What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 230. The Golden Apple Dream, a Dream of God

The mice, or rather the apprentices, along with Orpheus Oak and Mifein, were all filled with great curiosity about the blooming water lily.

Both Orpheus Oak and Mifein knew the origin of this lotus flower, and they were both surprised and slightly worried when they saw it suddenly bloom.

You should know that a divine messenger is sealed inside!

In the main plane of the world, apart from legends, almost no one can go head-to-head with such an existence; His arrival signifies invincibility.

Has Kroa really gone so far as to use this existence?

But thinking about it carefully, they even dared to capture the divine messenger, so using them like this doesn't seem like much...

The sudden disappearance of the messengers from the Church of Light has driven everyone to the brink of madness. It is said that even the sleeping Lord of Light has issued a divine decree.

But if you can't find it, you can't find it.

The thought of how anxious and agitated they were, almost turning the Yavana Holy Mine upside down, suddenly made Mifein feel better.

The worry I felt just now vanished without a trace.

In a better mood, he became more talkative, and out of curiosity, he asked, "What exactly is it?"

"You'll understand when you extend your mental energy in," Kroya said mysteriously, winking.

"Remember, this time you don't need to pay anything to get in, but if you want to get in again, you'll need to pay."

Upon hearing this, everyone present readily focused their spiritual energy on the lotus petals, including the knights.

For the usually generous Kroya to utter the words "pay up," there must be something special about it.

As they approached the lotus, they experienced a brief moment of disorientation. Then they felt their consciousness being stretched infinitely, passing through a tunnel of rainbow light, as if they had entered another world.

In that world... there were rising clouds and pale purple water lilies blooming all over the world, and a tranquil atmosphere filled this world, giving people a very special feeling.

What's even more amazing is that, even though it was just their spiritual energy extending in, it really felt like they had entered a real world. They could even smell the texture of the soil under their feet, the flow of the surrounding clouds, and the fragrance of the water lilies.

"Where is this place?"

Just as they were looking around, Chloe's voice rang out:

"Follow the path of the rainbow grass."

A path made of rainbow grass immediately appeared beneath their feet, stretching to an unseen end in the distance.

The group immediately set off along the path of rainbow grass. They had thought it would take a long time, but after only four or five steps, they arrived at a bright island covered with rainbow grass.

Space seemed to be folded, and the mist and the sea of ​​water lilies were left behind.

Light from an unknown source illuminated the island, making it stand out starkly from the surrounding landscape of water lilies and mist, adding a touch of realism.

This island not only has rainbow grass, but also many apple trees, and the apples on them are all golden and very tempting.

"Go and try the apples," Chloe's voice rang out again. "And while you're at it, explore the area; you might find something unexpected."

Upon hearing Kroya's voice, the group exchanged glances for a moment before decisively scattering to begin exploring the island, which was approximately half a hectare in size.

What Miffy was most interested in were the golden apples. He walked to the tree, reached out and picked a round, golden apple, and rubbed it in his hand.

The texture feels very realistic, like an apple. The metallic sheen on the surface is just that—a sheen—and it's not hard at all.

"Is this a dream?"

"There are actually real fruits here. I wonder what they taste like."

He took a small bite of the apple.

"Click~"

The apple juice immediately filled his mouth, along with the sweet, crisp flesh; the taste was so irresistible that he couldn't stop eating it.

As if driven by something, he quickly and efficiently devoured the apple, which was bigger than his palm.

They even ate the apple core.

After finishing his meal, he licked his lips and felt that his mental strength had not only been fully restored, but also seemed to have become stronger—after all, he was already a sixth-level bishop-level cleric.

If an apple can enhance one's mental strength, then the fruit must be at least level six or seven.

"Such a miraculous fruit..."

He looked up at the vast apple orchard that covered most of the island and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Was this planted with His power?"

Here, "He" naturally refers to Demos, the son of light and war.

"Yes," Chloe's voice rang out amidst the omnipresent light, tinged with pride. "These are the golden apples I cultivated using His divine power. As for what else is there, you can explore for yourselves!"

The voice ended with a distinct upward inflection of excitement, before disappearing into the breeze.

Miffy: "..."

For some reason, he suddenly felt that Chloe was showing off her toy, and he was genuinely interested in it.

So he could only happily begin to explore his surroundings, strolling through the white earth and golden apple orchards.

Before they had gone more than a few steps, the shouts and yells of the apprentices could be heard in the distance—

"Wow!"

"What is this?"

"spa?!"

Miffy quickly took a few steps, and after passing through the gaps between several apple trees, a circular pool about ten meters in radius, bathed in warm light, suddenly appeared before him.

The pool contained pale orange water, emitting warm, white steam. It appeared to be no more than half a meter deep, while the edge of the pool consisted of perfectly formed golden rocks engraved with magical runes.

The entire pool seemed to be a peculiar magic circle.

Orpheus Oak was already lying in the pool. This tree-man had no clothes on at all and was now reclining against the pool wall, comfortably squinting his eyes and enjoying the moist water.

Its canopy is even covered with colorful little flowers, clearly indicating that it is in a very good mood.

Seeing that people were gathering around, it stretched out its branches, inviting, "Come on in, this is a rare experience."

Everyone present was an apprentice, and all of them had experienced communal living, so there was nothing to be shy about. Except for a few female apprentices, they all readily took off their clothes and jumped into the pool.

Just like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, "plop plop".

Logically speaking, what they are entering now are only spiritual entities, and there is no situation where they have taken off their clothes. Spiritual entities can change however they want.

But they felt it was very real; everything here seemed to be real, and the rules of the outside world still applied here.

As soon as they all jumped into the pool, the warm, orange water seemed to come alive and surged toward them, with slender, dragon-like fish with translucent fins circling around them.

"Isn't this a fish from Silvermoon Forest?"

"They can get in here too?"

"Uh... what are they doing?"

The silver fish opened their mouths in unison, like dragons breathing, exhaling long, silvery mist that enveloped everyone and the trees in the pool.

The silvery mist condensed into extremely fine ice crystals on their skin, which quickly spread to all parts of their bodies, even covering their hair.

What is it like to have hot springs with ice?

Now they felt it—their bodies were both cold and hot, yet not uncomfortable at all. Two different sensations intertwined and blossomed within their bodies, even showing a tendency to become addicted to them.

This wasn't just a feeling of extreme contrast between ice and fire; they sensed their mental energy becoming more solid at a visible rate.

It's truly visible to the naked eye, because their bodies are indeed becoming more realistic, with even the wrinkles, pores, and hair on their skin gradually becoming clearer.

"This...is amazing!"

"My mental strength has doubled!"

"Hahaha, I've reached level three in mental strength!"

The apprentices were overjoyed.

Whether knight or mage, the demand for mental strength is very high, especially for special knights who have learned Thorn Battle Aura.

Thorns' fighting spirit is theoretically inexhaustible, but how much they can control depends entirely on how strong their mental strength and willpower are.

Thinking of the thorny fighting spirit, they had an idea. Led by a knight apprentice, they all stretched out their hands, and white thorns grew from their fingertips, which then wrapped around and turned into sword blades.

"This is insane!!!"

Immediately, the surrounding mage apprentices scattered, glaring angrily: "Have you all gone mad? Using thorn swords here?"

"You want to fight, huh? Shall we go to the training grounds and have a go at it later?"

"Can't even take a bath in peace!"

The elegant mages, whose forearms were tanned dark by the sun while the rest of their bodies were fair white, looked like pandas, and then proceeded to reprimand the knight.

The knights pretended not to hear, as if they had discovered a new world. They ran to the side, grabbed their clothes, and dashed into the Golden Apple Forest. Soon after, a "clanging" sound could be heard.

They were clearly so energetic that they started sparring with each other.

Seeing this, the mages rolled their eyes, thinking that these people were really exaggerating. They had been away for so long, yet they still had the energy to spar like this when they came back.

They continued to soak leisurely in the bath, feeling the clash between the two magical powers of ice and fire. Not only was their mental strength slowly increasing, but their understanding of these two magical powers also seemed to be growing.

Soon they too became engrossed in the experience, except for Mifein, Orpheus Oak, and Rhea, who quietly got up and continued their exploration deeper into the Golden Apple Forest, two by two trees.

This golden apple grove was quite vast; they walked for about ten minutes before the apple trees in front of them gradually became sparse.

Some buildings appeared in the distance.

No, to be precise, it should be a treehouse.

Each of them is seven or eight meters tall, with branches and vines forming balconies, windows, and stairs, making the whole treehouse look rustic and mysterious.

Orpheus Oak was very familiar with those treehouses; they were "hunter's trees," a common sight among the elves.

Simply put, these are the houses where elven hunters live. Since most elves can pass the hunter's test as long as they are not disabled, these treehouses are the most common type of dwelling for ordinary people.

Above that are the Tree of War, the Tree of Priests, the Tree of Eternity... In short, the Elven race has a corresponding treehouse for each class and each profession.

There are even special assessments for "tree planters" who build treehouses, equivalent to construction workers or civil engineers on the human side.

Of course, this doesn't mean that this thing is low-grade.

In the land of the elves, where natural magic has practically permeated everything, even if you plant a rabbit, it might grow into a whole bunch of rabbits the following year.

Planting such treehouses in human territory would require significantly more time and effort.

The vast, continuous forest before us, which at a glance appears to consist of dozens of treehouses, is nothing short of a miracle on human territory.

To be formed within such a dream is even more miraculous.

The Orpheus Oak couldn't resist running over and began to communicate with these treehouses using its unique power, and something even more surprising happened.

The treehouse can actually communicate!

They are all alive and have self-awareness; they are not fakes created in a dream.

The other two exchanged a glance and went straight into the treehouse. The interior was completely different from the exterior, exuding a clean and tidy feel.

The floor is made of wood, and the surrounding walls are covered with jade tiles. There are tables, chairs, and benches, and there is a staircase on the side that leads up and down to the bedroom, kitchen, observation deck, and storage room.

Even the toilets and bathrooms are there...

They couldn't understand the meaning of these things. This is a dream, what use are these things?

Although one could vaguely sense some of Kroa's possible schemes, it was still unlikely that one could completely guess them.

So he could only follow Orpheus Oak with a puzzled look on his face.

"What on earth is going on, human friend?"

Oak pondered the matter to no avail and could only ask Chloe, hoping to get an answer. The other two were also very curious.

Kroya didn't keep them in suspense any longer, appearing directly before them and smiling, "Do you think spiritual power can exist here permanently, detached from the body?"

This question caused both of them to fall silent.

The three of them—a bishop, a person favored by God, and a former missionary—naturally knew far more than the average person.

But can mental energy really exist independently of the body?

Perhaps a powerful being can separate its spiritual power and soul, allowing the spiritual power and soul to enter certain places for exploration.

But that's not common. What Kroya is asking now is whether those level one or two knight mages can allow their mental energy to exist independently of their bodies for a long time.

They racked their brains to no avail—perhaps Orpheus Oak and Milfein had both thought of a possible owner of this dream, but given that Rhea was also present, they did not say so explicitly.

Seeing this, Kroya smiled and gestured for them to follow.

As he walked through the cluster of treehouses, he said, "This is a real dream that I created using many treasures and special magic."

Anyone with spiritual power can enter this place; not only humans, but also fish, birds, and spirits.

As he spoke, a bunch of elves appeared on his body. These little guys huddled together comfortably, perched on his shoulders and head, looking very content.

He glanced tenderly at the little ones, slowed his pace, and relaxed.

"Those who enter here can choose to deposit their spiritual power here and experience everything in this real dream."

Daily life, magical training, physical conditioning, and everything else that can't be experienced in reality.

"When they have spent enough time here and withdraw their mental energy, they will naturally acquire the memories and experiences of this place."

Of course, you can experience it for yourself; just come here through the passage constructed by the rainbow grass.

He paused here, then suddenly looked at Rhea and said, "I've prepared a gift for you here. Go and take a look at the great river in the distance."

He pointed, and the once lush Golden Apple Forest in the distance vanished instantly, replaced by a huge, rushing river.

Inside, pink finless porpoises are leaping about.

"I'm going to see a friend first!"

Rhea knew, of course, that Kroya was deliberately making him leave, probably to discuss some confidential matters. He wisely ran off quickly to play with the finless porpoises.

"let's go."

After watching him leave, Kroya continued walking forward. A path made of rainbow grass appeared under her feet, and the surrounding golden apple forest gradually thinned out, with pale purple water lilies beginning to fill her vision.

There seemed to be a powerful mental fluctuation faintly visible in the distance.

Orpheus Oak and Milfine both knew what it was.

They remained silent, listening as Kroya continued, "I tried to put this powerful divine messenger into an eternal slumber, but His spirit is so vast... neither the deepest dreams nor the embrace of the earth can keep Him asleep forever."

"so……"

Kroa stopped in her tracks; the path of Rainbow Grass had come to an end.

In the distance, a massive, mountain-like figure lies asleep beneath pale purple water lilies, surrounded and embraced by a sea of ​​flowers.

The monk opened his arms, seemingly embracing the entire world.

His tone was proud:

"I want to use the spiritual power of all living beings to build an absolutely real dream, so that He can be trapped in it and sleep forever."

"As long as spiritual energy is sufficient, the world will become more and more real. This world is built on His dream, and by drawing power from Him, it can provide endless divine power and become a true dream kingdom."

"..."

Orpheus Oak and Milfein stared in astonishment. For a moment, even the bishop and the chosen ones felt that Kroa's figure was incredibly tall.

This is not only about trapping them, but also about using the divine messengers as a source of energy.

What an arrogant approach, what a... genius idea!

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(End of this chapter)