*Nervous laugh*

"B-brother the way you are speaking makes it sound like you've seen a goddess."

[Oh? Yeah. Does the Lunar goddess count?]

*CHOKE*

[Guys...?]

*Sill choking*

The elf slowly raises her slender hand pointing at me.

"Y-you, you monster!"

[What?]

"Brother, are you serious?!"

[Oh, yeah. Don't worry about it.]

*Stars in his eyes*

"How was she! Was she beautiful?!"

[Well she had this weird magic. It changed her appearance automatically.]

"What?! How?!"

[Well whatever you picture in your head a goddess to be is what she will look like.]

"You mean…?!"

[Yep, the epitome of beauty. Ah, but if you imagine an ugly one it turns catastrophic.]

"I would never dare even think about a celestial being as ugly!"

[Your loss then. It's kinda fun to cycle between horrendous appearances then see them all proud haha.]

The elf is horrified.

She kneels on the ground.

"Gods! I do not know this man! I do not…"

[Relax, it's not as if they can see what happens in the earth realm anyway haha.]

"They can!"

[What?! Since when?!]

Oh shit, am I in trouble?!

"Brother don't worry. Except if you keep disparaging the gods everywhere you go, they won't notice."

*Nervous sweating* Kinda what I've been doing.

"Old lady you should know better. Think carefully about where we are."

"Ah…yes. You are right."

[What did I miss?]

"*Sigh* Gods can only see through the eyes of their believers. The higher the belief the stronger the connection."

Wait…this means that when you become a champion…

The god can see everything you see?!

Welcome to the best POV porn of all time hehe.

I'm glad I never became one.

Ah, there is the belief too.

I just really believe her to be a bitch so I should be fine.

Still, I should remember that for future reference.

[Isn't this place extremely bad for that then?!]

"Not really, there are so many gods worshipped that the piety is pretty low for one god."

That's a relief.

"Well, the only one that has a clear vision here should be Compromis, the diplomacy god."

Pretty sure I have never offended him so should be fine.

Also…

[Wait, isn't there a time difference between both realms?]

"It's just that the gods are immortal and …"

[Hell no!]

They both look surprised by my reaction.

[I remember it clearly. When I was in the god realm one day ended up being a month here!]

"B-brother…did you just say …"

"Impossible?!"

[What's up?]

"You went to the god realm?!"

[Oh, don't worry about it.]

"How the hell are we supposed to ignore that?!"

[I was there for less than a day. Nothing weird.]

The elf starts laughing.

"Haha. This is a dream. All a dream. Another lucid one."

What's up with her now?

[I still need you to craft me some furniture, however.]

"Sure haha. No worries. This explains it all."

[Are you okay?]

"Of course! Now, let me get to work haha!"

She winks.

Yep, she's not fine.

She brings us to a workshop.

There is wood lying all over the place.

She expertly picks some random pieces and gets to work.

She doesn't even use any tool.

She simply traces her fingers all over the wood.

A small magical light enveloping it.

Then it all transforms under her touch.

This is awesome.

I need to learn fire magic at some point.

I have tried it a few times but always failed.

Would be awesome to pick some dough in my hand and cook it instantly!

Before my very eyes, a masterpiece is created.

Or I assume anyway.

I have no idea how to judge art.

It simply looks amazing to me.

She keeps going.

[By the way, what did you mean by all that not belonging part?]

She chuckles.

"This turns out to be a nice dream after all. Woodworking and counseling. Just what I needed."

[…]

"You see there are no elves here.

This place used to be deserted.

It is only after the previous war of the gods that people came here.

Most of them the smallest sects running from the conflict.

A few of the bigger ones doing a tactical retreat too."

[So this whole continent is?]

"Minuscule, yes. Worthless too."

[When you say worthless…]

"You see mana is everywhere…"

[I don't see it actually.]

"I forgot haha. Anyway, mana is everywhere, but not equally."

There are mana-rich areas and ones with a deficiency.

This place is the latter.

[So just a question of quantity? Let me guess training is slower for us?]

"Not only that. There is also a difference in quality. The mana closer to a source is more tumultuous. Wilder."

[Source?]

"That is what baffles the most. There is not one source of mana, but many."

[How are they all organized?]

"I don't know. This is the limit of my knowledge."

[So pretty much people here are war refugees?]

"Something like that."

[And there are no other elves here?]

"Not to my knowledge."

[This continent officially sucks then.]

*Giggle. *

[Tell me, what is your dream?]

"To explore the world and find my kin."

I can see the longing in her eyes.

[What else?]

"I want to see one day the tree that gave life to our people."

[What is it and where is it?]

"Yggdrasil. I'm not sure, but I know it exists somewhere."

[That is all?]

"That is all."

[Nothing else?]

"Nothing else."

[Then, what are you still doing here?]

She jolts in surprise.

Then lost in thoughts she whispers.

"Yes, what am I still doing here?!"

She decisively gets up.

"You are right! I shouldn't waste my time here doing dumb tables and chairs!"

Oh shit.

[No! You should complete what you started! At least this batch! Then you can go!]

"Who cares this is all a dream anyway!"

[No! If you stop now it will leave a shadow in your heart forever! Completing it will signify the start of your new life!]

"Ah, I understand!"

Almost committed a grave mistake.

A while later we exit with furniture in hand.

The elf is going back to sleep to try and end that lucid dream of hers.

The kid turns toward me.

"What exactly happened in there?!"

[To be fair, I have no clue.]

I mean who cares.

Objective accomplished!

Now, to go back to the bakery.