Chapter 30: Threat on Speed
It was a warm and gentle afternoon, utterly ordinary, as Levi and Leo remained seated on the training room floor, awaiting Raiden’s instructions on meditation.
Raiden started, legs crossed before them as their bodies glistened with sweat, his mind wondering how to explain things to them effectively. In just two days, they had managed to get a hang of meditation—not particularly impressive, considering he had mastered it at age two within five hours—but they had done well for adults, especially given how much their minds wandered and all they had to think about.
It didn’t take long before he finally got a handle on what he wanted to explain and how to break it down for them.
He cleared his throat. "You might lose the ability to hear me once you’re doing this correctly, so I need you to open your eyes and really understand what I’m explaining before you apply it."
They opened their eyes and met Raiden’s gaze. Sweat dripped from their hair as Levi untied his ponytail, his long dark hair spilling across his shoulder as he shook it out to rid it of sweat.
"You said that besides blue crest bearers, the other bearers only need effective meditation to build their mana reserve at the 8th realm, right?" Leo gave him a nod.
"And all Levi needs to do at the 7th realm is use his mana to enhance his physical strength, and once done properly, he moves to the 6th realm?" They both nodded in agreement.
"There is a better way to help you both, then." He paused for a moment. "From the moment you begin to meditate, I’d like you both to do something."
"Listen to only your heartbeat until you hear nothing... when you start to feel lost from within."
"How exactly will we know we’re getting lost and not just sleepy?" Leo asked, wiping the sweat off his face.
"The difference between this and sleep is that you can still think and reason... you can think of it like a lucid dream if you want."