"I think we should just give her a few minutes. She has probably had more surprises than she can handle for one day. I am impressed that she stayed calm as long as she did."

Lin says "She thinks this is a dream. That can't be healthy for her."

"She will get over it. Trust me, finding out you are in another world is a hard thing to deal with. When I was first summoned, I went crazy for a while even though it was something I often wished for."

Lin says "So, how do we help her realize that this isn't a dream?"

"We don't need to. She will figure it out for herself. As I said, we just need to give her some time."

Bella says "You know, I can hear you!?"

"I know, but we are just a dream, right?"

Bella stays quiet and we wait patiently to give Bella time to think things through. I can completely understand her confusion and why she would be afraid to admit that this was real. At the same time, with her cancer cured, she has to be hoping that it is actually real.

She just needs time to decide which would be the better situation and then accept it. When I was thrown into the pit, it was all about surviving and I tried not to think about other things. At least Bella gets a nice safe situation where she can think everything through.

Bella says "Can you do anything to prove this isn't a dream?"

"Well, normally my answer would be pain. You aren't supposed to feel pain in a dream, but I am guessing that isn't true for you."

Bella says "I am always in pain, whether I am awake or asleep."

"Are you in pain now?"

Bella says "No, I'm not."

"And that scares you even more, right?"

Bella says "Yes. If I accept it and it turns out to be a dream, that would be horrible! With all that I have been through, I don't know if I could take that kind of disappointment."

"Alright, then how about we just wait. Dreams don't last that long. Go to bed and when you wake up in the morning and are still here, then you will know it isn't a dream."

Bella says "That doesn't work either. For all I know, I suffered a relapse and am now in a coma!"

"Huh, I didn't think of that. This may be harder than I thought."

Lin says "In that case, why don't we just ignore it? Let her continue to think this is a dream. She can still do the tattoos even if this is a dream, right? Once we send her home and she is still healed, she will know it wasn't a dream."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Yeah, that could work. What do you think, Bella?"

Bella says "I can't believe I am having this conversation, but I guess that could work."

"Alright. Well, for now it's fairly late. Why don't you get some sleep and then we can discuss the tattoos in the morning?"

Bella says "I don't think I can sleep right now. Do you have any alcohol?"

"Yes, actually, I do. Do you want wine, ale, mead, or something stronger?"

Bella says "Definitely something stronger!"

To make Bella more comfortable, I shapeshift back into my beastman form. Then I take out a selection of alcohols that I have collected through my travels. Bella starts trying them one by one until she finds one that she really likes.

Bella says "Wow, this one's got a really smooth flavor and a good kick."

Lin says "Yeah, that's one of my favorites. It is called Desert Fire. It is made from a cactus fruit that is only found in one area of the continent. It is very rare and expensive."

Bella says "If it's so rare, how did you get it?"

"I got it when I was having dinner with the emperor of the southern empire. Now, I can have it whenever I want. My pouch can recreate anything that I put into it."

Bella says "So, it's like a bag of holding, but it creates food? That's awesome!"

"Basically. I take it you have played D&D?"

Bella says "Of course! My friends and I played every weekend. At least, we did before I got sick."

"That's good. Knowledge of D&D will make things in this world easier to understand. What was your favorite class?"

Bella says "I've always wanted to be able to use magic. So, I normally played either a sorcerer or a wizard."

Lin says "I can teach you how to use magic. That's easy."

Bella says "Really?! Yes, please!"

Lin says "Mastering magic takes a long time, but I can teach you the basics before you return home. Although, I have no idea if there is mana in your world. If there isn't, magic won't work there."

"I'm pretty sure that there is no mana in our world. Or if there is, it is too small of an amount to be useful."

Bella says "That sounds about right. So, if I stay in this world I can use magic, but if I go home will I go back to being a normal person?"

"Well, not exactly normal. I can improve your body to the limit of what is possible for a human, if not beyond. I can also restructure you, meaning I can make you look however you want."

Bella says "Could you make me taller?!"

"Easily."

Bella says "Yes! Please, make me taller! I hate being short!!"

"Alright. However, you still need to wait a couple of days before I make any more changes to you. How are you at drawing? If you have the skill, draw what you want to look like. I can do pretty much anything you want."

Bella says "Okay, I will do that tomorrow. I'm a little drunk right now."

After that, Bella starts asking Lin questions about magic as she keeps drinking. Soon, Bella is completely drunk and Lin ends up having to half carry her to her bed. When Lin returns, we head upstairs together for a couple of rounds of fun.

After we are done, Lin says "I really Like Bella's tattoos. What would you think of me getting more tattoos than just the magical one?"

"I would be thrilled! I love tattoos, and you can get as many as you want. You can cover your entire body in tattoos if you want. In fact, I would like that a lot. Tattoos are sexy!"

Lin says "Well, if Bella sticks around, I might just do that."

"In that case, I will do my best to convince her."

Lin smiles and cuddles up against me, I hold her in my arms until she falls asleep. Once I am sure she is fully asleep, I gently untangle myself from her and get up. Then I head downstairs to take a lava bath and use all of my mana working on my core.

Core Upgrade Progress: 10%

After that, I return to the main room and spend the rest of the night reading manga. When morning comes around, I head upstairs to wake Lin up for breakfast. We cuddle and fool around a little before we head downstairs to join the others.