Chapter 39: The World Within a Dream

"I'm stuffed, I'm stuffed!"

After finishing her midnight snack, Sonia patted her stomach with great satisfaction. Melina was still lingering in the contentment of her appetite. Maria, however, looked at the two who had climbed out of bed in the dead of night for a snack with a headache. She rubbed her temples, sighed, and clicked her tongue.

"Both of you, get back to sleep as soon as you're full. We have plenty to do tomorrow."

"Got it, Old Maria!" Sonia's voice stretched out, turning slightly high-pitched and sugary.

She then waved at Melina: "Goodnight, little Mei, sweet dreams!"

"Mhm, goodnight, Senior. Wishing you sweet dreams as well."

Back in her room, Melina turned around and drew the curtains, sensing a drowsiness that felt as if it were calling out to her.

"I won't lose."

She looked at the desk in her private room, where occult books taken from her luggage were laid out, alongside *The Star Weekly*—a magazine covering recent developments in the occult world that her senior had helped her subscribe to through special channels. She clenched her fists, desperately fighting off the sleepiness.

The corners of her mouth curled into a cold smirk.

"Hmph, it’s just sleepiness."

She paused, a flicker of displeasure crossing her golden eyes.

"I'll mark this down for now. Truce!"

She surrendered.

Having become a prisoner of sleep, Melina quickly crawled into bed, pulled up her little blanket, and fell fast asleep.

...

When she opened her eyes, she found herself waking up on a grassy field under the blazing sun.

"Senior?"

She called out anxiously and sat up, only to find herself wearing that black gauze dress, though her limbs felt as if they were encased in armor.

The world before her was an endless ocean.

This was not Hamlet, nor was it the Weeping Peninsula.

She was inexplicably certain of this in her heart, so firm in her conviction that it startled even herself.

In any case, check the surroundings?

She stood up.

*Clank—*

There was something on her left foot.

She looked down and saw a thin black chain tied to her ankle. It was clearly visible, yet she hadn't noticed it before? Following the chain, she saw a boundary line made of stone bricks stretching across the grass. Beyond the boundary lay a patch of soft, comfortable grass exactly like the one she was on. The chain was connected to a woman on that other patch of grass.

Her black hair and black eyes made her feel strangely familiar; her demeanor was quiet and dignified.

She was not human.

Melina was certain of this once again, and she caught the woman's lip movement: "What a nuisance."

*Clank—* The chain rattled.

The next moment, she and the woman were almost nose-to-nose.

The searing pain in her left leg made Melina realize she had been forcefully yanked over by the other woman.

Across such a distance? With this kind of strength?

She had no extra thoughts to spare; when someone hits you, you hit back—that was the upbringing she had received since she was a child. Melina clenched her fist and delivered a blow to the woman’s face with a swiftness she couldn't have imagined. The strike was so fast it broke the sound barrier.

What was happening?

Her body... felt so light?

Melina could hardly believe this was her own strength and power. She clearly felt her fist pierce through some sort of solid resistance before making contact with the black-haired woman's face, the resulting impact sending her flying like a bolt of lightning.

She could see... so clearly.

Melina discovered she could capture every fleeting expression on the woman's face; even this lightning-fast speed seemed to slow down and freeze, as if time had stopped.

The look of surprise on the black-haired woman’s distorted, twisted face showed that she was shocked by Melina’s reaction.

But the lack of pain in those deep black eyes made Melina’s heart sink.

*Clank—*

The opponent adjusted her stance in mid-air, grabbed the chain on Melina's right foot, and gave a violent tug.

Melina’s perception of the slowed-down time suddenly accelerated, and her face made intimate contact with the other woman's fist.

A heavy blow!

Melina felt as if it were a punch capable of shattering her skull.

But strangely, it was just like being tapped hard on the head—there was a bit of pain, but nothing else. This allowed her to do the same as her opponent and readjust her stance in mid-air.

Never tired.

Never in pain.

They were like two superhumans swinging their fists to vent their rage on each other's bodies and faces, letting out beastly, threatening roars after landing to bolster their intimidation. Eventually, this descent into beastly behavior became tiresome.

Both simultaneously gave up the life-or-death struggle. Without catching their breath, they moved left and right on their respective sides of the boundary, pulling at the black chain that linked them.

Only after slowing down did Melina begin to feel the pain in her left leg and the accumulation of injuries on her body.

Judging by the other woman's expression, she was likely in the same state.

"Who are you?"

Both spoke in unison.

The black-haired woman bared her teeth in a particularly fierce manner and glared at her threateningly. Melina refused to be outdone and glared back, but the other woman... she was over one meter eighty tall. Melina fell into an absolute disadvantage in height. This caused her momentum to waver slightly. She let out a "guh" sound from her throat, thought for a moment, and gave a pseudonym:

"Dorothy."

The name came from *The Wizard of Oz*.

Her extraordinary observation skills allowed her to notice the woman's mouth twitch in a smirk.

Was this woman a transmigrator too?

"Then I'm Alice."

The woman pursed her lips into a highly aggressive smile: "Dorothy, how did you get into my dream?"

"Your dream?" Melina said indignantly, "This is *my* dream!"

"Ha, you’ve got quite a personality, don't you?" The woman calling herself Alice lifted her chin and scoffed haughtily. She then narrowed her eyes, using her hands with the rich body language of a Disney villain, placing her left hand on her chest and using her right to gesture at the surroundings, "A strange creature appeared in my dream claiming to be in *her* dream; no matter what you say, I..."

She pointed two fingers at her own eyes with her right hand:

"...can tell that you are not human."

"You're the one who isn't human!" Melina pointed at herself, "I am what you call a pure-blooded human! And why do you think this is your dream?"

"Because the world revolves around me."

Alice struck a haughty pose. At the same time, she reached out and pulled an apple out of thin air, wearing an exaggerated, cunning smile: "See? This is proof that I am the master of this dream. I can do anything in my dream..."

Melina snapped open a parasol that had suddenly appeared in her hand, lifted her chin slightly, and a smile crept across her small mouth, which was now coated in black lipstick. She tilted her head to the left, then twisted her body and tilted it to the right, using her index finger to touch her own cheek—which felt even more supple in the dream—and asked with a fake, innocent, and sarcastic tone:

"Excuse me?"

"..."

"Oh my, the master of the dream isn't speaking? Is it Mei..." Melina forced a smile to cover her slip-up, "...is it that I, your little sister, did something wrong? Oh my, this must be a parasol you made for me, thank you, you nameless middle-aged woman."

If one were to consider Alice a human, she was certainly the most beautiful woman Melina had ever seen.

Her exquisite features didn't look childish, and her mature temperament was like honey wine infused with poison. Her stunning, tall figure was like a ripe fruit, cultivating a restless, bottomless desire.

But as an enemy, she could not be praised.

Melina was definitely not the type to praise an enemy's courage. An enemy's intelligence was cunning, their reason was cold-blooded, and their beauty was a source of seductive sin. If one didn't trample everything about them underfoot, what was the point of being their enemy? Turning foes into friends? Clinging together? Preparing to bring one's own talents to the enemy?

"A childish little girl still imitating the ways of an adult..."

Clearly, the other party had the same intention.

Stopping the fight didn't mean reconciliation.

*Clank—*

The two maintained a certain unspoken agreement, acting within their respective 'territories.'

Melina searched her side. If this were a game, there must be some key information in this starting area that she had overlooked or failed to investigate.

Suddenly, she turned her head with lightning speed and glared, eyes wide, at 'Alice,' who had just tried to step into her territory.

The tall, black-haired beauty, Alice, had her mouth twitch in a strange way. She scoffed and silently withdrew her foot.

That actually made her seem a bit more human.

Melina huffed heavily.

She trusted her supernatural hearing to ensure the other woman caught that huff clearly.

A second later, the sound of a 'huff' reached Melina's ears.

She turned back and saw the other woman pretending not to look her way.

*Why is this woman so troublesome?* Melina thought.

In the endless searching, her mental state grew increasingly hazy, but seeing 'Alice' still flipping through the ground inch by inch, Melina gritted her teeth and persisted.

Finally, under a small patch of grass, Melina felt a transparent card.

When she picked up the card, a small, fantastical-looking bookhouse suddenly loomed behind her. At the same time, her mind felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and yawns bubbled up uncontrollably. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the woman calling herself Alice seemingly having found something as well; behind her appeared a small orchard with only one tree—a pale green, ghost-like tree.

That woman also seemed to be struggling against sleepiness as she climbed the tree.

Melina also heard a faint sound, something like nothingness, or rather, a combination of countless sounds of defeat, ringing in her ears.

[Ancient Bookhouse, randomly obtain one 'Wonder: Book', lose 30% of current Banshee magic factor.]

She dove into the bookhouse and grabbed the thickest book from the shelves laden with treasures.

The faint voice suddenly gained a hint of emotion, as if sighing at her greed.

[May your harvest in the dream bring you some comfort.]

With those words, she fell asleep within the dream.

...

After opening her eyes, Melina realized it was morning.

She shook her body comfortably.

"Slept so well..."

As she said this, her expression changed. She realized that the magic factor that should have been fully restored was actually missing 30%, causing it to still be in the process of recovery after she got up.

She hurriedly pulled back the blanket and saw a thick book resting on her thigh.

There was no rhyme or reason to it, but Melina instantly knew what the book was called and what it contained.

The title of the book was *The Book of Envy (Thickened Toilet Paper Edition)*.