Night Lullaby

Thor temporarily set aside the debate over sleeping arrangements and turned his gaze toward the three kneeling on the floor.

Ais, Lefiya, and Bell had already quickly changed into light pajamas, their expressions solemn as they focused on awaiting his instructions.

Syr sat on the edge of the room's only large bed, her hands braced against the mattress as she leaned forward slightly. A look of keen interest played on her face, her gray eyes smiling as she watched Thor and the trio in the center of the room.

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

He reached out and, as if performing a magic trick, produced three small, exquisite sachets, handing them to the three one by one.

Lefiya carefully took her share, curiously bringing it close to her nose to sniff gently.

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

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

She couldn't help but ask, her fingertips tracing the delicate, silky texture of the sachet. Instinctively, her heart relaxed, and the tension accumulated from the day's battles seemed to melt away into the floral scent.

Ais also silently accepted her sachet without any unnecessary movement, though a flash of curiosity flickered deep within her golden eyes as she waited for Thor's explanation.

Bell gripped his own tightly, as if holding a precious key, feeling both expectant and a little nervous.

"[Dream Dust]." Thor explained directly. "It can guide you into a state of deep sleep. Once you are asleep, I can use this to enter your dreams and continue today's guidance, especially the practice and refinement of your techniques."

Enter their dreams?

Lefiya felt a shiver run through her.

"Guidance within a dream—is that even possible?!"

The reason he wanted to conduct dream training for the three of them was to allow their bodies time to recover while simultaneously utilizing every single second to hone their skills.

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

Thor added in a flat tone, "Of course it is. Beyond that, manipulating fear, reversing time, traversing dimensions... when my power is complete, none of these are difficult tasks."

The terms he mentioned offhandedly left the three of them even more astonished.

Reversing time?! Traversing dimensions?!

Surely these were feats even the gods could not achieve?

The three had known Thor was strong, but they hadn't expected him to be so omnipotent.

Even Syr, sitting by the bed, found her smile deepening with hidden meaning.

But Thor's tone shifted abruptly, carrying a trace of imperceptible helplessness.

"--However, my power is weak right now, so even the slightest intervention in space-time is beyond my reach."

He frankly admitted the limitations of his current state, without a hint of boasting or pretense.

Throughout his long existence, he had witnessed many intriguing techniques.

From the dimension-trapping of the Bard of the Celestial Realm to the gun-slinging arts of the Outlaw, he could utilize them all.

Yet, these techniques were categorized by his personal strength into those he could use now and those he could only use in the future.

These heroic techniques were roughly divided into four categories: [Cosmic/Rule-tier], [World/Demigod-tier], [Regional/Transcendent-tier], and [Mortal/Elite-tier].

The power of the Bard of the Celestial Realm to traverse dimensions belonged to the [Cosmic/Rule-tier].

This included abilities such as spatial dimensions, time manipulation, and even primordial fear.

Thor estimated that once he reached 10,000 Stardust, he would be able to use the full, uncompromised version of these abilities at will.

For instance, casting a full reversal of time.

The [World/Demigod-tier] represented the power of certain demigods.

Examples included demigods born from nature or the rare few Ascended who had stolen his power.

A certain bald blue mage who claimed to be a world guardian and used runes fell into this category.

Thor estimated he would need to gather 1,000 Stardust to exert the full strength of a miracle from this tier.

The subsequent [Regional/Transcendent-tier] and [Mortal/Elite-tier] were much simpler.

The Requiem he intended to teach Lefiya was a [Regional/Transcendent-tier] technique.

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

The former required 100 Stardust to use the complete version, while the latter required only 10.

The Requiem he had used a few days ago was, in fact, a weakened version.

Had it been the complete Requiem, the monsters he destroyed would have turned into undead, continuing to fight for him.

Thor's voice remained steady, as if stating the most mundane fact: "Thanks to your hard work in battle over the past two days, I have now accumulated 75 Stardust."

The night air outside filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting faint light into the room and illuminating his calm face.

He extracted the Stardust from within his body, and these fragments, resembling shards of stars, formed a ring around him.

The high-intensity combat in the Dungeon over the last two days, combined with the conversion of the 3.5 million Valis paid by Lefiya, had finally brought his total to 75.

The goal of one hundred seemed within his grasp.

Now, fueled by the Stardust Power of these seventy-five fragments, he felt the starlight surging at his fingertips was enough to carry the extension of his consciousness, enough to pierce the barriers of reality and enter the dreams of the three.

Thor's gaze swept over the trio, who were already prepared and wearing varied expressions: "Enough talk, lie down and get ready to sleep. I am about to cast Night Lullaby."

The three put away their sachets.

Bell returned to the sofa on the first floor.

Ais and Lefiya quickly dove under the covers of their floor bedding.

Lefiya lay on her back, her eyes fixed intently on the dim light filtering through the cracks in the ceiling.

Her heart was thumping faster than it did when facing a horde of monsters.

She was about to experience Thor's magical dream training!

The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, and all sleepiness vanished.

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, attempting to force herself to sleep—

Thor's low, soothing humming began to drift through the air.

It was Night Lullaby.

Like the warmest of lullabies, it gently enveloped Lefiya's senses.

The thought, This melody sounds so reassuring... had barely crossed her mind—

Whoosh...

Her consciousness sank into the deep darkness without a shred of resistance.

It took no more than five seconds.

Thor watched the evenly rising and falling silhouettes of the two before him, confirming they had fallen into a deep slumber.

He sat cross-legged on the floor, focusing his mind to channel the Stardust Power within him.

His consciousness plunged downward like starlight cast into the depths of a dark pool.

Plop—

The surrounding scene twisted and shifted instantly; it was no longer the familiar room.

Thor looked around this strange space.

The colors were warped, and the lines stretched out crookedly like a child's scribbles.

A butterfly with distorted, jagged lines, looking as if it might fall apart at any moment, flew clumsily past his side, bobbing up and down.

Whose dream is this? Thor whispered to himself, finding it somewhat amusing.

With such a naive style, it couldn't be Bell's, could it?

"Who are you?"

A milky, childish voice came from behind him, filled with pure curiosity.

Thor turned toward the sound.

What met his eyes was a tiny figure with shoulder-length golden hair.

She tilted her small face up, her pale golden eyes clear and untainted by a single impurity, looking at him with genuine curiosity.

A rare flash of surprise crossed Thor's eyes, and he was uncharacteristically stunned.

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