Chapter 173: Dream Analysis

Chapter 173: Dream Analysis

Klein was startled. Instinctively, he turned his body sideways, refusing to leave his back exposed to Leomaster, who was trembling in terror inside the storage room.

He could no longer be certain that this “prisoner” in the linen short robe had no problem!

At that moment, the eyes of the knight in full black armor, who had the same face as Leomaster, flared crimson. He raised that dark, broad straight sword with both hands.

Thud!

He took one step forward and swung downward in a slash, so fast that Klein’s eyes almost failed to catch the motion.

Klein, likewise standing sideways, instinctively raised the Sea God Scepter and made the azure-blue gems at its tip light up at the same time.

Woo!

A tangible hurricane rose out of nowhere, coiling around Klein layer after layer and protecting him at the eye of the storm.

Screech! Black light slashed over. The layers of raging wind collapsed one after another, shooting violently in every direction and making the entire hall tremble.

Boom!

Beneath the dark greatsword, the hurricane erupted with an explosive sound and turned into a shockwave, swallowing the area and sending every piece of piled miscellaneous junk flying into the air.

That violent collision clearly shook the dream. Klein’s mind suddenly blurred, and he could not help rolling over twice.

Thud!

He fell from the bed in his room onto the deck, hitting the floor hard enough that his eyes opened.

That “Black Saint” truly is strong… Or perhaps, because I’ve never truly used the Sea God Scepter in the real world, I can’t restore its full power in the dream… Wait! It’s still night! Klein suddenly noticed a problem.

No noon sunlight was shining in through the window!

His awakening had come from the intense confrontation inside the dream, not from a natural change!

In other words, he had to fall asleep immediately—right now, at once—or else he might very well vanish during this dark night, never to be found again!

The thought had barely flashed through his mind when Klein braced his right hand against the floor, bounced up, and flew toward his bed, landing steadily on it.

Then he visualized countless overlapping spheres of light, swiftly entering the dream.

During that process, Klein’s gaze swept over the window. He vaguely saw that the night outside was deep, cold, quiet, and peaceful, without the slightest trace of evil.

At the same time, he dimly sensed, somewhere far away, a layer of fog covering the sea. Within that fog stood a very ancient-style church with a spire. Its entire body was pitch-black, and it had no bell tower. At the very top, black crows circled and lingered, as though mourning something, lamenting something.

Scattered around the church were many buildings: ordinary two-story houses, crude wooden cabins, a bakery with a hanging signboard, a gray-white mill powered by a waterwheel… One shadowy passerby after another moved through the streets and alleys, their forms hazy and indistinct.

A mirage? The source of danger at night? Did all the missing people lose their minds and go there? Klein awakened within the dream, and the questions he had accumulated earlier subconsciously flashed through his mind.

Immediately afterward, he forcibly restrained his thoughts and took the Sea God Scepter from the “special region of the spirit world”!

He remembered that before leaving the dream, he had been fighting the Black Saint!

Dim golden light entered Klein’s eyes, and everything abruptly opened up before him.

What lay within his sight was no longer the tall knight in black full-body armor, nor Leomaster in a linen short robe. Instead, it was a row of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the setting sun.

The windows were exceptionally clean. Under the sunlight outside, they carried an indescribable purity.

Beside the windows stood long tables of raw wood and brown chairs with backs. A little farther away were rows of bookshelves, filled with all kinds of books.

A library? A great book depository? Every time one enters this dream world, one randomly appears in different places within a certain range? Klein cautiously observed left and right for a while, confirming that the area was temporarily safe. There was no so-called Black Saint, nor any bizarre evil creature.

Holding the Sea God Scepter, he first went to the floor-to-ceiling windows and gazed out at the environment outside.

The first thing that entered his eyes was the magnificent complex of buildings covering the mountain peak opposite. Enormous palaces, majestic spires, and towering city walls were all frozen in dusk, carrying tremendous visual impact.

Even though it was not his first time seeing it, Klein still held his breath and quietly admired that miraculous sight for several seconds.

Then his gaze shifted to this side of the cliff. He saw the high walls of the black monastery and the withered yellow trees beside the boulder. But because of the obstruction, he could not confirm whether Admiral of Stars Cattleya was still in her original spot.

As expected, I didn’t leave this area. I’m still within a certain range… Have I gone deeper into the black monastery? Thoughtfully, Klein withdrew his gaze and walked step by step toward the bookshelves.

For the moment, he had no time to ponder what exactly had been going on with the Black Saint and Leomaster in the previous dream. He first had to confirm his current situation.

After approaching the shelves, Klein found that the books arranged there all had their own titles. They were not the vague, indistinct kind that appeared in normal dreams.

The Spirituality of Life, The Book of Charms, Flowers of the Heart, The Inner and Outer Cosmos and the True Starry Sky… These are all books in the field of mysticism… Klein cautiously reached out and pulled out The Book of Charms.

He flipped through it quickly and discovered that he had already mastered most of the contents, but a small portion belonged to types he had never come into contact with before.

I can confirm this isn’t a manifestation of my own dream… Is it Madam Hermit’s? The knowledge that’s being pursued and forced into her mind has materialized inside the library of the black monastery? Klein had no desire to explore outside. Holding The Book of Charms, he returned to the floor-to-ceiling windows, found a place to sit, and began reading seriously by the light of dusk.

In dreams, you can even study! he lampooned inwardly while taking out paper and pen, writing and sketching as he read.

Just as he grew immersed, the light abruptly brightened. Blazing white ruled his vision.

Klein naturally opened his eyes, bathed in the warm sunlight pouring in from outside.

“I had only read a few pages. I was about to browse the whole thing quickly, then recall it afterward through dream divination…” Klein sat up in frustration, feeling as though he had missed an excellent opportunity to study. He could not be sure whether he would randomly arrive at the black monastery’s library again next time.

He smoothed his hair, put on his hat, and went down to the deck. As he observed the environment, he reviewed the dream he had just experienced.

“That prison is most likely also inside the black monastery. Mm, perhaps it’s an underground section. In other words, the Black Saint and Leomaster are somewhere nearby, inside a relic or ruin not too far away.

“No wonder the Mercury Snake, Will Auceptin, warned me not to try exploring. Those places really are filled with danger!

“How could the Black Saint and Leomaster look exactly the same? This dream is a little strange. And that full-length mirror was also magical and sinister. It actually created a copy of Gehrman Sparrow…”

As his recollection reached this point, Klein began searching through the matters he had experienced before, using comparison to determine his line of thought.

This was what it meant to rely on experience.

Soon, he formed an association. He thought back to Backlund, when he had used the Nightmare Candle to help Father Utravsky eliminate his “past self”—a split-off personality!

“Could Leomaster himself be the Aurora Order’s Black Saint?

“Because of certain reasons, he experienced a split in personality, dividing his good self and evil self? That deep, enclosed, dark prison was the dream projection of his inner world?

“Right, that full-length mirror! Leomaster said that if it were destroyed, he would disappear as well. And when I looked into the mirror, the Gehrman Sparrow inside did indeed take physical form, leaning toward evil!

“No wonder, after I eliminated that mirror Gehrman Sparrow, I felt something like a sage’s calm. It was because I had removed some evil thoughts and malice from within myself…

“Mm, that full-length mirror may not necessarily be a mirror in the real world… This sea clearly contains residual Beyonder power from the Visionary. It has manifested many unreal monsters that are nevertheless capable of killing people… And that belongs to the Spectator pathway, so a ruin capable of separating good from evil and splitting personalities is completely logical…

“Heh. The Black Saint Leomaster is a high-ranking member of the Aurora Order. Originally, he must have been extremely evil. But that ruin or item activated the opposite side of him—his inner, hidden goodness—causing his personality to split. That led to him being trapped somewhere nearby.” Klein felt he had roughly figured out the truth of the matter, and he felt faintly regretful.

What a pity. If I had been able to enter the same place the second time, then relying on the Sea God Scepter and Leomaster’s good side, there really might have been a chance to defeat his evil side—the Black Saint. And injuries in the dream world carry over into reality…

If that succeeded, there would be a benevolent Saint who understands the Aurora Order extremely well, and who could strike a powerful blow against that cult organization… Klein silently inhaled, half-turned, and looked toward Anderson Hood, who had just come out from the cabin.

“Where did you go in the dream? I didn’t see you,” the Strongest Hunter asked familiarly.

Klein secretly frowned and asked in return, “Why should I be seen by you?”

Anderson froze for a moment.

“When you leave the dream, shouldn’t you still be in the same place when you enter it again?”

…So the fact that I appear randomly in certain places within a range has some other factor behind it? My own special nature? Klein discovered the situation was more complex than he had imagined.

After considering, he said, “After entering the dream, I appeared somewhere else.”

“Strange…” Anderson frowned, apparently rather confused as well.

Before Klein could speak, Anderson spoke again thoughtfully.

“There’s another strange thing.”

“What?” Klein asked cooperatively.

Anderson looked around.

“The last time I was pretending to make a dugout canoe in that hall, I heard the sound of a door opening somewhere deep inside, followed by footsteps coming outward. But when I raised my head and looked, I didn’t find anything.

“I originally thought it was someone from this ship. Later, I felt that didn’t seem quite right.”