Under a star-filled night sky, across an endless expanse of azure waters, the Dawn's Voice sailed along the edge of the Green Coast.
At this moment, everyone aboard the Dawn's Voice, save for Juanlu, who was on night watch, was sound asleep.
Even Urulius, huddled in a corner of the deck, snorted.
A crystal barrier automatically protected her sleeping area.
In Alka's dream.
Having recently fallen asleep, Alka observed her dream bubble.
"Is it filling up again?"
Sensing his own strength, Alka muttered helplessly.
He could already sense that his strength had reached the perfection of the fourth stage, and he looked like he was about to break through to the fifth stage.
"Dad, Huan needs to see you," Xuan's voice called from the side.
Hearing this, Alka turned to look at her.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know. You'll have to go out and ask Huan yourself."
Hearing this, Alka nodded and floated out of his dream bubble.
The mirror palace outside had completely changed.
A cone-shaped crystal became the centerpiece of the entire mirror palace.
Such crystals could be found floating throughout the palace, though they were much smaller than the one at the center.
As Alka emerged from his dream bubble,
A white horse quickly flew over and lifted Alka onto its back.
In addition to the white horse, two strange-looking mist-like creatures guarded Alka's dream bubble, ensuring its safety.
Although Alka felt this was unnecessary,
For the dream creatures within the palace, it was a necessary symbol of the Dream King.
"King, where are we going?"
"To Huan."
At Alka's words, the white horse immediately flapped its wings of white mist, its hooves trampling through the palace as it moved swiftly.
The palace wasn't very large to begin with, but at the horse's speed, it took less than half a minute to reach the main gate.
This was the entrance to the inner and outer worlds.
Huan was standing outside, facing several bizarre dream creatures.
Not only were there mist creatures, but Alka also saw light and shadow creatures.
Looking at the white horse, he was suddenly stunned.
Alka asked, "Do you know them?"
"Yes, they were both members of Mirmi's court, and that light and shadow creature was even a palace administrator."
How could Mirmi's mist-like deputy actually be a light and shadow creature?
Alka looked at the light and shadow creature curiously.
This light and shadow creature's appearance somewhat resembled the Dream Death, but that was only a resemblance.
A closer look revealed significant differences.
His robe, also composed of flowing light and shadow, was completely enveloped in pure black.
His face was completely invisible, or rather, his face was nothing more than a black mist.
A massive black scepter floated beside the robe's right hand, but what emerged from the robe wasn't a hand, but rather a mist resembling smoke and flame.
"Go, out."
The white horse nodded, passed through the mirrored membrane, and emerged into the dream world outside.
Facing the sudden appearance, the several dream creatures who had been chatting shifted their attention.
The light and shadow creature, known as the palace's deputy, immediately focused its attention on Alka.
"A... hunter?"
A hunter who became a king... an unprecedented combination.
The moment he saw Alka, all the questions the light-shadow creature had were perfectly answered.
He turned to look at Huan.
"No problem, I'll join you temporarily."
His words weren't telepathic, but spoken like a normal person.
This was a difficult feat for dream creatures.
Even White Horse, with his fifth-level strength, had to communicate with Alka through a method similar to soul voice in his dreams.
It was clear that this light-shadow creature was far more powerful than White Horse.
This was primarily Alka's perception.
In his mind, Alka was listening to White Horse's revelations about the light-shadow creature before him.
"He's called Shadow Robe, and his strength surpasses anyone in the Mirmi court. According to the king's power classification, he should be at the sixth stage.
He never shows any special emotions, always doing his job.
We rarely speak to him except when necessary; he usually works silently."
A sixth-stage dream creature?
And Alka heard exactly what he just said: he's willing to temporarily join his court.
It was clearly Huan extending an olive branch.
Generally, dream creatures who were once members of the Mirmi court would be willing to join Alka's court if invited. These mist-like creatures are generally willing to join Alka's court.
Even though Alka's strength might not have reached the fifth stage.
But for dream creatures, it seems that the king they serve doesn't necessarily have to be extremely powerful.
It's the very power of the king that makes these kings willing to join, even if they themselves are not powerful. They would also grow stronger with the support of countless creatures willing to join their ranks.
The thought processes of dream creatures differ markedly from those of normal life.
They prioritize the legitimacy of royal authority.
"Respected new king, I hope my temporary presence can be of assistance to you," Shadow Robe said, bowing slightly as he approached Alka.
Looking at this light and shadow creature, so distinct from the mist creatures, Alka finally couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "Why are you willing to join my court?"
The thought processes of light and shadow creatures shouldn't be the same as those of mist creatures.
Alka had previously questioned White Horse and other powerful mist creatures who had joined the Mirmi court.
They knew full well that Alka was the culprit behind Mirmi's death, even though Mirmi had gone mad.
Once they learned of Mirmi's madness, they felt his death was deserved.
It was a blessing that Alka had reached him. Having gained the Dream Kingship from Mirmi, he was the successor.
Not to mention that he had truly become one of the Dream Kings.
As for so-called revenge, there was absolutely no hatred.
Because they joined Alka's camp, not only was Alka Mirmi's successor, but also because Alka embodied the aura of the world.
That was the most important point.
Because mist creatures are inherently so sensitive and born to repair and maintain the world,
Joining Alka was a natural fit.
Although Alka suspected there was a deeper reason, he hadn't discovered it yet.
But these light and shadow creatures were different.
Their origins remained in doubt.
At least that was the information Alka had currently acquired.
"I'm only joining temporarily, not pledging allegiance to you.
You carry the aura of the world, and that's crucial. I will bear witness to you, to your choice. That will determine my true loyalty."
Hearing the intermittent voice of Shadow Robe before him, Alka nodded.
Sure enough, it was related to this.
Although his previous attempt to mimic the linked worlds nearly killed him, it had also brought him benefits.
He hadn't expected the light and shadow creature before him to appreciate this as well.
He had thought only mist-like creatures, these spirits born from the world, would appreciate this.
"You... are very disconnected. You carry the aura of a descendant of the gods. I can find a way to repair or alleviate this disconnect."
Hearing Shadow Robe's words, Alka frowned. "Really?"
"Your disconnect stems from the imbalance in power between reality and dreams, and from the excessive boost your kingship has brought you."
He easily saw the reason for Alka's disconnect. "Indeed, is there any good solution?"
Alka's only option now was to continually weaken his dream-world power, but this was only a temporary solution.
Catching up to the power of the dream world in the real world would be impossible anytime soon.
Without long-term meditation and practice, there was no way to achieve this.
The breakthrough in the external world itself was to slowly absorb magic power, gradually transforming one's constitution to adapt to the stronger spiral and greater magic power required for advancement.
There were no shortcuts.
"There is a very simple solution: suppress your dream-world power. I believe you're already doing that."
Alka nodded. Indeed, it was.
Any creature in the dream world who was even slightly stronger than him would have noticed that something was amiss with his current state.
"But you've overlooked a fundamental solution, a permanent one." Shadow Robe's face, a face formed of black smoke, looked at Alka and said.
"What solution?"
"Building your royal court; a temporary palace wouldn't be enough. The emergence of a royal court is the true embodiment of your royal authority.
It's also the beginning of your true journey to becoming a king."
Is there such a thing?
Alka looked at him with some confusion. When he received the royal authority, he hadn't received any information about this from the information that came with it.
He did know that establishing a royal court would confer a higher power.
But he hadn't expected it to resolve the rift he now faced.
After all, this rift was as much a matter of reality as it was a matter of dreams.
But building a royal court was no easy task, nor was it something that could be accomplished in an instant.
The location of the royal court, in particular, must be in a fixed area, and each royal court has a significant impact on reality.
Compare this with the information Alka currently knows.
The appearance of the royal court is equivalent to the emergence of a completely stable area in reality.
Although Alka's dream bubble appears in his own palace every time he enters a dream, it never appears in the dream corresponding to his current physical body.
This doesn't mean he's unaware of the situation in his dream counterpart.
He can easily observe it through his dream clone, without the need for a dream bubble as a springboard.
For example, the relatively stable Twin Islands.
His dreams are almost always filled with dream creatures, including mist-like creatures.
This also confirms a fact for Alka:
The power of both the Virgin and the Wise can affect dreams.
Because the Twin Islands only had mist creatures and light-shadow creatures, not shadow creatures.
This was clearly the result of deliberate selection.
Thinking of this, Alka glanced at his palace.
The mist creatures in his palace were far more numerous and stronger than the dream creatures on the Twin Islands.
And these mist creatures would only grow in number and strength.
This would undoubtedly create an extremely stable region of reality.
This was a tremendous advantage.
No force in reality wanted to occupy a stable region within the Infinite Ocean.
That was why Alka didn't want to waste it so carelessly.
Though Shadow Robe wasn't human, he could read Alka's musings through his radiating thought waves.
"You don't seem to want to establish a royal court so soon?"
After all, the benefits of establishing a royal court were substantial, with virtually no downsides.
So Shadow Robe was momentarily confused about what Alka was struggling with.
After some thought, Alka didn't hide too much.
After all, his struggles were simply because his primary focus was on reality.
He told Shadow Robe his thoughts.
Then, a wave of emotion emanated from Shadow Robe, and Alka could clearly sense that he seemed unhappy.
But his voice remained steady.
"You... don't want to repair the world?"
"Why would you think that?" Alka asked, looking at Shadow Robe in surprise.
However, from this question and his emotional fluctuations, he could roughly understand some of Shadow Robe's thoughts and actions.
A light and shadow creature dedicated to repairing the world?
"Restoring the world is not something that can be done casually. It's not something you, I, or even the creatures present here can accomplish."
Alka spoke, not lowering his voice at all.
This allowed his voice to be transmitted to his mirror palace, clearly conveying it to the mist-like creatures within.
"To repair this shattered and unrecognizable world, we need the combined efforts of many people, both in dreams and reality."
This was almost certain; Simon had seen countless of them in the documents of the Holy Machine Church.
And they had been collecting information on this topic, almost intentionally or unintentionally.
Those dedicated to repairing the world, or even destroying it, had never been lacking for millennia.
Many were working, and many were destroying.
From the information they had learned, the current state of the Infinite Sea was the result of countless generations of restoration.
Regardless, logically, it was impossible for a single individual to accomplish this.
If it were truly possible.
The Four Gods wouldn't have carved out a safe territory for their followers in the Infinite Sea, and those gods still alive after the final divine war wouldn't have left this damned place.
No one wants to leave their homeland.
Not even the gods.
From the moment Alka made his decision, he knew it might be something he might never accomplish until his death.
Perhaps becoming a god would be easier than repairing the world.
No.
Not perhaps, but a certainty.
Becoming a god is far more promising than Alka and his companions' goal.
So, in the real world, there's a perfectly safe territory. It's something every faction in the Infinite Sea dreams of.
Whatever Alka wants to do, this is a bargaining chip that's absolutely sufficient.
It's unwise to waste it haphazardly.
After listening to Alka's story, Shadow Robe, a dream creature, didn't understand.
But he nodded, tentatively accepting Alka's words.
"Then I hope I can find a viable solution."
Hearing this, Alka nodded.
Then, along with Huan, they led the dream creatures who would soon be joining the palace into the Mirror Palace.
Shadow Robe entered the palace and silently observed everything within.
Deal with this matter.
Alka entered a shared dream.
In the area where Sofia was, countless black spheres flew swiftly and freely throughout the space.
These black objects moved at speeds nearly invisible to the naked eye.
And Shadaiti needed to constantly dodge them in this area, without using any treasures or blindfolding himself.
The rest of his companions were busy with their own tasks.
Suddenly, he felt someone calling him from outside.
Alka vanished from the dream and awoke in his bed.
It wasn't a person calling him, but his alarm clock.
A mechanical device Alka had commissioned Simon to construct.
It was his turn.
He changed his clothes, leaped, and, pulling the cable, he reached the observation room.
Seeing Alka enter, Juanlu sat up, sweat pouring down his forehead.
"You're just meditating now?"
Alka asked, somewhat curiously.
Huanlu nodded. "I was just engrossed in studying flowers and fruits. What a shame to lose such a wonderful ingredient."
Hearing this, Alka simply smiled, patted him, took over his shift, and told him to get some rest.
As he began his night watch, he flipped on the magic gathering stone on the top.
As the magic gathering stone and its accompanying crystals operated, a concentrated field of magic energy began to condense. Alka sat cross-legged on the spot.
Back on the island, without the magic gathering stone, they had meditated for quite some time, but hadn't made much progress.
The magic gathering stone and its accompanying crystals greatly accelerated their meditation speed.
Furthermore, the accessories and modifications made the magic gathering stone inconvenient to move.
During their time on the boat, they had also been thinking about how to modify it. They wanted it to be removable and to accompany them into the marshland.
They had already anticipated spending considerable time in the Marsh Sea. If they continued like this, they would waste significant time and opportunity for growth.
The mobile magic gathering stone and its accompanying equipment were essential.
Alka's current strength remained at 21 spirals.
He was still six spirals away from completing the third stage.
These six spirals would take him more than half a year to complete.
This was due to the strain caused by the excessive power of his dream realm.
Thinking of this, Alka calmed down and began to meditate silently.
He felt the magic power adapting to his body rapidly enter and then fill the spirals.
It flowed through the densely packed spirals.