Jacob was currently sitting in his general studies class, next to Stephanie and Erwin who were both carefully reviewing their exam papers that had just been handed back after grading.
The others in his group were also gathered around but they were slightly further from him which made conversation difficult.
Jacob wasn't worried, his ability meant that any written tests were a test of whether he could copy his yellow text before the exam period finished.
Meaning he had aced it.
Erwin on the other hand had gotten a 70% while Stephanie had gotten a 90%.
Honestly, Jacob was surprised that he had been allowed to use his ability since it seemed like cheating.
But his teacher had pretty much explained that the test was to check what they knew. Since he would always have access to analysis it was pretty much the same thing as having learned the knowledge directly.
Plus, they wouldn't be able to tell even if he did use it, not without a specific ability user specialising in mana detection or by renting out a mana detection device like the ones used to find new dreamers.
He also learned that the device itself didn't detect mana but was more of a signal booster and receiver for a more complicated device that could detect mana. Apparently, the mana detection device, MDD for short, was kept under lock and key.
He was actually both surprised and impressed with both Erwin and especially with Stephanie.
One of the reasons for them studying with him was because they both came from dreamless backgrounds. Although Stephanie's seemed slightly more complicated since she clammed up whenever it came up.
Out of their group, only Victoria had grown up within a dreamer society and was only taking this course due to awakening an ability that was different to what she expected.
The rest had learned everything for the first time in the past couple of months. Although in fairness they didn't spend as much time training as the others in the group which meant they probably had higher scores.
Finally getting a look at his friend's scores there was only one that really shocked him.
Ressana handed hers over with pride, she had gotten a pass. Barely
Shin was also easygoing, passing with a slightly higher grade than Ressana.
Victoria had an 85%, probably because she didn't see the need to study since she knew most of everything already.
Fredrick surprisingly scored only slightly lower than Erwin. Impressive, considering he should be in high school.
Aruthur on the other hand had gotten a 95%, even higher than Stephanie.
Jacob had beaten him since he got full marks, but he was pretty much cheating.
What annoyed him most was that the guy had joined in for most of the training sessions while skipping a decent few of the study ones.
Despite that, he still beat out Stephanie who was probably the most studious out of all of them.
Deciding to move his attention before his cheek started twitching in annoyance, he checked out his combat system.
[Combat styles:]
[Agility: Beginner 3%]
[Strength: Beginner 4%]
[Endurance: Beginner 5%]
[Dexterity: Beginner 4%]
[Adaptation: Beginner]
He had managed to slightly increase his styles and in doing so he had come to two conclusions.
First, the beginner stage would take MUCH longer than the inept stage. Most likely because the difference between inept and beginner was just knowing how to punch.
The next stage seemed to be much more complex. This led to the second conclusion, the target analysed dictated the progress.
Basically, he had noticed that of the accumulated 16% he had gotten between the four styles, 10% came from him analysing his challenger training instructor.
The other 6% came from his training because while he was stagnating due to not being able to evolve any styles, his friends were not.
They had grown their skill sets and were becoming faster, sturdier, and more deadly with each lesson and training session. As they fought, he often noticed his analysis going back down to 99% or 95% to reflect their growth, only to increase back to capacity while slowly adding to his styles.
Needless to say, it would be a while before they evolved again. For now, he would just get by with overclock and the adaptation style.
"Now that you have managed to pass your first written exam it's time for something each of you have probably wondered about. How to enter the dream realm." The professor snapped them all to attention.
A hush fell over the room as everyone quickly stopped talking about their results.
This was highly anticipated information.
Until now they were told nothing about the specifics of entering the dream realm, the university deemed it a necessity to at least give them the bare minimum information first, for safety.
"As you may know each clan has different ceremonies and customs that can help you enter the dream realm, but they all have two things in common. First is that the customs are related to the ability of the user. The second is that the dreamer must fall unconscious. For example, a Vass clan dreamer whose trial happened on a volcano and gained a fire ability would have the easiest time slipping into the dream realm in the desert during the day or near a volcano." The professor explained.
"I have materials here that are relevant to each of your abilities and how to help better access the dream realm. But there is one real commonality between all these. When you are falling unconscious, whether by medicine, meditation or just falling asleep, you will feel a pull. Similar to the feeling of a quest you would have felt in your nightmare trial. Follow that feeling. Embrace it. And you will find yourself within the realm of dreams" the professor finished.
Everyone was suitably hyped as they headed for the front of the lecture hall and picked up their documents.
Except for Erwin and Jacob of course.
"You might have guessed but I don't have anything for you two, Well I do have something. It's a general questionnaire and guesswork pamphlet that can help you figure out the conditions to enter the realm on your own. Remember, it gets easier every time so hopefully if you get lucky once you'll figure it out." The professor said.
At this point, one may question the dedication to safety that the university had considering the dangers of the dream realm.
Many parents had that exact concern.
The UDRD's response was 'Yeah, and?'.
They reasoned that it was safe enough since dreamers could leave the dream realm at will by following the 'tug' of reality. It may take a few minutes but as a safety feature, it was very handy.
Other than that, the UDRD reasoned that most of the students were adults and would be liable to enter the dream realm anyway, at least this way they would be prepared.
Before they went off for the day their professor reminded them that clan dreamers didn't have to register as active or passive until they were attempting their third quest while clanless dreamers always had to register their status.
His professor didn't go into too much detail about why, just that the difficulty spiked tremendously starting with the third quest, especially for clan dreamers.
The only justification he gave was that The Order needed to know details like their estimated time of departure to and from the realm so that they could organise cover stories for their dreamless lives and potential stories in the event of their death.
Sadly, this didn't matter to Jacob or Erwin.
Neither had any idea how to enter their realms.
Even analysis couldn't provide an answer for him.
Jacob's realm was a literal haunted mansion.
How the hell was he supposed to replicate that?
How would he even start?
Searching up 'top ten creepiest places within 10km'?
Or should he just lock himself in a basement and crank the AC to replicate the boiler room?
See, nothing was feasible.
He decided to put a pin in it.
To be honest, for the moment he didn't have a massive desire to go back to the dream realm.
It wasn't like he'd had a great time on his first visit.
And he was already pretty overwhelmed by the whole being a dreamer thing.
So, he decided to put it on hold while he brainstormed some ideas with analysis.
With that in mind, he talked to his friends, some of whom were eager to go into their respective realms, mainly Ressana.
Others were less bothered, like Stephanie and Fredrick.
He went to bed that night the same as every other night, but when he woke up something was different.
It was pretty obvious when he looked across the room.
Shin had entered the dream realm.
Shin was asleep, his eyes closed as his body lay in suspended animation.
The only indication of the fact that he was actually in the dream realm was the feeling Jacob got. Like a sixth sense, the hair on the back of his neck standing in alignment. It was an odd experience, to say the least.
To suddenly be aware of another sense he had never previously felt. He wondered if this was how other people felt with mana.
He had long suspected that his ability somewhat filtered and manipulated his mana for him.
It meant that it was probably being used as efficiently as possible, but it still made him feel like he was missing something compared to his peers.
He went over to his friends and took a closer look at him.
He looked normal, well not normal exactly.
He wasn't breathing, and supposedly he didn't need food and wouldn't need to excrete any waste while in the dream realm.
Convenient for sure, although Jacob did wonder about how safe the body of a dreamer was.
Wouldn't this period be when they were most vulnerable?
At the UDRD they were relatively safe but if they did so outside the only real safety precaution would be what they set up themselves. Along with the lack of importance that went with being a nobody.
Why would anyone bother to assassinate someone they didn't care about after all?
He stopped his musing and went to meet with his friends, he made sure to send a message to Professor Howinster about Shin's situation.
Partially so his friend wouldn't get in trouble for not being in class, but also so that he could safely report what had happened with the least trouble possible.
Despite being at the UDRD for a decent while now he still didn't have any contacts in The Order that he trusted.
Well, there was his sister, but he'd rather avoid going to her for help if he could.
His friends were excited to hear about Shin's condition.
"The mozzie went in? Damn, I wanted to be first!" Ressana griped at her failure to beat them to the punch.
The mozzie nickname had come along after Arthur had innocently said it when trying to describe what he thought of Shin's combat style.
It was an Australian nickname for mosquitos, a small and annoying bloodsucking pest that inhabited pretty much every Australian state.
It had caught on quickly, and Shin seemed strangely fine with the nickname despite its origin.
"I'm not surprised, he's always been the type to just quickly do things rather than announce them" Erwin commented.
"I can't believe I was beat out by a new dreamer…" Victoria said in indignation.
Stephanie had little to say while Fredrick was simply excited for Shin to return and share stories.
The boy was still just a little kid in the end.
Jacob felt the furthest from him in the entire group. It wasn't that he didn't like the kid, he just didn't know how to communicate with such an enthusiastic young boy while maintaining the right distance.
He was still an introvert at heart.
Arthur on the other hand simply seemed excited that their friend was growing stronger and wanted to get stronger as well.
That was mainly because he'd have to work three times as hard due to his triple affinity.
Nevertheless, his optimism was infectious, and the group was soon excitedly talking about what their next abilities could be and how they could use them.
Well, except for Jacob.
He didn't know where to start when guessing at his next ability.
He could certainly see how his original ability could be upgraded.
Faster processing, higher limits on Overclocking, or just a larger mana pool to draw from.
But none of that was a new ability.
Even Erwin, another outsider had an idea of his next abilities.
From being able to merge with his summons to learning how to summon more creatures he had plenty of ideas.
Jacob was the only one with no clue what his dream realm held.
With the discussion further trending to the kinds of quests they might get Jacob excused himself and decided to make his way back to his room to do some study.
He was currently flipping through a bunch of English-to-Spanish dictionaries. He was also listening to lessons online at four times speed.
He wasn't learning the language, but analysis was, and that meant he was.
Kind of.
He would be able to translate the language and copy the guidance given to him to speak the language when he needed to.
He had figured out that while analysis preferred displaying its data through text, it could also communicate through audio.
He tended to avoid using it due to the way it sounded though.
Because it used his voice when doing so.
If you've ever heard yourself in a recording and thought, you sounded weird then imagine not even being the person saying it and hearing your own voice.
Suffice it to say it wasn't his favourite.
Plus, he liked reading the text, it was faster than listening anyway.
But for the purpose of pronouncing words correctly he would have to resort to using the audio function.
The English language couldn't quite express the exact way to say foreign words properly so he couldn't use the text version of analysis.
He spent most of the day studying, deciding to take a day off and surround himself with books.
It had been a while since he'd had a day off after all, and he'd be back at it tomorrow anyway.
So that's how he fell asleep, with a book in hand.
He felt good, comfortable, at home with the world.
He slept like a baby for the first time in a while.
The next day he met with his friends and was about to explain his impromptu day off when he noticed something.
Victoria was nowhere to be found.
She couldn't be late, she often made a point of mentioning that it was a low-class habit to be late to a promised appointment.
Stephanie soon explained her usual style.
"She went to the dream realm" the taciturn girl said.
"God dammit!" Ress shouted.
"I'm gonna be next! Mark my words" she promised.
"Something tells me that saying that just lowered your chances…" Jacob joked.
"Nope! Even if I have to force my way in with sheer willpower I'll do it!" She said, as energetic as ever.
The rest chuckled at what had become normal antics for them.
Jacob found himself slowly retreating from the conversation again as the topic turned to dream realms, quests and abilities.
It was a normal thing to talk about.
They were all new dreamers and such things were at the forefront of what they should be concerned about.
The fact that it reminded Jacob so much of his school days was just a coincidence.
He was used to being an outsider, not really having anything in common with the others and eventually getting bored with trying to stay in conversations he couldn't contribute to.
It was like a social form of Darwinism.
Eventually, Jacob excused himself and got back to what he knew.
Gaining data.
He first checked out some more language books from the library and spent the rest of the day adding as much as he could to his storage banks.
Maybe it was the satisfaction of a hard day's work or maybe it was just his mind finally getting a break from being social, but he slept like a baby for the second night in a row.
He did the same as usual the next day, meeting his friends before class.
Again, another member of their group was missing.
Not to mention Shin and Victoria who were still in the realm.
But this time it affected Jacob a little more than he cared to admit.
Erwin had entered his dream realm.
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