"Is this the culprit making me want to sleep?"

Hilia stared blankly at the purple potion.

Upon closer contact, she could feel the rich magical fluctuations emanating from the Essence of the Dark Dream inside.

This magical energy was peculiar, Hilia had never seen it before.

Rose said, "This is the dream magic as rare as the moonlight element."

"Dream magic?" Hilia heard of this faction for the first time.

"Dream magic is a derivative of spirit magic. Compared to the mental impact of spirit magic, dream magic affects people invisibly with strong control ability, but lacks destructive power. Currently, I only know two people with dream magic abilities, the Goddess of Destiny and Alina."

Rose stood with hands behind his back, gazing outside.

It was the second day now, and the outside was slowly becoming lively.

"Alina..." Hilia quickly recalled the name, "Is she the apostle Jonathan mentioned, who lies dormant in the Land of the Far North?"

Rose nodded.

Hilia thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the apostle has awakened, secretly forming some organization and planning a move against the Mage League?"

Rose shook his head, "She wouldn’t do that."

"Then..."

"Someone used the dream energy spilling from her slumber to create various potions, and the Essence of the Dark Dream is only the beginning."

Hilia felt uneasy, "Is there a way to counteract this? If I suddenly get sleepy before or during the competition..."

Rose smiled and said, "Don’t worry too much. Although your luck might draw you into it even if you don’t want to, you must believe in your own strength."

Hilia: "..."

Rose continued, "The solution is simple, just stop the potion from evaporating and wake the person up. This thing is designed to be colorless and odorless, hard to guard against, but aside from inducing sleep, it has no other effects. Once it stops working, you can wake up easily.

"Similarly, it doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe, targeting all mages with magical energy. It reacts with the mage’s magic power, making it think you want to sleep and then sending a sleep signal to your spiritual power. Any mage will be affected—there’s no defense against it. Wearing a gas mask won’t help; its evaporation is on the magical level, not the air."

The more explained, the more terrified Hilia felt, "How could there be something so indefensible?"

Rose laughed, "Its range isn’t large. You can prepare a small bottle and drip a bit into it, then take it to Encore to analyze and see if she can decipher it and create a corresponding antidote."

"Won’t she fall asleep during the research?" Hilia questioned.

"You’ll find out if you try."

So Hilia fetched a small bottle. After opening the Essence of the Dark Dream, she suppressed the drowsiness and quickly filled and sealed the bottle.

Feeling the drowsiness slowly fade away, Hilia breathed a sigh of relief, "The effect is so good, it feels like it could be used as a sleeping aid."

Rose chuckled, "Mages don’t need to worry about insomnia, only about wanting or not wanting to sleep. This potion is ineffective for the ordinary people who need it the most."

"That’s true..."

Hilia inquired about Encore’s whereabouts, learning that she was inside the Alchemist Guild, renting their potion laboratory to create potions, and she went straight there.

Soon, Hilia arrived at the Alchemist Guild and met Encore.

Upon meeting, Encore asked puzzledly, "Is there something that can’t wait until I get back?"

Hilia showed the small bottle of Essence of the Dark Dream in her hand, "I found a magical potion, do you want to study it?"

"Purple liquid," Encore showed interest, "Purple liquid generally belongs to the curse category, but your bottle’s higher transparency suggests it’s diluted, hence weaker than the undiluted original. So, tell me, what consequence does this potion cause? Coma, prolonged curse, or magic blockage?"

Hilia replied, "It’s somewhat related to coma—it makes people fall asleep."

"Hypnosis? So it’s a spirit curse kind."

"Not quite; it’s a dream-only type, just putting people to sleep with no harm... not even working on ordinary people."

"I see." Encore took it and opened it, sniffed, then promptly sealed it again, "The effect is strong, leave it to me!"

Hilia was curious how Encore would research it, while worrying she’d fall asleep on the spot, so she asked, "Can I watch?"

"Sure, come with me then."

Following Encore, Hilia soon arrived at the potion laboratory Encore rented.

Inside were many magic guide devices and potions that Hilia couldn’t name, displayed in numerous glass bottles of various colors.

Hilia dared not touch for fear that these potions might explode on contact.

Encore said, "Due to the Mage League’s limit on potion utilization, I plan to use my rest periods to craft Tier Three potions, aiming to create potions with substantial power or strong auxiliary effects, to face formidable adversaries."

As she spoke, she walked to a table and placed the small bottle on it.

Hilia reminded, "This potion takes effect upon opening, so be careful."

Encore nodded, "Got it."

She summoned a magic puppet, then opened the small bottle and dripped out a drop.

Soon, her eyelids began to droop.

Three seconds later, the girl fell asleep.

Hilia: "..."

Hilia was distant enough that the small amount didn’t affect her much, only feeling a bit drowsy.

She dared not approach, waiting for that drop of the Essence of the Dark Dream to fully evaporate.

At this moment, the magic puppet summoned by Encore let out a humming sound.

Encore jolted awake.

She patted her chest, tried to speak, but her eyelids began drooping again.

And... she fell asleep again.

The magic puppet with preset programs made noise, waking her up.

The humming sound seemed awful to Encore, waking her up instantly.

Thus, Encore repeated her sleeping cycle until that drop of the Essence of the Dark Dream disappeared.

Encore rubbed her eyes, yawned, "I somewhat grasp the mechanism—it’s rather simple. However, regrettably, this potion employs a magic attribute I’ve never seen, so until obtaining magic energy of that attribute, I can’t replicate it."

Is that so?

Hilia was surprised and quickly said, "I’m not seeking replication—can you develop an antidote to resist the potion? An antidote that immunizes against its effects?"

Encore thought and replied, "I’ll try."

Then, she dripped another bit of the Essence of the Dark Dream and resumed her sleeping cycle.

Watching, Hilia felt fear, afraid Encore might suffer heart failure from repeated sleep-wake cycles...

The girl watched for a while, then bid farewell during one of Encore’s wakeful moments, leaving the laboratory.

"I thought Encore was normal, but she’s like Phil, using her own body as experimental material—it’s outrageous!"