Chapter 158: The Sea of Trees

Just because a warrior is proficient with an iron sword, does that mean they should know how to forge one?

In Taro's expression, Tregear clearly saw the unmistakable dumping of responsibility.

Hiroyuki was thinking along the same lines. That crown bracelet was supposedly Zoffy's creation—a magical item that could transform into anything according to the plot... or rather, according to the user's needs.

...So it really can turn into anything, even high-tech gadgets like Monster Rings?

Hiroyuki couldn't help wondering: as long as the plot demanded it, or Taro himself was willing, could he even conjure up a devastating weapon like the Ultra Key? One had to admit that the protagonists of the Showa-era Ultra Series were truly terrifying.

It seemed that the rule of thumb for using the crown bracelet was: as long as Taro had a clear and correct mental concept of an "object," the crown bracelet could replicate a copy of it. It was a genuine "what you think is what you get"—an undeniably idealistic tool. Come to think of it, this "crown bracelet" might not even have been bracelet-shaped to begin with; it was simply that, in Taro's perception, it was a "crown bracelet," so guided by his cognition, it had always maintained that form until Taro needed it to turn into something else.

For example, that very famous bucket...

"It's the Captain again... That fellow's handiwork." Tregear let it slip in a moment of carelessness, but immediately corrected himself. He had originally thought the crown bracelet could only replicate relatively simple objects, and he had only ever seen Taro use it to change into things with simple structures, like cold weapons and the like. He hadn't expected it to be able to replicate even his own Monster Ring, which instantly piqued his curiosity.

But... there was no way he could make Oda pause his operation and wait another day for him, especially since they had already "set off." Furthermore, if he missed out today, and Oda either successfully passed the trial or failed it, there might no longer be a stable dreamscape left for him to explore.

Therefore, he had to set out, using the modified Monster Ring in his own hand—the one that even Giants of Light could use.

"Mr. Taro, are you also entering the dream?" Hiroyuki asked a rhetorical question. Since Taro had already copied the dream-walking tool Tregear used, he was naturally preparing to enter the dream as well.

Hearing this, Taro shook his head. "This is a dual insurance. After all, our goal is to investigate why Oda is unable to move, and if possible, help him resolve the issue so he can proceed normally through the trial.

"However, we cannot send everyone capable of entering the dream out all at once. They say that taking off the ring will wake someone up, or that they can be shaken awake directly from the outside world. But if you encounter some unknown danger in the dream and both of these methods fail, it will become quite troublesome if the person cannot wake up."

Hearing this, Hiroyuki couldn't help feeling a trace of dread. After all, no one could claim to thoroughly understand dreams. The previous tests had only involved ordinary dreams; who knew if Noah's Dream Ruins might harbor any bizarre anomalies, and who could guarantee that such a scenario wouldn't happen?

Finally, Taro concluded, "We always need to keep a card up our sleeve."

For this operation, he would be acting as the reserve force. A reserve force—meaning the combat sequence that would be deployed once the "frontline troops" were nearly wiped out.

***

After taking his sleeping aid, Hiroyuki turned off the lights and lay down.

He knew that within the pitch-black room, a pair of eyes was watching him. It had been like this for the past few days, and Hiroyuki had almost grown used to it, only silently praying in his heart that everything would be settled today. Constantly taking those sleep aids inevitably came with side effects like night sweats, dry mouth, and heart palpitations; things really couldn't be dragged out like this any longer.

The process of entering the dream was extremely subtle. After a brief period of drifting consciousness, Hiroyuki found himself fully awake once again.

The texture beneath his feet was soft, and the air was filled with the scent of fresh soil.

Instead of rushing to examine the dreamscape, Hiroyuki first checked his own body, only to see wisps of black mist lingering and dissipating around him.

"..."

He had only used the Vakagon Ring three times, and he had already turned out like this.

Right now, it just looked like an ordinary particle effect, and Hiroyuki himself didn't feel any abnormalities, but knowing the script, Hiroyuki couldn't possibly set his mind at ease when he thought of the consequences of frequently using the Light Rings in the show.

Earlier, he had confronted Tregear face-to-face and asked him how to deal with the side effects of frequently using the Light Rings. Tregear had first amusedly asked him in return why he needed to use it so frequently, and then stated that frequent use naturally came with side effects, and the solution was simply not to use it frequently.

Talking about toxicity without mentioning dosage was indeed a form of hooliganism, but once your dosage was high enough, anything could happen. Even something as mundane as drinking water could lead to water intoxication if a large amount was consumed in a short period, let alone the far more dangerous act of frequently using Monster Rings.

So how should "frequent use" be defined? Was once a day considered frequent? Or once every three days? Or did it require a cooling-off period after a single use before it could be used again?

Tregear had simply replied that he didn't know either. At any rate, he himself wouldn't use it frequently; this was a one-time thing.

That was completely irresponsible! What kind of developer was he?!

Hiroyuki knew full well that he shouldn't expect Tregear to take product safety seriously; this guy practically wished for an accident to happen!

Thus, Hiroyuki had no choice but to retreat empty-handed.

Fortunately, he hadn't sensed any abnormalities yet, so Hiroyuki could only try his best to ignore the faint black Qi seeping from his body and shift his attention to the forest surrounding him.

At a single glance, Hiroyuki found himself unable to take a step further.

The surrounding woods were far denser than expected—more primitive than a primeval forest. Hiroyuki looked around: front, back, left, and right, his effective field of vision was only about a dozen meters. Anything beyond that consisted merely of dim, shadowy tree trunks and darkness.

As far as the eye could see, there were no animal trails, no reference points. Hiroyuki stood completely still; unlike Uncle Oda, who couldn't move at all, Hiroyuki could walk, but he simply had no idea where he should go.

Hiroyuki knew he had to go find Uncle Oda first. According to Oda's description, after entering the dream, one's perspective overlooked the forest from above; he could see a sea of trees, the horizon, and the sinking sunset. Just listening to that description, it was obvious it must be a place with an extremely broad field of vision.

In other words, it should be located at some elevated vantage point.

Thinking of this, Hiroyuki formulated a preliminary action plan. Wandering blindly through the forest would only lead to getting lost; he needed to find a high point first to survey the surroundings.

Therefore, Hiroyuki began examining the trees one by one from the nearest spot, hoping to find one that was easy to climb and had good footing. Eventually, less than twenty paces away from his starting point, he found a massive tree with a twisted, bizarre shape that three grown men could barely wrap their arms around, and he nimbly climbed up.

Parting the canopy, Hiroyuki cautiously poked his head out, his entire vision filled with a sky as brilliantly colorful as a raging fire.