High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2019: Chapter 240: Entering the Dream

Although it’s been less than two years since he entered the school, Zheng Qing has seen many grand scenes.

Moon Council members, Black Wizards, Outer Gods, Legends, and so on, he has seen all these existences; he has been to worlds in the mirror, in the night, witnessed scenes of tens of thousands of wizards and demons battling, and even personally exploded once and checked in at The Land of Void.

Relatively speaking, the school hunting party held by the First University should only count as a small scene.

He originally thought he wouldn’t be nervous.

But when everyone he encountered in the academy was talking about the evening’s selection contest, the dangers of Dreamland, and how fierce the competition among hunting teams in this hunt was, the young cost student couldn’t help but feel nervous as well.

Worried that the Absolution Hunting Team might stumble, and he would be hunted by Su Shijun’s fanatical fans.

Worried that he might accidentally blow up the hunting ground in Dreamland during the competition, exposing the Forbidden curse seed, and then be hunted by a group of Black Wizards.

Also worried that if Su Shijun slipped up during guidance and revealed Poseidon’s identity, he would be hunted by everyone.

Thinking that any bad result ends with him being hunted by a group of people, the young cost student couldn’t help feeling somewhat self-pitying, silently raising a middle finger, cursing this messed-up world.

This nervous feeling peaked during the Sunday night class meeting when the two Monitors distributed ’admission tickets’ to the students.

”I feel a little uncomfortable in my stomach.”

The young cost student rubbed his belly, staring at the palm-sized piece of Yellow Paper before him, feeling as if his just-eaten dinner was slowly rising up his throat.

The Xin Fat Man in the front row immediately turned around, full of enthusiasm: ”I...”

”No, no need, I feel fine now.” The young cost student declined politely — he had resolved not to eat anything the Fat Man offered before the school hunting party ended — while picking up the pen to sign his hunter ticket under Tang Dun’s supervision.

The ’admission tickets’ for the school hunt were divided into ’hunter tickets’ and ’audience tickets’, talismans used by the Hunting Committee to guide hunters and audiences into Dreamland, made from Yellow Paper, with the only difference being the hunter ticket had the hunting team name written with a talisman pen on one side, while the audience ticket was marked with the words ’not for sale’.

According to Tang Dun’s explanation on the podium, everyone just needs to tuck this ’ticket charm’ under the pillow before sleeping, and they can enter the venue prepared by the Hunting Committee in their dreams.

”What if I don’t dream at night?” The Fat Man liked to pick at any issue.

”Burn a couple of lavender sticks before bed, or prepare a packet of thyme.” Tang Dun was obviously prepared for this question, answering without thinking: ”If worried about nightmares, you can pre-make a Nightmare Doll, or hang a bunch of mistletoe sprigs by the bed... rosemary sprigs work too.”

”Vervain works too!” A classmate shouted from another corner of the classroom: ”Hanging vervain by the bed before sleeping can also prevent nightmares!”

”The only downside is that after using vervain, you’ll need to wash the sheets and covers in the morning.” Xin Fat Man laughed heartily.

The classroom immediately erupted into laughter.

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but tug at the corner of his mouth — apart from aiding sleep, vervain has another important function as an aphrodisiac, with salves made from it being essential in blending many classical love potions.

With this interruption, Zheng Qing’s nervous feelings eased a lot, and his previously churning stomach also settled down significantly.

This sense of calm lasted until he returned to his dormitory and lay down in the six-pillar bed curtains.

Before sleeping, the Warlock specially took out the Nightmare Doll given to him by Jiang Yu before, along with the hunter ticket, and tucked them under the pillow. The dormitory was filled with the scent of lavender roasting, mingled with Fat Cat’s long purrs and the Sprites’ faint giggles, and the Warlock soon drifted off to sleep.

When he regained his senses, he was in a dense bluish-white mist.

The mist was thick, and myriad shadowy figures seemed to lurk deep within, indistinct. Zheng Qing instinctively drew his Charm Gun, twisting the magazine to the regular Fu Bullet position.

The crisp sound of the bolt turning was exceptionally clear in the mist — Zheng Qing suspected that this loudness was greatly related to his confidence in the Charm Gun.

”Captain, don’t shoot! It’s me... don’t shoot!”

A voice of Xin Fat Man clamored from the mist: ”I was just thinking if the selection competition had already started as soon as we entered... then hearing your familiar Charm Gun sound, I realized that it’s our own people around... if you shoot recklessly, the hunt might not even start, and Absolution will experience heavy non-combat attrition.”

This petulant tone and jabbering way indeed resembled the Fat Wizard.

In the midst of speaking, Zheng Qing suddenly noticed that the mist around him had thinned significantly, and at the same time, the massive figure of Xin Fat Man was gradually becoming clear, cheerily waving his arms at Zheng Qing.

The young cost student held the Charm Gun, warily eyeing that Fat Man — it wasn’t his first time in Dreamland, and he detested the sprites in Dreamland who had a nasty habit of imitating poorly.

”Don’t worry, it’s real.” Another familiar voice rang out from behind Zheng Qing, and with it, the surrounding mist became even faintly clearer.

Xiao Xiao emerged from the mist, cradling his notebook, thoughtfully surveying the surroundings, adjusting his glasses, and habitually analyzed: ”...this mist is probably a byproduct of large-scale mental convergence, akin to the ’unknown’ caused by ’strangeness’... it dissipates as you find ’familiar’ anchor points.”

Zheng Qing silently put away his Charm Gun.

Someone who could say such a long-winded and complex statement definitely wasn’t one of those dimwitted sprites in Dreamland whose lies couldn’t even be made convincing. Besides, the surrounding changes confirmed the Doctor’s analysis — more and more figures were becoming clear from the fog, and it was dissipating rapidly as people gathered.

”I thought we’d get to ride in a Pumpkin Car or bunny once we got inside.” Dylan’s shiny hair stood out in the crowd. He walked to Zheng Qing’s side, cautiously looking around, then leaned over to his team captain and whispered: ”What about the member? She’s not joining us?”

”The mentors are in a meeting at the judge’s stand, they’ll be here soon.” Zhang Ji Xin squeezed into the little Absolution circle, his voice as loud and flamboyant as ever: ”My brother said the first round of selection is simple... just need to fight... the longer you last, the better.”

Having a brother like Lei Zhe is great.

Zheng Qing sighed enviously, glancing around once more, the mist had completely dissipated, the hunters were gathering in groups of three or five, forming small circles based on their hunting teams, with a domed ceiling overhead, a silver-gray floor underfoot, and not far away, a low podium with a puppet with a beaming smile standing on it.