Chapter 265: Entering the Fool Village Secret Realm and the Adorable Fool Dream Clan
“These supplies should be sufficient, right?”
I counted the items we had just purchased, ranging from various canned foods to instant self-heating meals. We prepared quite a bit, even repurchasing tents and clothing, which took up a large area in our storage equipment.
“Let’s get some alchemical items and potions for protection as well. Once we get there, all our spells will be exchanged, and having these will ensure we know what to do in case something happens,” Bai Yu suggested at that moment. Since the total cost of these items wasn’t too high, it was naturally better to be well-prepared.
“That’s true.”
I nodded along. Although the guide mentioned there wouldn’t be much danger and that the locals were quite friendly, we couldn’t just hope to gamble our lives on others.
After some searching, we finally completed our shopping journey.
Looking at all the items in the storage equipment, I felt that Sister Bai didn’t genuinely need these things, but rather enjoyed the fun of shopping with me.
Now that our shopping desires were satisfied, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal before heading to the Witch Secret Realm Association together.
Accepting the task of Wisdom Enlightenment was quite troublesome; first, we had to take the task, show the task proof to register the team information, and after completing that, a senior responsible for the Fool Village Secret Realm would come to explain the situation to us.
Of course, the most important thing was to witness our signing of the exchange contract, which was crucial.
“Please sign the contract. Once you enter the Fool Village Secret Realm, do not harm the locals, namely the little sprites of the Fool Dream Clan, and do not deliberately destroy the environment within the secret realm. Just a reminder, this secret realm hasn’t been visited for some time, but it’s possible that others may come in later, so don’t engage in fights if you encounter anyone else.”
“Okay.”
Sister Bai and I nodded in agreement and then took the pen and the contract. Naturally, we needed to read its content; this wasn’t like the terms to be checked in a game, but a contract related to our lives!
The senior responsible for the Fool Village Secret Realm noticed how seriously we were reading the contract and didn’t think it was strange, as contracts shouldn’t be signed lightly. Who knows if this was a slave contract?
After confirming the content with Sister Bai and ensuring everything was correct, we signed the contract together.
As soon as the contract took effect, the parchment instantly turned to ashes, and an invisible force was applied to me. Under my spirit vision, I could see that my spellbook rack spellbook was being “taken away” by this force, along with the other spells within the spellbook rack.
At that moment, my originally silver-white long hair lost its color and turned into black long hair, and even my red pupils returned to their original state.
“Ugh… I almost forgot about the disguise spell…”
I looked at my body reverting and quickly realized that I had also lost the memory shelf spellbook. I could sense that the unique space built by this spellbook was still intact and not shattered, but I couldn’t access it…
Oh well… I almost forgot about the memory shelf… It’s also a spellbook, but the spell effects from the spellbook were still intact.
This meant that the exchange contract merely took the spellbook in form, but the spellbook itself still remained with me, and the effects of the memory shelf constructed with my mental power and magic were still here, which was quite telling.
It seemed that this trip into the secret realm would cause me quite a bit of trouble… With the contents of the memory shelf missing, many things started to blur in my mind.
At this moment, I also realized how important my belongings were.
“Huh? You… you’re Yang Yuelan?” the senior receiving Sister Bai and me asked in confusion upon seeing me, though her emotions were not overly excited.
I nodded slightly as a form of admission.
“Alright, lately we haven’t seen you active. Many people thought your talent had run out.”
“I’ve been studying lately; after all, I’m a new student and need to focus on learning. Causing trouble won’t help me learn anything.” I shook my head as a response to such doubts.
“That’s true; I heard that Tan Han, who has been quite popular recently, is also targeted by several upperclassmen, though her methods are quite good.”
“Is that so? Then I wish her good luck.” I chatted briefly and then headed with Sister Bai to the teleportation array.
“Teleporting from here will take you to the Fool Village. I wish you a smooth journey. If you want to come back, just activate the teleportation array there directly.”
After speaking, the senior activated the teleportation array for us, and then I felt a wave of dizziness. It was entirely different from the feeling I experienced before when teleporting to the secret realm.
“Ugh… hiss…”
I held my head, slowly adjusting to this sensation while forcing down the urge to vomit, and began to rise slowly.
Gradually, as my hand continuously rubbed my forehead and inhaled a refreshing breath through my nostrils, the slight dizziness faded.
“Um… Xiao Han, are you alright?”
“I’m fine…”
I opened my eyes and looked around at the dramatically changed environment, lush and deep green, with abundant trees. On close inspection, I could even smell the humidity in the air.
Then I saw Sister Bai looking a bit unwell like me after the teleportation.
“Sister Bai, do other secret realms also have such peculiar sensations when teleporting?” I asked curiously since my experience was unlike this one. Could it be that this secret realm is old, and the teleportation array is dilapidated?
“No… it might be that this Fool Village Secret Realm is quite special,” Sister Bai shook her head to keep herself alert, then took out a bottle of potion. However, she didn’t immediately take it for herself but handed it to me.
“Thank you…”
I took the potion and drank it. The effect of the potion slid smoothly down my throat, refreshing like chewing mint, and a cooling sensation rushed to my head, washing away the last remnants of discomfort.
“Ah~ that feels good…” I shook the remaining half bottle and looked at Sister Bai, “Sister Bai, do you want some?”
“Um… okay.” Sister Bai nodded at the small bottle I handed back, not being polite, and directly drank the shimmering liquid.
“It really is nice; preparing some potions was indeed the right choice,” Sister Bai nodded.
I noticed that Sister Bai seemed to be savoring the taste of the potion and echoed her sentiments.
“Huh? You… you are guests from outside?”
At that moment, both Sister Bai and I heard such a voice and instantly reacted.
The sound was coming from above.
I looked up at the giant, unrecognizable thing that looked like roots or vines, and a cute figure popped out, curiously staring at us with wide eyes.
“That’s the little sprite,” Sister Bai said.
“Not a little sprite! I am from the Fool Dream Clan; don’t call us little sprites!”
I looked at this little one before me with some curiosity, as the image was overlapping with my spirit vision, revealing a different picture.
Indeed, the Fool Dream Clan here is not simple; it seems… at least they are not ordinary beings.
Also, the environment here gave me a different feeling; everything here was real yet not quite real, existing in a way that differed from reality.
But it wasn’t like the nesting space of the Witch Academy that overlays reality into a dollhouse format.
“Okay, then may I ask what your name is?” I asked kindly.
“Me? My name is Yu Miao. I’m the keeper here today, checking for any guests. Today is truly lucky! Two guests arrived at once! Would you need Yu Miao to be your guide?” Yu Miao enthusiastically asked, her tiny hands resting on her small face, her smile brightening her whole face.
“Yes, we need it very much. This is our first time here, so we’ll trouble you,” Sister Bai spoke before I could.
“Wonderful! This is the first time I’ve acted as a guide!” Yu Miao jumped down, and her petite body nimbly landed on the ground.
At that moment, I had many things to consider, like the extra spellbook inside me after entering the Fool Village Secret Realm, which is the meditation spellbook.
Also, this Yu Miao said she was a first-time guide, which posed significant questions: has this secret realm existed long enough that she hasn’t guided before? Does this mean that the Fool Dreams here will pass on to the next generation?
Or does this mean new Fool Dreams are born in some special manner?
The information indicates that these Fool Dreams all manifest as girls, meaning that if they are to have offspring, the possibility of natural reproduction is slim.
“By the way, guest, I still don’t know your names. Can you tell me? I’ll introduce your names to the other Fool Dreams in the village! And my friends too!”
“I’m Bai Yu, and this is Yang Yuelan beside me.”
“Bai Yu… you are Yang Yuelan…” Yu Miao counted on her fingers while remembering our names.
“Yes, just call me Xiao Han,” I added.
“Huh? Xiao Han? Yang Yuelan… you have two names?”
“Uh… Xiao Han is my nickname; don’t you think it’s more convenient to call me Xiao Han?”
“That’s a convenient second name, right?” Yu Miao asked, looking up.
“Yes… that should be correct.” I sighed.
Just as the information indicated, while we could communicate, there was a generation gap, and it manifested in such a peculiar place. Perhaps it was a difference in understanding; there was no concept of nicknames here.
“Alright, then I’ll introduce myself to my friends using both names! Though that’s a bit of a hassle…”
“Never mind, just call me Xiao Han; I’m more accustomed to that name.”
“Okay, then it’s Xiao Han!” Yu Miao nodded, confirming the name.
At that moment, Sister Bai and I exchanged glances, not delving further into that aspect, though I still had many questions to ask.
“By the way, Yu Miao, you said you have many friends, but what about your parents and family?”
“Parents? Family? I don’t have parents. Everyone is my family and friends!”
“I see… So, Yu Miao, do you know how you were born?” I continued to ask.
“Uh? This… I…”
“Sorry, you don’t have to answer that question if it’s uncomfortable.” I quickly interjected upon seeing her awkward expression.
“It’s not that I can’t answer; I just don’t know… But Xiao Han, you can ask the Village Head. She should know a lot; she is the most powerful Fool Dream in our village!”
“Still a Village Head?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise but realized it wasn’t too unexpected, considering this was Fool Village.
“Of course! You can find the Village Head for anything! I’ll take you to our village, and the first stop is to meet the Village Head!” Yu Miao said cheerfully.
Then she led us away from this “birthplace,” crossing ditches and streams, stepping on moss-covered giant stones, and walking on decayed wooden bridges.
This truly was a rainforest area, and the path was quite difficult, but luckily, the benefits of witch transformation helped improve my body, along with a pauldron given by Sister Bai, which had a body-strengthening solidification spell.
Sister Bai, however, appeared very comfortable, indicating her endurance was quite good, at least much better than mine.
Actually, I could ride a broom here, but I didn’t use it. Traversing the rainforest was a rare experience, especially since Sister Bai was accompanying me.
However, as we progressed, I began to notice many “discordant” things within this rainforest, such as artificially built houses. It was obvious these were homes for our kind, but they now lay abandoned in the rainforest, overrun by countless vines and green plants, with trees even piercing through the roofs.
“Yu Miao, what are those buildings?” I asked.
“Oh, I know that! I heard those were the homes left by past guests, but they have all fallen into disrepair now. Such a pity…”
“I see…”
I looked at the evidently small Yu Miao, her clothes made entirely from natural materials, moving through the rainforest without a speck of dirt, while we were quite the opposite. We had small scrapes and scratches now; if only the Cleaning Spell were handy, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
“Yes! I heard from the Village Head that past guests helped us build houses in the rainforest. Unfortunately, those buildings were quickly swallowed by the rainforest. They aren’t even as functional as the small houses we wove ourselves.”
“Swallowed by the rainforest?” I glanced at the distant ruins; that “swallowed” seemed to mean just that, huh?
Could this rainforest be rejecting foreign objects?
“Yes! Just like those houses. Although they seemed solid to live in, they quickly cracked and collapsed, overrun with moss and vines.”
“Alright…”
I silently followed her, continuously gathering information, as the Wisdom Enlightenment task required us to unravel the secrets of this secret realm!
But it felt as if there were secrets everywhere here: the rainforest, the Fool Dream Clan, the Village Head I hadn’t yet met, and the meditation spellbook I had just acquired.
Along the way, I was also studying the meditation spellbook. It seemed to be merely a basic, low-level spellbook. Although Sister Bai described her friends feeling like they were using the Witch Meditation Method, I was very aware of the vast differences between them.
I clearly understood that the Witch Meditation Method drew upon the power of dreams, while the meditation spell I had was different. It was a spellbook that, when used, produced spell effects, unlike the Witch Meditation Method, which was a practice for cultivating mental power.
I would have to find an opportunity to use the Earth Vein System to deconstruct this spellbook later. I wonder if it can connect to the Earth Vein here… it should be possible, right?
Such matters could wait until later.
Before long, Yu Miao led me to an archway resembling tree roots. The terrain here was uneven, likely due to the tree root systems.
Here, I saw more various buildings that were already integrated into the rainforest. Just looking at them, I could imagine what the first batch of seniors had done here.
Naturally, they had done everything, even attempting to help rebuild their village, while their ideas revolved around various methods of trying to unlock the secrets within this secret realm.
But everyone had failed.
I believe my intelligence wasn’t as high as that of all those seniors combined, and I didn’t have confidence in cracking the secret realm either.
What truly attracted me to come here was the name of the task “Wisdom Enlightenment.” If I could become smarter faster, then I would avoid many detours in the future.
Of course, my strongest trump card remained my spirit vision, which allowed me to see through the essence of this world. Even though I had benefited extensively from it—magical modifications to spellbooks and their derivatives—under Teacher Ji’s reminders and my understanding, I had not thoroughly mastered spirit vision. There were still many secrets within it that I was currently unable to explore.
Thinking about the fate of those innate spirit vision users, perhaps the reason I hadn’t gone mad was that I hadn’t accessed the true power of spirit vision?
“We’ve arrived! This is our Fool Village~”
