. He could really stay indoors without leaving until all the preparations were done.

Master Kairel had seen every mage above level ten, and they all needed the determination to stay up all night and forget to eat when necessary. But Garrett was only at level two, and yet he had this level of focus—especially since Garrett hadn’t been practicing magic or conducting experiments; he had simply been immersed in writing and calculation...

Now that he had the money, Garrett dismissed the idea of mooching off others and left. He swiped his magic badge to enter the meditation chamber, and as soon as he sat down, the crystal column on the wall lit up:

"Respected mage, hello. Welcome to the meditation chamber. We recommend that you first measure your mental strength to facilitate the meditation process and understand your progress~~~"

Huh?

There’s a mental strength test?

"Is it free?"

"Respected mage, the meditation chamber rental includes the mental strength assessment fee. Please feel free to use it."

...Spending 100 contribution points for this day was quite worth it. At the very least, Garrett hadn’t seen this kind of testing feature anywhere else. However, Garrett didn’t immediately activate this feature; instead, he asked cautiously:

"Can others see my mental strength?"

"The meditation chamber is managed by the Tower Spirit. Except for legendary mages of the Thunder Horn, others do not have permission to access it."

Legendary mages... even if they wanted to, they could only order him around with their fingers, without revealing his data...

Garrett felt relieved. Following the instructions from the crystal column, he concentrated his mind and vigorously attacked it. The surface of the crystal fluctuated from colorless and transparent to light red, from light crimson to peach, from peach to fiery red, pausing for a moment before turning into cinnabar red. Finally, a number froze in the center of the crystal:

65.

Without explanation, without comparison. Garrett shrugged, noted down the number, and began his meditation. He had already prepared thoroughly beforehand, so now he simply followed the calculated function, focusing his mind and constructing a protective shell on the outer edge of the meditation environment.

Origin coordinates, X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis... Lines spiraled, stretched, built pipelines, and on the outer edge of the pipeline, one ring after another rose, the inner walls smooth, the outer walls filtering, holes ejecting impurities...

The environment inside the meditation chamber was rich and quiet. He hadn’t noticed upon entering, but as he began to meditate, Garrett sighed: These 100 contribution points were really well spent!

Rich, in terms of the concentration of elements in the room, it was indeed higher than the outside environment. When his mental strength felt depleted, he could replenish it from the outside at any time; quiet, because the elements in the room weren’t restless, they weren’t even lively, so they wouldn’t disturb or harm his mental strength. It was like sitting in an autumn orchard, always ready to replenish when thirsty or hungry, yet not afraid of fruits falling and hitting his head.

Garrett meditated devoutly. The protective layer constructed by his mental strength continued to extend: a quarter circle, half circle, three-quarters circle, one circle... one and a half circles, two circles... the lines were smooth, the curvature uniform, the inner walls smooth spirals, constructing a protective layer around his meditation environment, like a perfect pearl shell, nurturing the flawless pearls within.

When Garrett’s mental strength reached its limit and he opened his eyes, the protective layer constructed by his mental strength had rotated around the core for three full circles.

And upon retesting, the surface of the crystal had turned red to black, and the number that popped up on the crystal column had doubled from before changing the meditation technique:

138.

"138?"

On the top floor of the Mage Tower, Master Decar looked at the number displayed by the Tower Spirit, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"He’s exceeded the advancement line by so much, why hasn’t he become a level three mage yet?"

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