Arcanix School of Magic

"Legend says that in ancient times, Eberron was invaded by the 'Dream World.' Later, the Giant King who ruled the world severed the connection between Eberron and the Dream World. Could my cheat ability be related to the Dream World?"

Feeling the connection between himself and the second layer of the Dream World, Karl speculated inwardly.

After resisting the temptation of the mature Hopp's tender trap, Karl could clearly sense an increase in his psionic power.

This allowed him to maintain his thoughts within the second-layer dream without imposing his will on the dream world.

However, Karl's psionic energy wasn't abundant enough to keep him in the second-layer dream indefinitely, so his stable time using that layer was limited.

"Ah~, let me think, what was the urgent matter again? Right, training! I need to try to become a Warrior."

With a thought, an illusion of Hopp appeared before Karl.

But compared to before, this Hopp was now clothed.

"Alright, let the training begin. I hope I can gain something from it."

Assuming a defensive stance, a contest of will and technique commenced.

"Rustle, rustle—"

After an unknown amount of time, Karl woke from his dream.

His consciousness had spent a great deal of time training in the second-layer dream and simulating models in the first-layer dream, giving him a feeling of having been "long absent" from reality.

The sound of rain outside continued, suggesting the influence of the Plane of Water would persist for a while.

Just as Karl was about to shift his position, he noticed his lower body was covered by dry clothes.

"Hopp?"

"I'm here. What's wrong?"

Hopp's voice came from a corner at the other end of the room. Though it sounded normal enough, Karl felt a slight tremor in her tone.

"Nothing. Are the clothes dry already? Hand me the rivet—I'll relight it."

Based on the direction of her voice, Karl reached out toward where he thought Hopp was.

Soon, a rivet was placed into his hand.

Casting Prestidigitation again, a soft glow spread from the rivet in all directions.

Setting the rivet aside, Karl used the reflected light to put on his clothes.

But as he pulled on his pants, a sudden pain shot through his back.

He dismissed it as a muscle strain from yesterday's heavy labor and paid it no mind.

"Looks like this rain might last a long time."

Walking over to the stone slab, Karl infused it with spiritual energy once more.

The Flame Rune reheated the slab, and Hopp took the remaining giant lizard meat from the Bag of Holding, placing it on the slab to roast.

Thanks to the Bag of Holding's inability to store living creatures, the giant lizard meat's shelf life had been extended considerably.

"What are your plans for later?"

Using the chopsticks Karl had carved to flip the meat, Hopp asked with a wandering gaze.

"Next, I'll use the leftover wood in the Bag of Holding to make some furniture and utensils."

Speaking of this, Karl's face lit up with confidence.

In last night's dream, he had modeled almost all the furniture the two of them might need.

If he had the right tools on hand, he might have been able to turn out a rocking chair on the spot.

Nodding, Hopp changed the liquid in the Alchemy Jug to saltwater and sprinkled some over the slab and the meat.

A sizzling sound rose with the steam, and Hopp picked up a piece to taste before saying to Karl:

"It's ready to eat."

They say "salt is the king of flavors," and that's no exaggeration.

Food with salt and without it were worlds apart in taste.

Roasting and eating as they went, Karl and Hopp finished breakfast quickly.

"If we get the chance, we could try building a kiln. I remember that hilly area we passed looked like it might have a mineral vein. Maybe we could forge some metal utensils. If not, we could melt down my armor set or fire some pottery."

Helping Hopp clean up the dishes, Karl looked out at the wind and rain and quietly suggested to her.

"You know pottery and smelting too?"

Hearing Karl's suggestion, Hopp took half a step back and gave her companion a fresh look.

"What's with that tone? I may not have practical experience, but I know the principles."

Seeing that Hopp still wore an expression of disbelief, Karl simply laid out everything he knew.

"You people from the Eldeen Reaches sure know a lot."

With the tone of a primitive tribesman envying a city dweller, Hopp sighed in admiration.

"That's not quite it either. Basic education in the Eldeen Reaches teaches literacy, simple math, physics, and chemistry, but mainly focuses on agriculture and livestock breeding techniques. All this miscellaneous knowledge I picked up at Arcanix."

Explaining the concept of a transmigrator to a native of this world was far too complicated, so Karl had no choice but to lie that his past-life knowledge came from what he'd learned at the magic school.

But upon hearing which school Karl had attended, Hopp's expression suddenly went blank.

"Where?"

"Arcanix? What's wrong?"

"Arcanix... the one with nine floating mage towers, the gathering place for the eight major schools of magic, the most famous magic academy on the entire Continent of Khorvaire—Arcanix?"

"If there's no other school like that, then it should be the one you're talking about."

Hopp quickly took a few steps back and sized Karl up again.

Only this time, she was looking at him like he was some kind of rare specimen.

It wasn't that she was overreacting.

If you were to compare their situations, Hopp was like an indigenous girl growing up in a Mexican slum, while Karl was a student from a major Eastern country studying at Harvard.

"Wait! Isn't Arcanix a magic academy of the Kingdom of Aundair? How did you, an Eldeen native, get into a school like that?"

Seeing Hopp's wide-eyed stare, Karl felt like he was being questioned.

Sure, he'd only gotten in thanks to the academy's enrollment expansion, but he'd still passed the exam!

"Huh? Why can't an Eldeen native get into Arcanix? Wait... don't tell me you—"

Just as he was about to argue with her, Karl suddenly realized that Hopp had been living in Droaam all along.

That place didn't even have basic education. The people of Droaam, aside from honing their martial skills to become mercenaries abroad, had almost no access to outside information.

With that thought, Karl's expression turned sympathetic.

"Come on, the tension between the Kingdom of Aundair and the Eldeen Reaches was over twenty years ago. The two countries signed an alliance treaty long ago. My mother is from Aundair."