[Mental Gauge Status: FULL]
Less than thirty minutes of deep meditation—yet Rock's mental gauge had fully recovered.
For the first time, Rock finally felt what a truly "full" state meant.
Concepts that usually felt hard to grasp were suddenly clear, as if the answers floated up the moment he thought about them.
"So this is the state you need to analyze a magic stone?"
Seeing the word "Full" marked on the panel, Rock couldn't help but let out a helpless laugh.
Turns out, the "full" condition defined by the panel wasn't something you achieved just by resting. Based on how fast he'd recovered through meditation just now, it would normally take two to three days of not grinding skills at all.
No matter how he calculated it… it was a loss.
[New Special Skill Acquired: Deep Meditation (Self-Created) Lv.1 (150/299)]
[Effect: Mental Gauge Recovery Rate +20% (scales with skill level)]
[Core Principle: Maintain visualization stability to focus the mind. Recovery becomes zero when visualization stability drops below 30%.]
Visualization stability?
That was basically the same concept as casting a Patronus.
A Patronus required happy memories to take shape. His visualization required intense concentration, using fragments of his memories to regulate his breathing and magic flow so he could slip into deep meditation.
With this new understanding, Rock grabbed a quill and jotted down his ideas, hoping to refine his meditation further later.
Alright—time to practice the Disillusionment Charm.
Feeling unusually light-headed—in a pleasant way—Rock stood up and began practicing in the dorm room.
"Disillusionment Charm!"
After confirming that the wand movement and pronunciation were correct, Rock pointed his wand at himself.
A cold, liquid sensation dripped from the wand tip onto his head, then trickled all the way down his body.
Smooth. Cool.
Rock looked into the wardrobe mirror he had just opened and saw himself slowly vanishing—not physically disappearing, but visually peeling away from the world.
He lifted his right hand; it had turned transparent, and he could clearly see the objects behind it through his palm.
As he took a step, a strange sense of weightlessness hit him. He steadied himself and exhaled slowly.
He understood the cause immediately—his brain was struggling with conflicting signals.
His sight said: "My hand isn't there."
His sense of touch said: "My hand is definitely still there."
Once he adjusted to it, he moved around more naturally.
And honestly… the view from inside the Disillusionment Charm was fascinating. Everything looked a little different.
It reminded Rock of the wonder he felt when he first encountered magic—he was genuinely excited.
He walked around the room, debating whether to try stepping out into the hallway, when his body suddenly flickered.
His excitement almost broke the spell.
He raised his wand and dispelled the charm, then sat down at his desk and began writing down everything he'd just experienced.
Hermione was right—you can't just keep absorbing information. You also have to digest it and produce your own understanding.
Since no one was around, he could freely write in his notebook and fill in any gaps in his knowledge.
Sure enough, as he wrote and reflected, the "Daily Engraving" on his panel began to pulse.
[Understanding + correction achieved: Disillusionment Charm XP +1]
[Understanding + correction achieved: Disillusionment Charm XP +1]
Good.
Rock's quill scribbled across the page even faster.
"Rock?"
Deep in his notes, Rock heard Theo's voice behind him.
"Hm? What's up, Theo?"
Rock turned his head. Theo and Adam were peeking into the dorm through the cracked door.
"Dude—we thought you were still asleep."
Seeing Rock at his desk, Theo let out a relieved breath and stepped inside.
"Asleep?"
Rock blinked, then remembered—Theo and Adam must have come by earlier when he'd been lying on his bed.
"Sort of. I got up a little while ago. Been busy taking notes."
As he spoke, Rock sniffed the air. Both Theo and Adam were holding paper bags.
"What's that?"
The smell of food hit him.
"We saw you were knocked out, so we went to the Great Hall first. We brought you food—thought you might not make it in time."
Theo lifted the bag in his hand.
"Yeah, good thing one of the upper-year students said we could ask some Hufflepuffs for help. They managed to get us fresh food straight from the kitchen," Adam added.
"Thanks. What time is it?" Rock asked, tapping his forehead.
He pulled out his pocket watch—it was already around two in the afternoon.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away. Didn't notice the time."
He stood up and took the bags from them. "Want to have some with me?"
"We'd love to," Theo and Adam said instantly. "We ate earlier, but the stuff in here smells way too good."
Rock opened the bag. Damn—it was almost as loaded as the feast on the first day of school.
Sure, each dish was only one serving… but there were a lot of dishes.
"In that case, let's eat together. No way I can finish all this alone." Rock cleared the desk, and the three of them sat around it, digging in.
"We've got Flying Class this afternoon. You guys ready?"
Theo asked after a few bites.
"Ready for what?" Adam looked up, confused.
It's not like they needed textbooks.
"For the thrill of soaring across the sky, of course!" Theo spread his arms dramatically like he was gliding through the air.
Rock took a sip of pumpkin juice and immediately shut him down. "Don't get your hopes up."
"After what happened to Neville yesterday, there's no way Madam Hooch is letting us off the ground this lesson."
"If she lets us hover a few inches, you should thank her."
Theo's face fell instantly. "No way—seriously?"
"Very likely," Rock said with a shrug. "Harry Potter and Malfoy only got in the air because Madam Hooch had taken Neville to the hospital wing."
"If you were Madam Hooch, would you rather keep the class safe, or risk another Neville-style disaster?"
Theo slumped back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. "There goes my dream."
"It's fine," Adam said casually. "I'm not that into flying anyway. I'd rather ride a helicopter."
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