Chapter 1090: The Value of a Fool's Dream
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1090: The Value of a Fool's Dream
Setting aside her selfless concerns for Xiao Han, did Bai Yu actually want to be with her?
No.
She wanted it desperately!
However, the gap in their abilities had forced her into a cycle of constant self-reflection. She had reflexively cast herself in the role of a "burden," and without thinking further, had reached that subconscious conclusion.
But now...
In this moment of Heart Sense Resonance, after being reminded, she began to accept herself with a clear conscience. Why?
Because Xiao Han had accepted her.
The walking-on-eggshells caution was gone, as were the misgivings. She didn't need to worry about imaginary problems for Xiao Han’s sake; she only needed to let her emotions express themselves freely.
Both understood that the other could embrace them. They could show their flaws, understand each other's imperfections, accept that they could tolerate such setbacks, and then... shoulder the responsibilities of their respective roles.
This was a resonance that transcended Heart Sense.
At that moment, I turned around and looked at the four little Fool's Dreams beside me.
"Yulan, Yu Yun—you four have worked hard during this time too~"
"It wasn't hard! Not hard at all! It is our honor to contribute to everyone in the Land of Fool's Dream!" Yulan was the first to speak up as the representative.
"That's right, that's right! Besides, we think it's fun. Does Sister Xiao Han still need our help?" Yu Yun followed closely behind.
"Actually, we can leave some private space for Sister Xiao Han and Sister Bai," Yu Guo chimed in from the side.
The four little Fool's Dreams had been following me for a long time; they were no longer the ignorant creatures they once were. They could obviously see the intimacy between Sister Bai and me.
Though they couldn't quite grasp how such a relationship formed, it didn't stop them from knowing what they needed to do.
"Well... it seems you know quite a lot, don't you? Since I don't need to say it, what are you going to do next? Go back to the Land of Fool's Dream to rest, or should I let you out to play on your own?"
"Hmm... let's go out and play! I want to go to the Expansion Realm. There are many Fool's Dream sisters there, and I feel I need to go guide them on how to adapt to life in reality!" Yulan said.
"I want to go too!"
"Are you all going?" I looked at their enthusiastic faces and thought back to Mentor Dinah. "If you go over there, don't let Sister Dinah sweet-talk you into staying forever."
"How could that be possible~"
"Exactly! We admit Sister Dinah is very nice, but not nice enough to make us forget Sister Xiao Han!"
"Aww~ alright then! Just don't have too much fun over there." I stood up, gave them a few final instructions, and sent Yulan and the others to the Expansion Realm.
As for the safety of the Fool's Dreams?
The Witch Academy was a very safe place. Even if they encountered a witch with a strange personality, they could escape through Dreamification or by returning their souls to the Land of Fool's Dream.
The abilities Fool's Dreams displayed at the level of the Original Primitive Dream Realm weren't something just anyone could mess with.
Having sent Yulan and the others away, I returned to Sister Bai's side.
"Deliberately sent the Fool's Dreams away?"
"No, the Fool's Dreams have grown up. They knew to leave some private space for Sister Xiao Han and Sister Bai," I said with a beaming smile.
"The way you're acting doesn't look like you're about to do an experiment. Don't tell me you've been holding it in for too long again?"
"How could that be? Am I the kind of little witch whose head is filled with nothing but lewd, yellow trash?"
"At least in bed, you are," Sister Bai said bluntly.
"You're not much better~" I retorted just as unceremoniously.
However, I knew very well that sex wasn't what I wanted right now.
"What a pity~ I don't have any 'desires' for the moment. I actually have a very important matter that requires your cooperation, Sister Bai."
"Alright, what is it?"
"I have a concept in mind. I want to make the Dreamification talent of the Fool's Dreams benefit more witches," I explained.
"Is that even possible? We tried so many times in the Original Primitive Dream Realm, and I still haven't succeeded, have I?"
"Of course you didn't succeed. That talent's power isn't yours, Sister Bai, so naturally, you can't command it." I smiled and explained further: "It's not like the Seed of Wisdom, which allows all witches holding it to use it as an anchor to employ the derivative techniques of the Great Spellbook."
"So... you mean you want the Fool's Dreams to learn the model of the Tree of Great Knowledge and distribute their own power?" Sister Bai quickly caught on.
"In essence, yes." I nodded in confirmation. "This idea is destined to be a very complex process. The Fool's Dreams definitely won't be able to understand it on their own, so I need to write this ability into their bloodline information in a special way, turning it into an instinctive bloodline talent... much like the Sweet Dream Spell."
As I spoke, I activated the effect of the Primal Great Fool's Dream Transformation and once again took on my Fool's Dream form.
"Come~ Sister Bai. Do you want to have a Fool's Dream of your own? Let us create this concept of 'belonging'!"
* * *
Witch Academy.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the holidays had quietly slipped away.
During this period, many things had happened at the Witch Academy. For instance, the United Club's first truly functional witch battleship had finally rolled off the production line.
Over the break, the United Club hadn't actively initiated any Academy Wars. Aside from the fierce competition over the bounties for poaching new students, this holiday wasn't much different from previous ones.
Everyone in the know was conserving their strength, growing increasingly excited as the Emerald Forest World drew closer.
Following the message relayed by Cleveland, the estimated contact point between the Emerald Forest World and the Main World had already been marked on the Main World map.
It was on the continental plate where the elves resided.
Of course, it wasn't within Afuhemi Academy itself, but rather at the location of other branch elven academies.
Upon learning this news, the United Club immediately began preparing various contingency plans for war.
Even the battleship River of Blood was stationed at the border between the Witch Academy and those elven academy territories.
Between the Witch Academy and Afuhemi Academy lay a very chaotic zone, a strategic depth composed of various elven branch academies.
Originally, this geographical arrangement was intended to prevent direct land contact with the witches.
However, it was clear the Afuhemi Forest elves had overestimated the witches' interest in them; at least in the past, the Witch Academy hadn't bothered the elves much.
Consequently, the various branch elven groups in the area had fallen into internal strife as time passed.
Naturally, the hand of Afuhemi Academy was behind this; they wanted the area to remain in a state of war to serve as a buffer against their giant neighbor.
And now, the Witch Academy was finally baring its fangs toward this region.
Under Cleveland's leadership and in accordance with the collective will, they had already completed several blitzkrieg scenarios.
However, the existence of the Emerald Forest World couldn't be kept secret forever.
Before the new semester began, the Three Top Academies learned of the news.
The Witch Academy hadn't intended to hide it from the start; after all, the transcendents of the various academies weren't blind.
But that didn't stop the shock these people felt upon learning the truth.
That was an entire world!
Following the Expansion Realm, the Main World was once again facing a "calamity" that affected an entire world. Facing such a situation, they only felt a chill down their spines.
But after the chill came a massive wave of greed!
They still remembered the situation with the Expansion Realm back then; it was no different from picking up money off the ground.
Thus, the Three Top Academies and the Witch Academy all found themselves looking forward to the event with equal anticipation.
What they didn't know was...
Right now.
In the Original Primitive Dream Realm.
A great experiment was undergoing constant trials.
Using a Fool's Dream as a medium to share the power of Dreamification—such a concept was undoubtedly a "fool's pipe dream."
And I was indeed that fool, and what I was doing was indeed expounding upon the essence of dreams.
To create a connection between powers, one concept is vital: the Contract.
The power of contracts isn't exclusive to the witch race, but in the Void, the binding force of a Witch Contract is the most widely recognized concept.
Forging a contract is essentially a behavioral ritual, a mutual constraint and influence between two or more forces.
Therefore, using the Fool's Dream bloodline as a medium, I proposed the concept of a "Bloodline Contract."
However, these ideas of talent interconnection were still too crude, leading to the collapse of the Fool's Dream bloodline power. This required constant testing to find that specific critical point.
Don't be fooled by how simple this sounds; the consequence of failure was a catastrophic interruption of Dreamification!
It was a lethal outcome. I had already used the Reincarnation Spell more than once to physically resurrect Sister Bai in reality.
"This time... it will definitely work!"
I borrowed the power of the Primal Great Fool's Dream Transformation to invoke the source of my own bloodline, using it to forge a contract with Sister Bai.
At this moment, Sister Bai could also feel a strange sense of resonance, as if both parties had reached a level of bloodline fusion.
Then, she felt an uncontrollable force "covering" her through the bridge of the forged contract.
She was no stranger to this, as it was the effect transmitted by a contract rooted in bloodline.
She watched with her own eyes as her body began to turn ethereal—that was the Dreamification state unique to the Fool's Dreams!
After a long while...
"Did it work?" Sister Bai's voice echoed in the Original Primitive Dream Realm.
"Perhaps."
"But I don't feel like the Fool's Dream talent is mine to use." Sister Bai clenched her fist, speaking with some hesitation. "It feels more like a layer of power covering me, dragging me along to passively complete the effect."
"This seems to be the limit of Dreamification. It's no longer just a fusion of bloodlines, but a resonance between dream-state souls!"
In the Original Primitive Dream Realm, I, in my Fool's Dream form, floated past Sister Bai.
"Isn't this too restrictive? This kind of relationship... it completely ties the Fool's Dreams and the witches together. Not only is the risk high, but the gains don't seem worth the effort."
"Sister Bai~ set aside the practical application for a moment. At least we've tested the boundary limits of Dreamification. This is an objective fact that cannot be changed."
"I understand... but... if that's the case, are you trying to permanently bind the fate of the Fool's Dreams to the witches?"
"It's a choice, a special relationship. I've never forced any Fool's Dream to bind themselves to anyone. It will be a talent—the ability is there; it doesn't have to be used, but it must exist. Being able to share the Dreamification talent is their inherent value, but whether to contract with someone is the Fool's Dream's own choice... After all, Fool's Dreams are free. As long as a Fool's Dream is unwilling, this relationship between talents is dangerous."
"Xiao Han... why are you so obsessed with researching this ability?"
"The Fool's Dreams must have their own inherent value to have equal standing in their future interactions with witches. Otherwise, if their value is based solely on the witches' tolerance for cute things, their position will forever be that of pets. I don't want the Fool's Dreams to be pets. I want them to be... companions, friends," I explained.
Giving the Fool's Dreams value is not the same as objectifying them or measuring their existence by utility; it's about the dynamics of a complex relationship.
Just as a lazy, good-for-nothing person is destined to have no friends, admiration or dislike for a person is also a measure of value.
An individual's value is like a set of clothes; it's used to leave a first impression, to spark a desire in others to investigate further, and to establish a channel for mutual communication and understanding. If the Fool's Dreams didn't have talents that witches took seriously, would many witches truly treat them as partners of equal status?
No, they wouldn't.
Even Dinah—her attitude toward the Fool's Dreams was that of a pet owner, even showing a strong, possessive desire to dominate them.
Now.
My answer instantly cleared Sister Bai's doubts. Though it was perhaps too blunt, it was undeniably true upon closer reflection.
Not everyone possesses a near-saintly spiritual state or level of perception. Adult social interaction is a series of exchanges filled with mutual benefit; so-called admiration and rapport are merely byproducts built upon value.
I don't have the power to dictate how everyone should think or act, so I can only change myself and change the inherent value of the Fool's Dreams.
As the saying goes, personal value is for others to see, not for others to use as they please.
The same should apply to the Fool's Dreams. Shaping the correct values for them, aligning with a core they identify with, and seeking spiritual resonance—all while preventing malicious exploitation from tainting this pure friendship and emotion—this is a mandatory course to break the Fool's Dreams' fate of "becoming tools to be used."
Now, I had completed the preliminary self-value for the Fool's Dreams.
Although it would be difficult to engrave this ability into their bloodlines and turn it into their own talent and instinct, I enjoyed challenging such difficulties.