Dion was on his bed, ready to sleep and travel to the other side. He didn't see Ivy, so he skipped the training for today.
Although Dion escaped, he didn't want to slack. After he found out that the other side isn't as cool as he thought, he tries to learn any means to protect himself in the absence of martial training and magical abilities.
Dion thought he needed to make use of his cheat as a realm wanderer efficiently. Realm wanderers make him ignore the clutches of sleep. A big cheat. While others sleep, he can do useful things in another realm while his empty and soulless body rests in the other realm. He will use this ability to learn one or two things to survive.
However, Dion noticed something — if he doesn't sleep during the day in one realm, he gets assaulted by a strange headache. His mind will be groggy.
That was when he saw something at the end of the book Ella gave him. A stern warning: Sleep during the day is indispensable even for realm wanderers. Going without sleep for too long might cause a wanderer's mind to snap.
Madness is a possibility because while the body rests when shuttling to another realm, the mind works without rest. Some people might fall into a state of blood madness, becoming murderous psychopaths.
Anxiety disorders, depression, cognitive impairment, and burnout can also occur.
When Dion read it, his breathing stopped. Then he made up his mind to not miss sleep during the day.
Closing his eyes and plunging into sleep, Dion's eyes in Aeon fluttered open. Unsurprisingly, the sun was rising, bathing the planet in its warm glow. Chirping birds sang cheerfully. The rustling leaves brought about a quiet serenity but a deep growl from a distance reminded Dion of his current location.
Dion slowly sat up from the dry floor and dusted off the sand off his body. When he looked around, he noticed Luke communicating and laughing with Valka while trying to strike up a conversation with Liana. Liana was replying occasionally.
Now Dion remembered what bothered him on the other side before Ivy knocked — Luke.
He's a paranoid guy in the first place. No matter how he looked at it, there's something wrong with this Luke of a guy.
But he couldn't fathom what's wrong. Liana and Valka confirmed what Luke said is free from deception and trap. Dion believed they wouldn't allow Luke to lead them to their death, so there's no deception except….
'...are they on the same team?'
'But that elf didn't sit close to them. Even now, she's pretty much quiet and her position looks neutral. As for Valka, she's just getting to know him from the interaction and rapport. Although they got closer just one night that I left, that could only show Valka's gullibility. Or is their acting flawless?'
"Did you meet Ella?" Karen's voice jolted him.
He nodded in affirmation.
With his side eyes, he still noticed that the three team members didn't hear Karen's voice.
"Oh! You're awake. Let's go. Two more nights in the woods and we will be in the village by the next." Luke offered Dion a friendly smile.
But Dion felt a lurking serpent hiding behind the smile but he refrained from making any comment.
Dion picked up his box and said, "Let's go."
Trodding past the morning forest that had dew still on the leaves, the group of five followed Luke's direction with Liana on the lookout.
They walked quietly and only stopped by a stream to drink water. Everybody was vigilant and quiet.
***
Walking without halting until dusk was drawing closer, they finally made a stop.
Karen went to find woods today as she pretty much did nothing since they escaped. Liana and Valka went to hunt. Only Luke and Dion remained at their resting site. Luke kept himself busy playing a wooden flute he got from only heaven knows. Dion just sat on his box.
They all had their fill early when the girls returned and quenched the fire to avoid attracting beasts.
When it was night, Karen pressed something into his palm and whispered in his ears, "That's a pill. It can help keep you awake for a night. You need to awaken the void system and copy a bloodline to stop the involuntary travels."
Dion looked at the pill and swallowed it immediately. Sleep was already caressing him in its velvety embrace. The pill melted instantly, followed by a cooling sensation. The sleep affecting him vanished like an illusion.
'It's good to be able to avoid sleep,' Dion thought with happiness welling in his heart.
A threatening voice brought him back. "If you do anything to my body, you are pretty much dead. I will hunt you until you are dead in both worlds," Karen spoke through gritted teeth.
The others gave them a strange gaze. Dion wasn't sure if they heard Karen but he replied with silence. Bantering and arguing with a stranger is not his thing. To him, Karen and him are just strangers using each other to survive.
Karen lay behind him and slept off.
"Liana and Dion will guard us now while Valka and I will take over at night," Luke said calmly and prepared to sleep.
Dion narrowed his eyes at Luke. "No. Valka and I will watch now, while Liana and you will take over."
Luke protested, "But we plan–"
"You got a problem?" Dion arched his eyebrow.
"No, no, no." Luke hurriedly waved his hand in a sign of dismissal.
Dion just turned his face and continued looking around calmly with the cloak concealing some part of his face; it gave him an eerie vibe.
After about an hour from Dion's calculations, when he was sure Luke and Liana were asleep, he turned to Valka.
'Time to get some breakthrough but how can I make her talk?'
Dion watched Valka, who was looking around vigilantly with her standing wolf ear twitching.
'Right! What did Ivy say again? Make them feel comfortable.'
When Ivy was teaching him to come out of his shut-in life and talk to others, she mentioned that.
'But how? If I tell her she looks beautiful, it would look flirty.'
Beads of sweat started rolling down Dion's forehead as he scoured his brain.
'I will just smile and talk normally.'
"Valka," Dion called out with his cool voice. Valka's eyes settle on him from watching around.
When he tried to smile, it wasn't working. He rarely interacts with strangers, so smiling at one feels like taking the wrong pill.
'Screw that! My things, my way!'
"Your claws and ears, did you get them from your parents?" Dion blurted but he kept a reserved tone.
Valka stared at him for a long time, her eyes filled with vigilance and confusion. "I don't know. I was picked by the forest side of my village," she replied in a serious tone.
"You and Luke are from the same village?" Dion asked, trying to not show anything and act neutral.
"No," she instantly denied. "I just met him after we came out and he's a good guy."
"...unlike you," she muttered inaudibly at the end but Dion heard her.
"A good guy you say?" Dion arched an eyebrow.
"There's a village closer to us, but he's taking us to the second one somewhere far away. When I asked him, he said he was trying to avoid collateral damage if those people chased after us. And it's true. The village he's taking us to is very small with many bad guys populating it. If it's not a good guy, who does that?" Valka asked Dion, her eyes shining fearlessly and fiercely in the dark.
But Dion was looking at her eyes with unfocused eyes, his mind was running a deep calculation.
'That's it. He's taking us to a town populated with criminals. He does not look like a good samaritan who would sacrifice himself for others. Something is wrong! I need to leave.'
Dion looked at Valka calmly. "I don't trust Luke. Let's leave together tonight."
Valka's naivety made Dion comfortable to travel with her. Besides, her strength and experience in the wild made him want her on his team. As for Liana, she looks smart and cunny.
*"I will travel with Luke instead. What if you sell me and I help you count the money? I'm not smart enough to notice any scheme," Valka immediately rejected his proposition.
Dion's expression wavered for a moment, a mix of disappointment and understanding crossing his features. He had hoped to convince Valka to join him on his journey because he was still weak.
"But I have a feeling he will do the same." Dion pointed at Luke.
"Maybe. Maybe not. But I know for sure that you will sacrifice me like a pawn as you did to those prisoners." Valka squinted her eyes.
'Damn! Chain of suspicion! She suspects me while I suspect Luke.'
Dion looked at Valka for a long time.