The Heart-Stirred Iver

Iver knew what Hypatia wanted them to do, which was why he tried to pay money to skip the mission.

This is the fifth Anniversary Event Quest, which is the final First Ring in the event chain here in Hypatia, and also the first time that players enter the Dream Realm in their physical bodies.

In the previous two years' series of quests, players obtained the "Prototype Drunken Dream Tincture" and the "Dream Realm Navigator." This year's Anniversary Event Quest involves completing small tasks at various temples and then seeking protection from the apostles.

Once you actually enter the Dream Realm, you'll encounter all sorts of story monsters that are completely impossible to defeat, many of which are even elites from the next version. Then, various friends you've made and the powerful figures you've found beforehand will suddenly appear from all corners, show off their talents, help stop the enemies, and then send you to the next destination.

Some of the strong characters are found by players after completing the daily quests; some are acquaintances from the main storyline, such as Merlin; and some are old friends that Hypatia found on his own... This is essentially a tour, and also a preliminary introduction to the Dream Realm map.

Finally, they found Hypatia's daughter and discovered that she was not a demon, but a mortal soul that Hypatia had captured using mysterious techniques during his mortal period—she had not been reincarnated, nor had she transformed into a demon.

When Hypatia was still a mortal, he wanted to resurrect her, but he failed even after he died and ascended to become a demon, so he simply kept her with him.

Her soul was placed inside an exquisitely crafted ancient Doll, which was hidden in the studio by the reincarnated Hypatia and had its sense of time sealed away.

Because she had reached the critical point of transforming into a demon, she could easily become one. Even when Hypatia reincarnated, he couldn't bring her down with him.

The Doll in the middle shattered at the last moment due to battle or some other reason. In a moment of inspiration, the player placed her soul into a Clockwork Bird that Hypatia had given to the player earlier—this little bird is the "Dream Realm Navigator".

When she regains consciousness in the Material Realm, the first person she sees is the player who rescued her, so she will call the player "Dad"/"Mom." At the same time, due to the damage to her soul, she has forgotten her past memories. Until Hypatia finds a way to restore her memories, she can only stay with the player.

And clearly, Hypatia had not been found before Iver's journey.

So players got a talking pet with a sweet, childlike voice—a translucent little bird that was almost spherical, entirely blue, and had a light blue halo trailing behind it.

From a player's perspective, this is a task that must be done.

After all, "she calls me dad/mom," and she's a pet with lighting effects... even just having her perch on my shoulder or head is worth taking photos with.

From a realistic perspective, the birth of this Daughter Bird is, in a sense, a failure of the mission; if the mission had succeeded, what would have been brought down would have been a complete Doll. Then she would have been resurrected by Hypatia.

Putting aside the question of whether the resurrection of the dead from over two thousand years ago would violate the taboo of the Hourglass... the Dream Realm is simply too dangerous.

It's worth noting that Iver is still being hunted down by Bear Angel.

If he enters the Dream Realm, Bear Angel might find him by the scent. Those wild phantom demons that come to prey on souls can be intercepted or dissuaded by the apostles of the Nine Pillar Gods... but if Tiansi comes to kill him personally, those apostles won't be able to stop him.

If Iver is going to the Dream Realm, he should at least wait until he brings Bear Angel down.

Fortunately, Hypatia was quite sensible—unlike the players who had been getting things for free for three years, Iver actually paid. And he paid far more than the market price for the Grimoire ... even though these sutras were all out of print. But Iver himself was an archbishop and the Minister of Everything of the Avalon of No Matter What, so his status was completely different from that of the errand-running players.

So Hypatia decided to personally collect materials to create the "Prototype Drunken Dream Tincture." This process alone should take two months.

Later, she will realize that since Iver cannot walk in the Dream Realm, he will create the "Dream Realm Navigator"—this is actually what Iver has his eye on.

Now that Iver has a base gifted by Morgan, he doesn't actually need "Prototype Drunken Dream Tincture" to adventure in the Dream Realm with Isabel, if security isn't a concern. "Prototype Drunken Dream Tincture" only provides a powerful buff, preventing players from being suddenly killed by unknown AOE attacks and allowing them to barely survive a few rounds in battles several levels higher... but not knowing the way is the most fatal problem.

When a soul from the Material Realm enters the Dream Realm, it's like a land creature falling into the sea. Although some animals can barely dog-paddle, and a very few can dive to hunt, they are ultimately not as agile and free as purely aquatic animals.

The very fact that one can lose one's sense of direction when entering the "Deep Sea" is a very serious and unsolvable problem.

Without a GPS, Iver wouldn't even dare to leave "Morgan's Funhouse"—he might never be able to get back.

By the time she finishes packing all this up by herself, several months will probably have passed. By then, Iver will likely have already brought Bear Angel down. Judging from the current situation, the mark Bear Angel has placed on Iver is increasing much faster than this...

After saying goodbye to Hypatia, Iver led the two to the goblin settlement.

The purchase of the Grimoire cost a total of 240,000 White Crown Coin, leaving a small amount—but even that small amount is still tens of thousands of Coins. It's enough to buy some daily necessities.

Night had already fallen outside the bookstore.

Looking up, the night sky was filled with stars—though these stars were all illusions.

The elves used their ancient technology to synchronize the "ceiling" of each floor with the starry sky at the same moment.

This is to make things easier for astrologers and ritual practitioners, so that they don't have to deduce the exact positions of the stars themselves... nor do they have to run to the edge of each floor to see half of the starry sky and then run to the other side to see the other half.

And the brightness of these stars is much greater than that of a normal starry sky—which is quite normal.

Unlike Avalon, where there is little entertainment at night, the Theocracy remains brightly lit at night.

Everywhere you look, there are huge crystals of various colors shimmering with neon lights.

Night had fallen, but the streets were still bustling with people. Different crystal patterns and shapes corresponded to different types of shops. And different crystal colors corresponded to the ethnicity of the shop owners.

Although the Theocracy many ethnic groups, people generally prefer to do business with their own ethnic group.

The deep green, diamond-shaped crystals corresponded to the goblin shop. Iver quickly found a shop that offered troll delivery services and purchased some essential supplies from there.

Although the Theocracy does not allow troll trade, as a permanently neutral nation, it respects the customs of other races and nations and will not take away other people's property—for example, troll slaves, which are considered private property, are still considered the property of goblin merchants.

Selling is definitely not allowed; the Theocracy explicitly prohibits such transactions.

However, it can be rented.

Just like the goblins who brought trolls to Avalon to build the railway... some goblin merchants would buy or capture trolls and then take them to work—essentially like contractors, except they didn't have to pay these trolls wages.

For many trolls, however, they are happy to work here.

At least in the Theocracy Land, there's no need to worry about being beaten, starving, or dying, and one can wear decent, well-covered clothes. There's also free medical care if one is injured or falls ill. It's much better than living and dying randomly on the hot Southern Continent.

"Your Excellency Archbishop, is this your first time visiting us?"

The goblin merchant's voice, compared to that of the "Gold Coin" gentleman, was more in line with human stereotypes of goblins—sharp, dry, and noisy.

He had dark green skin, and even standing on a half-meter-high mat, he only reached Iver's chest.

His Avalon Language was not very standard, and had a heavy Theocracy accent.

His service attitude was surprisingly warm and respectful. "The moving fee is completely waived this time, we'll move it to your place for free! Also, you'll get a 4% discount on this purchase—would you like to look at something else? Spend 500 White Crown Coin and get a 2% discount, 1000 White Crown Coin and a 15% discount, plus an extra lucky draw! 100% chance of winning, the minimum prize is a fine gemstone ornament worth 50 White Crown Coin, the grand prize is a purebred griffin egg! No worries, everything is handled legally! "I see you don't have your scepter with you—I have a fine White Crystal scepter here, only 300 White Crown Coin. There's also an even better Consecration Scepter, originally priced at 2880. See, the sign says it here... Your Excellency, let's be friends, how about I sell it to you for 1500?"

Iver, who originally had no intention of buying anything, became somewhat tempted after listening to the audio.

The Consecration Scepter is already considered a light purple weapon.

Although it was mass-produced—its status was roughly equivalent to that of Chief Gordon's Rune Sword.

Sherlock's cane was about the same level.

Buy one for 1500 White Crown Coin —it's a steal! Iver isn't short of money, and besides, he can resell it in Avalon for a profit. A legitimate, legal, and clean-origin purple weapon in Avalon would easily cost several thousand White Crown Coin. Many young Arbitrators are reluctant to use such items.

... And speaking of which, Iver actually didn't have a scepter.

Although he already possessed a powerful main-hand weapon as Demon Scholar, as a priest, he only had the papacy, which could be considered a secondary weapon, and didn't actually have his own scepter.

This shop has a pretty good reputation among goblin merchants. At least there aren't any counterfeit or rip-off items... The only problem is that it sells some refurbished or secondhand goods, and the owner really likes to push unwanted items on you.

But Iver did need the scepter, so it can't be considered something he didn't need.

This is a basic necessity! A basic necessity can't be considered a sales pitch...

Luckily, I brought enough money this time; I still have tens of thousands left.

"... Where is your best scepter?"

Iver couldn't help but ask, "Is there anything better than the Consecration Scepter?"

Upon hearing this, the goblin merchant beamed with joy.

"For something even better, the discount might not be as big."

He clapped his hands. "Let me introduce them one by one..."

Behind Iver, Sherlock covered his forehead in exasperation.