The next morning, Zhang Wei woke up and got out of bed. Not a wisp of his previous depression could be found on his face today. Instead, a look of excitement and anticipation was lurking on his face. He could not wait to go out and test out the system he got.
He looked at the screen in front of him.
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Zhang Wei
Level 1 [5/50exp]
Skills:
- Dream walking [lvl 1]
- Dream manipulation [lvl 1]
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"System, can you explain to me again, what is your purpose?" Said Zhang Wei on his mind. He might be alone, but he needed to get used to talking to his system through his mind, otherwise, he might get weird looks if he were to slip up in public.
"Of course, Zhang Wei. My purpose is to enhance your abilities and help you achieve your goals," the AI voice replied.
"Right, right. And how exactly do you do that?" Zhang Wei asked as he made his way to the bathroom to freshen up.
"By providing you with various skills and abilities that you can level up and improve upon over time. These skills can be used to enhance different aspects of your life, such as physical fitness, mental acuity, and social skills," the AI explained.
Zhang Wei paused for a moment, considering the possibilities. "So, what skills do I have access to right now?"
"Currently, you have access to the Dreamwalking skill, as well as a few other skills related to dream exploration and manipulation. However, as you continue to use the system and gain experience, new skills and abilities will become available to you," the AI replied.
Zhang Wei nodded, feeling excited by the prospect of exploring and improving his abilities with the help of the system. "Okay, let's start with the Dreamwalking skill. How do I use it?"
The AI voice explained to Zhang Wei the basics of the Dreamwalking skill, including how to enter and manipulate dreams, and how to use the skill to explore his own subconscious mind.
Zhang Wei felt a surge of curiosity and excitement as he listened to the AI's instructions. He couldn't wait to try out this new skill and see what he could do with it.
As he finished getting ready for the day, Zhang Wei couldn't help but wonder what other abilities and skills the system had in store for him. He was eager to start exploring and leveling up, and to see where this journey would take him.
He left his house and headed to work. Zhang Wei arrived at his workplace, a small convenience store located in a run-down neighborhood. He greeted his employer, and old man on his fifties, and began his shift, restocking the shelves and assisting customers.
As the day went on, a man entered the store and began to make a scene. He was trying to return a product without a receipt, insisting that he had bought it at the store. The manager explained the store policy and refused to accept the return.
The man became increasingly agitated and began to yell at the manager. Zhang Wei could see that the situation was escalating quickly, and he knew that he needed to intervene.
"This could be a good time to test my dream manipulation skill" He thought. He had accidentally used his dream walking ability yesterday, but he had yet to try the dream manipulation skill. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, using his dream walking ability to enter the man's subconscious.
The system had explained to him that the concept of dream manipulation extended beyond the moments we were sleeping. Dreams came from the subconscious and creeped their way into reality. It was possible to intervene with someone through their "dreams" even if they were awake. However, this was very limited as he lacked the power to do so.
To use his abilities Zhang Wei would need to spend what the system called "energy". It seemed that even this system had to follow some sort of rules. He looked at the screen and focused on his own body, then a new stat appeared on the system:
Energy: 56 [calories]
"System, why is energy measured on calories?"
"Simple, the current you lack the ability to collect special types of energy, and your own available source as of now is the food you eat and the heat from the sun" the system answered. "As such, the system displays the current available excess of energy in a breakdown. you have 56 calories of excess food energy, and the heat energy you have is too small to be represented."
Zhang Wei felt into thought, he would need to start thinking of ways to find other sources of energy, He didn't want to start eating like a maniac just to get some energy for his skills.
Zhang Wei closed his eyes and focused on his dream manipulation skill. He quickly felt into a slumber. Zhang Wei closed his eyes and focused on his dream manipulation skill. He quickly felt into a slumber. In the dream world, the man was in a dark and chaotic environment, surrounded by swirling black clouds. Zhang Wei could feel the man's despair and pain.
"Who are you?" asked the man, his voice echoing through the dark void.
Zhang Wei didn't answer. Instead, he concentrated on finding the source of the man's distress. He felt the dark energy coalescing around him and knew that he had to destroy it.
He reached out his hand and focused all his energy on the dark energy. Slowly but surely, the clouds began to disperse, revealing a bright light in the distance.
"Who are you?" asked the man again.
Zhang Wei ignored the question and continued to focus on destroying the dark energy. As he did so, he could feel the man's despair lessening, and a sense of calm slowly settling over the dream world.
Finally, the last of the dark energy dissipated, and the man's dream world was transformed into a bright, open space.
The man looked around in wonder, his eyes wide with amazement. "What... what happened?" he asked.
Zhang Wei smiled again and slowly faded away from the dream world, returning to his own body. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling a sense of satisfaction wash over him. He had helped someone in need, and that was a good feeling.
After a few moments, the man's demeanor changed, and he seemed to relax. He thanked the manager for his time and left the store without causing any further problems. Zhang Wei emerged from the dream world, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
After witnessing this, Zhang Wei could not help but smile. He was able to affect the man's emotions through his subconscious! Who knew what other hidden uses his abilities had if he could already do something like this? It was as if he could do anything inside the dream and affect reality through it. The dream world and the real world... they were much more alike than he had initially thought,
At this moment however, he felt a slight tingle in the back of his head and the world seemed to spin a little bit. He quickly looked at his status on the system panel and realized that he had spent a lot of energy and had about 10 remaining.
_____________________________________
Zhang Weit
Level 1 [25/50exp]
Energy: 10 [calories]
Skills:
- Dream walking [lvl 1]
- Dream manipulation [lvl 1]
____________________________________
He noticed the change in the amount of energy and experience. He was a little bit worried about his remining energy and how he would get more. But he also felt excited at his progress in level. He would soon level up at this rate!
"I need to find ways to collect energy... System, what are my current options?" He asked.
"You only have the option of eating food. Excess food will be converted into caloric energy for the system."
"How can I find other sources of energies?"
"You can either learn methods yourself or buy new methods from the store."
The store! He had completely forgotten, but he currently had many other tabs in this system. However, they were mostly greyed out, so he paid no mind to them.
"How can I get access to the store?"
"Once the host obtains enough energy and levels up to level 2, you will get access to it. You will need energy to buy items, knowledge, and skills from the store. The store acts as a bridge between you and your potential, and uses the dream world to create what you want to buy and using the necessary energy"
Zhang Wei could not help but be surprised. Using the dream world as a source for creating real world items, knowledge, and skills? Was that even possible? However, he did not complain, as he could only benefit from this store.
He was low on energy, so he decided to work hard and wait until the end of the day before going out to eat some food. He had not treated himself to any good food in a while, so he might as well try it out now that he was feeling motivated.
"Heck, I might as well invite Wang Tao, as I have not seen him in so long" He thought to himself, before immersing himself back into his work.
Later in the evening, Zhang Wei got out of work and headed to 'The Rusty Wok'.