Path Of Dreams

Chapter Six: The UBM

Oberon's eyes fluttered open calmly as the rays of the morning sun filtered into his room through the window. For a moment he could do nothing but lay still in bed, his mind wondering on and on about the events that had occured in the dream realm.

He sighed, and got out of bed expecting to be exhausted however he seemed fine and relaxed, like he had gotten a good amount of sleep, however he knew he had gone through quite the stress searching through the village for clues. 

“Even my clothes aren't dirty.”

He thought as he looked at himself in the mirror hung on the wall. Then he sighed once again and thought about what had occured after he discovered he had been in the dream realm. 

After he discovered he had been in the mysterious dream realm all along, Oberon had brought himself to accept it and had calmed his nerves. He had searched beneath the beds in the other houses and had found more dream Stone bringing his total to sixty.

“I have no idea if it has any value but for now, I better keep it on my person. No need showing it off or trying to sell, that would just attract unnecessary attention.”

Besides the stones, he had found nothing else of value, not even more letters left by other villagers, or other items of note, however he did find something else. 

“That forest, could it have been the pale gardens mentioned in the letter? The trees looked pale and dead to me, and it was deadly silent. And also, I definitely saw the tower, at least a part of it. What's a structure like that doing in a forest like that?”

To call the pale gardens a garden was an unbelievable understatement, after all the garden was acting a forest of dying and dead pale trees, deadly silent and filled with oppressive darkness. Oberon hadn't seen what lurked within the place due to that mysterious barrier of darkness….

“But I could tell it was nothing good.”

And then, there was the contradictory tower, a grandiose and gargantuan structure that gave off a feeling of wealth, opulence and beauty. The tower was designed almost like an ancient pagoda, with various floors, how many floors? Oberon had no idea because he didn't bother to count.

The tower was simply exquisite but it was erected deep into the pale gardens, so deep that Oberon hadn't seen the full structure. The structure itself was inviting, almost compelling Oberon to make his way towards it, almost like if he ventured through the pale gardens and into the tower, all his questions would b

e answered, all his deepest desires and wishes fulfilled and granted.

“That place is dangerous, too dangerous. Perhaps what I felt when I looked at it was what the villagers felt too, a pull on their emotions, an almost dismissible influence on their thoughts.

 However it didn't seem to be too strong like the letter portrayed it to be, or maybe it's a progressive process and not something that happens at once. Whatever the case might be.”

Oberon mused. When he had looked at the tower he instantly felt like he had been doused with a bucket of icy water, his hair had stood on end and his instincts had flared up, screaming danger.

“If I end up there next time I have to be very careful. Perhaps leave the village and walk away from the pale gardens, the place is an island, I'm pretty sure there a safer places and other islands.”

After making a decision, he quickly snapped out of his train of thoughts and hurried to get prepared, he would be visiting the void after all.

                    ****************

After having his bath, brushing his teeth, having a little bit of breakfast and seeing to it that he was adequately dressed considering where he was going, Oberon looked himself in the mirror and took in a few deep breaths. He then stretched out an open pal before himself before using one of skills.

Collector's Bag

Just then, the very air above his palm seemed to warp around itself like an anomaly before a dagger appeared out of nowhere, falling into his outstretched palm. The dagger was light, but cold to the touch, with a fine hilt and sea wave designed blade. It looked extraordinary.

“This would be very useful in void but I have no idea how to use a dagger, I guess I'll just have to see what I can do when the time comes.”

Once all was done, he wasted no time and immediately left his apartment, not forgetting to lock the door securely behind him. After exiting the apartment building, he stood close to the road watching various cars pass by, some in a flash and others in a steady rhythm.

After a while of waiting, a sleek black car parked just before him and a door to the passengers seat flung open.

“Hop in.”

Oberon wasted no time and entered and took a seat before locking the door securely, once the driver, a rather old gray bearded man who was dressed in an exquisite black three piece suit and wore a monocle , saw that Oberon was seated, he turned the wheel and drived.

“Hey, how prepared are you?”

Oberon asked Sam who sat beside him fully concentrated on his phone's screen.

“Of course I am, who goes to the void without preparation.”

Sam replied as he temporarily turned off his phone and turned to face Oberon. He stretched out his hand before him and a box materialized out of thin air.

“Thsi box contains carefully prepared and selected talismans that provide all sorts of enchantments, from defense to offense and even support.”

The box was dismissed and a small compass materialized.

“This is an essence navigator, it finds a target or more within the desired rank. All you have to do is fill it with a sample of essence from your initiate rank soul core and it helps you find beasts of the same rank and essence intensity.”

“I have a few other items like this that would greatly help us out on this expenditure.”

Sam said before picking up his phone and turning it on, returning to what he had been previously doing.

“I can see you came prepared.”

Oberon muttered before busying himself with things of importance.

“The dagger is the only thing I have that I can use to protect myself once we venture into the void, Sam has that navigation thingy so fairly speaking we should only come in contact with beasts of the initiate rank.”

There were ten ranks used to classify strength in the world of mysticism: Initiate, disciple, adept, master, grandmaster, sage, saint, Demi-god, true god and primordial. This ranking system was also applied to items, beasts and skills. 

“Seems like I'll need to buy a dagger arts manual, perhaps one of basic mastery or intermediate mastery. Manuals of mastery above that are definitely going to be too expensive. I can't afford them.”

Oberon thought as he held his chin with two fingers, absorbed into his train of thoughts. He then proceeded to pull up his record.

“I should also check the attributesof my branch and my basic attributes too.”

Branch Attributes 

° As a voyager of dreams, you posses basic understanding of dreams of any form and are able to decipher their underlying meanings.

° As a voyager of dreams, you feel a deep connection to dream realm and possess the ability to understand the underlying emotions of most of its inhabitants.

° As a voyager of dreams, you posses advance understanding of skills and abilities from most pathways and are able to bypass already existing laws to use these skills and abilities. [LOCKED]

Oberon sat frozen, unable to react. He was dazed, shocked, surprised……he was facing the unexpected, the impossible.

“Impossible. Simply impossible. A farce, facade, ancient trickery, an error within the record on the interpretation of the runes about my pathway and branch.”

Oberon thought, his breath completely whisked away. After awakening and seeing his skill set, Oberon had thought nothing about his pathway and branch could shock or surprise him anymore. He thought there was nothing more astonishing about his pathway and branch…..

“How wrong of me.”

He mused as he buried his face in his palms, exhaling from sheer exhaustion. 

“It shouldn't be possible, it shouldn't be able to happen. Perhaps its a flaw or abnormality. I came to terns with my early access to the dream realm through a passive skill because such things have happened before, only not so early after awakening.

After all mystics of the pathway of souls can access the realm of souls but this…..this is simply absurd.”

He muttered, feeling empty for a while out of sheer disbelief.

“Each pathway and branch has an existing law that stops mystics from branching away from the fundamental purpose of their pathways and branches. One such law restricts the use of skills and abilities from other pathways and branches. It just isn't possible to accomplish.”

The possibilities, advantages and pros that came with such an attribute flooded Oberon's mind. It was simply unbelievable. 

“There are so many benefits I stand to gain because of this attribute, I will never be ordinary like I feared I would.”

He thought with a smile, however just at that moment a thought occured to him. The disadvantages, the dangers, the possible damages he stood to suffer if it became known that he had an ability like this. 

“Being detained in the United Bureau Of Mysticism for usage of illegal artifacts.”

The thought sent a cold terrible chill coursing down his spine, he shivered. After the emergence of the void and other realms, strange artifacts and items alongside knowledge from previously existing civilizations and cultures alongside races had flooded the world. 

These things granted unimaginable abilities for one to gain strength faster than what was thought possible. Monstrous items that granted skills or enchantments that we're no doubt forbidden if looked at from the perspective of the fundamentals of human morality. 

“There was a rumour that one of these said items could steal a persons skills, pathway and branch and grant it to someone else. If this is found out won't the bureau think I have access to one of these items?”

Oberon felt an headache splitting his skull apart as he thought of the bureau being involved in his life. He couldn't let it happen. No matter what. The thought of being detained on the suspicion of being a mystical criminal was in no way enticing and was definitely unpleasant.

“I'll just have to keep it a secret until I become strong enough to protect myself. Although I doubt the bureau would have ill intentions about me and my sudden unexplainable abilities, I can't be too certain and there are definitely organizations and individuals who would harbor such intentions. And thank goodness its still locked at the moment, otherwise I won't have a way to explain such abilities.”

Oberon thought with determination. His next goal had been decided, to gain strength all in the name of survival. 

“We're here.”

The driver announced, his old voice resounding through the cars interior. Sam took his eyes of his phone to look out the window and Oberon was roused from his state of absolute concentration. Looking out the window, he saw a massive dome like structure made entirely of reflective glass. 

“The UBM.”

Oberon thought with a frown.