I started rewriting (New name: The Fallen Wizard (Old name: Mystic Journey)) again, even though it is fast-paced at the start, I will make it slower when he gets into the academy.
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Dream, as Renji briefly understood from the description, is akin to virtual reality, capable of digitizing one’s consciousness and uploading it to the network.
However, such a description sounds too cold and mechanical. Thus, a more artistically appealing and relatable term, ” Dream” is used.
Everyone dreams, but few can control their dreams and experience the dreams they desire. The Dream Terminal was created to assist people in achieving this level of control over their dreams.
The higher the “model” of the Dream Terminal, the stronger the control over the “dream” and the higher the realism in constructing the dream.
It seems the first two models of Dream Terminals only allow users to experience dreams edited by others. With the third model, one can truly daydream and construct a personal dream.
The highest model currently known, the fourth model of Dream Terminal, clearly transcends the realm of “entertainment.”
As Renji was getting familiar with it, a surprised exclamation quickly came from nearby.
“Is that a Dream Terminal?!”
The voice belonged to Eileen, who among everyone, reacted the most. She looked at the silver-grey semicircular device in Renji’s hand with eyes filled with excitement, almost like she was on a pilgrimage.
Seeing Eileen’s reaction, Renji was a bit surprised, “You know about this?”
“Of course! The Dream Terminal! It’s the greatest invention of the Mechanical Alliance! It can take people into the thrilling world of ‘ Dream ‘ allowing them to experience various extraordinary adventures from a first-person perspective. It’s practically a divine artifact that has saved countless lonely hearts during the long nights!”
“Have you used it?”
When Renji asked this, Eileen, who had just been speaking enthusiastically, suddenly looked dejected and then turned unexpectedly angry.
“I saved up money for a long time and finally bought a ‘Model I’ Dream Terminal from the black market. But when it arrived, I found out it was useless! It was only later, after much effort, that I discovered the Dream Network had been closed to outsiders for two to three hundred years. Only people within the Mechanical Alliance could use the terminals! All the ones on the market were just imitations and models. Those damn swindlers!”
“So you mean to say, one can only enter ‘ Dream ‘ within the Mechanical Alliance?” Renji focused on the key information in Eileen’s words.
“In theory, yes. It’s infuriating! Such a great invention that could benefit humanity, yet it’s hoarded and hidden away. It’s a regression of civilization! But… I believe in 86! Just by looking at the design of this Dream Terminal, I can tell it’s high-end!”
Eileen’s tone shifted as she began to explain to Renji. The most common Dream Terminals usually have several connection ports and resemble a helmet. To use them, one must go through a complicated wearing process.
The Illusion Terminal Renji now held, provided by 86, was incredibly sleek. It was a simple silver-grey semicircular ring with curved notches at the ends to hang on the ears for stability. There were no external ports or wires; it looked like it could activate immediately upon wearing.
“I’m certain this is at least a Model II! No, no, no, I’ve seen pictures of Model II, and even an enhanced version can’t compare to this. This has to be a Model III… or even the highest, Model IV!!”
Eileen’s excitement grew as she spoke, her eyes gleaming with fascination. Given her ability to repair 86, it was evident that she had a talent and a deep interest in mechanics.
Renji didn’t mention that his terminal was actually a higher level, a “Model V” that wasn’t even listed in the descriptions. After supplementing his understanding of ‘ Dream ‘ with Eileen’s help, Renji felt ready to try it himself.
As Eileen had analyzed, the wearing process was incredibly simple. Renji put on the silver semicircular ring like glasses, hanging the ends on his ears. The terminal lit up immediately, indicating it had activated automatically.
After the “startup” glow faded, the terminal’s exterior even blurred, capable of optical invisibility. Renji could choose to make it completely invisible, show only the earpiece, or display a virtual screen for the eyes.
“Cool! So damn cool!” Eileen exclaimed with stars in her eyes, visibly wishing she were the one wearing the terminal.
“Old Timer, uh, I mean Renji, are you about to enter ‘Dream’ now? Then I must give you a proper introduction! I haven’t used a Dream Terminal myself, but I’ve seen a lot of ‘Dream’ films! My favorite Dream creator is ‘Void Armor Master’! Especially the joint production with Sin City, ‘Saving the Succubus.’ I wanted to buy a Dream Terminal just to watch the extra footage from ‘Saving the Succubus.’ The ‘Dark Dream’ segment is amazing, showing the inspiring survival of a young succubus in a biomechanical hell. Experiencing it in the first person would be absolutely… uh… cough, cough!”
Realizing she had gone off-topic in her excitement, Eileen quickly coughed to regain composure and continued, “What I mean is, ‘Dream’ has many other capabilities. For example, there’s a famous story from the Mechanical Alliance about a scientist studying something complex like the periodic table. He couldn’t figure it out, so he used ‘Dream’ to relax, and incredibly, he deduced the periodic table in his Dream that he couldn’t solve in reality!”
Hearing Eileen’s introduction to ‘Dream’ and this story, which aligns with the capabilities of the Model IV terminal, Renji now planned to use the Dream Terminal for similar purposes.
Seeing Eileen’s enthusiasm and the useful information she provided, Renji promised to let her experience ‘Dream’ after he finished, if 86 allowed it. Eileen was overjoyed and even offered to let Renji use the ‘Miasma Touch’ on her, saying 86 could use whatever item she materialized into.
Renji was curious about what form Eileen would take after the ‘Miasma Touch,’ but that was a matter for later. For now, he found a comfortable spot to sit. After putting on the terminal, Renji felt connected to it, able to enter ‘Dream’ with just a thought.
Without much hesitation, Renji activated the terminal. The next moment, he felt enveloped in darkness, similar to his experience in the altar pool. His consciousness began to sink and dive deeper.
This time, the experience was much more comfortable for Renji compared to his previous experience. After a brief sensation of weightlessness, he regained his vision.
He found himself in a space of ethereal lights and shadows, presumably the ‘Dream’ world. With a thought, the blurry world of light and shadow began to clarify, revealing a landscape identical to the Dragon Nation in reality.
In ‘Dream,’ Renji felt like the master of this world. He could switch between a first-person and a god-like perspective at will, changing anything as he desired — after all, this was his dream.
Remarkably, if he chose not to intervene, the dream world would operate on its own. This must be the so-called “simulation” effect. As a Model V terminal user, simulating the Dragon Nation seemed effortless.
After getting used to the controls, Renji got down to business. He started testing various policies in the ‘Dream’ Dragon Nation, some suggested by Lena and others he had thought of.
By accelerating time in the dream, he could see the outcomes of these policies, effectively predicting the future.
For instance, Renji first tried a policy strongly supporting the demi humans. Initially, it seemed effective as the demi humans’ influence in the Dragon Nation rapidly increased. However, the overall power of the kingdom couldn’t sustain its growth for long. In less than a century, it began to decline.
The reality was that humans were generally more advanced in development than demi humans. But the history of enslaving demi humans, combined with his supportive policies, led to a strange culture of demi human supremacy. Many demi humans rose to power based on political correctness, lacking the ability to contribute to the nation’s development and governance.
While humans outwardly respected demi humans, underlying conflicts remained unresolved and even grew. Almost every dispute involving demi humans was biased in their favor, even when they were in the wrong. This led to the emergence of twisted concepts like “demi human lives matter more.”
The ‘Dream’ world’s simulations had their limits, and Renji could only forecast up to two hundred years. Beyond that was beyond his reach..𝒎
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