Build an ancient-level power in the nightmare world

The black smoke around them grew thicker and thicker.

This increasingly felt to Chris like a signal that the dream was about to end.

Without further hesitation, he walked directly into the array drawn by Benjamin.

The formation wasn't very large.

Avoiding Vivian lying in the middle, he was less than twenty centimeters away from Benjamin.

Chris glanced at Vivian lying on the ground and began to ponder.

He guessed that the Vivian he met that morning was the real person.

The black tentacles he saw on Vivian's body at that time must have come from that black mist.

So, Vivian was going to enter this dream world before him?

If that's really the case...

So there's a possible explanation for why he couldn't see the countdown.

When he met Vivian in the morning, she mistook him for the new torchbearer.

There are two possibilities: either the other person has a memory problem, or the other person had already been in a dream for some time before he entered this place.

If it's the latter, then Vivian, the real person, entered the dream earlier than Chris, so she takes on the role of the protagonist.

This is a guess that Chris has deduced based on the information he currently has.

Just as Chris was thinking, Benjamin's slightly calloused hand patted him heavily on the shoulder.

"Stop thinking."

Benjamin solemnly reminded him.

At the same time, Benjamin pointed upwards.

Chris looked in the direction Benjamin was pointing.

Suddenly, the tentacles that had been hidden in the gray-black mist reappeared.

Furthermore, the tips of their tentacles pointed in their direction and twisted continuously, giving the impression that they were about to pounce.

Benjamin suddenly pulled his hand away from Chris's shoulder.

Feeling the weight lift from his shoulder, Chris couldn't help but look away from the tentacles above and return his gaze to Benjamin.

Benjamin gave Chris only a meaningful look, then closed his eyes and began to chant a spell.

Chris couldn't understand what Benjamin was saying.

But he could feel the spiritual fluctuations emanating from the array beneath his feet.

The runes drawn on it began to shimmer with a pale blue light.

Chris's gaze lingered on the shimmering runes, scanning them one by one.

A black light curtain suddenly burst forth from Benjamin's body.

The array completely enveloped Chris and Vivian, along with the formation beneath their feet.

Feeling his vision suddenly darken, Chris couldn't help but look away from the runes and begin to look around.

They were enveloped in a huge, black, semi-transparent bubble. Outside the bubble, the images in the hall began to distort and become extremely blurry.

"Disable your spiritual vision, put away your magical gadgets, close your eyes, and stop thinking nonsense."

Benjamin, who had opened his eyes at some point, spoke up again to remind him.

Chris knew the other person was talking to him, so he quickly turned off his spiritual vision, closed his eyes, cut off the spiritual supply to the Guardian Ring and the Mars card, and cleared his mind of all distractions.

Suddenly, he felt as if his body had become light and airy.

But this feeling only lasted for a brief moment.

That feeling of being grounded reappeared.

Immediately afterward, a soft sound of a shoe sole scraping against the wooden floor rang out beside Chris.

A faint smell of dust began to enter his nostrils with each breath.

Even the occasional wisp of air that brushed against his cheek seemed to become cooler.

Chris keenly sensed that his environment might have changed.

That feeling of palpitation did not reappear.

But without Benjamin's reminder, he dared not open his eyes rashly.

Not long after, Chris heard the sound of leather shoes on the wooden floor again.

This time, it seems that several people are walking briskly at the same time.

The footsteps were sometimes near, sometimes far, sometimes light, sometimes heavy.

After a while, all the sounds disappeared.

Chris, whose eyes were still closed, suddenly felt a soft yellow halo appear before him.

A somewhat familiar voice came from directly in front of him.

"You can open your eyes now."

Upon hearing this, Chris slowly opened his eyes.

Benjamin was standing quietly less than a meter away from him, holding an oil lamp.

There was always a faint scrutinizing look in the other person's eyes.

But Chris didn't sense any malice from the other person.

He quickly looked around and found the layout of the room somewhat familiar.

Chris suddenly realized that he had returned to reality.

The layout of the living room was almost identical to his room, except that there were no signs of life in it; everything was old and clean.

Although this isn't his room 102, it's definitely in apartment 037.

The experience from his dream flashed through his mind.

He instantly understood his current predicament.

Looking at Benjamin in front of him, he knew that he had been exposed.

But Chris didn't know exactly what had been revealed.

The other party didn't seem to have any malicious intent.

He needed to test the other party's reaction.

Chris's gaze returned to Benjamin, his brow furrowing slightly. After exhaling, a look of natural confusion crossed his face as he asked, seemingly uncertainly, "Captain...?"

Benjamin had been watching Chris's expression closely, and upon seeing it, he couldn't help but reveal a meaningful smile.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he said solemnly, "Mission complete. Your performance was unsatisfactory, Chris... team member."

Benjamin specifically emphasized the word "team member," an uncommon expression that shouldn't appear in spoken language, which made Chris feel a little expectant.

After saying that, Benjamin picked up the oil lamp, walked past Chris, and went downstairs.

Seeing this, Chris hesitated for a moment.

The next moment, he still chose to follow.

……

Downstairs at 037 Nottingham Street apartment building.

Chris followed behind Benjamin.

As he walked down the first-floor corridor, he couldn't help but glance at his room.

The door remained tightly closed, and the lock showed no signs of being pried open.

He had considered saying goodbye to Benjamin and telling him he had arrived home.

But Chris only thought about it and didn't say it out loud, and continued to follow the other person forward.

He still had the Star card, the Mars card, and the Guardian Ring on his person.

He brought these things directly from his dream.

Furthermore, it was not done through the secret box.

This surprised Chris.

At the same time, he recalled that he seemed to have seamlessly transitioned into the special dream he had just experienced when he left that mysterious space.

In other words, from the moment he entered the mysterious space tonight until now, he has finally returned to reality.

There must be some connection between the mysterious space and that special dream world.

However, he has not yet found any relevant patterns.

The second lucid dream was entered directly from the mysterious space.

But that experience was even more special.

In this dream, he wasn't the main character; in the previous one, he wasn't even a human being.

There are still too many questions and too many secrets about the mysterious space waiting for him to discover.

Chris didn't believe Benjamin would find out.

The other party probably only knew that he was proficient in mystical techniques and possessed a protective ring.

As for the Mars card, he did not actually activate the flame on it in front of the other party in the dream.

Even if the other party realizes that the Mars card in his hand is unusual, they probably wouldn't be able to figure out its specific function.

but……

Chris suddenly realized that perhaps the other party was knowledgeable and could guess the use of the Mars card.

He shook his head slightly, putting these matters aside for the time being.

These are not the key issues.

What he's most worried about now is that, in his dream, he activated the power of the Sacred Path of the Wind Avatar for a fleeting moment.

At that time, he sensed a power aura that also belonged to the incarnation of wind.

He knew, of course, that Benjamin possessed the holy seal of the Wind Incarnation.

He carved it himself.

However, he only sensed the power of the incarnation of wind.

But there were two Benjamins present at the time.

At that time, the other Benjamin had not yet shown any abnormalities.

If Benjamin in the dream also possesses the holy seal he carved, just like in reality, then Chris should be able to sense both auras.

But he only sensed one thing, and that's where the problem lies.

Therefore, at that time, he decisively stopped mobilizing the power of the Holy Path.

It's just unknown whether Benjamin noticed the moment he activated the power of the Holy Path.

A moment later.

Chris followed Benjamin through the alley and onto Nottingham Street.

At that moment, a black sedan was parked on the side of the road.

Chris looked at the gleaming black car and could vaguely make out a black figure in the driver's seat through the streetlights.

Benjamin stopped for the first time, standing a meter away from the car, and looked back at Chris who was following behind him.

Seeing this, Chris still widened his eyes slightly, his eyes still showing a look of doubt.

Benjamin's expressionless face softened into a faint smile as he opened the back door and gestured for Chris to get in.

Seeing this, Chris first glanced into the car.

He noticed that there was already someone sitting in the back seat.

The other person was also dressed in a black suit, with most of their face hidden in shadow, making it impossible to see their features.

Chris slowly exhaled and finally walked towards the car.

When Chris arrived at the car door, he bent down and carefully sat down in the back seat.

As he sat down, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at the person next to him.

"Morpheus..." After seeing the other person's appearance clearly, Chris silently uttered the other person's name in his mind.

Morphy ignored Chris, staring straight ahead, his expression unreadable.

After Chris got into the car, Benjamin gently closed the door and sat in the front passenger seat.

The sound of an engine suddenly rang out, particularly noticeable on the night street, and the vehicle slowly started moving.

From the moment Chris got into the car until it started moving, there was no communication between the people inside.

An eerie atmosphere began to spread.

Chris, however, did not feel uncomfortable because he knew two of the other three people in the car.

Although Morphy, who was next to him, probably didn't recognize him.

I don't know if the influence of the dream is still lingering on me.

In short, all of this gave him a very strange feeling.

Chris suddenly felt that he should say something.