Dreamscape, within the Forbidden Zone of the Forest.
Standing on the grass in her Black Dragon form, Dorothy stares at the black hound before her. The massive, menacing appearance of the dragon exudes authority and pressure, but Dorothyâs mind is a whirlwind of thoughts.
âDamn, how did I run into my brother during my usual pre-sleep stroll? Do you also come to the Dreamscape for a walk before bed?â
Dorothy thinks to herself. She had come to the Dreamscape, as usual, to stretch her wings and see if she could encounter anything interesting. This time, she finally heard some noises and even sensed the presence of the little fox she had met before.
But when she rushed over excitedly, she saw two black hounds, and one of them had a voice that was... eerily familiar! It was Gregor!
âA black hound form... Is this the standard mimicry spell used by the Serenity Bureau? No wonder you guys are always called black dogs."
âBut seriously, bro, youâre way too careless in the Dreamscape. You didnât even bother to disguise your voice. Are you trying to make it easy for people to recognize you?â
Dorothy looks at Gregor, whom sheâs meeting for the first time in the Dreamscape, and thinks to herself. She recognized Gregor solely because he was using his real voice, without any modulation. In fact, any Dreamscape mimicry can alter oneâs voice to some extent, but Gregor didnât bother.
Of course, this wasnât due to Gregorâs carelessness. He simply didnât know. He had only been a Beyonder for a year and rarely ventured into the Dreamscape. Even when he did, it was usually with his colleagues from the Bureau, so there was no need to disguise his voice, and no one had taught him how. As for why Dorothy knew how to modulate her voice, it was because The Dream Seekerâs Chronicle she had read contained detailed annotations.
Dorothy continues to stare at Gregor, her gaze making him increasingly uneasy.
Gregor, in his black hound form, stands frozen in place, staring in shock as Jed, who had been chasing and framing him, disintegrates into specks of spiritual light in an instant. He doesnât know what to do now.
âWhat did Jed say or do wrong? Why did he suddenly anger this dragon?â
In his shock, Gregor ponders this, his heart racing. He senses that the dragon before him is not only incredibly powerful but also unpredictable. Heâs worried that the dragon might swipe its tail and obliterate him in the next second.
"Lord Dragon, you... you killed him..."
Facing the dragon, Gregor speaks cautiously, his voice filled with concern. The massive black dragon silently turns its gaze toward the cluster of spiritual light left behind by Jed.
"Do not attempt to deceive me."
The dragonâs deep voice reverberates, causing Gregor to startle. He realizes that the dragon had seen through Jedâs deception from the very beginning, which is why it obliterated him without hesitation.
Deception is tantamount to insult, and deceiving a dragon carries severe consequences.
âCan this dragon see through lies? Does it possess foresight? Or did it sense our situation from afar? Could it even read our thoughts?â
Thinking this, Gregor grows even more wary of the dragon before him. What he doesnât know is that the dragon didnât kill Jed because it could detect lies...
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Dragon..."
Gregor bows respectfully. Regardless of his fear, the dragon saw through Jedâs deception and eliminated his enemy. No matter how intimidating the dragon is, he must remain humble.
"Hmph... You should indeed be grateful, but not to me first. Thank the one who led you here, little dog of the Serenity Bureau."
Hearing the dragonâs words, Gregor pauses, realizing he had forgotten something. He looks around and notices the little fox he had been carrying is missing.
âWait... where did the fox go?â
Just as Gregor starts searching, a complaining voice comes from the nearby bushes.
"Ouch... You really should thank me. If it werenât for me, this half-baked black dog wouldâve been done in by his own colleague."
Hearing this, Gregor turns toward the bushes and sees a small white fox limping out, looking at him with a smug expression.
When the dragon first descended, the fox, being lighter, was blown away by the wind pressure. With her injured leg, it took her a while to make her way back.
"Good evening, Lord Dragon. Itâs nice to see you again."
After returning, the fox first bows respectfully to the dragon. Seeing the dragon nod slightly in acknowledgment, she stands up and looks at the stunned Gregor, then shouts.
"Hey! Lord Dragon told you to thank me! Did you hear that?"
Hearing the foxâs words, Gregor quickly reacts. Realizing he should indeed express his gratitude, he says to the fox.
"Thank you, Miss Fox. If it werenât for your advice and guidance, my mimicry would have been destroyed. But..."
Glancing at the dragon beside him, Gregor continues.
"But Miss Fox, do you know this Lord Dragon?"
"Of course I do! I was there when the Lord Dragon first descended upon this forest. Since then, Iâve been under its protection~"
The fox puffs out her chest, speaking with pride. Hearing this, Dorothy, in her dragon form, is puzzled.
âMy protection? When did I protect you?â
Dorothy is confused, but the truth is, ever since she started occasionally logging into the Dreamscape and scaring away the Dreamscape creatures in this area, the Forbidden Zone has become a sanctuary for the little fox.
Although, due to her grandfatherâs warnings, the fox hasnât dared to approach Dorothyâs dragon mimic directly in the Dreamscape, she has become quite adept at leveraging Dorothyâs influence.
For example, the fox now often lingers at the edge of the Forbidden Zone, provoking the Black Dream Hunters or other Dreamscape creatures she canât handle, then darting into the Forbidden Zone where no one dares to follow.
Over the past few months, the fox has turned the Forbidden Zone into her safe haven, gleefully teasing the Black Dream Hunters and other Dreamscape creatures. So, when she claims to be under the dragonâs protection, sheâs not entirely wrong. Of course, Dorothy knows nothing about this.
âProtection? I didnât expect this little fox to be so impressive, actually knowing this dragon. Good thing I saved her earlier. Thanks to her, Iâm saved tooâŠâ
After hearing the foxâs words, Gregor thinks to himself. He now believes he was saved because of the foxâs connection to the dragon, and he feels a sense of relief.
Dorothy, in her dragon mimic, has no idea what the fox and Gregor are thinking. Her attention is focused on the cluster of black spiritual light left behind by Jed. According to the fox, Gregor was attacked by his own colleague, which worries Dorothy.
"Infighting among black hounds... Has your official Beyonder organization in Pritt Kingdom become so dysfunctional?"
Dorothy speaks in a slow, deliberate tone, adopting the demeanor of a dragon. She wants to understand what happened to Gregor. Hearing the dragonâs words, Gregor quickly responds.
"Lord Dragon, you may not be aware, but in recent years, the activity of various secret societies in the real world has increased. Many of our branch offices have been infiltrated. I believe the attacker I encountered this time might be the result of such infiltration. He may not actually be from the Serenity Bureau, but rather someone from an external society who obtained our mimicry spell and passphrases, then disguised himself as a black hound to infiltrate our missionâŠâ
"Therefore, please do not judge the Serenity Bureau based solely on this incident."
Gregor hurriedly explains, not wanting the mysterious Dream Dragon to form a negative impression of the Bureau due to this incident. Dorothy, however, shifts the topic.
"Do you have a mission here?"
"Ah, yes, but please rest assured, Lord Dragon. Our mission is only to hunt the Dreamscape creatures driven out by your presence at the edge of your territory. Normally, no one dares to enter your domain. My situation was just an exception."
Gregor quickly explains, but his words also answer a question that has long puzzled Dorothy.
âDamn, no wonder I never see anything in the Dreamscape. Everythingâs been scared off.â
âThis dragon form... actually has an aura of intimidation? No wonder no Dreamscape creatures dare to approach. But it seems that Beyonder mimicry are less sensitive to this aura than Dreamscape creatures, so they donât notice me as much.â
Dorothy thinks to herself. If this is the case, sheâll need to prepare more mimicry if she wants to explore the forest. The dragon form scares everything away, making it impossible to find any creatures to interact with.
Just as Dorothy is about to say more, she suddenly feels that her mimicryâs time limit is almost up. She must leave now, so she says instead.
đđŁđđđ°đđđ§đŒđđđ.đ°đšđŠ
"Hunting, is it? In that case, continue your hunt in peace. Be more vigilant next time. You wonât always be so lucky, little dog of the Serenity Bureau."
With that, Dorothy flaps her massive wings and takes to the sky, the resulting gust of wind forcing Gregor and the fox to shield their eyes. The fox clings to a tree root to avoid being blown away.
"Until next time."
Murmuring this, Dorothyâs dragon form soars into the heights of the Dreamscape. As the wind subsides, Gregor and the fox only see the massive figure disappearing into the distance.
"He... just left like that. The Dream Dragon... What kind of being is it?"
Gregor murmurs, staring at the distant figure. He is now immensely curious about the dragonâs origins. Meanwhile, the little fox, busy smoothing her ruffled fur, speaks up proudly.
"Hehe... You donât know this, do you? The Lord Dragon isnât a Dreamscape creature. Itâs the Dreamscape mimicry of an ancient, powerful being."
"What? That form is a mimicry? A dragon mimicry... Really?"
Hearing the foxâs words, Gregor is stunned. If the dragon form is just a mimicry in the Dreamscape, how powerful must this being be in reality? It must be at least at the level of a leader of a major society...
"Of course itâs true. Lord Dragon told me this personally. Donât you believe me?"
The fox puffs out her chest, wagging her tail proudly in front of Gregor. After what heâs just experienced, Gregor naturally believes her and thinks to himself.
âThis little fox is no ordinary being either. She witnessed the dragonâs arrival, and the dragon even shared such information with her. That means she has a close relationship with the dragon. I canât afford to offend herâŠâ
"I believe you, Miss Fox. If you say so, then it must be true."
Gregor says, and the fox nods in satisfaction.
"Good, thatâs more like it. You seem like a decent dog, responsible and all, but a bit clueless. Youâre like a complete novice when it comes to the Dreamscape. I donât know what your Bureauâs leaders were thinking, sending someone like you here without even the basics."
The fox speaks with a hint of disdain. Gregor feels a surge of anger but suppresses it, remembering the foxâs close relationship with the dragon. Seeing that Gregor doesnât respond, the fox becomes even more emboldened.
"You may be a bit clueless and inexperienced in the Dreamscape, but at least youâre lucky. You met Lord Dragon and me. Iâll reluctantly take you under my wing. From now on, weâll work together. Iâll teach you about the Dreamscape, and youâll run errands for me. Weâll operate around Lord Dragonâs territory. If you listen to me, I guarantee youâll get plenty of spirituality and other rewards~ No need to scheme and fight with your colleagues for scraps."
The fox continues, and Gregor is taken aback by her proposal.
"Listen to you? Work together in this area? And get spirituality and other things?"
"Of course! Although my current form is a bit weak, I know the Dreamscape dozens of times better than you! Iâm definitely more skilled than any so-called Dreamscape expert in your Bureau. Think about itâif I hadnât guided you to Lord Dragon, youâd have been done in by your colleague.â
"When you hunt with your colleagues, a dozen people split a tiny amount of spirituality. If you work with me, weâll split the spoils between the two of us, with just a small offering to Lord Dragon as a gesture. Think about itâwhich is more profitable? Plus, your Bureauâs hunts have quotas. Each person can only hunt for a few days. Donât think I donât know that."
The fox speaks with conviction, and Gregor finds her words quite persuasive. Based on her earlier performance, the fox does seem very familiar with the Dreamscape. More importantly, she knows the Dream Dragon, so her abilities are trustworthy. Working with her wouldnât violate any Bureau regulations.
"Hmm... Miss Fox, what you say makes sense. But if we operate freely in Lord Dragonâs territory, wouldnât it..."
"Ah, donât worry about that. Think about itâwhat did Lord Dragon say before leaving? âUntil next timeâ! That means it doesnât mind seeing us again, right? This is Lord Dragonâs acknowledgment. With this acknowledgment, we can operate freely in its territory."
The fox interprets the dragonâs words confidently, leaving Gregor dumbfounded.
"Is... is that how itâs interpreted? I thought it was just a casual farewell."
"Of course thatâs how itâs interpreted. If Lord Dragon didnât acknowledge us, why would it bother saying goodbye?"
"But I think..."
"Ah, stop overthinking it. Whoâs closer to Lord Dragonâyou or me? Who understands Lord Dragon betterâyou or me?â
The fox cuts him off, leaving Gregor speechless. It does seem like the fox has a closer relationship with the Dream Dragon.
"Well... if you say so, Miss Fox, then alright."
After a moment of hesitation, Gregor agrees. Hearing this, the fox jumps for joy.
âYes! Successfully recruited a lackey! Now I finally have a strong arm in the forest~â
The fox thinks gleefully. Sheâs essentially leveraging the dragonâs reputation to manipulate Gregor. In the past, she used the dragonâs deterrence to evade the Black Dream Hunters and other Dreamscape creatures. Now, sheâs applying the same tactic to Gregor. In reality, sheâs only met Dorothyâs dragon form once.â
"Alright, letâs quickly split the spirituality left behind by your treacherous colleague. It looks like thereâs quite a bit."
The fox points to the floating spiritual light, but Gregor hesitates.
"This is Lord Dragonâs spoils. Isnât it inappropriate for us to take it?"
"Ah, Lord Dragon is on a completely different level. It wouldnât care about such a small amount of spirituality. Since it didnât absorb it on the spot, it mustâve left it for us. Come on, letâs split it!"
"Alright..."
Thinking the foxâs logic makes sense, Gregor approaches and starts absorbing the spirituality left behind by Jed, along with Thomasâs share. The more he absorbs, the more he feels the fox is right. This amount of spirituality is probably insignificant to the Dream Dragon.
With this thought, Gregor absorbs the spirituality with a clear conscience. What he doesnât know is that Dorothy left the spiritual light untouched simply because she doesnât know how to use the Dream Hunt Method and has no idea what itâs for.