Chapter 299: Deeply Trapped Consciousness in Dreams
“I don’t know, it’s just that you might think this matter will be resolved by the academy, while I feel that it’s not as simple as it appears on the surface.”
“What? Do you want to drag me into the water to investigate this matter?” I asked tentatively. Although I hadn’t seen Tan Han for a while, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she had undergone a… wonderful change, hard to describe.
“You haven’t changed, you still talk to me so directly. So, are you interested?” Tan Han asked bluntly.
“Before I answer, I want to ask what made you feel the need to investigate this matter?”
“Is this answer very important to you?”
“Not important, just asking casually.” I waved my hand lightly as if I was just making small talk.
“Then I’m sorry, I might not be able to explain the situation directly.” At that moment, Tan Han outright refused to answer my question.
“Then can I ask what means you want to use for your investigation? To be blunt, if it’s just some child’s play, it would be a waste of my time, and I won’t agree to it.” I shook my head, surprised that Tan Han would refuse to answer. It seemed she had her own secrets, but that wouldn’t stop me from probing a bit more.
As for going into dreams, even without Tan Han, I was determined to go. It was related to too many things concerning me.
“Those people are not sleeping; their consciousness must be active somewhere else, right?”
“Mm? You…” I was taken aback that Tan Han responded to me with such a tone, as if she had certain certainty that I would know.
But when I realized this, I understood that I seemed to be running out of time.
“You really know.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Also, what do I know?” I pretended to be clueless, but I realized that it seemed unnecessary to pretend.
In response to my act, a fleeting look of discontent crossed Tan Han’s face, fast enough that I thought it was an illusion. However, the next moment she didn’t rush to expose my lie but began to recount her own experiences.
“In fact, I was at the scene when the sleeping curse truly took effect. That friend of mine, who usually plays well with me, told me the day before that she had a nightmare, and the next day, I saw her collapse in front of me, even… still in deep sleep until now. One could say that this incident interrupted my study rhythm—I chose my friend over continuing my studies.”
“After she was sent to the medical room, she was diagnosed with deep sleep, with no means able to wake her. But from her occasional grimaces and actions as if startled, I know that even if she is merely sleeping and dreaming, it must be a nightmare. During this time, I’ve learned a lot in the library. I’ve understood the Dream World and the relationship between the dreams people have and the Dream World.”
“So?” I asked, unaffected and continued my inquiry.
“I also asked Teacher Lina. I’ve been trying to figure this out for days. I know you don’t want to know what I’ve done, but I’ve come to a very simplistic conclusion: their consciousness must be lost in the Dream World, right? Just like when we use dream equipment to enter the dream.”
“And then?”
“And then… you already knew, right?”
“And then?”
“Since you know, you should have told me. I’m sorry if this sounds a bit excessive… but I think, considering our relationship, if you know but choose to do nothing, even if you just mention it to me slightly, I would be immensely grateful…”
“You’re too excited, Tan Han. I know what you want to blame me for, but I just want to ask you back… Tan Han, are you… a savior?”
“Savior?” Tan Han was stunned by my words. “I never consider myself a savior; I understand that I don’t have that ability. But the problem is right in front of us, and there are no saviors in this world, only ordinary people who step up.”
“Then… do you think you’re really impressive? More impressive than an Extraordinary Witch? It’s quite simple: if you think that just being busy means making a contribution, then I won’t entertain your nonsense.”
“This is not nonsense. The academy… I don’t see how the academy would take responsibility for this matter. The academy has never cared about the lives of ordinary people. Even from the academy head’s last statement, I could only detect a strong sense of perfunctory; I’m too familiar with such rhetoric.”
At this moment, Tan Han’s words left me speechless. It wasn’t that what she said was particularly insightful and changed my mind, but rather that her perception of the academy was far beyond what I expected.
It seemed she did not view the Extraordinary Academy differently from an ordinary academy.
She seemed to simplify a lot of things, such as thinking that the academy head was just being perfunctory, which was probably the funniest joke I’ve heard this year.
Perhaps this was the effect the academy head hoped to achieve?
The Dream World hosts a ravenous feast for distributing fortune, and as a Child of Fortune… one would naturally be instinctively attracted.
But I hadn’t expected it to manifest in such a form.
“May I ask, besides asking Teacher Lina and looking up materials, where else did you acquire this information?”
“I even directly asked the academy head, but she…”
“Wait, you asked the academy head? How did you do that?” I widened my eyes in disbelief. To meet the academy head, such words were spoken so casually; even if I went, I would have Teacher Ji accompanying me.
Is this what Tan Han’s treatment was like?
Perhaps it was because of such treatment that she developed such ideas…
For some reason, I suddenly wanted to laugh, but I held it in in the current situation.
“You haven’t been? Well…”
“I guess I went once; the academy head gave me a pretty good impression. So, what are you planning to do? Are you going to blindly go see the same sleeping curse?”
“Why not?”
“Mm?” I looked at Tan Han’s meaningful expression at that moment, hardly believing these words came from her. “You’re simply insane.”
“Thank you for the compliment. If I’m wrong, then this matter would affect even me. Would the academy sit idly by? If I’m right, then I’ll find a way to save them all.”
“Don’t you think you’re overestimating your value?”
“How could that be? I’m very clear about my value.” Tan Han was quite sober when she said this, yet her words were utterly crazy.
“Then… what about the consequences? For the worst-case scenario, can you afford the cost you have to bear…”
“If you always anticipate the worst consequences, then there’s nothing in the world that can be done.”
“Alright…”
I shook my head. Had I still not recognized the true Tan Han before?
Or was it that the current Tan Han had already become a puppet of fortune? Just like during the time of the battle.
“Xiao Han… have you ever… never mind…” At this moment, Tan Han seemed to momentarily want to confide in me but quickly withdrew.
“Today, our encounter was just a coincidence; I’ve said what I needed to say. I won’t force you for your answer. Tomorrow, I will try, not just me, but also those who participated in the exchange contest before… even Luxien from your class; they will be with me. I will gather a force that even the academy cannot ignore.”
“In any case, today’s incident might have been presumptuous. If you still think this is meaningless, then please forget what I said… I hope we can still be friends afterward.”
“Mm… so in your heart, you’ve always considered me a friend?”
“Of course, a friend… being a friend isn’t an unreachable existence for me. If even friendship has too high a threshold, then it would be tiring for everyone. This is just a little advice from me, my academic friend. That’s how you refer to me, but in my heart, you don’t have that academic prefix. You’ve placed too heavy expectations on the concept of friendship; perhaps you can lighten it a bit.”
“Is that so? Thank you for your guidance.”
Just as Tan Han said, it seemed I placed too much weight on the word “friend.”
“Mm, I’ll be leaving now. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye. Also… about what you said, I will consider it.”
After parting with Tan Han, everything felt like an interlude.
But it also conveyed a message to me: tomorrow, they would take action. However, there was still one thing I didn’t quite understand—Tan Han didn’t seem like such an irrational person.
But then again, girls tend to be more emotional beings, perhaps… that friend truly meant a lot to her…
Or perhaps… that friend was just the last straw?
At the Witch Academy, along the way, perhaps I had overlooked too many things, to the point where now, I seemed to not understand anyone.
I wasn’t clear about Tan Han’s reckless determination to save her friend and what kind of mentality drove it.
Maybe… it was similar to Sister Bai being deeply trapped in her dream?
But if that were the case, I might be even more insane than Tan Han’s current actions.
After calming down, I once again recalled the conversation I had with the academy head.
This was a “mutual beneficial” transaction aimed at freeing me from the script, extending to permanently severing the Earth Vein Shackles. Everything the academy head told me before was merely painting a grand picture, and now I could see through that a bit.
Of course, I also hadn’t forgotten one thing: to help Fool Dream completely sever the connection with Nightmare and to use the Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell on it, marking the beginning of becoming a genuine life.
Right… just the beginning, there’s a long way ahead for Fool Dream.
“Perhaps I should take the initiative.”
I closed the book, placed the borrowed book back on the shelf, and then I contacted Sister Bai again to set up a meeting place.
Although the academy head expressed a desire for me to stir things up to prevent the Abyss Demon—from the Dream Demon within dreams—from gaining fortune, she didn’t tell me how to get there.
It was as if she was indifferent to it all, or perhaps everything was meant to develop naturally, guided by the power of the script.
But I understood that this incident was indeed orchestrated by Nightmare. To enter the dream, I needed those Nightmares to pull our consciousness inside.
So, I needed to go see those who had been pulled into the dream by Nightmare.
The last time I was preparing to observe, I was interrupted by Luxien and hadn’t paid attention to what was going on with the girl named Ming Yun.
My Spirit Vision can see many things; I must try to see if I can find a way.
Thinking of it this way, I actually knew what was going on, so I acted on my thoughts without a second thought. But all of this was unknown to Tan Han. Where did she get the courage to try?
I couldn’t tell and didn’t need to know. Many things seem to not require a mandatory reason. Just as Tan Han said, if all matters were assessed based on whether one could bear the worst consequences, then there would be nothing achievable in the world.
From the library to the medical room, I arrived at the medical room, which was visibly busier now.
“Sister Bai, you’re here so soon.” I looked at the familiar figure and immediately spoke up; after all, I had agreed with Sister Bai to meet here.
“Mm, Xiao Han, are you ready to take action?”
“Yes, so I came to see. With you here, I feel much more at ease.”
“Then let’s go together.”
When I arrived at Ming Yun’s room again, this time, Luxien did not appear before me again. At this moment, she was already lying on the sickbed like Ming Yun.
This stark contrast left me unsure of what to say; was accompanying them enough to put myself in danger too?
It seemed Luxien was about to enter the world of dreams before Tan Han.
I walked forward and looked at them sleeping so “peacefully.” Perhaps only their beating hearts and their grim facial expressions proved that they were still alive.
I stretched out my hand, gently waving it above their bodies. In my eyes, an invisible existence that seemed like black gas was emerging from them, indicating that they were entangled by Nightmare; however, further investigation seemed impossible.
“Xiao Han, any discoveries?”
“Mm… they are emanating the aura of Nightmare. Nightmare… exists within dreams, and we are in reality… I am curious how Nightmare pulls us into dreams across the boundary between reality and dreams.”
“Is that so? Sorry, I don’t quite understand this area, so I can’t provide you with meaningful advice.”
“It’s fine; I don’t mind.”
I shook my head to reassure Sister Bai, but my gaze kept sweeping across the two of them lost in slumber, trying to find any patterns of the Nightmare’s attacks, after all, I couldn’t just sit back and wait for Nightmare to pull me into the dream.
“Here it comes…”
I looked at the gradually condensing black shadow and spoke.
“Wait, Xiao Han, what do you mean by ‘here it comes’?”
“It’s the Nightmare. Sorry, Sister Bai, I forgot you can’t see it… It’s… breaking through the boundary between dreams and reality? What a fascinating process…”
“Xiao Han, Xiao Han…” Bai Yu called out a few more times as she watched me muttering to myself.
“It’s fine, Sister Bai. This isn’t something I can control. Even if I’m the only one going over, then I’ll have to trouble you to take care of me, okay~”
I looked at Sister Bai and said, then my gaze fell back on the Nightmare. I could feel a pull of consciousness, manifesting in my body as my awareness began to blur, and my body felt fatigued. This feeling was like entering a dream using dream equipment, but the experience felt much more turbulent.
“Wait, Xiao Han, what nonsense are you saying? Didn’t we agree to go together?”
“Eh?”
At that moment, when Sister Bai suddenly hugged me, my brain felt like it had exploded.
It seemed this was the first time Sister Bai held me like this…
“Hey… don’t look like I would abandon you…” I closed my eyes and allowed the Nightmare to attack us.
If Sister Bai was with me this time… that would be nice.
After a while.
The part-time nurse from the medical room finally discovered the situation here.
“Another two… isn’t this just adding trouble for us? Someone, come help!”
