Phantos thrust out his arm.
Each time he struck, an immense, irresistible force burst forth.
Whenever his fist blurred, space twisted and a shockwave resounded.
Alex let out a whistle.
“You said you were going back home. What did you eat down there that made you come back like this?”
Phantos, who had already been strong, had now advanced to a whole new level.
Even without properly equipping his weapon, he had already surpassed the realm of a Master.
What would happen if he were to take up his favored anchor chain here?
Boom!
The golden dust that had not yielded even to the wind burst apart helplessly beneath Phantos’s fists.
But that dust, being a condensed mass, was not something that could be destroyed by raw power.
On the contrary, the more it was struck, the more resistant it became, gradually pressing Owens harder and harder.
“W-what do we do?”
Bellaruna panicked, not knowing what to do.
This was no living creature. Faced with such a bizarre phenomenon, there was nothing she could do.
What was worse, they were already surrounded on all sides.
Even if they tried to stall for time, there was nowhere left to run.
They thought about using Violetta’s wind magic to fly up into the sky, but the air was already choked with dust.
“If we can’t go up, then we’ll go down.”
Alex gripped his sword and spun in place.
Slash!
The ground split open along the sword’s arc, sinking into a wide circular pit.
Owens dropped down into the underground waterway, and without any confusion, they dashed quickly over its surface.
“For now, let’s retreat through the emergency escape!”
They had prepared a path of escape in advance, for times when they might be attacked or exposed and hunted down by a large-scale search.
Through this escape route, they could make it outside Rederbelk. From there, they planned to regroup and reorganize.
“We’re here!”
At the end of the waterway stood a massive steel door.
It looked as sturdy as the entrance to a vault.
This was the emergency passageway that led outside Rederbelk.
“What about that golden smoke?”
“It’s not following us. Looks like we shook it off.”
“So for now we’re safe?”
Even so, they could not afford to drop their guard. Alex quickly pulled down the lever on the steel door.
Clang!
With the sound of gears grinding together, the door opened.
Beyond the open doorway stretched a long, straight corridor.
And then—
“...Ha. This is hopeless.”
The entire corridor was filled with golden haze.
Whoosh!
The golden smoke, having already invaded even the underground, swallowed up the Owens members whole.
* * *
Wake up.
A voice rang out in the darkness.
I said wake up.
The sound echoed like waves, crashing against Ludger’s mind.
“Wake up already!”
Ludger opened his eyes.
A pitch-black night sky stretched out above him.
And looking down at him from beneath that sky was the face of Julia Plumehart.
“You finally woke up.”
“...”
Ludger raised himself up.
He instinctively checked his surroundings, only to let out a bitter laugh.
The heavens were embroidered with countless glittering stars.
And where Ludger stood was a forest filled with strange, unknown trees.
“Where is this?”
He asked Julia while checking his own condition.
Fortunately, neither his body nor his belongings had suffered any harm.
“Don’t you know? This is Dreamland.”
“Here?”
“I’d rather ask you. Why exactly have we fallen here? Don’t tell me this is related to the incident just now, is it?”
“Do you remember the last thing that happened?”
“I do. A golden cloud came rushing from afar, and as soon as it touched me, I fell here.”
“The Headmaster and I as well. We were almost at the core, hunting down the culprit, but we were too late.”
Ludger considered telling her about Nirva, but decided against it.
There was no need to dampen the atmosphere by mentioning they had to deal with a demon.
“Still, this place is a little different from the Dreamland I saw before.”
The Dreamland he had once visited had been made up of shallow waters.
Like a lake at dawn, it had been filled with mist, and beneath the waters, starlight had sunk down.
“This is the upper layer of Dreamland. What you saw must have been the surface layer.”
“So we’ve come deeper.”
Thinking about it, the fact that the stars were now in the sky proved it.
On the surface, the starlight had lain beneath the water.
But here the stars were above his head, meaning he had fallen to a deeper layer.
“Then that must mean many others fell here too.”
“As far as I remember, all the students must have been dragged in.”
Julia’s face grew grave.
“That’s why it’s not good.”
“Is there a problem?”
“How much do you know about Dreamland? Do you know what’s here and what not to do?”
“I don’t know in detail. Only what’s vaguely been told to the world.”
“That’s exactly the problem. If even the great Professor Ludger doesn’t know much, then how do you think the others will fare?”
Ludger didn’t understand why Julia was warning him so seriously.
Even if Dreamland was unknown, wasn’t it just a dream world, aside from its deeper layers?
That thought vanished the moment he saw a massive shadow rise among the trees.
“An elephant?”
At first glance, the colossal creature looked like an elephant.
It had a long trunk, flapping ears, and an enormous body.
But its trunk was sharp at the tip, it had four tusks, and its head ended in points like a crown.
And it wasn’t alone.
One after another, more silhouettes rose above the trees.
Creatures like that actually exist?
While Ludger was still puzzled, Julia grabbed his hand.
“We have to get out of here!”
He followed her, running through the forest.
“What on earth are those?”
“Dream Eaters.”
Dream Eaters?
Ludger glanced back as they ran.
The giant elephants were lifting their trunks toward the sky.
Those elastic trunks stretched longer and longer until they touched the stars scattered above.
If their trunks could reach the stars, then perhaps the sky wasn’t as high as it looked.
But that wasn’t what mattered now.
The Dream Eaters sucked in the stars with their pointed trunks.
If those stars were the dreams of sleeping people, then the reason behind their name was clear.
“Do they attack people?”
“Dream Eaters only eat dreams.”
“Then they’re herbivores, aren’t they?”
“Calling that herbivory is silly, but there’s a reason I said we should run.”
The reason soon became clear.
Flap!
The Dream Eater that had just consumed dreams flapped its ears wide.
Golden dust scattered from its ears, and from the forest sprang small dark shapes.
Birds with sharp beaks flew around the Dream Eater, devouring the dust.
“Predator Birds. They eat the leftovers after Dream Eaters feed. That’s why I said they’re dangerous.”
Even before Julia had finished speaking, the flock of Predator Birds turned toward them.
“They found us!”
“What happens if they catch us?”
“What do you think happens when your mind gets eaten in a dream? Do you want to hear the answer?”
“I’d rather not.”
The birds were fast.
They flew in a swarm, like a school of piranhas drifting in the sky.
Realizing escape was impossible, Ludger stopped and raised his mana.
“What are you doing!”
“If we can’t escape, then we fight.”
“This is a dream! In here, magic doesn’t work the way it does outside...!”
Before Julia could finish, Ludger drew a spell formula.
Her eyes went wide at the sight.
The spell formations flowed out of him with no hindrance, natural and fluid.
As elegant and lofty as ever.
The completed formula activated into magic.
Violet lightning burst outward in sparks, spreading everywhere like a net.
The approaching birds were swallowed by it.
Screeech!
The Predator Birds, who had been targeting prey, were instead fried in the net of electricity, shrieking in pain.
Blackened corpses dropped from the sky, and the others turned and fled in panic.
“For something you said was dangerous, they weren’t that strong.”
Ludger remarked lightly, watching the fleeing flock.
Julia stared at him in disbelief.
‘In Dreamland, even skilled Dreamwalkers need time to cast magic at a level equal to reality.’
Dreamland did not follow the laws of the waking world.
Even breathing or walking, things natural in reality, could become difficult here.
Magic, of course, was even harder.
And yet Ludger had used it as naturally as breathing.
Judging by the power, it was about the 4th Circle. For a first-time caster here, it was unbelievable.
“Professor, how many times have you been here?”
“I’ve only been to the surface. This is my first time in the upper layer.”
“Then how...?”
Even if one could cast magic here, its power should have been severely reduced.
‘And yet he swept away a whole flock at once. Either he can use magic naturally even here, or even weakened, his power is that great.’
Either way, Ludger’s ability defied common sense.
“Is there a problem?”
“...No. If anything, I’m relieved.”
“So this forest is that dangerous?”
He gazed into the distance.
“With that commotion, the forest has grown noisy.”
“...Yes. And the Predator Birds aren’t the only dangerous things here. We need to move quickly while we still can.”
“What about the others?”
“I looked, but didn’t see them. Usually those who fall into the upper layer gather in specific places.”
“Is that so?”
“This forest is one of the dangerous outskirts even in the upper layer. To fall straight here... you’re really unlucky, Professor.”
They kept moving.
Before long, the forest opened to reveal a great lake, where massive glowing carp swam.
“Glow Carp.”
“An intuitive name.”
“You visited my school. You know how terrible we are at naming things.”
Thinking of Dream Mist and Weather Clouds, Ludger nodded.
Only Dreamwalkers would name these creatures, so it was natural.
“At least they’re safe. They won’t bother us unless we touch them first.”
“What do they eat?”
The lake was full of stars beneath the surface.
“They eat dreams too.”
“Dreams? I thought only the stars in the sky were dreams.”
“People’s sleep differs in depth. Those who sleep so deeply they can’t be woken—their dreams sink down even here, into the upper layer. Glow Carp feed on those.”
“A curious place indeed.”
He had admired the independent ecosystem of Kasarr Basin, but Dreamland was on a different level.
Here, even the laws of physics were different.
Trying to apply common sense would only lead to failure.
“Good. We’re finally safe enough.”
Julia let out a sigh of relief at the open plain.
She turned her gaze to Ludger.
“So what now?”
“We’ll have to think on that.”
“You know the situation isn’t good. Everyone from Seorn fell into Dreamland. Look.”
She pointed to the sky.
The night was beautiful, unlike anything seen outside.
The stars trembled, then began to fall one by one.
Shooting stars.
The trails of light were breathtaking, but Julia’s face was grim.
Their meaning was obvious.
“Stars are falling. That means more people are still being pulled into Dreamland.”
“Not just Seorn, but beyond as well.”
“It doesn’t matter yet, but if we don’t get out soon, those people will be in danger ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) too.”
“Is there another problem?”
“Think of a whirlpool. Once you’re caught, you’re pulled toward the center.”
Dreamland was the same, Julia said.
“You can stay in the surface layer as long as you want. But once you fall into the upper layers, you’ve stepped into the flow of this world. Even if you try to remain, you’ll be dragged deeper. Time will always push you downward.”
“Like quicksand.”
“Exactly. Even if you stand still, you sink. Struggle, and you sink faster. For now we’re safe, but will we stay that way?”
And it didn’t end with the middle layers.
Julia said they would be dragged to the very center.
A whirlpool never stopped until you reached its depths.
At the end lay...
Ludger lowered his gaze.
Now that they had fallen into Dreamland, everyone here was destined to fall into the depths.