Amamiya Rin snapped his eyes open.
In his field of vision was an unfamiliar white ceiling. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the curtains, cutting a long, slender strip of light across the wall.
"Is this... the hospital?"
Amamiya Rin instinctively tried to sit up, but found his whole body felt as heavy as if it were filled with lead. Just straightening his upper body took a considerable amount of effort.
His head was also heavy; it was an indescribable sense of exhaustion, as if he had stayed up for three days and nights.
Amamiya Rin barely managed to lift his arm to support his head, looking around in bewilderment.
He remembered that just a moment ago he was in the university's specialized classroom. Professor Matsuura was holding a pocket watch, explaining the techniques of hypnotic induction, and the sunlight outside the window was lovely... How did he end up in the hospital in a trance?
"Did I study too hard?"
Amamiya Rin muttered to himself.
Staying up all night at internet cafes often led to sudden death, so studying hard all night until he fainted and was sent to the hospital seemed pretty normal too.
However, Amamiya Rin felt something wasn't quite right.
He furrowed his brows, thinking hard. Gradually, memories from a long time ago slowly surfaced from the depths of his brain.
"Right! I had a Long Dream!"
Amamiya Rin finally remembered.
One year ago, his soul transmigrated into the body of a vegetative patient in Japan. He discovered he was under the curse of the [Long Dream]. To overcome this curse, he had asked Professor Matsuura for instruction in Hypnosis.
The year that followed was entirely an experience within the Dream World. Because the time spent in the Dream World was so long, he had momentarily forgotten that he was dreaming.
"It's getting more and more dangerous. This is only the fourth dream, and the time has already stretched to a year?"
Amamiya Rin rubbed his forehead, feeling he might have been set up by the curse. Although he had long forgotten the content of the manga, the protagonist of Long Dream didn't seem to have a dream time span this long.
"Is it because of them?"
Amamiya Rin couldn't help but speculate.
Through the connection of the [Khala], he could still sense Hashimoto Ayaka and the other three... no, it should be five people now!
In Amamiya Rin's perception, the fifth person's will was no longer much different from the first four; they had likely assimilated into one mind.
Not only that, but as time passed, he felt the connection between himself and those five deepening.
Their wills were constantly influencing him. It was only through Kendo training and Hypnosis strengthening his willpower that he could temporarily be immune to their influence.
(I still need to think of a way to get rid of them as soon as possible!)
A cold killing intent flashed through Amamiya Rin's eyes.
In the afternoon, Amamiya Rin met Professor Matsuura again.
Professor Matsuura's brows were tightly locked, as if he were troubled by something. His face even showed some irritability.
Professor Matsuura sat down by the bedside and asked straight to the point, "How do you feel? How long did the dream last this time?"
Amamiya Rin smiled bitterly and said, "One year. In reality, I just slept for a bit, but in the dream, a whole year passed. And the longer the experience, the duller the brain becomes... Not the kind of dullness where thinking is slow, but a lack of clarity."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"My memory was assimilated by the Dream World. I focused on my current identity and forgot I was dreaming. It was the kind of dullness where it's hard to distract oneself. My memories were confused badly; when I woke up, I didn't even react to what had happened."
Professor Matsuura pushed up his glasses and said thoughtfully, "The time span has increased significantly again. As for the dullness you mentioned, it is a very common phenomenon. Ordinary people can occasionally realize they are dreaming, but if they don't wake up, they will soon fall back into an unconscious dream state."
"This is brain overload," the Professor explained. "You studied A Guide to Lucid Dreaming, right? Using the techniques in A Guide to Lucid Dreaming, you can prolong your lucidity in the dream."
"Hypnosis, A Guide to Lucid Dreaming, Hypnosis: Theory and Practice—I read through these three books yesterday. When I was dreaming, I dreamt I was in class and you were lecturing up there. Thinking about it now, I attended that class for a year. But thanks to that, I've gained some insight into Hypnosis."
Although he spoke modestly, Amamiya Rin's tone was very confident.
Don't look down on the fact that he only read them once. Even if he just glanced at them, his subconscious would manifest what he saw in the dream. Those three textbooks weren't terribly difficult, and they contained Professor Matsuura's notes. After a year of study, he had thoroughly mastered all three textbooks.
"Then try it on me. Let me see how much you've mastered."
Professor Matsuura became interested, taking out his pocket watch and handing it to Amamiya Rin.
Amamiya Rin did not refuse the request. After all, Hypnosis wasn't some witchcraft or magic... at least the Hypnosis he learned wasn't, and it wouldn't cause harm to others.
Taking the pocket watch, Amamiya Rin took a deep breath to stabilize his state of mind. Recalling the steps in the book, he started with breathing adjustments, gradually making the Professor relax his body, then slowly guiding his consciousness into a more open state.
The process was smoother than imagined.
Professor Matsuura indeed did not deliberately resist; it could even be said he actively cooperated with Amamiya Rin's guidance.
About ten minutes later, Professor Matsuura's breathing became long and slow, and his facial muscles completely relaxed.
Amamiya Rin asked in a soft, gentle voice, "Professor, have you encountered any troubles recently?"
"...It's the case."
Professor Matsuura's brows furrowed unconsciously. He fell silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"The case?"
"A serial murder case, specifically targeting young women. There's already been a fourth one. The scene was very clean; no clues could be found. Investigation Division 1 is completely clueless."
"No clues at all?"
Amamiya Rin also frowned.
If this were the real world, he would think the police in Japan were all useless, and this situation would be normal. But this was a world where strange supernatural anomalies existed; there might be some supernatural phenomenon involved.
"None. There were no traces at the scene. Aside from being young women, there is no connection between the victims. The media chases us with questions every day, and the higher-ups are applying pressure... but the autopsy reports, other than knowing the cause of death was excessive blood loss, provide almost no further help."
Professor Matsuura muttered.
These were things that shouldn't be told to ordinary citizens, but Amamiya Rin's hypnotic technique enhanced Professor Matsuura's desire to vent and his trust, making him unable to resist complaining.
Speaking of this, Professor Matsuura suddenly paused.
"Very good, Amamiya-kun."
He rubbed his face, his tone returning to its usual pitch.
"The guidance was very steady, and the suggestions were given just right. It seems that year in the dream wasn't wasted."
"It was because you taught well."
Amamiya Rin breathed a sigh of relief and spoke respectfully.
Although it wasn't in the real world, he had indeed studied under Professor Matsuura for a year.
"However, it seems I really am tired, to ramble on about so many work matters. These troublesome things shouldn't have been said to you."
Professor Matsuura smiled, his expression bitter.
"It doesn't matter," Amamiya Rin shook his head. "If there is anything I can help with..."
"You should learn Hypnosis well first," Professor Matsuura stood up and patted Amamiya Rin's shoulder, instructing him with a somewhat heavy tone. "Master self-hypnosis as soon as possible. The [Long Dream] is not as simple as you or I imagined. It has already stretched to a year. Hypnosis before sleep has limited efficacy for such a long dream... Amamiya, the human brain has limits."
____
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