Demeter had told Genichi that he had better be planning nothing more than a combat simulation.
However, the suspicion in her amber eyes made it obvious that she didn’t believe him at all.
Still clutching his aching stomach, Genichi nodded obediently and adopted the expression of an honest, well-behaved young man.
He watched until Demeter turned around and left the room.
The instant the door closed, his obedient expression vanished.
In its place appeared a cunning smile belonging to someone whose plan had succeeded.
What a joke.
Demeter forbade him from using [Dreamwalking]?
Why should her refusal decide anything?
If Genichi obeyed that easily, he would be far too submissive!
Demeter was certainly his goddess, and she had taken in a homeless visitor from another world.
However, that didn’t mean Genichi had to obey every decision she made.
He wasn’t a mindless yes-man, nor was he a puppet who would allow a goddess to control his every action.
More importantly, [Dreamwalking] and [Slaanesh] were the foundation of his survival.
They were his greatest advantages in this dangerous world.
Demeter might have been acting for his sake, fearing he would lose himself in imaginary pleasure and neglect his real training.
However, Genichi understood better than anyone that training inside his dreams was also training in reality.
He could fight, grow stronger, and accumulate experience and ability values inside his dreams, then use everything he gained to overcome challenges in reality.
Wasn’t that the perfect training method?
“Oh, Goddess, you’re still far too young.”
Genichi muttered to himself as he stretched his bruised waist and stomach.
He then sat on the edge of the bed, closed his eyes, and began regulating his breathing and thoughts.
He didn’t dislike Demeter.
On the contrary, he felt a considerable amount of gratitude and affection toward the goddess who had taken him in.
She occasionally resorted to violence and showed no mercy when mocking him, but Genichi could sense that Demeter merely wanted to prevent him from choosing the wrong path.
At the very least, she treated him as one of her own.
However, feeling grateful and being obedient were entirely different matters.
As an adult who had spent years struggling through the workplace in his previous life, Genichi had learned an important lesson long ago.
Other people’s advice was worth hearing, but the final decision had to remain his own.
If Demeter forbade him from using [Dreamwalking], he would simply use it in secret.
She couldn’t watch him every moment of the day.
Nor would she truly kill him over something so minor.
After all, Demeter still wanted him to take her into another world.
If she killed him now, her own plan to travel between worlds would be ruined.
That knowledge left Genichi completely fearless.
He slowly regulated his breathing and calmed his mind, then began designing the dream he intended to weave.
If he was going to create a dream, it needed to be valuable.
Simulating ordinary Goblins and basic Dungeon environments would provide useful combat experience, but that would waste [Dreamwalking]’s true potential.
Beyond combat simulations, [Dreamwalking] possessed an even more important function: contacting other people’s souls and copying their magic or skills.
Last night, Genichi had somehow encountered Alfia’s soul while unconscious.
He then inexplicably acquired [Satanas Verion] and [Genos Angelus], two top-class magic.
That was Alfia, the Level 7 adventurer known by the alias “Monster of Talent”!
She was a legendary adventurer who ranked among the greatest in Orario’s entire history!
Genichi had merely slept for one night and done nothing consciously, yet he had obtained two of her spells for free.
If news spread, every adventurer in Orario would probably go mad with jealousy.
If an unconscious encounter had produced such enormous gains, what would happen if he deliberately contacted the soul of someone powerful?
Wouldn’t the rewards be even greater?
Genichi’s heart began pounding.
Excitement surged along his spine like an electric current and spread throughout his entire body.
He rapidly searched his memories for powerful individuals worth contacting.
He had already encountered Alfia and currently had no idea how to locate her soul again.
Aside from Alfia, what other top-class female fighters existed in Orario?
Riveria Ljos Alf.
She was the vice-captain of Loki Familia and the strongest mage in Orario.
Known by the alias “Nine Hell,” she was a rare elven genius and a Level 6 adventurer.
Her mastery of magic ranked among the greatest in all of Orario.
She was practically a mobile magical artillery battery.
If Genichi could contact Riveria’s soul through [Dreamwalking] and copy even one of her spells…
Simply imagining it made his blood boil.
Copying any one of Riveria’s spells would increase his combat power several times over.
Most importantly, Riveria was beautiful, powerful, aloof, and elegant—the perfect example of an elven beauty.
That meant even if Genichi failed to copy her magic, he could still have sex with her inside the dream and use [Slaanesh] to gain another surge in ability values.
No matter what happened, he would benefit.
What if Demeter discovered everything and beat him afterward?
Once it was done, could she force him to spit out the ability values he had already gained?
“I’ve decided.
Riveria it is!”
Genichi excitedly slapped his thigh, his expression filled with determination.
He drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused his entire mind on deliberately activating [Dreamwalking].
‘[Dreamwalking], weave me a dream.
My target is Riveria Ljos Alf!’
As the silent invocation ended, a warm and mysterious energy emerged from the depths of his soul.
Like countless invisible threads, the energy intertwined and wove itself throughout the space of his consciousness.
Genichi felt his mind sinking rapidly, as though he were descending into a boundless ocean.
The surrounding light gradually dimmed, and every sound faded away, replaced by absolute silence.
Then—
Points of light appeared within the darkness before him.
They flickered, gathered, and rotated like stars, gradually outlining the hazy shape of an immense world.
The dream was taking form.
…
At that same moment, on the opposite side of Orario, a green-haired elven woman sat at a desk inside an elegant room at Loki Familia’s headquarters.
Magic books and scrolls filled the room, while the elf held a heavy ancient tome in her hands.
Her features were beautiful and stern.
Her emerald eyes carried the composure and authority of someone in a high position.
She wore a simple yet tasteful robe, and her entire body radiated a noble dignity that warned others not to approach carelessly.
She was Riveria Ljos Alf.
Orario’s strongest mage.
For some unknown reason, an indescribable drowsiness suddenly swept over her.
It arrived without warning, slowly covering her consciousness like an invisible veil.
Her normally alert and exceptionally focused mind began growing hazy and sluggish.
“Strange…”
Riveria frowned slightly, lowered the ancient book, and rubbed her temples in an attempt to dispel the unnatural fatigue.
However, the drowsiness only grew stronger and heavier.
It washed over her in relentless waves until she could barely remain conscious.
“Could it be…
that I reviewed too many documents today…?”
Riveria murmured as her eyelids grew heavier.
The room twisted and blurred before her eyes until, finally—
She slumped over the desk.
Her long eyelashes trembled gently several times before she fell completely asleep.