Chapter 501: Chapter 501: Special Mission Inside the Instance
“Want a Nature Crystal? You can have it. Considering our strength, keeping it wouldn’t do any good.” Li Yao took out a crystal and asked, “Are you sure?”
The Ancient Tree’s eyes sparkled. One of its vines reached for the crystal, but Li Yao swiftly dodged and said, “Hold on. If you want this crystal, you must first prove that you have no affiliation with the Nightmare God. Otherwise, who knows if you have been corrupted by him.”
“Young man, you’re cautious, lacking the recklessness of your age. That’s good.” The Natural Ancient Tree, upon seeing the crystal, didn’t chase away Li Yao and his companions. Instead, it proposed, “But suspicion alone leads us nowhere. What about this: I’ll take you to the level of the Emerald Dream nearest to the material plane, where the minions of the Nightmare God reside. If you rescue fifty of my kindred there, you’ll gain my trust. Furthermore, you can exchange the Crystal Cores you receive from defeating the Twisted Nightmare Monsters here for supplies and power-boosting items to enhance your abilities and thwart the Nightmare God’s devious plot.”
“Can we take a look at your goods?” Li Yao asked.
“Of course.” The Natural Ancient Tree replied.
Immediately, Li Yao and his comrades could see a panel filled with various items, ranging from minor consumable supplies to crucial war resources. Many of these, being local specialties, were quite enticing.
Seeing all the appealing items made the Starfire members drooling. There were even Special Skill Books, rare skills that are extremely hard to come by in the outside world. They didn’t expect to find them in this shop.
Li Yao closed the panel and grumbled, “Wow, these prices are something. A standard Magic Scroll costs two hundred Silver Nightmare Monster Crystal Cores.”
“We can’t help it. Our stock is limited, too, and we need resources to survive. If you find the prices unacceptable, you are free not to purchase anything,” said the Natural Ancient Tree. Seeing that they were interested in the goods, it was unabashed and left no room for a bargaining negotiation: take it or leave it.
“You drive a hard bargain,” Li Yao said helplessly, “we accept your terms. Take us to your plane.”
“Here are twenty-five vials of Dreaming Potion. I will safeguard your physical bodies when you enter the dream realm. Be cautious.” The Ancient Tree directly handed over the potions to Li Yao.
Li Yao distributed the potions, and they each drank one whilst leaning against the tree.
Their surrounding scenery began to blur. The forest remained the same, but the sky turned green, and the sun vanished. Everything around them seemed dreamy and illusory.
“Welcome to the shallowest level of the Dream Plane, which is the closest and most stimulating to the principal realm,” explained the Ancient Tree of War, “The Dream Realm is like a multi-layered blueprint of the world created by the Titan Gods. The existence of the Emerald Dream is symbiotic with the principal realm, changes in the real world can affect the Dream Realm and vice versa. Do you see the Dream Twisters over there? Clear them out and rescue my brethren who are powering the Array, making them vulnerable to infection. Good luck.”
“That explains why the Devil Alliance members lost their second boss gear. It’s all but a dream. Hahaha!” The Guardian Angel chuckled.
Li Yao nodded, “You may be right. It seems the Centaur Priest transferred his physical form into the Dream Realm. The one in the principal realm is merely a projection. Killing him wouldn’t be tough, but getting the good stuff from him might be difficult.”
“As far as I understand, only the Green Dragon Clan, known as the Dragon of Dreams, can effortlessly traverse between the Dream Realm and reality. How did a Centaur manage to do it?” asked Dumb Eye, “I read it in a book.”
“There could be certain spells or items that allow this. Nothing is absolute in this world,” Unparalleled Enchantress pointed out.
“Oh, I get it. But these monsters don’t seem to gather in large numbers. How about we split into two teams? After all, rescuing fifty ancient trees as one team would be too time-consuming,” Dumb Eye suggested.
Everyone turned to look at Li Yao. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Looking at it now, the mobs are sparse, and the mission looks simple. But I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to it. This boss isn’t going to be easy, otherwise, there wouldn’t randomly be a shop here. Besides, we also need to consider the Crystal Cores we’ll need to exchange for items. We still need to strive for the first kill, so we can’t waste too much time.”
“Just tell us what to do then,” Li Jie added, “Either way, we’ll follow your lead.”
“Agreed, Chairman. Tell us what to do,” chimed in the others.
“Alright. Here’s my plan. Even if other guilds are as fast as us, they would still need three days to get past the first boss. So, we’ll spend three days grinding these mobs. We won’t exchange our drops, but instead directly attempt to battle the boss to ascertain how tough it is. Then, we can decide what to exchange for. Our primary goal is the first kill, and this Mysterious Shop should aid us in this dungeon challenge,” Li Yao explained.
“In that case, let’s split into four teams with me, Fruit Knight, Guardian Angel, and Jin Jin as leaders. My team comprises Feng Yi, Dumb Eye, Enchantress, and Li Jie. As for the rest of you…”
Li Yao quickly assigned everyone to a team, each tasked with a different direction.
“Hey, hold on. We have six healers, but you’ve split two to each team. What about your team? Don’t you need one?” Guardian Angel questioned.
Li Yao replied, “We don’t. Dumb Eye’s Healing Totem can take care of it. Trust me.”
Four teams quickly dispersed. Li Yao also brought out his Spider Tank, Death God, and Fire Eagle. The Serpent would have a hard time maneuvering in this forest due to its size.
Despite the lack of a healer, Li Yao’s team could handle it because of the Spider Tank’s defensive capabilities coupled with Dumb Eye’s Healing Totem.
Moreover, both Li Yao and his pets had gained a significant boost in recovery ability due to the addition of a divine accessory.
The Spider Tank’s health recovered rapidly thanks to its base regeneration, healing from the pet, and the accessory. Unless confronted by numerous monsters, they were practically invincible.
For these reasons, they moved freely and effortlessly.
When they successfully rescued the fourth Ancient Tree from the Dream monsters, the tree said, “Thank you for the rescue. I have a favor to ask; I don’t know if it’s appropriate.”
Li Yao’s eyes lit up – this was the trigger for a special questline, akin to an exclusive task.
“Go ahead and ask. We will assist you if it’s within our power.”
The Ancient Tree stated, “To the north from here, a hill houses a cave where a pawn of the Nightmare God is destroying the Barrier. Could you defeat and bring me its head? In return, I’ll give you three thousand Crystal Cores.”
“What a surprise mission! Three thousand points at once; how great! Big brother, let’s take it,” Dumb Eye excitedly suggested.
Li Yao nodded in approval, “Alright, we’ll take this mission.” ….
PS: I recommend a good sci-fi book called The Super Spatial Ring by She Looks Like a Cat. I think it’s quite interesting. Fans of sci-fi should check it out.
Also, I’m planning to significantly increase my output around the 16th or 17th. On the 17th, I’ll release at least five more chapters, possibly even more if I have sufficient drafts…