A magic formation filled my mind.
It was too complex to comprehend in its entirety, but somehow intuitively I completely understood how to use it.
I could feel the Psyka within my mind begin to cycle as I followed the formation’s directions. The Psyka became thousands of little stars of power in the space of my mind, and as it cycled, they created streaks like comets yet contained themselves within a small area as if quartered by an invisible orb.
This small area of chaotic shooting stars became a huge bundle of power, but more than that, as it grew in size, I found my mind becoming clearer, faster, as if that small area was becoming a second brain.
At some point, those stars of power that were drawing lines with their converging movements became so fast that they became a white orb, the streaks of those stars becoming so blinding that you couldn’t differentiate between the hundreds of them within such a small space.
Compared to the rest of the space within my mind, however, the white orb was still small. It was like a marble compared to the size of the brain. But despite that, the power it contained made me feel as though it were trying to match my brain in sheer power, yet falling short because of my own inability.
That small white orb of fleeting Psyka enhanced my mental faculties in every way. My speed of thought, given a rough estimation, went up by around a third. But more importantly than that, it felt like I had unlocked the ability to control my thoughts with greater discipline.
It was like that orb was a device that I could control, one that could be directed to process certain things. Controlling it was no different from controlling my Psyka, which was like a limb.
And in the center of all of it, filling every corner of my mind and allowing this orb to form in the first place, was that massive formation. From a cursory glance, I could only understand the first quarter of it. There was still a lot to go, but I could tell that should I realize all of it, that white orb would gain enough power to truly match my brain in ability. It would unlock a whole other realm of cognitive power.
And I was about to attempt to understand more of it. I felt like I could understand anything, my mind completely open to absorbing information. In this moment, I was endlessly creative, my mind working in overdrive yet completely comfortable, if not blissful.
Almost like a dream.
A dream…
My thoughts reached a certain point, and with a realization, I came to understand that I was dreaming.
After that, everything collapsed.
And my eyes opened.
“...”
I was frozen in my bed. I didn’t know where I was, nor did I care.
The only thing on my mind was that formation. I wanted to think about it more. It was all there in my mind, just waiting to be looked at and deciphered.
But as I thought about it more, the more those feelings disappeared. It was like water in the palm of my hands, unable to be held or contained, constantly slipping away.
And when it was all gone, and my eyes finally zoned in to see the roof of my room at the Magisterium, I realized it was all gone.
“...Shit!”
I cursed before shooting up. I reached into my spatial bracelet and took out a sheet of leather.
This leather contained the formation for advancing to Authority 4. After thinking about the portion of the information I understood, I realized that it all came from this formation.
And as I looked at it, feeling the changes in my mind, I realized that I had just comprehended an entire quarter of this formation in my sleep.
I didn’t even remember what the first quarter of the formation looked like. If you asked me to draw it out, I’d put down a few lines before giving up. It was too complex to memorize.
But it had appeared in my dreams, in its entirety no less.
Well, that was the power of the sleeping mind. Something about it made you feel like a savant, but as soon as you woke, all that would slip away.
I was no stranger to lucid dreaming. Deliberately causing it wasn’t an uncommon thing for me. I was pretty sure most people lucid dreamt occasionally.
But it seemed that, with the power of Psyka, dreaming could invoke very real changes. It was actually beneficial if used in this way.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I could really control. It was like getting inspired. Things like that just came to you. You couldn’t really force it.
I suddenly wanted to go back to sleep, anything to go back to that state. But I had already woken, and my mind was feeling euphoric.
That white orb of Psyka within my mind was there, acting like a core of energy for my thoughts. I could direct it like electricity. It was a level of control over my thoughts that I wasn’t quite sure how to handle.
It was like another mind entirely, almost separate from my own. I would imagine this was what growing an extra limb was like. It was a part of you, but separate until you assimilated it.
Was this what powerful summoners had at their disposal? If this orb grew to fill my entire mind, how much faster would my thoughts be? I was already beginning to feel like a genius, but taken a dozen steps further, just how amazing would my mind be?
No wonder summoners were hailed as the smartest among the Magi. I couldn’t imagine what would come later.
I spent the next long while sorting myself out. It was hard to concentrate when my focus was on using the orb.
In one moment, I had the orb focus on comprehending more of the formation before my eyes. But in another moment, I had it focus on scouring my dimensions for weapons and spirits to summon.
Whenever I shifted its power, I felt my mind receiving all kinds of information. These were my thoughts, but they almost felt foreign. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just disorienting because I couldn’t turn it off.
But after thinking about turning it off, I realized I could direct it in a more general way.
Around the orb that was filled with chaotic shooting stars of beaming Psyka was the rest of my mind.
It was like an ocean, one that moved in a slower, more idle current. And within that ocean were many more stars than what was contained within the orb.
If I directed the power of the orb outward, it seemed to spread its power out toward the entire ocean. When that happened, I felt a small wave of relief as my thoughts, while still quick, weren’t so unnaturally focused. It was hard to keep up with my own mind when it was moving that fast, as weird as that was.
After doing that, I took another few minutes just to stew in silence, processing everything.
But then, I suddenly raised my arm. When doing so, I felt like I had greater control over even my body, as if I could feel the clusters of neurons activating and enhancing my mind-muscle connection. But that wasn’t the point in doing so.
I brought up my Aerial, calling my teacher.
“What.”
His dull voice echoed in my mind, seemingly not happy with my early morning call.
I spoke anyway.
“Hey. So, I comprehended some of the Authority 4 formation.”
“Congratulations, and goodbye.”
“Wait!”
I made him stay, throwing out what would interest him.
“I came to understand about a quarter of the formation all at once, and I did so within my dream. While dreaming, I formed an orb of energy within my mind. It’s made things a lot faster.”
“...I see.”
This time, I heard his voice perk up with impression.
“Seems you’ve been inspired. And to think you’ve had a dream at this stage. You’re quite lucky.”
“Really? I don’t really think it’s luck…”
“So you think it's skill? Until I reached Authority 9, I had only dreamt perhaps 3 times in my life. Dreams only become more frequent when a summoner gets more powerful. Pushing toward Authority 10, I had them rather often, perhaps once or twice a week. It’s a known phenomenon. In fact, most people will never have a dream at all unless they climb to the higher Authorities. ”
“...”
I was silent as I contemplated these sudden new facts.
On Earth, dreams were common enough. Everyone had dreams. Dreaming every night was normal, even if you didn’t remember it.
But, to never dream? Was sleep really just a time of darkness and suspension for the people of this world?
It was something I never would have thought of. Was that really one of the main differences between this world and Earth? Dreaming?
It was fascinating, but if dreams were a time of inspiration that could help a person comprehend magical concepts, then the more I dreamt, the faster I would grow my power. It was a serious advantage, even if an odd one.
When I thought about it more though, I also realized it was kind of depressing.
Dreaming was the great escape from the harsh realities of life. It made sleep enjoyable, besides being able to rest and recover.
And nobody in this world was able to experience the bliss of dreaming about flying. Then again, many dreams were also indecipherable messes that made no sense, but that was beside the point.
How sad, I thought.
“...Well, just wanted to let you know. That little orb in my mind is rather amazing, too.”
“Yes. The fact that you’ve created your first Spark is a great boon. Most summoners have to understand the entire formation before being able to start, but it seems you’ll be able to cultivate throughout the process of understanding. It will accelerate your growth even further, depending on how well you use it.”
“Wait, the first? There’s more?”
“When you reach Authority 9, you will have formed three, each acting no different from an extra mind when completed. Your talent determines how powerful each Spark is, and without enough power, you will be unable to cultivate the next. I don’t worry about that with you, so long as you don’t squander the gifts you’ve been given. So work hard.”
“Right. I will.”
“Then goodbye. And take care of yourself on the trip.”
*Click*
With those words, Maxwell suddenly hung up. I could feel genuine care in those final words, making me smile a bit.
Despite his usually cold attitude, I knew he cared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t invest so much in me.
Not that I ever planned on taking advantage of it. One day, I would pay back all those that helped me in this life. But that could only wait until I had the power to give them something of value that matched or exceeded their position.
After letting out a long breath, I looked at the clock and saw that it wasn’t long before I’d have to leave.
I then turned my head toward the large chest next to my bed. It looked rough but unblemished, designed to blend in despite its rich and powerful construction.
I got up and cleaned myself for the day before getting ready to leave.
Opening the chest, I saw that it looked completely normal inside. It had a smooth wood finish that wouldn’t damage anything within.
But, there was also a hidden button that looked like one of the many rivets that built the chest. I pressed it, and the inner walls fell down to reveal space that shouldn’t be there.
According to the shopkeep, this chest could contain three times its actual size. In order to utilize the extra space, you just needed to push that button and place the items into the newly exposed area. It was no different from placing an item through an invisible wall, which made it disorienting but cool.
Nodding to myself, I pushed the button again and the walls came back up, sealing the subspace and making it look normal.
After that, I threw all my items into it. Every piece of clothing I owned went into it, along with some other miscellaneous items I had.
Once that was done I properly dressed myself in my standard attire. Pants, a shirt, my overcoat, and some comfortable shoes.
Then, I picked up the chest. It was about time to report for departure.
One more useful function of the chest was weight reduction. I could activate that feature at will, making it light enough to easily carry. And when it was time to hand it off, I could deactivate it, making it its normal weight. Anything to reduce suspicions.
Like that, I headed out.
And I wasn’t the only one.
All fourth years were leaving for this trip, so the entire dorm was active.
I passed by several people, all of them carrying chests similar to mine. We all exited the dorms before making out way out to the entrance of the Magisterium.
“John!”
Along the way, I bumped into Tana and Umara. Tana was lively as usual, but Umara was quiet. She didn’t seem like a morning person, and neither was I. So for the most part, we walked in silence, humming and nodding idly as Tana talked along the way.
And so we arrived at the entrance to the Magisterium.
There, we found a dozen carriages and wagons already waiting for us, along with many staff and instructors.
“Come grab a nametag and attach it to your luggage! Everything will be loaded into the wagons before being taken to the Rails for stowage!”
We were all guided through a process of logging our names and loading our chests onto the wagons. I attached a tag to my own chest with my name on it before tossing the chest into a wagon with a dozen other chests like my own.
After that, we were assigned carriages that would take us to the terminal for the Rails.
Before that though…
I looked around. As the minutes passed, more people began to gather. They were all the younger year students, and I suppose their powerful seniors had caught their eyes.
It was no secret that the Elites and fourth year students were all famous in the Magisterium. I hadn’t really noticed because I was new, receiving little to none of that fame. But everyone else around me was more than well known.
There was a leaderboard in the Magisterium, and those on the leaderboard were known as Elites. They were a group of people which had no defining limits. There could be hundreds or only 10. And each of the Elites had earned their position through killing Scourge beasts.
And beside their name was a point counter. The Elites earned points based on the number and strength of the beasts they killed. The top Elites had a few thousand points.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know how points were assigned. That would be something I learned when I got to the base on this trip.
But regardless, the people who I had been doing scenarios with under the Puppet Master were all Elites at minimum. I was a major exception in their group, as only Elites were actually allowed to receive his services.
And not all fourth year students were Elites. In fact, last I checked, there were currently only 28 Elites. For reference, there were around 140 fourth year students.
I had met most of these Elites, at least those who did the Scenarios. I heard that some of the Elites did training outside the Magisterium and never showed, so I had yet to meet all of them personally.
But people like Tana, Umara, and Heubert were all Elites who I had gotten to know over a few weeks. Outside of classes, they were people I would occasionally stick with, like currently.
And we attracted a lot of attention. Heubert wasn’t here, so it was just Tana and Umara by my side as we waited. And I couldn’t help but notice and feel a lot of younger students staring.
A magic formation filled my mind.
It was too complex to comprehend in its entirety, but somehow intuitively I completely understood how to use it.
I could feel the Psyka within my mind begin to cycle as I followed the formation’s directions. The Psyka became thousands of little stars of power in the space of my mind, and as it cycled, they created streaks like comets yet contained themselves within a small area as if quartered by an invisible orb.
This small area of chaotic shooting stars became a huge bundle of power, but more than that, as it grew in size, I found my mind becoming clearer, faster, as if that small area was becoming a second brain.
At some point, those stars of power that were drawing lines with their converging movements became so fast that they became a white orb, the streaks of those stars becoming so blinding that you couldn’t differentiate between the hundreds of them within such a small space.
Compared to the rest of the space within my mind, however, the white orb was still small. It was like a marble compared to the size of the brain. But despite that, the power it contained made me feel as though it were trying to match my brain in sheer power, yet falling short because of my own inability.
That small white orb of fleeting Psyka enhanced my mental faculties in every way. My speed of thought, given a rough estimation, went up by around a third. But more importantly than that, it felt like I had unlocked the ability to control my thoughts with greater discipline.
It was like that orb was a device that I could control, one that could be directed to process certain things. Controlling it was no different from controlling my Psyka, which was like a limb.
And in the center of all of it, filling every corner of my mind and allowing this orb to form in the first place, was that massive formation. From a cursory glance, I could only understand the first quarter of it. There was still a lot to go, but I could tell that should I realize all of it, that white orb would gain enough power to truly match my brain in ability. It would unlock a whole other realm of cognitive power.
And I was about to attempt to understand more of it. I felt like I could understand anything, my mind completely open to absorbing information. In this moment, I was endlessly creative, my mind working in overdrive yet completely comfortable, if not blissful.
Almost like a dream.
A dream…
My thoughts reached a certain point, and with a realization, I came to understand that I was dreaming.
After that, everything collapsed.
And my eyes opened.
“...”
I was frozen in my bed. I didn’t know where I was, nor did I care.
The only thing on my mind was that formation. I wanted to think about it more. It was all there in my mind, just waiting to be looked at and deciphered.
But as I thought about it more, the more those feelings disappeared. It was like water in the palm of my hands, unable to be held or contained, constantly slipping away.
And when it was all gone, and my eyes finally zoned in to see the roof of my room at the Magisterium, I realized it was all gone.
“...Shit!”
I cursed before shooting up. I reached into my spatial bracelet and took out a sheet of leather.
This leather contained the formation for advancing to Authority 4. After thinking about the portion of the information I understood, I realized that it all came from this formation.
And as I looked at it, feeling the changes in my mind, I realized that I had just comprehended an entire quarter of this formation in my sleep.
I didn’t even remember what the first quarter of the formation looked like. If you asked me to draw it out, I’d put down a few lines before giving up. It was too complex to memorize.
But it had appeared in my dreams, in its entirety no less.
Well, that was the power of the sleeping mind. Something about it made you feel like a savant, but as soon as you woke, all that would slip away.
I was no stranger to lucid dreaming. Deliberately causing it wasn’t an uncommon thing for me. I was pretty sure most people lucid dreamt occasionally.
But it seemed that, with the power of Psyka, dreaming could invoke very real changes. It was actually beneficial if used in this way.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I could really control. It was like getting inspired. Things like that just came to you. You couldn’t really force it.
I suddenly wanted to go back to sleep, anything to go back to that state. But I had already woken, and my mind was feeling euphoric.
That white orb of Psyka within my mind was there, acting like a core of energy for my thoughts. I could direct it like electricity. It was a level of control over my thoughts that I wasn’t quite sure how to handle.
It was like another mind entirely, almost separate from my own. I would imagine this was what growing an extra limb was like. It was a part of you, but separate until you assimilated it.
Was this what powerful summoners had at their disposal? If this orb grew to fill my entire mind, how much faster would my thoughts be? I was already beginning to feel like a genius, but taken a dozen steps further, just how amazing would my mind be?
No wonder summoners were hailed as the smartest among the Magi. I couldn’t imagine what would come later.
I spent the next long while sorting myself out. It was hard to concentrate when my focus was on using the orb.
In one moment, I had the orb focus on comprehending more of the formation before my eyes. But in another moment, I had it focus on scouring my dimensions for weapons and spirits to summon.
Whenever I shifted its power, I felt my mind receiving all kinds of information. These were my thoughts, but they almost felt foreign. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just disorienting because I couldn’t turn it off.
But after thinking about turning it off, I realized I could direct it in a more general way.
Around the orb that was filled with chaotic shooting stars of beaming Psyka was the rest of my mind.
It was like an ocean, one that moved in a slower, more idle current. And within that ocean were many more stars than what was contained within the orb.
If I directed the power of the orb outward, it seemed to spread its power out toward the entire ocean. When that happened, I felt a small wave of relief as my thoughts, while still quick, weren’t so unnaturally focused. It was hard to keep up with my own mind when it was moving that fast, as weird as that was.
After doing that, I took another few minutes just to stew in silence, processing everything.
But then, I suddenly raised my arm. When doing so, I felt like I had greater control over even my body, as if I could feel the clusters of neurons activating and enhancing my mind-muscle connection. But that wasn’t the point in doing so.
I brought up my Aerial, calling my teacher.
“What.”
His dull voice echoed in my mind, seemingly not happy with my early morning call.
I spoke anyway.
“Hey. So, I comprehended some of the Authority 4 formation.”
“Congratulations, and goodbye.”
“Wait!”
I made him stay, throwing out what would interest him.
“I came to understand about a quarter of the formation all at once, and I did so within my dream. While dreaming, I formed an orb of energy within my mind. It’s made things a lot faster.”
“...I see.”
This time, I heard his voice perk up with impression.
“Seems you’ve been inspired. And to think you’ve had a dream at this stage. You’re quite lucky.”
“Really? I don’t really think it’s luck…”
“So you think it's skill? Until I reached Authority 9, I had only dreamt perhaps 3 times in my life. Dreams only become more frequent when a summoner gets more powerful. Pushing toward Authority 10, I had them rather often, perhaps once or twice a week. It’s a known phenomenon. In fact, most people will never have a dream at all unless they climb to the higher Authorities. ”
“...”
I was silent as I contemplated these sudden new facts.
On Earth, dreams were common enough. Everyone had dreams. Dreaming every night was normal, even if you didn’t remember it.
But, to never dream? Was sleep really just a time of darkness and suspension for the people of this world?
It was something I never would have thought of. Was that really one of the main differences between this world and Earth? Dreaming?
It was fascinating, but if dreams were a time of inspiration that could help a person comprehend magical concepts, then the more I dreamt, the faster I would grow my power. It was a serious advantage, even if an odd one.
When I thought about it more though, I also realized it was kind of depressing.
Dreaming was the great escape from the harsh realities of life. It made sleep enjoyable, besides being able to rest and recover.
And nobody in this world was able to experience the bliss of dreaming about flying. Then again, many dreams were also indecipherable messes that made no sense, but that was beside the point.
How sad, I thought.
“...Well, just wanted to let you know. That little orb in my mind is rather amazing, too.”
“Yes. The fact that you’ve created your first Spark is a great boon. Most summoners have to understand the entire formation before being able to start, but it seems you’ll be able to cultivate throughout the process of understanding. It will accelerate your growth even further, depending on how well you use it.”
“Wait, the first? There’s more?”
“When you reach Authority 9, you will have formed three, each acting no different from an extra mind when completed. Your talent determines how powerful each Spark is, and without enough power, you will be unable to cultivate the next. I don’t worry about that with you, so long as you don’t squander the gifts you’ve been given. So work hard.”
“Right. I will.”
“Then goodbye. And take care of yourself on the trip.”
*Click*
With those words, Maxwell suddenly hung up. I could feel genuine care in those final words, making me smile a bit.
Despite his usually cold attitude, I knew he cared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t invest so much in me.
Not that I ever planned on taking advantage of it. One day, I would pay back all those that helped me in this life. But that could only wait until I had the power to give them something of value that matched or exceeded their position.
After letting out a long breath, I looked at the clock and saw that it wasn’t long before I’d have to leave.
I then turned my head toward the large chest next to my bed. It looked rough but unblemished, designed to blend in despite its rich and powerful construction.
I got up and cleaned myself for the day before getting ready to leave.
Opening the chest, I saw that it looked completely normal inside. It had a smooth wood finish that wouldn’t damage anything within.
But, there was also a hidden button that looked like one of the many rivets that built the chest. I pressed it, and the inner walls fell down to reveal space that shouldn’t be there.
According to the shopkeep, this chest could contain three times its actual size. In order to utilize the extra space, you just needed to push that button and place the items into the newly exposed area. It was no different from placing an item through an invisible wall, which made it disorienting but cool.
Nodding to myself, I pushed the button again and the walls came back up, sealing the subspace and making it look normal.
After that, I threw all my items into it. Every piece of clothing I owned went into it, along with some other miscellaneous items I had.
Once that was done I properly dressed myself in my standard attire. Pants, a shirt, my overcoat, and some comfortable shoes.
Then, I picked up the chest. It was about time to report for departure.
One more useful function of the chest was weight reduction. I could activate that feature at will, making it light enough to easily carry. And when it was time to hand it off, I could deactivate it, making it its normal weight. Anything to reduce suspicions.
Like that, I headed out.
And I wasn’t the only one.
All fourth years were leaving for this trip, so the entire dorm was active.
I passed by several people, all of them carrying chests similar to mine. We all exited the dorms before making out way out to the entrance of the Magisterium.
“John!”
Along the way, I bumped into Tana and Umara. Tana was lively as usual, but Umara was quiet. She didn’t seem like a morning person, and neither was I. So for the most part, we walked in silence, humming and nodding idly as Tana talked along the way.
And so we arrived at the entrance to the Magisterium.
There, we found a dozen carriages and wagons already waiting for us, along with many staff and instructors.
“Come grab a nametag and attach it to your luggage! Everything will be loaded into the wagons before being taken to the Rails for stowage!”
We were all guided through a process of logging our names and loading our chests onto the wagons. I attached a tag to my own chest with my name on it before tossing the chest into a wagon with a dozen other chests like my own.
After that, we were assigned carriages that would take us to the terminal for the Rails.
Before that though…
I looked around. As the minutes passed, more people began to gather. They were all the younger year students, and I suppose their powerful seniors had caught their eyes.
It was no secret that the Elites and fourth year students were all famous in the Magisterium. I hadn’t really noticed because I was new, receiving little to none of that fame. But everyone else around me was more than well known.
There was a leaderboard in the Magisterium, and those on the leaderboard were known as Elites. They were a group of people which had no defining limits. There could be hundreds or only 10. And each of the Elites had earned their position through killing Scourge beasts.
And beside their name was a point counter. The Elites earned points based on the number and strength of the beasts they killed. The top Elites had a few thousand points.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know how points were assigned. That would be something I learned when I got to the base on this trip.
But regardless, the people who I had been doing scenarios with under the Puppet Master were all Elites at minimum. I was a major exception in their group, as only Elites were actually allowed to receive his services.
And not all fourth year students were Elites. In fact, last I checked, there were currently only 28 Elites. For reference, there were around 140 fourth year students.
I had met most of these Elites, at least those who did the Scenarios. I heard that some of the Elites did training outside the Magisterium and never showed, so I had yet to meet all of them personally.
But people like Tana, Umara, and Heubert were all Elites who I had gotten to know over a few weeks. Outside of classes, they were people I would occasionally stick with, like currently.
And we attracted a lot of attention. Heubert wasn’t here, so it was just Tana and Umara by my side as we waited. And I couldn’t help but notice and feel a lot of younger students staring.
