Chapter 237: A Journey Through Dreams

Chapter 237: A Journey Through Dreams

Klein withdrew his gaze and looked toward the dense forest behind him, so thick that almost no light could enter. He roughly understood where he was.

This was the Decaying Forest that Groselle had guarded back in the Giant King’s Court.

The trees in the forest were dozens of meters tall, their trunks so thick that several giants would have been needed to encircle one. Yet their bark was mottled and rotten in many places, while their branches and leaves had all withered. They hung down, entangling with one another like dim clouds floating in midair.

Groselle and several giants similar to him guarded the forest’s edge. Some carried axes, others greatswords, all focused on watching different directions.

“According to Groselle, the Decaying Forest buries the father and mother of Giant King Aurmir. Apart from that ancient god, no one can enter, including these guards… Mm. Giant King Aurmir’s parents should be the so-called first-generation giants—the maddest, fiercest, most brutal kind, probably… Huh. Why would Groselle have this sort of dream?” As Klein pondered, he suddenly noticed something wrong.

Based on what he had just learned through casual conversations in Pesote City, the current Groselle was a giant born and raised locally, and had no connection to the Giant King’s Court.

Therefore, this dream was clearly abnormal!

“From the theories of the Psychology Alchemists that Madam Daly and Miss Justice mentioned, perhaps when the book world creates characters, it uses or copies the original person’s subconscious and collective subconscious, then makes slight modifications so that the conscious mind satisfies the needs of the current setting. That’s why the current Groselle is influenced by his own subconscious in dreams and reenacts his life back in the Giant King’s Court… If that really is the case, I can only say that this book is a cruel writer…” At that thought, Klein’s heart stirred. He realized this was an opportunity to harvest intelligence related to the Giant King’s Court.

He had originally planned to directly ask Groselle about this. Who would have known that in order to fulfill his promise, the Giant Guardian would die in battle against the King of the North Ulyssan? After leaving the book world, even his spirit body had quickly dissipated, giving no opportunity for communication. Now, Klein finally had another method: exploring Groselle’s dream.

A portion of it would certainly be absurd and exaggerated, but the remaining content would inevitably reflect reality. As long as he studied carefully, distinguishing between them was not impossible.

“Groselle never entered the Decaying Forest. Even if there are scenes inside, they would come from his imagination. There’s no need to explore there…” Klein slowly shifted his gaze toward the mountain peak where the King’s Court was located.

It was not high, indicating that the Decaying Forest was located rather close to the King’s Court on the mountain. From here, there should be a road directly reaching the ancient god’s residence.

Klein did not waste time searching. He walked directly toward Groselle, adopting the manner of someone very familiar with him, and unhurriedly asked, “How should I return to the King’s Court?”

He knew that Groselle was an honest giant—and would certainly be even more honest in a dream.

Groselle raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. Looking down in confusion, he smiled.

“Isn’t it through the Barren Tunnel?”

He pointed diagonally ahead and added, “You can see it once you go around that boulder.”

“Thank you.” Klein sighed and bowed.

Watching his figure leave, Groselle scratched the back of his head again and muttered in confusion, “Who is he? Why do I feel he’s familiar…”

After circling past a protruding boulder on the mountain wall, the space before Klein’s eyes suddenly opened up. A gigantic cave, at least thirty meters tall, appeared before him.

Outside the cave stood a stone stele. Upon it were carved a vertical single eye, a high nose bridge, and thick lips. It looked as if a giant’s head had been forcibly pressed into it, with only the front part revealed.

Klein had only just approached when the mouth on the stone stele opened.

“Why have you returned to the King’s Court early?”

“The King summoned me,” Klein said without changing expression. In any case, in this dream, the intelligence of all living things was basically equal to that of the dream’s master—Groselle.

The lips on the stone stele opened and closed uncertainly, producing a rumbling voice.

“Please answer one question, or you cannot pass.”

…At a time like this, if I had Magic Mirror Arrodes with me, something very amusing would probably happen… Klein lampooned, then calmly nodded.

“All right.”

The lips on the stone stele closed for three seconds, then opened.

“If your wife, your daughter, and the woman you covet asked you to judge who among them is the most beautiful, how would you choose?”

That is nothing like Magic Mirror’s question style… Klein’s lips moved slightly. His thoughts spun rapidly, and only after nearly ten seconds did he answer, “My wisdom is insufficient to judge this matter. I would designate someone wiser to give the answer.”

How could I possibly answer a life-threatening question like this myself? he added inwardly through gritted teeth.

“…Who is wiser?” The giant face on the stone stele froze for several seconds.

Klein answered solemnly and gravely, “Our king, of course.”

The stone stele immediately went mute. After quite some time, it finally said, “All right. That counts as an answer. You may pass.”

Klein immediately passed the strange stone stele and entered the cave ahead.

The cave floor was paved with massive stone slabs that seemed weathered by countless years. On both sides and overhead were murals depicting the giants’ battles against giant dragons, demonic wolves, mutated species, devils, and phoenixes. The brushwork was rough, the colors dim, yet the scenes were extraordinarily vivid.

Klein examined the murals as he walked. He discovered clump after clump of withered weeds, as well as much coarse gravel lodged in the gaps between the stone slabs and beneath the murals.

The deeper he went, the more tangible the feeling became that moisture had drained from this place and life had withered away.

After walking for an unknown length of time, Klein saw an open gray-blue gate. On each side of the gate stood a giant four or five meters tall.

The giants guarding this place were different from Groselle and the others. They wore hard, ornate, iron-black armor and solid helmets of distinctive design, looking like two massive statues.

They did not stop Klein and allowed him to pass through the gate into the hall beyond.

This hall was not especially spacious. The edges around it were clearly visible, and overall it could likely hold fifty or sixty giants.

As Klein was observing his surroundings, the floor beneath his feet suddenly shook. Then the entire hall seemed to be pulled upward by an invisible hand, climbing rapidly.

He swayed slightly, then steadied himself. At the gate, gray-black stone walls flashed past, constantly sweeping downward.

In a mere dozen seconds, there came a clanging sound, and the hall stopped ascending.

At that moment, outside the gate was no longer a mountain tunnel but a magnificent palace supported by rows of stone pillars.

Klein quickly left the original hall and, quite interested, surveyed his surroundings.

“So this is the Giant King’s Court version of an elevator? This place seems to be where the guards live. Outside are long tables taller than humans, and enormous chairs. On both sides are individual rooms, each neatly containing a large bed…” Klein’s gaze swept over the various objects inside the palace hall before finally stopping on a mural.

The mural’s main character was a giant wearing full-body silver armor. Because there was no comparison, Klein could not determine exactly how tall he was.

The giant stood at the edge of a cliff, his longsword angled upward. Light clearly bloomed from his body, shining upon his surroundings like the rising sun.

Many giants knelt on one knee around him, as though both praying in worship and awaiting bestowment.

The Giant King’s eldest son, the God of Dawn, Badheil? Klein thought as he looked toward the mural’s main figure. He saw that the face was covered by a visor, and only the eyes showed a cluster of dawn-like light.

Just like the God of Combat statue in the underground ruins of Backlund, the face is completely hidden behind a mask… Heh. The Queen of Mysteries said that the current God of Combat is a giant who survived from ancient times. That’s why the Church’s headquarters, the Twilight Hall, is so similar to the Giant King’s Court… Could it be this eldest son of the Giant King, the God of Dawn, who escaped the destruction of the King’s Court and reclaimed the authority that belonged to His father at some later stage? Klein boldly speculated, but had no evidence or clues.

Following the corresponding arrangement, he looked toward the opposite wall. There was another mural there, but the subject was no longer the God of Dawn, Badheil. It was a female giant wearing leather armor on the upper body and a long skirt below.

The female giant stood sideways, the lines of her face soft. Her vertical single eye gazed downward, and her dark-brown hair fell all the way to the middle of her back.

Her right hand was spread open, holding wheat ears, fruits, and other items. Around her were golden fields, clear lake water, fruit-laden trees, and vividly bright mushrooms.

“The Giant Queen, the Goddess of Harvest Omebella?” Klein looked around but failed to find a mural representing Giant King Aurmir.

Because this is the remote residence of guards, there is no image of the ancient god? Then leaving this place should put me inside the Giant King’s Court… Klein walked cautiously toward the door and used the method he had previously used in the dream world of the ruins of the battle of gods. He falsely activated Creeping Hunger, relied on the Zombie’s strength, and opened the door.

However, outside was not the palace solidified in twilight that he had imagined. Instead, it was a gray, foggy world. Ahead seemed to have turned into a sheer cliff, and the bottom could not be seen at all.

“According to Miss Justice’s previous experience, this should be the boundary of the dream. Next, I can only go downward into Groselle’s subconscious and finally reach the sea of collective subconscious… Miss Justice discovered a Mind Dragon in the human sea of subconscious for her region. Then in this book world created by the Dragon of Imagination, what exists within the sea of subconscious?” As Klein’s thoughts moved, a staircase leading downward manifested within the grayness ahead.

The staircase did not descend vertically. It spiraled and twisted into the gray fog, deep and shadowy, with no bottom visible. It led into a world of the mind whose details could not be seen clearly.