Chapter 167: Black Monastery

Chapter 167: Black Monastery

A dream shared by everyone? Klein silently repeated Admiral of Stars Cattleya’s words, faintly understanding the situation he was in:

The night of this dangerous sea connected the dreams of every living creature here!

As for creatures that remained awake, because their spirit bodies were not within the dream, they would lack the necessary protection and suffer attacks from something indescribable.

Why that kind of attack caused disappearance rather than death on the spot, Klein had never personally experienced anything similar and truly had no way to guess.

As thoughts raced through his mind, Klein drew his gaze back from Cattleya and looked again toward the magnificent city across the cliff. Curiosity stirred within him.

“If this world really is formed from the joined dreams of every local creature, then whose dream does this city that surpasses imagination belong to?”

He stared at it for a few seconds, then asked, “What is it called?”

What was the name of this city that should only exist in myths and legends?

Admiral of Stars Cattleya continued gazing blankly ahead. Like someone murmuring in sleep, she said, “I don’t know… Every time I enter the dream here, there’s a chance I’ll see it, yet I can never get close.

“She said this place resembles Feysac’s Twilight Giant Hall.

“She should have her own guess, but she never told me.”

She? The Queen of Mysteries? The Twilight Giant Hall is the seat of the Church of the God of Combat’s pontiff… Klein looked around and said after a little deliberation, “I’m going to look around.”

He believed the Future would not remain in this sea for only a few days. He would certainly encounter more nights and enter this dream world more than once. Therefore, to prepare for accidents and gather information, a certain amount of exploration was necessary.

And exploration unquestionably required companions.

Cattleya remained seated, arms wrapped around her knees, her tone still drifting.

“Not interested.”

…That is not something a mature pirate admiral should say. You could have phrased it more tactfully. Madam Hermit, right now you sound like a willful young girl… Klein was stunned for a moment, almost suspecting he had misheard. This clashed somewhat with his mental image of Admiral of Stars.

Then, thinking of how Gehrman Sparrow also had a side willing to do dirty, tiring volunteer work without complaint, he quickly understood and made a guess:

In the dream, Cattleya, The Hermit, was not fully conscious. She could recognize that she was dreaming, but could not effectively control herself!

In other words, she would unconsciously reveal the emotions buried deep inside her and the parts of her personality that she normally suppressed.

No wonder she said she could never get close to that miraculous city across from them. She doesn’t possess the conscious desire to explore at all… Klein thought briefly and deliberately tested her.

“We might discover something here.”

“I’m not going.” Cattleya answered without hesitation, though she did not shake her head. “I want to wait here. Wait!”

As expected, she’s in a half-awake, half-dreaming state… Klein made his judgment from her reaction and tone.

He wasted no more time. Turning around, he leaped down from the boulder.

Pa!

Klein’s feet landed on the ground. Almost instinctively, he looked back.

Admiral of Stars Cattleya remained seated there, arms around her knees. There was no one else around her. The frozen dusk of the city opposite spilled onto her, pulling her shadow long across the ground, where it mingled with the shadows cast by the withered yellow tree.

The mountain wind blew softly. The dark shadows trembled. Cattleya did not move at all, stubbornly waiting for something.

This is the kind of situation where a Psychiatrist is needed to interpret dream emotions. It has nothing to do with revelations from divination… Klein twitched the corner of his mouth, then looked around for a direction to explore.

He discovered that whether he went left, right, or backward, he was met by the clustered black buildings of the monastery. Tall enclosing walls separated them from the cliff. Unless he jumped straight off the precipice, no matter where he wanted to explore, he could not avoid the monastery.

Since there was no other choice, Klein went directly to the monastery’s pitch-black gate.

The gate was nearly ten meters tall and did not look as if it had been prepared for humans. Klein examined it for several seconds, inhaled, and stretched out both hands, pressing them against the two sides of the seam.

A creaking sound followed. The gate was heavier than Klein had imagined. His muscles bulged one after another, his face flushing red, yet he could only shake the target slightly. He could not push it open.

Good thing this is a dream. As long as I believe it logically, I can increase my strength. There’s no need to actually activate Creeping Hunger… Klein exhaled the breath he had been holding and let the glove on his left hand turn pale.

With faint flashes of dark green, he obtained the strength of a Zombie. His arms abruptly thickened, and his legs swelled.

Zaa!

A heavy scraping sound rang out. The great gate slowly opened, revealing the scene within.

Two dim towers and one black building after another were connected by covered bridges, enclosing a broad gray-stone square.

The square was covered in pits. Huge arrows stuck from the ground, and several fires burned here and there, as if the place had once suffered an assault.

Klein passed through the gate and entered the square. As expected, and yet still somewhat unexpectedly, he saw Frank Lee, Nina, Ottolov, and the others here.

Is this their dream? It doesn’t quite look like it… Or rather, each person’s dream is limited to themselves, then randomly appears somewhere in this world? Klein guessed with some uncertainty.

Frank Lee was closest to him. He was holding a shovel and digging through rubble. Beside him lay white bread, toast, pan-fried fish, and other food that had previously fallen to the ground.

Is he planning to use those as nutrients to grow something? Even in his dreams, he’s still planting things… Klein approached and casually asked, “What are you doing?”

Frank did not stop moving, but a smile appeared on his face.

“I cultivated some little things. They need to sleep in the soil for a while before they can grow up and reproduce.”

“What are they useful for?” Klein asked, both curious and worried.

Frank smiled brightly.

“They’re a kind of hybrid bacteria. They can make bulls produce milk as well. This way, we’ll be able to harvest more milk and let more people drink good milk.”

Please spare the bulls… Klein’s cheek twitched.

“Will it succeed?”

“The effect itself is no problem, but I’m worried they might not reproduce.” Frank frowned.

May Death forever favor them… Klein silently prayed. He passed Frank Lee and walked toward the entrance of the black building on the far side of the square.

On the way, he passed Nina and Navigator Ottolov, who were sitting beside a collapsed stone pillar and drinking heavily.

“Have you ever thought that when you get older, you might leave the pirate crew, find a man to marry, and settle down somewhere? I don’t think anyone wants to drift on the sea for their entire life.” Ottolov removed his soft pointed hat, revealing slightly graying hair.

His eyes and tone told Klein that his unspoken meaning was: if you have, could you consider me?

Mr. Navigator, you’re old enough to be Nina’s father. You should consider your own body… Passing by, Klein heard the exchange and could not help lampooning.

Nina took a big swig of liquor, glanced in a certain direction, and said, “No. That isn’t the kind of life I want.

“Before joining you people, I tried settling down on Feysac’s eastern coast and no longer being a pirate. But I couldn’t stand that kind of dullness at all. Every day was just carrying logs, moving things. At night, I had to stay at home. I couldn’t go to bars, couldn’t hunt in the wild, and nothing ever changed! I also had to endure all kinds of scolding, endure those annoying fellows, and even if I wanted to beat them up, I had to worry about the police!

“It’s better on the ship. Most of the time it’s boring too, but we often go to different places and see different things. Heh, even during the most boring times, I can torment those fellows, train them into qualified pirates, and tell them that the best-performing one each month can spend a night in my room. Then I watch them get excited and thrilled to enjoy being tortured. Of course, spending the night and getting into bed are two separate matters. They aren’t equivalent. It depends on my mood.”

A true female pirate… Everyone wants different things… Klein gave a fair assessment. He did not think Nina’s view was necessarily wrong.

I won’t slander her choice, but if she often kills, burns, and plunders, I wouldn’t mind exchanging her head for a bounty the next time I encounter her… Klein withdrew his gaze and arrived at what seemed to be the entrance to the black buildings and towers.

Subconsciously, he glanced to the side. The shadows in the corner appeared normal, yet gave a subtly different feeling.

“Bloodless” Heath Doyle? Even in a dream, he hides in the shadows? According to my limited psychological knowledge, this is an extreme lack of security… Klein pushed open the entrance door, which was also nearly ten meters tall.

Amid the creaking sound, his gaze suddenly froze.

Behind the front door was a vast hall supported by two rows of thick stone pillars.

There was no candlelight inside the hall, and it was abnormally dark. As the front door opened, light from outside poured in, making everything clear.

Klein saw that the walls and vaulted ceiling were covered in vivid murals, mainly in gold. They were connected together without a single gap, giving the place an enormous, sacred atmosphere.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A figure had his back to Klein and was chopping a long log with an axe, doing something unknown.

The figure wore a white shirt and a black waistcoat. He did not resemble any pirate aboard the ship.

Someone else from this sea? Or the owner of those mysterious eyes that watch the deck and watch me? Klein’s heart sank. He slowed his steps and approached warily, moving to the side until he could see the figure clearly.

It was a young-looking man. His short blond hair was parted three-to-seven, and his emerald-green eyes were focused and serious.

“What are you doing? What is this place?” Klein asked cautiously.

Intuitively, he believed the other party was not the owner of those mysterious eyes.

The young man raised a hand and touched his earlobe. Without turning around, he said, “Why are you asking these things? My ship sank. I’m busy making a dugout canoe. I don’t have time to talk to you.”

…After thinking for a moment, Klein asked again, “Who are you?”

“Who am I? I’m unlucky Anderson. Ever since I saw that mural, misfortune has been hanging over me.” The young man raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction.

Following his finger, Klein saw a mural.

Upon the mural was an ocean burning with flames. It had split apart down the middle, opening a path.

Along that road walked a long procession. Some members lowered their heads piously, others knelt on the ground, all heading toward the depths of the sea.

Their leader was a tall, thin man with long silver hair. His features were gentle, his eyes closed, and layered wings spread behind him.

This… Klein’s pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew the leader depicted in that mural!

It was the Angel of Fate that Little Sun had shown them!

It was the Tail Devourer, Ouroboros!