Chapter 472: The Following of the Fool's Dream
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 472: The Following of the Fool's Dream
Ever since I promised to accept several members of the Fool's Dream clan as my followers, two or three petite figures have been trailing behind me from time to time.
Since they were following me now, there was naturally no need for them to return to their previous residence. They weren't exactly working for me; they were followers. At this stage, since they couldn't truly help me yet, it was essentially the same as me raising them.
Fortunately, I had settled them into the independent villa I received upon becoming a teaching assistant. It was a large place, and having just a few Fool's Dreams there actually made it feel a bit more lived-in. I even considered whether I should invite a few more over—after all, raising one or two was the same as raising a whole group.
As for these newcomers, I didn't let them participate in my current research immediately. They lacked too much common sense and foundational knowledge, all of which I would have to help them refine slowly.
"Yulan, come try this."
In my villa, I had already begun a simple renovation of the basement, turning it into a private laboratory where I could stay long-term.
What I was currently testing was a branch ability of the "Knowledge Shadow" that I had envisioned before—similar to how I had used the Knowledge Shadow linked to the Tree of Knowledge to help my roommates study.
Back then, that ability was already a prototype of what I was now conceiving.
Now, I wanted to turn this ability into something that could remain effective even after it left my side, or when I was far away and no longer paying attention to it.
Initially, such a concept seemed like a pipe dream. However, after the Tree of Knowledge became eligible for the "Great" prefix, its permanent spell effects made this vision a reachable possibility.
"Mm~ Okay!"
The Fool's Dream named Yulan hurried over to me, looking up with an expectant face, waiting for my instructions.
"Come here. It's fine; this won't have any negative effect on you."
An illusory leaf floated up from my hand. This was the carrier for the spell effect of Great Knowledge: a Leaf of Knowledge.
In truth, I knew that the Tree of Great Knowledge had likely only just touched the boundary of a Great Spellbook. Its permanent characteristic was primarily concentrated on the Tree of Knowledge itself.
This was because the Tree of Knowledge was the manifestation of the Tree of Great Knowledge spellbook's effect.
It was just like how the effect of the Memory Bookshelf spellbook was the construction of a bookshelf linked to one's own consciousness upon use.
The existence of the Tree of Knowledge was no longer a fragile spell effect like before; it was a permanent, Great Spell effect with infinite possibilities.
However, because of this, any ability derived from the Tree of Knowledge spellbook as a prototype could not obtain the permanent characteristic unless it used the Tree of Knowledge as the prototype sequence for derivation.
Therefore, I had no choice but to use the most direct method: I severed a leaf from the Tree of Knowledge to create a releasable spell effect that carried the Knowledge Shadow.
According to my design, this spell effect inherited the permanent characteristic of the Great Spellbook's derived sequence, and the released effect maintained a connection with the Tree of Great Knowledge.
After all, I was doing all this for one purpose: to harvest everything the target learned to fill the gaps in the knowledge within my own Tree of Knowledge.
Actually, rather than calling it harvesting, it was more like sharing—a win-win situation.
But there were many other things to consider, such as personal privacy and information acquisition channels. I couldn't just directly read the other person's memories, could I?
If a spell like that were made public and still managed to spread, the user would be the biggest fool of all.
Thus, the channels for knowledge acquisition had to be transparent and unrestricted. Although this would mean missing out on many top-secret pieces of knowledge, it was better than nothing.
Of course... every coin has two sides. I wasn't exactly a saint. Even the most wicked and immoral things could be repackaged into something "good," but I would never spread such things in the Main World. Consider it my last remaining shred of... kindness.
Naturally, it was too early to discuss such things. As I had said before, I might choose not to do it, but I couldn't afford to be unable to do it if the opportunity arose.
At this stage, the Leaf of Knowledge I created relied primarily on the Knowledge Shadow to teach slowly. What I gained would always be an expansion of the knowledge already within my cognition. It only broadened my existing understanding and extended the width of my knowledge; it couldn't reach into the depths of unknown fields.
The Knowledge Shadow's teaching method was a form of downward compatibility—one might even call it a thankless, laborious task.
Unless I used this ability in reverse, making the Knowledge Shadow the student and having a mentor teach her. That way, I could acquire knowledge outside my current cognition. But no one was willing to teach someone for free, especially a being that was essentially an illusion clone.
What I was really thinking about was spreading the Ley Line Information Identification Art.
By using others' hands to go to regions I had never visited, I could harvest the data and information carried by the ley lines there. Sharing that information with them was the most suitable way to promote the skill at this stage.
No one could refuse an identification spell in reality. The quest for the unknown was an innate instinct of life. Even if it was just a plain, ordinary stone in one's hand, if the ability allowed it, plenty of people would be curious about where the stone came from and how it ended up in their possession.
However, it was clear that the structure of the Ley Line Information Identification Art was quite complex. It involved the conversion of ley line energy and ley energy, the extraction and decoding of ley energy data, then organizing and summarizing it, and finally presenting the information as needed.
The actual process was far more complex than that description.
In comparison, the creation of the Knowledge Shadow was simple and crude.
But it was precisely because of its simplicity that I could conduct multiple trials in such a short time.
And the subjects for these experiments... were naturally the Fool's Dreams.
Of course, the prerequisite for experimenting on them was that there was no danger involved.
Regardless, I couldn't bear to hurt these cute little things.
As the Leaf of Knowledge in my hand dissolved into motes of magical light, a verdant pattern—a simplified sketch of a leaf—was etched onto the back of Yulan's small hand.
Yulan looked at the tattoo-like mark that had suddenly appeared, curiously touching it with her other hand.
"Do you feel anything?" I asked.
"Um... it feels like a surge of power has entered my body..." Yulan said.
"Any other sensations?"
"Hmm... I don't think so." Yulan shook her head.
"Then, can you try to control this pattern?" I continued to guide her.
"Um... I think so?" Yulan clenched her fists, looking as if she were straining her entire body. Finally, under her "effort," the pattern on the back of her hand began to glow with a magical effect.
I observed all of this silently, recording the data into the Tree of Knowledge.
The method of using the pattern formed by the Leaf of Knowledge has nothing to do with physical strain. It requires focused attention, or it can be activated directly with mental power. Those without mental power can rely on physical exertion to drive focused attention, guiding the subconscious spirit to activate the spell effect.
After recording this, I observed the state of the Leaf of Knowledge on Yulan again and reminded her, "Yulan, you can use mental power to activate this mark."
Mental power was something that generally manifested as a faint sensation after a sufficiently long period of correct meditation.
Unlike the terrifying method of the Witch Meditation Method—which condensed mental power into threads and even used the Primal Dream to temper it—ordinary meditation methods were very gentle, though their results were somewhat lackluster.
Having grown accustomed to the Witch Meditation Method, I couldn't go back to those old ways.
Those methods were less "meditation" and more "mental cultivation." Strictly speaking, they weren't really a way to elevate oneself.
Fool's Dreams naturally possessed mental power. Generally, anyone with consciousness could obtain mental power through some means, as it was a perception independent of the biological five senses.
As long as it was a form of perception, it could be possessed. It was like how a Body Cultivation practitioner might lack some of the five senses but would have ways to compensate for that lack through cultivation.
The same applied to magic cultivation. Once one embarked on that path, meditation was the means to complete one's mental perception.
Mental power was both a subjective perception and a force—a force that could interfere with the level of transcendent energy. Thus, mental power was the bridge between a living individual and the transcendent world.
But it wasn't the only bridge.
That didn't matter, though, because I only needed to know the minimum level required for someone to use this thing I had created.
Roughly... one only needed a trace of mental power to perceive it. Once perceived, it could be interfered with, and once interfered with, it could be activated and utilized.
At that moment, the Leaf of Knowledge was easily activated by Yulan using her mental power. It seemed the Fool's Dreams weren't very skilled in the use of mental power.
After all, they hadn't placed much importance on the development of transcendent power in the past. Only a scattered few knew a bit about growing transcendent plants or simple alchemy. However, brewing Fool's Dream Drink seemed to have become an instinct etched into their very cognition.
There was nothing I could do about that; I could only take it slow.
"Huh? Two Sisters Xiao Han!"
"Mm, this is one of my clones. As long as you activate that pattern, you'll be able to see her. If you run into any problems, you can just ask her."
"Huh? Oh!" Yulan looked at the Knowledge Shadow in shock, then back at me, her astonishment plain to see. "Is... is this a blessing you've bestowed upon me, Sister Xiao Han?"
"Hmm? If you like that term, call it whatever you want. As long as you're happy."
"Yes! As the first Fool's Dream to receive a blessing from Sister Xiao Han, I... I feel so honored!"
"Then you must work hard~ Strive to become a Fool's Dream who can truly help me." I leaned down and patted Yulan's head, then noticed the two envious little ones standing nearby.
The villa currently housed three Fool's Dreams who were willing to follow me. Besides Yulan, there were Yu Yun and Yu Guo.
These two had clearly seen what I just did. Their faces were filled with envy, and their eyes held intense expectation and piety.
"Come on~ What are you two hiding over there for? If you don't come over, you really won't get one," I said, beckoning to them.
I wouldn't show favoritism among the three Fool's Dreams I had chosen; I had to treat them equally from the start.
As for what happened later, that would depend on their own circumstances.
As I took out the other two pre-prepared Leaves of Knowledge and turned them into patterns on their hands, they cheered with excitement.
If these were fellow students who couldn't hide their emotions like this, I would stay away from them. In my view, such behavior was a sign of immaturity and usually meant we wouldn't get along.
But the Fool's Dreams were different. At least when facing them, I had plenty of patience to teach them.
"Alright, alright~ Now that you've all received my blessing, you'll need to serve me wholeheartedly from now on! Understand?"
"Understood~" ×3
Seeing their straightforward and heartfelt devotion, I was quite satisfied.
"But there is still a very serious problem you need to solve. Currently, your own abilities aren't enough to help me. Even handling trivial matters would be very difficult for you."
As I said this, their spirits visibly plummeted. For them, coming here with full confidence only to be told they weren't even qualified to help with small tasks was undoubtedly a huge blow.
"But if you study hard now and become someone who can help me, then you won't be without value to me..."
I carefully explained what they would be doing in great detail. Although they were my followers, they were currently more like dependents without their own initiative, wrapping themselves in the mantle of "followers" to find value in their existence.
But... I didn't reject this mindset. In fact, I liked it. At least Fool's Dreams like this were highly malleable, even if shaping them was a bit of a chore.
For instance, right now, I needed to establish a basic set of values for them. I had to tell them clearly what to do, how to do it, why they were doing it, and how doing so realized their own value.
But the more I spoke, the more I felt like... a capitalist who only knew how to exploit...
But facing three Fool's Dreams who were willing to follow me with such selfless devotion... who could resist?
As long as I provided room and board—and this villa was huge, with plenty of food—I was set. I had even made an agreement with Sofiri that a batch of Fool's Dream Drink fruit would be delivered here whenever they ripened. If the Fool's Dreams wanted to drink it, they could brew it themselves whenever they liked.
Yeah... this wasn't exploitation. It was downward compatibility. They were the ones who wanted to follow me, but since their abilities were lacking, I was providing for their material needs and giving them a learning environment... How could that be called exploitation?
Besides... if one day they truly felt this life didn't meet their needs or they were no longer satisfied... they could just leave. Even if they didn't, I wouldn't force them to stay. What I needed was an assistant who could help me no matter what, not an ambitious person whose inner desires grew alongside their standard of living.
Though... based on my expectations of the Fool's Dream clan, they probably wouldn't turn out like that... but who knows what the future holds?
Hearts change, let alone the Fool's Dreams who were as innocent as blank paper. They were even more susceptible to outside influences. No one knew what they would eventually become.
I could only try my best to guide them toward the version I hoped for, without interfering too much in the choices of the Fool's Dream clan itself.
Just as I was about to organize the data on the Leaf of Knowledge for a deeper analysis, my phone suddenly rang.
With the Joint Exam approaching, I kept my phone on me at all times to facilitate arrangements. After all, I was now one of the maintainers of the Joint Exam.
"Hmm? Teacher Lina..." I looked at the caller ID. Wasn't she our freshman Department Head?
I hadn't expected her to contact me directly. Should I be surprised, or was it to be expected?
It felt like it had been a long time since I last had any contact with this mentor.