The Dragon

The frost dragon "King of the North" Ulyssan was not a demigod who had advanced through normal means, but rather an out-of-control monster that had aggregated numerous frost-type Beyonder characteristics. While it might rival demigods in specific domains, it had deficiencies in other aspects...

Yet at this moment, it lay snoring atop a mountain of treasures, completely unaware of the three intruders' arrival.

Nevertheless, Ebner and his companions didn't let their guard down. After thorough investigation using divination, prophecy, and analytical methods, they confirmed the dragon wouldn't awaken unless harmed.

"Perhaps it's because the protagonist team in Groselle's Travels hasn't been fully assembled yet, causing the plot progression to stall," Ebner speculated, combining original plot knowledge with the current situation.

Edwina nodded thoughtfully. "The latter pages of the travelogue are indeed stuck together and can't be opened yet...

"So our method of 'entry' can't 'advance' the plot?"

Maintaining his "Gehrman" persona, Klein directly displayed his "Blasphemy Card" and pointed to the cards held by the two "Mysticism Magisters," stating emotionlessly: "'Black Emperor,' 'Error,' 'Door.'"

Trying to mimic Miss Sharon's speech pattern won't make you "cuter"... Ebner internally complaint, but understood Klein's implication:

The "Black Emperor" symbolized the "distortion" of rules, the "Error" embodied this world's "loopholes," and the "Door" opened based on these foundations—how could this be the same as "normal" entry?

Emperor Roselle's ritual setup was clearly creating a backdoor.

"Since it remains asleep, we shouldn't attack it for now... to avoid undesirable changes... Moreover, the exit 'door' is above its head. If it dies, there's no guarantee the Blasphemy Cards could open another passage," Ebner suggested after consideration.

Mainly because "King of North's" death would likely end the story, causing the protagonist team to age and die as in the original plot.

"Mmm." Edwina gave a slight nod. Producing a notebook, she gazed at the snowy landscape outside the cave and added, "Since this detailed guide on safely entering was left by Emperor Roselle in soldier Frunziar's home... his arrangements probably center around Frunziar.

"We should first locate the story's 'protagonists.'"

Their primary expedition goal was discovering what Roselle had left here.

After considering their suggestions and finding no issues, Klein nodded agreement. Yet before departing, he paused to glance back at the frost dragon, lost in thought.

Noticing this, Ebner—who was about to exit the cave—smiled and said, "Don't look anymore. It's 'imagined' into existence and can't leave this book-world. It can't help you complete your 'Bizarro Sorcerer' ritual."

His eyes then flicked to the treasure hoard as he teasingly added, "Those gold coins and jewels are likewise 'imagined.'"

What's with that last comment? Do I seem that money-grubbing? Wait... he might suspect "Klein" is also my persona, hence subconsciously assuming I'm poor?

Klein shot Ebner a glance and countered in Gehrman's trademark tone: "You seem rather knowledgeable about Groselle's Travels' world?"

"Aren't you the same?" Ebner chuckled meaningfully. "When I mentioned 'imagined,' you showed no confusion whatsoever."

And knowing you, you'd never have entered so readily with Edwina and me without some prior understanding. This part he kept to himself.

"I obtained partial intelligence from a mirror," Klein vaguely replied.

Before leaving the hotel, he'd summoned Arrodes to inquire about the travelogue, learning it first appeared among the dragon clan after the disappearance of the "City of Miracles" Liveseyd—almost directly implicating the "Dragon of Imagination."

"So it was Arrodes..." Ebner feigned sudden understanding.

"You know Arrodes?" Klein genuinely startled this time. The mirror was a Church of Steam's sealed artifact, and to his knowledge, "The Tower" had no "friends" in that church.

"Heh. The Church of Storms' Mysticism Magister' Stuart developed a ritual to petition 'Arrodes,' which spread within small circles... And Arrodes is quite willing to answer questions," Ebner explained with a smile.

Of course, it's willing—every answer means someone's social death! Klein internally complained immediately, recalling Daly, who must have used this ritual to learn about the captain's resurrection.

Edwina, who'd been listening, suddenly interjected: "Arrodes... What kind of ritual is that?"

Her clear springwater-blue eyes burned with intellectual curiosity.

"I can teach you after we return... For now, exploration takes priority." Clearing his throat, Ebner steered the conversation back on track before leading the way out of the dragon's lair.

Edwina blinked but didn't press further, quietly following.

Only Klein cast a pitying glance at the erudite pirate admiral, sensing she was about to hand leverage to "The Tower"—making eventual escape from his "clutches" unlikely...

After both exited, he secretly tested the incantation addressing the "Mysterious Ruler Above the Gray Fog," confirming the connection remained unobstructed before feeling more at ease.

After all, if necessary, he could ascend to the gray fog and transform into the Sea God, which was equivalent to a Demigod-level combat ability.

While lost in thought, Klein also walked out of the cave. Immediately, biting winds, laden with ice shards and goose-feather snow, lashed at his face and body. This made him involuntarily tense up and shiver slightly, hunching over, as he surveyed his surroundings.

"It's... cold..." He nearly cursed, confirming that he was in a vast, icy world with extremely low visibility, a stark contrast to the warm cave he had just left.

He had always thought Backlund's humid, gloomy winter cold was the most dreadful, but now he finally understood that absolute low temperatures and razor-sharp winds were a deadly combination. Even though he had preemptively added a sweater and was wearing a thick, long formal coat, he still felt like he couldn't quite withstand it.

He did not put on the Sun Brooch because its warmth was on a spiritual level. While effective for a very short time against intense cold to prevent the body from stiffening, prolonged exposure in an icy environment would be suicidal. Spiritual warmth would cause the body to open its pores, mimic a summer state, remove its last defense against low temperatures, and even actively welcome them.

At this moment, he saw Ebner, who had emerged first, beckon him closer.

Without much hesitation, Klein quickly stepped forward and soon noticed he had passed through a barrier, and the surrounding environment warmed up.

"You came well-prepared." Edwina was the most lightly dressed of the three. After all, she only had a general understanding of the book's environment, and her preparations were more focused on "combat."

"As a 'Mysticism Magister' who frequently uses mystical items for high-speed flight, it's only reasonable to develop a secret art that protects against wind and cold," Ebner self-deprecatingly remarked, then asked, "Which way should we go?"

Edwina took out a brass-framed mirror, seemed to sense something, then pointed towards the south-west, saying, "That way."

Ebner didn't ask further. He directly simulated "Gale," holding their bodies aloft, and flew in the direction Edwina indicated.

When he was Sequence 7, he could use this ability to carry Xio for short flights. Now, even without direct contact, carrying all three was not a big problem.

Traveling in silence, they soon found a mountain peak under Edwina's guidance.

Rounding a huge rock covered with thick ice, they saw a dark, secluded cave.

The three entered cautiously in a triangular formation. Inside the spacious, well-ventilated cave, beside a bonfire radiating light and heat, they saw five figures sleeping in their clothes.

The most striking among them was a four-meter-tall cyclops. His skin was grayish-blue, his chest, abdomen, and waist were wrapped in thick beast hides, while the rest of his body was exposed. Even his feet lacked protection. Even in sleep, he still clutched a greatsword as large as a door.

Beside him, one by one, lay a middle-aged man dressed in an extremely simple white robe, a young Loen soldier sleeping with a rock as a pillow, a nobleman in his thirties wearing mismatched and asymmetrical clothing, and a beautiful female elf lying in the nobleman's arms.

"Giant Groselle... Loen soldier Frunziar... The remaining ascetic, the Fourth Epoch Solomon Empire nobleman, and the elf only have codenames, no specific names," Edwina softly introduced, based on the contents of the travelogue.

"Only Groselle and Frunziar have names? It seems there's really something special about the latter... This is 'protagonist' treatment," Klein remarked, staring at the young soldier in black armor.

It's not strange for Groselle, as the first character to enter this book, to have a name. But judging from the fact that they are all asleep, Frunziar cannot be the last... Therefore, he must have something special... and that special something is likely something Roselle or the Seal of Calamity imposed on him.

Ebner observed for a while with his Pure White Eye, then borrowed the notebook Edwina had obtained from Frunziar's home and placed it on the sleeping Frunziar's chest.

Immediately afterward, dreamlike symbols flashed on the book, merging into Frunziar's body, and then a large door, both illusory and real, opened above him.

"Another door?" Klein glanced at the "door" a few times, uncertain. "This seems to lead to a dream... No, to be precise, the sea of collective unconsciousness..."

"This book contains his family's yearning for him, so it can lead us into his dream... Perhaps what Roselle truly hid is connected to this soldier's dream."

It should be the Divine Kingdom hidden by the Dragon of Imagination, right? Will it still be the same as in the original story?

Ebner analyzed up to this point. Seeing that the door seemed to be getting blurrier, he quickly took out a card and whispered, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

Immediately, a massive white dragon appeared in the spacious cave.

Ebner did not let it reveal its true form but added a layer of illusionary "filter" to prevent Edwina from losing control by directly looking at a Demigod-level mythical creature.

As for Klein, he should be able to discern the skeletal dragon's original form using the Sefirah Castle's true sight, but seeing it above the gray fog wouldn't pose much of an issue.

Ebner mounted the dragon's back and said to the other two, "Come on up. It's safer to traverse the dream riding him."

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Klein chewed on the name as he leaped onto the dragon's back.

Although it's Hermetic, that should be the correct meaning...