Night Lullaby

Thor temporarily set aside the debate over where everyone would sleep and turned his gaze to the three kneeling on the floor.

Ais, Lefiya, and Bell had quickly changed into light pajamas. Their expressions were solemn as they waited intently for his instructions.

Syr sat on the edge of the room's only large bed, both hands braced on the mattress as she leaned forward slightly. An intrigued smile played on her face, and her gray eyes watched Thor and the three before him with amusement.

"Let's get down to business." Thor was succinct, wasting no more time.

He reached out and, as if by magic, produced three small, exquisite sachets, handing one to each of them.

Lefiya carefully accepted hers and curiously brought it close to her nose for a gentle sniff.

A delicate floral fragrance filled her senses, carrying a soothing power that put her at ease.

"It smells so nice... Lord Thor, what is this?"

She couldn't help asking. Her fingertips felt the sachet's smooth, fine weave, and she instinctively relaxed a little. The tension accumulated during the day's battles seemed to quietly melt away in the floral scent.

Ais quietly accepted her sachet as well. She made no unnecessary movements, but a glimmer of curiosity flashed in her golden eyes as she waited for Thor's explanation.

Bell clutched his sachet tightly, as if holding a precious key, anticipation mingling with nervousness.

"Dream Dust," Thor explained directly. "It can guide you into a deep sleep. Once you're asleep, I can use it to enter your dreams and continue today's training there, especially the practice and refinement of your techniques."

Enter their dreams?

Lefiya's heart skipped a beat.

"You can guide us in our dreams? That's possible?!"

The reason he wanted to train the three of them in their dreams

was that he needed to give their bodies time to recover while also making use of every minute and second to hone their skills.

This would not only improve their strength but also increase his efficiency in collecting Magic Stones.

Thor added in an even tone, "Of course it's possible. Besides that, controlling fear, reversing time, crossing dimensions... when my powers are complete, none of those would be difficult."

The words he tossed out so casually surprised the three of them even more.

Reverse time?! Cross dimensions?!

Surely even the gods couldn't do those things?

They had already known Thor was powerful, but they hadn't expected him to be capable of practically anything.

Even Syr, sitting at the bedside, wore a more meaningful smile.

But Thor immediately changed his tune, a trace of helplessness barely detectable in his voice.

"...However, my powers are weak right now. Even the slightest manipulation of space and time is beyond me at present."

He openly admitted the limits of his current state, without the slightest boast or attempt to hide them.

Over the course of his long existence, he had witnessed countless ingenious ideas.

From the Bard of the Celestial Realm's dimensional travel to the Outlaw's gunplay, he could use them all.

But these ingenious ideas were divided into those he could use now and those he would only be able to use in the future, depending almost entirely on the strength of his own abilities.

These champions' techniques could roughly be divided into four categories: [Cosmic/Rule-Level], [World/Demigod-Level], [Regional/Supernatural-Level], and [Mortal/Elite-Level].

The Bard of the Celestial Realm's ability to traverse dimensions, for instance, belonged to the [Cosmic/Rule-Level].

This category included spatial dimensions, time manipulation, and even primal fear, among other abilities.

Thor estimated that once he reached 10,000 Stardust, he would be able to unleash one complete version of an ability in this category at full strength, without cost.

For example, he could reverse time once.

[World/Demigod-Level] represented the powers of certain demigods.

For example, demigods born from nature, or the extremely rare Ascended who had stolen a portion of their power.

A self-proclaimed guardian of the world, a rune-wielding mage with a big blue bald head, belonged to this level.

Thor estimated that he would need to gather 1,000 Stardust to unleash one miracle of this kind at full strength.

The remaining [Regional/Supernatural-Level] and [Mortal/Elite-Level] categories were simple enough.

Requiem, which he planned to teach Lefiya, was an example of a [Regional/Supernatural-Level] technique.

The Wind-Riding Sword Art he planned to teach Ais belonged to the [Mortal/Elite-Level].

The former required 100 Stardust to use in its complete form; the latter required only 10.

The Requiem he had used a few days ago, for example, had actually been a weakened version.

If he had used the complete version of Requiem, the monsters he killed would even have turned into undead and continued fighting for him.

Thor's voice remained steady, as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary. "Thanks to your hard fighting over the past two days, I've now accumulated 75 Stardust."

The night outside cast a faint glow into the room through a gap in the curtains, illuminating his calm face.

He drew Stardust out of his body. The fragments, resembling tiny stars, formed a ring around him.

The intense fighting in the Dungeon over the past two days, combined with the conversion of the 3.5 million Valis Lefiya had paid him, had finally brought his total to 75.

His goal of 100 now seemed within reach.

With the power of these 75 Stardust, he could feel the starlight surging at his fingertips. It was enough to carry his consciousness outward, pierce the barrier of reality, and enter the three of their dreams.

Thor's gaze passed over the three, who were now ready, each wearing a different expression. "Enough talk. Lie down and get ready to sleep. I'm going to begin casting Night Lullaby."

The three put away their sachets.

Bell returned to the sofa downstairs.

Ais and Lefiya quickly slipped beneath the blankets on their floor bedding.

Lefiya lay on her back, staring fixedly into the darkness above, where it showed through a gap in the ceiling.

Her heart pounded faster than it had when facing a horde of monsters.

She would soon get to experience Lord Thor's amazing dream training!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, and the less sleepy she felt.

I'm so nervous... What if I can't fall asleep? Will he think I'm not taking this seriously?

Just as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force herself to sleep—

Thor's low, soothing hum drifted softly through the room.

It was Night Lullaby.

Like the warmest lullaby, it gently enveloped Lefiya's hearing.

The thought had barely crossed her mind—This song is so soothing...—

when—

Hoo...

Her consciousness sank into the profound darkness without the slightest resistance.

It took no more than five seconds.

Thor watched the steady rise and fall of the two figures before him, confirming that they had fallen fast asleep.

He sat cross-legged on the floor, focused his mind, and guided the Stardust Power within him.

His consciousness was like starlight plunging into deep water, sinking abruptly.

"Splash—"

The surroundings twisted and shifted in an instant. They were no longer in the familiar room.

Thor looked around the strange space.

Colors warped, and crooked lines stretched out in all directions like a child's scribbles.

A butterfly made of crooked lines, looking as if it might fall apart at any moment, flew clumsily past him, bobbing along with each flap.

Whose dream is this? Thor wondered, suddenly finding it rather amusing.

With a style this childishly simple, could it be Bell's?

"Who are you?"

A childish voice came from behind him, full of innocent curiosity.

Thor turned toward it.

A little figure with shoulder-length blond hair came into view.

She lifted her face. Her pale golden eyes were so clear they seemed utterly untouched by impurity, and she gazed at him with pure curiosity.

A rare flicker of surprise crossed Thor's eyes. For once, he was momentarily stunned.

Hm? This little girl... is this Ais?