Chapter 15 - Dream Space Pt.2

Edward's eyes jolted open, and he woke up in a panic. Immediately, he held his arm and felt a moist sensation. "Shit! What happened?" He looked around and saw Whitey, who had an apologetic expression on his face.

"Trees....Strange sleep..." Whitey's childlike voice echoed inside Edward's mind, and he could clearly tell that the small rabbit felt somewhat nervous.

"Sigh...You didn't do anything wrong." He gave the rabbit a head rub and dragged him closer. "Not even I was sure of what was happening." After making sure that Whitey didn't blame himself, Edward looked towards the two cherry trees.

He approached the cherry tree on the right and carefully touched its trunk. If he ever had doubts that the two trees were responsible for the strange fog, they were now completely gone.

"So, that dream that I had is also thanks to the two cherry trees, right?" Edward's curiosity was piqued as he wondered what other mysterious powers the cherry trees might possess. "What would happen if I got hurt in that dream? And would another person enter the same space as me if we both slept at the same time?"

Edward's thoughts raced as he wondered about the unfathomable possibilities that could exist within the realm of the cherry tree's dreams, leaving him eager to explore and discover more about its enigmatic powers.

After some consideration, he lay down again, but this time he asked Whitey to try to fall asleep too. Soon enough, Edward found himself in the dream space once again, yet, this time Whitey was present with him.

"Oh? So, this is a shared space..." Edward was amazed by the possibilities that the dream space gave him. "Whitey, can you use your skills here?"

Whitey nodded as he began to run around the open field. First, he used his Shadow Clone, and after that, his claws shone with a dark hue as he slashed the air in front of him. He only stopped once he used all possible skills.

Edward's eyes sparkled as he watched Whitey's performance, wondering if injuries caused in this place would be transferred to the real world. "Hey, bite my hand. I want to test something."

At first, Whitey was apprehensive, but after Edward kept insisting, he finally gave in and bit his hand.

"The pain seems very real," Edward gritted his teeth as he endured the pain. "Now, let's test the exit method." After being bitten, Edward lay down again and closed his eyes. If he had entered the dream space by falling asleep, he expected that he could leave it using the same method.

The pain made it quite hard for him to sleep, but after a few minutes with his eyes closed, his entire body suddenly felt dormant, and his eyelids became heavy.

Edward's hypothesis was correct as he found himself back in the real world again. To his surprise, the wound he had received in the dream space wasn't present on his body. "Doesn't this mean I can train Whitey there?" He felt so excited that he almost couldn't handle it. However, he soon realized something.

All Whitey could do in the dream space was train his skills alone, as he didn't have a training partner to fight. Edward even thought about trying to fight Whitey, but he soon gave up as he remembered the rabbit's performance at the Guild Challenge.

Edward's excitement was short-lived as he realized the limitations of the dream space. However, he already had an idea in his mind. "I hope that one of them can evolve soon," Edward smiled as he looked at the herd of rabbits not far from him, and finally went to wake up Whitey.

The discovery of the dream space made Edward even more determined to advance to the Bronze Rank, as he would finally be able to bond with a second pet and fully utilize the dream space's potential.

After eating lunch, Edward spent the rest of the day cultivating and reading the books he had left. He only stopped when the night came and went to check out the rabbits. Since the day that Whitey had evolved, none of the rabbits' information indexes had shown any changes.

He was confused, as he first thought that the evolution had been triggered by the Moonlight Dancing Grass. "What could it be?" Edward began to recollect the night and immediately remembered that there were two full moons in the sky on that day. "Maybe the full moon is needed for the evolution, but why? Does the moon release some type of energy?" Edward sat down and fell into deep thought, slowly going through everything that he knew.

He didn't linger much on his previous theories about the full moon, as there wasn't any way for him to confirm his theory, and he planned to visit the city once again, so he had to go to bed early.

Edward left early the next morning, and to his surprise, some type of festival seemed to be taking place. The entire city was decorated with markings and flags from all the guilds.

He quickly thought back to the guild tournament that the guard had mentioned. "Don't tell me that the tournament is already starting?" Edward burst in excitement as he watched the crowd of people walking towards a big stadium in the city's center.

He hurriedly followed the crowd and was about to enter the stadium when someone patted his shoulder. "Oh? Did you also come to watch the tournament?" Julius, the armored man who had guided him on his first day in the city, smiled as he asked.

"Oh, it's you!" Edward exclaimed, recognizing Julius. "By chance, I came to visit the city again. Who would have thought that the tournament would be today?"

"Quite lucky. This is a good learning experience for you." Julius smiled as he paid the fee to watch the tournament. "Maybe you can even learn something that will help you with the Entry Level Challenge."

"I already got one of them. It wasn't that hard." Edward also paid the fee and entered the stadium, leaving the stunned Julius grounded there.

"D-Did you already get one badge?" Julius thought the boy was joking with him. After all, he had seen the boy's pet. "Stop joking around. What guild did you go to?"

"The Light Guild, of course." Edward stopped as he stared at the man's face, not understanding why he was so bewildered. "The Guild examiner was quite strong, but Whitey still completely dominated him." From the man's expression, Edward could already tell that he didn't believe him. So, he took out his Light Guild badge and showed it to him.

Julius stared at the Entry Level badge in disbelief. The entry-level challenge wasn't that hard, but to complete it at the Iron level was something barely seen in the whole city. "We don't know each other's names, right? I'm Julius." The fact that the young man had won his first badge at the Iron Level made Julius completely change the way he saw him. Only talented individuals would be able to beat the number disadvantage.

"That's right! I completely forgot to ask your name," Edward scratched his head. He was so nervous during his previous visit that many of his interactions had been pretty awkward. "My first time in the city, you know, I was pretty overwhelmed."

"I can imagine that, Amberhold may not be that big compared to the rest of the kingdom's cities, but for people of the countryside, it's always quite the shock." Julius let out a soft laugh. He had almost forgotten that the boy was a country bumpkin. "Do you have someone to watch the tournament? If you want, I can take you to sit next to me and my companions of the Fire Guild."

"Aren't you competing in the tournament?" Edward felt shocked that the man would pass on the chance to partake in such a grandiose event.

"Unfortunately, only the twenty strongest members and the leaders from each guild can compete." Julius smiled awkwardly. Representing the Fire Guild in the tournament was always his dream, but it was too far away for the time being. "There are too many people in the guilds, so if we all fought, the tournament would take too damn long."

Julius and Edward continued to chat while they walked to the stands, and soon they found the rest of the members of the Fire Guild. Just like Julius, they all wore the same robe, which was red with two yellow flames embroidered on the sleeves.

It was only then that Edward noticed that many people used similar clothing. Each of the Guilds had its own robe, with colors and symbols representing their respective elements.

Edward couldn't help but feel envious of them. He wasn't sure how much work a guild member had to do, but he bet that it would feel nice to be part of such a big group.