Chapter 24 - Some stress and some pain

"Huh?"

"I would recognize that swordsmanship anywhere. It's good to see you again, DreamWalker." King Eldon wrapped his arms around Luna.

"Uhh, I think you have the wrong person." Luna gave herself some space.

"Nonsense! You may look a bit shorter and sound a bit different, but I'd never forget your dazzling sword." His face shined brightly. He looked completely overwhelmed in happiness.

Luna waved her hands out in front of her. "No, Sir King! My name is Luna!"

"So you aren't the DreamWalker?" His smile disappeared.

"Well I am the DreamWalker, just not the one you remember."

King Edward's face saddened. "So they're gone?"

"I'm not certain..." Luna felt bad and didn't want to see an old man cry. But she really didn't know if the DreamWalker was somehow still alive. She just assumed they weren't because she now holds their title as DreamWalker.

"Hmm, well I've heard of some of your tales from young Jessica here. I hope that maybe we can have some time to discuss some things about your adventures."

Everyone in the room was astonished by this conversation happening. The king was talking on even ground with another person?

Everyone knew the tales of the DreamWalker, written by Magnus, but they didn't think the DreamWalker was such a strange looking person. Most people thought of the DreamWalker as an angelic figure with armor that reflected that image.

But this girl in front of them wore crude soldier's armor and used a blade made out of stone. In the eyes of a noble, she was no different than a caveman.

"Your majesty, with all due respect, are you sure this lousy little girl is the DreamWalker of legend?" Trevor was confused on how this inexperienced young girl was supposedly a legendary hero. He observed her strength and found literally nothing, there was no mana, no aura, it was like looking at an insect.

"Trust me Montfort, I've seen this swordsmanship up close. I already know how incredibly weak she seems. But there's no mistaking it."

"...You could've been more subtle about it." Luna wasn't very amused.

'They didn't have to outright say I was weak. And from what I can tell, I'm no weakling.'

'Wait, how do you know that?'

'Why didn't I hear about any of this?'

'Oh yeah...'

The king started to speak. "Jessica Montfort, if you could, now that the intruder has revealed themselves. Please speak your mind freely about the issue at hand."

Jessica bowed humbly. "Y-yes your majesty!"

-

Across the room, Crucible was losing his mind. The entire purpose of this mission was to stop the flow of information from reaching the king's ears by assassinating Jessica. But he just found out something that was worth 20 times more than what his current job payed him.

The DreamWalker, the true first legendary class user. Unlike what he thought, the user was a woman. Her face was a little creepy, but he assumed that's just how she decided to design her character. They kept speaking as if she were incredibly weak, but it was almost impossible for players to kill even the lowest level nobles unless they were over level 100.

But somehow, this girl was able to kill a low ranking noble with only a single attack.

In Crucible's head, he already considered her to be powerful. Without skipping a beat he pulled open his menu and messaged Apollo directly.

[Crucible: Apollo, I've discovered something while completing my mission.]

[Apollo: So you aren't finished yet?]

[Crucible: Not yet, but I've found something much better.]

[Apollo: What is it?]

[Crucible: I've discovered the first legendary user.]

Apollo stopped on his horse. Currently the Moonlight Blade guild was traveling in a large caravan just outside the center of the Cosal kingdom.

"Apollo? Is something the matter?" The vice guild leader asked.

"The Hero of Dreams" Apollo mumbled.

"Huh? Sorry I couldn't hear you, what did you say?"

"We need to increase our group's pace."

"W-wait, why sir?"

"We've just found ourselves a legendary class user."

-

King Edward sent most of the nobles out of the throne room but all but two stayed. Trevor Montfort and Jessica Braggart stood side by side in front of the king.

Trevor would have rather left and gathered some intel about the upcoming challengers in the arena, but his contender wanted to stay.

Currently his challenger was suspiciously staring at the young DreamWalker. By his gaze, you would think he's trying to light her ablaze just by looking at her.

It was definitely causing Luna to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Your majesty, I wholeheartedly believe in the preservation of our kingdom. There are too many problems going on internally in our kingdom. The pressure of war is continuing to decrease faith in our leaders as they continue to take away from the people." Jessica's way of speaking surprised Luna. It was very formal and felt a lot different compared to Jessica's normal self.

Jessica continued. "I know there have been a lot of things preventing you from helping, but that's also why I think this kingdom needs to change for the better."

King Eldon listened to her with open ears. It looked like he was slowly realizing what had happened.

"My kingdom, it's been under my care for the past 92 years. It may be young compared to the others, but I can see now that we are already losing our footing. I already just considered letting it crumble after my death, but seeing the DreamWalker again made me feel like my kingdom could rise to its former glory."

"Your majesty if I could be blunt." Trevor cut in. "I care little for menial politics, but the kingdom cannot prosper in your name unless you have a successor."

"You're right. That's why I have a favor to ask of you, DreamWalker."

Luna was confused. "Huh? Why me?"

"Years ago, this kingdom was founded only with the permission of the empire. In order to get that permission, the DreamWalker had to ask the emperor directly for me to inherit the throne. But if my bloodline is to die out, I need you to designate a new ruler."

[You have received a notification]

[A new quest is being generated]

[The Cosal kingdom's next ruler]

Difficulty - S

Quest details: The DreamWalker of the past designated the current Cosal king, King Eldon. As per his request, he has asked that the DreamWalker of today find a suitable king and sit him upon the throne. In order to do so you must meet the emperor directly and have his approval.

Quest time limit - Until the Death of King Eldon

Quest Requirement - DreamWalker

Rewards - ???, 15 levels, 3 items from the royal treasury]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, cool your jets." Getting an S rank difficulty quest was awesome, but that felt like way too much responsibility for her. As soon as she gets overwhelmed, her brain would go into panic mode. "I know you trusted the DreamWalker of the past, but I'm not that same person by any means."

"I understand that you may be hesitant to take up the responsibility, but you have until my inevitable death to choose a worthy king. In that time period, I believe that you will have grown enough as a hero to make the right choice."

Luna took another look at the quest and felt a little less freaked out. It may be an S -ranked quest, but she most likely would have another in-game year or two before actually making a decision.

"Alright, I'll accept, but I can't guarantee that the person I choose will be as good a king as you were."

[Quest has been added to quest list]

"Thank you DreamWalker, you have my faith."

[You have attracted the eyes of the emperor]

A shiver went down her spine. 'Now I'm being watched?! Seriously?!'

'So this dude could see me from anywhere? Even if I took a bath?!'

'Ohhhh, so you're saying he might not even look my way?'

"Your majesty, you can't be serious! Leaving the lives of over 8 million people in the hands of a young woman?!"

Luna looked over to see Jessica freaking out. Trevor also looked a bit concerned, but tried to hide it behind a kind smile.

"She may be the DreamWalker your majesty, and I believe she is a great warrior. But can't you leave it in the hands of someone that is more capable of finding an heir?" Jessica pleaded to King Eldon.

But her pleas were ignored. "If I as a village nobody was chosen as king, then there will always be someone out there that is better than I. Now leave! I have something I must discuss with the hero."

"Y-yes your majesty." "Understood."

Both Jessica and Trevor left through the large throne room doors. The silver haired boy put his hand on Luna's shoulder before departing with the other two.

"W-what is it that you need from me your majesty?" Luna thought something was wrong and started to speak formally.

"There's no need for that tone. I have something to give to you. It is from a long time ago, I can almost barely remember the promise I made that day. This is something that was given to me from the previous DreamWalker." The king summoned something to his hand.

A purplish orb appeared and landed in his palm. He then sent it forward making it float in the air towards Luna. Falling into her hands, Luna inspected it.

[Resting Orb]

[Absorb: Yes? / No?]

'Absorb? What the heck is this?'

'Alrighty.... yes'

The orb shattered in her hand. From inside, a purple miasma came out and swirled around her head. After a couple of seconds the miasma suddenly entered her eyes. Luna started to panic as it felt like her eyes were on fire.

"AHH! MY EYES!!"

After 10 seconds of rolling on the floor whilst grabbing her face in pain, Luna sluggishly got herself back up.

"Are you ok hero?" The king asked.

Luna cleared her throat. "*Cough* *cough* Yes, the pain just came as a surprise to me, that's all."

She looked down at the window that appeared.

[Eyes of a Dreamer - Active

Rank - Legendary

Lv - 1

Details: The first step to becoming a true warrior of Dreams. Your eyes now see the impurities of what can become of people's desires or fears when unregulated. When activated, you can see people's inner souls.

Duration - 30 seconds

Cooldown - 2 minutes

Mana cost - 600 MP]

'Whoa, what's going on with my vision?' Luna blinked and it was like she could see again.... sorta.

Her previously black vision was weird looking. Everything was still black for her, but occasionally she would see a flicker of light. It was kind of like seeing fireflies light up a starless sky.

Nothing looked different through her right eye. It was kind of disappointing because Luna thought she would have something cool like x-ray vision or laser eyes.

Sadly her dreams of being a superhero were put on hold. For now she would just have to stick to being a normal hero.

The skill's mana cost was a lot larger than she thought it would be. But nonetheless, she used it on the king. Her iris color changed from an emerald green to a light purple.

The figure of the king turned black as she saw something move. A golden lion with bright red eyes sat next to the king.

'A lion?' Luna thought.

'I don't think I'm seeing what you're seeing.'

'How can you tell?'

'I don't think I'm following.'

<*Sigh* In simple terms, it means that he is alive and still can consider himself righteous.>

'So I guess we'll have to see some bad guy to compare it and see what it is.'

Luna said her goodbyes to the king before leaving the room.