Transcending Dreams

B2 - Chapter 93

Congratulations on facing your biggest fear and surviving!

Williamfroze when the voice suddenly reappeared and registered what it said. He didnt fear the rabbits. He hated them.

The most obvious evidence was the Healing Qi. Anger was their fuel, and it had never been so effective before.

Unless William was angry that he feared the rabbits so much.

He frowned in distaste at that possibility.

The Wheel of Death will continue! As a reminder, your accompanying Elder is just a shout away!

William cursed and rushed to the egg, which was still trying to absorb the tiniest bit of blood like the greedy thing it was. He ignored its protests and sent it into the spatial stone just as the platform started to descend.

He scanned his status screen and made a quick decision. He was saving his points to use on Stamina if necessary, but having enough Spiritual Energy to use both [Force Multiplier] and the Elemental Gauntleteven if he had no clue of its effectswas a higher priority.

Spiritual Energy: 304/1130 (20% per Hour)

William needed to get that to eight hundred, which meant adding a hundred points to his Spirit.

Points: 102

He had just enough.

The platform slowed its descent. The last time it happened, the cave with the Sky Hare Emperors was revealed.

William quickly added his unused points to Spirit.

[+100 Spirit]

[Modified | Spiritual Energy]

[Spiritual Energy Capacity | 1130 > 1630]

The sudden rush of new Qi introduced to his spiritual pathways was euphoric. However, it would also be concerning in most situations where he increased his Spirit attribute massively due to the potential backlash. William had calculated the limits of what his Kidney Meridian could handle before it rejected additional Qi.

William was supremely confident that the hundred points he added would not reach that limit. He directed the new Qi to his Kidney Meridian while putting most of his attention on what would be revealed as the platoon slowed to a crawl.

He sensed the Kidney Meridian greedily accept all the Qi he pushed to it without any sign of stopping, nor did he sense the telltale sign of impending rejectionthe speck of light in the centerforming in the meridian.

It finished just in time for the platform to come to a halt.

William looked around warily, not seeing any cave or something similar. He was surrounded by wall and nothing else.

[WARNING | External factor affecting mental state]

He didnt know when his surroundings had changed. One moment, he was looking at the alert; the next, he was in a busy city market.

William recognized this place. It was the bustling central market of Xuanjing City.

He took a long sniff and marveled at how real it was to his senses. In fact, there was nothing he could tell apart at first glance to truly differentiate it from the real thing. What shocked him the most was how quickly he forgot he was in an illusion when he wasnt looking at the system alert.

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William shuddered to think of how clueless he would be without it. He didnt tempt fate and decided to keep the warning alert in his view at all times to make sure he was aware this was not real.

It brought to his attention things that he would have otherwise missed, mainly the expressions of the people around him, which suddenly became dead the moment he wasnt focusing on them. A similar effect applied to conversations. They went from muddled to clear, depending on his focus.

Those two combined presented an experience that sent shivers down Williams spine. He could see people in the corner of his eyes with dead expressions and mumbling nonsense leaving their moving lips. It was uncanny valley taken to the max.

William explored the illusion, unsure of what his goal should be. He didnt want anything that might be observing him from afar to realize that he wasnt affected by it, so he did his best to act like he was truly in the market.

That meant speaking to one of the sellers.

This looks interesting, William said, pointing at a small, braided rope. Why is it priced so high?

You have a good eye! The stall seller beamed. This is a specialty from my home village. Its proven to give you a boost on your fortunate encounters!

He knew this was all fake, but it couldnt be denied that his interest was piqued.

Really? William leaned closer to the rope. How was it proven? And why would you not keep it for yourself?

Every single person in my village has had success, the seller boasted. I wish I could use it myself, but it only works once per person. So, are you interested? Its only two Spirit Stones!

Williams eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline at the cost. He had seen the number two on the tag attached to the rope, but he assumed it represented Gold, or at worse, Qi Stones. Xuanjing City was a place for mortals, and he doubted anything sold in the street stalls would be priced in Spirit Stones.

Youre clearly trying to rob me, William stepped back, disgust on his face. Good day, sir.

He turned and heard the seller call after him desperately. Wait! I can bring the price down. Just for you!

William held back a shudder when he saw the dead expression of the seller from the corner of his eyes. That should not be combined with a desperate tone.

He found it curious that the voice didnt immediately devolve into a muddle when he turned away. It meant there was some logic behind this illusion.

There might not be enough power to run everything as lifelike as possible to make it indistinguishable from reality, but without the system alert reminding him of the illusion, it was doing more than enough to fool anyone else.

William wandered around aimlessly, occasionally wasting time at a stall here and there until he finally saw something different.

In the most ostentatious way possible, a stall blurred all the surroundings around him when he looked at it, forcing tunnel vision on him artificially to make him look at the brightly glowing book in the middle of a large tower of tattered manuscripts and manuals.

More importantly, William saw a basic status for the first time in the illusion.

[Species: Mimic | Level: 188]

He stopped in his tracks, ensuring his eyes were locked onto the glowing book, but he was panicking about the level difference.

The thirty-minute time window hadnt passed, so using [Force Multiplier] would be disastrous with the penalty he would incur. That left the Elemental Gauntlet, and he didnt want to use that with something in the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. It would be suicide with extra steps.

Hey! If you wont buy something, stop blocking my stall!

William used that as an excuse to stare at the Mimic. It was apparently a spirit beast, but he could tell no difference between it and a regular human.

It was entirely forgettable, with a plain masculine face, thinning hair, and bland attire that begged to be forgotten. The Mimic was doing everything possible to put all his attention on the glowing book.

Sorry, William said sheepishly as he moved closer, trying not to show his nervousness. I was distracted by that.

The Mimic made a show of looking at where he was pointing. By what?

The glowing book, William said slowly, wondering what the game was now.

Boy, are you playing with me? Pick what you want from the pile and give me one Qi Stone. I dont have the energy to deal with pranksters.

A bulb lit up in Williams mind. With the first round dealing with his fear, this could be something along the same vein.

Perhaps his humility or righteousness. He could take the glowing book that only he could apparently see for the low price of one Qi Stone, or he could come clean and tell the Mimic that it was likely worth far more.

There was one thing that stopped him from going right to that option.

William was currently on something called the Wheel of Death. How likely was it that one of the rounds involved common market haggling?