Chapter 1116: A Stance is Meant to Be Put on Display!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1116: A Stance is Meant to Be Put on Display!
"That was fast... I just stepped out of the Soul Dream. I didn't expect you to be the first one at my door."
Looking at the witch who had already intercepted us, I couldn't help but want to chuckle.
This was Sheryl, the only Rebel Witch in the Main World who operated openly. She stood before me, currently occupying Yu Cha’s original body.
"Where have you been? In the entire Witch Academy, I could only sense the auras of two of your Life Clones. But your main body... it was as if you had completely vanished from the Main World."
"Hmm? You actually didn't know?" I looked at Sheryl, my gaze betraying a hint of surprise.
I hadn't hidden the concept of the Fool's Dream's dreamification. The Fool's Dreams at the branch academy were those who had already made preliminary progress in mastering dreamification. Logically, given the intelligence network of a Rebel Witch, she shouldn't have been in the dark.
"I've been busy lately. I really didn't pay much attention to whatever strange new technique you were cooking up. Don't give me that look—just because I'm a Rebel Witch doesn't mean I'm supposed to know everything," Sheryl said, a rare look of helplessness crossing her face.
"The Fool's Dreams have become true dream life." Meeting Sheryl’s eyes, I stated the results I had just achieved without any fluff.
"...You... wait, really?"
Sheryl clearly had more to say, but she choked the words back the moment I finished my sentence. After a beat, she asked in a tentative tone, "Really?"
"I have no reason to lie to anyone in this field."
"...But I didn't sense any disturbance. You have to understand, when you revived the Ancient Remnant Ice King's clan, it caused a massive stir. The birth of a never-before-heard-of dream life—the mere scent of the Primal should have been enough for every corner of the Main World to feel its arrival."
Sheryl tried to use professional terminology and examples to express her current confusion.
"Dream life does not exist within the Void life sequence," I explained.
The moment the Primal Great Fool's Dream Spell was born, the Land of Fool's Dream had indeed shaken violently. In essence, it was the same thing; the Land of Fool's Dream is the dream life sequence.
However, it existed within my Soul Dream.
If the life sequences within the Void were like a towering tree with nearly infinite branches, then my Land of Fool's Dream was like a tiny seedling that had just sprouted its first bud.
"Do you need me to give you a detailed lecture? If I were to explain the process well enough for you to understand, I don't think three months would be enough time," I said, offering a rough estimate.
"Then I'll pass. I don't think I'm qualified to listen. You've been missing from the Main World for nearly three months as it is, so I'd rather—"
"Wait!" I immediately interrupted Sheryl, catching a problem in her words. "Three months? I've been gone from reality for three months?"
After asking, I immediately synchronized with my Life Clone's time sense. To my shock, it really had been nearly three months!
Before, I had felt that the matter of the Fool's Dream was of the utmost importance. No matter how much time it took, any useful inspiration was worth pursuing.
And just like that, three months had slipped by?!
"Are you confused?"
"It seems so... I lost my perception of time within the dream. Even my seventh sense, the time sense, couldn't help me accurately anchor to reality's time while I was in there..."
"Did you go to the Primitive Dream Realm?"
"It was actually the Soul Dream," I corrected.
"The Soul Dream is a product of the Great Soul Subject. In essence, it's similar to a mental space. It shouldn't have caused you to lose your Time Sense to that extent, right?"
"No matter how much the Soul Dream resembles a mental space, its suffix is still 'dream.' What if it wasn't just my consciousness that entered the Soul Dream, but all of me?"
"All of you entered..." Sheryl paused, then a concept suddenly struck her. "You were trying that dreamification the Fool's Dreams use?"
"I didn't expect you to know about that."
"I did look into it, but I didn't make the connection just now. When the Fool's Dreams suddenly manifested that kind of talent, how could I not pay attention?" Sheryl spoke, her face unable to suppress a flicker of shock. "So, you've mastered the ability of dreamification?!"
"No, saying I've mastered it isn't quite accurate. It's more that the Fool's Dreams have mastered it, and I simply possess the Primal Great Fool's Dream Spell," I corrected.
"Primal Great Fool's Dream Spell? Don't you have the Authority of Transformation?"
"Oh, the Authorities of Transformation and Summoning merged into one, resulting in the Primal Great Fool's Dream Spell," I said with a shrug, as if it weren't a particularly big deal.
"Then... can a spell like the Fool's Dream Spell be spread and learned? If someone learns it, can they derive the dreamification ability from it?" Sheryl asked directly, not hiding her primary concern.
Even if she didn't know much about the academic field, as a powerhouse, her intuition regarding special abilities was incredibly sharp.
"Unfortunately, the Primal Great Fool's Dream Spell doesn't have the effects of a general spell. To reach that level, the entry threshold is the Great Spellbook level. So, while it can be learned, it cannot be spread." My answer immediately extinguished the spark of excitement in Sheryl's heart.
"Is that so? I suppose..." Sheryl sighed, accepting the explanation. "That ability is still too far beyond the norm, Xiao Han. You need to hurry up and advance to the Transcendent level. Quite a few Transcendent Witches are already aware of the Fool's Dream's innate ability, and they are very envious."
"There are witches who want to research my Fool's Dreams?" I narrowed my eyes slightly. I had considered this possibility, but I had always assumed that with backers like the Academy Dean and the Elders of the World-Casting Courtyard, no witch would dare harbor such designs.
"It's obvious, isn't it? I don't know the specific value of that ability, but for certain groups, it's even more revolutionary than the Dream State Soul Essence you prepared," Sheryl said. "So, Xiao Han, you need to become a Transcendent quickly. I know you have the Academy Dean and the Elders standing behind you, but many witches in the academy don't care about that. If some of them act recklessly and strike first, what will you do?"
"...I understand. Thank you for the warning, Sister Sheryl," I said, pursing my lips.
"By the way, what do you plan to do about those Fool's Dream bodies? While you were away, some witches used certain methods to obtain a few Fool's Dream husks for research."
"Witches actually made a move?!" Hearing Sheryl say this, I knew that before the Fool's Dreams became true life, their husks were meaningless. However, that kind of behavior... was definitely crossing a line!
"That's why I'm warning you. Not all witches in the academy are friendly, and not all of them support you. Even your spirit of selfless dedication isn't something every witch likes. You can't make everyone like you."
"I don't need every witch to like me. I just call them 'Sister' out of politeness."
"So that 'Sister Sheryl' just now was also just a polite address?" Hearing my words, Sheryl's mouth twitched. She had actually felt a little secret joy when Xiao Han changed how he addressed her!
"That's different. That one was a heartfelt thank you," I immediately corrected myself.
"Fine~ I won't press the issue. You haven't answered my question yet. Do you mind what those witches did?"
"I mind. I mind very much! Even though those Fool's Dream bodies are essentially just empty shells with no meaning, taking them without asking is way over the line! It's already at the level where I need to write their names in my little grudge book."
"You actually have a little book for that?"
"I do now."
"Alright, so what do you plan to do? You're just a little witch; you'll be at a disadvantage against them unless you want to make a big scene. But... are you sure you want to go that far?"
"Why not? If I don't make a scene, how will others know how much I care about the Fool's Dreams?" I said firmly.
Some things cannot be allowed to start. You can't just let things slide using a lack of power as an excuse.
A stance is meant to be put on display for people to see!
"An unexpected answer. I thought you wouldn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, especially since you said yourself that it doesn't really affect anything."
"It's not that I don't have a temper. It's just that I rarely get provoked."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"Go find Dinah," I said.
After all, Dinah had been helping me look after the Fool's Dreams. I wasn't going to interrogate her, but rather to find out exactly how many Fool's Dream husks had been taken.
* * *
As I appeared at the Witch Cat Cafe, I noticed it was a bit quieter than usual.
Of course, "quiet" wasn't exactly accurate; it had simply returned to the level it was at before the Fool's Dreams arrived. A place like the Witch Cat Cafe was a form of social interaction that witches enjoyed, and it usually had a fixed clientele.
The Fool's Dreams were indeed cute, but the cafe was more about a specific kind of social niche.
There, I finally saw Dinah.
The moment she saw me, Mentor Dinah began wailing about how she couldn't keep the cafe open without the Fool's Dreams. If I hadn't known she didn't care about the revenue, I might have been fooled.
However, her exaggerated performance was mainly to express how much she missed them.
Once she realized that the witch accompanying me was the famous Rebel Witch of the academy, Dinah turned serious.
We quickly got down to business.
"I'm sorry, Xiao Han. It's because we weren't capable enough. If I were stronger, I wouldn't have failed to protect even the Fool's Dream husks..."
"It's not your fault, Sister Dinah. Profit moves the heart, and I acted too suddenly in this matter as well."
"Sigh... But Xiao Han, is it true what you said? That those Fool's Dream husks don't have much value?"
"Yes. Before the Fool's Dreams became true life, the husks were just vessels for their consciousness. But to resort to theft... that's just too much!"
"Exactly! It's too much!" Dinah echoed.
"So... how many Fool's Dream husks were lost in total?" I took the opportunity to ask.
"Well, I've kept track. I created individual files for every Fool's Dream. The ones missing are Yu Xia, Yu He, and Yu Sha. A total of three bodies were lost. And the locations where they went missing were different—Yu Xia was even taken from the branch academy in the Expansion Realm! It's absolutely detestable! It must be some crazed witches who heard about the Fool's Dream's miraculous dreamification talent and let their greed take over!"
"Three of them?" Unlike Dinah's emotional outburst, I silently noted the number of thefts.
Fortunately, the number wasn't high. But three... that was enough to show the severity of the situation!
One could be an isolated incident. Two could be a trend. Three... that was a serious problem!
"So, what do you plan to do?" Sheryl asked with interest from the side. She was actually looking forward to seeing my move.
Would I go confront them directly, or ask Dean Mei to intervene?
"I... sigh..."
I let out a sigh. If I wanted to make a big scene, it would inevitably involve many witches. While this felt a bit like manipulation... what if they were willing participants?
"What's wrong? Can't think of a way?"
"..." I glanced at Sheryl, who was already enjoying the show, then turned my gaze to Dinah. "Sister Dinah, I recall you have a lot of connections and are part of many gossip circles, right?"
"Ahem... what gossip circles? That's an intelligence hub! The Witch Cat Cafe is a place where information converges. But yes, my network is quite extensive... Xiao Han, what are you planning?"
"Can you help me spread a piece of news? Say that I've made a breakthrough in the field of dream life, and that my appearance this time is because I intend to perform a technical iteration on the Nightmare Workshop."
"Huh?" Dinah looked at me in confusion, then it clicked. "The Nightmare Workshop... oh! That one! Wait... Xiao Han, what are you... trying to do?"
The Nightmare Workshop!
Although many witches weren't entirely clear on the details, it was a topic of intense discussion in the fields of life, the Primitive Dream Realm, and the emerging field of dream life.
Even as an academic layperson, Dinah knew just how many witches were eyeing that thing based on gossip alone.
In the field of dream life, Xiao Han was practically a saint!
"I'm not doing anything special. I'm just going to do what I was originally planning to do. But now, having suddenly heard that three of my Fool's Dream husks were stolen, I'm feeling quite distressed. I might have to postpone this plan for a while. I need some time to adjust my emotions and organize my thoughts. I might even find some other inspiration during this time, so the technical iteration of the Nightmare Workshop might have to be put on the back burner for a bit."
"...?! No, Xiao Han... are you for real?" Dinah's body jerked back after hearing my words.
This excuse was so full of holes—wasn't the implication a bit too obvious?!