A Hospital in Another World?

Garrett wasn't particularly surprised to reach the mental level required for a mage apprentice. After all, he had managed to cast a healing spell, which by priest standards, at the very least, would classify him as an apprentice. Though the powers differed, the mental strength required to cast spells should be somewhat similar.

But the world perceived through mental power—earth, water, fire, and air—was that his own perception, or was it the world as understood by the mages according to the "Basic Meditation"? Born in modern China and raised under its flag, Garrett found it hard to accept that this world was composed of earth, water, fire, and air.

He had at least studied "Medical Physics"! The four fundamental forces, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, electromagnetic force, gravitational force... unifying the first three into one interaction... geometric optics, wave optics, special relativity, quantum mechanics... He had scored 93 on that, at least!

Even though he promptly forgot everything after the exam...

But now, thanks to crossing over, he could remember it all again! As the memories of textbooks from his previous life came flooding back, definitions, theorems, formulas, hypotheses... surged forth, leaving Garrett feeling dizzy, nauseated, and almost ready to throw up.

The meditation environment shook intensely! Quickly dispersing the textbooks, he regained his composure. When he once again dispersed his mental strength to observe the surroundings, Garrett was astonished to find that the world his mental strength perceived had changed!

Above him stretched a pitch-black starry sky, stars shining brilliantly, somehow linked to the ground beneath his feet. While the four primary elements seemed to remain, they were no longer as distinct as before. The boundaries between fire and wind, fire and water, had blurred slightly...

So, was this meditation environment the world he perceived or the world he understood?

Garrett felt perplexed. Fortunately, these changes didn't affect him. The enhancement feedback to his mental strength within the meditation environment remained unaffected by these alterations. So, for now, he decided to let it be!

Setting aside his doubts, Garrett calmed his mind and began exercising his mental strength. Following the methods outlined in the "Basic Meditation," he meditated until his head slightly throbbed before collapsing on the bed, closing his eyes. He had no intentions of reviewing the vocabulary list he had copied during the day.

"Lack of sleep affects cerebrospinal fluid flow, causing the accumulation of β-amyloid proteins produced by brain cells, increasing the risk of Alzheimer's!" Not something he wanted!

Who knew if an increase in mental strength could replace the function of brain cells? What if it couldn't?!

Upon waking from his slumber, Garrett's eyes lit up as he flipped through the notes he had made yesterday.

He remembered everything he copied!

Not a single word forgotten! Learning meditation had improved his mental strength, and there was this advantage?!

His pace in memorizing vocabulary could pick up again! He could learn magic sooner!

Filled with such joy, Garrett copied books in the mage tower with a slightly lighter demeanor. However, increasing his writing speed wasn't that simple. Despite his efforts, he managed only 5% progress in a day.

Oh, Gellman the mage had given him a task to copy two books. Calculating this, the progress halved instantly to just 2.5%!

No sense of accomplishment.

Carrying his backpack, rubbing his wrists, he staggered out. After a few steps, he suddenly halted. Elliott the mage leaned against the upward stairs, tossing and catching a small bag in his hand, grinning as he looked at Garrett.

"How's the copying going?"

"Too slow," Garrett replied truthfully.

Honestly, his current writing speed seriously hindered his mental pace. If it were only memorization, he might have completed the vocabulary in ten days. However, copying it all down, he couldn't finish in 20 days!

"You've got to push harder! The teachers are waiting!" Elliott encouraged seriously before turning to leave. Though he looked serious, for some reason, Garrett felt like the guy was enjoying his predicament. It struck him suddenly:

"Mr. Elliott, do the mages urgently need this?"

"What do you mean?"

Elliott halted in his tracks. His response was as quick as if he had been waiting for that question. Garrett immediately caught up:

"If it's urgent, I have a way that might speed up the copying. But I need your help."

He intentionally paused here, gazing expectantly at Elliott, who remained silent. Elliott finally raised an eyebrow:

"What are you planning? - Get more people to copy?"

"No, not that."

"Are you planning to stay here, copying day and night? - Let me tell you, that won't work. You're not a mage apprentice; you're not allowed to stay in the tower indefinitely."

"Not that either."

"What then? Stop beating around the bush, spit it out!"

Garrett struggled to suppress a smile. This Mr. Elliott was quite competitive. He seemed to enjoy guessing things on his own. Maybe all mages were like this, exceedingly confident in their intellect?

He lowered his head, adopting a respectful expression, seeking advice:

"Mr. Elliott, do you know a spell for duplicating books?"

"There is. Why? What do you plan to do?"

Good, there was one. Garrett looked directly at Elliott and explained confidently:

"I'd like to ask for your help to duplicate 'Studies in Magical Script.' Then, I'll cut the pages, arrange them alphabetically, stick them back in order, and once that's done, you can duplicate it again. That should fulfill Gellman's request."

"..."

"..."

Elliott fell silent for a moment, then another. Suddenly, he burst into laughter, reaching out:

"Great idea. That'll cost you ten gold coins."

"Huh?" Garrett was dumbfounded. He wanted me to pay?

Elliott looked at Garrett, amused by his stunned expression:

"Employing a spell requires compensation, didn't you know? - The material cost for the copying spell, paper and ink, I'll waive that considering you're copying for the mage tower. Oh, and I'll waive the consultation fee for your earlier question too.

Two casting of copying spells, I'll give you a discount, ten gold coins total. Pay up, and I'll cast it immediately."

Garrett couldn't find the words.

Yesterday, when Elliott cast the language comprehension spell, he did it out of his own laziness without asking for payment. But now that Garrett was asking for assistance, it was perfectly natural to pay—

In games, speeding up construction also requires spending money!

The problem was, ten gold coins were half of his current wealth. Trading it for ten days to half a month's time seemed like a terrible deal in terms of cost-effectiveness...

"Kid, you're trying to save time, aren't you? Don't rush, slowly copy, learn 'Studies in Magical Script' thoroughly, it'll benefit you!"

Elliott the mage departed, laughing heartily.

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