Sudden Incident

Tog's voice echoed through the sewers, hidden by layers of thick fog, leaving no one knowing his exact location.

Bals stopped speaking, but the torrent of metal retracted, reforming into the scorched, glowing metal prosthetic limb.

Occasionally, a few drops of molten iron dripped from the prosthetic, sizzling against the stone bricks.

Due to the intense heat, sweat streamed down Bals's face like a river, but with his grim expression, he had no time to wipe it away.

A large section of stone bricks before him had already been fused into a crystalline state by the molten metal. The air warped under the high temperature, distorting the appearance of the crystalline ground.

The heat, capable of melting most metals, had passed through here, leaving a small handful of smoldering embers in the center.

They dispersed with the slight breeze from the rising heat, vanishing in the blink of an eye, becoming part of the sewer.

Bals was confident in his abilities.

In fact, given the fragile bodies of Silver Tier Gold Coin Path degenerators, they certainly couldn't withstand the high temperature of molten iron.

That handful of ashes was the best proof.

However, what if the person from the start wasn't Tog?

Splash.

With a sound of water, the remaining stagnant water, mixed with mud, coalesced into a hand as large as a carriage. It rushed through the air with a howling wind, slapping directly towards Bals!

Bals had been prepared. The torrent of scorching steel surged out again, directly meeting the giant hand.

The dark hand and the scorching, bright iron flow were starkly contrasted at this moment, drawing everyone's attention.

"Who always wins these beam struggles again?"

Aaron muttered, vaguely sensing something was wrong.

"Why does this ground feel a little sticky?"

Before he could react, the ground beneath him gave way, and he fell uncontrollably, letting out an involuntary shout.

Sart, closest to him, reached out to grab him, but could only grasp at the air where Aaron's fingertips had been.

In the blink of an eye, the opening began to writhe and shrink, while Sart made an unexpected decision.

Without a moment to alert Siosand, he leaped directly into the opening leading to the unknown.

"You!" By the time Siosand reacted and rushed to the opening, he could only see an opening the size of a human head.

The other side of the opening led to an unknown place, completely dark.

"You're courting death!" Siosand, usually calm, now spoke with a chilling tone, his light green eyes filled with rage. "Dream Princess, come to my side."

A long sigh echoed, and a slender, ethereal female arm emerged from Siosand's body, followed by a voice full of seductive charm: "Your dreams are mine now, Master."

After stepping into the Silver Tier, prophets could explore the Dream Realm with limitations through rituals and sign contracts with some Dream Realm creatures, asking for their help at a certain price.

And Dream姬 was an advancement gift prepared for him by his mentor, Julian.

Dream Ji was proficient in various spells, and could be understood as a Silver Tier Scepter Affinity Transcendent. However, she also possessed many abilities unique to the Dream Realm.

Of course, all of this came at a price.

For the next few days, every time Siosand slept, he would fall into a nightmare. He had to find the path back to reality within the endless dreams, or his soul would become Dream Princess's food.

Or, it could be understood that Dream Princess's abilities were derived from her food.

Siosand glanced at the battlefield not far away. The mud monster's hand was unusually suppressing Bals, and numerous illusory figures were surrounding Bals, screaming.

He knew they were the vengeful spirits of those who had died tragically in the sewers, now awakened by Tog and imbued with ferocity.

The lingering resentment made them detest the living, and the malice buried deep within their hearts wished to drag Bals into eternal slumber.

"Enough nonsense," Siosand's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. "Find him!"

He never imagined that Sart, who was usually gentle, would have such courage, leaping down after Aaron without a second thought!

Siosand, in his rage, roared out his true thoughts: "Sart, is this Aaron, whom you've never met, truly worth such a sacrifice?!"

"There's a cavity underground, with traces of 'Fossilize to Mud', but it's beyond my range. What a shame..."

A female head poked out from Siosand's shoulder, looking around and emitting a clear, pleasant female voice.

However, Alice, who arrived late, was stunned by the head and subconsciously stopped in her tracks.

The head was illusory and unstable, its facial features outlined by solid lines, but these lines shifted slowly, causing the face to change constantly.

At first glance, it might look like a human face, but the second glance revealed it to be a mass of writhing lines, making it impossible to discern any features.

"I paid a price, not to listen to your nonsense."

"I can imitate the residual spell structure and re-release this spell, but it might be slow..."

"Two pleasant dreams."

"I'm not sure if it can take you to the correct location."

"Three, greed should be moderate," Siosand said coldly.

"Deal," Dream Ji said with a charming smile, her extended arm gently tapping the solid stone bricks. Then, she chanted an incantation in the Dream Realm language: "Spell replication."

A faint fluctuation emanated as the solid stone bricks softened again, writhing reluctantly, and a crack gradually appeared. The sound of mud and stone moving within could also be faintly heard.

Even though the "Fossilize to Mud" temporarily conjured by "Spell Replication" wasn't as efficient as the genuine article, it was enough for Siosand.

As long as I can catch up...

He took a deep breath and walked down into the opening, unable to wait for "Fossilize to Mud" to be fully completed.

Gotta hurry!

Alice glanced at Bals, then hesitated before rushing in, closely following Siosand.

"Oh, someone else is coming?" Dream Ji turned her head, directing her line-covered face towards Alice, and let out a delicate laugh that was completely at odds with her appearance.

Alice forced herself not to look at Dream Princess's face and calmly said, "I'm going too."

"Whatever." Siosand responded coldly, his mood extremely foul at the moment.

Dream姬 emitted a faint glow, barely illuminating the surroundings. As the spell was cast, the dirt in front of Siosand automatically parted to make way for him.

"Mr. Siosand… why are you only making your move now?" Alice carefully chose her words, asking in a low voice.

"Miss Alice, the reason is simple. My teacher instructed me to protect Sart well, and now, that fool actually dared to jump down… for his prophecy!"

"Isn't he from the Star Tower? His prophecy… what happened?"

Siosand sneered, his tone peculiar. "Yeah, who would have thought that a direct disciple favored by Tower Master Julian wouldn't be able to get a correct prophecy?"

"What do you mean?"

"What else could I mean? Miss Alice, all of Sart's prophecies up to this point have been wrong!" Siosand paused, deliberately emphasizing his words. "All of them, whether through rituals or other means, the results have been inaccurate."

"But didn't he successfully predict that Tog was hiding in the sewer this time?"

"You call that a prophecy?" Siosand burst out laughing, but Alice couldn't help but hear a hint of grief and indignation in his tone.

"Back then, he was a Black Iron Tier and the first to follow teacher. And what happened? Teacher is already Above Platinum, but him? He's still looking for a chance to advance to Silver Tier… Yet! Teacher still pays attention to him, still thinks highly of him! Why does he get to go to the tower's peak and feel the aura of Fate every day? While I, the strongest Prophet of the Star Tower's Silver Tier, have to wait in line!?"

"With such a great opportunity, if it were me, I would have already been able to attempt advancing to Gold! But him? Still Bronze! Bronze!"

"Even before we set out this time, teacher instructed me to ensure his safe return. Miss Alice, do you know what that means?" Siosand took a deep breath, regaining some composure. "It's favoritism, teacher's favoritism, Miss Alice."

Siosand sighed, a rare touch of melancholy in his voice. "A prophet who can't even prophesy properly…"

Thanks to Classmate Zhang for the three tips~

And thanks to Pill-Chewing Classmate for the tip~