Orin didn't know how long the rain of bubbles from the monument lasted, in fact he was wondering if time even existed in this place. But after a while the pace of the bubbles slowed before stopping completely. Then his head lifted, and he was staring at the pure white ceiling of the dome. With a deep breath in, Orin felt like his lungs were going to burst, but soon he began to exhale a thick black smoke that made a hissing noise as it left his body. As the smoke headed to the ceiling the bright white light of the dome got brighter, and Orin could hear the sound of sizzling, similar to the sound meat makes when cooked in a pan. After the last of the smoke left his body, Orin's eyes closed, and when they opened again, he was looking at the ceiling of his bedroom and not the top of the white dome.
Orin was enjoying the feeling of being able to move his own body as he wished and never wished to have control of his body taken away from him again. But thinking up to there, he found a problem. He didn't know if he would find himself in the dome again tonight, and what just happened would happen again whenever he slept. This gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach, to try and think of other things Orin tried to remember the cultivation technique on the stone monument.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't. He could remember the grittiness and pain he felt in his eyes, the popping feeling in his head, and the feeling of the bubbles raining into his body, and even the feeling of the smoke exiting his body. But he could not remember what the symbols looked like or what they meant. As for trying to use the technique by remembering how the energy flowed through his body was pointless, even if he knew how to draw energy into his body like rain drops, he didn't know where the energy went inside his body. All he knew was that the energy did not end up inside his dantian.
Orin spent an hour lying in bed trying to figure out what he could use from last night's experience but couldn't think of anything no matter how hard he tried. Getting up from bed he decided to go to the city library and check the cultivation records to see if this had happened to anyone else. While he truly didn't expect to find anything, it was the only thing he could do. Orin didn't have anyone he could count on, his mother was forced to abandon him to survive, his father is a violent drunk who is rarely home, and the only neighbors he got along with suddenly had to move.
With his plan for the day made, Orin began his daily spell practice. After stuffing the stove with wood Orin used the great and powerful fireball spell to light the stove, he then used the mighty raging torrents spell to fill a pot with water. Placing the pot on the stove to heat he used the cyclone spell to release a powerful burst of air to push the dust in the room towards the door. Using a broom to sweep the dust and dirt out the door signaled the end of first part of Orin's spell practice.
Another five minutes and the water heating on the stove had warmed nicely. Taking it to the bathroom, Orin used the water manipulation skill to bring a third of the water over his head then released the skill. The steaming water slashed over this ruby red skin and soaking his silver hair. Using a rag and a pinch of soap power Orin washing himself, it wasn't a pleasant experience, the soap had a very harsh smell and had the texture of sand scarping against his skin. But during the hot summer nights and the wind blowing through the swamps south of the city making for hot humid nights which make for a lot of smelly people in the city. Using the rest of the water rinse off Orin got dress and headed out to get something to eat before going to the library.
With a quick stop at Jax's food cart he had his breakfast, it was a fried bean patty with herbs wrapped in a flatbread with a vinegar dressing. While Orin would prefer some meat in this sandwich, truth is he couldn't afford to eat meat often. If it wasn't for the fact Orin killed a couple rabbits the other day while he was searching for spirit grasses to sell, he couldn't afford this sandwich. He had traded a rabbit with the cart owner and got eight sandwiches on account, this was perfect for Orin since the old man had given him far more than the scrawny rabbit was worth. While Orin didn't like to be pitied, he knew the old man did this so Orin would continue to trade any rabbits, birds, or tasty herbs he found while outside the city.
By the time Orin had reached the city library the sandwich had long since disappeared into his stomach. While far tastier than the ground corn gruel he normally had for breakfast, it wasn't nearly as filling. Orin wouldn't mind thinking about food for a while longer, but he had arrived at the library, from the outside, it was a plain looking building without any adornments. But the inside was far grander, with the floor, walls, and ceiling tiled in pristine white marble with tall dark wooden bookshelves lined neatly in rows. Just inside the entrance to the library was a round desk with three attendants offering help to any that ask.
Orin took a few steps towards the attendants before he stopped himself. Since he didn't know what he had experienced last night, he was unsure if other people should know. If it was a good thing, others might try to make him benefit them, or steal it, or just kill him so other can't have what they can't. But if it was a bad thing, then he could be arrested by the city or empire to protect other from him, or he could just be killed. Orin decided to look around and pick some books on subjects he should be learning anyway, before also picking some books that explain the weirder subjects of cultivation. He also thought of going to the second floor and have a look around.
Orin's only two hesitations on going to the second floor was that everything he wanted to look at would cost spirit stones to read. He had been doing a good job of saving some spirit stones to learn some stronger spells and maybe learn a recipe or two on how to make a pill or an alchemist tea that would help him increase his cultivation. The second reason he hesitated to go to the second floor was his cultivation level, of the four floors of the library, the first was for those at the first through third layers, the second floor was for those at the fourth through sixth layers, the third floor was for those at seventh through tenth layers, and the fourth and final floor could only be accessed by those at the foundation establishment stage. Orin was at the peak of the third layer, and while he could go to the second floor, the thought of wasting his meager spirit stones on something that he may forget before he breaks through to the fourth layer, wasn't something he wanted to think of.