The next day, Li Wei shot up in bed. Bright sunlight streamed through the window.
"Crap! I overslept!"
After tidying up a bit, he hurried toward the classroom.
When he reached the classroom door, he could hear the teacher's voice from inside.
He hesitated for a moment, mentally reviewing the consequences of being late.
After concluding there were no major repercussions, he decisively walked in.
"Sorry, Teacher Gu Ze, I'm late."
Gu Ze, holding a book in his left hand and a teaching ruler in his right, glanced at him and said flatly, "Hurry back to your seat. Don't waste the other students' time."
Li Wei quickly ran back to his seat. Only after sitting down did he realize he had forgotten his textbook, and he glanced around, embarrassed.
Fumbling around, he found a book inside his desk and quickly pulled it out to pretend he was prepared.
*Mage Legend*
He glanced down at the title and was a little surprised. It was actually a novel.
He flipped it open and, with just one look, was captivated by the story, losing himself in it completely.
By the time he came back to his senses, the morning class was already over.
Teacher Gu Ze was gathering his books, and the other students had already gotten up and left.
He glanced at Li Wei and said, "Li Wei, you still have half a year. Don't lose heart and give up so easily."
Upon hearing this, Li Wei quickly stood up and said, "Teacher, I won't give up. I will definitely become a Mage."
Gu Ze listened, nodded, and said nothing.
He gathered his things and turned to leave.
In his heart, his impression of Li Wei plummeted.
Before, he had sympathized with Li Wei's background. He saw that Li Wei was always working hard, only falling behind the others due to his personal limitations, and felt deep pity.
But now, Li Wei's words only made him feel that the boy had already given up on himself and no longer wanted to try, just wanting to coast through the final six months.
There was no other reason. Becoming a Mage was just too difficult!
Li Wei was just an Apprentice, not even having cultivated any Mana yet.
'He's not even a Mage Apprentice, yet he has the nerve to talk about becoming a Mage.'
He himself had joined the Mage Tower twelve years ago and was still only an Apprentice Mage.
Three years as an Apprentice, three years as a Mage Apprentice, three years as an Apprentice Mage.
Normally, for an ordinary person to go from learning Magic Knowledge to becoming a true Mage, it would take at least nine to ten years.
And that was considered fast. He was one of the slow ones, stuck as an Apprentice Mage for five years and still not a true Mage.
After becoming an Apprentice Mage, one could stay in the Mage Tower long-term, take on certain duties, and make contributions to the Mage Tower.
Gu Ze was considered a young Apprentice Mage; there were plenty of them in their thirties and forties.
The difference between an Apprentice Mage and a Mage was just one word, but it was a world of difference.
Many others, realizing they had no hope of becoming a Mage, would give up their advanced studies and switch to other Extraordinary Professions.
It was precisely because his own twelve years of hard work had yet to bring success that he felt such resentment upon hearing Li Wei's boast.
Li Wei watched Gu Ze turn and leave, then put away *Mage Legend* and headed for the cafeteria.
He didn't eat much for lunch, lest being too full affect his Cultivation.
After finishing his meal and returning to his dorm, he quickly sat cross-legged and began his Cultivation.
It took him half an hour to calm his mind, quiet his thoughts, and enter a state of Meditation.
When his Cultivation session ended, Li Wei let out a long breath.
Words appeared on the wall before him.
[Basic Meditation Method (Entry Level)]: 84/500
'I can cultivate one more time tonight. I'll aim to break one hundred.'
After his Meditation, he took his textbook and went to class.
The afternoon teacher was different, but also an Apprentice Mage who had remained in the Mage Tower.
An Apprentice Mage's skill level was more than enough to instruct Apprentices.
A true Master Mage would never waste time teaching Apprentices.
Even Apprentice Mages rarely had the opportunity to receive guidance from a Mage.
In the afternoon, the teacher explained various Magic Items.
Li Wei noticed two things that could be useful to him.
"Calming Incense is an important aid for a Mage's meditation and cultivation. It can help a Mage quickly enter a meditative state, saving a great deal of cultivation time..."
"The Demon Cores found inside Magic Beasts are rich with Magic Elements. Magic Potions made from Demon Cores can significantly increase the speed at which a Mage cultivates Magic Power..."
'Calming Incense, Magic Potions?' Li Wei's eyes flickered with interest.
After class in the afternoon, Li Wei finished his cleaning duties and left the Mage Tower for the first time.
In a shop on the streets of the Upper City District, he saw the Calming Incense.
'Ten Silver Coins a stick. That's way too expensive!'
Li Wei glanced at the money in his pocket and sighed to himself.
There was no pay for cleaning classrooms, but occasionally the Apprentices and Apprentice Mages in the Mage Tower would hire people to help with chores like running errands or moving things.
Over two and a half years, he had managed to earn a little money.
He hadn't spent a single coin, accumulating a total of 2 silver and 56 copper.
Penniless, Li Wei had no choice but to head back.
He sat on his bed to meditate and cultivate.
'It takes half an hour just to get into the right state every time I meditate. It's such a waste of time.'
'Even though I'm not truly in a meditative state during that half hour, it still consumes Spiritual Power. If I could save that time it takes to enter Meditation, my efficiency would increase by at least ten or twenty percent.'
'Calming Incense... I wonder how effective it is?'
'Too bad I have no money!'
Li Wei composed himself, cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, and calmed his heart, hoping to enter Meditation faster.
But the more he rushed, the harder it was to quiet his mind.
He only realized this after wasting some more time.
After completely emptying his mind and stopping himself from thinking about it, he finally entered a state of Meditation.
When his Cultivation was over, he ate, then studied Magic Knowledge and read *Mage Legend*, before cultivating one more time in the middle of the night.
He found the results weren't great, so he changed his plan to cultivating once in the morning and once in the evening—twice a day.
Li Wei's life became extremely disciplined.
Every day, he would wake up early, cultivate for an hour, then wash up, eat, and go to class.
After class in the evening, he would eat dinner, cultivate for another hour, and then read.
He was completely hooked on the novels, unable to pull himself away.
After finishing *Mage Legend*, he went to the library to find *Mage Legend 2*.
Thirteen days later, he was already reading *Mage Legend 5*.
One evening, Li Wei was sitting on his bed cultivating.
Suddenly, he felt a faint, barely-there Power building inside him.
'Mana!'
Li Wei sensed the faint, barely-there Mana inside him, his heart pounding with excitement.
All these days of hard work had finally paid off.
It was just a shame that this Mana was too weak. It was difficult to even perceive, let alone use to cast Magic.
[Basic Meditation Method (Master Level)] 0/1000
'Just as I thought, the Basic Meditation Method leveled up!'
Li Wei looked at the words that appeared before him, confirming his suspicion.
He hadn't been able to cultivate Mana before because his mastery Level of the Basic Meditation Method was too low, preventing him from converting enough Magic Elements into Mana.
What he needed to do now was strengthen the Mana in his body until he could use it to cast Magic!
'Now that I've cultivated Mana, I can ask a teacher for a Magic spell to practice,' Li Wei thought.
He shook his head. He wasn't in a hurry.
His Mana was simply too weak. Even if he got a Magic spell, he wouldn't be able to start practicing it.
He planned to wait until his Mana had grown stronger before asking a teacher for a Magic spell.
Now that his Basic Meditation Method had reached the Master Level, his meditation efficiency had doubled, and one-fifth of the Magic Elements he absorbed could be converted into Mana.
The speed of his Mana Cultivation had increased dramatically.