Nightmare

"Sigh... I can't bear to leave my senior brother. I never thought I could sleep in my dreams. I hope I can see him again when I wake up!"

Frieren nestled in the covers, her head resting on the soft pillow, a look of contentment on her face. Sleep was her favorite time of the night.

Looking at the peacefully sleeping Frieren, Li Yan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, shook his head with a slight chuckle, and turned off the lights in the room.

Inside the room, Frieren closed her eyes, feeling sleepy. Her brain had been over-analyzing Macht's Diagoldze, and she was completely exhausted.

"Senior brother... if only I could see you again when I wake up..."

The morning sun was bright and the weather was clear, making it an ideal day for sunbathing. Li Yan yawned as he entered Frieren's room. Looking at Frieren's blanket, which had been kicked to one side, and her head resting on the floor, Li Yan couldn't help but sigh. It seemed that Frieren's sleeping posture was as unsightly as ever.

"It's time to wake up, Junior Sister. The early bird catches the worm. Aren't you going to remove your Golden Arm?"

Li Yan gently nudged Frieren, and seeing that Frieren was still fast asleep, Li Yan squinted and reached out his sinful hand to rub Frieren's chubby little face.

"Ugh... Senior brother, stop rubbing me."

In a daze, Frieren slowly opened her eyes and looked at her younger senior brother who was so close to her. Frieren got up and looked around. The unfamiliar environment was not the small wooden house where she had lived for decades. Clearly, she was still asleep.

Having sorted out her logic, Frieren ignored Li Yan in front of her, closed her eyes and fell asleep again, burying her head in the blankets.

Watching Frieren move swiftly and resolutely stay in bed, Li Yan flexed his fingers. To deal with this seasoned bed-sleeper, he had to use his ultimate move.

A hand was gently slipped under the covers, and upon feeling a soft waist, Li Yan's lips curled into a slight smile. "Prepare for judgment, Frieren! Tickling attack!"

Two nimble hands attacked simultaneously, and Frieren, who had fallen asleep, suddenly opened her eyes wide, a sudden itch spreading from her waist throughout her body.

"Haha... What are you doing, senior brother? Why are you being so naughty in my dream, like before?"

Frieren poked her head out from under the covers, her big eyes staring straight at Li Yan. After a while, her brain suddenly realized that she had clearly taken a nap, clearly woken up, but she still hadn't returned to her little cabin, hadn't returned to the real world.

"Oh no... Senior brother, I can't go back."

Frieren pinched her face in a panic. The pain felt incredibly real to her; she was actually experiencing pain in her dream and couldn't truly wake up.

"Where can't we go back to?"

Li Yan blinked, somewhat bewildered by Frieren's sudden utterances.

"Waaah... Senior brother, I'm in a dream right now, but when I wake up I won't be able to go back."

Frieren explained in a panic that even if she used magic, even if she lay down and went to sleep again, she still couldn't return to the real world.

Li Yan blinked blankly. Frieren's situation was somewhat similar to that of a friend of his, a friend from a past life. You see, the memories of that past life were hundreds of years ago, but he still remembered them. It wasn't that his memories were vivid, but rather that his friend was too outrageous.

I remember during a university break in my past life, I stayed overnight at a friend's house. Because I went out for barbecue with my friends in the middle of the night, I caught a chill. When I woke up the next morning, my throat felt like it was being cut by a knife. I was so anxious that I immediately woke up my friend who was sleeping.

Li Yan: "I need to go to the hospital; my throat hurts a bit."

Friend: "Yes, this is a normal situation; it's the condition of Spirit Avatar."

Li Yan: "What Spirit Avatar?"

Friend: "You've reached the fifth level of the Seagod's Nine Trials, while my Soul Power has already reached over level 150. That's normal. I'm going to sleep now."

Looking at her friend's serious-sounding nonsense, Li Yan's eyes widened. He was clearly awake, yet he was spouting gibberish. Was this the price of staying up all night?

Li Yan: "Huh? Did you stay up too late and get all confused? Have you been watching too much of that show lately?"

At this moment, Frieren's situation is probably not much different from that of her friend. She woke up crying, saying that she can't go back and that she might die in her dreams forever.

In this situation, Li Yan believes the best solution is not to wake her up immediately, but to let her sleep until she doesn't want to sleep anymore.

"Junior Sister, it's alright, why don't you lie down and get some more sleep?"

Li Yan patted Frieren's back comfortingly and pressed her back onto the soft bed. Whether Frieren was born with a natural talent for sleeping or not, the moment her head touched the pillow, she lay down and peacefully closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Li Yan sighed helplessly and walked out of the room. It seemed that today's plan to wake Frieren early had failed. He wondered if Frieren was acting. Li Yan thought Frieren wouldn't do something so outrageous just to sleep a little longer. After all, Frieren was already so stupid; it was impossible for her to suddenly become smart.

"Young master, shouldn't we prepare breakfast for Frieren?"

Standing at the door, Xiao Wu asked in a low voice.

"Okay, just prepare lunch. My Junior Sister usually sleeps until noon."

After giving some instructions, Li Yan couldn't help but yawn, seemingly having caught Frieren's drowsiness. He wasn't usually a lazybones who craved sleep.

Around noon, Frieren woke up and stared blankly at the room. Pink walls, dolls around her, a luxurious princess bed, and a small white table perfect for afternoon tea, with several white chairs in front of it.

"Am I... still half asleep?"

Frieren scratched her head, blinked blankly, and woke up to find herself still in a dream, which made her scalp tingle.

After getting dressed, Frieren awkwardly walked out of the room. It was midday, and the aroma of delicious food filled the air. Frieren couldn't help but close her eyes and gently inhale the scent. Sauerkraut fish, roasted chicken wings, braised prawns—these were all her favorite dishes.

"Lady Frieren, you're awake. Young Master is waiting for you in the dining room."

Xiao Xue, carrying the food, blinked and looked at the inconvenient Frieren, then chuckled and gave her a gentle reminder.

Startled by the sudden noise, Frieren shrank back and gripped her staff tightly. She was somewhat frightened. Sister Xiao Xue walked without making a sound, and there was no trace of Mana on her. Relying on Mana to Detection Magic, Sister Xiao Xue in front of her had no life force at all, as if she were not a living human being.

"Junior Sister, why did it take so long?"

Li Yan instantly teleported behind Frieren and gently patted Frieren shoulder. In that instant, Frieren leaped into her throat; the voice was still on the other side, yet the person had already appeared behind her.

Upon seeing the younger version of her senior brother, Frieren felt like crying. After waking up, she felt increasingly uneasy; this didn't seem like a pleasant dream, but a nightmare.