Chapter 33: Back

Liam returned to his mattress and lay down again.

A few hours passed quietly.

Soon, midnight arrived.

The moment the clock reached twelve, several system notifications appeared in front of Liam.

[ The Dream Trial has officially ended. ]

[ Congratulations! ]

[ You have successfully completed your first Dream Trial. ]

[ Your Trial Period has ended. ]

[ You have officially become a fully-fledged Dream Walker. ]

[ New function unlocked: Dream Dimension Access. ]

[ As a fully-fledged Dream Walker, you can now freely log out of the Dream Dimension and return to the real world. ]

[ You can enter the Dream Dimension again at any time. ]

[ Exception: Dream Dimension Access cannot be used while the user is in combat. ]

Liam opened his eyes and read through the notifications.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Finally."

At first due to his race he was afraid he might die and won’t be able to return but now he have completed the trial successfully.

Now, he could freely travel between the real world and the Dream Dimension whenever he wanted, as long as he was not in combat.

Liam sat up and looked toward Sylvia and Miriel.

"Okay, I’m leaving now. Keep her safe."

Sylvia nodded.

"Understood, my lord."

Liam nodded before opening the system.

"System, log out."

[ Confirmed. ]

The moment the command was given, Liam’s body began turning into countless glowing pixels.

His body gradually disappeared from the Dream Dimension until nothing remained.

Sylvia watched the place where Liam had disappeared before looking back at Miriel.

"I suppose this is my job now."

She then sat down beside the tree and continued watching over the sleeping girl.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Liam’s body suddenly appeared in his bed.

He opened his eyes and looked around his familiar room.

For a moment, he simply remained there.

He had only been gone for a short period of time in the real world, but the experience inside the Dream Dimension had felt much longer.

Liam slowly sat up.

Before he could do anything else, the door suddenly opened.

His mother rushed into the room.

The moment she saw him, she immediately ran over and hugged him tightly.

"You’re back!"

"You’re really back!"

Her voice trembled as tears began running down her face.

Liam was slightly surprised by how emotional she was, but he quickly hugged her back.

"Yes, Mom."

His mother continued holding him tightly.

She had been waiting for this moment ever since he entered the Dream Dimension.

Liam gently patted her back.

"I’m fine. I’m really back."

She nodded repeatedly, but she still couldn’t stop crying.

After all, surviving a Dream Trial was never guaranteed.

For Liam, the trial had ended successfully.

For many others, the outcome was very different.

Across the world, countless families were experiencing the same night in completely different ways.

Some families were celebrating because their children had safely returned.

Others were crying as they received news that their children had died inside the Dream Dimension.

Some parents were still waiting by their children’s beds, hoping they would wake up.

Others had already received the bodies of their children.

The Dream Trials had ended, but the consequences remained.

For many people, it was a night of celebration.

For many others, it was a night of grief.

And for countless families, it was a night that would remain in their memories for the rest of their lives.

While at Liam side..

His mother continued to hold him tightly.

Liam simply stood there and let her hold him. He could tell how worried she had been while he was inside the Dream Dimension.

After a while, she finally calmed down and wiped the tears from her face.

"Let’s eat. You must be starving," she said.

Liam nodded.

"Yeah."

He followed her out of his room and into the dining room.

The moment he entered, he saw the table filled with many of his favorite dishes.

Liam’s eyes lit up slightly.

"Mom, you made all of this?"

His mother smiled.

"Of course. You just came back, so I wanted to make something you like."

Liam sat down and looked at the food in front of him.

He felt happy seeing all his favorite dishes prepared for him.

At the same time, a small feeling of fear appeared in his heart.

’What would have happened if I hadn’t come back?’

He remembered the people who had died during the Dream Trials and the families who would never see their loved ones again.

Liam shook his head and pushed those thoughts away.

’There’s no point thinking about things that didn’t happen.’

He picked up his fork and started eating.

His mother sat across from him and watched him eat with a relieved expression.

"Eat slowly. Nobody is going to take your food."

Liam nodded while continuing to eat.

"I know."

As Liam took his first bite, a blissful expression appeared on his face.

For an entire week, he had been doing nothing but absorbing energy and hadn’t eaten any proper food.

’It’s heaven,’ he thought as he savored the delicious food.

He quickly began eating more, happily gobbling down his favorite dishes.

His mother simply watched him with a warm smile.

Liam continued eating without paying much attention to anything else.

The food tasted even better after spending an entire week without a proper meal. He quickly finished one dish before moving on to another.

His mother laughed softly when she saw how quickly he was eating.

"Slow down, Liam. You might choke."

Liam stopped for a moment and nodded.

"Sorry. I was just really hungry."

"I can see that," his mother said with a smile.

She picked up another dish and placed it closer to him.

"Here, this is one of your favorites."

Liam looked at it and immediately started eating again.

His mother continued watching him quietly.

After a while, Liam finally slowed down. His stomach was full, and he leaned back in his chair with a satisfied expression.

"That was really good."

"I’m glad you liked it," his mother said.

Liam nodded.

There were no monsters, no dangerous trials, no system notifications, and no enemies trying to kill him.

It was just him and his mother having dinner together.