This chapter is equivalent to Chapter 10 of Volume 2.
For the Volume 1: The Awakening of The legendary King, it is polished and completed in Amazon: https://a.co/d/0f0nCyAq
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Long, Mai, Nguyen, and Dreamy set off toward the Asarina region after enjoying hearty bowls of delicious pho. The journey to Asarina was quite long. They followed a map created by Miki; to save EN, they chose to travel on foot, combining it with the use of Nguyen's powers and the abilities of AI Witches like Dreamy and Miki to handle the more difficult stretches.
They passed rolling green hills, greeting both sunrise and sunset. At night, they gazed at a sky full of stars, feeling as if the Milky Way was very close to them. By the light of a makeshift fire, Long, Mai, and Dreamy shared stories and laughed together, while Nguyen lay nearby, silent and aloof, occasionally smiling at their tales. Along the way, Long sometimes practiced controlling his power and tried to harness his magical energy. When Mai had time, she worked with Miki to sketch the AI Witches they had encountered, analyzing their abilities. Dreamy, meanwhile, kept asking for food when he was hungry.
A week passed, and they arrived at the gate of Autumn Province, where the village of Asarina was located. Standing on a slope, they looked down at a land where all the trees had turned golden, the air cool and fresh.
Mai said, "Once we go down this slope, we'll reach the gate of Autumn Province. There's an information booth there—we'll need to check in for passage!"
Dreamy flew down the slope and then back up again. "Wow, for humans this slope is pretty steep and deep. It could be dangerous!"
Nguyen snapped his fingers, and the group began teleporting in short bursts down the slope. After two or three snaps, they had already covered nearly half the distance. On the fourth, Mai lost her footing and nearly tumbled straight down. Her heart skipped a beat, but Long and Dreamy quickly created a shield to catch her. Nguyen snapped his fingers three or four more times, and before long, they reached the bottom. The gate of Autumn stood right before them.
At the left corner of the gate was an automated information booth. Mai performed a few actions on the touchscreen, and a 3D projection of a gatekeeper appeared.
"Madam, how can I help you?" the 3D figure asked.
Mai replied, "I'd like to register entry to pass through to Asarina village."
The projection continued the procedure. "Please place your hand on the touchscreen for identification." An image of a hand appeared, and Mai gently placed hers on it.
"Identity confirmed: Ms. Le Mai, thank you" the projection announced.
When it was Long's turn, it said, "Confirmed: Long of Hope Fishing Village, thank you!" When it came to Nguyen, he had already disappeared at some point. The group exchanged puzzled looks.
"Well… we actually have one more person… but never mind, let's skip that."
The 3D figure continued in a mechanical tone. "Identity verification… bzzzt… bzzzt… Warning: Asarina region is a Level S red danger zone. Only designated bounty hunters or individuals on official missions are permitted to pass!"
A Level S mission—Mai was startled. She knew such missions were extremely difficult, usually involving high-ranking dark AI Witches, or demons, evil spirits, or powerful dark sorcerers. She turned to Long in alarm.
"Are you sure this is the mission Madam Li-chang assigned to you? Given our current condition, it's going to be very difficult… to complete something like this!"
"But Madam Li-chang is the one who assigned it to me…" Long insisted.
The projection spoke again. "Please wait while we use an AI Witch to read thoughts for verification and data comparison. If you consent, please place the hand of the mission recipient on the screen once more."
Long cautiously placed his hand on the screen.
"Thank you! Verification complete: assigned by Madam Li-chang. Authorized passage to Asarina granted. If you wish to use teleportation services at a cost of 1 EN per person, please select Yes or No on the following screen."
As the options appeared, Mai quickly pressed "No," as she needed to save EN.
The group continued westward through Autumn Province toward Asarina. Along the way, golden leaves drifted in the breeze, and the beautiful, romantic scenery of autumn immersed them in a peaceful atmosphere.
After a few hours, in the distance, they saw a village among ginkgo trees. A magnificent statue of a goddess holding a child stood prominently before the rows of golden foliage.
They had arrived at the gate of Asarina village.
They stepped slowly into the village. It was eerily quiet. There were very few people around, and those they did see wore irritable expressions; some looked exhausted, their eyes dull and lifeless. Suddenly, a desperate cry rang out:
"I beg you, Mom and Dad, please let me sleep! I'm begging you!"
Mai turned back, filled with confusion and a sense of foreboding. "What's going on here?"
Dreamy flew around in circles. "Tch, what's wrong with the people here? No one's even running any food stalls!"
"Ah, there!" Dreamy shouted upon spotting an open eatery. But as he flew over to check, a basket was thrown out, landing squarely on his head. An old man stepped out angrily.
"Get out! All of you, get out! I haven't slept for five days! You're irritating me—I'm not selling any food. Don't bother me!"
As he finished speaking, a young man ran up and grabbed the old man's arm.
"Father, I beg you, please let me sleep. Only then can I truly live… I'm begging you…"
The old man turned to him. "No, my dear son. If you go back, what will become of your real life? I have to stay awake to protect you. I must not sleep—I will protect you…"
Suddenly, the young man became frantic, his eyes bloodshot. He shoved the old man to the ground and pulled out a knife.
"You stubborn old fool! If you don't let me sleep today, I'll kill you right here!"
He lunged at the old man but was blocked by a blue shield. Long rushed in, twisted the young man's arm until he dropped the knife, then quickly moved behind him and pinned him to the ground. The young man struggled wildly like a beast before quickly losing strength and going limp.
"Tie him up!" Long shouted. "He's completely out of control!"
The old man intervened. "Please be gentle… thank you…" he said, before breaking into tears.
Mai approached him gently. "What's happening here? Could you tell us what's going on?"
"Yes… come inside…" the old man said wearily, leaving his son tied to a pillar.
What they saw inside stunned them—two more people were asleep.
"This is my wife and my daughter," the old man said painfully. "Both have fallen into a deep sleep. No matter what we do, we can't wake them."
He rushed to the bedside, where IV fluids and nutrients were being administered.
"They can't wake up, so they can't eat or drink. I have to keep them alive with fluids and nutrients. The entire village is suffering from a severe sleep problem…"
He continued, "I don't know where this strange illness came from. I've only heard it's some kind of magic from a dark AI Witch. Once people fall asleep, it's extremely hard to wake them. Children want to keep sleeping because they say they have wonderful dreams, but adults… they dream of being tortured and killed by monsters…"
He took a sip of bitter coffee to stay awake, his voice trembling with fear.
"I've had that nightmare myself. I dreamed I was captured by monsters and locked in a cave. They tortured us, and sometimes they would take someone away… and no one ever came back. I was terrified. I even heard of people whose hearts stopped while they slept!"
As he finished, the older woman muttered in her sleep, "No… please don't torture me…"
The old man sighed and turned to Long, Mai, and Dreamy.
"You should leave this place as soon as possible, before this strange sleep illness spreads to you. You're young—you'll have beautiful dreams, but it will make you lose control of reality, just like my children…"
The young man, still tied up, glared with dull eyes and shouted angrily:
"You foolish old man! You don't know how wonderful that world is! My sister is living happily there—you don't need to worry!"
The old man shook his head in despair.
Long spoke up, "We are bounty hunters. We came here to complete a mission assigned by Madam Li-chang. We're looking for someone named Alice…"
The old man's eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to Long in shock, murmuring, "Madam… Li-chang… Alice…?"
His hands trembled as he grabbed Long's, bursting into tears like a child.
"Please, save us. Many bounty hunters have come here and died. We had already lost hope. We haven't slept for days… We're terrified of sleep now!"
The young man let out an eerie, sinister laugh:
"You'll all be killed by Empress Mary, surely!"