Chapter 3294: Someone's Dream

Most of what Xia De said was knowledge that even Miss Sabeier had not mastered. The early Fifth Era was simply too far from the current Sixth Era, and the heraldry knowledge of that time had been almost entirely lost:

"Friend of the Unicorn? What is the point of having such a crest? Can it attract more unicorns?"

She asked, puzzled. Xia De laughed, thinking of the content of his casual chat with Chloe while strolling by the Ice Lake:

"Ancient Witch Emperors were almost all either demigods or Thirteenth-Tier. For them, power had already reached the limit of mortals, and there was no possibility of surpassing it in terms of authority. Therefore, they would also pursue beauty, taste, and the like. Being able to gain the favor of pure creatures like unicorns was, of course, a very fine medal and honor for those charming Witch Emperors.

Do not think that ancient Witch Emperors only cared about extravagant pleasures and the enhancement of power; they were, after all, mortals, and they had their own pursuits and hobbies."

"So, the owner of this place was very popular with unicorns, is that it?"

"Hmm... this is not the highest-level 'Friend of the Unicorn' medal. The highest-level medal would have a ring-shaped decoration composed of fruits like apples, grapes, and bananas on the periphery. Although unicorns are not afraid of the cold, if they could have a warmer living environment, they certainly would not choose to run off to live in a world of ice and snow. The area where the owner of this castle lived was probably all ice and snow as well."

The yellow-haired sorceress felt the temperature of the warm yellow crystal on her chest. Actually, at this moment, she really wanted to ask him how he knew all this; even using a Time Key, it would be difficult to master such detailed knowledge.

Just then, that beautiful ice maid had already returned. She was carrying an ice tray that looked like a saucer, and on the tray were three ice-made teacups.

The teacups were placed in front of the two by the maid, who bent down to set them down one by one. Their appearances were indistinguishable, and the liquids contained within were completely transparent, ice-blue, and black, respectively.

After serving the teacups, the maid stood smiling beside Xia De, holding the tray:

"Guest, if you wish to obtain the master's secret treasure, this is the first test—please taste the three tea drinks separately and then provide a corresponding evaluation. If the evaluation is appropriate, you may continue to ascend to the second floor."

"Can either of us taste them?"

Miss Sabeier asked. The ice maid nodded:

"Yes, remember to drink every drop; please do not waste any."

She reached out and made a gesture of invitation. Xia De noticed the pattern of lace gloves on her arms.

"Although my tier is lower than yours, please do not truly treat me as the weak one."

Before Xia De could speak, Miss Sabeier said this first. She had guessed that this mysterious guy beside her would say something like that. She picked up the cup that appeared to be completely transparent liquid, and then gave a slight shiver.

"I respect your choice, but don't push yourself. Then I will choose this cup."

Xia De picked up the cup of ice-blue liquid. This liquid had no scent, and no strong traces of elements could be sensed.

Miss Sabeier then wanted to drink it in one gulp, but she looked at Xia De, who extended the ice cup in his hand toward her. The sorceress was stunned for a moment and blinked. Seeing Xia De's expectant expression, she finally understood. She sighed inwardly that the other party seemed a bit childish, but she still gently clinked her cup against his.

When the two drank together, Miss Sabeier did not even notice that there was a slight smile on her face.

The ice-blue liquid entered her mouth, and just as Xia De had imagined, the liquid went from her mouth into her throat, then slid down her esophagus into her stomach. Because of the temperature that froze blood, Xia De clearly sensed the entire route of the ingestion process.

For a moment, he thought his esophagus and stomach were starting to freeze, but soon, following the temperature of the flames within his body, that chill that numbed his whole body disappeared.

His body temperature returned to normal, and Xia De felt as comfortable as if he had soaked in warm water; even the low temperature inside the castle no longer seemed so terrifying.

A bit nostalgic and a bit emotional, he had drunk this thing once before; he knew what it was.

But before giving an evaluation, he first reached out to support Miss Sabeier. The "poor" girl's teacup fell toward the table with a *clatter*, and then her head tilted, and she was about to fall forward. Fortunately, she was supported by Xia De in time.

"Miss Sabeier!"

He tried to call out, and then discovered that the girl had actually fallen asleep. Although her body temperature was slightly low, it was still within the normal range; she had not been frozen.

"Nightmare Dew. After drinking it, one will be forced into a deep sleep and will see some of the things they fear most in their dreams. Her Majesty once used this as a daily drink in order to gain insight into her own weaknesses and make up for the flaws in her soul, but unfortunately, they were not of much use to Her Majesty. Later, after the master became a demigod, she improved the formula, so unless one is a demigod, no one can be exempt."

The maid explained from the side:

"However, please rest assured, this tea drink itself is not toxic. Even if she cannot break through her fear herself, based on the dosage of two-thirds of a cup she drank, she will only need three years to wake up. However, I see that this lady's soul is very strong; perhaps you only need to wait half an hour."

Xia De sighed. Half an hour was enough to freeze Miss Sabeier to death here:

"Miss Maid, considering that I know your master, Miss Chloe Marcus-Marquez, tell me how to wake her up?"

He sat in the chair, turned his body to look at the maid. The maid, with her hands folded and hanging in front of her, was also looking at him at this time. Except for her skin color and material, she was no different from the other maids Xia De knew:

"Sir, you should address her as 'Her Majesty'."

Xia De, however, shook his head:

"I am very sure that if I address Chloe as Her Majesty, she will definitely be angry with me."

However, in Xia De's imagination, the silver-haired, short Chloe must be very beautiful even when she was pouting:

"I don't know what Chloe wanted to do by leaving this castle behind. I know that even if I ask you, you will likely not answer me now. So at least tell me how I can wake up my companion."

The ice maid's smile was very bright:

"You only need to drink the remaining Nightmare Dew and then hold her hand. Your soul temperature has already permeated into her soul, so as long as you maintain contact, it will be very easy for you to enter her dream."

"I see. Give me three minutes; after three minutes, I will go drink the third cup."

As he said this, he really drank the remaining transparent liquid in the teacup. After the bitter liquid entered his throat, a sense of drowsiness immediately emerged. Xia De took the opportunity to hold Miss Sabeier's hand before falling into a coma, while thinking in his heart that if liberating more people meant more trouble, then whether it was still necessary for him to go find a second companion.

Xia De was very familiar with the feeling of falling into a dream, but he did not intend to delay too long in the dream, so after his feet stepped on the ground, he thought that since it was a dream, it wouldn't matter how much he destroyed.

Looking around, he found himself standing on a burning black wasteland, and there were screams not far away. He stepped forward, and almost in the next second, he arrived directly at that "lively" area. He saw more than a dozen black-robed figures wearing hoods and looking like women holding torches, surrounding a huge pile of firewood.

A cross stood on the firewood pile, and the owner of this dream, Miss Sabeier, was tied to the cross. When Xia De looked at her, her hair looked somewhat golden, but that seemed to be just an optical phenomenon after the fire was lit; looking closely, it was still a withered yellow.

The flames rose, and the ladies in black cloaks surrounded the fire, cursing things like "You are incompetent," "You shouldn't be sitting in this position," "You have failed their trust," and "We are declining because of you."

Although they were cursing, their speech was very elegant, and there was not a single vulgar swear word.

And as Xia De understood their words, the environment of the dream was also becoming more severe. Miss Sabeier had already been surrounded by flames, but she kept her head down and said nothing, and it was unknown what her specific state was now.

If he had time, Xia De would be interested in figuring out the meaning of this dream. Because he had the blessing of the "Dream of Childhood," when he fell into a dream, the power of beauty and innocence would help him overcome difficulties, so dreams were never scary to him. But since he was in a hurry to wake up now, there was no need to delve into those details.

He continued forward, appearing directly behind those black-robed women, wanting to take action to drive them away and then liberate this dream. But unexpectedly, as soon as he appeared, those women all turned their heads to look at him, and then turned their heads together to point at the woman on the fire:

"Good! I didn't expect that not only are you incompetent, but you actually found a lover outside!"

The women holding torches said this as they surrounded Xia De. Xia De sighed:

"Adele's Time Stop!"

"Hmm?"

A *click* sound came from the void of the dream, and then these women all froze in place. This miracle could only take effect on one target in reality, but this was in a dream, and Xia De's soul strength was enough to support him in doing this.

Even as his soul power formally intervened in this dream, the shadows of three moons appeared in the originally black sky.

Miss Sabeier, who was tied to the cross, also looked up at him at some point. Xia De waved at her, wanting to extinguish the flames and liberate her, but the flames and ropes seemed indestructible and were completely unaffected by Xia De's power.

This showed that it was the owner of the dream who was unwilling to release herself.

But Xia De really didn't want to waste time here; Miss Reinhardt and Emilia were still waiting for him in the ice:

"Miss Sabeier, wake up and come with me; your fear has been completely frozen by me."

The girl on the cross looked at his expression, even more confused and puzzled than before:

"This power of time... my fear is not their accusations, but that I am afraid of being incompetent myself. I know that I shoulder great responsibilities, and I am also confused about whether I can truly live up to the trust."

(End of chapter) ***