Chapter 237
Ottofis woke up, licking his lips as if savoring some delicious food from a dream. He called out to Ye Bai, still lost in the aftertaste of his slumber.
Seeing this, Ye Bai helplessly fed him a piece of bread and climbed onto his back.
“Let’s go check that way.”
As she approached Ottofis, Ye Bai glanced at the map. The green dot representing the destination and the red dot representing her position were still overlapping. The Emerald Forest was a vast area, and this could mean that the map or the target was too large for any differences to be discerned at this scale.
So, Ye Bai decided to move in a straight line for a bit to see if anything changed.
“Ahh!” Ottofis, having eaten the bread, was quite cooperative. With Ye Bai on his back, he galloped across the desolate wilderness.
The extraordinary nature of this ‘magical donkey’ was once again evident. Although Ye Bai sat on him quite steadily and it seemed he wasn’t moving fast, comparing it to the previous plant, she realized they had covered a significant distance in a short time. After just a few breaths, she could no longer see the plant’s shadow.
Finally, after a vigorous twenty minutes of running, Ye Bai called for Ottofis to stop.
At this distance, even the largest map scale would reveal some differences.
However, when Ye Bai activated the life branch again, her brow furrowed.
“Unbelievably… no change.”
On the guiding map, the red dot representing Ye Bai and the green dot representing the destination were still overlapping, showing no difference from before.
The paper figure, hearing this, wore a shocked expression, resembling a ‘0.0’ face: “We’ve moved so far, and we’re still within the Emerald Forest?”
Ye Bai nodded, checked on Ottofis to ensure he was in good condition, and then tried moving in a different direction. This time, they traveled even further, and Ottofis was panting when they stopped.
But the result was the same: the red dot and green dot still overlapped, indicating Ye Bai was right at the destination.
Ye Bai jumped off Ottofis, realizing that verifying the distance seemed pointless, so there was no need to try again.
She held the life branch in her hands, examining it: “This life branch can’t possibly be the problem…”
“No problem, this is indeed a genuine life branch,” the paper figure replied from its perch among the leaves, two suspicious slashes appearing on its cheeks.
“…” Ye Bai had to put down the life branch. Although she couldn’t understand why this two-dimensional being would have social anxiety.
However, the attributes of this item, the [God King’s Treasure Key 1], indicated it was authentic. After all, a fake wouldn’t be able to harm the Infernal Demon God. If the triggering item was fine, then the issue must lie with the destination.
“Having moved so far without any change, it seems the area of the Emerald Forest is too vast. Even after traveling this distance, we’re still within its range, like being in the deep sea…?” Ye Bai pondered. “But the Emerald Forest shouldn’t be this large, and there are no signs of anomalies around here.”
The paper figure interjected, “There’s another possibility: the Emerald Forest might be mobile. Could it be that…”
At this point, Ye Bai and the paper figure spoke in unison: “The Emerald Forest is moving with us?”
But if the Emerald Forest was moving, then where would the entrance be?
The two fell into thought once more.
After a moment, the paper figure had a revelation: “Maybe we should look for the forest, or a related ‘concept’.”
Ye Bai paused, feeling as if she had grasped a fleeting inspiration, but upon deeper reflection, it slipped away. Moreover—
“The forest isn’t necessarily a prerequisite…”
As she spoke, Ye Bai instinctively scanned her surroundings.
In the empty wilderness, the withered plants were merely scattered embellishments, let alone a forest. Ottofis, perhaps tired, had completely collapsed on the ground, closing his eyes and snoring softly.
How did he fall asleep again…? Ye Bai’s smile was half-formed when she suddenly caught that fleeting inspiration.
“Ottofis, you weren’t this sleepy before… I think I understand!”
The paper figure’s gaze followed Ye Bai’s to the deeply sleeping Ottofis: “Are you saying…”
“Dreams.” Ye Bai pulled out a soft mat from her backpack, spread it out, and lay down, assuming a sleeping posture. “The entrance to the Emerald Forest can only be accessed after falling asleep.”
In the myriad worlds, putting a character to sleep was a simple task; it only required a certain level of consciousness control, as the system recognized the state of [sleep]. Whether the player’s consciousness was awake or not didn’t affect the judgment.
So, after lying down for a short while, Ye Bai’s character ‘fell asleep.’
…
“Creak, creak…”
The scene before her changed, and Ye Bai heard the sound of plants being chewed.
Looking up, amidst a sea of fresh greenery, a gray donkey was munching on a juicy yellow fruit hanging from a nearby branch.
Chapter 160
The Emerald Forest—its entrance was in the forest of dreams, or perhaps it would be more fitting to call it the ‘Emerald Dreamscape.’
In fact, Ye Bai was able to quickly connect the entrance of the Emerald Forest to dreams because of a legendary wood magic known as the Emerald Dreamscape.
As the name suggests, it was a type of area magic similar to the Bone Domain, but unlike that, the Emerald Dreamscape provided powerful protection and life restoration effects to friendly targets.
Ye Bai stood up, surveying her surroundings.
In stark contrast to the desolate reality, this ‘dream’ was filled with vibrant life—a forest teeming with magical plants that had been enhanced and mutated under the rich nourishment of the Life Tree.
Many special plants that typically required harsh environmental conditions to grow, some of which had mutual restraining relationships, were now flourishing harmoniously in this forest, nourished by the abundant life force, appearing as common as any ordinary plant.
Meanwhile, Ottofis, who had entered first, was happily munching on a ‘Sun Fruit’ that radiated a golden glow.
“This guy…”
Seeing this scene, Ye Bai was momentarily speechless. The first time she saw Ottofis dreaming, he was eating something; it all made sense now.
Next, Ye Bai checked her own status. Her personal attributes, backpack, and equipment were all the same as they were outside the dream. It seemed that this ‘Emerald Dreamscape’ was in a neutral state and hadn’t weakened her abilities.
The only difference was the life branch pendant at her waist, which now shimmered with a layer of radiant green light, appearing to be in some activated state.
“Wuming?”
Ye Bai called out to the life branch, but there was no change in the branch’s leaf patterns, and the familiar cartoon figure didn’t appear.
The paper figure, which had always followed Ye Bai’s gaze, hadn’t entered the dream with her this time…
Ye Bai glanced again at Ottofis, who was engrossed in another patch of Moonlight Grass, and realized: the Emerald Dreamscape was almost indistinguishable from reality, but it was still a ‘dream.’ She and Ottofis were living beings who could enter here through deep sleep, while the paper figure, cursed into a two-dimensional state, likely couldn’t dream.
It seemed she would be one helper short this time…
With that thought, Ye Bai stood up, ready to explore this place with Ottofis.
This was a rare opportunity; having finally found the Emerald Forest, Ye Bai wouldn’t waste time communicating with the paper figure. Not only would it change nothing, but if she missed this chance, she might never be able to return.
As she approached Ottofis, her gaze was drawn to a blue fruit with a layer of ice crystals hanging from a nearby tree.
【Frostfruit (Mutated)】
Level: Rare
Effect: Permanently increases fire resistance by 10 points.
Description: This fruit, infused with frost essence, will make one fearless of flames.
Seeing this, Ye Bai’s heart stirred, and she reached out to pluck the fruit.
Feeling the chill in her hand, she had a thought: would eating this fruit from the dream enhance her abilities in reality?
In other dream spaces, everything might just be an illusion, but this was the Emerald Forest with the Life Tree; it might genuinely increase her attributes.
After all, there was nothing to lose. Ye Bai ate the Frostfruit, and it tasted like a fruity sorbet—cool, crisp, and sweet, just like eating something in the waking world.
The next moment, a system notification chimed in:
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