At this point, the Dreamscape of Penacony had been gradually expanding through continuous exploration and pioneering efforts within the Memory Zone.
It was known that its unmapped areas were shrouded in dense mist and were filled with countless dangers.
During the War of Independence, the exploration team was led by Razalina Jane Estella, a Nameless and Mikhail's best friend.
From a young age, she had shown a deep interest in memoria, which led her to become a scholar specializing in memoria dynamics. Among all the people of Penacony, she was the one who understood the Memory Zone best, and only under her guidance could the exploration team make it out alive.
Unfortunately, Razalina had disappeared long ago and was assumed dead.
It was precisely because of her absence that progress in developing the Memory Zone had become painstakingly slow.
In the end, after much effort, they had finally secured a small portion of the Memory Zone for people to settle in—only for the second Stellaron disaster to strike and destroy much of it once again.
Fortunately, with Lucian's help, their small home was rebuilt.
Now, as the population continued to grow, the available land was no longer enough, and Penacony desperately needed to expand its territory.
===
At the entrance of the Memory Zone, a group of people stood together fully armed, waiting for someone to arrive.
Mikhail was also present, clad in proper exploration gear and acting as the leader of this exploration team.
Strangely, even though the job was extremely dangerous, an eager grin actually stretched across his face, showing how excited he was.
'Finally, I can start pioneering again! No more sitting in the office all day dealing with damn paperwork!'
When Lucian had agreed to his suggestion to restart pioneering, this thought always filled Mikhail's mind.
Back when Hanunue and the other lineage heads shared the administrative work of Penacony, things hadn't been so exhausting. But ever since Lucian took control, it was as if Lucian trusted him unconditionally—letting him decide on everything.
He was truly touched by that trust, but sadly, the workload was too inhumane, which made him somewhat regret accepting the role.
"Mikhail, The Family has come to pray for you and grant you the blessing of Harmony—it'll give you extra protection."
Gopher Wood arrived with more than ten members of The Family.
By now, they had already grown used to life in Penacony, spreading the teachings of Harmony every day and helping the weak, and this made them the very definition of good people, which in turn caused many others to become believers in Xipe the Harmony.
Needless to say, before they had fallen into the Order, Gopher Wood and his people were genuine, pure-hearted individuals.
"No need." Mikhail casually waved his hand. "I'm waiting for Lucian. He said he'll be using his so-called BGM for the exploration team, so we won't take any damage."
Upon hearing this, Gopher Wood looked puzzled.
BGM?
No damage?
"We've been in Penacony for so long. How come we've never heard of that?" Gopher Wood stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Wait, do you mean the song of Harmony?"
He had heard that during the Stellaron disaster, Lucian led the halovians in singing to save countless people. He had always thought that this was the power of Harmony, because those halovians were, after all, the members of The Family of Harmony.
"Well... I'm not sure..." Mikhail shook his head. "I've never seen it myself, so I don't know whether it's the song of Harmony or something else."
Just as his words fell, Lucian finally arrived, appearing out of nowhere as always.
""Dreammaster!""
As soon as everyone saw Lucian, they quickly greeted him respectfully, bowing their heads slightly.
"Umu, good work, everyone." Lucian nodded appreciatively to them, then walked up to Mikhail. "Did everyone bring a music player as I instructed? Make sure each person has one. If yours breaks, sing it yourself—but remember, only the song I picked works. Nothing else will."
"Don't worry, we've memorized the song." Mikhail nodded seriously.
"Good." Lucian smiled and patted Mikhail's shoulder. "Alright, all of you—play the music! As long as it's on, you'll be invincible!"
Upon hearing this, every member of the exploration team switched on their music players, and at once, the same song began to play.
Lucian, after confirming that everyone had already switched on their music players, activated BGM, designating the song being played as BGM's background music.
In the next second, golden sound waves spread from each person's body, and those enveloped by the sound waves immediately felt an overwhelming sense of invincibility.
Gopher Wood, caught within the sound waves' range, felt something strange stirring inside him.
"Wh-What on earth is this power?" Gopher Wood muttered in shock, stammering. "N-No way... It even outshines the power of Harmony?"
As a devout believer of Harmony, he had always believed that the songs of Harmony were the most soothing force in existence.
Now, however, there was something far greater—so powerful that even he, a loyal follower of Harmony, couldn't help but think that Harmony was nothing compared to this, which would've been considered blasphemy if heard by the other followers of Harmony.
'With this BGM, I could even fight Aelenev the Eternal Centurion! Maybe even the other Emanators of Harmony!'
As this somewhat blasphemous thought emerged in his mind, Gopher Wood quickly shook his head violently, trying to banish it from his mind.
"Dreammaster..." Gopher Wood said with reverent awe, bowing his head deeply. "Your ability—does it come from an Aeon's power? Could it be… the Order?"
"It has nothing to do with the Aeons." Lucian answered casually. "It's my own special ability. Don't ask for details. All you need to know is that under my protection, even an Aeon couldn't harm you."
It sounded like bragging, but strangely, Gopher Wood didn't feel that way since, in his eyes, Lucian did seem like someone who truly had that kind of confidence. Whether Lucian could really defy an Aeon was impossible to verify, but the possibility alone was terrifying.
Soon enough, once everything was ready, Lucian, having nothing to do, ultimately decided to join the exploration team as well.
He had never seen what the Memory Zone looked like before, and he was also curious to find out just how difficult pioneering truly was.
Inside the Memory Zone, he led the exploration team forward, while Mikhail and the others moved cautiously behind him.
Because of Razalina's disappearance, countless tragedies had followed, which was, honestly, understandable.
In Penacony, she was the only one who truly understood the Memory Zone and memoria, so without her guidance, the death rate among pioneers had soared drastically. If not for the generous rewards Lucian had offered, no one would have even volunteered to join this pioneering effort.
Among the exploration team, only Lucian strode forward confidently, his steps steady and fearless.
After walking for a while, thick mist gradually surrounded everyone—it was so dense that even an Emanator like Lucian couldn't see through it.
'Tch, the realm of memories really needs the authority of Remembrance to move freely in it, huh...' Lucian thought with a frown. 'Maybe I should become an Emanator of Remembrance someday...'
Thankfully, each time he stepped forward, the mist dispersed, revealing barren soil beneath his feet.
It wasn't actual soil, but a land formed from memoria.
'Not gonna lie, this kinda feels like playing RTS games, uncovering the map one step at a time.'
*ROAAAAAARRR—!!!*
Just as Lucian was starting to enjoy the exploration, a sharp roar suddenly pierced everyone's ears.
*Whoosh!*
From within the mist, a twisted memetic entity known as 'Memory Zone Meme' lunged out, its massive claws slashing toward Mikhail.
"HAAHHH!"
Mikhail, not knowing where his courage came from, shouted and charged forward to punch the Memory Zone Meme.
*BANG!*
Surprisingly, the Memory Zone Meme's attack passed harmlessly through Mikhail's body, but his fist actually landed squarely on the Memory Zone Meme's head.
*ROAAAAAARRR—!!!*
After being punched in the face, the Memory Zone Meme roared in pain, trying to retreat into the mist, but before it could even take a step—
*BOOM!*
Lucian crushed it effortlessly with a simple clutching gesture from afar.
After seeing how even the non-fighter Mikhail could fight back, the members of the exploration team finally realized just how incredible Lucian's so-called BGM really was.
"Holy crap, its claws totally went through Mr. Mikhail's body, but he's kinda just… fine! And he straight up smacked it back!"
"Dreammaster's ability is amazing! We can't even get hurt!"
"I can't believe pioneering ain't dangerous anymore. Feels real good havin' a big shot watchin' over us. I'm never lettin' go of Dreammaster's thigh!"
"We're basically invincible with Dreammaster watching our backs! Let's push forward full speed—no more messing around!"
In an instant, everyone's courage and morale soared, causing the exploration team to pick up their pace and press deeper into the Memory Zone.
===
An hour later, Lucian and the exploration team encountered another Memory Zone Meme that tried to ambush them, but just as he was about to crush it, Mikhail suddenly grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"Wait! Don't kill her! Please... Please don't kill her..."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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