Iver knew what Hypatia wanted them to do. That was precisely why he had thought of paying to skip the quest.
This was the fifth Anniversary Event Quest—the final stage of Hypatia's event chain, and also the first time players would physically enter the Dream Realm.
In the chain quests of the previous two years, players had obtained the "Prototype Drunken Dream Tincture" and the "Dream Realm Navigator" respectively. This year's Anniversary Event Quest involved completing small quests at various temples, then seeking the apostles' protection.
Once they actually entered the Dream Realm, they would encounter all sorts of plot monsters they had no chance of defeating. Many of them were even elites from the next version. Then there were all the friends they had made: the powerful allies they had arranged beforehand would emerge from every corner, display their talents, hold back the enemies, and then send the players on to the next stop.
Some of those powerful allies were people the players had met just after completing their circuit quests. Others were acquaintances from the main storyline, such as Merlin. Still others were old friends Hypatia had found herself... In essence, this was a tour, and it also served as an initial introduction to the Dream Realm map.
At the very end, after finally finding Hypatia's daughter, they would discover that she was not a phantasm. Rather, she was an ordinary mortal soul that Hypatia, back when she was still human, had preserved through mysterious techniques—she had neither reincarnated nor transformed into a phantasm.
Hypatia had wanted to revive her ever since she was human, but even after dying and ascending into a phantasm, she had failed. In the end, she simply kept carrying her around.
Her soul had been placed inside an exquisitely crafted ancient doll. Hypatia