Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 261 Inception?

"Hello there."

Just as Link was pondering what was amiss, his quiet and beautiful new classmate, Iris, sat down at the table next to him and greeted him softly.

"Hello there."

Link snapped out of his reverie and lightly shook Iris's outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you, please take care of me."

Iris smiled sweetly, said a few polite words, and then focused on listening to the lesson.

"Nice to meet you?"

Upon hearing this word, Link frowned involuntarily.

He felt there was something wrong with that statement.

I feel like I've seen this younger sister somewhere before, and it seems like her personality isn't like this at all.

She's not as serene; she needs to be more lively.

"Strange, why do I feel that 'lively' isn't enough to describe my sister?"

Link muttered to himself, shaking his head, feeling increasingly confused.

Ever since I was woken up by my abstract-looking English teacher in the last class, it's been like this.

Wait, what does an English teacher look like again?

Oh, I remember now.

He looks a lot like Old Xu, who has thick eyebrows and big eyes and is known for "wanting a wife but not wanting one".

Unfortunately, he didn't have a great beauty like Cong Shan as his wife, and I heard he's been a bachelor for life.

The kind where one person eats their fill and the whole family isn't hungry.

Sigh, why doesn't anyone ask me, "Do you want a wife?"

Then, I can righteously and loudly proclaim, "Yes!"

Hehehe...

Unconsciously, Link's thoughts drifted away from his sister and began to wander into wild fantasies about his potentially horrific life of romantic bliss, which might lead to him being stabbed in the back.

A Chinese class passed by in a daze of daydreaming.

"Are you going out to play?"

Iris wasn't shy at all and actually took the initiative to invite Link.

"No, I'll sit for a while longer."

For some reason, Link actually wanted to agree, but the words caught in his throat and he changed his mind.

It was as if something bad would happen once they stepped out of the classroom.

"Ugh!"

Iris sighed, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes, followed by confusion.

She stopped suggesting going out to play, and didn't even go out herself. She simply put her arms around herself, rested her head on her hands, and took a short nap.

"Ugh!"

Link felt lost and as if he had done something wrong.

I don't know where I went wrong again.

He stared blankly at Iris, who was slumped over the table, for a while, his pupils trembling violently.

It's like two people are playing tug-of-war in their heads, and the pupils are the red threads tied to the rope.

My head is throbbing from all the pulling.

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore, I'm going to sleep.

Overwhelmed by the pain, Link slumped onto the table, his pupils instantly stopping their vibrations, and the headache vanished.

"Are you going out to play?"

After waking up, Iris extended an invitation again.

Oh, another class has already ended.

Which class is this?

"No, I'll sit for a while longer."

Link thought about it and still felt he hadn't slept enough, so he refused outright.

Huh, why do I feel sleepy whenever I think about going out to play?

I'm not Ah Q, with the weird habit of loudly proclaiming "I want to sleep with you."

By the way, who is Ah Q?

Which character is featured in the article we taught in Chinese class?

With this question in mind, Link began searching through his Chinese textbook.

One book, two books, three books, four books, five books...

There are so many Chinese textbooks in the desk drawer, it looks like I could take them all out.

Splash, splash, splash.

Link frantically flipped through the book, trying to find the Ah Q who liked to feel a sense of spiritual victory, thinking, "Finally, I got beaten by my son."

"What are you looking for?"

Iris, standing beside her, asked gently.

"What am I looking for?"

Link repeated the rustling of turning pages, repeating Iris's question.

It seemed to be a question directed at Iris, or perhaps a question directed at himself.

What is he looking for?

Are they looking for Ah Q, or something else that's more important?

Link couldn't help but feel frustrated.

He stopped what he was doing, a deep sadness on his face, and met Iris's questioning gaze, saying in a muffled voice, "I think I've forgotten what I'm looking for."

After saying that, Link suddenly felt his eyelids getting heavy.

He wrapped his arms around himself, slumped his head down, and fell asleep.

Iris looked at Link, who was snoring softly, her lips trembling as she silently asked herself:

Ah Q?

Who is Ah Q?

How come she's never heard of it before!

After hesitating for a moment, Iris extended her right index finger and gently touched Link's cheek.

A strange thought suddenly occurred to her: she seemed to have stolen a kiss here.

Iris shook her head with a smile, suppressing the absurd thought.

They've only known each other for a short time, how could she have kissed Link, let alone stolen one?

I'm clearly not a love-struck person, how could I possibly do something so embarrassing?

It's all fake!

Thinking this, Iris withdrew her hand and sat up straight.

Another day has passed.

The next ten days or so felt like a replica of the first day after waking up.

Class begins, get out of class ends, class begins, get out of class ends, class begins, get out of class ends.

It seems that nothing else should be done besides these two things.

For example, refusing to go out with Iris.

It seems like this is a terrible thing that will bring great misfortune if done.

"Are you going out to play?"

Iris waved to Link, who was lost in thought for what seemed like the umpteenth time, and, seeing that she had attracted his attention, extended an invitation.

Before Link could refuse, Iris deliberately lowered her voice and said, "I'll show you something fun."

After saying that, she suddenly grabbed Link's hand and dragged him out of the classroom.

It cannot be refused.

and many more.

Outside the classroom?

Have I left the classroom these past few days?

As Link was being dragged out of the classroom, a question arose in his mind.

While adjusting his running posture, he recalled the experiences of the past ten days.

The result was a memory of loneliness.

What the hell have I been doing these past ten days? All I've done is go to class and leave get out of class, nothing else.

Of all the things we do—eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping—only sleeping has ever happened.

I also slept a lot.

Often, while chatting with Iris, the two of them would suddenly fall asleep together on the table.

The images of classes starting and ending are also very blurry, as if they have been pixelated.

What was taught in class, and which teachers taught it, has all been distorted.

Sometimes it looks like a human, sometimes it doesn't.

One moment it sounds like a real sound, the next it sounds like a buzzing electrical current.

It's weird, I don't know what they're up to.

Iris ran faster and faster, and the wind whistled past Link's ears.

Link realized something was wrong, looked down, and saw that he was running in the sky.

What you're stepping on is no longer ceramic tiles, but light, fluffy white clouds.

No wonder it felt like I was stepping on cotton, it was so effortless.

Aren't you surprised?

Iris turned to look at Link, whose brows were still tightly furrowed, and said with a question followed by a sigh, "You really aren't surprised."

"surprise?"

Link asked, puzzled, "What's so surprising?"

"You're surprised I can fly!"

Iris raised an eyebrow and said.

"oh."

Link replied blankly, unsure how to respond.

He remembered that he seemed to be able to fly, and fly higher and faster.

Iris then spoke again: "Since I transferred here, attended so many classes, and met so many teachers and classmates, the only one who feels human is you."

After a pause, Iris emphasized, "You and I are the only ones who always need to sleep, while everyone else doesn't."

Link suddenly burst out laughing.

As I laughed, tears welled up in my eyes without my noticing.

"So you also think they're not human. I thought I was the only one who felt that way."

"Yeah?"

Iris uttered a single word through her nose, then asked thoughtfully, "Do you ever feel like you're special? Like you don't belong in this world?"

"Is there?"

Link was deep in thought.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Iris's words made sense.

For the past ten days or so, he's been like Truman from The Truman Show—he's a real person, but his life is a fake one.

Wait, it's fake?

The moment this thought arose, it was like a lightning bolt piercing the night.

It's as if the universe was created by the Big Bang from the singularity.

The world in Link's eyes was like a thick layer of water vapor on a glass being wiped clean, instantly becoming clear.

Where is the sky? Where are the white clouds? Where is the school?

They are all streams of flowing 0s and 1s.

Only the Iris before my eyes was real, her rainbow mark shimmering on her forehead.

Five thick data stream chains were firmly bound to Iris's wrists, ankles, and hips, restricting her movement.

Iris maintained her forward running posture, but was actually standing still.

Link had somehow released Iris's hand.

My whole body was lifted into the infinite distance by an unknown force.

Until it is squeezed out of the world composed of countless strings of 0s and 1s, it becomes an "observer" that is unrelated to the data world, can only watch and cannot interfere.

This process gave Link the feeling that bugs couldn't be killed, only kicked away.

Iris, who inspired Link and brought him out of his daze, is still trapped in the world of data.

At this moment, Iris looked around blankly, seemingly having forgotten Link's existence and why she had come to the clouds. She walked back to the classroom with her head down, dejected, and continued her routine of attending and leaving classes.

Link suddenly understood: he was a supporting character, an audience member.

Iris is the main character in this game.

Only when she awakens from her dazed state and severs the shackles of the five data stream chains binding her will this game truly end.

Link was just a passerby who stumbled upon this place.

This round wasn't his responsibility, so after it was realized that he might have an unpredictable impact on the situation, he was kicked out.

"Master, master, where are you?"

Flandre's voice echoed in Link's heart.

"What's wrong, Flandre?"

Link kept an eye on Iris's movements while responding to Flandre.

"Waaah... Master, you finally paid attention to me. Flandre thought, she thought that you, like someone else, had abandoned Flandre and didn't want her anymore."

Flandre burst into tears and began to accuse Link.

Uh……

Link quickly focused his attention on the "small world," stroking Flandre's head to comfort her: "Master is always here. Flandre is so cute, how could Master bear to leave her behind?"

"The master is lying!"

Flandre, her eyes streaked with tears, put her hands on her hips, raised her head, and said angrily, "Master is a big liar! Flandre couldn't find Master just now, and she couldn't pull him into the 'Little World' even if she wanted to."

"An accident! This was an accident!"

Link repeatedly reassured and apologized, promising, "It won't happen again. There absolutely won't be a next time!"

"snort!"

Flandre pouted and tilted her head, still angry.

Link patiently stroked Flandre's little head, and when he felt that her anger had subsided, he asked, "Flandre, what just happened? Tell your master."

"snort!"

Flandre gave a huffy snort, then gave her answer.

"The seven-colored halo of that special ruined world flashed, and Flandre didn't know what happened at that time."

Upon regaining consciousness, they discovered that the master and the woman they disliked had arrived in a peculiar space.

This space is very similar to the master's sea of ​​consciousness, existing between reality and illusion, existing yet not existing.

The rainbow-colored mark on the forehead of the woman whom the master and mistress disliked flickered and emitted a peculiar fluctuation.

This space seemed to breathe, adjusting its breathing frequency little by little, constantly getting closer to that fluctuation.

Once the two are joined together, the souls of the women that the master and his wife dislike will disappear without a trace.

Flandre couldn't sense the existence of the master's soul, and she was terrified.

I shouted as loudly as I could, but the master ignored me.

Flandre tried to go out and wake the master, but she couldn't get out and bumped her head all over.

As she spoke, Flandre placed her hands, which were tucked into her waistband, on her little head and gently rubbed it.

Link seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

No wonder he felt that something was still wrong with his current state.

It turns out he is still in an out-of-body state!

Take a deep breath.

Sure enough, there was only the action of inhaling and the corresponding feeling generated by the soul, but no air was actually inhaled.

Link closed his eyes, focused all his attention, and tried to activate "Brain Occupation" to enter a state of "multi-threaded thinking".

The "brain shut-in" is functioning normally, while the "multi-threaded thinking" state is in a cooling-off period.

However, this cooling effect is exactly what Link needs.

Through his connection with the system, Link accessed his own consciousness and "summoned" his soul back into it.

Then, through the sea of ​​consciousness, one enters the "small world" and then returns to the physical body.

The reason Link took such a long detour instead of returning directly to his physical body was because he was unsure whether his soul had been tainted by anything it shouldn't have.

Even the slightest trace of life!

Using his authority as the ruler of a "small world," Link mobilized a large amount of source energy in that instant to cleanse his soul.

Only after confirming that his soul was unharmed and that no tricks had been left for him did he return to his physical body.

Instead of opening his eyes and taking action, Link used the mental examination techniques of a True Spirit Wizard and the specialized medical examination techniques of the Rivoss Academy to give himself a full self-examination from the inside out.

Finding that everything was fine, I opened my eyes and looked around at my surroundings.

This is a peculiar space where every aspect of a prescription embodies contradictions.

Life, death; reality, illusion; small, boundless...

All around was a vast expanse of white, and apart from Iris beside him, there was nothing else.

The rope-like sorcery used to bind the two people has disappeared without a trace.

Iris floated in the air, lying horizontally, her eyes closed, her breathing even, like a serene sleeping beauty.

The rainbow mark on his forehead shimmered, resonating with this peculiar space.

Link stared directly at the rainbow mark on Iris's forehead, as if he were seeing a world made up of countless strings of 0s and 1s.

Link immediately understood where the two souls had gone.

In Iris's dream!

Combining information such as Iris's possible connection to a fellow countryman, the unique nature of the special ruins world, the wizarding world's emphasis on the parallel universe behind the special ruins world, and other related information, along with his existing knowledge, Link made a bold guess:

If Iris can wake up from her dream, she can become the master of this strange space and the GM of this special ruined world!

Of course, these are just Link's guesses.

Everything will only have a concrete result once Iris wakes up.

"Is there any way to help Iris?"

Link has never been a rigid rule-follower.

Just because I inexplicably know that Iris is the protagonist of this game doesn't mean I'll simply be a spectator.

He stared at the rainbow mark on Iris's forehead, pondering it.

The principle that "the one who tied the knot must untie it" seems to apply here as well.

Since this game is a dream, we should start with the dream and use the dream to control the dream.

Link had studied a true spirit wizard's magic, which was related to dreams and could be useful at this time.

However, this witchcraft has a drawback.

That is, the practitioner steals the subject's dream, and accidents can easily occur during the interaction with the subject in the dream.

For example... the union of souls.

Link hesitated.

How should I put this chapter?

I felt it was necessary to write it this way, but I also felt it was a bit rambling, so I deleted and revised it.

Writing a book is too difficult for a newcomer; there are pitfalls everywhere.

(End of this chapter)