Chapter 66

"Y-You defeated the evolved 'Lord of Dreams' right there!?"

Guild Master Harein raised his voice.

"I thought I clearly reported that we cleared the 'Centipede Tunnel' from the beginning..."

"That's true, but... Can it be done? A D-rank adventurer with little experience and incomplete equipment defeating the 'Lord of Dreams,' who is nearly [Lv: 80] and whose information hasn't even been widely circulated..."

Harein kept touching his hair, clearly agitated.

"W-Where is the magic stone of that 'Lord of Dreams'?"

"I have already exchanged it. It is currently in the guild's storage."

Maltida answered Harein's question.

"I see... It has already been submitted to the guild... I didn't think you would lie to this extent, but even so, it's hard to believe..."

Harein, looking restless, moved his hand across the desk as if searching for something.

"Ah... Sir Harein, didn't you just knock over your tea a moment ago?"

Receptionist Maltida pointed out. Harein's face turned slightly red, and his mouth twisted into a frown. He seemed to have wanted to drink tea to calm down.

Harein cleared his throat and composed his expression.

"Maltida, bring it to me."

"The replacement tea, right! I'll bring it immediately..."

"No, bring the magic stone! Hurry up!"

"Y-Yes! Right away!"

Maltida hurried out of the office.

"...I thought he was scary, but he's kind of cute, isn't he? The guild master."

Luze whispered to me in relief. Harein's eyes sharpened, and Luze shuddered.

"Y-You did well to defeat the evolved 'Lord of Dreams' on the spot. You didn't have any preparations, did you?"

Harein composed his expression and tried to lower his raised voice.

...Well, it's not surprising that he's shocked. I had already grasped the status and skill composition, as well as the terrain of that boss room, and thanks to 'Death Line Tyrant' and 'Self-Sacrifice,' I was able to deal massive damage and barely win.

Death Armed, even in the 'Magic World' where information was shared densely, would normally be an unbeatable enemy for our level.

"I can't believe you're a D-rank adventurer... Were you operating outside the guild? How did you manage to defeat it?"

"I'd rather you didn't pry into that. There's no obligation to report how I allocated my skill points. I didn't come here to talk about that."

"Y-You're right... Yes, that's true..."

Harein's hand moved to search for the tea but quickly pulled back. I thought he had completely taken control of the conversation at first, but somehow the tables had turned.

"What I'm concerned about is why the 'Lord of Dreams' in the newly formed 'Dream Hole' triggered an existence evolution. I wanted to inform the guild master about this."

Existence evolution is a phenomenon that usually occurs in monsters that have consumed many other monsters or humans. Therefore, it's quite rare for the 'Lord of Dreams' in the deepest part of the 'Dream Hole' to undergo existence evolution.

Moreover, the 'Centipede Tunnel' is relatively new. It seems that either consecutive adventurer parties were wiped out or the 'Wandering King' phenomenon occurred multiple times. If such incidents had occurred, the adventurer guild would have known, and it's also strange that they didn't inform the adventurers.

"...That is indeed unnatural and unsettling. An investigation is necessary, but the 'Centipede Tunnel' has already disappeared."

"Do you have no idea at all?"

"As a guild master, I can't speak in vague speculations to an adventurer. But... I suppose I can say this much."

From Harein's demeanor, it seemed he did have some idea.

"Originally, in remote areas... especially in the northern territories close to the 'Forbidden Great Forest,' strange monster disasters tend to occur frequently."

I know about the 'Forbidden Great Forest.' It's not the 'Dream Hole' but a region in the northern part of the continent where high-level 'Dream Holes' frequently appear, making it an unmanageable area. It's the worst restricted area on this continent.

In the depths of the 'Forbidden Great Forest,' unexplored 'Dream Holes' overflow, and monster disasters are a constant. The nobles from various regions collaborate every few years to cull the monsters to prevent the kingdom from being affected by the 'Forbidden Great Forest's' monster disasters.

"Of course, remote areas are hard to reach, and the 'Dream Holes' are slow to be cleared, so it's natural for monster disasters to occur frequently. ...However, even accounting for that, the number is clearly too high and unnatural. It's one of the long-standing issues that the royal family and researchers have been grappling with. There are even rumors that strange phenomena occur in 'Dream Holes' when no one is watching."

"Something similar happened in this urban area with many adventurers?"

"You catch on quickly, Elma. But I won't answer that question."

From here on, it's just vague speculation. The only fact that can be conveyed is that there have been precedents of sudden, unnatural monster disasters.

"Rest assured. The House of Haulrod has been conducting long-term research and investigations into the trends and properties of 'Dream Holes.' We will not take this lightly, and the guild and the House of Haulrod will investigate. I appreciate your report and warning."

However, I can't shake the feeling of unease. To me, the existence evolution of this 'Lord of Dreams' seems to have been artificially triggered. Is something happening in this world that didn't exist in the game?

Or perhaps something that existed in the game is distorting due to the world becoming reality? Just as the power of the nobles has increased with the reality of this world, allowing them to monopolize information, items, and military forces.

When the conversation came to a close, Harein frowned.

"However, Maltida is taking too long. I wanted to verify the 'Lord of Dreams' magic stone before letting you go. I told her to hurry..."

At that moment, the door opened, and Maltida entered the office.

"I'm sorry for the delay, Sir Harein! Here is the magic stone and a new cup of tea."

"I said I only wanted the magic stone!"

Harein blushed and shouted at Maltida, clearly embarrassed about the tea incident.