The suddenly opened sinkholes devoured people like a monster’s maw.
Those who could barely stand due to the earthquake tumbled helplessly down.
The sight of people vanishing beyond the darkness with screams created an endless sense of dread.
“Run!”
“W–Where are we supposed to run?!”
“Everyone, back away!”
“Move! Out of the way!”
Sinkholes were appearing everywhere.
The large ones swallowed hundreds at once, while even the small ones dragged dozens into the depths.
People, terrified, tangled with one another.
The chaos deepened. Even those who tried to keep their reason and calm the crowd could not stop the overflowing panic.
“The children!”
There were still students sitting frozen, unable to run.
The teachers who realized the danger shouted something, but it was no use.
There were simply too many people.
On top of that, the sinkholes appeared irregularly, making their signs impossible to predict.
In such a situation, where the ground could suddenly collapse at any moment, it was hardly wise to move recklessly.
It was difficult enough just to protect one’s own body.
Yet even in that, a few students showed courage.
“Get up quickly!”
“I’ll support you!”
What stood out were Rine and Aidan.
They approached the frightened students, pulling them up by the hand even amid the chaos, a sight that caught Ludger’s eye.
“Don’t just sit still, move! Hurry!”
Selina also reached a student sitting on the ground in tears and helped her up.
“Move!”
“Kyaah!”
At that moment, someone scrambling to survive shoved Selina aside in his panic.
He was so lost in fear that he did not even realize what he had done.
And then, the ground beneath the seated Selina began to sink.
“Professor Selina!”
Ludger called out her name.
In the midst of confusion, Selina turned to him.
Ludger opened his mouth—
To warn her. To tell her to get away.
But the ground gave way faster than his words.
The earth collapsed, a hole opening wide.
A monster yawned open its maw.
Selina and the students gathered around her disappeared into the darkness.
No.
With a desperate heart, Ludger tried to cast magic.
If he used telekinesis, he could at least pull one or two up.
“It’s dangerous!”
But before the spell could be cast, Julia yanked Ludger back.
His mana flow broke and the spell dissipated.
Yet Ludger could not blame Julia.
For the very spot where he had been standing crumbled like a landslide and fell below.
The shaking quieted.
Heavy silence descended on the plain once the quake had ended.
On the once vast land, large and small holes gaped open everywhere.
It looked as though a giant rat had gnawed through a block of cheese.
The survivors trembled in fear.
They dreaded that it might happen again at any moment.
“The situation has gotten worse.”
Julia, seeing the ghastly sight, covered her mouth with her hand, # Nоvеlight # lost in heavy thought.
“At this rate, the collapse of the upper floor will happen faster than expected. Then everyone will fall into the middle floor.”
Ludger stared at the wide-open holes.
“What happens to the people who just fell?”
“You don’t need to worry. They won’t die. The drop between the middle floor and the upper floor is considerable, but... anyone who has dreamed knows. Sometimes you dream of falling, right?”
As Ludger gave her a puzzled look, Julia rubbed her forehead.
“Ah, I suppose it’s not something to say to someone who doesn’t dream.”
“I’ve heard of it vaguely.”
“It’s like that. When you fall in a dream, you wake up, don’t you? But it doesn’t mean you truly die. When you fall back asleep, you continue dreaming just fine. That’s the nature of dreams.”
“So in Dreamland, there’s no such thing as dying from a fall.”
“Essentially, yes. So those who just dropped won’t have died. But...”
“You mean it’s only a matter of time.”
Julia nodded.
From the middle floor on, a completely different environment awaited.
Ordinary people could never enter, and even a mage could not endure without being a Dreamwalker.
At best, they would have fallen into the upper section of the middle floor, but even so, the already short time limit had become even shorter.
And what pricked Ludger’s nerves most was that the students attending his lecture had been swept away.
“Professor Ludger.”
Someone approached Ludger and Julia.
“Headmaster. I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I as well. Whew... I don’t even know where to begin.”
Elisa shook her head, her mind tangled.
What had unfolded after they chased Gregoryum had been an unending chain of events beyond reason.
Elisa gazed at the place where the vanished students had been, her face clouded.
“Was this that old man’s doing as well?”
“I’m not certain.”
Elisa roughly brushed back her hair.
Just from her touch, it was clear she no longer had her usual composure.
“Whatever he really is, it’s humiliating. I came with serious intent to fight, but to be dropped here without even resisting... it makes me wonder if my skills have dulled.”
“Your magic was strong, Headmaster. The opponent simply wasn’t favorable.”
“Seeing that you’re here too, Professor Ludger, I assume you also...”
Ludger nodded.
Nirva’s authority was difficult to resist, even for him.
Indeed, most demonic powers were that way.
“I did manage to counterattack, but it was useless.”
“You counterattacked?”
“What appeared was only an illusion. He himself said it was like the moon reflected on water. His true body must be in Dreamland, and what we saw was a projection.”
“Wait, then... Professor Ludger, you’re saying you actually fought that old man?”
So what if I did?
When Ludger asked with his eyes, Elisa found herself speechless.
“I didn’t fight properly. I tried to hold out, to avoid being dragged into sleep, but at best, I lasted only a few minutes.”
As Ludger spoke with indifference, Elisa looked at him with a complicated expression.
He seemed to regret only lasting a few minutes—yet she hadn’t lasted even three seconds before collapsing.
‘Well, Professor Ludger is exceptional, so I suppose it’s to be expected.’
Even so, she could not help but feel a sting to her pride.
Elisa Willow hardened her resolve.
If she met that old man again, this time she would show him a proper payback.
But more urgently—
“Everyone must have fallen into the middle floor, right?”
Elisa had at least heard enough about the structure of Dreamland to understand.
And what happened to those who entered.
“To save them, we’ll have to go down to the middle floor at the very least.”
“Even if we do, it won’t solve the root problem.”
“So in the end, we must defeat that Nirva. And for that, we must go deeper.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard if you go down to the depths, no one returns alive.”
To descend to the depths—was madness itself.
“But someone must go, is that it?”
It was like saying someone had to defuse a bomb, but whoever went would surely die.
And yet if no one went, the bomb would explode and kill them all.
To save the many, a few had to be sacrificed.
Was such a thing even acceptable?
Considering Nirva’s abilities, those few had to be the most skilled among them.
The strongest here would have to sacrifice themselves—
So that the others could live.
“We’ll have to gather people, but... I’m not sure it will work.”
Elisa was doubtful.
To ask someone to dive into flames holding nothing but a reed mat, just to save others—how many would accept that?
Such was human nature.
If you sacrifice yourself, others live.
But then, what meaning is there in that?
Honor gained after death is worth less than a speck of dust.
What use is honor if your body rots away in the ground?
“And besides, we don’t even know how many we’ll need. This Nirva’s domain is his home ground. Even if we throw in all of Seorn’s strength, I can’t guarantee we’ll win.”
“Yes. That may be so.”
Ludger’s steady gaze met Elisa’s.
“Still, we must do it.”
“......”
“This is the only choice we have.”
There was no going back, no other path, just one way forward.
What lay beyond, no one could guarantee.
If they simply stayed here and waited, perhaps someone else might come to save them.
If one had to pick the safest option, that was it.
But that could not be allowed.
The moment a person settled in place, that was where they died.
In moments of crisis like this, one had to act.
That was the way Ludger had learned through countless experiences.
“There’s no way to wait for help?”
“As desperately as we long for help, those who have already fallen below must be thinking the same.”
Ludger turned to Elisa.
“Who here do you believe can help them?”
Elisa remembered.
The students and teachers who had been swept away while trying to save others.
If those left behind survived by abandoning them—
Would she ever find peace with herself?
It was not with such thoughts that Elisa had become Headmaster of Seorn.
“...You’re right. I guess I was overthinking. It’s actually simple.”
“Do you intend to go as well, Headmaster?”
“I may be the Headmaster of Seorn, but if the highest-ranking person won’t go, who else would step forward?”
At that, Ludger gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Then first we must gather people.”
“Wait!”
Julia stepped between them.
“You’re not seriously thinking of just the two of you going down into the depths of Dreamland, are you?”
“What other method is there?”
“If you go down, you’ll never return. If we wait just a little, the outside world will realize what’s happening and send help.”
“To Dreamland?”
“Don’t forget, our Dream School exists within the Empire. Our seniors must have realized by now that something serious is happening.”
“How long are we to wait? And in that time, what happens to the ones who fell into the middle floor? Can you be certain of their safety?”
“That...”
Julia trailed off.
Could even she predict all of this?
This was an unprecedented situation.
Even if those who fell to the middle floor were still alive for now—how long could they last?
For non-Dreamwalkers to descend into the middle floor—this was almost the first time ever.
They might not last even a day.
“And haven’t you noticed something strange?”
“What do you mean?”
“That the people who fell asleep at the very beginning are nowhere to be seen here.”
“That’s...”
Julia realized it only then.
When people could no longer awaken from sleep—
Where were those who had fallen into Dreamland first? What were they doing?
“No way...”
“They’ve already been pushed into the middle floor. After what we’ve just witnessed, I’m nearly certain of it.”
“Then Sedina too...”
Not just Sedina.
Hans and Seridan as well.
Ludger did not believe he had missed Hans simply because of the crowd.
Hans was not foolish.
If it were him, he would have already scouted where Seorn’s students were gathered, lingering nearby and waiting for Ludger to arrive.
Seridan too.
But even when Ludger had appeared, neither of them were there.
The meaning was all too clear.
“Then I’ll go as well.”
“There’s no need for you.”
“You must have forgotten. Before I am a student of Seorn, I am a Dreamwalker of the Dream School. Among everyone here, no one knows Dreamland better than I do.”
“Didn’t you just say we should wait for your seniors? They’ll worry.”
“Then they’re the ones who are late, aren’t they?”
Ludger did not stop her.
In Dreamland, Julia would be a better guide than any mage.
Even if she was a student—this was no time to draw lines.
“Fine. Then let’s gather more people.”
* * *
Recruiting those willing to descend to the middle floor went faster than expected.
The teachers, realizing the seriousness of the situation, volunteered themselves.
“Of course I’m going. Selina fell down there, didn’t she? Then I’ll be the one to save her.”
Merilda declared boldly.
“The students are below. We cannot sit idle.”
Brino spoke with determination.
“Hmph.”
Chris Bennimore scoffed and crossed his arms, but he did not object.
Some were too frightened to step forward, but many more were not.
“Perhaps I was mistaken.”
They had been warned they might never return.
It was practically a march to death.
Yet even after hearing that grave warning, people had made up their minds.
“To think Seorn has so many remarkable people.”
“In that case, perhaps you should raise our salaries.”
“When we return, I’ll consider it seriously. Though of course, the Planning Director will have to weigh in.”
“He’ll agree.”
At the joking meant to ease the mood, Elisa smiled faintly and looked back.
The teachers of Seorn were staring at her with tense faces.
As their leader, she could not show weakness or hesitation.
“Everyone. From this moment, we will descend into Dreamland.”
Since she had already explained in advance, there were no outbursts of surprise.
None had volunteered without knowing.
And they had also received basic information from Julia, who had experience with the middle floor.
“Once we enter below, a completely different world will unfold. Reality’s laws will twist, and impossible things will happen everywhere. And you know this already—once we descend, we will all be scattered.”
When moving from the upper floor to the middle floor, people were thrown to random locations.
Even if they went together, they would be forced apart.
If they were lucky, a few might end up together. If not, they might find themselves utterly alone.
Julia had already taught them the rough geography and maps of the middle floor, so it was no problem.
“Fear is natural. Truthfully, I’m very nervous myself. This is my first time, too.”
Elisa drew a steadying breath.
“So remember only one thing. The children and civilians who have fallen below—only we can extend a hand to them.”
Merilda clenched her fist, Brino nodded firmly.
Chris Bennimore adjusted his glasses, and Vierno flexed his wrists.
“Everyone ready?”
Elisa turned.
Before them spread a vast lake.
Clear and pristine.
The water so pure that even the grains of sand on the bottom could be seen.
At its depths lay a pitch-black hole.
Sand from the lakebed poured down into it like a waterfall.
It was as though a monstrous maw was endlessly devouring all before it.
That was the entrance to the middle floor of Dreamland.
The sight stirred primal fear.
The instant one submerged, it felt as though one would sink into an endless abyss.
Some teachers inwardly regretted volunteering.
“Then let us go.”
With those words, Elisa was the first to leap into the lake.
Ludger and Julia followed close behind.
The other teachers, faces set with resolve, also dove in.
The moment they entered the water, an unseen force seized them, dragging their bodies down.
They fell into the endless abyssal hole.
Yet their breathing was not cut off.
Perhaps because this was the world of dreams, they could still breathe even underwater.
How far down did they sink?
At last, a dazzling light tore through the darkness—
And a strange new sight spread out before them.