Night fell over Igwynt. In an apartment building on the Southern Sunflower Street.
“Hey, Dorothy, did you have a good time in the city today?” Gregor asked from the living room, leaning back on the sofa after finishing dinner.
“Hmm... it felt great. Igwynt is much larger than I imagined. It’s nothing like our village—not even close to Purple Hill Town. I walked around the lower city today, and I’ll explore other areas when I have the chance,” Dorothy replied from the balcony while sipping a cup of hot milk.
Hearing this, Gregor’s brow furrowed slightly.
“The lower city... The security there isn’t the best, Dorothy. You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?” Gregor warned.
Dorothy smiled and replied plainly, “Not at all. I just bought some things, played hide-and-seek with two dogs, and then read by the river for a while. Nothing to worry about.”
“Playing hide-and-seek with two dogs... and reading by the river?”
Gregor was momentarily stunned by her words. After a brief pause, he chuckled and said, “Ha, Dorothy, you haven’t changed at all—still love animals and books.”
“Pretty much. They’re good habits, aren’t they?” Dorothy said as she rinsed her empty glass in the kitchen.
“Yeah, sleep well, Dorothy. I’m heading to bed too.”
Entering her room, Dorothy immediately locked the door behind her. She sat at her desk, took out an old book from her bag, and placed it in front of her.
It was none other than the mystic book, The Dream Seeker’s Chronicles.
During the day, Dorothy had read through the entire book. It wasn’t much thicker than the fragmented manuscript of Art of Sacred Anatomy, so she had finished it in an afternoon.
While reading, Dorothy was very cautious of her mental state, worried about contamination from the "cognitive poison" she had learned about at the gathering. Yet, she felt no abnormality even after finishing the book.
That so-called poison seemed nonexistent for Dorothy.
‘Is it because my exposure is still too limited? Or is it that not every mystic knowledge contains this poison? Maybe the ones I’ve encountered just happen to lack it? Or perhaps...’
A myriad of thoughts surged through her mind, but since they couldn’t be verified for now, she pushed them aside and focused on a more immediate concern.
‘First of all... by studying The Dream Seeker’s Chronicles, I’ve gained 3 points of “Revelation” spirituality and 2 points of “Shadow” spirituality.’
Staring at the old book on her desk, Dorothy reflected. Indeed, as her Soul Codex was already filled, she couldn’t exchange knowledge from The Dream Seeker’s Chronicles for knowledge from another world. Instead, she extracted the spirituality from it, much like before, aiming for advancement.
The spirituality extracted included 3 points of "Revelation" and 2 points of "Shadow."
What did this signify?
Dorothy had already observed that every piece of knowledge inherently contained "Revelation," but it would never dominate the knowledge’s primary theme. For instance, studying the fragmented Art of Sacred Anatomy gave her 5 points of "Chalice" and 2 points of "Revelation."
This was because the theme of Art of Sacred Anatomy was "Chalice." It primarily conveyed knowledge of "Chalice," so it contributed more to that aspect. The "Revelation" points were intrinsic to knowledge itself—present in all mystical knowledge regardless of their theme, but always less significant than the primary focus.
As for The Dream Seeker’s Chronicles, the fact that it yielded 3 points of "Revelation" and 2 points of "Shadow" suggested its theme revolved around both "Revelation" and "Shadow."
Could this imply that dreams were closely tied to these two spiritualities?
Just as flesh was associated with the "Chalice," Dorothy speculated that dreams carried dual attributes of "Revelation" and "Shadow." After all, everything in the world had spirituality—even dreams were no exception.
Shaking her head, Dorothy set aside these profound musings about the world’s essence and refocused on her immediate priorities.
Currently, she had accumulated 5 points of "Revelation," 5 points of "Chalice," and 2 points of "Shadow" spirituality. Based on subsequent inquiries with her system, she learned that her spirituality cap for all types was 10 points.
This meant that once she accumulated 5 more points of "Revelation," reaching a total of 10, she’d qualify for advancement to a "Revelation” Beyonder pathway. While the exact ritual requirements were unclear, she now had a goal to work toward—gathering enough points first, with time to figure out the ritual later.
Upon advancement, her Soul Codex would expand, enabling her to acquire even more otherworldly knowledge.
Admittedly, her "Chalice" spirituality was also high. She could easily reach the requirements for becoming a Craver, and the ritual was straightforward—she could obtain it from the Crimson Eucharist. Advancing in "Chalice" would undoubtedly be more convenient at this moment. Yet, Dorothy disliked the aesthetic associated with the "Chalice" and resolutely dismissed the idea.
“Phew... Let’s not dwell on this too much. Time to focus on tonight’s main task.”
Exhaling deeply, Dorothy cleared her thoughts and began preparing.
Knowledge wasn’t merely for gathering spirituality, it was meant to be practiced. Having finished reading The Dream Seeker’s Chronicles, she was ready to experiment with entering dreams.
The version of The Dream Seeker’s Chronicles she’d bought from Grayhill was a mystical knowledge presented as a collection of fairytales and fables, all related to dreams.
One standout story was “The Thief and the Miser.”
The story narrated how a thief, using a spell in his dream, transformed into a bird and entered the miser’s dream, stealing the location of his hidden treasure. The thief then unearthed the treasure in reality but grew greedy, repeatedly entering the miser’s dreams for more. Eventually, the miser discovered the thief in his dreams and used another spell to transform into an eagle, devouring the bird the thief had become.
Other tales in the book shared similar themes, with characters using spells to transform into various animals within their dreams to accomplish different tasks.
Had the book contained only these stories, they might have been puzzling. Fortunately, it also included annotations.
Someone who had studied the book before left numerous notes explaining its content.
Turning to the page about “The Thief and the Miser,” Dorothy read the annotations filling the margins. Her gaze landed on the longest passage.
So, achieving dream control is simple, just follow the basic techniques I summarized earlier. However, entering the Dreamscape requires specific steps.
You’ll notice that the characters in the stories use spells in their dreams to transform into animals. This is a metaphor for how to enter the Dreamscape. Let me cut to the chase: mortal spirits cannot directly access the Dreamscape! We must simulate part of our soul into a dreamscape entity to gain entry—hence the transformations in the stories.
The spells used for these transformations are dream mimicry spells. By chanting them in a conscious dream, you can transform into a dreamscape creature and immediately see the gateway to the Dreamscape. Enter it, and you can roam the Dreamscape in animal form. Different spells yield different transformations.
However, take heed! These spells must be recited in mystical languages—such as Elvish, Ghost Tongue, or Abyssal Speech. Using mundane languages will have no effect. Especially with the keywords, the choice of language drastically alters the mimicry’s outcome.
Therefore, choose your language wisely!