Chapter Ten: Summoned by the Warden

After bidding farewell to Dr. Jinsha, Zhong Shenxiu returned to his cell. This time, unlike the previous days when he followed the principle of "sleep as long as possible" and would promptly fall asleep upon entering the prison, he sat at the edge of his bed. After all, having completed the second side quest, his need for mental energy was no longer so urgent. The main reason was that the third side quest required "1000 seconds"—he couldn’t speed things up even if he wanted to.

Moreover, having just acquired "Mastery of Magic," Zhong Shenxiu planned to make the most of tonight, before the mysterious "opportunity" promised by the system arrived on the twelfth day tomorrow, to further improve himself as much as possible. Who knew whether that "opportunity" would turn out to be a blessing or a fright? And this was magic, after all. In his impression, magicians were always figures capable of earth-shattering feats… well, except for those pitiful thirty-year-olds. Zhong Shenxiu didn’t expect to destroy worlds in a single stroke, or to summon meteors effortlessly, or carry sacks of rice with ease. As long as he could conjure a small orb or unleash a wind blade, he’d be satisfied.

However, at this moment, Zhong Shenxiu noticed a flaw in the system: this "Mastery of Magic" was not something he had gradually learned and summarized himself. Though his mind was flooded with vast magical knowledge, he couldn’t distinguish what was most important. It was like staring at a tangled ball of yarn, not knowing where to begin. After pondering for a while, Zhong Shenxiu decided to start from the basics. After all, skyscrapers aren’t built in a day—the higher the building, the firmer the foundation must be. For magic, that foundation was magical energy.

Along with his mastery, he had gained the ability to sense magical energy. Whether his eyes were open or closed, Zhong Shenxiu could now perceive the magical energy around him, like tiny sprites. Some were lively and combative, darting here and there; others were quiet and shy, lingering in corners without moving. In his mind, he possessed over forty methods to absorb magical energy. After a brief consideration, he chose the most efficient and straightforward one: direct absorption.

With a focused mind—though he wasn’t sure of the principle—magical energy began to surge toward him at his will, pouring into his body and vanishing within. This continued for about ten minutes. Then, the system’s notification sounded again:

[Special energy "magical energy" within the host has reached a certain quantity. Data updated. Personal panel refreshed.]

Prepared for this, Zhong Shenxiu summoned his personal panel in his mind. As expected, between "mental energy" and "combat power," an additional line had appeared:

[Magical Energy: 1 (In magical energy absorption mode, you can absorb 1 point every ten minutes)]

With this first point of magical energy, the vast knowledge in Zhong Shenxiu’s mind seemed to find its veins, as if exploring a leaf and suddenly discovering its structure. New directions opened before him. As long as he chose one or several and gradually advanced, he could start using real magic!

But since he was in prison, Zhong Shenxiu couldn’t test anything directly and could only simulate scenarios in his mind like a sandbox. Even so, within a short time he had figured out multiple ways to use magic: for example, spinning magical energy into a swirling sphere in his palm, or transforming it into flying wind blades that sliced through the air… The power of magic mastery was evident!

However, using these spells required even more magical energy. In other words, his magical energy reserves needed to be as large as possible. This, unfortunately, conflicted with his mental energy. Mental energy could only be restored through sleep, whereas magical energy required conscious control to absorb.

Well, he thought, he could spend the first half of the night awake absorbing magical energy, and the second half sleeping to restore mental energy. With that, Zhong Shenxiu stopped hesitating and resumed absorbing magical energy, preparing himself for tomorrow.

—

The next morning, when Zhong Shenxiu was awakened by a beam of sunlight streaming through the high prison window, he quickly got out of bed. Truth be told, since arriving at the prison, his old habit of lingering in bed had been thoroughly cured.

Last night, he divided his time evenly between magical energy and mental energy: five hours absorbing magical energy, five hours restoring mental energy. By morning, his magical energy had reached a total of 31 points, while his mental energy was a meager 5 points. Zhong Shenxiu felt increasingly pressed for time. Both magical energy and the mental energy required to fuel his essential ability, "Mutant Healing," were crucial to him now. But the two were fundamentally at odds—one required wakefulness, the other demanded sleep.

If he wanted to fully replenish both energies every day, he’d need to spend hours in meditation absorbing magical energy, and then sleep for over ten hours. That would leave no time for anything else. Was there a way to restore both simultaneously? Even with the vast magical knowledge he possessed… there truly wasn’t! They belonged to completely separate systems.

In his magical knowledge, a magician’s meditation was actually a method of training mental energy: essentially, it consumed mental energy continuously, gradually strengthening it over time. What Zhong Shenxiu needed, however, was for his mind to rest so it could recover mental energy—that was why sleep was essential. This was a real difficulty. Energy recovery was too slow. Zhong Shenxiu was no bomb that could charge for two hours and explode for five seconds.

What he needed was the endurance all men long for—the speed of reloading truly mattered. But for now, he simply couldn’t solve it.

That world of Fate/Zero, though, seemed to be one where magical energy, magicians, and sorcerers existed. Hopefully, he’d find a solution there one day.

Zhong Shenxiu washed his face with cold water, gazing at the new stubble sprouting on his chin like bamboo shoots after rain. Today was the twelfth day. With good food and sleep these past days, his spirits were fully restored. He was now better prepared than he had anticipated. The "opportunity" he’d been anticipating for days should be arriving soon, shouldn’t it? Zhong Shenxiu wondered.

He looked outside and noticed that even the prison guards hadn’t started their morning rounds yet—he must have woken up too early. So he simply sat back on his bed. On the surface, he appeared to be spacing out, but in reality, Zhong Shenxiu was wholeheartedly absorbing magical energy. Before long, the morning had passed.

Strangely, not a single guard came to his cell that morning. He sat quietly on his bed, undisturbed. Was this the opportunity the system mentioned? A chance for focused cultivation?

But soon, reality proved it wasn’t so simple.

“9527, Shenxiu Zhong, the warden wants to see you.”

Around one o’clock, several guards, each built like a tank, crowded into Zhong Shenxiu’s cramped cell, causing the temperature in the room to soar. The atmosphere was so charged that Zhong Shenxiu instinctively tensed, feeling uncomfortable, and said, “Let’s go.”

Why did the warden suddenly want to see him?

On the way, Zhong Shenxiu pondered in confusion. Was this the "opportunity" the system spoke of? Did they want him to help build the Taj Mahal? Was he to become the next Michael? He certainly didn’t have that ability.

He walked on, surrounded by burly guards, and soon entered the warden’s office. But there was no warden to be seen.

There was only a black, shiny head wearing an eye mask!