After the series of clicking sounds ended, William raised his head to answer Leviathan’s question.
“We appeared in the Dungeon by complete accident,” William stated. “Because of this, we decided to see what was outside the exit of the Dungeon and ended up here.”
The giant, glowing, red eye focused its attention on William. No one could lie to a Demigod, so naturally, the Leviathan was able to tell that William was telling the truth.
The clicking sounds returned as Leviathan asked another question.
“Our purpose here is to explore the Dungeon,” William replied. “If His Excellency doesn’t want us to wander outside the Dungeon and explore the city then we will obey His Excellency’s instructions.”
After hearing William’s reply, Levithan fell silent. It was as if it was thinking of a way on how to deal with William and the intruders that had entered its domain.
A minute passed….
Two minutes….
Five minutes…
After that short period of time, the clicking sounds return.
(You may only explore the city after you have cleared the 100th Floor. Until then, you are not allowed to set foot outside the Dungeon. I will kill anyone who tries to explore the city without my permission. Do I make myself clear?)
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
The giant eye narrowed its gaze and a beam of blue light fell upon Ashe. William tried to shield his unconscious love but the light passed through him. And bathed the mermaid’s body in a blue light.
William immediately assigned the System to check what was going on, but the results that came out from its diagnosis was that nothing was wrong.
(She is under the curse of a powerful God. I planned to fully remove the curse from her body as compensation, but it is not possible. Because of that, I decided to grant her the ability to retain her true form whenever she is within the confines of Atlantis. Remember, none of you are allowed to step out of the Dungeon until you have cleared the Final Floor.)
Leviathan gave Ella a brief glance before swimming away. If it was only dealing with William, it wouldn’t have even bothered to be polite. However, it was only a Demigod. If the Hidden Goddess beside William decided to come look for him later to seek revenge, it would be unable to offer any resistance.
This was why it compromised and compensated William for its reckless act of possessing someone important to him.
Ella watched Levithan go with a calm expression. She had no intention of making things difficult for both parties because the Demigod had already compromised. Also, there were certain restrictions that prevented her from using her Goddess Form frequently.
William was worried about Ashe’s condition, so he immediately signaled for Ella and Wendy to follow him as they walked towards the teleportation gate that would lead them back into the Dungeon.
As soon as they stepped onto the first floor of the Dungeon, William communicated with his Legion, and told them that he would be returning to the Thousand Beast Domain. He forbade all of them from taking the teleportation gate that would lead them outside the Dungeon.
William didn’t forget to mention his discussion with the Demigod. Because of this, everyone under William’s command avoided the teleportation gate like a plague. The threat that came from a Demigod was no laughing matter.
Everyone promised that they would just explore up to the Ninth Floor and wait for William to return before challenging the Dungeon Boss. William agreed to their plan because he also wanted to know the types of monsters that spawned on the first few floors of the Dungeon.
After relaying his orders, he returned to the Thousand Beast Domain along with Wendy and Ella. He didn’t return to the residence of the Great Chieftain right away. Instead, he took Ashe to the Villa inside the Domain.
This was the house that William had bought from the God Shop to serve as his lodging area whenever he visited the Domain. Although the System had assured him that Ashe had just lost consciousness, he still wanted to check her condition personally.
Currently, Ashe was still in her mermaid form and there were no signs of her reverting back to her sealed form anytime soon. William pressed his forehead over hers and tried Synchronization, but it didn’t work.
Ashe was currently in a very deep sleep and it was possible that the power that Leviathan had bestowed upon her was getting in the way of a successful Synchronization. Because of this, William decided to do the next best thing–enter her dream.
“I don’t know when I’ll wake up,” William said to Wendy, who was looking at him anxiously, “but rest assured that I know what I am doing. And don’t worry, she will be fine.”
Wendy nodded her head, “Be careful.”
She knew that William wouldn’t allow anything to happen to them, so she didn’t hold him back from what he was planning to do.
William closed his eyes and activated his Incubus skill called Dream Walker.
This allowed him to enter a person’s dream and manipulate it to a certain extent. However, he couldn’t control the direction of the dream according to his wishes. What happened in Wendy’s Dream World was a special case.
They were already in their adult forms, so he didn’t need to exert his abilities to twist the Dream World to accommodate his wishes.
William walked through a dark and long tunnel. He could see a bright light at its end. The red-headed boy walked towards it unhurriedly because the Dream Tunnel he was walking in wasn’t very stable.
If William were to force himself towards Ashe’s Dreamworld, the connection might break and his second attempt would be twice as hard.
When William finally reached the end of the tunnel, he found himself standing in front of a clear blue lake. Before William could even look for his mermaid lover, he heard the sound of footsteps coming behind him.
William turned around just in time to see the Silver-Haired William walk straight through him. It was then when he realized that he was in an ethereal state.
The Silver-Haired William walked towards the lake as if nothing happened. He only stopped when he reached the edge of the lake.
“I have come to take the test of Knighthood!” the Silver-Haired William declared. “I beseech you to bestow upon me a quest!”
His voice echoed across the Lake as he waited for a response. William frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was surprised to see this adult version of himself in this dream, but since he was only a visitor, he couldn’t do anything about it.
Naturally, he could materialize himself and make his presence known, but he chose not to do that. He had a nagging feeling that the girl he was looking for would appear soon.
Just as he was thinking this thought, the clear and peaceful waters of the lake started to churn. Moments later, a beautiful woman with blue hair and purple eyes emerged out of its center.
William immediately recognized her as Ashe, the only difference was that she was in her adult form, just like the Valkyrie Captain, Wendy, in his dreams.
“Mortal who has just finished his coming of age ceremony, are you sure you are ready to become a Knight?”
The cool and proud voice passed through William’s ears and made him look at this adult version of Ashe in a new light. The Ashe in front of him had a cold and aloof expression on her face as she stared at the mortal young man who was aiming to become a Knight.
“Yes.” the Silver-Haired William. “Lady of the Lake, please, grant me a quest.”
