"So, you're now a descendant of a god with the blood of a dream god?" Simon asked, looking at Alka.
Alka, sitting in the main seat of the conference room, nodded. He had just shared some of his changes with everyone.
"What does a half-real, half-dream bloodline mean?" Matlisa asked curiously.
She could understand the idea of mixed races, but this kind of transformation, half real, half bloodline, was truly incomprehensible to her.
It didn't sound as simple as a real-world mixed-blood.
Hearing this, Alka couldn't help but ponder it; he hadn't considered it that way before.
After a moment's thought, he said, "There aren't many obvious changes to the body; it's more about the mind and soul. These changes affect the flow of magical energy, granting the body some special powers."
After hearing Alka's explanation, Matlisa nodded, seemingly understanding.
This was clearly different from ordinary real-world mixed-bloods. It's obviously not entirely plausible to call this a mixed-blood situation, but it's just easier to understand.
Sofia, who was sitting nearby, suddenly nudged Jason, who was feeding ore to a crystal dragon, with her elbow.
Feeling the touch, Jason turned to look at Sofia.
Er, who was on Sofia's shoulder, jumped onto Jason and whispered something in his ear.
Then he quietly returned to Sofia.
Hearing this, Jason stared at Sofia with wide eyes, as if he'd just met her all over again.
Sofia felt somewhat embarrassed by the look, but she still glared at Jason fiercely.
The meaning in her eyes was clear, filled with violent aggression.
Jason could only silently turn his head away, yielding to Sofia's violent threats.
Listening to the conversation.
Seizing an opportunity, he suddenly looked at Alka and asked, "So, is there a significant difference between your bloodline and races like mermaids and murlocs?"
"The difference should be significant. After all, half of it no longer exists in reality," Matlisa said from the side.
According to the changes she had just inquired about,
The gap between Alka and normal humans is now perhaps even greater than the gap between murlocs and humans.
Though both are essentially ordinary people transformed by magic.
Jason nodded as if understanding, then asked curiously, "Is there any reproductive isolation between them and normal humans?"
"..."
Silence.
The entire conference room fell inexplicably still.
This seemed a seemingly insignificant question, yet also a crucial one.
Descendants and inheritance are something that intelligent life can never escape.
Then everyone fell inexplicably still.
Arka was initially puzzled by this question, then frowned and began to ponder.
For others, it might just be curiosity.
But for him, for himself, this question was truly important.
Yes.
It's only half reality now. Is there reproductive isolation?
He glanced at Sofia, puzzled.
However, Sofia didn't seem to be staring at him, but rather looking elsewhere.
"Probably... not," Arka said uncertainly.
After all, the flesh and blood part was reality, while the spirit and energy were more dreamlike.
He couldn't say it was half reality and half dream now.
Rather, it was reality superimposed with a portion of dream.
Although it was confusing and strange, that was probably the way it was.
Besides, this was a magical world, not the world of the past, so common sense couldn't be used to judge it.
"Speaking of which, are there any reproductive barriers between you and ordinary people?"
Alka asked, looking at the Ocean Trio.
Matthia's face flushed at the question; she had never considered it.
Julia, on the other hand, shook her head. "No, there were half-merman, half-human hybrids in the tribe I once belonged to."
Then the chances of her own reproductive isolation were even smaller.
He felt strangely relieved.
It seemed he wasn't the only one feeling relaxed.
Finally, the group chatted for a while longer.
Alka also learned about the changes in the sky when he had merged the divine fragments in his dream.
After taking this information to heart and keeping a careful eye on it, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
As for their direction, it was completely aimless.
Climbing the ocean aimlessly, aimlessly, was the primary method of navigation they had learned on Southern Cross Island. Unless you have a goal in mind.
‐‐ Otherwise, such random sailing will only lead you to your destiny.
‐‐Though it sounds mysterious, this is what almost all the locals of the Infinite Sea do.
‐‐These people have put it into practice, and the fact that this method has been passed down proves that it may actually work.
‐‐Back in his room, Alka lay on his bed. Although he wasn't sleepy, but rather very alert, he still sank into his dream.
‐‐He now needed to fully understand the changes that had taken place.
‐‐Get familiar with the new powers.
‐‐First, there was "royal power."
‐‐The power of royal power targeted not his own personal dreams, but rather a power, or privilege, possessed by the entire dream world.
‐‐Feeling the full power, and perhaps gaining a certain understanding, Alka flew out of his dream bubble.
‐‐This was the first time he had left his dream bubble since gaining royal power and becoming a descendant of the gods.
The area surrounding his dream bubble was different now.
Outside, just as he had imagined, changes had occurred.
First, the various light and shadowy creatures that had always surrounded his bubble had vanished.
Not only around his own bubble, but also around Jason and the others' dream bubbles.
Alka's bubble seemed to have formed a protective circle, and those creatures dared not approach.
Instead, mist-like creatures appeared.
Various mist-like creatures gathered, settled, and moved around.
Alka clearly welcomed these mist-like creatures.
Because they wouldn't harm his dream bubble.
Having inherited some of Mirmi's memories and the knowledge gained from the fragments of the god,
Alka had gained a deeper understanding of the entire dream world.
He was no longer as clueless as before, only understanding the basics. The dream world can be categorized as a spiritual realm, closely connected to the real world yet firmly separated.
Dreams are the spiritual manifestation of life.
Whether it's shadows or light and shadows, they are entirely spiritual creations.
They are life forms that emerge from the spiritual world.
They feed on the dream energy of intelligent beings and are formed by the various emotional fluctuations of intelligent beings.
Dreaming generates chaotic emotions, which are expelled from the dream bubble.
These emotions coalesce in the spiritual world into creatures of light and shadow.
Mist creatures, however, are not like that; they are products of the real world.
They are natural spirits.
It's just that mist creatures are more spiritual spirits, and they are highly connected to the real world.
Spiritual spirits rarely appear in the real world anymore, as the real world has long been destroyed, reduced to a pile of fragments.
The real world is now nothing more than a pile of fragments, barely surviving. With the real world shattered to this extent, the world spirits that supported it were naturally hard to find.
‐‐However, life in the real world wasn't completely destroyed. With the help of the Four Gods and some special powers, many lives survived.
‐‐This is why the spirit, or rather the dream world, still exists, albeit somewhat reduced in size.
‐‐The essence remains intact.
‐‐Thus, the dream world, still intact, houses even more natural spirits.
‐‐Those seemingly weak, are the crucial foundation of this world's survival.
‐‐It is precisely because of these natural spirits, still lingering within the dream world, that the outside world remains intact, unbroken.
‐‐It is also because of their continued existence that the outside world is still repairing itself, and the natural spirits that remain within it are also still active.
‐‐This also includes the four gods who remained.
‐‐It is precisely because of their contributions to the world.
Therefore, they are invincible within the dream realm. Light, shadow, or darkness, cannot harm them.
Even in reality, this is unacceptable.
Since they do not actively harm others, no other creature will actively harm these dream spirits.
Those who have the power to harm them naturally understand their importance and will not foolishly do so.
If someone truly possesses a ruthless desire to do so, others will stop them.
Alka finally understood why he was able to defeat Mirmi.
Because the Dreamcatcher's essence embodies the principle of "cleansing" within the dream realm.
Simply put, all of his attacks have special attacks against all creatures within the dream realm.
The same attack on a normal creature might only cause a small amount of damage, but on a dream creature, the damage will be multiplied.
It can also occasionally cause the death of beings within the dream realm.
It retains the concept of death in the natural world. It also possesses a small number of abilities capable of inflicting damage to the mist creatures within the dream.
However, there seem to be limitations.
For example, Alka never seemed to have much desire to attack the mist creatures.
Before killing the blood-red deer, the only time Alka had harmed a mist creature was during his earliest explorations of the dream world.
At that time, his understanding of the entire dream world was extremely limited.
Since then, he has never again sought to harm a mist creature.
Furthermore, he only harmed, not killed.
Having inflicted damage, he no longer felt the desire to harm further, and the mist creatures offered no resistance.
This allowed Alka to withdraw midway. Recovering from his thoughts, Alka surveyed the dream world around him.
A dream crown appeared above his head.
This was the embodiment of the "king" within the dream world.
The first thing he could do was build his own "Royal Court."
Simply put, he could construct a kingdom within his dreams that belonged solely to him. Within this kingdom, he would have greater power.
For example, he could order all light and shadow creatures to leave.
Or he could demand that the dream bubbles within this world supply him with energy.
He could even prohibit dream bubbles from appearing in this area.
These were all things he could do within his own royal court.
If he chose an area to build his royal court, could he sign a contract with Sofia and the others, allowing their dream bubbles to appear directly within the royal court after they dreamed?
This would eliminate the risk of their dream bubbles being attacked within the dream world.
Thinking of this, Alka reached out and was about to build his royal court, but suddenly stopped.
His current strength seemed a little too weak compared to that of a normal Dream King.
Even the former holder of this royal power, the misty deer, was only at the sixth or seventh level compared to reality.
This was still the lowest level of power among the dream kings.
If he built a royal palace, he wouldn't be able to move for a while.
So it was best to choose a good location.
If it were the old Alka, he would have built a royal palace directly.
To him just a few hours ago, wasn't the dream world like this? Bizarre, twisted, yet desolate. Aside from the clouds and mist, there were only dream creatures drifting around.
As he gained more knowledge about the dream world, he realized that it also had environments.
Environments, of course, ranged from good to bad.
Most areas, like the one he was in now, were neither good nor bad, like a wasteland.
But some areas offered a more pleasant environment.
For example, allowing the dream bubbles that appeared there to rest more easily would allow them to repair their mental damage.
Allowing the dream creatures in that area to grow and increase in strength more easily.
Even some of the "wonders" unique to dreams could be seen.
"At a stage of excessive weakness, he gained rights he shouldn't have," Alka couldn't help but sigh.
According to the memories he had received from Mirmi, a normal dream king would be at the sixth stage of strength.
Mirmi was only slightly stronger than that.
I had only recently reached the third stage, the gap was far greater than a fraction.
Although his strength in the dream world was one stage higher than in reality, it was still not enough.
The higher he advanced, the more time he spent.
He was now like a newly crowned infant.
Wielding rights he shouldn't have, naturally brought with it various limitations.
But it's better than nothing.
Alka thought so.
Although he couldn't directly construct a royal palace, as a king, building a temporary residence was no problem.
He entered his dream bubble and took all the materials surrounding the crystal pillar.
Mixed with a large portion of gold and silver energy, and combined with the pink mist in his hand, they mingled together.
A turbid, yet seemingly soothing, energy gushed out from the various elements.
It began to circle around them.
Enveloping the dreams of Alka and the Sofia and others around him, it completely enveloped them.
The energy transformed into three crystal pillars, connected by three chains.
A silver compass appeared above them, a floating eye image on the compass.
"That's all," Alka said, watching.
Although he wasn't entirely satisfied, this was all he could manage right now.
A palace also cost money.
It looked simple, but it was more than enough to enclose this area.
This palace would be temporarily fixed here.
And Alka's dreams would also be kept here.
After all, constantly keeping dreams in one's soul would cause a certain amount of pressure and be inconvenient.
The main issue was that his dream bubble was too large and conspicuous, even though it was sturdy.
He didn't want to fall asleep one day, step out of his dream bubble, and see a giant creature staring at him from outside.
He watched the mist-like creatures flying around in his palace.
Alka didn't...
He didn't expel them.
These mist-like creatures are good, though they're of little use to Alka right now.
The reality corresponding to the palace will be prioritized for repair by these creatures.
This means that the surrounding environment of the corresponding reality will become increasingly stable, and the chaos will gradually decrease.
However, Alka and his companions usually sail on the sea and don't stay in one place for long.
Therefore, this function isn't very helpful to him for the time being.
He set some rules for the area surrounding his palace.
Alka then turned his attention to another power he had acquired.
"Descendant of the Gods"
The changes this brought were the most obvious.
For example, Alka's magic power had now completely transformed into a pink mist, making it easier to use Dreamcatcher to drag others into dreams and put them to sleep.
If silver energy is mixed in with the mist, it's even possible to drag the enemy directly into the dream world.
Or, mixing in gold energy allows Alka to unleash powers beyond his capabilities.
This power strengthens more than just the Dreamcatcher.
It also creates more connections with the mirror.
Alka can directly create a portal to the dream world through the mirror.
However, this creation takes time, and maintaining the portal consumes a significant amount of mana.
When creating the portal, Alka also needs to expend a certain amount of gold and silver energy, otherwise, with his current mana, he wouldn't be able to maintain it for long.
As for what kind of enhancements this will bring in battle, he still needs to slowly explore them.
This is just a temporary thought, and it's not a tangible change.
But at least he can feel that his control over the artifact has improved.
He can feel a stronger energy gathering within his body.
It seemed like divine power, gathering very slowly.
Because he had only absorbed a tiny fragment.
And this only related to reality.
The mirror also strengthened Alka in the dream world.
Looking at his palace, Alka's face was mirrored.
His strength in the dream world was far greater than his real-life strength.
This also allowed him to unleash even greater power from the mirror.
A pink mist gushed out.
A gigantic mirror formed overhead, covering the entire palace.
Slowly descending.
The mirror, like ripples on water, naturally, the entire palace and Alka's dream bubble completely flowed into the mirror.
The entire palace entered the mirrored world.
Alka looked at the world in the mirror.
It was not, as he had imagined, the opposite of the outside world.
Instead, it was a vast space composed of mirrors, reflecting the surrounding scene.
Alka's eyes were blurry.
He immediately waved his hand.
The mirrors immediately ceased their reflective function.
They simply reflected the surrounding light, making the entire space exceptionally bright.
The giant mirror outside began to flip.
Just like that, a circular mirror stood in the dream world.
Through the mirror, one could see what was happening inside.
Alka, from within the mirror, could also see what was happening outside through the giant circular passage in front of him.
But without his permission, no one could enter unless someone forcibly broke through the mirror.
He set permissions.
Allowing these mist-like creatures to enter and exit freely.
"How impressive!"
Alka couldn't help but look forward to seeing how the mirror would perform outside when his strength was sufficient.