The fact that the school was backed by a Faction like the Paradise Society meant it wasn't a particularly simple place.
"Let's sleep. Tomorrow, I'll have my clone rent more places during the day."
The house was gradually becoming too small to fit everyone. Now they had to squeeze together just to sleep. If she had a strange dream at night, it was inevitable that she'd do something absurd.
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold back and would end up doing something to herself.
She stuck out her tongue and saw the group chat messages in her social media account.
Cute Wolf (Chen Ning): "Everyone, I think I've come across some news."
Lan Xinyu: "What news, what news?"
Cute Wolf (Chen Ning): "It's about instance spaces, not the main world. I got some intelligence that the probability of entering instance spaces has been getting lower and lower recently. Some people haven't entered an instance even after many tries, and instead, they've all entered the main world."
Lan Xinyu: "Ah... Isn't that a good thing?"
Cute Wolf (Chen Ning): "Normally, it would be a good thing, but it also means the exchange points you get in instances are useless. You have to realize that everything you exchange for with those points can be brought back to the real world, whereas in the main world, only abilities can be brought out."
Lan Xinyu: "The death rate in instances is too high. I still prefer the main world."
Cute Wolf (Chen Ning): "There's also another issue, concerning the Second Era."
Lan Xinyu: "The Second Era?"
Cute Wolf (Chen Ning): "You should know that our era has gone through many epochs, including the First Era, the Lost Era, the Second Era, the Magic Era, the Third Era, the God-Banning Era, and the Fourth Era. This current era is the Fifth Era, yet there are still some magic-related items. These abilities clearly belong to the Second Era. Even if there's a legacy in reality, it's not that much. But many people have come into contact with civilizations where magic flourished, both in the main world and in instance spaces."
Lan Xinyu: "Magic, shouldn't that be different from the supernatural abilities of our era?"
Cute Wolf (Chen Ning): "Yes, that's the strange part. Magic is inherently polluting to us. But in those otherworlds we've encountered, nothing related to magic seems to cause side effects to the native creatures. Doesn't that seem strange?"
Chapter 55: Forest
The conversation reached this point.
Seeing their discussion, Ye Qian suddenly remembered the explosion ring she had.
"This seems to be a magic item."
She thought about it and didn't participate in the exchange between her two teammates.
However, if she scrolled further back in the chat history, she could see that Chen Ning had complained about the otherworld instances more than once.
He had even speculated that there was a specific way to enter those instance worlds from the real world.
"He's not wrong. There is indeed a way to enter otherworlds, but it requires going through dreams," Ye Qian muttered, putting down the device in her hand.
Speaking of instances, she was quite curious herself.
Especially the realm of dreams. Logically, it should be illusory, so why did it appear so real?
"Let's try it."
With this curiosity, her main body considered closing her eyes and venturing into the dream.
Perhaps it was because she had fought a lot today and was a little tired. After closing her eyes for a few minutes, Ye Qian had already fallen asleep.
The white-haired clone, Veril, immediately activated the mysterious thread and entered her dream.
"Here we go."
The two girls met on a land of lava.
There were even two cats mating on the lava.
"Damn, why am I dreaming of something like this?"
Veril muttered speechlessly. Without dwelling on it, she flew towards the distance.
Yes, entering other worlds through this method.
Most importantly, she needed to verify an idea.
Her body left the bubble world of the main body and arrived among the endless bubble worlds.
At first, she tried to search for the colored bubble she had seen last time, but Veril quickly discovered that her target had disappeared.
She floated quietly in the void for a while, observing carefully. After a short time, she understood: all the bubbles were moving.
"So that's how it is, the positions have changed?"
Like stars in the universe, these countless bubbles, made up of dreams and unknown worlds, formed a mysterious and unfathomable starry sky, constantly revolving according to their own rules.
Veril changed direction and quickly found another colored bubble nearby. Without hesitation, she immediately approached her destination.
After what felt like more than ten minutes, she arrived in front of the target, touched the edge of this colored bubble with both hands, and then her body slowly entered.
The moment she completely merged into it, Veril made a decision.
To communicate with her body in reality.
This might be a rather risky move, but it could also yield unexpected rewards.
With a thought, almost instantaneously, a strong sense of connection came through.
"Hmm, wait, why do I feel like I can communicate in reverse?"
She immediately stopped her actions upon realizing this, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
Reverse communication meant she could not only leave this world within the dream but also pull her physical body from reality into it.
"Isn't this an illusion?"
Didn't this mean she could actively enter other worlds through her own will?
According to Chen Ning, all these instances likely represented real worlds... If that were true, it obviously meant she could gain Life energy from them.
"If I can get Life energy from here, won't I be able to increase my strength and replication faster?"
So, with a "let's give it a try" mindset, Veril took a deep breath, preparing to manifest her body.
A few seconds later...
Her dream body felt real.
In a daze, the world spun around her. When she came to her senses, she was already standing on unfamiliar land.
Her vision was filled with a forest.
Green trees filled her entire view, and the faint chirping of insects could be heard. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Veril extended her arm.
Slender and snow-white.
She was wearing a white top and skirt, her legs covered by thin white stockings.
Silver-white long hair cascaded down to her ears.
"It's really me."
She was certain she was standing on solid ground.
And at this moment, her connection to her other bodies indeed felt more distant, and time felt different.
A long time would pass here while only a short while passed in reality.
"But where is this place?"
Ye Xin stood curiously at the scene.
Taking half a step back and lowering her head, she discovered a pattern resembling a magic array beneath her feet.
"Speaking of which, when I pulled my body over earlier, I felt a repulsive force, as if this world was rejecting my entry. But... there was one spot that didn't. I came in through there."
Was that spot above the magic array?
She began to walk forward.
Her shoes crunched on dry, yellow fallen leaves, and similar leaves occasionally drifted down from the air.
"It feels romantic."
She reached out, and a leaf floated into Veril's palm.
A gust of wind blew, and her silver-white long hair danced with it.
Veril walked a distance ahead and soon came across a river.
The river was quite clear. As she approached, she peered forward and saw a girl of breathtaking beauty.
"Honestly, this appearance is still quite dangerous."
Most worlds weren't safe, which was why they were targeted as instances and people were sent to carry out missions.
She followed the stream upstream and, before long, an unfamiliar building appeared in her sight.
The building was enormous but exceptionally dilapidated. It looked like a temple, neglected and in disrepair, with very mottled outer walls.
Veril curiously walked inside, cautiously observing her surroundings.
Just then, a high-pitched roar suddenly echoed from a distance.
Startled, she quickly ran behind a pillar, cautiously looking outside.
Soon, a girl wearing a loose blue robe and holding a staff adorned with gemstones appeared in her vision.
The girl, out of breath, ran to the front of the great hall and immediately spotted the white-haired girl hiding behind the pillar.
"You are..."
The girl with noticeably blue hair froze for a moment, then wore a strange expression. "A human... girl? Why are you here?"
Veril herself didn't know how to answer.
"Phew, forget it. Hurry and leave this place. It's dangerous nearby; I'm being chased by Disaster Demons."
Without further ado, the girl suddenly ran out, grabbed Veril's hand, and pulled her away.
"Huh?"
She didn't even give Veril a chance to speak before being dragged away by the blue-haired girl, sprinting further upstream.
Before long, strange sounds could be heard from behind them. Looking back, they saw lion-like creatures, enlarged twofold, with ferocious fangs and blood-red fur, chasing from a distance.
"Wall of Light Repulsion!"
The blue-haired girl hastily turned, raising the staff in her hand and swinging it forward with force.
A powerful white light was released, and the two monsters at the forefront immediately let out pained roars as their bodies were flung back several meters, tumbling across the ground.
"Go!"
After unleashing this move, she continued to drag Veril's hand and sprinted away.
They ran for several minutes, but the number of monsters only seemed to increase.
"Huff, huff."
Although her physical condition was superior to that of an ordinary person, after such a long period of full-speed running, Veril was starting to get winded.
Seeing several monsters closing in from both sides, the blue-haired girl raised her staff again and softly chanted, "Hail of Ice Cones."
Slender ice cones suddenly formed in mid-air and rained down from the sky.
Several Disaster Beasts were immediately struck, letting out pained cries.
However, two of them leaped forward, charging to within striking distance.
"This is it."
Just as the blue-haired girl despaired, Veril stepped forward and fiercely swung her fist forward.
Monstrous Strength.
Bang!
As if struck by a sledgehammer, to the blue-haired girl's astonished gaze, the creature's head shattered with a crack, and its entire body was slammed into the ground with incredible force.
From the left, another monster attacked, but guided by her Danger Sense ability, Veril lightly sidestepped, dodging the attack.
She then followed up with a kick, sending the Disaster Beast tumbling away like it had been in a car accident, crashing hard into a distant tree.
The remaining monsters immediately lost their nerve and stopped their advance.