Soulless Players

Upon hearing the dog's offer, Philip immediately activated his 'Golden Eyes' uniqueness to assess the true value of the book. However, once it confirmed that the dog was right, that the book was indeed worth 5,000 tallums, Philip's focus shifted to a more pressing concern:

'Was the dog's information reliable? Should I trust this peculiar canine and agree to the high mark-up price?'

Sensing Philip's hesitation, the dog continued, "It's true. You can go to other bookstores to confirm this."

"In fact, if it were me in the past, I would never violate this protocol. After all, why would I antagonize the guilds and clans of human mentalists over a single newcomer dreamwalker? Hehe. You can say I'm placing a bet on you, as I may need your help in the future…" The dog wagged its tail eagerly.

Philip felt intrigued and alarmed but didn't show an obvious reaction. He mulled over the dog's words carefully before saying, "5,500 tallums."

The dog didn't hesitate and quickly replied, "Deal!"

With the transaction completed and the initial offer price reduced by 1,000 tallums, it became clear to Philip that he had accepted the dog's request for assistance in the future.

Although Philip had reservations about offering his future services, he believed it was a necessary sacrifice. He was currently vulnerable, and having an acquaintance who owned a bookstore, and was also knowledgeable, might prove valuable to him.

As Philip considered the implications, he reminded himself that the debt was merely a verbal promise. If the dog's future requests proved to be too demanding, he could conveniently claim to have forgotten the agreement.

"Hehehe," the dog chuckled, its tail still wagging. "Your thought process is quite transparent. That's precisely why you needed this book... By the way, I am Doug Atlas. Remember my name!"

Philip nodded in acknowledgment but opted not to reveal his real name. Instead, he offered, "Raul."

The dog's smile widened, its tongue lolling out in satisfaction.

"Raul, you're a unique individual," Doug commented. "I enjoy taking advantage of newcomers, but I also know when not to. The moment you walked in, I sensed you lacked the know-how. Yet, you surprised me with your knowledge of the pricing system, despite obviously having no clan support."

Philip remained silent as he listened to Doug. Although he wanted to respond, he refrained from doing so to avoid appearing ignorant and needy. After completing the transaction, he promptly left the store.

As he walked away, Philip pondered whether Doug had any means of finding him. Not only had he given a false name, but he also concealed his face and used a copied body.

"Is there a way for other dream citizens to locate someone in this vast city?" Philip had no way of knowing the answer.

Philip wandered through the streets and alleys before summoning his door and returning to his own space of consciousness.

***

October 9, 1857 - Friday Morning

Philip, mimicking a 30-year-old man, walked lightly along the sidewalk. His mind was unusually serene because of the knowledge he had acquired in the dream world.

After spending the previous evening immersing himself in the books he had purchased, Philip had gained a profound understanding not only of his role as a Dreamwalker but also of the vital knowledge required for a fledgling mentalist, as stated in 'About the Human Mentalists Book 1.'

Regarding the role of a Dreamwalker:

Dreamwalkers like him, along with other high-level mentalists, needed to soothe the minds of sleeping individuals not only for duty but also to obtain tallums. These tallums, represented by the purple crystals he saw in his space of consciousness, served as the currency in the dream world.

Tallums were generated daily by living beings based on their mental strength. The higher the mental strength, the more daily tallums they generated.

This phenomenon explained why Philip had suddenly accumulated over 30,000 tallums in his space of consciousness as these were what he had saved throughout his life.

Tallums were also obtained when a mentalist used their astral domain to calm the nightmares of sleeping individuals, providing them with pleasant dreams.

As for the common knowledge:

Philip finally learned about the human mentalist guilds, the rings he found in the two magicians, and the Blue Moon Event.

To start with the guilds, there were many. There was the Academe, represented by the University, a government-backed entity shrouded in secrecy, mental hospitals with their clandestine affiliations, and a smattering of rogue groups, often comprised of outlaws and unaffiliated mentalists.

Philip suspected that Sam and Lala came from the Academe since he met them at the university and they were actively recruiting and training in one of the university clubs.

While reading, he also understood why Sam didn't inform him about the danger of opening the door. It was because Sam didn't want someone to become a mentalist with a dangerous core memory.

The book stated that the Academe preferred those who unlocked a core memory related to happy experiences rather than those who unlocked traumatic memories, as they wanted to avoid creating unstable mentalists.

If Philip had been affected by his core memory, committed self-harm in his space of consciousness, and died or became more unhinged, Sam and his organization felt it was better to kill him to avoid future troubles.

This was also the reason behind the rise of numerous rogue guilds in Bryxton City as most of the members of these guilds were suffering from mental illnesses that proved to be dangerous not only to normal people but also to other mentalists.

As for the specifics of the guilds and their operations, Philip remained in the dark, as they were shrouded in secrecy and not included in the book.

Moving on to the rings he found, it was revealed that they were 'traveler's rings' and could only be obtained during the second full moon of the month, known as the Blue Moon. These traveler's rings acted as storage devices and could only be opened by those who possessed otherworldly powers.

Philip had also read about how a mentalist could open them, but for now, he couldn't as he had hidden the rings far from himself. He decided to take them later this afternoon and open them to see what's inside.

Aside from the 'About the Human Mentalists' Book, Philip also learned from other books he purchased about the dream citizens he encountered in the dream world.

The reason the dream world was teeming with various human-like creatures was that they were influenced by the first creature they were born as. Every living being, whether human or animal, with a thinking brain had a corresponding dream citizen born in their space of consciousness.

This was how they came into existence and moved from the space of consciousness to the dream city. Even if their counterparts died, dream citizens could persist as long as they had sustenance or the will to survive, leading to overpopulation in the city.

Unlike the living, dream citizens couldn't generate their own tallums, necessitating their roles as vendors, crafters, or dream actors in exchange for the precious crystals required to sustain them.

Every living being, mostly humans, was capable of dreaming. These dreams were influenced by two factors: external stimuli in a dreamer's life and the dream actors. These dream actors represented and acted out various elements in a dream, like the table, the trees, or even the dreamer's partner for making love.

The more significant a role a dream actor played in a dream, the more tallums they were paid when the dreamer woke up.

However, in some cases, intense memories or excellent acting by dream actors could lead to nightmares. These nightmares could be lethal not only to the dreamer but also to the dream actors within. This was why mentalists were essential to save them by soothing the nightmares.

"Moreover," Philip mused, "I read that a particularly potent nightmare can influence nearby areas, triggering a cascade of anguish and suffering."

If a guest dies from a nightmare in Alma, it can trigger a chain reaction, turning other dreams into nightmares. If this continues and without a mentalist's measure, it could lead to a catastrophe with multiple people dying in their sleep.

Suddenly, Philip halted in front of a red building with a sign reading "McRonalds" and saw Lala working inside.

He had been discreetly observing Lala's work schedule after passing the restaurant multiple times in the past. He concluded then that she usually worked at the restaurant on weekends, including Fridays.

Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, Philip prepared to enter the restaurant. He specifically came to this place as he had an experiment in mind, based on the information he had gleaned from Book 2 he purchased from Doug.

After a night of intensive studying, he had confirmed that the second level of mentalists was known as "Empaths." Most people and others in the field of metaphysics referred to them as "Psychos" because of their unique way of communicating and influencing emotions.

Empaths, as Sam had previously explained, could perceive the colors of basic human emotions. This explained why Philip felt like an open book to Sam and Lala.

'Controlling facial expressions and body language was one thing, but managing emotions required more practice and preparation.' Philip noted.

Initially, after reading the book, Philip had considered avoiding Empaths altogether. However, as he neared the end of the book, he discovered a way to bypass an Empath's powers.

This was why he was taking this risky action, to see if he could successfully execute it.