Level 6

"Begin," the professor said sternly.

Meng Zhang and Eithnee moved slightly and disappeared from sight.

I extended my arm into the river and attempted to proceed further, but a sense of trepidation overtook me.

"What are you..." the professor began to yell, but I was abruptly sucked into the river before he could finish.

My physical and spiritual forms were stripped away, leaving only my consciousness. In this state, I could only perceive colors that seemed to be attempting to tint me, but failing. I pondered my next move. It would be arduous and time-consuming to move without a body or soul, and creating them would be futile as they would just disintegrate again.

Although the vivid scenery was captivating, I did not want to remain trapped there. The only truth that existed in this space was the truth of dreams, making it difficult to discern anything. I concentrated, and as my surroundings came into focus, I discerned that they were bubbles containing stable worlds.

With great effort, I made my way to one of the more stable bubbles and finally entered it.

As I looked around, the forest seemed vast, with towering trees in every direction and the sounds of various animals filling the air.

I had reached the point where I needed to advance to level 6, which required a pure dream body or soul without any connection to reality. Psychic users created their soul first, while Herculeans created their body first. Because I had used both existential and dream power to create my previous body and soul, they were destroyed upon entering the river. Only pure dream creations could survive in this world.

Utilizing my understanding of dreams, I created a new soul, similar to my previous one but made entirely of dream power. This soul defied common sense, allowing me to train without limits or bottlenecks, and granting monstrous strength without scientific constraints.

Since my understanding of dream was limited to the soul, I needed to create a pure body to advance to level 7. Although Professor instructed us to return after creating a body, I was eager to explore this world before leaving. However, appearing as a ghost-like entity in human society was risky. Thus, I created clothes and made my soul similar to my physical body to avoid detection, being careful not to phase through objects and reveal my disguise.

Flying high into the air, I searched for human settlements. Moving faster than the speed of sound, I explored the planet but found no signs of human or humanoid activity. Disappointed, I vowed to delve deeper into the river next time.

To exit the bubble, I had to perform an action that defied its logic, such as traveling faster than light or time traveling. I traveled faster than light and emerged from the bubble, this time with my soul intact, though it was getting repelled by the river. Scanning my surroundings with my soul eyes, I noticed no differences from before and decided to leave the river, where Professor was waiting for me.

" You've already succeeded." Professor said in surprise as he looked at me.

I nodded confidently. "Haven't the others come out yet?" I asked.

"No, it usually takes days, months, or even years to successfully create a pure form. You were incredibly fast. How long did it take you?" he asked.

"Just an hour," I lied, knowing that I had created my soul in under a minute.

"You're undoubtedly the most talented Numinator I've ever seen or heard of. But don't get too overconfident. I warned you not to go deeper into the river. The beings there know about their reality and despise us."

"Sorry, Professor," I apologized.

"So, are we just going to wait until they come out?" I asked.

"Yes, you can practice repelling the influence of the river in the meantime," suggested Professor.

I knew I had to wait, but unfortunately, I had nothing to do since my holographic had been destroyed.

Sighing, I decided to focus on deepening my understanding of dream. I sat on the ground with my legs folded and back straight, staring at the river with an empty mind. Days passed without me realizing it, and then Eithnee suddenly appeared in front of me. She was all white and had no physical form, only a humanoid shape.

I stood up and said, "Why do you look like a ghost? Make yourself less frightening. You almost gave me a heart attack."

Her voice came, but not from her mouth since she didn't have one. "How are you able to look like that? Did you create a soul or a physical body?"

"I created a soul, but I added these features to it. Can't you do the same?" I asked.

"Even creating this form took me days, and the constant distortion of the river didn't make it any easier. I barely came out with my consciousness intact," she replied, with trepidation and trauma evident in her voice.

I consoled her, saying "There, there."

"The good news is that you are now at level 6. Your parents would be proud," I added, and my words seemed to help calm her down.

Now, the only one left was the dragon boy. I didn't mind waiting any longer though, since my meditation exercises had helped me deepen my understanding of dream even further. Just a little more and I would be able to create a physical body as well.

I had been right to follow the method of leveling, as it had aided me greatly in comprehending dream.

Once again, I sat in my meditative position, feeling the gaze of Professor and Eithnee on me.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you practicing meditation? Did you find it in the library?" Professor inquired.

"Yes," I lied once again. I really didn't want to deceive them.

"You don't have to do that. By the time you become accustomed to your new powers, you will have already comprehended dream to level 7. Leveling up from level 6 to level 7 is the easiest. Although it will be useful later on. Carry on if you wish," Professor explained.

I nodded and resumed meditating.

"Feel free to join him if you wish, Eithnee. It may help you in manipulating your appearence," Professor suggested.

After a few more days, Meng Zhang finally emerged from the river. I was beginning to think that he had perished.

"Let's go now," I said, happy to be leaving. Meditating was starting to bore me, and I couldn't wait to create a pure physical body for myself.

"Are you feeling all right, Meng Zhang?" Professor inquired.

Meng Zhang, being a herculean, had created a pure body for himself, and he nodded in response.

"Let's go," Professor said, leading us back. However, I knew that the return journey would not be as uneventful.