Chokrin found it difficult to speak at first.

However, as Hyeonmu's presence was gentle and the presence of the Blue Dragon beside him made it easier for Chokrin to open up, he gradually became more comfortable.

Chokrin, who was the same age as Yeom Bangyeol, belonged to the younger generation, and because he had not lived for long, he had not experienced many dreams.

The dreams Hyeonmu wanted to inquire about were those special few among the ones he had experienced.

Chokrin realized this and started with the most recent, significant dream he had.

“The most recent one I had was a dream where an island was engulfed in flames.”

Chokrin shared the contents of the dream exactly as he had told his family.

He felt a strong sense of urgency to speak honestly about his dreams, and so he mentioned, without hesitation, that he had felt the aura of Yeom Junyeol’s Red Dragon in the flames from his dream.

Hyeonmu waited patiently until Chokrin finished speaking, and then asked a few questions.

“On the night you had that dream, was there anything different about the way you fell asleep?”

“I felt a bit more dazed than usual.”

“I see. When did you first start having these strange dreams?”

“It started when I was at Eun-gwang High. I was handling student council work late into the night and fell asleep at school. That’s when I began having these strange dreams.”

Hyeonmu’s questions were relentless, but his tone and demeanor were calm, and there was no sense of interrogation.

Chokrin answered each question with ease, feeling comfortable.

“What did the Dragon King say about that dream?”

“He said that at the moment when I fell into a deep sleep, someone’s dream crossed with mine.”

Hyeonmu paused after hearing this, falling into thought. It seemed as though he was trying to piece together who might have been connected to Chokrin's dreams.

“I apologize for asking so many questions. Please, tell me about your next dream.”

Chokrin continued recounting his dreams.

He shared stories about the sky overflowing with water, wild and fantastical dreams where mountains and rivers took on new shapes, and even simpler ones where he hummed a tune while watching a candle flicker.

The Blue Dragon, listening to Chokrin’s tales, felt a sense of reflection.

‘I know some things, but I also don’t know others. Even though I know that Rin is deeply focused on these strange dreams, I still haven’t fully grasped everything!’

The Blue Dragon was fiercely protective of his descendants, but he was also the leader of the dragon tribe. After the clash with the other world, he had been increasingly involved in protecting the tribe, dealing with the government and various associations to secure their position in this world.

By the time Chokrin was born, the situation had calmed, but it was still uncomfortable to share every detail of his dreams with the tribe leader.

Though Chokrin had shared his unsettling dream of the island burning in the flames, he hadn’t mentioned the simple dream where he cooled off with a feather fan while gazing at the moon.

Some dreams were so trivial that Chokrin had forgotten about them altogether, but after talking to Hyeonmu, they naturally resurfaced in his mind.

The Blue Dragon admired Hyeonmu's skill in drawing out Chokrin's thoughts, even though it made him a little envious.

‘If only I could talk like that, I could hear more of Rin’s stories!’

But as the conversation continued, the Blue Dragon began to feel a sense of déjà vu.

The more he listened to the dreams, the more familiar they seemed.

It was as if the Blue Dragon had heard these stories before.

Soon, the Blue Dragon could predict what kind of dream Chokrin would speak of next.

Perhaps Hyeonmu had already guessed what kind of dream Chokrin had, which is why he was so adept at drawing out the story.

‘Not long ago, I, the Yellow Dragon, and Hyeonmu had a similar conversation. Although not everything matches, there are a lot of overlaps with things from the past.’

Chokrin’s dreams were connected to someone else.

If that were the [N O V E L I G H T] case, Chokrin was seeing dreams shaped by the unconscious of another person.

Dreams reflect a person’s past, present, and future.

They can recreate past experiences, reflect current events or thoughts, and rarely, they can even reveal glimpses of the future.

Some of Chokrin’s dreams were even familiar to the Blue Dragon, reminding him of past events he had experienced.

In terms of wisdom, Hyeonmu was superior to the Blue Dragon, so the Blue Dragon thought that Hyeonmu would have realized this as well.

When Chokrin couldn’t think of any other dreams and fell silent, Hyeonmu spoke again.

“You said that you started having strange dreams after you fell asleep at Eun-gwang High. Eun-gwang High is known for its strong spiritual energy, and many students there use their abilities in extreme ways. It wouldn’t be strange for such things to affect the soul.”

Both the Blue Dragon and Chokrin understood Hyeonmu’s words immediately. They were both well aware of the spiritual energy at Eun-gwang High and the odd players there.

“During the brief moment when your soul was shaken, it must have crossed paths with someone who was watching you. Whoever that person is, their soul and body must have been unstable as well, for their dream crossed with yours.”

The Blue Dragon furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing in concern. The thought that someone close to him might be in such an unstable state made him uneasy.

Hyeonmu continued with another question.

“This is a difficult question, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t wish to. I heard that both the Blue Dragon and Yeom Bangyeol suggested cutting off the connection to the dream, but you refused. Why was that?”

Chokrin paused for a moment before his gaze shifted to the Blue Dragon.

It seemed as though he was not asking for help from the Blue Dragon but was instead looking at him because the answer had something to do with him.

Hyeonmu, noticing the shift in Chokrin’s eyes, immediately understood the unspoken message.

“Did you feel the Blue Dragon’s presence in the dream you shared with someone?”

Chokrin flinched, clearly startled.

Hyeonmu softened his voice and spoke reassuringly.

“It must have been difficult to talk about. You knew that the person your dream crossed with wasn’t a dragon, but a powerful being who knew the Blue Dragon. If the Blue Dragon found out, he would have done whatever it took to sever the dream, so I understand why you couldn’t speak up.”

If the Blue Dragon hadn’t already guessed who the other person in the dream was, he would have immediately said, “We must sever that dream! We need to see the Dragon King right now!”

And Chokrin knew that the Blue Dragon would act this way.

“Just as you said, Hyeonmu. In that dream, I felt the powerful aura of a trueblood, and at the same time, I could also feel the presence of Brother Blue Dragon. The person was a dangerous trueblood who was conscious of the dragon tribe.”

“Thus, you refused to sever the dream and avoided outside activities. You gathered information through the dream but also tried to prevent the things you knew from leaking out. That’s why you tried to limit the things you knew.”

“...That’s right.” 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

At Chokrin’s answer, the Blue Dragon sighed.

He felt both proud and sad that Chokrin had limited his own actions just to gain uncertain information.

And he was frustrated with himself for not noticing the hidden intentions behind those actions, even though something felt off.

The decision to respect Chokrin’s wishes, yet knowing how much pain Chokrin must have endured, made the Blue Dragon angry.

“Rin! Why did you make that choice?”

“The truth is, I never enjoyed external activities... And thanks to that, I became aware of the danger that faced our Junyeol. Perhaps, if the person I’m connected to in my dreams is plotting something, I’ll be able to sense it.”

Just as Chokrin finished speaking, a burst of silvery-blue energy surged from him.

Upon seeing this, the Blue Dragon realized he had let his guard down, too caught up in the conversation and thoughts.

If an enemy had attacked from the outside, he would have noticed and responded immediately. The problem, however, was the enemy within.

The barrier that had just been undone revealed Yeom Junyeol, who stood in shock behind a shimmering silver space.

Hyeonmu must have already known about this, but since this was the dragon tribe’s domain, it seemed like he had been watching silently.

The Blue Dragon frowned slightly, realizing what was going on.

“Junyeol always has a way of greeting people, right? And today, after passing the chess tournament prelims, he really wanted to report. But he saw you all busy talking, so he waited for the right moment to greet you!”

“Mother...”

Yeom Junyeol stared at Chokrin with a sad look, as if he hadn’t heard the teasing words of Yeong Jegeon.

The Blue Dragon remained silent, but Yeong Jegeon, who was still cheerful, continued to speak.

“Just like Hyeonmu said, I think it’s all true. Rin’s dream crossed with someone’s. I have a feeling that whoever it was, was a powerful being aware of the dragon tribe. It’s that person’s identity that’s the problem. You and Hyeonmu must already have an idea, right?”

“We don’t have confirmation yet.”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure I’m thinking the same thing as you.”

Yeong Jegeon had already made up his mind, and his intuition was usually spot on.

“The friends who were close to Baekho were concerned about becoming beastmen, so they kept their eyes on Eun-gwang High. Among them, those who had strong abilities, but whose contact has been cut off, and those who share common friends with the Blue Dragon, the number is significantly smaller now.”

“Yeong Jegeon, there aren’t many common friends between Baekho and me.”

“I know. But when you think of the island burning with the Red Dragon’s power, there’s only one friend who could have been part of that.”

Yeong Jegeon, always quick with his words, chose the ones that would stir things up.

“Do you remember when Zhuque’s feather burned your friend’s eye in the replay?”

The Blue Dragon couldn’t deny it. Chokrin’s dream seemed to be connected to Zhuque.

The first week of school passed, with both small and large incidents occurring, and the weekend had finally arrived.

Though it was the weekend, many students were still attending school.

In the chess tournament, the preliminary rounds had ended during the week, but many events were still ongoing.

Also, for team events, the schedule had been moved up to allow the finals to take place over the weekend.

Furthermore, Eun-gwang High wasn’t only preparing for the military academy exchange.

The upcoming general election was stirring up chaos regarding the selection of candidates.

‘There’s no problem with the student council president or the disciplinary committee head. The real issue is with the Gijik Association and the General Club Association.’

The current Gijik Association president was facing criticism over his handling of affairs, and it was unlikely that the next president would be selected smoothly.

Also, since more candidates had emerged for the General Club Association than last year, it would take considerable time to verify their qualifications.

In addition, there were cases where the candidates for the General Club Association president were nominated without even expressing a willingness to run, such as Yoo Sang-hoon.

“What’s the point of being a president? I don’t want to do it.”

Yoo Sang-hoon grumbled as he began the process to withdraw his candidacy for the General Club Association president.

Despite this, he would likely end up being the captain or vice-captain of the basketball team.

Though it was difficult for him to be chosen as the team captain with his pro gamer debut approaching, he still attended practice diligently, and his presence was substantial. The basketball team wanted to offer him a position.

“Then why do I have to go?”

“You were personally invited by Jecheon Daeseong! Even if you don’t want to go, we’re going, and Sang-hoon would have been disappointed if you didn’t go.”

Jang Nam-wook responded to Yoo Sang-hoon’s complaints.

They were currently on an air taxi, on their way to attend an unofficial lunch meeting.