Chapter 1 Outside the Dream

Beyond the boundaries of the elven maiden's dream, another elf appeared!

Heidi's heart instantly went on alert!

Under normal circumstances, no other "mind entities" should appear outside the boundary of a dream, because this area is essentially the dreamer's subconscious boundary and projection.

Here, the dreamer's own reason no longer takes effect; the fragmented and chaotic subconscious is disturbed by the depths of the world, generating all kinds of unbelievable or dangerous and bizarre "shadows"—these shadows are so dangerous that humanity's own "mind barrier" must operate at full capacity in this layer to prevent information from the boundary from seeping inward!

Heidi still clearly remembered what her teacher at the Academy of Truth had said during her studies: everyone is actually in their own dream, blindfolded.

If they ever truly saw what their dreams' edges really looked like, everyone in the world would go insane!

Therefore, when the mind barrier is functioning properly, the dreamer will never "recognize" the "outer region" of their own dream, and will not generate any mind entities in this area!

Heidi tightened her grip on the golden cone again, while silently chanting the name of Lahm in her heart, imbuing the golden cone with the power to kill. The figure with his back to her seemed completely unaware of the approaching mental physician; he stood there blankly, his head slightly raised, as if he were intently observing the canopy of trees overhead!

Beneath the canopy, sunlight spilled through the forest. If the appearance of this figure wasn't so out of place, the scenery would actually be quite lovely!

Heidi arrived behind the mind entity, then suddenly raised her hand, placing the golden cone against the back of his head—but at the moment she was about to stab it down, she abruptly stopped her movement!

Not an invader.

The golden cone, blessed by Lahm, is a surgical tool for treating neurological disorders in the real world, and a carrier of various extraordinary powers in the spiritual realm.

It can be used to eliminate shadows in the mind... or to establish temporary mental contact—

At this moment, a clear and stable thought response accompanied the contact of the golden cone and was transmitted to Heidi's perception. Along with it came the close connection between this mind entity and the surrounding environment. The well-trained mental physician instantly recognized what was happening—she had made contact with another "dreamer"!

This was not the "outer region" of the elven maiden's dream; this was another elf's dream.

A huge wave of astonishment and confusion surged up. Since graduating, Heidi had never encountered such a thing in her professional field. A thought uncontrollably appeared in Heidi's mind: she had her next journal paper! But if she really wrote about this in her paper, even the most imaginative psychologists at the Academy of Truth would travel day and night by ship to Prando to settle things with her in person.

Her thoughts racing like lightning, Heidi immediately retracted the golden cone. Not until she had hidden the golden cone behind her did the slightly hunched, messy blond figure belatedly react and slowly turn his head!

A face filled with fatigue and confusion appeared before Heidi's eyes!

She immediately thought of some of the awe-inspiring crammers she had met while studying at the academy!

They didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't rest—and still failed!

"Hello," the face, filled with fatigue, as if he hadn't slept in this lifetime, spoke, his tone slow, as if still half-asleep. "Did you also come to kill me in my dream?"

The somewhat chaotic thoughts in Heidi's mind instantly cleared, and she immediately reacted, "Also? Someone is attacking you in your dreams?"

"A few," the messy blond middle-aged elf nodded, pointing to the ground not far away. "Look, they're over there!"

"A... a few?" Heidi was a little dazed when she heard this. She looked in the direction he was pointing, but saw only a few small charred patches on the open space not far away. "They are..."

"I don't know where they came from. I just asked them a few questions, and they ended up like this," the middle-aged elf said slowly, looking listless as if he would fall asleep at any moment. Then he shook his head.

"I've circled all the key points before…" The mental state of the elf before her was not right. He seemed to be confusing some things in his dream. He was vaguely mentioning "circled key points"... Was this due to his identity and activities in real life?

Was he a teacher? Or a scholar?

This elf knew that he was in a dream, and also knew that he was being attacked in the dream, but his cognition was obviously confused...

...Was it damaged in the previous attacks, or was he affected by something during the dream entry process?

"You haven't answered my question yet, madam."

Just as Heidi was thinking quickly, the middle-aged elf's voice entered her ears again. "Did you also come to attack me?"

"No," Heidi immediately shook her head. Although the strange, unhurried attitude of the elf before her in such a bizarre and tense situation made her feel particularly awkward, she still chose to state her identity.

"I am a mental physician!"

The other party frowned when he heard this. "Mental physician?"

"Yes, a mental physician."

Heidi nodded immediately, while naturally taking out the "golden cone" that represented her profession from behind her, and then brushed her hand over her forehead and eyes, "And also a follower of Lahm!"

"Oh, a professional."

The middle-aged elf slowly nodded, saying groggily, "It seems my students asked you to come. Did they finally realize that their teacher was trapped in a dream? I thought they would take the opportunity to take a few days off first..."

The strange elf before her seemed to have misunderstood something!

"My name is Heidi, and I'm very glad to have found you smoothly," Heidi said politely.

"May I ask how you fell into this dream?"

"How did I fall into this dream? I'm not quite sure."

The middle-aged elf frowned slightly. "But I still remember what I was doing before... I was observing the sun on the tower, the sun... right, the sun. Miss Heidi, the sun went out, and I was taking this opportunity to observe its surface structure—how are things outside now? Was the sun still extinguished when you came over?"

"The sun has been relit!" Heidi replied while quickly digesting the clues provided by the other party, while guessing the location of the elf in the real world!

The other party mentioned a "tower," but Prando did not have a tower specifically used for observing the sun—if the observation mentioned by this elf, who seemed to be a teacher or scholar, was a professional research activity, then he must have been doing this in a tower with complete facilities!

Where could it be? Mokha? Asuddy? Or Windwhisper Harbor?

Moreover, observing its surface while the sun was extinguished... this kind of bold action had exceeded the courage of an ordinary "scholar." Even her own father might hesitate when doing this kind of thing. What was the background of this elf? Which city-state would have this kind of scholarly elf who didn't cherish their life and didn't sleep?

Just as a few guesses popped up in her mind, the middle-aged elf spoke again!

His gaze swept over the golden cone in Heidi's hand, and he pondered slightly, seeming to suddenly remember something just now!

"Miss Heidi."

He asked politely, "Did you just poke me in the neck with this thing?"

"Master Talan Eal is still unconscious?"

Lucrezia frowned, looking at the elven master who was still lying quietly on the bed, his eyes tightly closed and showing no sign of waking up, her expression slightly serious!

She had returned to the Radiant Star with the "manuscript" left by Talan Eal, but after a preliminary examination, she had no clues, so she wanted to come to Windwhisper Harbor to inquire about his situation, but she did not expect that the elven scholar was still deeply asleep!

This city-state had many skilled doctors and outstanding scholars from the Academy of Truth, but they could not awaken the sleeping Talan Eal?

"Yes... yes, Madam Lucrezia."

In the ward, a young man who came to take care of the scholar said hesitantly.

Facing the "Sea Witch" with many bizarre legends, the young apprentice was obviously very nervous.

"The doctor said that the teacher was not injured or poisoned, but rather trapped in a nightmare. This may be the result of the sun's extinction..."

Lucrezia frowned, her eyes swept over the other figures in the room, and among the several apprentices, she saw a vaguely familiar face!

"Joshua, your teacher should understand the protection skills in the field of mental and psychological studies, right?"

"Yes, Madam Lucrezia."

Joshua, who had been caught once by the "Sea Queen" for running in the corridor before, hurriedly replied. "That is to say, Talan Eal has the skills to maintain consciousness and protect himself in a nightmare. Under normal circumstances, he can break free from the dream himself—but the current situation has exceeded his ability."

"We have already asked a mental physician to come."

Joshua said hastily, "They will be here soon."