It's hard to imagine magic without meditation. But what exactly is meditation? Is it merely sitting in a lotus position, closing your eyes, and thinking of nothing? Wouldn't you just grow bored and fall asleep within five minutes? In his past life, Mark had heard of meditation, but he had never truly grasped its essence.
How is meditation performed in this world?
For a mage, the ultimate goal of meditation is to enter their Inner World. In this state, your physical body remains in a trance-like sleep, while your spirit transcends into its own spiritual realm. A mage's ability to enter this Inner World is what truly defines them as a master of their craft.
Being within the Inner World drastically accelerates the recovery of one's mana. It is the ideal environment for studying spells, practicing mana manipulation, and crafting new magic. While one can study theories or practice spells without it, the progress is painstakingly slow in comparison.
Mark had read about all of this in the Great Hero novel back in his old world. But now, he didn't need lore—he needed a manual. He began to sift through the fragments of Thaddeus's memories, searching for the specific key to unlock his own Inner World.As Mark sifted through Thaddeus's memories, he sensed a glaring void. There were records of him meditating and entering his Inner World, yet the memories felt fragmented—incomplete. He knew he had been there, but he had no recollection of what his Inner World looked like or what he had done inside it. Agitated, he turned to the System. "Why are Thaddeus's memories incomplete? Why can't I remember anything about the Inner World?"
A moment later, the familiar ding echoed in his mind, and a holographic panel materialized:
[Reason: Although you are spiritually similar to Thaddeus Von Lightborn and inhabit his body with his memories, you are NOT Thaddeus Von Lightborn. The Inner World is an entity tied entirely to the individual's soul and identity.]
That made sense, at least partially. It meant I had to find my own way into the Inner World. But it still didn't fully explain why I was stuck in my basic magic training. Even at the lowest circles, one should be able to cast magic without the Inner World. Pushing further, Mark asked, "System, you said this body is capable of magic, but what about my soul?"
The response was immediate:
[Yes. Your body is capable of magic. Your soul is also capable. However, the succession of two different souls in one vessel can cause interference in the Mana flow. This is a condition that heals with time.]
"Finally, the root of the problem," Mark thought. Mana is spiritual energy, but it is tethered to the physical vessel. Both my soul and this body are ready for magic, but they haven't achieved perfect "resonance" yet. It all circles back to the same point: I must fully accept the essence of Thaddeus. The only trace of him left in this body is his memories. I need to understand him, to embrace him, because fundamentally, we are the same.
There was another way to force this resonance—life-and-death combat, just like the encounter with the goblin. For now, I am a foreign soul in a body filled with someone else's past. As the System said, the fusion is complete, but the "acceptance" is still in progress. And nothing solves internal conflicts faster than an external threat.
Mark gathered his drifting thoughts and began to outline his next steps. First, he intended to find concrete meditation manuals in the library. At the same time, he committed to physical training—something he had neglected until now. How exactly he would train in his condition remained a question, but he knew it was a non-negotiable necessity.
As of now, he lacked any reliable defensive or offensive spells. Even if he learned one, whether he could effectively deploy it against a goblin on the first floor was another matter entirely. Knowing a spell and casting it in the heat of battle were two fundamentally different things. For now, he would double down on Mana Sense.
He also needed to develop specialized versions of Mana Sense. Currently, he could only "see" things imbued with mana; he had to find a way to perceive non-mana objects as well. This was a puzzle he had to solve. Once he was certain his left arm had fully healed, he planned to return to the first floor. Mark knew one thing for certain: if he stayed in the Safe Zone for too long, the isolation and inertia would eventually drive him back toward the brink of madness.
With that intent in mind, Mark pulled a meditation manual written for absolute beginners from the System's library and read it thoroughly. After about 1.5 to 2 hours of reading, he attempted to follow the instructions and meditate. However, there were no immediate results. "It's fine," he thought. "This is only the beginning."
After finishing his meditation practice, an idea struck him. Since he had already mastered Mana Sense to a certain degree, he should try to maintain it constantly while performing other tasks. If he could do it during the fight with the goblin, he should be able to do it under normal conditions as well. With this in mind, he activated his Mana Sense and focused on sustaining it while turning his attention to other things.
It was time to search for new sensory spells—specifically ones that helped perceive non-mana objects. He began searching the library, but most of the techniques were centered on enhancing vision or channeling mana into the eyes. True, his hearing and sense of smell were already heightened due to his blindness, but visual enhancement required at least one functioning eye to begin with. There were countless methods for ocular magic: far-sight, mana-vision, and even spells to see through clothes... Mark shut the book and moved on. Pushing aside those frivolous and lewd thoughts, he continued his search.
Elemental Sense. In this world, the primary spells were elemental, and mages had developed ways to perceive the world through specific elements. Generally, it was recommended to train in the element one had an affinity for and learn sensing methods specific to that element. This was exactly what he needed.
"Alright, first I need to know which element I'm compatible with. But will this elemental affinity be inherited from Thaddeus, or will it be my own?" he asked the System.
The familiar ding echoed in his mind, and a panel appeared:
[Elemental affinity is tied to the Mana Veins within a mage's vessel. Therefore, you have inherited Thaddeus Von Lightborn's elemental affinity along with his body.]
That certainly simplified things. He began diving into Thaddeus's memories, searching for his elemental alignment. But as the realization hit him, Mark's face twisted into a strange expression. He could barely suppress the overwhelming urge to curse Thaddeus's name.