Chapter 36: Dream Journey

The essence of the Orb of Dreams originates from dreams and fantasies.

That is, the unreal, different from reality.

We call that ‘dreamlike’.

“Fantasy….”

I lay on my dormitory bed and continued to think carefully.

The place where I first obtained the Orb of Dreams.

The dream world, Arcana.

If I could just go back there, my current worries could be easily resolved.

But the problem is.

“Arcana isn’t a place you can go to so easily.”

Mana surge.

Among them, a world created only when the user has a strong desire for a dream is Arcana.

It’s clear that I can’t hope for luck like I did during the entrance ceremony.

Then, what methods can I try in this situation?

I can’t go to the dungeon right now.

Arcana is also excluded from the options.

Then….

“…Should I go to that person?”

Elysium, the higher education institution of the Academy.

There is a professor there who is immersed in research related to fantasy.

I don’t know exactly what kind of research she does.

But I vaguely remember that words like fantasy and dream appeared in the explanation about her, which was briefly mentioned in the original work.

Yeah, let’s just ask.

I took the Orb of Dreams, which was gradually losing its light, and headed for Elysium.

Elysium, located on the far right side of the Academy.

When I arrived there, I looked around.

“The atmosphere….”

It’s dark. The sky was clear and bright this morning.

Only the atmosphere of Elysium was dark.

It feels like I’ve come to a different, isolated world.

I reluctantly moved my feet and walked into the building.

The eerie and gloomy atmosphere continued, and I continued to walk down the hallway.

No, wasn’t Elysium like a graduate school?

I simply thought of an image similar to a typical university.

But this place actually has an atmosphere as if a black magician would install an altar to summon a demon king.

So, I passed through numerous rooms that were densely packed and finally arrived in front of a certain laboratory.

[Fantasy Magic Laboratory]

[Professor-Petania Narsen]

This is it. After discovering the sign, I knocked on the tightly closed door.

Knock knock.

“….”

There is no answer.

Just as I was about to knock on the door again.

“Who is it…?”

“Agh!”

I screamed, startled by the eerie voice that suddenly came close to my ear.

And I hurriedly turned my head to check who the owner of the voice was.

A woman with dark brown bobbed hair and sunken eyes.

She asked me with a tired face.

“What is your business in our lab…?”

“Ah, I have something to ask Professor Petania.”

“Are you a prospective Elysium student…?”

“No. It’s not like that.”

“Tsk.”

The woman, who glanced at the Academy uniform I was wearing, clicked her tongue at my firm answer.

And she turned her head and gestured for me to follow her.

“…Follow me. The professor is probably in the lab.”

I nodded obediently at the woman’s words to follow her.

I thought as I walked, following her, who was heading somewhere with powerless steps.

‘Is this person a Luminary?’

A graduate student attending Elysium.

A Luminary.

Judging from the white gown she’s wearing and her tired face, the identity of the person guiding me in front of me seems to be a Luminary.

“But why is an Academy student looking for the professor…?”

“I have something to ask about fantasy.”

“Fantasy? Is it a new research project??”

“No. It’s not like that, it’s just a personal matter.”

“…I see?”

As soon as I uttered the word fantasy, the woman’s eyes turned as if she was about to have a seizure, so I hastily added.

The Luminary, who seems to be relieved.

Seeing her like that, I thought.

Perhaps.

There may be no normal people here.

“You can go in here…. Then, I’m busy, so I’ll be going.”

“Thank you for guiding me.”

I said goodbye to the Luminary and opened the lab door.

But the moment I carefully opened the door and entered.

Boom!

“Why! Is this working perfectly fine!! Aaaah!!”

As soon as I opened the door, what greeted me was.

The sound of someone hitting a desk and a man’s screaming voice.

I stopped in my tracks as I entered, startled by the sudden sound, and rolled my eyes to see what was going on.

In a corner of the lab filled with strange devices.

I saw a man holding his head in front of a screen with strange letters spinning rapidly.

Judging from what I heard, it seems like he succeeded in operating some device.

‘Why is he so frustrated? If he succeeded, shouldn’t he be happy…?’

For some reason, a Luminary is screaming while holding onto a screen that works without any problems.

I felt a strange madness from that figure.

“I don’t know the reason! Why??”

I stood there with a dumbfounded expression, unable to understand the action.

Then.

“Who are you?”

A woman with a rather sharp impression and thick glasses discovered me and began to approach me.

And the moment I saw that person’s face, I immediately recognized who she was.

Found her.

This is the person I was looking for.

Petania Narsen.

A researcher studying dreams and fantasies, including Arcana, and a professor at Elysium.

She is the purpose of my coming here today.

“Are you Professor Petania?”

“Yes, my name is Petania…. What are you looking for me for?”

“I was wondering if I could get some help with this.”

“This is…?”

I showed Petania the Orb of Dreams in my hand.

Then, she was startled, her eyes widened, and she hurriedly took me somewhere.

“This way…!”

A small room in one corner of the lab.

She led me by the hand and I entered it.

Thud.

Clank.

As soon as I entered the room, Petania firmly closed the door with a strong hand.

By the way, I think I heard a sound like the door was locking just now…?

…It must be my imagination, right?

As soon as she closed the door, Petania, with a very excited face, sat down quickly on a chair.

“That thing from a while ago.”

“Yes?”

“Sh, show me in detail.”

“…Here you go.”

“Ooh….”

I put the Orb of Dreams on the table at her urging.

And she showed an ecstatic expression as if she had seen a very precious object.

A flushed face like being drunk.

And even trembling hands.

This look.

I’ve seen it somewhere before.

‘This is exactly the expression of a drug addict.’

The expressions of drug addicts often seen in movies.

Petania’s face now was no different from that.

Gulp.

…Why is she swallowing again?

Eyes full of desire.

And I watched Petania, who smacked her lips as if she had seen something delicious, and I lightly brought the Orb of Dreams back to me.

As the Orb of Dreams disappeared from her eyes, Petania, still with an expression full of regret, finally turned her gaze to me.

“Do you know what that is?”

“Yes, isn’t it the Orb of Dreams?”

“How on earth did you get that…?”

But as if she realized that I would obviously not tell her.

She gave up asking further and said to me with a resigned expression.

“You want to fix the Orb of Dreams, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Okay. I’ll help you. But there’s one condition.”

“…What is it?”

“If I fix the Orb of Dreams safely. Just for a moment. Let me touch it.”

That’s fine….

If she can just fix the orb, I can do that much.

“Okay. I’ll allow it.”

“Then let’s think about how to fix it now. Dream. Dream….”

Petania falls into thought for a moment.

Then, as if a good idea came to mind, she suddenly raised her head.

“Ah! Maybe that….”

Petania, who drew various things on a note for a while, finished the calculation, pushed up her glasses, and smiled brightly.

“Hehe. I came up with a brilliant idea.”

“What is it?”

“From now on, we will enter someone else’s dream.”

*****

Time passed and it became night.

I returned to the lab with Professor Petania alone.

“Well, the preparations are all done.”

“What is all this?”

“This is, um…. It’s kind of like a machine that allows you to travel in dreams.”

A magic circle drawn intricately on the floor.

And various unidentified machines connected to it.

“Place the Orb of Dreams here. Then, using that, we will enter someone else’s dream.”

A small hole in one side of the machine.

As Petania said, I placed the Orb of Dreams there.

The Orb of Dreams has the ability to interfere with dreams.

It seems that Petania intends to use that ability.

It’s late at night when everyone is asleep.

Currently, the Academy is full of people who are dreaming.

And I just need to randomly enter any of their dreams and bring out a dream fragment from the dream.

A fragment of a dream I saw in Arcana.

It will probably look similar to that.

Dreams are volatile.

It will disappear anyway when you open your eyes again.

So there will be no problems for the parties.

Of course, if I take the dream fragment, they will immediately wake up from the dream.

…That’s okay, right?

This is a matter of survival.

“Now, concentrate and slowly inject mana into the magic circle.”

I sat in the middle of the magic circle and infused mana as she said.

Whoosh.

As I infused mana.

The magic circle begins to glow slowly.

“Now you will gradually feel like you are being sucked into somewhere. Don’t resist it, you have to accept it.”

As she said, as if hypnotized, my vision gradually began to blur.

Soon, the magic circle began to emit a bright light, and only the loud sound of the machine echoed around.

And.

Feeling dizzy, I began to be sucked into someone’s dream.