“I take it, it looks bigger outside?” Adam posed a question, only to receive an unquestionable response in the form of affirmations and head nods.
“Much, much bigger.” Paul answered because, out of the five of them, he was the worldly one having visited three Dukedom Cities and the Capital City Inaria. “That barely counts as a small town, if even that. Frankly, if not for the knowledge of our surroundings, I'd have said we got lost and found a tiny Barony, which it may be right now.”
“Guess the establishment condition was literal, in our case, instead of something symbolic.” Adam noted. “What now?”
Hearing the question, the Adventurers remained quiet for a moment because their next order of action depended on Jacob’s decision.
“For now? Let's enter the town before deciding anything concrete.” Jacob announced and made his way toward the gate leading inside.
“Yes, Boss.” Paul, Evelyn, and Martin affirmed.
Adam, on the other hand, simply chose to follow because it did not matter if it was fake or not, this would be his first time entering a bigger population center ever since he was newly reborn as a First of Men.
“Halt!” Called out a gruff-looking guard before more guards appeared on top of the stone gate leading into the small town and the stone walls surrounding the said small town. Additionally, more guards appeared right beside the spiky, hanging, and sliding metal contraption meant to disallow entrance.
“Identify yourself!”
Not one to deny a guard their duty, especially since it was a guard with a white Aura around him, Jacob stepped forward from his party and spoke up. “I am Jacob, Journeyman Adventurer.”
Even without having mentioned it, Jacob knew the man had already reasoned it out. Still, just to defuse the situation even further, from beneath his metal chest armor and hanging on his neck, he pulled out a necklace with a sword and shield motif stamped on a piece of triangular bronze.
Even without hearing it, the guard already knew his only option was to let them inside the town. If it had been normal circumstances, that would have been it. However, these were anything but normal circumstances, hence he remained stringent about following his duty.
“The others?”
“Paul, Evelyn, and Martin are Apprentice Adventurers under my command.” In the same instance, their names got called out, their badges appeared only theirs were made of iron instead of bronze. “The boy, Adam, however, is special, I am afraid.” The moment it was pointed out, was also the moment Adam had the Eternal Light attached to Sun Bearer’s pitch black spearhead.
Witnessing the Light, a realization stamped itself across the guard's face. Striking when the moment was hot, Jacob spoke up. “As you can see, he is with the Church of Ina. We are here to escort him to this town.”
“Understood.” The guard instantly declared, knowing full well what it meant to be affiliated with the Church. That, combined with the other special guests already in town, only made him more eager not to hinder their entrance. “You can come inside. Though, I have to warn you to be on your best behavior if you don't want your heads to roll.”
“No problem.” Jacob replied. “We will behave as usual. However, I am curious about why you need to annotate it now. Is there something special occurring?”
Hesitant, the guard nodded and answered. “Royalty from the Capital.”
“Royalty? You sure?” Jacob inquired with a slightly higher tone in his voice. “What could they want with a small town like this?”
“Dont know… Dont want to know. I am but a simple guard.” The guard replied quickly and loudly. Then he turned quieter and inched closer to Jacob to whisper and elaborate a bit. “They came a few days ago with a big convoy escorting a golden carriage bearing the Royal Sigil.”
“Right. Nobody is stupid enough to falsify the Royal Sigil.” Jacob whispered back, gaining a nod of agreement from the guard. “Do you at least know who came so we can stay out of their way while here?”
Shaking his head, the guard replied. “No. Everything has been kept quiet since their arrival. However…“ Ceasing there, the guard came even closer to Jacob and whispered right into Jacob’s ear. ”By the way, you did not hear this from me. Understood?” Seeing the nod of agreement, the guard spoke up. “I am sure by now you have heard the rumor about the newest Ascender appearing in the Capital.” Although Jacob did not, he still nodded. “A friend of mine witnessed a powerful man leave the golden carriage bearing his rumored features after entering the Baron's mansion.”
“Just being connected to the Royals means you're powerful somehow.” Jacob quickly dismissed the argument. “Just because one seems powerful does not make them an Ascender.”
“Maybe… I would not know about that.” The guard quickly refuted himself to safety. “Still, it makes you think? Does it not?”
“Hnng… True.” Jacob replied before taking a step away from the guard, thus signaling the end of their private conversation. “Anything else we should know?”
“No… Just don't forget to seek Ina’s Protection.” The guard pointed out before turning around and signaling his fellow guards a message.
A moment later, the spiky and hanging sliding metal door rose from the ground to allow the four Adventurers and Adam.
Once they walked inside, five pairs of eyes glanced around as it was the first time they witnessed the sights. Unfortunately, there was little to see because the town had little to offer.
Only three visually impressive structures lay within the town.
Those were the Baron Residence nested on the western part of the small town and separated from the rest of the town, with a smaller version of the town wall.
The second was a mid-sized chapel inaugurated to Ina, The Light of the World, nested in the eastern part of the town.
The last one, however, was the actual center of the town and thereby unmissable. It was five meters tall and one meter wide at the base before narrowing the higher it reached into the sky before actually transforming into a small pyramid near the top, thus designating this object as an Obelisk within Adam’s mind the moment he saw it for the first time.
At the same time, the obelisk was made out of what appeared to be pure white stone. However, the moment Adam stood closer to the obelisk, he realized it was pure white onyx and not the normal kind found and excavated either. But the kind that could only be acquired with Magic through the utilization of the Profound Laws defining the concepts of Pure, White, and Onyx, similar to what he had done for his obsidian shard before growing and transforming it into Sun Bearer’s spearhead.
If that was not enough to stun, or at least stupify Adam for a moment, then the engravings made upon the Pure White Onyx, which was even closer to a crystal once Altered with Profound Laws, only exacerbated the feelings inside Adam because the engravings upon the surface reminded him far too much of the Stone Idol he had carved through Light for himself as a source of water.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Moreover, the way the engraved depictions appeared to his eyes, they spoke of a larger design, a greater purpose that, if size is taken into account, would easily encompass the whole town.
Regular onyx is already associated with protection, physical and emotional strength, perseverance, the night, and, most of all, the ability to absorb negative influences around oneself without prejudice. Adam quickly recalled what he knew about Onyx, largely thanks to Adamu’s knowledge base within him. However, by inverting the color scheme and Altering it into a Pure White Onyx and thereby getting rid of the darkness within it, one gains neither protection nor absorption but a repulsion of everything that was not of its base vibrational frequency.
It would have been an excellent material for barriers if not for the fact that Pure White Onyx repulses almost everything, even the creator of the barrier. Hence, Pure White Onyx only ever gets used once fused with other materials to allow and channel its repulsion onto something specific.
That being the case, this is not a Pure White Onyx Obelisk but the external layer of the true features that hide within the Obelisk.
Peaked with interest, Adam refused to step closer to the Obelisk before him and instead began circling around it on the paved stone circle around it.
Thankfully, the paved walkway was only five meters in radius, so he had a near enough point of view before him.
Moments after reaching Ina’s Idol, the group of four Adventurers noticed Adam leaving them in favor of staring at the Idol in question. Eventually, all four of them shrugged their shoulders, and the behavior Adam exhibited.
They were already somewhat used to him being unusual.
Instead, they chose to walk toward a small pedestal right on the edge of the paved stone circle around the Obelisk. Once there, each of them took their turn to place their hands on the pedestal before stepping aside and awaiting Adam to finish his round.
“Boss?” Evelyn spoke up after having stepped closer to Jacob. “What did the Guard say?”
“Nothing special.” Jacob replied as he noticed Paul and Martin paying attention to his words. “Nothing we did not already expect, somewhat. Still, if his words are right, Duke Emile Roselia has just arrived and should be within the Baron’s residence. Considering the secrecy involved, I think our chances to meet him are slim to none unless we force it.”
“Guild Master, then?” Paul questioned because they only had two options to begin with.
“Indeed.” Jacob finally confirmed their course of action while staring at the focused face of Adam some distance away from them. “I just hope he will believe us after explaining our circumstances. If he does not, we will have to somehow gain the attention of the Duke before being allowed anywhere near his presence.”
“Either way, let's wait for Adam to finish with whatever he is curious about.”
In the end, it took about half an hour for Adam to complete his investigation.
The results, however, were meager.
Not only were there a lot of fancy flourishing devoted to Ina, but those that were not, he was not familiar with.
It's either that. Or there is nothing special about the surface engravings. Adam mused in his mind before eventually settling right before the pedestal his new friends had somehow interacted with.
With no other choice, unless he regained his Magic or figured out a way with Essence, his investigation came to a halt. Unless, of course, he actually broke the Obelisk. But he doubted he'd gain any favor with the locals, fake or not.
Shaking his head, Adam placed his right hand on the pedestal, and almost instantly, he felt an Aural Scan, similar to what occurred within the rat/cat den and its Portal spewing out the reddish hue.
A similar occurrence happened with the second portal that brought them here in this Nightmare. However, at that time, it was extremely brief because he had not been the one interacting with it, but Jacob. No, at that time, all that happened was Jacob placing his Aura on Adam before the Portal swallowed them up.
That being the case, this time, Adam was fully exposed to whatever the Obelisk did and whatever it searched for. When it finished, it spewed out an answer that directly entered Adam’s mind and presented itself in a format that he could see, touch, and interact with mentally.
Dreamer Presence Detected!
Dreamer Deep Scan Protocol Initiated!
Dreamer Aural Scan - Verified!
Dreamer Mental Scan - Verified!
Dreamer Spiritual Scan - Verified!
.
.
.
Dreamer Adam, Welcome to Nightmare 117!
Please choose the Mode of Dreaming; Casual, Dreamscape, or Nightmare!
“…”
Realizing the wordings involved, a sudden GULP echoed from Adam’s throat because it made him realize, almost instantly, what it truly meant, for he had been exposed to two options already.
At least, he thought so because, despite two months having passed on top of Awakening, he could still remember those tentacles vying to do unspeakable things to him. Things he was not meant to experience, for if he did, he would no longer be Adam and be something else entirely wearing the skin of Adam.
Careful to not put his attention on the word Nightmare, lest he accidentally choose it, Adam centered his thoughts on the Casual option.
Almost instantly, the information in his mind reorganized as if an additional prompt manifested.
Mode of Dreaming; Casual - Minor Access to the Localized and Protected Dreamscape.
Default Mode of Dreaming for all under Ascended Rank [7th Rank of Essence Mastery]
Perk - Full Physical and Partial Mental Protection from Nightmare while within the presence of a Dream Obelisk!
Flaw - No direct access to the Dreamscape, Nightmare, and all the relevant benefits they generate!
“Seventh Rank?” Adam murmured before swearing in his mind. Holy Father in Heaven, whom I despise very much. No wonder I encountered an Eldritch presence on the first try.
Let me see what the second option says.
With a bit of mental wiggling, the Casual prompt retreated before the descriptions for Dreamscape manifested in Adam’s mind.
Mode of Dreaming; Dreamscape - Partial Access to the Localized and Protected Dreamscape and Nightmare.
Optional Mode of Dreaming for all under Ascended Rank [7th Rank of Essence Mastery]
1st Perk - Variable Physical and Mental Protection from Nightmare while within the presence of a Dream Obelisk! [Degree of Protection depended upon Rank of Essence Mastery. The higher the Rank of the Essence Master, the lower the Protection provided.]
2nd Perk - Access to Nightmare Gates manifested within the Localized and Protected Dreamscape.
1st Flaw - Partial Exposure to the Nightmare.
2nd Flaw - Probability of Mental Structure Degradation increased with prolonged Exposure to Nightmare.
3ed Flaw - Probability of Physical Structure Degradation increased with prolonged Exposure to Nightmare.
Ah… Hmm… Wasn't the Church of Ina involved in regulating this? I think Paul mentioned this in his bid to overcome stagnation. Adam realized.
Either way. Let's check what it says about the last option.
Careful with his thoughts, the last prompt appeared in Adam’s mind.
Mode of Dreaming; Nightmare - Full Access to the Localized Dreamscape, Nightmare, and all the dangers lying within.
Only Mode of Dreaming for all above Ascended Rank [7th Rank of Essence Mastery]
Optional Mode of Dreaming for all below Ascended Rank [7th Rank of Essence Mastery]
1st Perk - Full Access to Nightmare and all that it Spawns
2nd Perk - Rewards are Generous and Bountiful
1st Flaw - Full Exposure to Nightmare and all that it Spawns.
2nd Flaw - Death
3ed Flaw - Lunacy
4th Flaw - Degeneracy
5th Flaw - Corruption
6th…
7th…
.
.
.
Ignoring everything below the 5th Flaw as it was already superfluous with the warning that it was, Adam closed the prompt in his mind to once again reorganize the choice before him.
Dreamer Adam, Welcome to Nightmare 117!
Please choose the Mode of Dreaming; Casual, Dreamscape, or Nightmare!