Gaia woke from meditation and, seeing it was Tris asking, spoke up: “The wizards in the books say that meditation can replace sleep. I’ve been doing this for over a week now. I thought you knew.”

“Oh my god, meditation can replace sleep, but we’re only a few years old! Without enough sleep, it’ll affect our growth and health. And even if you use meditation to replace sleep, you still need to actually sleep for at least two hours. Otherwise, in less than ten days, you’ll collapse,” said Tris.

“So that’s how it is. No wonder my head hurts so much during the day. From today on, I’ll sleep for two hours and try to cultivate a magic vortex as soon as possible, so I can go from magic apprentice to trainee wizard,” said Gaia, suddenly enlightened. Although the process from magic apprentice to trainee wizard was extremely tedious, Gaia took it very seriously—especially after reading about the fantastic adventures of wizards in the library, which only fueled his desire for magic.

“You’re really diligent! In that case, starting tomorrow—no, starting today—I’ll also only sleep two hours and spend the rest of the time meditating!” Influenced by Gaia, Tris also firmed his resolve, wrapped himself in his blanket, straightened his body, and really entered a meditative state.

The saying that meditation can replace sleep is indeed not wrong, but most students at Nick Academy are under fourteen years old. Not only would lack of sleep affect their physical development, but it’s also hard for children to give up precious sleep for tedious meditation. That’s why Nick Academy does not encourage children to use meditation to replace sleep.

“Why are you so hardworking?” Tris was already considered very diligent in magic training, but compared to Gaia, he still felt inferior.

“I don’t know, I just like magic… And I hope to master magic soon, then go back to the village and drive those magical beasts—who come out of nowhere—back to their lairs… My father is the village chief. Every spring, he worries about those magical beasts. Before, I was too weak to help him, but now that I’m about to become a wizard, he won’t have to worry about this anymore.”

Gaia grew up in the countryside, raised by the villagers, and has deep feelings for the village. Being able to do something for the village is one of his wishes.

……

Conviction, diligence, passion, and talent allowed Gaia’s cultivation speed to surpass all the first-year students. In just half a year after enrolling, he cultivated a magic vortex—half a year faster than the other children!

When Gaia told Mitchell this news, even the archmage Mitchell was shocked. It could be said that Gaia’s achievement was unprecedented in Nick Magic Academy, and perhaps never to be repeated.

The news quickly spread throughout Nick Magic Academy. Magic talent level six; defeating a junior wizard while still an apprentice; cultivating a magic vortex in half a year—these three auras stacked together made Gaia instantly the brightest star in the academy. Nearly every student and teacher knew about this genius magic student, Gaia.

“Half a year, my god, I’ve never heard of anyone cultivating a magic vortex in just half a year. Did he really only learn to meditate half a year ago?” a magic teacher exclaimed in astonishment.

“Rosa, my god, is he your most favored follower? Are you so eager to sign a contract with him that you let him cultivate a magic vortex at such speed…” This was also said by a magic teacher.

“It took me nine months to cultivate a magic vortex.” These words came from Archmage Mitchell, and they most directly illustrated how astonishing Gaia’s achievement was.

Now, as Gaia walked through the academy in his coarse linen clothes, he was no longer looked down upon—instead, he had become a symbol of genius. There was even a saying circulating in the academy:

“If you see the most rusticly dressed person in the academy, don’t doubt it—that person is the most talented wizard in Nick Magic Academy—Gaia.”

This news even reached the ears of Shade at the Swordsman Academy. From then on, Shade’s roommates noticed: Shade went from being extremely diligent in his training to practicing as if his life depended on it…

Bathed in supreme glory, Gaia had completely become the focus of the Magic Academy. Whether senior students or first-years, whenever they saw Gaia in his coarse linen clothes, they would warmly greet him.

Gaia himself greatly enjoyed this feeling of being respected. At nine years old, he often saw cute and beautiful girls winking at him, or even coming up to talk to him—an experience he’d never had before.

Almost all the female students at Nick Magic Academy were born into noble families. Their delicate, radiant looks were nothing like the rustic village girls of Ma Tu Village. Before coming to the academy, Gaia always thought Neil was the prettiest girl, but after arriving here, he realized how naïve he’d been. Although little Gaia was usually bold and carefree, he still blushed and got flustered in front of pretty girls.

Chapter 011 Signing the Contract