Chapter 1117: The Fool's Dreams Have Grown Up... I Can't Keep Them Anymore (Sob)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1117: The Fool's Dreams Have Grown Up... I Can't Keep Them Anymore (Sob)
"Of course I'm serious. It’s not like I don’t have a temper. It’s just that if I do this, I’ll have to say sorry to those witch sisters."
"Sorry? I think that’s completely unnecessary," Sheryl interjected from the side. "From your perspective, you’re using them. But from theirs, you’re giving them an opportunity to build a relationship with you. You wouldn't even need to use the Nightmare Workshop as a threat."
"Do both of you see through things that clearly?" Dinah grumbled.
"Just a bit of everyday experience. Xiao Han, do you get it now? The fact that you could even come up with this line of thinking is actually quite interesting~"
"Thanks." I looked at Sheryl. I understood the logic she was explaining; I just didn't know how to apply it myself.
Or rather, I didn't have a clear grasp of the "limit" in many situations. I knew they were willing to help me and that I only needed an excuse, but I didn't know the extent of their willingness or if they would harbor any resentment.
"Hehe~ No need for thanks," Sheryl said with a smile before continuing. "Since you plan to use this excuse, are you sure you want to go through with it? I mean, can you really iterate and upgrade the Nightmare Workshop’s Dream State Soul Essence preparation technique? If you use this as an excuse and it’s just an excuse that you can't deliver on, it will cause some unpleasantness."
"Of course I can. I’ve found a brand-new method; I just need to convert that method into a technique." I spoke with confidence and pulled a soul crystal from my storage equipment.
Under the influence of my Soul Depiction technique, the soul crystal dissolved into soul essence, churned before me, and then sublimated into soul aura.
Dinah and Sheryl fixed their eyes on the soul essence in my hand. Under their intense scrutiny, it simply vanished.
A clump of soul had vanished, not dissipated!
"This is..."
"The previous Nightmare Workshop used the companion nightmares of dream creatures from the primitive dream realm as raw materials. But this time, I’ve crossed that threshold. I’ve achieved the transformation between soul essence and Dream State Soul Essence, and between souls and dream-state souls. Compared to the preparation techniques of the Incubation Purification Method, this is a total dimensional strike."
I explained it to the two witches. It didn't involve too much specialized knowledge; Dinah knew enough just from her love of gossip, and Sheryl had specifically studied these concepts before.
"The clump of soul in my hand didn't disappear just now. It simply went to the shallow layers of the primitive dream realm."
As I spoke, I snapped my fingers. The Dream Domain Order fluctuated, creating a small area of dream overlap in reality.
Then, the dream-state soul that existed within the dream reappeared before their eyes.
When I snapped my fingers, Dinah might not have reacted, but Sheryl’s heart jolted. After all, she had suffered in the Expansion Realm before. She only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she could resist this level of shallow dream overlap just by steadying her mind.
"Xiao Han, you’ve mastered controllable... hm?"
"What are you two talking about? What has Xiao Han mastered?" Dinah still didn't understand the significance of this dream overlap.
She only knew that while the ability to overlap dreams was rare, it wasn't unheard of. It didn't seem strange that Xiao Han could master it—after all, she was the little witch rumored to have pioneered the "Dream Life Path." How could she not have a few dream-related tricks up her sleeve?
Only Sheryl knew that this wasn't an ordinary dream overlap. This was a miniature Dreamscape Calamity born from a controllable Dream Domain Order!
It was as terrifying as using a high-consumption Gale Spellbook capable of leveling a city just to conjure a refreshing summer breeze.
"Oh! It’s just a little trick to create dream overlaps whenever I want~ After all, I’m a little witch who’s made some achievements in the primitive dream realm. Knowing a few tricks is nothing," I explained.
Back when the concept of the Dream Domain was first born, Sister Bai needed a breakthrough point for dream overlap to master the ability, and she had even planned on whether she should carry around alchemy items that generated dream overlaps.
Spells related to dreams were extremely rare, even for Transcendent Witches.
"Yes, exactly. I was just a bit surprised, since even I haven't mastered such a method," Sheryl added.
Though Dinah could sense something was slightly off, facing a Rebel Witch, she felt there was no need to press for details.
After Dinah finished her questions, they noticed I was still pulling out soul crystals.
"Xiao Han, what are you doing? You don't need that many just to give us a demonstration, right? Besides, we don't understand this stuff. Showing us more won't mean anything."
"I just want to take this opportunity to call the Fool's Dreams out to play," I said, glancing at Dinah.
Then I beckoned, sending out a call. Within seconds, Yulan was the first to emerge from the Land of Fool's Dream, followed closely by Yu Yun, Yu Guo, and Yu Xing.
"Sister Xiao Han~ Hehe!"
The moment the four little ones came out, they were filled with uncontrollable joy! Only Yu Xing remained slightly more reserved, while Yu Guo was a bit shy.
"You four, don't get too excited yet. First, I'm going to complete your life metamorphosis."
I manipulated the four clumps of dream-state soul, letting them surge into the bodies of the four little ones.
This alone was far from enough to turn an ordinary Fool's Dream into a true living being, but the four following me were the pioneers of the Fool's Dream race, standing at the very forefront of dream life!
They possessed a Dream State Soul Essence that was closest to true life, along with dreamified bodies. I didn't even need to use many biological materials to shape their forms.
After completing the inscription of the Fool's Dream racial concept and the bloodline information of their life essence, they were born into the Main World as true dream lives under the "Incubation Derivation" effect of my reincarnation spell.
The instant their existence manifested in reality, an invisible force suddenly shuddered!
But before Sheryl or Dinah’s expressions could even change, I abruptly cut it off!
The Ley Line Shackles.
The moment the Fool's Dreams were born into the Main World, the world tried to claim them. Unfortunately for it, the Main World Consciousness failed.
Without the protection of the Ley Line Shackles, a World Curse descended upon these "invading lives" that were below the Transcendent level and couldn't be driven away.
"There's no need for a World Curse!" I said.
It was as if I were speaking directly to the consciousness of the world, though I knew well that it might not hear or understand me.
Therefore, if I wanted to stop it, I had to use a method the world could "understand."
After that trade I made with the world consciousness, I had been thoroughly "blessed and protected" by it. Even without alchemy items to suppress world misfortune, I wouldn't be cursed.
The way to make the world understand was... to let it know that the Fool's Dreams were a race under my protection.
The World's Blessing might sound grand, but in essence, it was a type of permission granted by the world. I only needed to cover the Fool's Dreams with my own life aura, and the world would perceive them as "my property."
That was the principle. If the Main World didn't show me respect, the worst-case scenario was just giving the Fool's Dreams alchemy items to resist the curse.
"These are true Fool's Dreams?!"
The two witches watched the transformation that occurred in that brief instant, marveling repeatedly.
Sheryl had originally intended to step in and resist the World Curse—after all, such a thing wasn't difficult for a Transcendent, and for a Rebel Witch like her, it was child's play—but in the end, she stayed her hand.
Because... I had succeeded.
The Ley Line Shackles proved that the Fool's Dreams were truly born; the World Curse proved that they were recognized by the world.
The Fool's Dreams were now individuals fully acknowledged by the world! Though for now, they also had a very protective little witch watching over them.
"It's okay, it's okay~ You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
I immediately began to comfort the four little Fool's Dreams. This was the first time they had felt malice from the world itself, and it had truly frightened them.
Once they were calmed down, the four of them sat in a row on the sofa. But before long, they were climbing all over me—on my shoulders, in my lap, and in my arms.
Experiencing reality as a living being for the first time was incomparable to the old feeling of having their consciousness locked inside a shell.
Just the instinctive perception through the five senses rooted in their life essence was enough to make them feel immense novelty!
With my Heart Sense, I could also directly feel the Fool's Dreams' curiosity, which was practically off the charts.
"Xiao Han... your, your creation speed is that fast? Then can I ask you for a favor? How about letting Yu Cha out to get some fresh air too?" Sheryl and Dinah looked at each other after seeing Yulan and the others, and then Sheryl spoke up first.
"And Yu Le! Xiao Han! Sister Dinah has never really begged you for anything, but can you let Yu Le come out sooner? I'll do anything!"
"It's not impossible, but I have to ask them what they think." I wasn't surprised by this question they had been holding in for so long. I simply called out to Yu Cha and Yu Le within the Land of Fool's Dream.
However, along with Yu Le and Yu Cha, many other Fool's Dreams emerged as well. They were the ones who had spent time in reality before.
In this small area of dream overlap, the figures of the Fool's Dreams nearly filled the entire space.
"Alright, alright! Everyone, don't be in such a hurry! It won't be fun if you wander into the deep primitive dream realm by mistake!" I hurriedly stepped forward, stuffing these playful Fool's Dreams back into the Land of Fool's Dream one by one.
Yu Le and Yu Cha were surrounded by quite a few Fool's Dreams. Yu Cha, in particular, had created many dream constructs within the soul dream—mostly cameras and photos—showing many Fool's Dreams what the real world actually looked like.
This had attracted many Fool's Dreams who usually stayed cooped up in Fool's Village, giving them the desire to go out and see the world.
"Yu Cha~ Yu Le, do you two want to be born as true dream lives and stay by their side?" I looked at the dream phantoms of the two and pointed toward the two witches.
"Mhm! Of course I do!" Yu Cha nodded immediately, waving her empty hands.
Having left the soul dream, she couldn't manipulate dream information at will here in the dream overlap. Normally, she would be holding the dream construct of that little camera Sheryl had custom-made for her.
Sheryl also reached out and shook the small camera hanging around the neck of the Yu Cha shell in her arms.
"I'm willing too!" Yu Le said, landing on Dinah’s shoulder in her dream consciousness form.
"See, see! Yu Le is willing too! Xiao~ Han~" Dinah added hastily.
"Fine. Since the Fool's Dreams are willing to follow you, then you two sisters better not let down their trust and expectations." Seeing the two Fool's Dreams agree so readily, a strange feeling welled up in my heart, but I quickly brushed it aside.
"Come, give me the original bodies of the Fool's Dreams." I stood up and spoke to Sheryl.
"Huh? You still need their original bodies?" Dinah asked in surprise. She wasn't like Sheryl, who carried the Fool's Dream shell around with her.
"It's not a hard requirement. If you can't find them, preparing an equivalent amount of life materials is fine. I'm not in a rush anyway, go ahead." As I spoke, I took the body of Yu Cha from Sheryl.
the only purpose of this body was to serve as a casting material to make up for the fact that my reincarnation spell couldn't create a physical body out of thin air. Besides, there was no point in keeping a shell like this around to be an eyesore.
"Oh... oh! I'll go right now!"
"Wait! Leave Yu Le here! She’s just a dream consciousness; if she goes too far, she’ll fall into the deep primitive dream realm. While she won't necessarily be in danger, it’s a huge pain for me to go and fish her back out!" I quickly warned them. I was mainly reminding Yu Le—seeing how she was about to follow Dinah out, she really had no idea what "danger" meant!
Looking at the reckless duo of Yu Le and Dinah, I suddenly felt that they were actually quite a good match.
But the feeling vanished in a flash.
I turned to Sheryl and began the life incubation for Yu Cha first.
Seeing how complex my operations looked this time, Sheryl couldn't help but ask, "Why is it so complicated this time?"
"Um... let's wait for Dinah to get back and I'll explain it to both of you. I have a feeling she’ll ask too." Just as I said that, Dinah came rushing back.
When she arrived with Yu Le’s shell and a massive pile of special, fresh biological materials, I realized why a simple teleportation had taken her so long.
"Just the shell would have been enough. You didn't need to prepare so much."
"Better safe than sorry~" Dinah said with a grin, not minding at all.
Then her gaze fell upon the large "egg" gradually taking shape in front of me.
"Uh... what's going on? Why did those four little ones just get born, but when it's Yu Cha's turn, she becomes an egg?" As expected, Dinah asked the question.
"Because the four following me are the pioneers of the Fool's Dreams. They are the ones who sacrificed the most and contributed the most to the entire race, and they are the closest to the concept of life. Therefore, they could be converted into true lives directly."
"But Yu Cha, Yu Le, and all the other Fool's Dreams must be hatched from the very beginning through my derived 'Incubation Derivation' technique."
I slowly caught the large Fool's Dream egg in front of me and solemnly placed it into Sheryl’s hands.
"You must take good care of her. When she becomes a true dream life and crosses the boundary of dreams to be born into reality, that is when she will break out of her shell. During this time, you can talk to her, but it will be difficult for her to respond."