Chapter 92: The Second Layer Dream World

Chapter 92: The Second Dream World

Levi returned to his chamber.

He sat at the desk, studying the blue sky beyond the window as his thoughts deepened.

"Based on what unfolded in the dream, Lilith and Lilia are highly likely the same person—a ninety percent certainty at least."

"Yet she didn't recognize her own self..."

Levi tapped his fingers gently against the desktop, producing a rhythmic, hollow clicking.

"This suggests that Lilia and Lilith might not share the same reservoir of memory."

"No, that cannot be right either. If their memories were entirely separate, how could Lilith know his distinct traits?"

"A partial overlap of memory, perhaps?" Levi found this explanation far more plausible.

Because Lilia had helped Levi hand in the Rock Demon slaying quest, she had become the target of countless eyes throughout Maple Leaf City.

Her situation was perilous.

It was a danger severe enough to force out the other persona dormant within her body—Lilith.

Lilith had most likely realized exactly who had placed them in such a treacherous predicament, engraving Levi deeply into her subconscious mind.

This profound impression allowed her to grasp some vague, fragmented memories concerning him.

She knew he excelled in fire magic and that he was young, though his precise features remained a blur to her.

Compared to a face, those two specific traits were much easier for the mind to retain.

Levi remained uncertain whether Lilith sought him out for vengeance, or if she intended to expose his possession of the Rock Demon's core to resolve her own crisis.

Compared to Lilia, who fled blindly from her pursuers without the slightest understanding of what was happening.

Lilith was undoubtedly far shrewder, tracing the clues directly back to the true culprit in an instant.

Given the current circumstances, Levi resolved to keep a low profile for a time.

Over the ensuing days, he remained confined to his room, dedicating himself entirely to cultivation.

For meals, he simply commanded the Shadow Servant to fetch them; for books, he merely ordered a magical servant to deliver them.

Three days later, through relentless, grueling effort, Levi finally brought his Mage's Hand to the level of Great Accomplishment.

[Mage's Hand (Tier 0, Great Accomplishment)] 0/8000

"Fortunately, I can cultivate within the dream realm. Otherwise, there is no telling how long it would take to grind Mage's Hand to this height."

Spending months to master a mere Tier 0 spell was a compromise Levi might have accepted in the past.

Back then, he simply had no alternative.

But now, given the choice, he would likely select a Tier 1 spell far better suited to his current needs.

After all, a span of several months was far too tedious to endure.

Within the dreamscape.

Levi cast the spell, and a faint blue palm forged of pure mana materialized before him.

With a mere shift of his intent, he flooded the construct with mana.

The Mage's Hand expanded violently before his eyes, transforming in the blink of an eye into a monolithic appendage large enough to hoist a massive table.

Boom!

The spectral hand seized the desk within the room and crushed it to splinters.

Wood shattered, sending fragments flying through the air.

A small smile touched Levi's lips.

Aided by his basic mana control, the Mage's Hand, upon reaching Great Accomplishment, could channel extra mana to create a significantly larger and vastly more powerful manifestation.

In terms of raw physical strength alone, it was now sufficient to contend with a Tier 1 professional.

However, the inherent flaw of the spell's sluggish flight speed remained unresolved.

At the level of Great Accomplishment, an unburdened Mage's Hand moved at a meager three meters per second.

Its speed under a load, conversely, was hardly affected due to the explosive surge in its raw strength—unless it attempted to lift something utterly monumental.

Levi continuously manifested heavier objects, rigorously testing the upper limit of the hand's capacity.

Ultimately, he concluded that the maximum weight the Mage's Hand could bear reached an astonishing three thousand pounds.

Using it to lift heavy objects and drop them from a great height to crush an foe might yield unexpected success.

Yet it could only crush; it could not fling objects away.

The Mage's Hand was not a human hand, after all; it could only grasp, lift, and drag objects, entirely incapable of throwing or hurling them.

"Telekinesis is within reach!"

"The potential of this Mage's Hand is quite formidable."

Having finished testing the perfected spell, Levi pushed open the door and stepped out of his safehouse.

Recently, Maple Leaf City seemed remarkably turbulent, and the number of surrounding dreams had begun to multiply.

This indicated a significant influx of people into the city of late.

The greater the chaos in reality, the higher the probability that nightmares would manifest.

When the number of people swept up in the turmoil reached a certain threshold, it would trigger a fusion of multiple minds, creating a massive, collective nightmare.

Truth be told, Levi harbored a quiet anticipation for Maple Leaf City's dreamscapes to evolve into the grand-scale nightmares akin to those of Cold Sand City.

That would mean his rate of harvest within the dream world would rise exponentially.

Though it felt somewhat uncharitable to think so.

"Hmm? A nightmare creature!"

The moment Levi stepped outside, he spotted a dream bubble that had been targeted by a nightmare entity.

Stepping into the shimmering sphere, he found himself standing within a damp, dark, subterranean dungeon.

"Ahhh..."

Agonized shrieks echoed from the far end of the stone corridor.

Levi narrowed his eyes slightly. "The torment-nightmare of some prisoner?"

"Shadow Servant."

Hearing the command, the Shadow Servant required no further instruction from Levi and proactively glided ahead to scout the path.

Presently, the servant wore nine layers of invisible armor, possessing an astonishing degree of defense.

Even if it encountered a Tier 3 adversary, it could hold its ground for a brief moment.

Before long, Levi reached the end of the dungeon corridor and beheld an orc bound to a crucifix, undergoing brutal torture.

A gaoler, shrouded entirely in the gray, roiling mist of the nightmare, lashed a blood-stained whip repeatedly across the orc's flesh, eliciting a continuous stream of piercing shrieks.

With every agonizing cry the orc let loose, the nightmare gaoler would close its eyes and take a deep, intoxicated breath.

It was savoring the raw nightmare energy generated by the torment of the captive orc.

The Shadow Attendant arrived, and the Nightmare Warden sensed the presence of its kin.

It turned its head toward the Shadow Attendant, revealing a ghastly grin.

Lashing out with a spiked whip at the intruder.

It had no desire to share its feast with another of its kind.

Whoosh!

After the whip cracked through the air, it rapidly swelled—transforming into a giant serpent bristling with thorns, coiling toward the Shadow Attendant.

If the Shadow Attendant did not retreat, the serpent would crush its body entirely, exposing the core of the nightmare beneath.

Yet the Shadow Attendant ignored the assault completely, allowing the whip-turned-serpent to wrap around its form, continuing forward step by step toward the Nightmare Warden.

Creak… crack… snap!

The whip constricted relentlessly, clashing against an invisible armor with metallic groans—the thorns shattered one by one, yet still could not breach the hidden defense.

Seeing this, the Nightmare Warden roared in fury.

It abandoned disguise, dissolving into a swirling gray mist that lunged at the Shadow Attendant.

Just as the Shadow Attendant prepared to clash with the warden—

Whoosh! Boom!

A fireball streaked through, shattering the mist-form of the Nightmare Warden.

Exposing a single, pulsing nightmare core.

The Shadow Attendant seized the core, eyes gleaming with hunger, then looked toward Li Wei.

Li Wei glanced at the cultivation progress of the Great Dream Roaming Art.

"Not now," he said. "Next time."

Hearing this, the Shadow Attendant crushed the core in its hand.

A streak of light shot into Li Wei’s body.

[Great Dream Roaming Art (First Tier)] 0/10000

The Great Dream Roaming Art advanced to the first tier.

In an instant, Li Wei felt the surrounding dream shift profoundly.

Everything around him seemed separated by a pane of glass.

Break the glass—and another world lay beyond.

"The second layer of the dream?"

Li Wei wore a contemplative expression.

He recalled the Shadow Attendant, activated the Great Dream Roaming Art, pierced through the "glass," and stepped into the second dream realm.

Boom! Creak… crack… snap!

Dream bubbles burst; Li Wei felt his body plunging deeper and deeper.

The Shadow Attendant flickered violently—then vanished.

Sensing the attendant's core still within him, Li Wei exhaled in relief.

Whoosh…

After what felt like an eternity, he fell into the river of dreams.

(End of Chapter)