"Pfft!"
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
Finally.
Franka and Jessica, who had been watching from a distance, couldn't hold it in any longer. Both of them were sent into hysterics by the absurd appearance and build of Lucas Reeve in Liskarm's dream.
Jessica was slightly better, at least trying to maintain her image in front of Lucas. She let out a small snort and quickly covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. Franka, however, had no such reservations. With her naturally carefree personality, she couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, even patting Lucas on the shoulder.
"You've really outdone yourself, Mr. Reeve. How did you manage to have such a ridiculous image in Liskarmy's head?"
"...."
Lucas Reeve didn't say anything.
He was in a state of utter confusion.
He couldn't understand why, as a mere spectator, he kept finding that some of the drama was about him.
Meanwhile, on the main battlefield of the dream.
For some unknown reason.
Liskarm had started fighting Lucas Reeve.
Liskarm's physical prowess was incredibly formidable. Accompanied by the rumbling of thunder within her body, the very sky seemed to change color in an instant.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!"
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!!!"
Their fists clashed, a flurry of blows that were practically flesh on flesh. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to follow the trajectory of their punches at all, only seeing countless impacts and flashes of thunder between them. A spiderweb of cracks even began to appear in the air from the force of their blows.
This time.
The two goofballs were also at a loss for words.
Franka's jaw looked as if it was about to drop off, her mouth hanging wide open.
"Is... Is Liskarmy's dream this ridiculous? The sky is changing from their fight. This is... just too absurd."
"It is a bit..."
Lucas Reeve muttered under his breath.
Elsewhere.
The clash between Liskarm and the dream Lucas had reached a fever pitch, trading blow for blow in a deadlocked battle.
Just when the others thought the fight would end in a draw.
Liskarm did something the three of them never expected.
Lightning sparked around her fist, and the sky seemed to respond to her power. Dark clouds suddenly gathered, and the faint sound of thunder could be heard within them.
The next second.
To the dream Lucas's shock.
Liskarm's incredibly powerful fist had already struck him in the chest.
Boom!
With a deafening crash.
The dream Lucas had his chest pierced through, dying with a look of unwillingness. He couldn't be more dead.
Dream Franka and Jessica, who had witnessed it all from nearby, burst into tears of joy, grateful that the nightmare of their two sisters had finally been slain by the legendary Lady Liskarm.
Lucas Reeve: "???"
"I'm gone just like that? There's no follow-up? My part is already over?"
He had such a grand entrance, giving off the vibe of a final boss, so how was he defeated so quickly... How embarrassing.
Lucas had a million retorts he wanted to make right now.
Beside him.
Franka couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing again, even louder than before, slapping Lucas on the back repeatedly.
"Haha~ You're finished, Mr. Reeve! That's hilarious."
Jessica, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction.
She was somewhat relieved.
Thank goodness Senior Liskarm and Mr. Reeve didn't have some strange storyline.
When Lucas first appeared, Jessica had been the most worried.
She was afraid that here, in Liskarm's dream, Lucas would also have some weird connection to her.
But...
Now she could rest easy!
Lucas was so speechless he couldn't even form a sentence.
He was supposed to be the one enjoying the show, so how did he end up being the one who was upset?
It was like riding in a convertible to watch a spectacle, only for someone next to you to suddenly go *splat*. Oh well, so much for the show; you've died of laughter before it even began.
Finally.
Lucas couldn't take it anymore.
He didn't want to watch the rest of the story. He rushed forward and tapped a finger on Liskarm's forehead.
As his Spiritual Power flowed into her.
The surrounding scenery began to dissolve.
And Liskarm's appearance and build reverted from the 1.8-meter-tall muscular and handsome woman in the dream back to the original 1.54-meter-tall cute girl.
Liskarm was a widely acknowledged top student.
The moment she regained clarity and all her memories flooded back, she understood what had happened. She didn't need Lucas to explain at all; she could even take the initiative to speak.
"Is there something strange about this cave? Was I just hallucinating? Is this a spiritual world?"
"Huh?"
Franka was taken aback.
"How do you know?"
It had taken Lucas several explanations for her to get it, but Liskarm reacted so quickly, able to deduce the rest without needing examples. It made Franka feel a bit dimwitted...
"Because... Mr. Reeve has legs... and doesn't look like a ghost. From that, I could guess that we've probably become ghosts too. Combined with my previous dream, this place must be affected by some power that has trapped us all in a strange dream state."
"And Mr. Reeve, being a spirit himself, is unaffected and has been waking us up one by one."
Liskarm spoke in a calm tone, her analysis perfectly logical.
However, she was anything but calm on the inside. She didn't quite dare to look Lucas in the eye. But unlike Franka's earlier embarrassment, Liskarm was ashamed of herself.
As a top student, she was considerably more thin-skinned than someone like Franka. She cared more about the impression and evaluation others had of her and couldn't be as carefree as Franka. Unless... they were truly the closest of friends, then she would speak without reservation.
In her own dream.
Lucas had become the villainous boss, and she had smashed him with a single punch. Most importantly, the real him had witnessed it. No matter how you looked at it, it was utterly mortifying.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Reeve. I apologize for my dream..."
Liskarm felt genuinely bad and took the initiative to apologize to Lucas.
"And Jessica... your image in my dream wasn't great either... I'm sorry..."
Her senior was suddenly apologizing to her.
Jessica frantically waved her hands.
"There's no need, Senior Liskarm. It was just a dream. Besides, in my dream, your and Senior Franka's images were also... a little different."
In her panic, Jessica accidentally let her secret slip.
Franka immediately perked up, pressing her about how grand and impressive her image was in Jessica's dream.
But this time, Jessica kept her lips sealed, refusing to reveal a single detail.
She couldn't possibly say...
That in her dream, Senior Franka became her junior and was also flat-chested and weak...
According to Liskarm's explanation, the content of her dream was apparently her lifelong dream: to establish a security company to protect her hometown. The bandits in the dream were also real, but Liskarm had infiltrated their ranks and wiped them out a year ago. That included their leader. As an elite Operator, killing ordinary bandits was a piece of cake.
Perhaps because Liskarm had long forgotten what the bandit leader looked like.
The dream automatically substituted the most recent and clearest male face in her mind.
And that's how it ended up looking like it did.
It was a very normal dream.
Not as full of bizarre moments as Jessica's and Franka's, which was a bit of a pity. Not enough drama.
Franka: "What about me? What about me?"
However.
Liskarm completely ignored Franka.
She even replied faintly.
"That's how you've always been in my mind..."
Truly a best friend and worst enemy.
"...."
"Sigh...."
Franka held her head in her hands.
"How boring... I was hoping to get some good gossip from your dream, Liskarmy, to see how embarrassing it would be. I wanted to use it as leverage to tease you in the future. Strange... don't people say that the more serious a person is on the outside, the dirtier their mind is on the inside? How is your dream so normal..."
"I really want some dirt on you!!"
As a top student, Liskarm's physical abilities were not on par with Franka's; she relied entirely on her intellect. Naturally, she could easily guess that Franka must have had an incredibly embarrassing dream and was desperate for her to be embarrassed as well to cover up her own shame.
"Fat Fox, I don't even need to look to know that your dream was definitely about you becoming some big star, winning countless awards, or maybe being the daughter of a billionaire..."
Liskarm commented dryly.
But Franka was dumbfounded.
"How did you know!!"
"Because... you talk about it all the time... What you think about by day, you dream of by night."
"..."
Now, only Magallan was left.
They had to wake her up and get out of here quickly.
Next stop, Magallan.
Franka and Jessica's eyes were filled with anticipation. They hadn't gotten much gossip out of Liskarm, which was a shame. Hopefully, Magallan's dream would be a bit more interesting.
Liskarm was also relatively interested, but while the former was looking for drama, the latter was purely intrigued by the principles of this dream world.