Path Of Dreams

Chapter Three: Dream Voyager (2)

Oberon walked back to class absent minded, all around him the cheers of students who were excited that they had successfully awakened was deafening. It was almost like he was allergic to it, their excitement at having gotten good pathways and branches.

One could only become a great person with a strong pathway, branch, connections and wealth. Sam alongside the other legacies had the connections, the wealth and the right pathway and branches to lay the right foundation. Even Jane the school beauty had all these. 

They would no doubt steal the spotlight in all the upcoming events and opportunities, their names would be known for life but Oberon….he had none of these things, he was an orphan with no wealth to his name and no connections.

“I'll just be another ordinary person. If only I had awakened the right pathway.”

He muttered as he turned around a corner.

“Hey isn't that the guy that awakened a really rare pathway?”

Someone whispered as Oberon walked, however he didn't lift his head to say anything or even look at the group of students discussing his predicament in hushed voices. 

“I always thought awakening a rare pathway was a good thing, but it seems I was wrong.” 

Another chipped in. 

“Hey Oberon, wait up.”

Just then Sam came running from behind while calling for Oberon to wait for him. Oberon stopped in his tracks and waited before resuming his walk towards the classroom after Sam caught up with him.

“Hey you shouldn't look so down you know, like I said it isn't always about the pathways and branches, those are just tools and it depends on how you use them.”

“And you're wrong about me not understanding, before awakening my pathway, I was afraid of failing, I owe it to my parents to succeed. If I had failed I wouldn't have been able to look them in the eye so yeah….I understand.”

Oberon sighed as they turned down another corner and eventually walked into the classroom. The classroom was even more loud and rowdy than the hallways had been, people were actively discussing their next steps and what they would be doing when they got home. 

Oberon and Sam sat in their seats quietly, both contemplating entirely different things. Oberon stared ahead in a daze, his eyes blank of any emotion. Sam on the other hand ha d a thoughtful expression on his face, as he contemplated what to do next. 

Suddenly the whole classroom changed, Oberon snapped out of his daze and looked around only to see that he was back at a familiar place, standing under the red glow of the moon, amongst hundreds of shriveled up bodies.

He couldn't see Sam or any other student, all that lay within his field of vision was death. However, unlike the previous time, the bodies didn't stay still for long. 

“You caused this. It's all your fault.”

The bodies began to move, all of them at once in a broken order. Their raspy, strained voices overlapped with one another as they all rose and turned to face Oberon who stood petrified.

“You caused this.”

One of the corpses said as it inches closer with his hand, trying to reach Oberon who moved out of the way only to be grabbed by more hands from behind. 

“It's all your fault.”

Another said. 

“I didn't do anything wrong. Let go of me.”

Oberon said in futile resistance as he felt tears well up in his eyes. His hands shook as the corpses dragged him down without listening to his pleas. 

“Oberon. Are you okay?”

Just then Oberon felt someone shake his shoulder vigorously and it all vanished, the red moon, the shriveled corpses, their haunting voices that blamed him for something he didn't remember doing but felt he did……the guilt. 

“I'm fine, I was just lost for a second.”

Oberon replied, taking in a steady breath. 

Suddenly the chatter within the classroom died as Instructor Randal stepped through the door, his sharp gaze swept across the room, lingering on each student before he spoke.

"Congratulations."

The single word caught many of them off guard but they remained otherwise calm and attentive. 

"You have all taken your first step toward becoming Mystics. Some of you awakened the Paths your families have carried for generations. Others awakened Paths you never expected. Regardless of what you awakened, remember this….your journey has only just begun."

He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced between the rows.

"Do not mistake awakening for strength. An awakened fool is still a fool, and an untrained Mystic is little more than prey waiting to be hunted."

The room fell silent.

"From this day onward, you are Initiates. Before any of you can dream of entering one of the Mystic Colleges, you must first pass the Academy Qualification Assessments."

Several students immediately straightened in their seats at the mention of Qualification Assessments.

"These assessments are designed to determine whether you possess the discipline, judgment, and combat aptitude expected of an Initiate. Your Pathway alone will not earn you admission. Your actions will."

He stopped at the front of the classroom.

"Over the coming weeks, you will undergo a series of evaluations. These include combat proficiency, teamwork exercises, and practical applications of your Branch abilities. Should you fail to meet the academy's standards, you will not receive a recommendation for college admission."

A wave of nervous whispers spread through the room before Randal silenced them with a glare.

"And there is one more matter."

Instructor Randal said as he raised his right hand.

"Now that your Pathways have awakened, each of you has gained access to your Record."

Curiosity immediately replaced the tension on many of the students' faces.

"Your Record contains everything directly related to your Path, your current rank, Pathway, Branch, abilities, and other information that will become available as you progress. It is a personal record. No one may access it without your permission."

He paused.

"To manifest your record, simply focus your mind and circulate your essence and then, will your Record into existence.”

A faint smile appeared on his otherwise stern face as he said this. 

"Do not be alarmed if some of your abilities appear dormant or sealed. Awakening grants you the foundation of a Path not mastery over it. Understanding your abilities is part of your training."

“Upon awakening your pathway and branch, you immediately have access to two skills, be it passive or active. These skills will be your tools till you ascend onto the next rank and obtain two new skills.”

He explained as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You have the remainder of today's session to familiarize yourselves with your Records and attempt to activate your abilities. Those who damage academy property through reckless experimentation will personally answer to me."

A few nervous chuckles echoed through the room but instructor Randal's expression remained unchanged.

“You may begin.”

The students immediately began to talk amongst themselves once again as they attempted to open their records. 

Seeing Sam focused and attempting to open his record too, Oberon decided to give it a try.

“I might as well see my skills and what they do.”

He thought to himself as he closed his eyes and began to focus. It was general knowledge that upon awakening, a mystic was more attuned to sensing essence and controlling it, and the more they ascend you the ranks, the better they could control their essence.

Taking in deep breaths, Oberon imagined the motes of light that had gathered around him when he was awakening, the dark purple colours that represented the physical form of his essence.

 As he imagined this, he felt something cool rise from deep within him, making its way through unseen vessels before finally filling up his chest. Once he felt that he had a proper hold over the energy that now premated him, Oberon willed his record into existence.

“Open record.”

After a few seconds, Oberon opened his eyes and was greeted with a purple holographic construct floating before him. A construct made up entirely of his essence and a construct only he could see.

On the surface of the holographic panel, words immediately began to appear, like they were being written by an invisible hand with an invisible pen. The words went on and on before eventually coming to a stop.

Name: Oberon Faewild

Rank: Initiate~Progress [0%]

Pathway: Dreams

Branch: Dream Voyager

Skills: Dream Anchor. Collectors bag.

Oberon didn't need anyone to explain to him what the sections stood for, after all he had been studying a lot and he knew a lot when it came to mystics and all things mysticism. 

His rank was the weakest ranks there were and the first rank a newly awakened mystic git after awakening, ranks were just like levels in games, to get stronger you need to gather more experience points and level up, however to move onto the next rank, a mystic had to gather mystic essence to saturate their soul cores.

Only by gathering mystic essence and saturating one's soul core could they advance onto the next rank however that was not all there was to it.

“Since I haven't started gathering essence, my progress is still at zero percent. Just like everyone else.”

Oberon mused as he went through the information displayed on the panel. After going through it he focused on his branch and more information was displayed.

Branch: Dream Voyager

Description: He became interested in the realm of dreams. Hoping to uncover its secrets and mysteries, and so his voyage began….his voyage into the realm of dreams. 

“Huh?”

Oberon was left dumbfounded by the description of his branch. Usually one's branch description told them a little bit of what their branch was capable of and where their strengths lay, but his branch description was vague and barely told him what he needed to know.

If anything, it only made him ask more questions.

“Who's he? What's the dream realm? Where is the dream realm?”

Oberon asked himself as he stared at the panel in a daze. He suddenly felt like he was being hounded by a serious case of bad luck. 

“First I awakened a very rare pathway and branch that almost no one has heard about and now this. Just great.”

He turned to look at Sam who looked very serious and invested in his panel that only he could see, seeing that his friend was occupied he also focused on his panel wanting to get more information.

He focused on his skills next, wanting to find even a single ray of hope that his branch and pathway wasn't as useless on the field as people thought it was. 

Skill: Dream Anchor [Passive]

Description: As a voyager of dreams, you can get pulled into the dream realm at random anytime you fall asleep. You can also place an anchor where you appear in the dream realm, this makes it easier for you to return back to where you want in the dream realm.

Skill: Collectors bag [Active]

Description: As a voyager of dreams, you have a taste for artifacts, relics and items found in the dream realm. You can bring along a limited amount of items you have collected from the dream realm into the mortal realm.

“Huh? Dream realm? Anchor?”

“My skill grants me access to a realm?”