Diagon Alley, Room 341.

The academy provided second-class wizard apprentices with a small villa, complete with a dedicated servant team of three.

These servants were a special type of diminutive elf called gray dwarves.

From the Universal Studies course, Locke learned that the minds of gray dwarves had been altered by prolonged magical enslavement. They innately revered those with high mental strength, showing extreme devotion to wizards and unquestioningly obeying their commands without any loyalty issues.

However, their low intelligence meant they could only handle simple tasks, such as cleaning or moving objects.

Locke gave a brief instruction to the three gray dwarves assigned to his villa to tidy up, then returned to his bedroom, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began meditating.

In a copper incense burner, Locke placed about 10 grams of Badansi wood shavings, then ignited them with a magical flame.

As a wisp of white smoke rose from the burner, Locke leaned forward and inhaled the fragrant vapor.

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

Locke had spent all his saved magic stones, 150 in total, to purchase just 300 grams of Badansi wood shavings.

Fortunately, aside from the annual 100 magic stone base tuition, Sophia hadn’t charged him extra, or he wouldn’t have had enough to cover course fees.

As Locke inhaled the Badansi wood smoke, he felt dizzy, his vision blurring with vibrant, multicolored hues, as if entering a long, dazzling tunnel. After a turbulent journey, he seemed to arrive at the heart of an ancient tree.

Sitting cross-legged at the tree’s core, Locke was surrounded by its growth rings, feeling as though he had merged with the tree, sensing its breathing.

His own breathing gradually synchronized with the tree’s rhythm.

During this process, Locke felt his legs transform into the tree’s roots, absorbing elemental particles from the earth, while his shoulders became its branches, drawing energy from sunlight.

His mental strength was continuously nourished in this state.

“I’ve succeeded in meditation, entering the tree heart state described in the Root Pulse Synchronization Meditation Technique,” Locke thought. “Now, my mental strength fluctuations mimic an ancient life tree, drawing energy from the earth and void to nurture my mental strength.”

The Root Pulse Synchronization Meditation Technique was developed by ancient wizards studying why life trees grew stronger than other trees, though it only scratched the surface of their secrets.

In his meditative state, Locke felt himself, as the tree’s core, gathering energy from his feet and head, channeling it into his soul.

Having consumed the Moonlight Elixir, his meditation speed was currently more than double his normal rate.

This caused his mental strength to rise from 60 toward 61 at a remarkable pace.

“So that’s it. Wizards with meditation techniques can draw energy from nature to nourish their mental strength,” Locke realized.

“This is why wizards with meditation techniques grow incomparably faster than those without.”

“But the Badansi wood is so expensive. The daily 10-gram consumption is a burden. My 150 magic stones can only sustain me for less than a month.”

“Even with the academy’s 30 magic stone monthly subsidy, it’s far from enough.”

Locke thought, “After a few more months of breeding lessons, I can start selling synthesized plants.”

“Otherwise, I’ll soon run out of magic stones to sustain my studies.”

Meanwhile, as Locke meditated, the strange ether element substance from a Rose Red Jade in his hand flowed into his soul alongside the natural energy he absorbed.

Locke paused, surprised. “My efficiency in absorbing ether elements has more than doubled?”

“The meditation technique also helps me better absorb the ether elements in the Rose Red Jade.”

“Excellent. This could more than double my mental strength growth speed.”

Locke estimated that his growth rate was already close to that of a Level 6 aptitude wizard. Now, with the combined effects of the meditation technique, Rose Red Jade, and Moonlight Elixir, his mental strength growth likely matched or even slightly surpassed that of a Level 6 aptitude prospect.

Locke opened his eyes, took a dose of Focus Ointment from the drawer, and applied it to his temples. The ointment enhanced his concentration, indirectly boosting his meditation efficiency and mental strength growth rate.

He was using every method available to accelerate his mental strength growth.

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

“Using meditation to replace sleep seems feasible,” he noted.

“My mana and thoughts simulated the heart of an ancient life tree, entering a state akin to deep sleep. Combined with the calming effects of Badansi wood, meditating all night not only prevented fatigue but also restored my mental strength.”

Locke reflected, “But the meditation technique warns that I should sleep at least ten nights a month.”

“Meditation doesn’t fully replace the restorative role of sleep. There seem to be aspects of the soul and mental domains, not fully understood even by wizards, that require natural sleep to recover.”

“Prolonged meditation without sleep can cause numerous side effects.”

Locke flipped through his meditation technique scroll, which depicted a creature with ashen skin, standing like a human but with a pointed head, protruding skull, and sunken eye sockets—a “monster” labeled [Sleep Demon].

Some wizards once believed that continuous meditation could eliminate the need for sleep, allowing them to use precious time to boost their mana and wizard rank.

They meditated for decades without sleep, resulting in physical abnormalities. Their bodies began to mutate, ultimately turning into the Sleep Demon described in the scroll.

Looking at the creature, Locke thought, “It looks like some form of degeneration.”

“It must be the consequence of meditating without sleep for extended periods. Ordinary mortals sleep at least a little, and prolonged lack of sleep leads to death. But wizards can survive decades without sleep by relying on meditation.”

“So, this is a disease unique to wizards. Sleep must be crucial for restoring some unknown aspect of the soul.”

Locke reached out, retrieving a recently synthesized batch of Growth Gel from the Horadric Synthesis Cube, which spun and sparkled with silver flames.