NOVEL NEXT chapter 147
147. The Skull of the Dream Demon (5)
A sword flew into the hands of a knight clad in violet armor.
The core was made of smoke, yet an oppressive weight settled in the air.
Leana’s heart sank, and she swallowed hard.
“…What on earth is that?”
To be honest, I don’t know either.
Only a vague speculation lingered that it was a practice dummy of some past strongman.
Irte had put considerable effort into crafting this.
“Well? It seems to show a belligerent disposition.”
So, could we, who are still in the early stages of the scenario, possibly defeat it? The truth is, it’s nearly impossible.
No matter how high-tier equipment we donned, and even if Leana submerged herself in water imbued with essence, it would still be woefully insufficient to bridge the gap against the formidable foes of the high-level zones.
But that’s a tale for when we’re not in the realm of dreams, but rather in the realm of reality.
—
There were ample ways to conquer the beast.
“Leana, do not focus on defeating it; concentrate only on enduring.”
“Pardon?”
“We just need to buy time.”
This was the illusion of Irthe.
To maintain the dream world, immense power was required.
It was only natural that the commander of the Dream Knights, in unleashing high performance, consumed energy like a gluttonous hippo.
“Endurance will bring a moment of weakness. For now, let me first gauge the extent of its power.”
The turning point would come when the knight commander’s strength was drained to half.
I brushed my hand over my armor and approached the creature.
In that instant, the knight commander charged at me, the blue glow behind the visor flaring to life!
Ping!
It was a swift strike, so quick that I couldn’t even parry with my sword.
Caught off guard, I could only watch as the chest plate of my armor, maxed out in durability, crumpled like paper—ka-gak!—and tore apart.
Fortunately, the armor absorbed all the damage, and the ‘1-second invincibility’ did not trigger.
‘Donathan, can’t you read its attacks?’
Barely had I thought it when the knight commander’s sword jabbed into my shoulder. The seam ripped, and my shoulder guard flew up.
‘Strangely enough, it wields an archaic swordsmanship. I can read the trajectory of its attacks, but the speed is such that your body can hardly react.’
While Donathan chattered, I gripped my sword diagonally with both hands to shield my chest and shoulder.
The knight commander targeted my gauntlet, shattering it and tearing it away.
Clang!
Seizing the moment, I swiftly adorned myself with hundreds of gold pieces.
‘Then I shall increase my speed suitably.’
As I spoke, Donathan crackled with static.
I could reach maximum speed without triggering the ‘1-second invincibility’ by using the footwork twice, and twice for each arm.
It was worth trying a few more moves.
Ping!
As I twisted my body with the footwork, the knight commander’s vertical slash swept past me.
It was a hair-raising distance, nearly grazing my nose.
Had I not anticipated and reacted in advance, I would surely have been struck.
‘···It was merely luck. You should retreat, Hessel.’
Donathan suggested a withdrawal. It was the first time he had ever said such a thing, and it left me quite bewildered.
I wrapped hundreds of gold around my legs and leaped back.
Thud!
Yet, as if he had anticipated even this, the knight commander closed the distance in an instant.
Tat-tat-tat!
My body was still floating backward from the jump.
In contrast, his speed was enough to surpass even that.
Having just used my backstep technique twice, I found myself in a rather dire situation.
Already invoking ‘1-second invincibility’ here?
If the knight commander’s ultimate move came out now, it was clear I would meet my end.
It was a moment that made me consider altering my strategy.
A gust of wind swept through, and red hair brushed against my face.
Clang!
Leana intercepted his diagonal slash.
However, perhaps overwhelmed by the weight of the blow, her left wrist twisted at a grotesque angle.
In a hypnotic state, she wouldn’t feel pain, but the horrific sight might have conjured a phantom agony.
Leana let out a small groan.
“Ugh.”
A wet sound echoed from the knight commander’s sword.
It was likely thanks to the effect of the ‘Sword of the Flame Spirit King Alkin’ that Leana wielded, which claimed, ‘This sword shall never be scratched.’
As the cracks healed and fragments fell with a clatter, he retreated.
Leana’s wrist was already beginning to mend on its own.
This was the effect of the armor with its absurdly powerful options.
‘Armor imbued with the Breath of the Phoenix’
●Attribute Type: Flame.
An armor that can only be worn by those with extreme fire resistance.
Significantly increases health recovery.
Significantly increases defense.
In the event of armor damage, it self-repairs immediately.
Upon death, one is resurrected in a complete body.
Upon revival, the armor is permanently shattered.
I asked Leana.
“Can you react to its attacks?”
“No. That last one was just it charging at you without thought since you jumped back.”
“Well, that’s a fine judgment.”
The creature had unleashed a total of five attacks thus far.
Each strike of a strong foe had been meticulously replicated, and that alone must have consumed a fair amount of energy.
Yet the next attack was on a different scale altogether.
Clang!
The knight commander raised his right hand. A new sword flew into his grasp.
Suddenly, a blade-like wind sliced through the air, and the knight commander’s sword trembled.
Creeeak—
A sound like nails scraping against a chalkboard.
I urgently pulled Leana behind me and hurled myself out of the training ground.
A blue line grazed my back.
Bang!
My armor shattered in an instant, leaving a long mark etched into the cave wall.
That was undoubtedly the release of his sword’s energy.
Crash!
Leana’s back hit the ground. Her eyes widened, mere breaths away from me.
I, perched awkwardly above her, paid no mind and issued my command.
“With a strike like that, he must be getting tired. I’ll hold him off one more time, and then it’s all on you.”
“…Hold him off? Without armor, against that?”
Leana’s gaze was fixed on the air above.
I scrambled to my feet and looked up.
In the midst of our chatter, the knight commander had leapt high enough to touch the ceiling.
Creeeak—
A discordant sword swung toward me, brimming with dissonance.
I stood firm, casting my shadow over Leana.
The blade’s aura sliced through the air, as if to cleave my body in two like an apple.
[Shock detected.]
[Traits activating.]
[1-second invincibility cooldown: 59 seconds]
The commander of the knights fell, leaving behind a lingering afterimage of blue light.
The glow had dimmed significantly since before.
Now that the foe had unleashed two strikes of his aura, in this moment, Leana stood a chance.
“To take that on barehanded…”
“We have no time for idle chatter.”
At my words, Leana sprang to her feet.
With a swift motion, she leaped onto the training ground, fixing her gaze upon the knight commander as she readied her stance.
Tatata-tak!
The commander lunged forward, sword poised to stab, his speed now noticeably slower, even to my eyes.
Leana gripped her sword lightly, deftly deflecting his thrust. The knight commander flowed seamlessly into his next attack, yet the armor that had been cut began to spark and mend itself almost instantly.
As they exchanged blows a few more times, the knight commander’s movements began to grow sluggish.
Leana seized the opportunity, burning through her raw stamina to unleash an unending barrage of strikes.
Kakakakang!
At this point, I felt a sense of relief.
The final effect of the ‘Armor of the Phoenix’s Breath,’ which I had donned as a precaution, ‘Resurrection,’ seemed unlikely to even activate as it appeared this would end without incident.
Kang!
The knight commander’s armor crumpled. A dent formed, deepening with each passing moment.
Finally, his sword slipped from his grasp, and Leana brought her weapon down with all her might, gripping it with both hands.
Kkaang!
With a sharp sound, the knight commander’s helm flew from his shoulders.
The headless armor crumpled to its knees with a thud, scattering into pieces with a resounding crash.
Leana, panting heavily, turned her gaze toward me.
I thought it might be acceptable to offer a compliment, considering she would likely dismiss this as nothing more than a fleeting dream.
“You’ve truly worked hard to become a knight. There’s no need to worry about your future.”
Leana lowered her sword, her expression a complex tapestry of emotions.
“I’m not quite sure what to say. Words like those from your mouth… it feels so awkward…”
Even if I deemed it a dream, the words that escaped my lips felt surprisingly out of place.
Perhaps it was a slip of the tongue.
Feeling uncomfortably out of sorts, I approached the ruined armor of the fallen knight, seeking to change the subject and fulfill my original purpose.
From the breastplate, a purple mist billowed forth, hissing softly—puffing out into the air.
It soon coalesced into a glass vial, filled to the brim with azure liquid.
‘Elixir of Dreams’
● Attribute Type: Illusion.
A potion crafted with utmost care by the Dream Lord, Irthe.
Duration: 3 minutes.
Upon consumption, all status ailments incurred during the duration are rendered as mere fabrications.
Even the cooldown of its traits resets instantly.
Upon death, the moment the duration ends, death itself becomes a mere illusion.
This is one of the three legendary artifacts of Asares.
Any trait can be unleashed for a full three minutes, and even in death, it grants one more chance—a performance so outrageous it deserves to be counted among the most absurd of treasures.
I carefully stowed the potion in my inventory, treating it as if it were a sacred relic.
I hoped to save it for a moment of dire need…
“Hershel? Is that a gift? Let me see.”
“A gift? What do you mean by that?”
“Surely we came to retrieve the stolen gift…”
“Oh, that? They’ve already sold it all off.”
That aside, they had drained every last drop; it was time for this farce to come to an end.
* * *
The first destination Rockefeller led the Adel Academy’s Department of Magic to was the Shulafe Hall.
There, the only student he managed to purify and bring along was Rix.
To him, the rest of Shulafe Hall were nothing but vermin.
Upon arriving at the stronghold, Rix, his mind finally clear, asked,
“Professor Rockefeller, wouldn’t it have been better to free Senior Makdal as well?”
“The limits of that one are clear. Teaching him further would be of no use.”
Rix opened his mouth to respond, but Belman placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. It was a gesture that spoke volumes—there was no point in speaking; it would only tire him out.
Rockefeller gazed at the students within the fortress, their expressions dulled as if they were mere shadows of themselves.
“It seems they are all under some sort of hypnosis.”
Belman voiced his thoughts, a hint of urgency in his tone.
“Professor Rockefeller, if we could enlist the help of the other professors, it would be a great advantage. Surely, you could release them?”
Rockefeller countered immediately, his voice firm.
“We are in a situation where we do not even know what is happening at the Academy. We must first identify who the instigator of this chaos is. Wandering aimlessly in search of professors whose whereabouts are unknown could lead to unforeseen consequences. And who knows how much time we might waste in the process?”
A bead of sweat trickled down Belman’s forehead as he asked, “You mean… it’s not just a simple supernatural phenomenon?”
“Exactly.”
The evidence was ample.
Transforming the fortress’s interior into a dark, twisted reflection of a literary demon’s lair was far too deliberate.
“It does not seem to be mere hallucinations triggered by the unconscious of individuals. Even you, with your minds intact, are perceiving the same space, the same objects as I am. It can only be concluded that someone has altered the fortress itself…”
Rockefeller continued to scan the surroundings with eyes full of suspicion.
Seizing the opportunity, he began to instruct the students he had chosen.
“First and foremost, we must gather information. In a situation like this, we need to understand the purpose behind the enemy’s large-scale actions. Delaying could lead to unforeseen disadvantages. Always be creative. And question everything frequently.”
Belman swallowed hard.
“Indeed, that seems to be the priority. Based on the information we gather here, we can devise a plan and begin the briefing before the faculty as soon as we reach the professors’ quarters, thus saving time…”
“Well, we might as well take advantage of that.”
“Is that why you only cast purification magic on a select few? To save time?”
“No. It’s simply a waste of mana to use it on worthless things.”
“……”
To gather more clues, Rockefeller turned to Rix.
“Rix Don Orian. You believed everything was merely a dream, did you not?”
“Yes. Had you not cast purification magic, Professor, I would have never realized this was reality, my mind so clouded.”
“Hmm.”
Rockefeller waved his staff.
At that moment, thirty crows materialized in the air.
Rix’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Is that spirit magic?”
“No. They are artificial beings created through manifestation and peculiar magic. Their intelligence is quite low, capable only of following simple commands.”
Crows spread wide and took to the sky.
“If you spot a suspicious figure, the crows will cry out. Keep your ears wide open.”
From above, the crows cawed. It was toward the club floor. Rockefeller, leading the students, caught sight of an armored knight loitering nearby.
“Hm, looks like the core is hollow.”
Whether it was magic or some kind of mystery, there was no doubt that the entire Frost Heart had stepped into its domain.
Clank, clank.
The armored knight lunged. With just a flick of telekinesis, it was dismantled, and the sword never reached its target.
Rockefeller scanned the surroundings.
Then Belman pointed to a woman.
“Professor. There’s Sylla over there.”
“Oh ho.”
Sylla en Lionheart was a promising talent.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to take her along for some real-world experience.
Belman approached Sylla.
“Sylla, are you caught in a trance too?”
“Uh? Belman. What are you doing here? The professor is here too? That Rockefeller—”
Belman hurriedly clamped a hand over Sylla’s mouth.
“Ugh!”
“…It seems she’s mistaking this for a dream.”
Rockefeller approached her, his expression displeased, the light of purification shimmering around him.
Then he gave her a sharp knock on the head.
“Ah!”
As Sylla clutched her head, tears welling in her eyes, Belman explained the situation.
“Snap out of it! This isn’t a dream; it’s reality. Just a moment ago, you were under hypnosis. Right now, everyone around the academy is mistaking all of this for a dream.”
Had the pain jolted her back to awareness faster than Rix?
Sylla’s eyes widened.
“It’s not a dream? Wait, then…”
Her expression grew complex.
The events from just moments ago began to rise like a mist.
—But you know what? If I could go back to that moment… well, I might be willing to dance with you once.
‘Madness!!’
Rockefeller’s eyes gleamed. What he beheld was Limberton, slumped languidly in a chair.
“Oh, there’s Limberton Bell Delcy. If he’s got a good eye, he might just be of some use after all.”
With the light of purification shimmering around him, Rockefeller approached Limberton.
Sila’s expression began to darken with horror.
“P-Professor!!”