What A Dream Wants

The green leaves were falling already, despite the trees seemingly not yet to have past their prime. Around him led to a crinkle and crackle as the crunch of the fallen leaves filled the ground. Slowly breaking down.

Looks are deceiving...

Steven suddenly remembered that he had to brush up on cultivation books, so he headed to the school library.

The school library was located in a separate building on the campus, but it wasn't too far away from the main building. He walked inside.

Inside, a bustle of people, some at the entrance, others studying and reading.

"Hello, welcome." a lady said warmly. "I'm the librarian, Mrs. Evans."

Her thick rim glasses slipped down, so she pushed them up.

"Is it your first time here?"

"Yeah," Steven replied.

"Okay, what's your name?" She asked.

"Steven."

"Steven, the school library works like a normal library. Your school ID is your library card, and if you borrow books, make sure to return them before the deadline. There will be a fine otherwise. Stay quiet in the library, and be considerate of others. That's basically it, have fun."

"I will-"

"Have fun reading!"

Steven was confused. Have fun reading? Perhaps he misheard.

"Wait, where can I find books on the basics of cultivation?" Steven asked Mrs. Evans.

"That'll be on the second floor. Ask the second-floor librarian to show you, I can't leave my spot."

. . .

The second floor was a bit more lonely, fewer people were upstairs.

He spotted a librarian at a desk, so he walked up to her.

"Hello, I'm Steven. I need help finding books on cultivation." Steven told her.

"Steven, call me Mrs. Stepanov." She said. "I'll be glad to show you where the books are."

"Thank you," Steven replied.

"First, I need to know what kind of cultivation books you need."

"Well... I need basic books on cultivation, books explaining the body's relation with qi." Steven proceeded to ask her about the shapeless form he felt in his body.

"Oh, there are many books on these topics," Mrs. Stepanov answered, "but I'll go recommend you some of the introductory books for now. For future reference, you can also check our online database."

She looked up a few books from her computer, and then pressed some buttons.

Out of nowhere, a chute opened up in the ceiling. Whirling and other sounds could be heard before the hardcover books dropped down.

"Ow," Steven said as the first book dropped on his head.

"Ow," Steven said as the second book plopped on his head.

"Ow," Steven said as the third book kerplunked on his head.

"Oh, I am SO sorry! We need to get the chute system fixed. Those books were supposed to land on my desk." Mrs. Stepanov apologized.

"Oh, it's fine." Steven rubbed his now very sore head and picked up the books.

They read:

- All You Need to Know About the Soul by Dr. Psychí

- Relativity of Qi to the Body by Ed. Eneoji

- Cultivation 101 by Vincent Baker.

"Here, I'll check them out for you." Mrs. Stepanov offered. She scanned the books and gave them to Steven in a nice bag.

After that fiasco, he decided to buy a bit of takeout before going back to the dorms to brush up on the knowledge that had just hit him.

. . .

It was quite hard to carry the books and the bit of takeout. He only bought four bags of food, so it should have been decently easy to carry, but he felt his arms tiring.

He finally reached his dorm.

Entering inside, he noticed the Super reading a magazine.

"Hi, Bob!"

"Hey, Steven," Bob said, looking up from his newspaper and giving him a friendly smile.

Steven walked down the hallway and waited patiently for the elevator.

Eventually, the elevator came.

Elevator music played in the background.

Steven, out of the blue, was reminded of a study. Apparently, elevator music is passively listened to and is meant to add to the current event. He wondered what the calming music was meant to complement, but clearly, nothing happened on an elevator.

While he was thinking this, the elevator opened.

He stepped out.

Room 307.

He walked in and plopped on the bed.

Oh, wait. He would get the bed dirty, so he hopped off. Plus, he had to study...

Steven sighed.