Chapter 152
Chapter 152
An Overwhelming Advance (1)
We stood our ground despite the fierce wind and stared at the creature, which looked thoroughly enraged.
“A wyvern? I don't think so. It's a species I've never seen before.”
At Worden's words, everyone nodded. No matter how they looked at it, it didn't resemble a wyvern at all.
It was strange that creatures like that were mixed in with a wyvern flock. However, I knew exactly what it was. Of course, I had no intention of telling the others.
“You there. Davide.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”
“What are you doing?”
When I created a sword with Blood Magic, the Imperial Princess looked at me suspiciously.
“I'm trying to find a solution.”
“...With a sword?”
The Imperial Princess looked unconvinced by my answer. The creature standing there with its wings spread, unable to make a sound, was called a Dream Bird.
In the Far East, it was commonly regarded as a spiritual creature.
True to its name, this place was the world within the Dream Bird's dream.
There were only two ways to escape this world. One was to destroy the dream world together with the Dream Bird. The other was to destroy the Dream Bird itself.
“Well. I trust you'll handle it.”
The Imperial Princess rested the sword of the Imperial Knight Order across her shoulder.
I intended to use the latter method.
I had no desire to waste time being dragged around like an idiot. Fighting the Dream Bird one more time sounded much better.
“?”
“?”
I raised my hand, intending to split it apart in a single strike. But something felt off.
Since this was only a dream world anyway, dying here wouldn't mean real death.
The shock, comparable to death, would make its real body go berserk in reality, but we could simply subdue it then. That seemed far easier than running around dealing with unnecessary complications.
“W-Well... it seems you're rather popular.”
The Dream Bird tilted its head before looking at me with sparkling eyes.
Then it stuck out its tongue and greeted me enthusiastically.
It looked like a giant dog welcoming its owner, leaving all of us dumbfounded.
I couldn't even respond to the Imperial Princess.
“N-No, um... Ugh! I don't really kno... Agh!”
And for the first time in my life, I experienced being licked by a gigantic bird.
I was bewildered by such ordinary, instinctive affection from something I'd never encountered before.
“Hehe. It seems Student Davide has won its heart?”
Watching me get helplessly licked, the Vice-Commander giggled.
I was completely baffled. I couldn't understand why this creature was showing me such affection.
Since I knew the story, I knew there was absolutely no reason for it to like me.
“Hey! Knock it off already!”
When I snapped at it, the Dream Bird backed away with a dejected expression.
I brushed the drool covering my entire body off with irritation.
I had no idea what had suddenly gotten into it. I dismissed the sword I'd created.
They said you couldn't spit in the face of someone smiling at you, and after it acted so friendly, my desire to kill it had vanished.
“Ah. This isn't how this was supposed to go.”
I had planned to finish everything quickly.
I let out a small sigh.
The place we were currently in consisted of nothing but gigantic rocky mountains floating above the clouds.
Since it was an environment suited for flying monsters, we had no way to move around freely here.
Originally, we were supposed to slowly clear quests given by the homeless old man, but we'd skipped all of that.
“Shall we take a short break?”
We decided to rest for a while.
The Imperial Princess, who seemed to like the scenery, was the first to sit down.
The Vice-Commander and Worden sat beside her, while I took the seat to the Imperial Princess's left.
“You're quite popular with beasts.”
“Ah, that does seem to happen.”
Come to think of it, the Earth Dragon in the desert had also taken a liking to me.
I hadn't done anything, yet it had put me in its mouth and even taken attacks on my behalf.
“Is it because of the Duhein blood?”
“I think that's probably the reason.”
I couldn't think of any other explanation.
As far as I knew, nothing like this had happened in the game either.
“So, do you know a way out?”
“Forgive my presumption, Your Imperial Highness, but what does your intuition tell you?”
At the moment, I couldn't think of any solution.
Going back and starting the quest chain from the beginning seemed like the correct decision.
Otherwise, we'd have to kill the Dream Bird.
I wasn't about to waste time inside a mere dream just to protect the safety of our spiritual bodies.
Just in case, I asked the Imperial Princess.
Since her intuition was approaching the level of future foresight, I hoped she might sense something.
“I'm not sure. But that peculiar bird bothers me.”
The Imperial Princess instinctively regarded the Dream Bird, which had created this dream world, with suspicion.
Her instincts truly were exceptional.
Still, she hadn't proposed any groundbreaking solution, which was disappointing.
“This world itself is strange. It's as though someone deliberately created it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It even reminds me of one of my nightmares.”
I nodded.
In a way, she wasn't wrong.
The difference was that the Imperial Princess's nightmares were extraordinary enough to be classified as actual worlds.
“Hmm?”
As we sat there, the scenery around us suddenly began to change.
One of the rocky mountains jutting above the clouds like a giant spike began collapsing.
All of us had our eyes drawn to the magnificent sight.
“Huh.”
The collapsing rocky mountain was unmistakably the event that marked the beginning of the second quest.
In the first quest, you learned how to fly freely through the skies.
Then, in the second quest, you used that ability to begin the real adventure.
The collapsing rocky mountain signaled the start of that second quest.
“It's Winter.”
I realized who had caused this strange phenomenon.
Winter, Aro, and Canis—they had to be outside.
They must have picked up on something.
***
“Here you go~ We've got the horns~”
“Haha.”
The homeless old man chuckled in disbelief as he accepted the horns Canis handed him.
It was as though she had known in advance and come prepared.
Out of the five horns she offered, the homeless old man picked two.
“So then, what is it you wish to ask?”
“Do you know where that man I mentioned earlier went?”
The homeless old man nodded at Aro's question.
The young man with sea-blue hair who had found him first.
Remembering that sharp and ferocious aura, the homeless old man smiled mischievously.
“Of course I remember. That young man was the first to find me. When he asked for a task, I gave him the one he wanted.”
“And then?”
“Well, after that, he naturally left this place.”
As Canis listened, she tilted her head.
He didn't seem to be lying.
“We'd like to receive a task as well.”
As though he'd expected those exact words, the homeless old man pulled out an old, worn piece of paper from his clothes.
Winter, wearing an openly displeased expression, immediately snatched it away.
“Siren Project?”
She frowned at the paper, which contained only those two words.
She had asked for a task, and this was all he gave her?
“That young man understood it immediately.”
The homeless old man said so while looking at the group.
His tone clearly mocked them, causing Winter to pout.
Meanwhile, Aro quietly repeated the words to herself.
“Here you go~”
“...What's this?”
Suddenly, Canis pulled out another horn.
Just how many had she been hiding?
Winter's mouth fell open.
Even the homeless old man was surprised.
He stared curiously at Canis as she suddenly offered him another horn.
“A bribe~”
She proudly declared it a bribe.
Even Aro was left speechless this time.
Winter tugged at Canis's collar, and Canis looked at her in confusion.
“...Just how many have you been hiding?”
“Hiding them~? We gathered the largest quota Davi told us to collect~”
It was true.
Even though Davide had only told them to gather around a hundred, Canis and Worden had brought back around two hundred and fifty horns.
Excluding the large horns, they had collected more than anyone else.
“Our Winter~ Did you really think meticulous Davi wouldn't notice this too~?”
“Ah. Then...”
“Mhm~ Davi probably meant to let this slide~ That's why he didn't say anything else, right~?”
At the time, Canis had hidden only around twenty horns.
But when Davide had told them to gather the horns, she'd felt there was something more hidden behind the request.
“Oh, and these are the ones I picked up during the night~”
As she spoke, she pulled out another two hundred horns.
She dumped them from the backpack on her back in one huge pile, making everyone laugh in disbelief.
She had suspected there was something important, so she'd spent extra time gathering more.
Her instincts were frighteningly sharp.
“Mr. Homeless Grandpa~ Would these be enough~? We just don't know anything~”
“Haha.”
The homeless old man laughed helplessly at Canis's words.
She certainly was a bold child.
After thinking for a moment, he slowly gathered up the horns.
“It's a simple story. This Floating Island holds a great secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yes. That Siren Project is that secret.”
“Siren... You mean those sea monsters?”
When people spoke of sirens, they usually meant sea monsters.
Legendary creatures with the bodies of beautiful women and voices so enchanting they could mesmerize anyone.
“That's right. Songs. The reason this project was named 'Siren' is because of songs.”
“...Songs.”
Aro stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Ignoring her reaction, the homeless old man continued.
“The one who created the Floating Island was a Grand Magician who made tremendous contributions to the founding of Museion Academy. His descendants continued living on the Floating Island for generations.”
“I knew~ he was a Bard who cast magic through a harp~ Is this connected to that~?”
“It is. His melodies created dreams, and those dreams were so exquisitely crafted that they couldn't be distinguished from reality.”
Aro was amazed by the old man's words.
Dreams so realistic they were indistinguishable from reality.
That was an incredibly distant realm of magic, and one with extraordinary practical and revolutionary potential.
At least, it was for mages and shamans who specialized in manipulating magic.
“The Grand Magician's descendants sought to recreate his magic.”
“So that's the Siren Project.”
“Exactly. You may already know this, but in the past, magic had no regard whatsoever for human rights.”
Everyone's expressions turned grim.
There was a reason why most Ancient Magic had been lost and forbidden.
It was because of the wicked methods by which it had been used and developed, with absolutely no regard for human rights or the law.
“There were countless test subjects. Did you see the monsters those horns came from?”
“Huh? Yes. They just looked like ordinary beasts with horns. Though they were rather fast and aggressive.”
“They're all byproducts of research and experimentation. That's how dangerous the research was.”
Only then did Canis nod in understanding.
“So you were involved too~, Grandpa~”
“You could say that.”
The homeless old man readily admitted it.
For someone who had participated in such dangerous experiments, he appeared surprisingly at ease.
“What I wished to do was correct my regrets.”
“Your regrets?”
“Yes. And save the one I love. Shamefully, I lacked the strength to do it myself. Then, after a long wait, that young man with sea-blue hair appeared.”
The homeless old man slowly stood up.
Then he removed his shabby hat.
His long, unkempt hair fluttered in the wind.
“I'm sorry to say this, but I had no great expectations of you. That's why I accepted payment. But that young man... he wasn't an ordinary person.”
“Then?”
“I sensed a familiar presence from him. Still, if you wish to undertake this task, I won't stop you.”
After hearing the homeless old man's words, the group looked at one another.
To be honest, they felt that Davide would probably solve everything on his own anyway.
Even so, every one of them steeled their resolve.
“I understand your determination. Then let me give you the proper task—”
“Ta-da~”
The one who interrupted him was Canis.
Proudly, she produced another enormous pile of horns.
There seemed to be around four hundred of them.
Aro and Winter no longer even had the energy to be surprised.
Just how much grinding had she done for horns to keep appearing without end?
“I stayed up all night~”
“...No. Why? Seriously, why?”
Aro asked sincerely.
Even if Davide had told them to do it, would anyone really think to gather this many?
“I figured he'd keep making us collect them~, so I wanted to suffer once and rest afterward~”
At Canis's words, Winter simply shook her head.
She then looked toward the homeless old man.
Since he'd never met anyone like her before, even he looked flustered.
“Ahem. Well, then... I suppose I have no choice.”
The homeless old man quickly gathered the horns before handing Canis something.
It was a sapphire-blue cube-shaped gem.
“A massive barrier surrounds the Floating Island. It's a world created from the dream of a certain being.”
“A dream?”
“Yes. I can't tell you whose dream it is. In any case, there are gems just like this one scattered throughout the Floating Island. They're much larger, though. If you destroy all five of those large gems...”
“Mhm~ Found one~”
Canis suddenly shattered the gem as she spoke.
The homeless old man and the others all stared at her in shock.
“So~ this was what showed up whenever I used Astrology~ It wasn't as bright as Davi~, but it was brighter than everything else~ So we just need to follow those~”
Intense magic burst from the shattered gem before flowing into the ground.
As Canis politely bowed, the homeless old man unconsciously nodded.
“Then~ we'll be going~”
“Y-Yes. Very well. Be careful.”
The homeless old man let out a helpless laugh after absentmindedly telling them to return safely.
The students at this year's academy were certainly an exceptionally unique bunch.