Ch. 124 - The Genesis Dream Realm (Part One)

I accompanied Ji Niang to the campus dining hall.

Since we were in the Central Teaching District, grabbing a bite was easy—especially since I’d hitched a ride on the back of Ji Niang’s broom.

"You look pretty comfortable back there," she noted as we touched down. "Did you manage to snag your flight license over the break?"

"Yeah," I nodded quickly. "Finished the exam just in time."

"Have you thought about getting a broom of your own? Getting around campus is a nightmare without one."

"I’ve definitely thought about it," I muttered, looking at my shoes. "But my bank account isn't exactly on board with the idea."

"Fair enough. Tell you what—I'll see if I can get you equipped with one."

"Wait, really?" My eyes widened. "Ma'am, are you sure? Those aren't exactly cheap."

I knew she was well-off—she’d handed over a literal Spell Book for my research this morning without blinking—but this felt like a massive leap in generosity.

"It’s no big deal," she said, waving off my concern. "I have a few older models gathering dust. They’re a bit outdated, but they run fine. It beats you wasting half your day waiting for the campus shuttle just to get from the dorms to my office."

"Then... thank you. Seriously."

I meant it. Even a used broom was a luxury. And honestly, it couldn't be worse than the ancient, rattling clunkers they made us use at the Flight Club. I’d managed to pull off a power slide on one of those museum pieces; I could handle whatever hand-me-down she gave me.

"Don't mention it. Come on, we're here. Anything sound good?"

"I’m not picky," I said, playing it safe and letting her take the lead.

"Not picky? Perfect. Let's try that new stall over there," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Whatever you say, Ma'am," I chirped, though secretly I was praying it wasn't some kind of 'experimental' fusion.

This was a legitimate cafeteria, so how bad could it be?

Then again, after seeing Senior Tang Yihan’s "cooking," I knew the bar for "inedible" could always go lower. As long as the chef wasn't a biological hazard, I’d survive.

Fortunately, when the food arrived, it looked... normal. No glowing bits, no moving parts.

"Don't be shy, Yuehan. Eat up," Ji Niang said, her own movements perfectly poised and elegant even while eating. "By the way, how’s the head-count for the class group chat?"

"Oh! Right." I blinked, realizing I’d been so busy I'd completely neglected my "President" duties. "Most of them are in, but there’s a handful of stragglers. Ghosting my messages, mostly."

"That’s a headache. We have the orientation meeting tomorrow, and I need to make sure everyone shows up. As their advisor, I’m expected to actually say a few words."

"Is the Academy always this... relaxed about enrollment?" I asked tentatively. "Don't they worry about students wandering around clueless?"

"It’s hard to keep a tight leash on them," she sighed. "Even after the semester starts, the Academy is constantly 'recruiting'—or kidnapping, depending on who you ask—new students. We have to slot them into classes as they arrive."

"But once they’re through the gates, the school has to have a way to track them, right?"

"That’s where you come in," she said matter-of-factly. "You have the clearance to ping their locations. It’s your job to go find them and drag them back. Why else do you think we have Class Presidents?"

I faceplanted into my hand. Great. Another item on my to-do list. "This job is going to be the death of me."

"Don’t look so miserable. Being Class President comes with perks—better resources, priority access to high-level materials... and first dibs on opportunities like that Earthvein project you were looking into."

"I guess..."

I went back to my food. She had a point. In the world of Transcendence, you didn't just study—you fought for your place.

If a little extra legwork meant staying ahead of the curve, I’d just have to deal with the exhaustion.

"Anyway," Ji Niang said, shifting gears. "Let's talk about your Psi-vision. You mentioned earlier that using it is exhausting, right?"

"Extremely," I admitted. There was no point in playing tough; I was the one who’d have to deal with the fallout. "If I try to go deep with it, I burn out fast. My head starts throbbing like someone’s taking a hammer to my brain. Is there any way to... I don't know, take the edge off?"

"Well, the standard answer is plenty of rest," she said thoughtfully. "But specialized aromatherapy—specifically Transcendence-grade incense—can make a world of difference. People underestimate the toll Psi-vision takes on your psyche."

"Wait, incense? I thought that was just for meditation," I said, surprised.

"Who told you that? It has a dozen uses; meditation is just the most common one. When I go to pick up supplies later, I’ll grab a bottle for you. It should help with the recovery."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." She took a sip of her drink, her eyes locking onto mine. "Now, were you going to ask how we’re going to solve your little communication problem? You know—the fact that you can't actually describe what your Psi-vision is showing you?"

"You caught me," I said, leaning in. "I'm dying to know."

"It’s actually quite simple," she smiled, clearly enjoying my curiosity. "Information is passed to a living being, and that being forms a 'cognition' of it. If we bypass the need for language entirely and sync up at the cognitive level, the problem vanishes. Yuehan, have you ever heard of Dream Tech?"

"Dream Tech? No. I mean, I know what a dream is, obviously, but that’s about it."

"That’s fine. Dream Tech is a specialized range of equipment we’ve developed to help trainees enter the Genesis Dream Realm," she explained. "Think of it like a lucid dream, but with a twist. We aren't entering your subconscious or mine. We’re entering the collective dream of the Genesis."

"The... Genesis?" I repeated. The name alone carried a weight that made my skin crawl. "As in... the Genesis Witch?"

"The one and only," Ji Niang said. "The source of the entire Witch race. The very first Transcendence Witch. If you want the full history lesson on her legend, you can look it up yourself—I'm not here to recite textbooks. What matters right now is the Dream Realm itself."

"Right. So, what is it exactly? Some kind of psychic hive-mind?"

"We can use it for consciousness-linking, sure, but that’s a waste of its potential. I’m bringing it up because some things simply can’t be taught with words or diagrams. To truly understand certain concepts, we have to use the Dream to 'upload' that cognition directly into your mind. It’s like the knowledge just becomes a part of you. The only variable is how long it takes for your brain to process the download."

"So..." I swallowed hard. "I'm going into the Dream Realm this afternoon?"

"Exactly. Otherwise, you’ll never finish that analysis report. Besides," she glanced at me, her gaze softening slightly, "is your head still hurting from that deep-dive earlier?"

"Yeah. It’s still pretty bad."

"Then it's perfect timing. While we’re in there, we can work on the info-processing side of your Psi-vision. Trust me, it’s a lot easier to learn how to use a tool when the instructions are hard-coded into your brain."

Translator's note: The thing they upload and download knowledges really reminds me of the other book on this website—Mage Adam. Check it out if you're interested. It's a great book.

Comments