Chapter 310: Dream and Reality
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 310: Dream and Reality
"Eh? Xiao Han, isn't your room across the hall? Why are you coming into mine?" Bai Yu asked, looking a bit flustered as I pushed her into the hotel room.
"Didn't you say you'd help me experiment? How can we do that if we aren't in the same room?" I shoved Sister Bai right up against the door. "Hmm? We can actually touch this door..."
"Yeah... and we can... open it." Bai Yu reached out and placed her hand on the handle. With a click, the door swung open.
However, through my Spirit Vision, I could see that the door in reality hadn't moved at all. Only the door within the dream had opened. In this dreamscape, we would selectively ignore the fact that the physical door was still closed. It was... truly magical, for lack of a better word.
"Hehe~ We're in~" Once inside, I pulled the door shut behind us. Did this count as being alone in a room with Sister Bai?
The last time this happened was right after we arrived at the academy, I think? Sister Bai had stayed the night with me, but unfortunately, she seemed to have slipped away in the middle of the night.
What a pity.
"Alright, Xiao Han. What exactly are you trying to test? If you don't tell me, I won't know how to cooperate."
"I've actually already gotten most of the results I wanted."
I walked past Sister Bai, through the foyer, and toward the large bed in the center of the room. I had to admit, the facilities in this hotel were top-notch. The decor was luxurious and flashy, though it didn't quite suit my aesthetic. It wasn't even as comfortable as my bedroom in the villa back at the Witch Academy.
"The dream is the dream, and reality is reality. They are indeed completely independent. Regarding the interaction with reality you mentioned earlier—like picking things up—those objects are still just existences within the dream. It's just that when we pick up a dream-object modeled after reality, we subconsciously ignore the original physical object. Our attention becomes entirely focused on the dream creation. This 'ignoring' effect is very pronounced. How should I put it? Sister Bai, did you feel like you pushed the door open just now?"
"Yes, I definitely pushed it open," Bai Yu said with a nod.
"I thought so too at first. But under Spirit Vision, I can break through that cognitive obscuring. In reality, the door didn't budge an inch. Even if we left the door 'open' right now, to anyone in the real world, the door would look closed, and we would have simply phased right through it."
"I see..." Bai Yu fell into thought, temporarily accepting this explanation as the current truth.
"Since you've already discovered this pattern, why did you go to all the trouble of coming to my room and asking for my cooperation?"
"Because... I want to try something else." A meaningful smile curled onto my lips as I slowly walked toward Sister Bai, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Hmm? Something else? Xiao Han, you... what are you trying to do?" Looking at the girl before her, Bai Yu felt an instinctive flutter of panic. Especially with Xiao Han approaching her with that specific expression—it felt like something R-rated was about to happen.
"I'm trying... a spell, of course~"
"A spell? In here? Are you sure? What if you—"
"This is a dream, what's there to fear? Sister Bai, even if we tore down the entirety of Ninglan New City, it wouldn't affect the lives of the people here. Tell me... when we use a spellbook in the dream, is the mana consumed from the dream, or... from reality?"
"The dream, I'd assume... since the spell's effects only manifest here and can't reach reality," Bai Yu replied after a moment of contemplation.
"Exactly. But what constitutes the Mana Source within the dream? There has to be a reference point—a template. Is this template generated subjectively through our consciousness, or does it objectively reflect the information of our physical bodies in reality?" I asked again.
"It should be an objective reflection of reality. If it were too subjective, a simple autosuggestion spell would make someone invincible in the dream. That's impossible."
"Right. The dream constructs a vessel for our consciousness by receiving 'Information' from reality. At least, that's my guess, and I think it's the most logical one."
Generally speaking, "Information" refers to data that can be acquired to provide immediate value. In the Transcendent realm, however, this term carried far deeper meanings. Unfortunately, I had only encountered the concept while researching Spirit Vision and hadn't delved into it deeply.
But Information was undoubtedly a vital concept among the Transcendent.
For instance, the data my Spirit Vision was currently receiving could be considered Information gathered from True Time, even if I couldn't understand the vast majority of it.
However, there was one type of Information I could understand, and it was quite simple: the direction of Information flow. It was an abstract concept, but Spirit Vision could indeed perceive it. It was an easily overlooked ability.
It was a bit like having eye floaters; you might often see strange things in your field of vision, but over time or when your attention shifts, you subconsciously ignore them.
"So, the dream has constructed a world that completely overlaps with reality by mimicking it?"
"Yes, that's more or less what I mean, but that's not my main point." I nodded and then shook my head. "The point I want to make is... the channel through which the dream acquires Information from reality. That channel is very important."
"And... what does that mean for you, Xiao Han?" Bai Yu still couldn't quite follow my train of thought.
"Sister Bai, have you noticed? In this dream world we've altered, the dream constantly receives Information from reality... and repairs itself bit by bit." I walked to the door and opened it. "The real door is closed, but I've opened it. This creates a discrepancy between the change in the dream and the feedback Information received from reality. The dream is slowly fixing this error. It manifests as... the door slowly closing. It's just... a very slow process."
"I see... but what's the significance? Do you want to destroy all of Ninglan New City just to see how long it takes to fix? Wait, the channel... you can see it? Are you planning to..."
"Yes, Sister Bai. Have you noticed that after we use a spellbook, the mana in our Mana Source recovers quite quickly? That's because while the Mana Source in the dream is recovering on its own, the dream is also receiving Information from reality to compensate for the change. This dream... follows completely different rules than the ones we reach through dream devices. The rules here are more primitive, whereas the Primal Dreams entered via devices are all artificially designed."
"You... you want to find the connection between us and reality by observing the Mana Source—no, more than that—by observing ourselves?"
"Exactly!" I nodded with a grin.
"Have you made any progress?"
"Not yet. How can I make progress if you won't cooperate with me, Sister Bai?~"
"But wouldn't it be more efficient to observe yourself?"
"Observing myself is so inconvenient~ Wouldn't it be better with your cooperation?~" A triumphant, almost predatory smile spread across my face. I rubbed my hands together like a little lecher and lightly bit my lower lip.
Compared to the slightly flustered Bai Yu, Xiao Han looked even cuter than usual from her perspective. She almost wanted to...
"It's fine, it's fine~ Didn't you tell me before, Sister Bai, that this is just normal interaction between besties? Unless you were tricking me before?" I stepped up to her, resting my hands on her shoulders and pressing my right leg onto the bed between her knees. The slight swaying of the mattress caused her "white rabbits" to bounce slightly, making me subconsciously swallow.
Ah~ Is this what it feels like to be the aggressor?
I wondered how Sister Bai would react to this provocation. I looked at her expectantly, my eyes full of mischief.
But in the next heartbeat, Bai Yu simply leaned back. My hand, which was supporting a good portion of my weight on her shoulder, slipped, and I tumbled down with her.
"Eh?"
I landed face-first right into her embrace. As my vision was obscured, my brain could only register one thought: Face-wash.
"Xiao Han, you've gotten bold, haven't you? Daring to tease your Sister Bai like this? You're still a bit too green, though~"
Bai Yu's voice drifted down, accompanied by a hand that held my head firmly in place, burying me deep against her...
"I'm thorry... I wath wrong..."
"Do you dare try it again?"
"I won't do it next time, I won't..."
"Good." Bai Yu loosened her grip slightly. She didn't seem to mind the "next time" part; perhaps she was thinking about the next time herself.
"Phew... Hah..."
I scrambled up from the bed. I didn't expect Sister Bai to be so skilled... I thought she would just shrink back. Turns out she's quite the pro... she just needed me to take the lead.
"Th-That... let's get down to business. I have research to do."
"Research what? You're not going to keep researching me, are you?" I looked at Bai Yu's expression, which still seemed to hold a hint of lingering enjoyment, and felt speechless. If you want it that much, just be more proactive. It's not like I'd fight back.
"Of course, I'm researching your... Mana Source. I can't use mental power to interfere with mana yet, so I want to start with the Mana Source."
"Alright." Bai Yu dropped her playful stance as if nothing had happened and manifested a Mana Source from her body into her hand.
"Here it is."
"Thanks, Sister Bai. Can you use some minor spells to consume some of the mana in this source? I need to see the changes it undergoes and what effects that brings."
I calmed my emotions. That was just a little interlude, a bit of seasoning. Now it was time for serious work.
After a few deep breaths, I felt my emotions stabilize. It was a great feeling—having my emotions under my own control.
Except for those moments, letting emotions take over consciousness did provide pleasure, but it was fleeting. Only by knowing what you want to do and resolutely executing it could you achieve a higher, more lasting sense of satisfaction.
For a long time, I stayed in Sister Bai's room, testing various possibilities on the bed, searching for the channel between dream and reality. The way the dream acquired Information from reality was truly mysterious; I hadn't made any breakthrough progress yet.
"It feels like something is still missing..."
My brain was working at high speeds, and I kept my Spirit Vision active, enduring the onslaught of Information.
The effects of the Unity of Knowledge and Action spell were also constant, allowing me to maintain a high level of focus as I filtered the data from Spirit Vision and ignored the useless bits.
This was another synergy I had discovered between Unity of Knowledge and Action and Spirit Vision. it truly allowed me to take my utilization of Spirit Vision to the next level.
"Still nothing?"
"Well, I wouldn't say 'nothing,' but there's no breakthrough." I shook my head. From the Information gathered by Spirit Vision, I had learned many useful things, but that data only served to broaden my general knowledge. I couldn't integrate it into a usable method, nor could I use it to establish a link with reality.
This suggested that either my method of inquiry was flawed, my means were incorrect, or I was overlooking something.
It was like facing a math problem where I only knew how to write "Solution:". I had read the entire problem over and over and understood the question deeply, but I couldn't put pen to paper because I hadn't found the actual starting point.
I cleared my mind. Since this path was a dead end, I needed to organize what I had and start fresh.
The best way to start fresh was to re-examine myself without letting previous ideas interfere with my current thoughts.
"Then... Xiao Han, do you plan on giving up?"
"Give up? Not yet. 'Giving up' is a word for when I've hit a wall, felt the pain, and realized I was wrong. Don't you start getting cold feet behind me, Sister Bai."
"Sorry, Xiao Han. I just saw you looking so..."
"If you're bored, Sister Bai, you can try constructing spells here directly without using a spellbook. It'll help you understand the essence of spells and your own application of runes. If there are runes you don't recognize, you can browse my Skill Bookshelf. I'll help you."
"Won't that... be too much trouble for you?"
"Sister Bai, listen to yourself. You're the one who gave me the Memory Bookshelf spellbook! How could I ever find you troublesome? Aren't we supposed to be helping each other improve?"
"True..." Bai Yu nodded. she couldn't just stand by and watch Xiao Han progress while she stayed in the same spot.
"That's the spirit~" I activated the Memory Bookshelf spellbook, manifesting the shelves before me. "These books contain memories related to runes. I might have read them too quickly, so some of the recording methods might be confusing. Just read them a few times."
"Mm. Thank you, Xiao Han."
"You're still saying thank you? Sister Bai, I could say it a million times and still never repay the help you've given me."
With that, I returned to organizing my thoughts. Then, I cast a spell: Illusion Clone.
It was an Illusion Clone controlled by my subconscious—a perfect way to look at the "real me" and help me jump out of my current thought patterns... another me.
"Well... it's been a while~"
"I've noticed we're becoming more and more alike. But now doesn't seem to be the time for that. Are we stuck?"
The Illusion Clone spoke of its own accord. I didn't interrupt, just listened quietly.
"What? Not talking? I am you. Even if we don't need to speak to communicate, at least say something. Or are you expecting me to give you an answer? How is that possible? If you can't think of it, how could I?"
"Fine... do you have any constructive suggestions?" I sighed, finally speaking.
"Hmm... none at all... but..."
"But? But what?"
"Why don't you try asking the magical Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art?"