Chapter 1083: The Great Dream State Soul Essence Giveaway!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1083: The Great Dream State Soul Essence Giveaway!
The Expansion Realm.
After making an important decision, I headed over to the Nightmare Workshop.
Not much time had passed since the Nightmare Workshop moved from testing to the formal production of Dream State Soul Essence, so the total volume produced was still far from meeting my ultimate needs.
A fixed amount of the produced essence was already earmarked for the Witch sisters I had made promises to, and another portion was allocated to research on the Purification Method.
After all, those Witches spent a great deal of time and effort constantly capturing dream creatures for the workshop, not to mention maintaining the equipment. I certainly couldn't just let them work for nothing.
"Xiao Han! Oh my~ I didn't expect you to come by so soon. You didn't even give me a heads-up. Is this a surprise inspection?"
Heidi, who was stationed at the Nightmare Workshop, immediately greeted me with warm enthusiasm the moment she saw me.
This Witch, who hailed from the Purification Method research team at the Primitive Dream Laboratory, had seen the birth of the Main World’s very first Nightmare Workshop thanks to a single suggestion. Even now, many Witches still teased her about it.
As one of the maintenance Witches for the workshop, her name was frequently mentioned in the field of Dream State Life Experiments. It wasn't necessarily because she was exceptionally capable, but rather because of her sheer luck.
There was only one Nightmare Workshop, and the fact that she had managed to snag a maintenance position made many Witches envious. After all, the compensation for this job was Dream State Soul Essence!
Her original Purification Method research team received an extra batch of Dream State Soul Essence from her for their studies every cycle. How could other Witches not be jealous?
"Of course not. I'm just here to pick up some Dream State Soul Essence for an experiment," I said, waving a hand dismissively.
"An experiment? Well, I won't pry then. For small things like this, you don't need to make the trip yourself, Xiao Han. Just contact me, and I'll have it delivered to you," Heidi said confidently.
The maintenance work at the Nightmare Workshop was incredibly easy. For a Transcendent, performing repetitive daily inspections was a complete waste of talent.
Their primary role was to use their knowledge of the Purification Method to repair and periodically replace worn-out equipment. If a problem touched upon the technical level of the Incubation Purification Method, they were to notify me immediately to come and handle the repairs.
After all, they couldn't use the derivative techniques of the Great Spellbook. It wasn't that they couldn't learn them, but rather that even if they learned them, they couldn't cast them. As Heidi spoke, she handed over a summary table of the production data the Nightmare Workshop had compiled recently.
In reality, this data was automatically monitored and recorded by the local Root Network; Heidi was only responsible for correcting any errors in the data.
"This is the recent production report for the Nightmare Workshop. If you hadn't come to collect it, Xiao Han, we would have had to start expanding the storage facilities."
Currently, progress in the research of Dream State Soul Essence was very promising. To a certain extent, Dream State Soul Essence was similar to regular Soul Essence; under specific conditions, it could even form a special state similar to Soul Crystals. Because there wasn't enough data yet, the Nightmare Workshop had strict baseline requirements for the storage density of the essence.
If the Dream State Soul Essence underwent denaturation or some other uncontrollable change, it would be considered a failure on their part.
"Expanding storage? I recall the Constant Dream sealed chambers in the workshop being quite large... Oh." I understood the reason once I saw the density requirements they had set.
"Speaking of which, now that Dream State Soul Essence has been public for a while, hasn't a technique to convert it into Soul Crystals emerged yet?" I asked curiously.
I didn't think such a technique or spell would be very difficult. Back then, using a derivative of a Crystallization Spell, I had been able to use a Soul Crystal as a nucleus to gather Soul Essence and convert it into more Soul Crystals.
Theoretically, the same should be possible for Dream State Soul Essence.
As I spoke, I checked the Tree of Great Knowledge to see if there was any related information shared via the Great Knowledge Seeds. As it turned out, I actually found something!
"Of course there is. If I remember correctly... Doreen, Gillian, and even my former team have all studied the properties of Dream State Soul Essence and published several joint papers. That includes the concept of Dream-State Soul Crystals. However, our current equipment doesn't quite support experiments for the mutual conversion of Soul Essence and Soul Crystals within a dream, so we're still trying our best to avoid uncontrollable factors."
"That sounds very conservative..." I remarked.
"It's just adding a storage bay; it's not much trouble. Compared to converting all the Dream State Soul Essence into crystals just to save some space, the risk of something going wrong makes it not worth the effort. After all, this is all your important private property, Xiao Han. If an uncontrollable accident happened, it would be like losing your entire investment," Heidi explained.
"Alright, I understand..." With that explanation, it made sense. The Dream State Soul Essence belonged to me, so they naturally felt they didn't have the right to make that decision for me.
Arriving at the storage bay, I withdrew 120 units of Dream State Soul Essence based on my estimates.
I planned to conduct a life-shaping experiment on one hundred Fool's Dream within the Land of Fool's Dream.
Ever since I had made the theoretical knowledge of the Fool's Dream Bloodline Power public to the Fool's Dream, their interest in becoming true living beings and going to the real world had reached an all-time high.
So, I took out 120 units, using the amount of essence Yulan and the others used to shape a single Fool's Dream as one unit.
The number of experimental slots I had promised the Fool's Dream in their homeland was one hundred; the extra twenty units were for normal redundancy, loss, or individual variations.
One hundred and twenty units was certainly not the limit of what the Nightmare Workshop had produced during this period.
As for the rest...
Leaving it here would just mean letting it collect dust in the warehouse.
After I completed the birth of the Fool's Dream Bloodline Power, I realized that if the Fool's Dream wanted to become true living beings, they couldn't rely solely on the input of external Dream State Soul Essence, nor could they rely on me to shape every birth.
The existence of life must be a cycle—a perfect, flawless cycle from incubation to birth, and finally to death.
Ordinary life forms live within a world, and worlds have special Ley Line cycles that drive the Soul Essence cycle, allowing races to thrive through the endless loop of birth and death.
But the Fool's Dream couldn't do that yet. Therefore, I had to build a Fool's Dream Life Cycle specifically for them...
Fortunately, it wasn't complicated, because the entire Land of Fool's Dream was already a perfect Dream Life Cycle—a cycle belonging exclusively to the Fool's Dream.
Thus, the Nightmare Workshop was merely a transitional product for me. it produced Dream State Soul Essence to help me get through the initial stages of my research into Fool's Dream life.
Keeping the essence in the workshop no longer held much meaning for me.
Once I understood the principles of the life cycle, the Nightmare Workshop became an "obsolete product" in my eyes. However, its existence remained vital to other Witches who were still exploring the nature of Dream State Soul Essence and Dream Life.
"Sister Heidi, please help me dispose of the remaining Dream State Soul Essence in the workshop. Use it primarily for research into the properties of the essence and the Purification Method. I only require that the final results be shared with the Great Knowledge Seeds. I won't interfere with the rest. Is that alright?"
"Wait... what do you mean? Xiao Han, are you starting a charity?" Heidi’s brain short-circuited upon hearing such a "lavish" statement.
Though she had heard Xiao Han say similar things before, she instinctively looked at the current stockpile of Dream State Soul Essence... She couldn't even imagine the impact of releasing such a massive amount all at once!
Even if it was restricted to specific fields, it would undoubtedly cause a massive upheaval in the realm of Dream Life research.
"I understand your confusion, Sister Heidi. Let's put it this way: I am working on something far more important than this. I won't be focusing on the Dream State Soul Essence right in front of me. I'm not short on money; I only want the results," I explained.
There was one thing I didn't say: these results were actually meaningless to me. The Nightmare Workshop's ability to produce Dream State Soul Essence and my idea of constructing a "Fool's Dream Life Cycle Framework" were on two completely different levels.
Researching the basic information of Dream State Soul Essence would help all Witches—myself included—gain a deeper understanding of it.
And researching the Purification Method was to ensure that all Witches could eventually use Dream State Soul Essence, making this "material" as accessible as any basic resource.
It shouldn't be as hard to obtain as it was now.
Heidi took a deep breath. She felt a peculiar, soothing emotion rising within her, and she instinctively let go of her persistence and the confusion she didn't even know why she was holding onto. A sense of relief blossomed in her heart. Though she didn't quite know what she had understood, she felt that she really should listen to Xiao Han.
After all, this was Xiao Han's own request; she had been overstepping by interfering too much.
"Sister Heidi, have you calmed down?" I asked with a smile.
"Alright... though I don't really know why." Heidi gave a relieved smile and changed the subject. "By the way, that power just now... was that Emotion Body Cultivation? I didn't feel any mana fluctuations. That method of influencing someone's emotions is truly terrifying. I feel like... I suddenly understand everything!"
"As long as you don't mind, Sister Heidi. I don't much like arguing. Whatever I do, I certainly have my reasons—some I can share, some I can't."
"They say the thoughts of a genius are beyond others' comprehension. It seems there's a 'genius barrier' between you and me, Xiao Han. Fine~ I'll say thank you on behalf of those Witches. Whenever they're free, they love to ask me when we can give out more Dream State Soul Essence." Heidi sounded a bit helpless at the end. After all, the distribution of the essence wasn't up to her.
Asking her was less effective than asking the teams researching the Purification Method; at least they could give a rough timeline.
"But I have to ask one more time, Xiao Han. Are you sure you want to leave the task of distributing this Dream State Soul Essence to me? I think it's better if we sign a contract."
"I trust you, Sister Heidi."
"I don't trust myself! With a contract, you have a guarantee, and I have protection too, right? Please, Xiao Han!" Heidi pleaded. Even among Witches, there were sisterly bonds; if she distributed it subjectively, she would find it hard to resist the influence of those relationships.
A contract was the perfect way to deflect responsibility!
I quickly realized her point and agreed to the request.
After a brief period of busywork—drafting the contract and confirming the distribution quotas—both Heidi and I signed it, finalizing the plan.
After Heidi warmly saw me off, she sent out a single message. Before long, the Witches in the field of Dream State Soul Essence research absolutely erupted!
The Dream State Soul Essence they had been pining for was finally being given away for free!
As for the condition—sharing research data... how was that any different from a total giveaway?
At that moment, countless Witches focused on Dream Life research offered heartfelt praise to Xiao Han.
Looking across the entire Void, including the Witch race itself, they had never seen a Little Witch so charitable. Not just a Little Witch—even Transcendent Witches had never seen anything like it.
From now on, if anyone dared to speak ill of Xiao Han, they would have to answer to them!
While those Witches were celebrating, I returned to my own Dungeon World.
There, I entered the Land of Fool's Dream.
It was time to fulfill my promise to the Fool's Dream.
When I entered my Soul Dream carrying so much Dream State Soul Essence, the crowd of Fool's Dream showed intense fervor.
"I need to state this once more: life in reality may not be as beautiful as you imagine. However, beauty is not a cheap coincidence; it is something you must create with your own hands."
Once again, I described the reality of the situation to the Fool's Dream. I wasn't trying to glorify suffering, nor was I trying to say reality was perfect. For the Fool's Dream, nothing would be more real than experiencing it for themselves.
After a round of selection, I chose one hundred Fool's Dream.
This time, the techniques I used were different from those I used for Yulan and the others. Yulan and her group were the pioneers of the Fool's Dream, the result of my constant attempts to understand what the Fool's Dream life form should look like.
But these one hundred were my initial attempt to combine the Land of Fool's Dream with the construction of a Fool's Dream Life Cycle.
The [Transcendent Knowledge] fragment known as the "Holy Relic" had become the Land of Fool's Dream within my Soul Dream; it was the source from which the Fool's Dream were born.
Under the power of the Land of Fool's Dream, I used the Primal Great Fool's Dream Spell as the template for their life bloodline.
Wisdom Granting allowed the Fool's Dream to become the masters of their own consciousness and memories.
Soul Depiction shaped the most fundamental Soul Essence for them.
Life Evolution allowed their Soul Essence and bloodline information to intertwine, providing the foundation for their eventual physical bodies in reality and making the birth and use of bloodline talents possible.
This was everything I could currently do for the Fool's Dream.
As for the rest, they would need to come to reality, where I would use the Reincarnation Spell to shape their physical bodies.
But to do that, there was a prerequisite—a very important step.
The Fool's Dream, having completed the shaping of their dream-state souls, would need to rely on their own persistence to cross the boundary between dream and reality. Only then could I create "true bodies that belonged to them" in the real world.
This was not an instantaneous process. Even Yulan and Yu Yun had to try for a long time.
However, I had plenty of time to wait for their success.