Chapter 10: The Authority of a Lucid Dream

“I’ll deal with the All-Purpose Service later. I have enough credits for now.”

I shut off my phone and stared at the open meditation textbook, a headache already forming.

While the content wasn’t extensive, it was filled with various supplementary techniques for meditation, and even case studies.

It was a textbook, after all. If you stripped away all the extras, the core meditation method was something you could finish reading in a single study hall period.

It was hard to imagine an entire semester dedicated to such a subject.

Perhaps… many people got stuck at the threshold? I glanced at my classmates. Most of them seemed to have had some prior contact with supernatural powers, whether through innate racial talents or later inherited traditions. It seemed I was the only true novice here.

‘Sigh, maybe I’m the only one who’ll get stuck…’

I looked at the visualization diagrams in the book. Apart from the first one, which resonated with me slightly, the rest only made me sleepy.

Was it because I had only thought of that first image before falling asleep earlier?

I studied the picture. It seemed to have been created by a senior Witch. Each visualization diagram had a name, much like a framed work of art.

The one I was looking at was titled *Distracting Thoughts*.

Judging by the name, it suited me perfectly. My mind was certainly full of them.

Meditation required eliminating such thoughts. In that case… was my earlier state one of complete mental clarity?

Back then, I had felt so relaxed, a sensation I wanted to linger in. I truly wasn’t thinking about anything at all, just instinctively wanting to remain in that state.

Could that be considered meditation? If so, I felt like I would fall asleep the very next second.

‘Well then… shall I try again?’

I closed my eyes and let my body relax. As it did, my brain subconsciously took over, easing my muscles and reducing the impulse to think about other things. Once I relinquished control completely, my mind went blank for an instant.

There was a fleeting moment of emptiness between total relaxation and the resurgence of new thoughts—a bug in the system, a gap where my brain failed to catch up.

‘Did I fail?’

My consciousness felt free, and scattered thoughts once again flooded my mind.

I opened my eyes, but the classroom was gone. I was surrounded by a vast, silent expanse.

‘What is this place?’ I asked myself. ‘Am I meditating?’

I should have been sitting, but now it felt as if I were standing at the center of a world of nothingness.

Was this the spiritual world one entered after meditating?

As soon as the thought occurred to me, the space began to transform. Countless stars ignited, born into existence wherever my gaze landed.

I was immersed in a sea of stars, with celestial bodies glimmering everywhere I looked.

In that moment, I felt like the center of everything. Faintly glowing stars orbited me, following their own predetermined paths.

After a brief period of confusion, I began to understand. My mind had probably defaulted to a cosmic backdrop for my spiritual space, a concept ingrained in my consciousness.

It was likely influenced by games I used to play. A universe this exquisite, with stars so brilliant, couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. It was undoubtedly an artist’s rendition.

I reached out, cautiously touching one of the tiny stars circling me. Its fixed orbit was forcibly altered by my interference.

‘What is this? A lucid dream? Or meditation?’

Wait! That achievement!

The one I got while in a meditative state!

“Is this the authority of a lucid dream? Is even a universe like this just a toy I can shape at will?” I extended a hand toward the distance and pointed. A nebula parted at my command, creating a brief vacuum in the cosmos.

But what was the use of this power?

I looked down at my hands, still wondering if this was a dream or a meditative space.

It wasn’t that important to me, really. Deep down, I felt I already knew the answer, but I was afraid it wasn’t real.

My primary fear was losing it.

Only by acknowledging this thought could I confront it, and then I could tell myself with a clear conscience, ‘So what if it’s fake?’

You can’t fear losing something you never truly possessed in the first place.

I closed my eyes, and the starry sky around me collapsed in an instant, as if its existence had lost all meaning.

And I was sitting in my chair again.

I slowly opened my eyes. The slightly jarring colors of reality flooded my vision, and a face gradually came into focus.

“What the hell?” The shock sent a jolt through me, and a curse escaped my lips.

“Heh, haha! Are you really the type to get scared by something like this? I never would have guessed.”

“Kereiya?” I recognized the familiar face of my deskmate and reined in my temper. “Whew, you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. You could give someone a heart attack. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“I’m doing alright. And I’m an Elf, by the way. Besides, class is about to start. It’s not good to be sleeping. Are you a narcoleptic or something? How many times have you slept today? In the morning, during study hall, and just now. That’s at least three times, right?” Kereiya said with a laugh, sitting beside me.

“Class is about to start?” I picked up my phone and checked the time. It was almost two o’clock. Afternoon classes ran from two to five.

‘Did time pass that quickly? It felt like only a moment!’

“Yeah, still groggy from your nap? As the meditation class representative, I can’t have people sleeping during the very first lesson,” Kereiya said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

“Right. Well, either way, I should thank you. By the way, since you’re the class rep, could you share some tips on meditation?” I asked, curious. As an Elf, and one who had sounded so confident when she was appointed, she must have entered a meditative state before, right?

“Tips? You’re putting me on the spot. The meditation teacher hasn’t even taught us anything yet. What tips could I possibly have?”

“Huh? But haven’t you ever meditated before? You must have some idea how to enter a meditative state, right?” I pressed on. She was the class rep, after all. Surely helping her deskmate was no big deal?

“Enter a meditative state? How could I? All I’ve ever done is commune with nature. That just gives me a bit of a natural advantage. Oh, I get it, you’ve misunderstood! The meditative state is a method developed and systemized by Witches for cultivating and refining spiritual power. Even among supernatural races, the Witches’ meditation technique is the most advanced method for spiritual training. It’s one of the reasons they can master a high-level energy like mana. So it’s not just me; the entire class is on the same starting line. People like me might just have a slightly faster start, that’s all,” Kereiya explained patiently.

“So, instead of asking me for tips, you’d be better off focusing on the upcoming class.”

“I see…” I was a little disappointed, but also relieved. If everyone was starting from the same place, what did I have to worry about?

For all I knew, I might have already taken the first step.