บท 81: Chapter 81: Reconnaissance
Chapter 81: Reconnaissance
"How long have we been in sleep?" Raven asked in a hurry.
Jacob blinked his eyes and soon responded.
"It should be around 30 to 40 seconds, My Lord. Did you already visit the Dream World?"
"That fast?" Raven recalled that he had spent more than two minutes in the dream and was startled.
"Maybe the time flow in a dream world is much faster?" Selene muttered.
[Yes. Sometimes, the time flow will be much faster than the physical world. But the opposite can happen, too. Anyway, what did you experience?] Zera asked in excitement.
Raven smiled forcedly and explained what he had experienced in the Dreamworld.
'The world is so similar to this one in appearance, but we haven't seen any humans. No, we did see some humans, but they act more like beasts.'
[Oh? Tell me more about those beings.] Zera asked.
Meanwhile, Raven nodded and explained in detail about the being's appearance, their way of walking, and so on.
[Walking Corpses, huh? I've seen such similar beings in Edhen World. Charles also called them 'Zombies' or something and even said those beings appear in some entertainment plays. Anyway, the dream you looked at might be the future of this city. And from the looks of it, this future may not be some centuries away but only a decade or two.] Zera suddenly paused and soon added.
[Unlike the physical world, the Dreamworld always has some restrictions and time limits. The one you enter just now might vanish after some time. We don't have a Dream House to make a connection to the dream world and let it be stable for a long time. You should enter the dream again and gather information about the future.]
'Future?' Raven's eyes widened.
[Didn't I tell you the dream world has a connection to the past, present, and future? From the looks, the time difference ratio should be around 1:5. Let's check it out in detail again. When you go to the dream world this time, take your spear and let Selene store it in her Dream Harvest domain. Even though this whole city seems abandoned and is filled with walking corpses, there should be at least some survivors outside this city. Get in touch with them and find more information about the future. Or see anything that has information like books, a diary, or a newspaper. After you enter the dream world, you must go out, collect information, and return to the exact place within 24 hours.] Zera spoke in a severe tone.
'Can I able to use my abilities in the Dream World?' Raven asked, as he had no time to check it out during his last visit.
[Yes. Except for the system abilities and my help, you can use all your bloodline abilities and additional skills. And don't get bitten by those walking corpses, as they are said to be highly infectious.]
'Aren't we going in our consciousness form only? Moreover, didn't you say my soul, body, and consciousness are one?'
[They are linked but not fused completely. That fusion will only happen when your soul enters the realm of Divines. For now, your consciousness will act more like your body. Although you won't face any effect of the infection after leaving the Dream World, you will still experience the pain like it's real.] Zera explained.
Raven nodded and took out the Frozen Ender Spear, a silver pocket watch, a few packs of dry bread, four water pouches, and two sets of clothes from his inventory.
Then, he also removed his shoes and gave everything to Selene.
"Please store them using your Dream Harvest storage spell, Selene. We are going back to the Dream World." Raven paused for a moment and turned his gaze towards Jacob.
"It will take us more than six hours to wake up. Until then, please stay by our side and protect us."
"Yes, My Lord," Jacob responded while bowing his head.
"Won't we get attacked by those beasts if we return now?" Selene asked worriedly while storing the items in the Dream Harvest spell.
'Indeed. Those undead humans might be waiting right next to us.'
Raven pondered for a moment and soon spoke.
"Let's go to your room. That way, we have some time to prepare."
Then, Raven, Jacob, and Selene walked out of Raven's room, moved on the long corridor, and soon arrived before a room in the further corner.
"Please, come in." Selene unlocked the door, inviting both in.
Unlike Raven's room, this one was much smaller. It had a single cot in the center, a table, and two chairs on the window side.
"Let's sleep on the floor." Saying so, Raven took out a bedsheet from the cot, spread it on the cold floor, and quietly lay on it while facing the ceiling.
Selene also lay beside him, grabbed his left hand, and closed her eyes.
…
A few seconds later, Raven felt a chilling wind appear in the room and slowly opened his eyes.
He immediately activated the 'Mind Eye' spell and observed the surroundings.
'I can see a few insects roaming in this room, two rats hiding behind the broken bed, and a crow sitting outside the window. I can observe the surroundings 5 meters without any trouble.' With a nod, he took a deep breath and glanced towards his left.
"Ugh!" Selene groaned at that moment and sat up.
Then, she waved her hand and took out the spear, pocket watch, and shoes from the 'Dream Harvest' spell storage before giving them to Raven.
Raven also stood up, grabbed the spear, and wore the shoes. After that, he opened the hunter case, glanced at the silver pocket watch, and checked the time.
"9.20 P.M. September 15th, Year 1420." He muttered slowly and then added.
"Let's go."
Meanwhile, Selene took out a one-meter-long strange wooden stick with a bluish gem embedded in it and followed him.
Both slowly walked out of the room, entered the long corridor, and were about to move toward the staircase but stopped.
At that moment, they saw three humans standing more than 50 meters ahead and banging their hands against the wooden door.
'It's the same beings we saw when we visited earlier.'
"I'll take care of them." Raven gripped the spear with both hands and dashed forward. Unlike a sword, a spear had a numerical disadvantage when battling in an enclosed place like a corridor.
'That is only if I battle against a human.' He arrived before the three humans in two seconds.
At that moment, they also noticed his presence and turned around aggressively.
But Raven didn't even slow down a bit as he tilted the spearhead and thrust it toward the naked woman's neck.
As the spear tip penetrated deeply, he grabbed the hilt tighter and made a slash, causing the woman's head to be decapitated.
Noticing the danger, the old man suddenly leaped into the air, opening his mouth wide to bite his neck.
Raven's pupil constricted.
At the same time, he felt everything around him start moving slowly.
He didn't miss the opportunity. He took two steps back, pulled the spear at an incredible speed, and thrust again towards the old man's chest.
The spearhead tore through his body in a blink and appeared on the other side.
But what shocked him most was that his body moved much faster than before. It was as if his body moved to sync with his thinking process.
'Is it due to me being in Dream World? Or can I move like this in the real world, too?' Although greatly surprised by this discovery, he didn't waste a moment and pulled the spear. Then, he made another thrust towards the young man's head, who also sprinted towards him and made a hole in it!
While he seemed to be battling for over 10 seconds, only two seconds passed in real-time!
"Incredible!" Selene muttered in shock as she could barely read his movement.
'It feels like I'm watching a peak Rank Radiant Walker fighting against the undead!' What stunned her was that he didn't even use any spell all this time and was solely battling with spearmanship skill alone!
Raven slowly felt everything return to normal and looked below, noticing the old man was still crawling aggressively.
"I can't kill him without destroying his head, huh?" He muttered with a nod and made another thrust towards his head.
After that, he gripped the spear and thrust it towards the ceiling before pulling it back.
A loud, aggressive screech came, and soon, a headless baby fell before him, along with splattered blood and flesh.
'From the looks of it, they are not entirely dead. Or else the blood won't be as fresh as new.'
While observing the corpse, Selene hurriedly walked closer to him and spoke.
"We should do a reconnaissance before going out."
Raven nodded in agreement, entered the room by breaking the door, and observed the outside road through the window.
"I think our strength is enough to kill these Zombies."
"Zombies? Aren't they look like Necromancer's Undead?" Selene tilted her head in confusion.
"It's what my teacher said about these beings. Although aggressive, their strength is similar to that of a normal human. Unless we meet a Radiant Rank Undead, we won't be in a serious situation." Raven spoke.
"So, what are we searching for, My Lord?" Selene asked.
"I want to gather information about this place. But first, we need to search for normal people. For that, we should leave this city and search the city's outskirts." Raven spoke.
"Why not search inside this city?" Selene couldn't help but voice out her thoughts.
"I don't think humans want to live among the walking corpses. And I'm sure this city has many dangerous monsters lurking everywhere." As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward where the Thornevale Family resided.
'I'm not even strong enough to face a Radiant Rank Undead. If I'm not wrong, the strength of Thornevale Family's elite members should be above Expert Rank.' What he worried most was the scale of infection spread among the masses.
'If the whole city were infected and became zombies, I'd face an army.' He shook his head and went downstairs.
As soon as he stepped on the staircase, he was assaulted by a rotting smell.
Soon, he saw a few corpses lying on the floor, and countless flies buzzed around them.
"The corpses look months older," Selene said while covering her nose and hurried towards the exit.
They soon left the Inn and moved onto the empty street road.
"This feels so eerie!" Selene muttered and glanced around warily.
Raven also monitored the surroundings and started walking towards the main road. Occasionally, they would enter some buildings and check for information but found nothing noteworthy. Although they met a few Zombies during this process, they posed no threat to Raven and Selene.
After walking for ten minutes, the duo finally arrived at a 50-meter-wide main road with lots of broken carriages and corpses scattered everywhere. Only some crows flew up in the sky and seemed to be watching over the dead souls in the city. Raven quietly inspected the nearby carriages one by one and soon found a newspaper in one of the carriages.
He hurriedly opened the newspaper and read the headline.
"Legacy News. 12th January, Year 1454."
"Black Undead spreads to the eastern region, causing massive panic among the masses…"
"Alchemist Johnathan said to have found a breakthrough to cure the 'Black Undead' disease…"
"Royal family conducted rituals for the second death anniversary of the late emperor Ian Sillalus Jorvot! 66th Prince Raven visited the Golden Cemetery and participated in the Royal ceremony…"
"As people's suspicion increases on the Raynor family for the massive spread of Black Undead, Welson Raynor made a press conference yesterday and showed his worry over the spread of epidemic…"
Raven was deeply startled as he read the few headlines on the first page.
'So this place is 34 years into the future, huh?'
"Store this newspaper in your storage." Raven gave the newspaper to Selene and soon noticed a movement up ahead.
He hurriedly climbed onto the nearby half-broken carriage rooftop and checked.
A moment later, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
At that moment, he saw more than thousands of undead gathered ahead and seemed to be walking in their direction!
"Can they sense human presence? Or are they being controlled?" Raven wondered, recalling how those three undead had rushed toward the Inn when they saw Selene.
"We can't use the main road," he muttered, scanning the area until he spotted a towering seven-meter wall about five hundred meters to the left.
"Let's go." Without explaining, he took off toward the city wall.
"Don't fight the undead, even if they come after you," he warned, dodging an undead that charged recklessly out of a nearby shop.
Selene followed closely, running with all her strength.
After five minutes, they reached the towering stone wall and glanced up.
"How are we going to get over this?" Selene asked.
"There should be a staircase nearby," Raven replied, noticing a watchtower built into the wall about a hundred meters ahead. He moved forward.
Soon, they found a staircase beside the watchtower and began to climb.
…
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