Chapter 296: Dream of Lalaye
At this moment, Sterl, leveraging his high rank, summoned a Rainbow Ship exclusively for his service. He sat upright inside the ship, and with his status, he could practice any Law he desired.
Without hesitation, Sterl chose to refine his Space Law. He was very close to forming a seed for this Law Power, and soon, he would be able to use blood force to enhance it, transforming it into a flawed-level Space Law.
Time flew by...
Once Sterl finished his training on the Rainbow Ship, he decided to allocate points to the Shattered Void skill he had drawn as a Dimensional Traveler. A faint glow flashed, and Sterl felt that this skill seemed to be enhanced, although the various descriptions remained unchanged.
"I need to farm some monsters first to use blood force to enhance Blade Law," he thought. "Otherwise, I won't be able to see any effects."
He contemplated this and sat cross-legged for about an hour or two.
He arrived at the Temple of Yanolster.
Sterl quickly descended from the Rainbow Ship, finding the area quite desolate and cold. The so-called temple was built in a special underground space. Sterl followed a pre-existing tunnel deep into it.
Soon, the surroundings opened up, and he found himself in a vast underground chamber. Surrounding him were giant bone spires resembling white skeletons, curving and surrounding the buildings below. These structures were pure white temples, and he could see several bell tower-like structures.
They looked quite solemn and grand.
"There is a hidden quest here that requires finding a white-haired old man," Sterl noted as he stepped forward. However, a group of humanoid monsters blocked his path—figures resembling priests wielding chain hammers and staves.
He casually used Star Insight to glance at them; they were just a group of third-class monsters.
"Get lost," Sterl commanded.
Relying on the overwhelming power of his Divine Power, he crushed all the monsters into a pulp!
To his surprise, several purple coins dropped from these monsters.
Sterl couldn't help but whistle, feeling pleased—it seemed like a good start.
Until...
"Damn!" Sterl's expression turned slightly grim.
He wanted to find that NPC but came up empty-handed.
Sterl was incredibly fast and could use a smooth combination of Starlight Spray and Cursed Vision to detect all monsters that had taken damage, effectively giving him a view of the entire temple.
Yet, he couldn't find that NPC!
After estimating, Sterl concluded that either the information was false or the NPC had already been claimed by someone else.
Helpless, after searching the map thoroughly with no results, he had no choice but to leave.
Next, he moved on to the Road of Bones, where Sterl nearly wiped out all the local skeleton soldiers, only to gain a small amount of experience. These special undead creatures didn't even drop any blood force! There was no sign of the 3-star guild materials either.
As Sterl approached Spirit Resonance Wasteland, the building triggered a special mechanism, hidden within a space where he couldn't enter before comprehending Space Law...
Next, he spent three days running through six or seven different maps, but came up empty-handed! At most, he managed to gain a bit of experience, and although some equipment skill books dropped, they were all junk—nothing of value.
However, after three upgrades to Shattered Void, the descriptions remained unchanged. It seemed to be accumulating power, undergoing a qualitative change, which brought Sterl some comfort; he was close to acquiring a truly powerful ability.
Cursing under his breath, Sterl arrived at his final destination: Lorik Harbor.
At this moment, he stepped off the Rainbow Ship, inhaling the salty sea breeze. Before him lay a port shrouded in dark clouds, where he could see ragged fishermen drifting nearby in their dilapidated boats. At the same time, several large vessels were sailing towards the harbor. The stark contrast between the worn fishermen and the imposing ships was striking.
Sterl had little hope at this point. "I probably won't run into any hidden instances..." he shook his head.
His mood had calmed down. He could guess why his search for guild materials had been so fruitless; he had already depleted his Fortune. He was bound to go through a streak of bad luck.
So, he spent a few hours searching around the town and then tried his luck at the harbor. However, after finding no signs of an instance triggering, he decided it was time to leave.
Sterl glanced at the private message he received from legendary players in the demigod guild after he had inquired about any leads:
"Lord Supreme, there is definitely an instance at Lorik Harbor. Previously, a guild member claimed he was inexplicably pulled into a strange area. After sending out a message and even taking a screenshot, he completely vanished."
"We then attempted to send stronger players to investigate, but none of them could trigger the instance."
"Based on our analysis, that strange area is likely the instance where guild materials drop."
Reading this, Sterl felt even more helpless. The issue was that he was currently at a low point in his Fortune; if others could stumble into the instance by chance, there was no way he could!
At this moment, Sterl sat on a fishing boat. Although Lorik Harbor was perpetually cloaked in clouds and had harsh weather, wandering around occasionally provided a unique scenery.
He gazed into the distance with a sigh.
Get hooked on mvl _emp _yr novels.
Next to him, an old fisherman tried to console him. "My lord, if you have any troubles, feel free to share them. I'm just an old man with plenty of life experience, so perhaps…"
Before the old fisherman could finish his sentence, he suddenly noticed that the mysterious figure in front of him—a person whose strength was unclear—had a sudden change in expression and pushed him away.
"My lord, you… what are you doing?"
The old man was filled with terror as he realized that this generous guest could effortlessly put him in danger. But in the next moment, he finally understood what was happening.
From seemingly nowhere, a gigantic monstrous fish surged forth, swallowing the nobleman whole.
Splash!
The giant fish crashed back into the water, creating a massive wave that shattered the old fisherman and his boat into pieces. Fortunately, the old man was skilled in swimming and managed to reach the shore in a few strokes.
"That nobleman… he was trying to save me."
He clutched a gold coin in his hand and knelt on the ground. "My old life isn't worth much; it shouldn't have come to this!!"
…
Sterl, of course, had no idea that his casual action had caused such distress to the NPC. He simply felt himself being swallowed by the monstrous fish, and then he was immediately transported into some sort of spatial tunnel.
[You have entered the hidden instance: Dream of Lalaye]
Accompanied by words that resembled bubbles, Sterl vaguely sensed something.
He had intentionally allowed himself to be consumed by the monstrous fish. Just as he was admiring the scenery moments ago, he suddenly felt the final wave of Fortune backlash—here it came!
So, facing the monstrous fish, Sterl gave up resistance and allowed it to swallow him. He did indeed perceive a faint spatial fluctuation within the belly of the fish.
In the end, Sterl knew he had made the right gamble!
Initially, he was in a state of low Fortune and could not find any hidden instances. But due to the influence of the Fortune backlash, the instance had actively pulled him inside, as Sterl's apparent strength was only third class!
An instance that could produce SSS-level guild materials would definitely have bosses with at least demigod-level strength. Under the perception of some heavenly will, would Sterl really not die for being a third-class player entering such a place??
Thump...
Thump...
A faint sound of flowing air passed by Sterl's ears.
Once he realized he had been pulled into the instance, he acted like an ordinary third-class player, remaining completely still as if he were unconscious.
But in reality, he was burning a wave of power of faith, using his [Creation] divine authority to create an entrance to a small world for Bionic Tear.
Theoretically, Sterl knew that anything he understood the principles of could be easily forged with divine authority, though it consumed a lot of resources, completely depleting the power of faith he had accumulated for a long time.
But it was worth it, because in the future, all enemies would essentially have to defeat Sterl's Bionic Tear once before they could confront his true self.
That's right; I have a boss's health bar, so having a second phase for another boss isn't unreasonable at all.
At this moment, Bionic Tear, who possessed all of Sterl's powers, was disguised as him and acting outside. Sterl himself was hiding in the small world, waiting for the right moment to act.
Before long, the drifting came to an end.
Bionic Tear (we will omit this description later), sensed that it was vaguely resting on a piece of coral, and gradually, voices began to emerge around it.
"Everyone, come quick, another unfortunate soul has arrived."
"Alright, alright, what's there to get excited about?"
"Soon, this person will also become a living dead like us."
"Another person is welcome; they can tell us stories from the outside, otherwise, we're going to die of boredom."
"We are already in a state of dying from boredom."
The voices belonged to men, women, and children, but the most lively among them was the voice of a young girl near Sterl.
At that moment, Sterl feigned a confused expression and got up to observe his surroundings.
"Where is this? Could this be the hidden instance of Lorik Harbor?" He first expressed confusion, then surprise, his acting was flawless.
However, after casually using Star Insight to scan the area, Sterl discovered that the various individuals present belonged to different races, and the highest strength among them was only the peak of third class—there were no legends to be found.
It seemed he was just showing off to the blind.
"Hidden instance, you've indeed come to the right place."
"But it's easy to come in, hard to get out."
"The challenge level of this instance is at the demigod level."
"However, the instance seems to only capture those of third class or at most legendary status."
"All of us are merely fodder for this instance to grow stronger."
"Everyone who comes here will be doomed to eternal torment."
The speaker was an old man clad in bright silver armor. Sterl looked at him, and his expression slightly changed, revealing some shock.