Chapter 53: Multi-Person Dreamscape

Chapter 53: A Dream of Many

Entering the dream in the wilderness, Li Wei still found himself standing in his bedroom.

This was his dream anchor.

His subconscious whispered that he could change its location.

But Li Wei chose not to.

He checked his belongings—his invisibility cloak and staff had entered the dream with him, though they were mere forms without substance.

If he wished, he could reshape them into anything at all.

Pushing open the door, he stepped out into a world veiled in mist, formless and blurred.

Behind him, the doorway remained as a solitary gate rising from the fog.

A path appeared beneath his feet, flanked by unknown lands shrouded in haze.

He knew this road led toward the nearest dream.

Li Wei walked forward. After a while, he saw a vast dream bubble—the largest he had ever encountered.

"Whose dream will this be?"

Curious, he stepped inside.

Crossing the bubble’s edge, the mist vanished from his sight. He stood now within a forest.

Using the power of dreams, he activated the effect of his invisibility cloak.

And just like that, he disappeared into the trees.

Beyond the woods lay a scene that froze him in place.

"Is this dream… or reality?"

Before him stretched the camp where everyone had set up camp.

Campfires burned in several spots. Patrols of soldiers circled the perimeter.

The earth-beasts lay sleeping on the ground.

Everything looked real—too real.

"Is this true or false?"

Li Wei nearly lost himself in confusion.

He shook his head, deciding to go check where he usually slept.

Approaching one of the earth-beasts, he saw no sign of himself. Only then did he believe—this was merely a dream.

Besides, he noticed something odd: the number of people here was wrong.

Far fewer than in reality.

Perhaps those who hadn’t fallen asleep yet hadn’t entered the dream.

He peered into the stone hut—empty.

Martin, Marina, El—none of them were sleeping.

He wandered around, but saw neither Guze nor Rota. They too must still be awake.

"This dream feels strange."

"Never mind. Let’s see what I can gain."

He turned his gaze toward a mage in the dream.

George, a first-rank mage from the Mage Tower.

A member of the fire mages’ circle.

Skilled in fire magic.

Perfect.

Li Wei hoped to extract the spell model for Fireball from his memory.

If he could obtain the Crystal Meditation Technique, even better.

Just as he prepared to act, a sudden tremor stirred in his spirit.

He snapped his head toward the edge of the dream.

Tendrils of gray mist seeped through the boundary, coiling into nightmares—then taking the shape of orcs.

Nightmare orcs emerged from the forest, drawing near the camp.

"Has this dream attracted nightmares?"

Even as the thought formed, the alarm rang out.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Loud gongs shattered the night, waking everyone in the camp.

"Orc raid! Orcs are attacking at night!"

People grabbed their weapons, rushing to fight the orcs charging from the woods.

Many were missing beside them, yet no one noticed.

When one fails to recognize a dream, all anomalies vanish into blindness.

George raised his staff, battling the orcs.

He didn’t realize how few others remained around him.

"Fireball!"

A blazing sphere shot from his staff, crashing into the orc ranks.

Boom—a single explosion killed two or three.

Its power far surpassed the small fireball spell.

After slaying three orcs, George turned to attack others from another direction.

He didn’t notice the corpses he’d destroyed slowly regenerating.

It seemed only Li Wei could see the gray mist clinging to the nightmare orcs.

No one else saw the "dead" orcs absorbing the mist, reforming, reviving.

Li Wei watched for a moment.

He saw that when dreamers were killed by nightmares, they dissolved into gray mist, which the nightmares absorbed.

The stronger the nightmare grew from consuming this mist.

The more powerful the person who died, the more mist they produced.

Thus, the swarm surrounding George was especially thick—each nightmare eager to kill him, to devour the potent force of his terror.

Now Li Wei understood why the nightmares had come.

Within the camp, many feared and dreaded an orc attack.

In sleep, their fear birthed nightmares—and those nightmares drew the creatures in.

The nightmares then made the dread come true, feeding on the very horror they created.

Escalating into the current scene: orcs raiding the camp under cover of night.

Several nightmares passed by Li Wei. After they’d gone, one instinctively glanced back—

sensed something, yet saw nothing.

Li Wei remained invisible, his body emitting no nightmare energy, thus escaping detection.

He moved toward George, anxious that delay might bring disaster, ready to strike.

With a flicker of intent, he transformed into an orc’s form.

Seizing the moment George had just finished casting a spell, Li Wei lunged from behind, hurling a self-detonating fireball!

Boom!

A cone of flame erupted outward, engulfing George’s figure.

Creak… crack… crack…

The magical shield shimmering around George groaned under unbearable pressure.

To shatter George’s barrier, Li Wei had spared no method.

Hardly pausing after the first explosion, seven smaller fireballs shot from his palm, striking George in rapid succession.

Each blast sent his body reeling, unable to steady himself enough to cast.

Boom! Crack!

With the final small fireball detonating—

George’s magical shield shattered with a sharp report.

“A first-tier magic shield indeed holds strong!”

Li Wei murmured, then without hesitation launched another self-detonating fireball—this time at 4.5 times its normal power.

Boom!

Flames swallowed George whole, and a burst of blue light exploded from his body.

The enchanted amulet at his chest had activated, unleashing a blue shield to protect him.

Li Wei stared in surprise—he hadn’t expected George to possess a defensive magical artifact.

Such artifacts could only block one lethal blow.

After absorbing Li Wei’s fireball, the amulet shattered, its blue glow slowly fading.

Even so, the lingering radiance would last for over ten seconds.

Caught completely off guard, George had been overwhelmed by Li Wei’s relentless assault, suppressed so thoroughly he hadn’t even managed a counterattack.

Only after the amulet’s shield triggered did he gain a sliver of breathing room.

Recognizing his attacker, George’s face twisted in shock.

“Half-dragon?”

He’d only ever heard that half-dragons could breathe fire.

Shock faded quickly. Seeing the shield about to vanish, George snapped back to awareness,

hurriedly preparing a spell to retaliate.

But Li Wei activated invisibility, vanishing from George’s sight.

George froze, eyes clouded with bewilderment. “What kind of orc is this?”

One who breathes fire… and can turn invisible?

He’d never heard of such a creature.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seeing George wounded, several nearby nightmares surged forward.

Boom!

A blazing inferno consumed both George and the nightmares. At the epicenter, only charred remains were left.

A memory fragment glowing with white light floated in midair.

Nearby, a few nightmare cores absorbed the surrounding gray mist, attempting regeneration.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Li Wei unleashed a barrage of small fireballs, obliterating four nightmare cores in one breath.

As the cores shattered, four streaks of light shot into Li Wei’s body.

He picked up George’s memory fragment, then turned and fled swiftly.

The nightmares had already spotted him, swarming in pursuit.

With a thought, Li Wei lifted into the air.

Whoosh!

Breaking through the encirclement, he soared out of the dream bubble.

Leaving the dream realm, stripped of dream energy, Li Wei plummeted to the ground.

Around him, thick gray mist churned violently—as if something monstrous was about to burst forth.

Li Wei dashed back to his room in haste.

Bang!

The door slammed shut, sealing everything out.

(End of Chapter)