Chapter 21 The Beginning of Everything

Perhaps it was because he was thin-skinned, but after saying his piece, the guy ran off, slipping something into Rod's hand.

Opening his hand, Rod saw that it was a note, which read:

Frost Month, third day, by the Nasir River at dusk.

What the hell?

Rod wasn't accustomed to male dates, so he casually crumpled the note and tossed it away.

He was very worried now.

Although theoretically, becoming a "special student" was a good thing, meaning he was another step closer to the value of "five masters."

But there was a vague unease in his heart, as if he had overlooked something.

And the status of the case was currently unknown.

The investigation on Hammer Street was a disaster, his mishap making his situation even more unfavorable.

The only comforting factor was that Inspector Lauren seemed to be on his side, though it was uncertain whether he could withstand pressure.

Rod carefully recalled every word he had exchanged with Lauren, and then added two more people to the list.

Lauren's teacher, Black Bear, and the blue-and-white young lady, Qingyu.

These three were his current back-up.

However, these three pillars of support weren't very stable, the benefits linking him to them were loose, and he could be abandoned at any moment.

He needed to find a way to strengthen those ties.

Rod thought to himself.

Since Black Bear and Lauren were men, and he didn't know the Banana Divine Skill, the focus should be on Qingyu.

If he could find a way to interact with her more deeply, there would be a foundation of mutual interest between him and his backers, so he wouldn't be easily cast aside.

But although Rod was confident in his unique skills, he was currently penniless, and the gap between him and the blue-and-white young lady was too wide for their paths to cross easily. It wouldn't be simple to succeed.

The safest approach was still to enhance his own strength.

As long as he was valuable enough, even if it turned out that he was the murderer, he might be let off.

The problem now was that he needed more souls to become stronger.

Plundering souls within a kingdom where "Soul Devouring" was taboo was undoubtedly dancing on the edge of a knife.

But what worried Rod the most was the countdown on the Obelisk.

Those flickering, blood-red characters seemed to signal an ominous future.

What would happen when the two sunsets concluded?

What did "invasion" mean?

And what was the "Nightmare"?

These questions lurked deep in his mind, occasionally causing a shudder of his soul as his thoughts brushed over them.

Rod had heard that the oldest human emotion was fear, and the oldest fear was that of the unknown. He was even starting to regret deciphering the text on the Obelisk.

But burying his head in the sand wouldn't solve anything.

Mr. Lu Xun once said, the best way to eliminate fear is to confront it!

With a surge of courage, Rod quickly ran back to his dorm, resolved to make all the preparations he could during the final two sunsets.

The people he encountered on the way were sparse, the lights in the public lounge were dimming, and the giant clock on the dormitory roof showed it was now three-quarter past the hour of dusk.

Rod reckoned it was 10:40 p.m.

It was late.

Rod took the stairs two at a time up to the third floor, took out his key, and opened his room door.

The moment he pushed open the door, Rod saw a blonde girl in a beige long dress and knee-high boots lying on his bed, sound asleep.

It was Kashan.

Rod promptly woke her up.

"You're finally back, I fell asleep waiting for you."

The girl, sleepily squinting, sat up, stretched lazily, and presented her modest chest in full display.

"These are the notes from this afternoon's meeting, very important. You better go over them quickly."

She took out a notebook with a red cover and placed it on the table.

Judging by the neat handwriting, it was probably her notebook.

"This is the course schedule for this afternoon's class selection; you're the only one in the group who hasn't chosen yet."

"At least three courses, no more than five, there's an exam at the end, failure means deduction of points, don't choose randomly. Classes like 'Humanity's Rise and Fall' are unnecessary unless you plan to go into archaeology, whereas Professor Bins' 'Geography' is extremely important, knights are a high-mobility combat force..."

She pulled out a large timetable, going on and on about it.

To return to his Dream Realm quickly, Rod mostly followed her recommendations for course selection, except for "Ancient Language."

That was mandatory for him.

Kashan didn't object much, "Hmm... Linguistics is pretty important too. We get a lot of useful information from the writings left behind when exploring ancient ruins..."

Rod stared at her, hoping she would take the hint and leave of her own accord.

Instead, Kashan flicked a defiant glance back at him, "What? As I said before, having kids is for later."

She then took out a package and placed it on the table.

"These are your personal provisions for the week."

"This is Spirit Tree Dew, which calms the mind and restores abnormal mental states. If you feel uncomfortable while practicing Spiritual Energy, use it immediately, orally, one drop at a time."

"And this is Elf Grass Juice, which greatly focuses your mind, making your soul more sensitive and easier to awaken Spiritual Energy."

"This is Poison Violet Juice, used for pain relief. I've heard that you boys have a painful period when you swap eggs, you can use it,"

There were a total of seven items on the table, all in small quantities.

After Kashan finished introducing everything, she added, "You are at a Ninth Level salary; this is all you get. But as long as you work hard, you'll quickly rise in rank. This package is a loan from me, and you'll have to pay me back double when you get a raise."

She stood up, flipping back her golden hair.

"I'm off. You can take a nice, long sleep tomorrow since you have the day off."

The girl left the room with light steps.

"Good night, Special Student Sir,"

She pursed her lips in a smile and closed his room door for him.

----

In the dimly-lit dormitory, Rod stood rooted to the spot.

His gaze was fixed on a red paper packet.

This was "Red Powder."

According to Kashan, it could temporarily enhance the activity of the soul, boosting the output and release of Spiritual Energy, but continuous use carried side effects.

For novices, its effect was to significantly accelerate proficiency in harnessing Spiritual Energy.

However, as an outsider with no ordinary knowledge, Rod keenly realized that wasn't this essentially a stimulant?

If I inject a stimulant during combat, won't I easily break through my limits?

And with supplies like Elf Grass Juice, won't I stand a better chance when crises arise?

Rod walked excitedly back and forth on the spot, as if he had discovered a new continent.

Suddenly, another idea occurred to him.

"Can I bring things from the outside world into the Dream Realm?"

Rod's heart began to pound in an instant.

He immediately took out the "Raven" Lauren had given him.

He had already witnessed the power of this "Raven-style Spirit Gun" on Hammer Street; it had marvelously taken down six enemies and a water tower in a row.

Rod lifted the gun and saw its Spirit Pressure Gauge at the back of the barrel.

As the name suggests, the Spirit Pressure Gauge measures the pressure of Spiritual Energy, and its full scale is forty. When Rod's input of Spiritual Energy reached forty, the "Raven" would fire.

In the test just now, his highest strength of Spiritual Energy was 98 ticks, with a maximum output of 21.

That meant, on average, he could only fire once every two seconds, and his Spiritual Energy would reach its peak strength every four seconds.

What if he took the "Red Powder"?

Could he achieve one shot per second?

Remembering its tremendous power, Rod almost wanted to burst into triumphant laughter.

At such an unprecedented rate of firing a handgun, what monster could withstand it?

Invasions, not scary at all!

But there was one condition, how could he bring the handgun into the Dream Realm?

So.

Rod spent the entire night struggling with this issue.

He traveled back and forth between the Dream Realm and the material world, trying various methods.

This was the first time Rod had studied the Dream Realm in detail undisturbed, and the results were fruitful, yielding lots of very useful information.

He finally understood the principles of entering and leaving the Dream Realm—whenever his mind was in a highly calm state, he would enter the Dream Realm.

The Lightning Symbol was simply a force that instantly brought his mind into this state and was not the key to the Dream Realm.

And when his physical body was disturbed, his mind would leave that state, and he would be forcibly ejected from the Dream Realm.

However, it was difficult to enter a state of high calmness, and using hand gestures made it much more convenient and faster.

A big chunk of mist in Rod's heart cleared away, and he finally understood why he had entered the Dream Realm for no apparent reason before; his breathing became smoother, and his mood much brighter.

What truly filled him with ecstasy was that he had found a way to bring objects into the Dream Realm—

If he held an object in his hand before entering the Dream Realm, he could bring it with him.

Likewise, objects could also be taken out of the Dream Realm in this way.

Using this method, Rod successfully brought items like "Red Powder" and "Elf Grass Juice" into the Dream Realm.

But he had difficulty doing the same with the "Raven."

This Raven-style Spirit Gun was at least half a meter long, and just the butt took up nearly his whole palm.

Unless one was a giant, it was impossible to grasp the entire gun in one's palm.

Fortunately, Rod quickly discovered that the "Raven" could be disassembled.

Without hesitation and relying on his excellent engineering experience as a boy, Rod quickly dismantled it into parts.

But when he reassembled it, something unexpected happened.

Rod stared at the ten or so extra parts on the table, sinking into thought.

It's a good thing I tested it first and didn't rashly bring them into the Dream Realm... Rod exhaled, rubbing his forehead, feeling mentally exhausted to the limit.

Frequent transitions into and out of the Dream Realm were also very draining on him, and too much had happened that day.

First, I'll sleep. Being well-rested will help me face any crisis better.

With his thoughts determined, Rod collapsed onto the pillow and instantly fell into a dreamless, sweet slumber.