Chapter 55 : Chapter 55

Chapter 55 : Witch Meditation Method

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, I’d been working part-time at the bakery for several days.

Most of the time, I was either slacking off or washing dishes, but life felt pretty fulfilling.

I’d even started practicing baking some pastries.

Over these days, I’d asked the senior sisters about supernatural matters, like the meditation method I was so curious about.

On Ying Shiqian’s recommendation, I unlocked a new area of the academy, the library.

It wasn’t surprising that the academy had a library.

As a place of learning, it needed somewhere to store books, documents, and materials.

The library had all sorts of resources on meditation methods.

I even got a library card, which cost me a fair bit.

Borrowing books on meditation methods came with extra fees.

I didn’t have time to read in the library, where many books were free, so I brought them to the bakery to read during downtime.

Xiao Han, why are you so diligent?

I’ve already graduated, and your hard work’s putting so much pressure on me, Ying Shiqian complained as she passed by, unloading her negative vibes.

“Maybe I’m just really curious about the supernatural. I want to experience it myself,” I said, looking up at her sprawled in front of me.

She was a slacker like me.

When the manager wasn’t around, she lazed about.

When the manager was there, she flirted shamelessly, shielding me and Tang Yihan from the manager’s harassment.

“Who gets curious about the supernatural? It’s such a grueling thing…”

“People are different, I guess.”

I gave a knowing smile, understanding her point.

It was like someone saying they loved studying sure, some did, but they were rare.

In this world, everyone has heard of the supernatural to some degree.

Even without entering a supernatural academy or accessing that power, they were used to it, like it was no big deal.

I could tell the academy kept supernatural knowledge under wraps to foster curiosity in ordinary people.

Only with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge would they be motivated to pursue it.

But even that couldn’t compare to my longing for the supernatural, coming from a world without it.

“True. You must be one of those top students, right? So jealous when you become a transcendent witch and graduate, come back and tell me about the wonders of the outside world,” Ying Shiqian said.

“My grades weren’t that great. Don’t overestimate me,” I said modestly.

My grades really weren’t impressive, but her mention of the outside world piqued my interest.

“No way, I don’t buy it. Freshmen these days are terrifying. This batch even has a perfect-score academic god. The competition’s fierce. Xiao Han, don’t you feel the pressure?”

“Pressure? I haven’t even met them. Why stress myself out for no reason?”

“That’s a great mindset.”

“It’s not about mindset,” I said.

“Senior, didn’t you just mention something about beyond the world? What’s out there? Other worlds?”

I cautiously steered the conversation, a bit awkwardly, but I was genuinely curious.

Was my original world out there?

Probably… not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know where to go from here.

Honestly, I liked this world with its supernatural elements.

My childhood here wasn’t great, but this second childhood was just another low point in my life, another phase to mourn.

“Not sure. You only learn about that after becoming a transcendent witch. What’s the point of telling you early? If you don’t achieve transcendence, it’s just extra worry,” she said.

“Fair point.”

I flipped through the book, continuing to study the Witch Meditation Method.

Seeing me like this, Ying Shiqian didn’t bother me further and headed to the back kitchen.

I glanced at Tang Yihan, still busy, hoping nothing went wrong.

A few days ago, I’d seen Ying Shiqian sneak up on Tang Yihan, startling her and spilling ingredients everywhere.

Under Tang Yihan’s threats, Ying Shiqian tearfully took on that day’s dishwashing and a full kitchen cleanup.

I turned my focus back to the meditation book.

As expected, the Witch Meditation Method was vastly different from the theoretical meditation I’d learned before.

If my current meditation was the real deal, the pre-college theoretical meditation was just flowery descriptions and empty frameworks.

The Witch Meditation Method described an abstract state, aiming to refine mental strength into a higher-quality “mental strength thread.”

Only then could it interact with high-energy magic power alongside one’s life level.

Even increasing mental strength was just a side effect.

I’d thought most of the book would focus on refining this mental strength thread.

But as I read, I found it was still explaining how to enter the “meditation state.”

It dove deep into the meditation state, the concept of a subjective mental space, and more.

This didn’t feel like beginner material.

How was someone who’d never touched the supernatural supposed to understand this?

I also read about tools needed for meditation like specific audio, meditation diagrams, and even expensive incense.

There were advanced hypnotic meditation techniques to help first-timers grasp what the meditation state felt like.

Just the few pages describing the state required for meditation were tough for me.

It demanded extreme control over one’s body and mental state.

In short, it was about self-mastery.

The Witch Meditation Method had multiple stages, and the first was simply “entering the meditation state.”

That alone was a whole stage, showing how high the entry barrier was.

But I wasn’t scared.

If it was hard, I’d try.

How could I not?

To try, I’d need to spend money.

Without the tools described in the book, relying on myself would take forever.

I knew my limits.

Though I forced myself to stay confident, I knew when to face reality.