Chapter 42 – The Study

Luna and Iris looked at Dream, a bit surprised.

Dream, as far as they knew, had never been scared of something. However,

"It's alright. We're gonna be with you, so we can help you." (Iris)

Iris said, wanting to comfort him. Luna grabbed his hand.

"You must be stressed. Let's head to bed. A lot has happened today."

"...Alright."

Dream nodded and let Luna pull him into the room. Iris also pranced over and jumped onto the bed while Dream climbed under the covers.

"Aren't you guys going to your room?" (Dream)

"It's too much of a pain to climb down. We'll just stay here." (Iris)

"I'm also rather tired." (Luna)

The girls climbed under the covers as well and snuggled up to Dream, who was kind of relieved that they would stay.

" *sigh* You're body is warm." (Iris)

"..."

Dream looked at Iris as she hugged his right side like a body pillow. Luna also laid on his left.

"Hey, Dream." (Luna)

"?"

Dream turned his face and saw Luna's. She spoke with a soft whisper.

"I wanna put on a song." (Luna)

Dream nodded and put on his headphones. Luna also put hers on and took out her phone.

After a bit of scrolling, she clicked play.

The song came on in Dream's ears. He could identify it immediately.

"It's... a good song." (Dream)

"I know" (Luna)

Luna smiled and leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead. She used her Familiar connection to talk to him.

'We'll all be okay. No matter what happens. We've got you, and you've got us. And you know what?' (Luna)

'What?'

'May the gods help anyone who tries to stand between us. I've already had my mother taken from me, I will not have my love taken from me as well.'

'....'

Dream went quiet at her determination. She smiled.

'I think Iris is already asleep. We should sleep too.'

'...Goodnight.'

'Goodnight.'

With that, Luna closed her eyes, falling asleep not long after.

Dream brushed her hair before turning his head away, looking at the ceiling.

'Sophia?'

[Yes?]

'....Wake me in 4 hours.'

Dream then closed his eyes as well, listening to the song as his consciousness drifted.

...............

..........

......

...

4 hours later, Dream's eyes opened.

Since it wasn't a long sleep he was a bit drowsy, though nothing a little mana circulation couldn't solve.

Dream looked to his sides and saw that the girls were still wrapping him up like blankets. He activated Mystify and pulled himself from their grasp, trying not to wake them.

Once he was out, he walked out of the bedroom and into the living area where the Panel was. He looked at the images and numbers.

"14.2 billion out of 15.7. Not bad."

[Though the number of people that have actually read it is only 3/4's. I estimate another 12 hours before absolutely everyone becomes aware.]

"Well many are sleeping. But the fact that 3 quarters of the Earth's population has seen our stuff already means that we've accomplished our mission. What're the responses?"

[The biggest effect that it had was making people aware of the System. There were a few organizations that actually had plans to keep the 'activation' method a secret once they found out. Basically how you say status to open the profile. They also wanted to get videos about people using powers either taken down or labeled hoaxes. Needless to say, our guidebook put those plans down the drain. Everyone who has read our guidebook has tried and succeeded in opening their status. This alone made us much more credible and believable. In turn though, many people are becoming anxious.]

Images and articles began appearing in front of Dream. Many of them discussed how the guidebook was right and their own interpretation on the status screen. Many also talked about what this meant for the world.

"They're anxious because they know that everything is true. And let me guess, there are people claiming that my guidebook is a fake, right?"

[Correct. Though right now it's only scattered groups of people who don't want to accept reality. There haven't been any governments who've taken a stance on it yet, nor companies.]

"It'll come soon though. they'll probably use the excuse of me breaching their privacy and how I'm too dangerous to be trusted. Which brings up a problem. There will definitely be phone companies releasing new devices to rid everyone of my intrusion. Can you take care of that?"

[Light work.]

"Nice. Then what about the forum? How do people like it?"

[It's gotten great responses. The biggest thing people like about it is how it isn't censored like every other social media site. Obviously aside from things that are totally heinous. It was super easy to use because the only thing you needed to do was create a username and all other information was filled out for you. Some people didn't like it though because of privacy issues.]

"Well, what company doesn't steal your data?"

[Exactly. Anyway, it's already being used by several billion. Everyone is put by default into the Reddit tab. In the magic tab, I filter the non-magic-related comments and flag them where they get sent to the bottom. Anything that does have to do with magic is put at the top. There is also the ability to post anonymously, as well as create groups. 

Perhaps the biggest reaction though, came from your profile. Everyone is going absolutely bonkers over you. The biggest question is your identity. In fact, every government and company worth their salt has sent a communication request to you, wanting to see the person who could hack the internet.]

"That won't happen, at least right now anyway. Has there been anybody posting in the magic tab?"

[There are a couple of people who have begun discussing their magic findings. Take a look.]

Sophia put up a discussion on the screen. It was by a man who's username was 'Th3_Bou1d3R'. The man spoke about the earth magic that he was able to use. Apparently he had also gotten the [Basic Earth Magic] skill. 

"...It's only been a matter of freaking hours and somebody already got a skill? What the hell man! Anyway...It says he could control the Earth magic by using what he called a 'sequence'?"

[He describes the sequence as a set of parameters. It's kind of all over the place, but basically he's saying that those elemental magic skills allow you to control certain elements of mana. Your own mana is then used to guide that elemental mana, along with the will of your soul. This is what makes magic.]

"Very interesting. So we've basically confirmed the existence of types of mana. Now this implies that mana can take on certain properties."

[That's the same conclusion I've come up with. But at the same time, those skills would limit you on the mana you can manipulate if you decide to rely on them.]

"True, but I can imagine that there are also affinities. One person may not be able to control all the elements, so they won't have a choice. Anyways, This forum may be a better idea than I thought. As people on Earth experiment, we will also be able to benefit. The first couple hours of use and we've already learned something."

[Of course. This is only the beginning of heaven-defying growth for Earth. Billions of people whose collective ideas are compiled and put together on a single platform. The only thing limiting them will be the density of mana and the number of enemies. Even that may not limit them. Not to mention when they begin integrating mana with modern technology.]

"The best part is, I'm not limited by anything. I get to use all that knowledge while increasing my power. It's only a matter of time before I ascend classes again."

Dream's heart began to pump harder as he thought about what would come of his forum. He has access to the collective information production of 15 billion people. As well as the means to produce the results of their experiments. Not to mention Sophia, who could see all of it and organize it.

He also thought about how he may have created a monster of a species. The things humans could do when they band together were amazing. But never has an entire planet been brought together like this. When they become more powerful, ascending to 3rd class, 4th class, even above, whatever that was, they would be unstoppable. The people of Earth would come to conquer and control the solar system, even other stars, gaining access to unfathomable amounts of energy. They would create technology that harmonized mana and raw energy to create and destroy.

What then, would be the difference between them and gods?

"*sigh* Well, that'll all take time. This ultimately is for them to reduce the chaos and confusion. Which so far is doing a great job."

[Now all you need to do is gather the knowledge of Graff. We need to learn the ways of magic, as well as create weapons that harness it.]

"Agreed. It's still a couple of hours before everyone wakes up though."

[Maybe you should use this time to finish setting up your floor. I know that's what you wanted to do, since we'll likely be here for a while.]

"Sure. First, get rid of the Panel."

Sophia did what he said and the panel of screens disappeared. Dream then looked around the empty room.

"Alright, let's turn this place into a real living area."

................

..........

.......

Luna and Iris began to wake up as the sun rose.

The first thing they noticed, was that Dream wasn't there. Though they knew he wasn't far.

"He's in the living room?" (Iris)

"Uh-huh." (Luna)

The girls dragged themselves out of bed and walked into the living room where they sensed Dream. Once they opened the door, they figured out why he wasn't in bed.

They saw Dream sitting on a couch, eyes closed with his headphones on, as well as the entire area that was furnished and decorated.

Large shaggy carpets were on the floor making it warm, a huge couch that could easily fit 15 people was in the middle. There were tables, chairs, and... other things.

"What is that?" (Iris)

Dream responded with his eyes closed.

"That's called a foosball table." (Dream)

"And that?" (Iris)

"An arcade machine. That thing is an air hockey table, there's a pool table. I put up a massive TV. I got a gaming rig right there too. There's a washing machine right there along with a dryer. I also plan to put stuff down in the 2nd floor that everyone will use like stuff for the kitchen and whatnot."

Dream pointed out some of the things he put out. This place would be the place he came to when he was bored or wanted to rest. Though when he thought about it, he probably wouldn't use half the stuff, but it took up space that there was a lot of. This showed just how big the place was.

"Sice you guys are up, maybe we should head down. People are probably up for dinner."

The girls nodded and followed him over to the exit.

Once they exited the room, they could sense people on the 2nd floor. Sure enough, after walking down 3 floors, waiting for them was... everyone. Except Elaina who was in the kitchen preparing something.

Graff looked at the trio with an amused face.

"Hehehe. This kid's got a fun future ahead of him. He looks just like you back in the day Prince." (Graff)

"Hmph." (Riddick)

Riddick snorted and continued sipping a drink in his hands. He actually was used to this since the girls would sleep in his room rather often in the forest. Though since he was in the presence of his friend, he knew he would get teased for it.

Meanwhile, Mark had an ugly face as he definitely wasn't happy seeing them together. Dream smiled and had the girls take a seat.

"You're not going to sit?" (Luna)

"I was gonna go in the kitchen, maybe help out."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. My wife is a master cook. She'll be out in a bit." (Graff)

"...Alright then."

Dream took a seat with the girls and waited. Though not for long as Elaina was almost done. She soon came out, unloading the many dishes in her inventory.

"I've got monster meats with breads and fruit today. I wasn't sure what you guys ate in the forest and wanted to keep it simple." (Elaina)

Elaina passed out big plates to everyone. On it was cubes of seasoned meat along with a big slice of bread. She also put out a platter of fruits.

"We often ate meat, but regardless, whatever you make is fine." (Riddick)

"I agree. It doesn't matter what it is, when a level 60 cook touches it, it turns to gold. Thank you, my lovely wife." (Graff)

"Of course." (Elaina)

Graff gave Elaina a kiss as she sat next to him. Everyone then began eating.

Dream picked up the utensil on the plate for the meat.

'This is a trident.'

[They probably don't know what tridents are.]

Dream shrugged and speared a cube of meat, sticking it into his mouth.

'....Oh my god this is so good.'

Dream closed his eyes and savored the meat in his mouth that he barely had to chew. It was like it fell apart by itself! The tender meat along with seasoning made an amazing combination.

'This is something you'd find at a 5-star restaurant! Not that I've ever been, but still.'

[It actually might be because of the mana. She said this was monster meat, and it must be a high level one too because I can sense mana concentrated in it.]

'That would make sense. I can feel myself being energized a bit. But still, this breakfast is damn amazing.'

Dream began stuffing himself with the meat cubes. He also took a bite of the bread, finding that it tasted like french bread, one of his favorites. 

The girls also looked like they enjoyed it, as they were stuffing themselves as well. Elaina smiled at the unspoken compliment.

After eating a bit, Riddick spoke up.

"Boy, Graff and I wanted you to come with us to the study today." (Riddick)

"Indeed. We have much to discuss, and no time to waste." (Graff)

Dream looked at them and finished chewing before speaking.

"That's fine with me. I got nothing else to do. What about the girls?" (Dream)

"I was actually thinking they could spend the day with me. If they would like of course." (Elaina)

"Sure. We would be sitting around otherwise." (Luna)

Luna spoke for them and Elaina smiled.

"Great! I believe the boys have plans to go hunting?" (Elaina)

"We do. Our party has a quest we wanted to do." (Mark)

"Alright. Just stay safe." (Elaina)

"I know mom." (Mark)

After half an hour or so everyone finished up their breakfast. This was also when they split ways.

Iris, Luna, and Elaina stayed in the living room while Riddick, Graff, and Dream went up the stairs.

"I still can't believe you bought a platform." (Riddick)

"It makes my life easier. It's also a matter of security." (Graff)

Graff led them to his room on the 4th floor. They entered and Dream saw it looked like his floor.

Graff walked over to his side of his bed and stood. After a moment, he stomped his foot twice against the floor.

*knock* *knock*

Right after, a big ring on the ground lit up.

"Alright, step inside the ring."

Dream and Riddick walked over to the ring that could fit around 7 people inside. They then began to descend, making no noise in the process.

'This is just like an elevator. I wonder how much weight it could lift.'

Dream pondered as the platform descended. After a minute or so, it finally stopped in front of a big door.

Graff walked over and put his hand in the middle of the door. From his palm, light began to shine and the doors slid open, like elevator doors.

"Welcome to my study. Don't touch anything unless you know what it is." (Graff)