Chapter ss16: Side Story 16 - Dream in a Dream (16)

"What should I do with this?"

The Spirit Stone's huge size caused quite a dilemma. I didn't lie when I said it looked like a meteorite and it weighed like one too. I couldn't just simply leave it here.

"What's wrong with my luck?"

It was supposed to only give me an absolute advantage with no strings attached. Yes, my luck greatly amplified the Spirit Stone's power, but I couldn't bring it anywhere like this.

My [Accumulation of Luck] should've triggered as well.

Squirm... Squirm...

I heard a strange noise from somewhere.

Squirm... Squirm... Squirm...

"Ah, that sounds quite annoying."

I grumbled and turned around.

Several individuals squirmed on the ground like caterpillars with their hands and feet tied and their eyes and mouth covered. Around eight of these fortunate ones had survived their encounter with me.

"Ufff! Ummhp! Hmmp!"

I didn't feel like shooting these defenseless folks. Honestly, I slightly pitied them when I saw the old man shed tears. I planned on just tying them up and letting the association or heroes take care of them with a trial or something.

"Stay still if you don't want to die."

I threatened them.

They obediently shut their mouths and stopped squirming. Even the old man who shouted, I won't tell you anything about our lord even if you kill me, held his breath in fear that I would really kill him. As expected, every human feared death.

I turned my attention towards the Spirit Stone again.

[Spirit Stone] [Legendary] [Unique] — A stone infused with the power of spirits. The energy used will recover over 24 hours.

[ Energy Capacity: 10,000/10,000 ]

"Hmm..."

An idea suddenly popped up in my head after staring at the item's description for a while. I looked down at my hands that possessed the [Young Dwarf's Dexterity]. Maybe I could carve this Spirit Stone with [Young Dwarf's Dexterity]. Perhaps my luck made the Spirit Stone so massive for a reason.

"Will it work?"

However, reducing its mass for more portability would surely affect its efficiency. That would essentially make it meaningless.

"Shall we test it a little?"

I formed a sculpting knife with stigma and carved off a tiny portion of the Spirit Stone. Then I checked its description again.

[Detached Spirit Stone] [Artifact] [Unique] — A stone infused with the power of spirits. The energy used will recover over 36 hours.

[Energy Capacity: 50/50]

Fifty didn't seem like a bad figure, so I began sculpting the Spirit Stone.

Sukeok... Sukeok... Sukeok...

I started at the edges and slowly worked my way in. Pieces that fell off littered the ground and a beautiful peak stood in the middle of the mess.

I sculpted the huge Spirit Stone into a rose with a bluish hue.

[Spirit Stone Flower] [Legendary] [Unique] — A stone infused with the power of spirits. It has been meticulously sculpted by a dwarf and a much more powerful strength now resides within it. The energy used will recover over 18 hours.

[Energy Capacity: 100/100] [Low Rank Harmonization]

My hard work resulted in a jackpot.

***

[First General Assembly - Theory Class]

My insides turned when that text appeared. The first test would be difficult.

All of us came here with our own abilities and powers, but what the hell did a theory class have to do with anything?

"What? What the hell is this? A class? What bullshit is this?!"

Yoo Yeonha ignored Chae Nayun's tirade and calmly analyzed the situation.

"Ah... fuck. Just wait a minute. Are you asking us to study after we came all the way here?"

The General Assembly didn't give any additional details, but the words test and class made it obvious enough.

"Is this some kind of a joke? What the hell is this? Have you gone insane? Ha!"

Yoo Yeonha didn't worry since Essence of the Straits had two of the most intelligent people who always fought for first and second place at Cube when it came to theory. Of course, she hadn't expected this and only brought them to assist with planning strategies. However, her decision turned out for the best.

"Sigh... I guess we can't do anything about it."

Chae Nayun grumbled before calming down and thinking.

Her sudden composure and pondering slightly surprised Yoo Yeonha. Chae Nayun should've grumbled a few hundred times and even screamed in frustration, but she suddenly began taking notes with her smartwatch?

"First... General... Assembly... Theory... Class..."

Chae Nayun recited each word as she typed them down with her hologram keyboard.

Yoo Yeonha stared at her in astonishment. This might be the most shocking thing she witnessed in the last three years.

"It's worth a shot if it's theory."

On the other hand, Rachel felt confident after seeing what the first test would be. She had been top of her class at Cube when it came to theory and Fermin might look a bit dumb, but actually placed in the top percentile of her class for theory too.

The General Assembly finally gave them additional details.

[I will now give out questions for you to conduct your own research about the general assembly.]

[You must solve these questions as the pursuit of truth is also a hero's calling.]

[Each guild will be provided its own research facility. The size and the equipment inside will depend on your guild's contribution points. You may use your contribution points to further upgrade your research facility.]

[You are also free to cooperate with others. However, you will have to form a party through your smartwatches.]

Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

Their smartwatches rang throughout the meeting room.

[Welcome, Rachel.]

[English Royal Court Guild]

[Contribution Ranking - 19th]

[Party - X]

[Accommodation Rating - 9]

[Research Facility Rating - 9]

What's this? Rachel wanted to check the new message, but the General Assembly suddenly gave them their first question.

[First Question]

[Q.1]

— There is the British Dungeon in London, the Hongok Dungeon in Seoul, and Parrishmare in the United States. A dungeon closely related to those three resides within the general assembly area. Find out its interior composition, mana density, and the monsters inside.

[You will find out if the dungeon randomly appears or if it can be anticipated by solving this problem.]

Rachel's expression suddenly stiffened. It would be impossible to solve such a complex problem with four dungeons mixed together.

[I hope you will enjoy solving this problem. The next meeting will begin in 96 hours.]

The General Assembly's text disappeared and the attendants stood up to discuss among themselves.

Essence of the Strait and Creator's Sacred Grace attracted quite a crowd. France's La Guild Lumiere and China's Chinese Empire seemed to get along. This bothered Rachel since England and France didn't have a good relationship to begin with.

"..."

Rachel remained all alone like a castaway. Nobody bothered to strike up a conversation with her. No one even spared her a glance even though she graduated top of her class in theory at Cube. Her first-place title seemed meaningless here.

She mustered the courage to approach the other guilds first, but everyone only greeted her out of courtesy and avoided her or flat-out ignored her.

The English Royal Court members swallowed their anger and tears as they watched Rachel go from guild to guild.

"Vice Leader Rachel?"

Someone suddenly approached and greeted her as if they had been waiting. It turned out to be Reinslaufer's Sehat.

"Hello, it's good to see you again."

"Haha, same to you. By the way, Vice Leader... do you have any clues regarding the problem? Nothing comes to my mind no matter how much I rack my brains."

"I have a feeling it's the same as the similar dungeon theory that's been making the rounds these days in academia. A dungeon pops up every year that's somehow similar to another existing dungeon. There have been many attempts to find any common links between them."

"Oh, you're truly amazing as expected."

"Not at all, I don't have a clue regarding the problem either. I never thought the Hongok Dungeon and the British Dungeon were related..."

A man suddenly interrupted them as Rachel and Sehat busily discussed the problem. He belonged to the Golden Afterglow guild and anyone could tell they came from China because of their uniforms.

"Hi, Vice Leader Rachel."

The man who looked like a rat greeted Rachel and scanned her from head to toe with a sleazy smile.

"Hello, how may I help you?" Rachel courteously asked despite his scummy look.

"Hehe, that's... our Golden Afterglow is also..."

"Vice Leader, let's go."

Fermin and the other guild members came over and dragged Rachel away. Then Fermin spoke to Sehat.

"Let's head to the research facility provided by the General Assembly and continue our discussion there."

***

The English Royal Court entered their research facility along with Sehat and the Reinslaufer guild members.

"Umm... Shall we take... our seats first?" Rachel awkwardly welcomed their guests.

She felt embarrassed because of their pitiful research facility. The wooden floor tiles creaked, the chairs looked worn out, dust covered the desks, and cobwebs scattered all over the place.

They couldn't have received a better research facility because they ranked the lowest for contribution points. Xtra's points had been excluded from the tally.

"I apologize for our shabby facility. We didn't expect our research facility to be in this state..."

"No, we're fine. Please don't mind us."

Sehat nonchalantly replied as he took a seat. However, the other Reinslaufer guild members seemed quite disappointed by the shabby facility.

Fermin quickly interjected and changed the topic.

"Here's the information regarding the British Dungeon, the Hongok Dungeon, and Parrishmare."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

She set down a few stacks of documents that totaled nine hundred pages. Rachel flinched whenever a stack fell on the table. The Reinslaufer and English Royal Court members also flinched and murmured among themselves. The mountains of documents overwhelmed them.

"How are we supposed to present this?"

"What? We have to do a presentation too?"

"But... isn't this too much? We didn't even do this much at Cube..."

"No, why do we even have to do this?"

However, the prerequisites for being a hero also included this. Of course, scholars carried out most dungeon analyzes these days, but sometimes their analysis didn't match the dungeon's interior. Heroes had to conduct their own analysis in such situations.

"Then, does Sir Sehat have any plans to cooperate and form a party with us?" Rachel carefully asked.

"Of course, Vice Leader was a well-known genius at Cube. We should be the ones asking to cooperate with you."

Sehat seemed to be the only one who thought this. His other guild members looked displeased, but Rachel still extended her hand to shake his. Sehat smiled and shook her hand.

[The English Royal Court and the Reinslaufer guild have formed a party.]

Rachel and Sehat successfully formed their alliance. The English Royal Court members rejoiced while the Reinslaufer members glared at their leader.

"Then, I'll go and check if there's any other information available." Fermin bowed before leaving the research facility.

"Still, it's a relief we managed to team up with a guild like Reinslaufer. I thought we would be left all alone."

Fermin muttered while skipping through the corridor. She would reach the shop soon and thought about purchasing more information there. Then she suddenly recalled what happened last night.

— No, Rachel is already suffering so much because of it. Can't you see? She probably remembers your face, who you are, and who you lost in that tragedy.

— Still, Rachel has been atoning and suffering for the past twenty years. She's already pitiful enough. Don't you think it's time to at least forgive her?

— You see, I wish for the princess to be happy for a long time. So I can't let any of you go.

Was Xtra someone deeply related to the princess? Or was he just a hardcore fan who managed to find information about her online?

Rachel had been trying to forget what she heard that day, but couldn't at all.

"He must be a stalker or a die-hard fan, right?"

Fermin muttered before her expression stiffened and her feet stopped. The faint trace of mana in the air made her freeze. This sinister and eerie mana oozed with a longing for vengeance.

Gulp.

Fermin nervously gulped before turning around and looking down the corridor. She didn't see anyone behind her, but once felt that mana in the air before with her own body.

Lancaster had been here.

***

[Spirit Stone Necklace] — A necklace infused with the power of a spirit. Its power has been amplified by a dwarf's exquisite craftsmanship and stigma's mana flows within it. Its color will change depending on the element.

The energy used will recover over 12 hours.

[Energy Capacity: 1,000/1,000] [High-Intermediate Amplification] [High-Intermediate Protection]

[Spirit Stone Armband] — An armband infused with the power of a spirit. Its power has been amplified by a dwarf's exquisite craftsmanship and stigma's mana flows within it. Its color will change depending on the element.

The energy used will recover over 12 hours.

[ Energy Capacity: 1,200/1,200 ] [ High-Intermediate Attribute Combination ] [ Intermediate Spirit Projection ]

"Hooo..."

I used up stigma to create an accessory and equipment, but 80% of the Spirit Stone remained.

"Ah... this is killing me..."

I wouldn't be able to use up all of the Spirit Stone even if I created an entire set of equipment to clad myself. I might be able to make full use of it if I spent an entire week crafting.

"Ughh..."

I massaged my forehead since the thought of spending an entire week gave me a migraine.

Ring... Ring... Ring! Ring Ring Ring! Ring...

My smartwatch rang as if relaying something through Morse code.

[Marcus: What is this theory? Ah... I feel like my head is going to split open. I can't even get through the third page...]

[Kayle: How can you call yourself a Cube alumnus when you can't even understand this?]

[Marcus: Hey, don't you know I specialize in combat? I'll just go out and gather some contribution points, Vice Leader.]

[Rachel: Yes, that also sounds like a great idea.]

[Marcus: Yes, ma'am! Did you guys hear that? All of you who can't use your heads to save your lives, follow me!]

It seemed like someone invited me to the guild chat.

"What's this?"

The General Assembly sent me a bunch of messages as well. I didn't notice my smartwatch ringing while crafting the Spirit Stone.

[First Question]

[Q.1]

— There is the British Dungeon in London, the Hongok Dungeon in Seoul, and Parrishmare in the United States. A dungeon closely related to those three resides within the general assembly area. Find out its interior composition, mana density, and the monsters inside.

"Theory class?"

I didn't go to the general assembly, so I had no idea what happened. However, I felt confident if the topic had to do with theory.

"Hmm..."

I searched for information related to the British Dungeon, Hongok Dungeon, and Parrishmare using the Book of Truth and [Observation and Reading].

"Is this even a difficult question?"

They had to calculate the interior composition, mana density, and list the monsters inside this unknown dungeon using the common factors among the three provided dungeons.

I used my cheat abilities to start calculating and find out...

I hadn't used my creator's authority in a while, so it felt like having my mind blown.

It took me three minutes to solve the problem. I hadn't taken this long to solve a single problem in five years!