Throne of Magical Arcana

“Him? No wonder…” Fernando said in a low voice.

Although “Real Dream” was a naturally-endowed spell of vampires, Prince Dracula, who was a top legendary vampire, was the only one who could connect the dreams of so many people without depriving them of their thinking abilities. Abel, who had perished, was stronger than Dracula in overall, but he was not as good as Dracula in terms of Real Dream.

It was said that other than connecting everyone’s dream, Dracula could also substantiate his dream with his talents. The creatures in it looked real and could think and communicate, but they did not know that they were fake and part of a dream.

Antec continued to explain for Fernando, “Dream Aalto covers the real Aalto in case of the Church’s sudden attacks. Also, there are a lot of contradictions among vampires, elves, dragons, dwarfs, and human beings. Greater conflicts may burst out if they are suppressed all the time. It’s better this way. Since it’s only a dream, they are free to unleash their hate however they want, and they’ll be resurrected after they are dead.”

Then, he smiled proudly. “Most of the power of Dream Aalto came from Prince Dracula, but my teacher, Stanis, my other classmates, and I are making our contributions. That’s why I sensed your entrance and came to pick you up so quickly.”

Fernando stared at his timid friend and discovered that he finally emanated his confidence. He sniffed and said, “I don’t think your contributions are greater than a fingernail.”

“That’s right. I haven’t advanced into the senior rank for long.” Antec was actually quite proud of that. To become a senior-rank sorcerer was his childhood dream. As for the higher ranks, he did not even dare to dream about it back then.

Fernando clicked his tongue and focused his attention on the battle. The more he watched, the more shocked he was. He could not tell that the talents, abilities, and weapons of the vampire and the elf were fake at all. Even the aftermath of their battle was so real.

“This ‘Real Dream’ is not half as bad as I imagine,” he admitted unwillingly.

Antec knew his friend’s personality very well. He simply opened his mouth and chuckled.

Fernando was not angry about that. He suddenly remembered something else. “Dracula is in Aalto? Shouldn’t he be in Tria or somewhere near Lance right now?”

Had the coalition army’s counterattack been completely suppressed?

“A couple of days ago, Griffith became the new pope and was renamed Gregory. The same day, the five top legends, namely Prince Dracula, the primordial dragon of time, the elven queen, the Mother God of Earth, and the Master of the Boundless Ocean, as well as the Sun King, the Stellar Mentor, the Lord of Elements, the Tower scholars, the Master of Summoning, the Master of Transformation, the King of Devils, the Demigod-lich, the primordial red dragon, and Prince Sate and more than ten level-three experts, attacked Lance again. They were the greatest forces in the main plane except for the ‘Mastermind’ in the Dark Mountain Range.” Antec was gloomy all of a sudden as he introduced the situation of the coalition army to his friend.

Same as the Sun King, the “Stellar Mentor” was no longer the legend who created the school of astrology.

“Was the Master of the Boundless Ocean involved too? And it still failed?” Fernando asked solemnly.

Antec nodded. “The master of the Boundless Ocean had to take part in the battle. If the Church won, the ocean would never be in peace. So, the nine sea generals as well as other sea forces attacked the Church’s coast cities at the same time, stalling the saints, grand cardinals, and legendary knights. As for himself, he came to Lance in secret for the battle.”

After a pause, he said rather sadly, “The Church was prepared for that. Also, Gregory showed the capabilities of a real demigod. Together with the help of the Angel King, Ivan, Rudolf, Felix, Hoffenberg, and Orvarit, they defeated us without any loss. If we had not retreated in time, many of us would’ve perished.”

“As strong as a demigod immediately after the succession… It seems that the new pope is a demigod whether or not the old pope died in advance because of God’s Arrival,” Fernando mumbled. It was certainly a harrowing fact. Then, he asked earnestly, “Did any top legend perish? Was ‘God’s Arrival’ used?”

Antec was in a better mood. “Well, the new pope did not perform God’s Arrival.”

“It seems that he has to get used to it before he can grasp God’s Arrival. Otherwise, he could’ve crushed the confidence of the coalition army by killing a top legend with God’s Arrival.” Fernando had always despised all the clerics, including the pope, believing that they could lose their strength as easily as they got it.

“Not necessarily,” Antec argued subconsciously. “If the pope kills another top legend with God’s Arrival, the rest of them will definitely be scared and work even harder to wipe out the threat. How many more times of God’s Arrival could the pope perform?”

“If they were all sorcerers of the empire, that’s a possibility, but Dracula, Danisos, the elven queen, the Mother God of the Earth, and the Master of the Boundless Ocean had their own conflicts. Some of them were even mortal enemies. Who would’ve sacrificed themselves to take the pope’s second ‘God’s Arrival’ so that other people could kill the pope when he was weakened?” Fernando pointed out Antec’s illusion quickly.

Antec stuck to his opinion. “It’s not up to them who was to be sacrificed, but the pope. If they were to back off, they would only be killed by the pope one after another in the future. They could only take their chances.”

“Hehe. How naive. The pope is still a demigod without God’s Arrival,” Fernando mocked before he looked at the sky. “Unless the Silver Moon recovers before the pope can use God’s Arrival again.”

“Yes. That’s the best scenario,” Antec said hopefully. “If there’s no choice, we’ll just…”

Then, he suddenly paused and looked ahead, as if he were attracted to the battle that was about to end.

“You’ll just what?” Fernando pursued in confusion. He realized that the sorcerers must’ve had their own plans too.

Antec chuckled. “We will retreat into the Dark Mountain Range. The environment is complicated there, and we won’t fear the Church anymore.”

“Hehe. A lying coward,” Fernando remarked briefly.

“Really. That’s really what I think,” Antec said sincerely.

Fernando revealed the fact mercilessly. “I don’t think other people think the same as you do. However complicated the Dark Mountain Range is, the Church will leave no place for you to hide in after it presses forward bit by bit.”

“Hehe. You will know it by then.” Antec kept it confidential. “Alright, I’ll lead you into the real Aalto, although it would be great to live in such dreams.”

“Don’t be addicted. The illusionists captivated by their own dreams will lose their minds sooner or later,” Fernando reminded him.

Antec nodded and did not say anything. He put his hand on Fernando’s shoulder as waves spread out of his body.

The scene before Fernando’s eyes suddenly shivered and blurred before it fell apart.

Darkness faded away, and Fernando saw sunlight again. The ancient Aalto City was right before his eyes. As it turned out, he hadn’t entered the gate yet.

Next to him, Antec surfaced, talking to him and leading him through the heavily-guarded gate, which was meant to prevent the special night watchers who were immune to dreams from entering the real Aalto.

The real Aalto was empty, without a single soul or any noise. It looked like a pale land of ghosts.

“Most people are sleeping.” Antec pointed at his head. “The food they eat in their dreams is from Prince Dracula’s power. It can directly fill their energy.”

“I don’t think ordinary people can live in such dreams for long,” Fernando said solemnly.

Antec nodded his head. “Three years at most. They are woken up on a regular basis to help their recovery. Well, Fernando, I want to ask you a favor…”

He suddenly stammered and blushed, unable to say anything after a long time.

“A coward who cannot even ask for a favor.” Fernando looked at him in despise.

As if he had been stimulated by that, Antec suddenly spoke fast, “Your transformation belt seems to be very effective. I cannot notice anything wrong at all. I’m hoping that you can pretend to be my date at a dinner. Those guys always laugh at me for not bringing a date.”

He said without any pause, almost unable to catch his breath.

“Poor lad.” Fernando eyed him up and down and finally observed with mixed feelings.

Antec was much more at ease after he proposed his request. He said with what he learned just now, “Aren’t you trying to attract a bunch of talented sorcerers? It will be easier if you appear as a beautiful lady.”

“Do you think all the talented sorcerers are male? I think a lot of female sorcerers will be into my current look. Of course, what matters more are our capabilities and our prospects,” Fernando said with contempt.

Antec pursed his lips. “However, the talented sorcerers in the dinner tonight are all males. Well, there are a dozen ladies with reasonable magic knowledge, but their leader likes girls. If you convince her, the other ladies will certainly follow you.”

“Fair enough.” Fernando nodded his head, feeling that he had been convinced. After all, he did not reject the transformation belt.

Seeing that Fernando was about to say yes, Antec suddenly became unconfident. “Would your transformation be seen through? Their eyes are all attached with certain magic effects.”

“It wouldn’t. I’ve modified this belt. After I use it, I will become a complete female in every body part. Even a legendary sorcerer could only tell that my body has been magically modified at most, but they can never tell what the transformation is from. However, there are still flaws. I cannot get pregnant…” Fernando introduced the belt and spoke of the matters related to it.

Antec was relieved. “That’s great.”

He had the common sense that taking off the transformation belt would not mean the loss of the magic effect. The way to use a magic item was through the pivot of spiritual power, not by putting it on, although it would accelerate the activation.

When he was proud that he finally had a date, Fernando suddenly said, “Wouldn’t it be very humiliating if your date flirts with other people right in your face?”

Antec was stunned. “Fair enough…”

Then, he hurried to say, “I think we’d better drop it.”

“No, I’m already interested in the party.” Fernando stared at the front.