Listening to the Doctor's additional explanation, Hoshimi showed no emotional fluctuations. Ultimately, he realized that only by becoming stronger could he unlock various abilities. Otherwise, everything would remain just theoretical fantasies.
After some thought, Hoshimi said, "Doctor, set up a quiet area for me. I need to study here for a while."
He couldn't forget his initial goal. Before getting Kotoko's training method, it was best to focus on studying.
"Alright, my lord, follow me," the Doctor replied, turning to lead Hoshimi to a soundproof lab.
"Martial Artist, you may go now," Hoshimi said calmly before following the Doctor to study.
"Understood," Martial Artist nodded, drawing the Daxia Longque sword from his waist and slicing open a rift in space to leave.
Suddenly, Martial Artist seemed to remember something. He took a step forward, shrinking the distance in a blink, and caught up to Hoshimi. Bowing respectfully, Martial Artist said, "My lord, I have a breathing technique that suits your training. Do you need it?"
"Hmm?" Hoshimi paused, surprised. "A breathing technique that suits me?"
"Yes," Martial Artist explained, "I was among the first batch of dream entities, and back then, my body structure was the same as yours. I created a series of breathing techniques to strengthen the body through repeated experiments. But after I developed virtual meridians and acupoints, I abandoned these techniques because they were too weak."
"Breathing techniques..." Hoshimi stroked his chin thoughtfully. He then asked, "Do you have any techniques that excel at enhancing kidney function and endurance?"
"..." Martial Artist remained silent for a moment, seemingly guessing his lord's intentions. Then, with a muffled voice, he replied, "Yes, my lord."
Hoshimi raised an eyebrow—there really was one!
He stroked his chin again, asking in a subtle tone, "Martial Artist, why didn't you mention this during our last meeting?"
"My lord, you didn't ask."
Hoshimi: "..."
Fair enough, that was his oversight. He should've asked more questions.
"By the way, Martial Artist, are these breathing techniques hard to learn? Any side effects? And how effective are they?"
"For you, my lord, they aren't difficult. Breathing techniques are methods to strengthen the body and don't have side effects. Their effectiveness is gradual but steady."
"Alright, I understand." Hoshimi waved dismissively. "Bring me the most effective breathing technique later, especially one that fits the request I just made."
"Understood, my lord." Martial Artist bowed and then left.
After watching Martial Artist disappear into the space rift, Hoshimi turned to follow the Doctor to study.
Both studying and training were important, and both had to be taken seriously.
Once the training method arrived, he would juggle all three tasks at once.
With such incredible abilities in the dream world, it would be a waste not to develop himself fully.
...
Inside the soundproof lab, Hoshimi conjured textbooks and notes from his previous life, as well as those from Sobu High and Yukino's notes, and began studying them side by side.
Looking at his familiar yet distant notes, Hoshimi sighed softly and quietly resumed reviewing the knowledge he once learned.
"My lord, do you need my help with studying?"
Hearing the Doctor's lifeless voice, Hoshimi looked at her in surprise. "You're still here? I thought you went back to your experiments. Also, I don't need guidance—you should know I'm reviewing, not learning new knowledge."
"My experiments have hit a bottleneck, and without inspiration to break through, I have free time," the Doctor explained, her eyes fixed on Hoshimi.
Hoshimi raised an eyebrow, "A bottleneck? Even in a dream world?"
The Doctor explained with a sigh, "Dreams also have rules. If I rely purely on the dream's imaginative power to complete experiments, the result will be no more than a fragile fantasy. My goal is to understand both the 'what' and the 'why.' Only by calculating, experimenting, and summarizing step by step can the results be solid."
After finishing, the Doctor stared intently at Hoshimi, her red eyes—identical to his—sparkling with an enigmatic light.
Sensing that she wanted something, Hoshimi curiously asked, "So? What do you want?"
The Doctor's eyes brightened as she greedily replied, "I want knowledge! All human civilization's knowledge! Whether it's physics, chemistry, math, biology, religion, theology, philosophy, or literature, I need it all!"
"My lord, your knowledge reserves are far too scarce! I need more! More! My research requires a broader theoretical foundation!"
Seeing the Doctor's slightly crazed expression, Hoshimi calmly nodded, "Alright, I'll go to the city library to scan the books. But in exchange, once your research on vector control is complete, I want you to find a way to adapt it to me."
"No problem!" The Doctor leapt toward Hoshimi, her eyes glowing like stars as she exclaimed, "My lord, you are truly great! So wise! Once I have more knowledge, I will fulfill your command, no matter what! Even if you want me to become your sex slave, it's fine!"
"..." Hoshimi's face turned cold as he harshly rebuked, "Get out! Go do your experiments!"
He had absolutely no interest in himself. Under no circumstances would he be tempted!
"Understood, my lord, I'll roll away now!" The Doctor said, lying on the floor and rolling away in circles.
Soon, Hoshimi was left alone in the soundproof lab.
He rubbed his temples, clearing the Doctor's ridiculous behavior from his mind.
Once his thoughts were settled, Hoshimi resumed his focused studying.
Tonight's mini-test—he was determined to win Yukino's delicate hand and dainty foot.
As for Yukino's soft, cherry-like lips, that might take another day. After all, getting perfect scores in all subjects, excluding literature, wasn't easy. Even for him, it would take two or three days to achieve it steadily.
Yes, two or three real-world days, which equaled two or three hundred dream-world days...
In the dream world, where he could do anything, Hoshimi could cheat his way to perfect scores, but that would take away the excitement and fun.
Moreover, Hoshimi intended to achieve everything in one go during this study session. He planned to review all high school and university-level knowledge within the next few days before the exam. That way, he wouldn't waste any more time or energy on studying in the future.
At the ninety-ninth layer of the deep dream world, Hoshimi studied diligently...
...
Meanwhile, completely unaware of Hoshimi's ability to accelerate time in his dream, Yukino was nervously preparing herself.
Her legs were pressed together, her pale hands slightly warm, and her small feet fidgeting in her round-toed shoes.
At this moment, Yukino had no idea how much she was about to lose because of their agreement...
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