"According to the usual recovery speed for a Sixth Level Talent... I need to rest for an hour now." Jeming calculated in his mind.
But even though rest was needed, there were still things to be done.
He looked around at the simple yet complete facilities of his dorm, then glanced down at the "Basic Alchemy Manual" and the box of Alchemy Tools on his desk.
Since he was playing the role of a diligent Alchemy Apprentice, just meditating wasn't enough.
Jeming took out the enrollment manual included in the wooden box by Professor Clark and began to read it carefully.
The manual introduced the basic structure of the academy, course arrangements, points system, public facilities, and some rules and regulations to note.
Jeming also learned about the importance of points—they are the only currency for exchanging higher-tier knowledge, rarer materials, renting laboratories, and even receiving guidance from instructors.
"Renting a laboratory..." Jeming pondered over this point.
Although he didn't know much yet, Jeming roughly understood that in this world, wizards valued knowledge the most.
At the same time, wizards in this world were extremely stingy with knowledge.
After all, in this world, knowledge could truly be transformed into power.
"In that case... laboratory-like places shouldn't have any monitoring facilities, right?"
The more they valued and hoarded knowledge, the safer the laboratory's environment would be. After all, if they secretly installed any monitoring there and got discovered, it would anger the entire wizard community of the academy.
"To have enough private space, it seems I need to find a way to obtain a laboratory of my own."
The newcomer handbook did mention that points could be used to rent a private laboratory long-term, but it didn't specifically say how many points were needed. But just thinking about it, it's clear it wouldn't be a small number.
Thus, among the main tasks to come, he needed to add one more: to earn credits.
Soon after flipping through the new student handbook, he checked the time, and during the "waiting for Sea of Spirit to recover" period, Jeming picked up the thick "Basic Alchemy Manual" and began to go through it carefully.
The manual was extremely detailed, covering everything from the most basic material classification, property identification, to various fundamental alchemical principles, formulas, and experimental steps.
The texts were obscure, the formulas were complex, and many concepts were ones he had never encountered before.
Fortunately, he had the Great Dao Book Pavilion as a golden finger, which allowed him to become very adept at learning over the years. It wasn't long before Jeming immersed himself in the manual's content.
Thus, Jeming studied the Basic Alchemy Manual in between his cultivation, and when his "state recovered" he would continue to attempt meditation, though each time he would "accidentally" draw a line astray with spiritual power, precisely creating a "failure."
Every time he failed, he would appropriately show some pain, like frowning, or a slight tremor.
After repeating this three times, it was already evening.
"I happen to be a bit hungry; I can go check out the cafeteria." Jeming thought to himself.
Going to the cafeteria not only solved the dinner problem but also provided him an opportunity to observe the states of other new apprentices, aiding him in further adjusting his "acting" strategy.
With a plan in mind, Jeming put away the meditation method and manual, tidied up his clothes, and walked out of the room.
Leaving the dormitory building, he followed the route marked in the enrollment handbook towards the apprentice cafeteria.
The dormitory for the Alchemy Element was relatively independent, but the cafeteria was shared by apprentices of the entire academy.
Along the way, he saw many young faces, tired but still curious. Most of them had also just finished their respective initiation attempts and were heading to satisfy their appetites.
The closer to the cafeteria he got, the more complex the aroma in the air became—not the smell of reagents and metal, but the fragrance of various cooking.
Using his Apprentice Badge at the Detection Array on the door, Jeming pushed open the cafeteria door, mildly taken aback by the scene inside.
It was more of a luxurious restaurant than a cafeteria.
In the massive space, dining tables were placed neatly, the floors were sleek and clean, with no trace of oil smoke in the air, only the tempting aroma of food.
The central area's dining platform was filled with an assortment of dishes: golden, oil-dripping, unknown magical beast meat, enticing aromatic mushroom soup, colorful fruit salad, and even some things that looked like desserts or pastries.
Most importantly, the food here... was actually free!
As long as one was an apprentice, they could freely take these seemingly valuable foods.
Only in the special section of the dining platform were some rare ingredients or magic potions, containing special energy effects, which required points to purchase.
"Tsk, indeed, it's a Wizard Academy mastering an entire plane's resources... basic welfare is generous." Jeming sighed inwardly.
For many apprentices from impoverished families, this freely abundant food itself was a significant fortune.
Adequate nutrition could also aid them in better spiritual power cultivation and physical recovery.
Even for Jeming, it was quite appealing, considering Refining Essence and Qi consumed his own vitality and body energy. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Jeming himself was a super foodie.
He casually picked up a tray and walked along the dining platform.
Jeming did not hurriedly take food; instead, he discreetly observed the other apprentices in the cafeteria.
From the look of excitement and curiosity in their eyes, most of them were fresh faces who had enrolled today, sitting in groups of threes and fours, engaging in low conversations.
With his keen perception ability, Jeming could clearly discern their spiritual fluctuations and body states.
"That pale-faced one, with somewhat chaotic spiritual power... seems to have failed meditation many times."
"The one clutching their head with a pained expression, probably suffered a backlash and was severely injured. It seems, for newcomers, initiation is indeed not that simple."
"But these few sitting in the corner with rosy complexions and vigorous spirits... high talent or strong foundation, not much affected and already initiated?"
He quickly sketched a simple "new student status distribution" in his mind.
Those apprentices with lower talent levels clearly had quite a hard time during their first meditation attempts.
Even the Fifth, Sixth Level Talent apprentices mostly appeared a bit weary.
Only a handful, looked in excellent spirits.
Jeming's gaze fell to a corner of the cafeteria, where a few extraordinary-looking young men and women sat.
They were evidently today's detected geniuses; even after possibly the same difficult meditation initiation, they remained at ease.
Around them, some apprentices with looks of admiration were quietly conversing.
He didn't approach them but instead headed to a relatively quiet area, casually placing some roast meat and vegetable salad onto his tray until it was full.
Just as he found an empty seat and sat down to enjoy his dinner, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Hello! Are you a new Alchemy Element apprentice? So am I!"