"There's something that's been bugging me for a while..."
As she followed Lucas Reeve to the world of the final, and ultimate, social-death candidate's dream, Liskarm suddenly thought of a very tricky question.
"We're clearly in a dangerous place right now, so why do you all have the leisure to slowly enjoy the show? As a mercenary, deliberately dragging things out in a known dangerous situation... Lucas isn't a mercenary and he's in a spirit state, so that's understandable, but Fat Fox... did you just forget everything from your written exam?"
When it came to matters of principle.
Even in her spirit state, Liskarm became serious. In an instant, the oppressive aura of a 'top student' made the 'slacker' Franka offer only a sheepish smile.
That was just Franka's personality.
She was carefree and couldn't be as cautious as Liskarm. Even on past missions, in the most dangerous situations, she would seek out all sorts of thrills. It seemed she lived for the fun of it.
"It's fine."
Lucas Reeve explained.
"The flow of time in a dream is much, much slower than in the outside world. An hour in a dream is about the time it takes to take half a breath outside. Besides, my Spiritual Power is constantly monitoring the situation outside. There won't be any problems."
While they were talking.
The surrounding space began to shatter like soap bubbles.
Liskarm looked around in amazement, as if trying to analyze the principle behind it, but the modern knowledge she had accumulated over the years was perhaps useless to explain the current situation. Or rather, the soul itself was something that modern science couldn't explain.
While Liskarm was pondering.
The world around them had undergone a cataclysmic change.
A boundless azure sky, a rare sight in the environment of Terra, stretched above. Below it, a medieval brick architectural style greeted them. Countless people were gathered around a square, and in the center of the square stood a wooden platform.
On the platform.
A strong and handsome Vouivre woman stood like a statue. She spoke with passionate fervor.
"Great explorers, go and seek it! Seek the treasure I, Saria, have left behind in the endless sea!!!"
In an instant.
The huge square erupted.
And Lucas Reeve's expression stiffened slightly.
What kind of ridiculous plot was this?
In the crowd, a very familiar figure jumped up, raising her hands high in excitement as she declared.
"I, Magallan, am going to be the woman of the King of the Pirates!! After becoming the King of the Pirates, I will create a world where everyone can say my name correctly and that's full of surströmming!!"
"Damn!!!"
"Damn!!!"
The three onlookers couldn't help but curse.
Miss Magallan seemed to have a bizarre obsession with her own name, not forgetting it even in her dreams. And also... what the hell was with the surströmming!!
Although it wasn't a complete social death.
After all, the three of them had somewhat anticipated it. This dream world would amplify a person's dreams, and based on those different dreams, the dreamscapes would differ. Jessica's dream was to become brave, Franka's dream was to be a star and rich, Liskarm's dream was to protect her hometown, and as an explorer, Magallan's dream was naturally to explore the whole world, and... for everyone to say her name correctly.
However.
Even though it wasn't that socially devastating, there were still plenty of things to ridicule in Magallan's dream.
The story then evolved into this.
The Rhine Lab, a sailboat led by Magallan, set sail from the sea south of Iberia into the deep.
Emperor from Penguin Logistics, a giant emperor penguin, served as the mascot.
A Rhine Lab Operator named Ptilopsis was the navigator, responsible for analyzing the weather. A young girl who Magallan called Ifrit was the main combatant, her body constantly wreathed in flames, using 'Fire Fist' at a moment's notice. Franka looked much more mature, and her 'chest muscles' had predictably shrunk to a flat board; she became a three-sword style swordswoman nicknamed 'Voyage Hunter'. Jessica served as the sniper on the ship...
And as the captain, Magallan not only served as captain but also as the cook.
Every meal had to have surströmming...
"..."
"This is a little... twisted..."
Franka felt like she was going to be sick.
Especially when she saw her dream self enthusiastically putting the incredibly disgusting and foul-smelling surströmming into her mouth. The real Franka just had to glance at it to imagine the feeling of that stuff sliding around in her mouth.
"Bleargh~~~"
"I can't watch anymore!! Wake this one up!!"
Without another word, Lucas Reeve rushed over and woke up the last one, Magallan. Lucas himself couldn't stand it either. It was too twisted. Surströmming for every meal, that was just ridiculous...
However, compared to Liskarm, Magallan's reaction was a bit slower. Even after her eyes regained clarity, she still had trouble distinguishing between dream and reality. After Franka explained for a while, Magallan finally realized she had been hallucinating.
"This cave~"
Magallan's lips curved up slightly, a little excited.
"Is very worthy of investigation!!"
Unlike the others' reaction of wanting to run away.
After learning about everything, Magallan was only excited, like a child who had discovered a new toy.
As an explorer.
This was the first time Magallan had encountered such a wondrous cave, one that could trap people in a realistic illusion.
This trip to Bolívar was truly worth it!
To encounter so many strange and wonderful things she had never seen before.
The souls of the group returned to their bodies.
It seemed like a long time had passed, but in reality, from the moment Lucas woke Jessica up to the present, less than ten seconds had passed in the real world.
They prepared to turn back and leave, looking for Ceobe on the way.
This cave had only one straight path, with no other branches. If not for her professional standards, Magallan wouldn't have even bothered dropping guide stones to mark the way. If she could get lost on a straight path like this, she could just throw away her title of top explorer (self-proclaimed).
Besides.
Since Ceobe was missing, if she had run ahead, they would have certainly seen her. Therefore, she must have stayed behind, or simply turned back halfway to wait for them at the cave entrance.
However...
After running for a full two minutes.
Lucas Reeve was the first to realize something was wrong. Using Jessica's body, he said.
"Did we... walk this long when we entered the cave?"
They had been running for a full two minutes just now. Forget seeing the cave entrance, they hadn't even seen the glowing guide stones on the path...
A sense of unease spread through everyone's hearts.
Liskarm raised her watch to check the time.
As a professional mercenary, she had a habit.
Every time she did something, she would habitually note the time.
"From the time we entered the cave until we woke up, only a little over five minutes have passed...."
When Liskarm said the words 'five minutes'.
Everyone's heart tightened for a moment.
The speed of walking was definitely far slower than running.
It only took them five minutes to walk into the cave, dropping a glowing guide stone every so often. But now, after running for two minutes, they still couldn't see anything....
*Huuu...*
The silence between them was deafening. No one spoke. Only the sound of breathing and heartbeats could be heard. Silence enveloped them, and even the clear sound of flowing water from before entering the cave had now disappeared...
"......"
Just then.
A low growl came from behind them.
Franka immediately drew the rapier at her waist, protecting everyone behind her.
But turning around was worse than not turning around. When they did, everyone froze in place.
Because...
They were now in the center of the Blackflow Sea of Trees. The largest ancient tree in the very center was now within arm's reach. The river water, darker than ink, wasn't deep, but it flowed around their ankles. The tickling sensation felt as if countless lost souls were desperately grabbing at their feet.
"..."
Lucas Reeve was now certain.
There was definitely some incredibly powerful creature lurking in this Blackflow Sea of Trees, and this creature's Spiritual Power was likely a little stronger than the remnant soul he had left in Jessica's body.