That night, in the Dreamscape.
Roland had prepared the array required for the ritual magic early, then fallen asleep in his room, immersing his consciousness in the Dreamscape generated by his lucid dream.
After a flurry of work, he condensed a crimson crystal resembling the Philosopher's Stone beneath the enormous World Tree. This was the Holy Grail of alchemy's magic crystal system, a symbolic object akin to the golden core of the Eastern immortal cultivation system.
It was not actually an objectively existing physical substance, but a conceptual object with symbolic significance.
It could take many forms and be housed in the material world, potentially manifesting through a crystalline or powdered medium.
But none of that mattered now, because Roland had condensed it within the Dreamscape. Its current essence was crystallized spiritual power, the fundamental substance used to construct all things in the spiritual world.
My current mana and spiritual power are around the third rank. I don't have any particularly great advantage...
Never mind. I'll make do for now.
This ritual mainly relies on divine power anyway, using Tiniara's Divine Spark Fragment to make Dreams Come True.
Divine power might run short if I used it for other purposes, but it should be enough to advance to the fourth rank.
Roland condensed nine cat's-eye-sized crystals in one go, set them beside him, and began tracing a magic array on the ground.
Magic arrays were a complex discipline within the field of magic, involving knowledge of algebra, geometry, and even astronomy. They were commonly used in ritual magic for summoning, teleportation, defense, advancement, and more.
Since the arcane reforms, Atrelin's mages had incorporated them into basic education, simplifying most magic arrays and teaching them at the General Studies Academy.
By the apprentice student stage, students would also have a thorough