Sunlight streamed through the window.
Golden beams of light shone through the slits in the curtains, illuminating the bed.
Outside, the sounds of ships came and went, and the harbor clamored. But none of this noise could penetrate the front window.
The bedroom remained relatively quiet.
Alka, sleeping in bed, slowly opened his eyes.
He rolled over, tucked the quilt under him, and then lifted a pillow to cover his head.
After a long moment, he suddenly sat up.
With a strange cry, he stretched vigorously.
"Great!"
Alka glanced at the hourglass beside him.
He had slept for over ten hours.
He had slept almost the entire night. After all, after so long in the Infinite Sea, this might be the first time he had slept a full night.
Alka could continue sleeping in his dreams, entering a very deep sleep. He could recover his mental and physical state with incredible efficiency.
This was a talent Simon could only envy.
Add to that his strength, having already reached the fourth stage.
For him, a dozen hours of sleep was already an extremely long time.
However, the corresponding difference was that he hadn't slept in a long time.
He jumped out of bed, washed, dressed, and went out on deck.
When he arrived at the dining room in the poop, he heard a conversation coming from inside.
"According to the theory of the connection between soul and body, we can achieve physical strength storage through certain means," Lucelia's voice came over.
And in front of her was Mathilda, with whom she was communicating.
"But your current body is a combination of the soul puppet and the treasure. It doesn't fully align with the theoretical goal of the experiment. We need more research to achieve the desired effect, don't we?"
After hearing the two's exchange, Alka roughly understood what they were talking about.
Simply put, the idea was to allow Lucelia to leave her current body and temporarily reside in a temporary one.
And preserve her current physical form intact.
Then reconstruct her treasure.
After all, the [Bloody Flag] wasn't quite right, both in terms of the material and its symbolic meaning.
This somewhat limited Lucelia's abilities, and most importantly, it limited the puppet girls.
Because they had discovered, through Wattawa's extensive research records, how to awaken the true souls of soulless beings.
Using this technique, they all agreed that they could transform the puppet girls into truly soulful creatures.
This function had already been achieved in the former Vastwas. They would use this artificial soul technology to construct construct stewards to assist them in warfare, administration, and manufacturing.
In other words, a magical version of artificial intelligence.
However, the technology was not yet mature, and the treasures were limited.
However, this was not their current research focus.
Arka walked in.
He sat down at his seat, picked up the food in front of him, and began to eat.
Looking at Sofia, who was lost in thought, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Hearing this, Sofia realized that Arka had actually entered.
She had been in a daze.
"Didn't you previously ask us to draw a general map of the Vastwa city-state?"
Arka nodded. He had indeed asked Sofia to do this.
"Although the Vastva people recycled many building materials and demolished damaged buildings, of course, many of the excavated foundations and basements of the once-prosperous city-state are still preserved. Beneath Vastva lie numerous underground ruins.
The problem is, these underground ruins seem to have strange functions. We've discovered some of these functions in numerous documents, but as far as you know, they lack magical power."
"So, our priority now is to gradually acclimate the Vastva people to magic and then revive the inner land, right?" Alka asked.
Sofia nodded.
Simply put, the former Vastva city-state was an advanced city where magic and constructs coexisted.
It possessed many powerful infrastructure, but these structures required one fundamental element: magic.
According to Sofia's investigations, many of the original plans for the buildings might still be usable.
Therefore, the revival of magic power is crucial.
Alka has the ability to do so, but he must consider the Vastva people within.
He can't just wipe out all the Vastva people for the sake of revival, right?
He's not that ruthless.
Furthermore, it would be completely pointless; the benefits of both actions are completely disproportionate.
Furthermore, after spending some time together, he has to admit that the Vastva people possess an innate talent for constructs and magical research.
Alka and his companions, consciously or unconsciously, are deeply entwined with this race. Once this race overcomes its various difficulties and can freely operate externally, they too will be deeply bound together.
They are enhancing their status and prestige within the Vastva community.
They are now effectively investing in the future of the Vastva people, who desperately need them.
The two have reached a certain understanding, and their mutual affection is currently intense.
Alka and his companions coveted the Vastva people's talents, technology, historical data, and various documents.
The Vastva people, in turn, needed Alka and his companions' strength and protection.
For a race that had been isolated from the world for tens of thousands of years, this was a bit outrageous.
All this was thanks to their complete, detailed, and meticulously preserved historical records and research documents.
And Alka and his companions had always known that piecing the world together was simply beyond the reach of just a few of them.
This showed how precious the Vastva relics left over from before the War of Gods were.
Also, Alka and his companions possessed a vast number of treasures, but the enlightenment quotas on them were almost completely unused. This presented a golden opportunity.
As they were conversing, Simon finally woke up. Rubbing his head, he walked in.
"Wouldn't you like to sleep a little longer?" Alka asked Simon. Although he went to bed later than Simon, he was still able to achieve a deep sleep in his dreams.
"No, there's something important waiting for me."
"I haven't asked you yet, what were you researching?"
"Magic Concentration Technology, remember the Magic Concentration Stone technology?"
Everyone present nodded at this. They remembered this technology vividly; after all, it was this technology that had enabled them to increase their strength so rapidly.
It was the foundation of their team.
"Magic batteries are an extension of this technology. If we thoroughly research it, we'll be able to mass-produce Magic Concentration Stones, or even create even higher-level, fully customized Magic Concentration Stones." Simon grew increasingly excited as he spoke.
Everyone immediately understood.
Alka couldn't help but think of space expansion technology, the creation of interlayers, and the most impressive long-distance teleportation technology they had seen.
This, after all, was the Vastva people's research strength.
"No, we must cultivate the current Vastva people. Otherwise, we won't be able to replicate all these experimental results on our own," Alka said, clutching his head.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After dinner, everyone got back to work.
Only Alka didn't reenter the inner space, instead entering a dream. And he didn't sink into his own dreamland, but into the opposite of his current reality.
He needed to observe something.
He looked at the numerous dream bubbles floating around.
Alka ignored them and took a step forward, transforming his entire body into a cloud of mist, rapidly flying forward.
They soon arrived at another area where numerous dream bubbles gathered.
Then they spotted a bubble in the very center.
The bubble was enormous, and its size gave a rough idea of its owner's strength in reality, around the fifth stage. Next to the bubble, there was another one like it.
This bubble was undoubtedly the target of Alka's journey: Kriel's dream.
Ever since learning some information about Kriel from Baraz, Alka had been wondering when to visit his dream.
The problem was that Kriel's royal family had once signed a contract with a king within the dream realm.
They must have some spell or document related to dreams.
They must have established protective measures for their dreams.
It's important to understand that the bubbles within dreams are reflections of real life within the dream realm.
Within the dream realm, there are extremely powerful rules and restrictions protecting the dream bubbles.
Otherwise, the creatures within the dream realm would be able to do whatever they wanted to the minds of those within.
Alka pondered his dream bubble for a moment, then summoned a large cloud of pink mist, which began to envelop the entire dream.
A mist-like pink ball condensed and probed into the dream.
However, the pink ball didn't enter at all, instead being bounced back out.
"Sure enough, there's protection."
Arka thought for a moment, then personally approached the bubble, attempting to reach into the dream space.
However, just as he reached in, the bubble exploded and vanished right in front of him.
In reality, Kriel jolted awake from his bed and opened his eyes.
"A nightmare?"
After a moment, he closed his eyes again.
Clearly, he didn't even know what had happened in his dream.
Arka watched the dream bubble reappear before him, his arms folded as he floated to the side. This time, he didn't try again.
He had never imagined that this method could be used to avoid being explored by others in the dream.
The method could be described as simple and practical, yet one couldn't help but admire its practicality.
Even if you were the king of dreams, as long as someone's real body awakened and their dream bubble shattered, you would be completely powerless.
This was the most fundamental rule governing the operation of the dream world.
Alka hadn't yet become powerful enough in dreams to break these rules.
Dreams, on the other hand, were much more orderly than reality.
It was somewhat ironic.
After a moment's thought, Alka looked at the other dream bubbles nearby.
He began selecting them one by one.
Since Kriel's dream bubble was so well protected, he doubted everyone else had the same ability.
Sure enough, the surrounding bubbles slipped in easily.
This showed that even Kriel herself wasn't aware of the protections in her dream, perhaps even possessing only a limited understanding of dreams. This was a good thing. Alka began investigating one by one.
‐‐mainly inquiring about Kriel's recent covert actions and what he was preparing for.
‐‐The answer he received was that Kriel was in contact with someone and making some sort of preparation.
‐‐It was extremely secretive, even those closest to him were kept in the dark.
‐‐It seemed Kriel was hiding very well. The only way to break through was to attack him head-on.
‐‐Returning to reality, Alka sat in the captain's cabin, thinking.
‐‐He had to be 100% sure of killing Kriel. If he escaped after spending so much time, it would be a waste of time.
‐‐Kriel's strength was known to be at the fifth level, and at most he had barely established himself at that level. He was using two artifacts: one related to space, allowing him to travel across space, and the other, a artifact that exerted a gravity-like force.
Based on the previous battle and the information Baraz provided, space-related artifacts clearly have a more auxiliary nature.
Those without offensive properties are used for long-distance teleportation or to break through space for escape.
He doesn't shatter space or use it to inflict damage. His primary offensive method comes from another artifact that generates a force similar to gravity, or impact.
This artifact reduces his own gravity, subsequently exerting pressure on the enemy.
This mutual advantage is instantly exponential. He can also incorporate pressure into his attacks, making them deliver powerful strikes from a distance.
Major defense is extremely difficult, as it's invisible to the naked eye.
Combined with the artifact's abilities, its effectiveness in combat is simple, practical, and brutally powerful.
The two artifacts complement each other perfectly.
"First, to escape, we must limit his spatial abilities." At this point, Alka touched his left eye.
Can my own treasure limit it?
The Heart of Vastva's primary ability is a space resembling a small world.
In this space, Alka possesses a profound ability to shape it.
An additional ability is spatial.
Presumably, it expands space and creates gaps in space.
It's also more of a supporting function. If combined with the mirror and the Dreamcatcher's abilities, it can achieve unexpected teleportation.
But it doesn't restrict others' ability to teleport.
In short, this scepter-level treasure can be completely categorized as a functional item.
"Why do I always get this kind of treasure that suits me?" Alka said, scratching his head, somewhat frustrated.
The Galaxy I got before was powerful in frontal combat, but it just didn't match.
The Heart of Vastva does match, but it's purely functional.
In battle, the combined effects of the mirror and the Dreamcatcher must be combined to achieve their full effectiveness.
Of course, it's also possible that Alka is only at the fourth stage, barely at the point where he can master the scepter and its artifacts. Without full mastery, it's possible that things won't turn out well.
But that's just self-consolation.
We need to find a way to limit his ability to escape through space.
Lock him in a dream?
No, that's not safe enough.
Alka took note of this; it was the most important point.
Just as he knew Kriel's abilities, Kriel had fought him before and was also familiar with his artifacts.
For example, the ability to deceive, drag into dreams, and teleport through mirrors.
But what he hadn't anticipated was that these abilities had already been comprehensively enhanced.
With the Heart of Vastva, there was no need to control them.
Constructing a physical mirror will allow teleportation.
Overall, this was a surprise attack, with the enemy acting in the open and us acting in the dark.
I didn't necessarily have to deliver the killing blow myself; I could rely on the temporary power of dreams to raise my strength to the fifth stage. Then, I firmly restrained Kriel.
To be honest, my abilities, even in a supporting role, were truly formidable.
With Sofia's current strength, he was definitely capable of delivering a killing blow.
Don't underestimate the impact of a meteor.
Hmm... I need to plan carefully.
And so, Alka sat silently.
Silently pondering.
…
Following Baraz's letter,
Alka, along with Sofia and Lucilia, headed towards the royal capital. They held the pass given by Baraz.
They were headed for the Holy Mother Church in the royal capital, a destination befitting their status.
Soon, at the end of the avenue, they came upon a vast city surrounded by walls constructed of grayish-white stone.
Inside, a variety of buildings filled the space, but the materials and walls remained the same, creating a grayish-white city.
Facing the guards' interrogation, Alka handed the pass Baraz had given him and entered safely.
It had to be said that the population, trade, and architectural style were similar to those of the port. In fact, the population and trade couldn't even compare to the port; it simply seemed more prosperous.
Though poor people in rags could still be seen, they were far fewer than in the port.
Crossing the streets, Alka, after asking, spotted the Holy Mother Church in the corner.
Looking at the church before him,
To be honest, Alka thought he had returned to his home sea.
How many years had it been since he'd seen a small church like this?
It could probably only be found on the small islands of the Home Sea.
This also suggested that the Virgin Mary Church's missionary work here was clearly not going well.
When Alka and the others pushed open the door and walked in, the prayer hall was empty.
Alka remembered that it was almost time for prayer.
Then, an elderly man dressed in the robes of the Virgin Mary Church emerged from a nearby wooden door.
"Hmm? Excuse me, could you please..."
He was about to say something when he realized something was amiss.
"A saint! It's rare to see one in such a small place."
The young man looked a little pleased.
But then he changed his mind and said, "Didn't they say His Highness Narks wouldn't arrive for a while?"
Clearly, he mistook Alka and the others for a group escorting the prince.