"How long will it take for them to return to normal?"

  The phantom maid tilted her head and gestured. If Zephyr understood correctly, it should be sometime in the afternoon?

  Tsk, the intensity of these hallucinations was quite high; they lasted so long. After confirming the specific time, Zephyr continued practicing magic while waiting. As for battle aura, he had pretty much given up on that.

  After rigorous training enhanced by gravity, apart from rapidly increasing physical strength and constitution, there were no other benefits, not even an increase in size.

  He wasn't particularly concerned about his size. While size could correlate with destructive power, it didn't mean bigger was always stronger. Loris, despite her young appearance, was far stronger than ten of him combined.

  Therefore, focusing on improving his magic level seemed more practical. Although using universal fixed arrays was convenient, after hearing about the world beyond the entry stage, Zephyr no longer limited himself to pre-entry stage common magic arrays.

  "Ugh... Where am I?" Patty woke up confused, looking around. Coming to the Illusionary Demon Forest was part of their semester's training. While dangerous for ordinary people, it was a good place for professionals to hone their willpower if prepared properly.

  Many students from Orlan Academy came here as part of their training. Their experience had been going smoothly until the hallucination-inducing force suddenly intensified just as they were preparing to leave on the last day. Even with crisis management tools, they could only temporarily delay the effects, unable to escape the forest quickly enough, leading to two classmates succumbing to madness...

  As they teetered on the brink, a terrifying dragon's head appeared in their vision, plunging the sky into darkness. The earth split open, flames erupted, and countless beings cried out under the shadow of the dragon's wings.

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  Faced with such cataclysmic power, they broke down, abandoning thoughts of resisting hallucinations or helping each other. All they wanted was to eliminate the monsters blocking their path and flee!

  This nightmare persisted until now when she woke up and realized it was just a dream. Despite this, she was drenched in cold sweat, sitting up, staring in disbelief at her still unconscious classmates.

  They had gone mad from hallucinations yet survived? In the Illusionary Demon Forest!

  "Not bad, you're the best among the newcomers."

  A strange voice sounded behind Patty. Terrified, she turned around to see a dragon's head towering over her, its mouth opening and closing as if ready to devour her...

  "Ahh!! Don't eat me!!"

  "...What?" Zephyr looked down at Patty, who was hugging her head like an ostrich. He scratched his head with a claw, sparking small flames. "I don't eat humans."

  "And please... don't kill me!"

  "I don't kill either!"

  Despite Zephyr's slightly impatient tone, Patty cautiously raised her head, looking at him again, rubbing her eyes several times, trying to confirm whether she was still hallucinating.

  "Anyway, once you wake up, stay aside. You'll leave in a group later... huh?" Seeing the floating phantom maid, Zephyr was puzzled. He watched her gestures. "You're leaving for a bit? Returning soon?"

  The phantom maid nodded slightly, descending to the ground and walking towards the hidden castle, her figure fading away.

  "Alright, once everyone wakes up, leave in a group." Zephyr waved his hand, finishing what he was saying earlier.

  Patty looked at Zephyr, wanting to speak but hesitating. Seeing the dragon had no intention of harming them, her heart gradually calmed. With less fear, curiosity took over.

  Standing before her was a real live dragon!

  Not one found only in textbooks. As a summoner, having a dream of contracting a dragon-like creature was common. Even lesser dragons would be an honor, let alone a true dragon.

  While others might not know much about dragons from textbooks, Patty had studied all available dragon-related knowledge thoroughly. She instantly recognized Zephyr as a genuine dragon, not a lesser one.

  As for type... probably a black dragon?

  Zephyr's scales were rock-black, slightly different from true black, making it hard for Patty to be certain.

  "What can you summon?" Bored, Zephyr dismissed the array he'd drawn with mana in his claw and asked, curious about summoners...

  "Well..." Patty stammered, "As a first-year student, I haven't contacted any powerful creatures yet. Ah! But I do have a summon!"

  She observed Zephyr's reaction while speaking. Seeing no response, she felt uneasy, wondering if she'd said too much. Closing her eyes nervously, she seemed to communicate with something, and soon, an array appeared.

  This array was 3D, dense lines of mana extending from it, quickly forming a figure that solidified into... a rabbit!?

  Though tangible, Zephyr sensed it was more of a 'projection.' Ignoring strength, other aspects were similar to the original.

  The summoned rabbit cautiously looked around, noticing the shadow above it, then looked up directly at Zephyr.