Chapter 414: Level Up, Level 4

Chapter 414: Chapter 414: Level Up, Level 4

After getting a clear look at the data for the Wish Water Cup,

Seraphina Sullivan almost wanted to smash the cup in her hand right on the ground.

"Only a Beloved of the Dream God can use it?! This damn cup is bound?! Where the hell am I supposed to find a Beloved of the Dream God to use this thing?!"

An intense feeling of being toyed with welled up inside her.

To be given hope, only to immediately have an almost insurmountable obstacle thrown in her way—it felt even worse than being given nothing at all.

However, just as she was about to angrily put the cup back into her Storage Space to get it out of her sight, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning, making her freeze.

"Wait..."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as a figure surfaced in her mind.

’It’s not entirely impossible...’

Lamb!

That guy from the Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams dungeon who went by the title "Top Designer" but was actually a Beloved of the Dream God!

Inside the dungeon, he could manipulate his wool to strangle Nightmare Minions, and his power was considerable.

Most importantly, Seraphina was almost certain—absolutely, one hundred percent sure—that in the real world, Lamb was still a sheep!

The only differences might be whether the real-world version was black or white, fat or thin, or had horns, but his fundamental nature as a "sheep" wouldn’t have changed.

And his status as a Beloved of the Dream God had likely been brought back to the real world as well, though it might manifest differently.

At this thought, the corners of Seraphina’s mouth curled up uncontrollably into a sly grin, the kind one makes after finding a solution.

Before leaving the Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams dungeon, she had used the last few moments to do something rather "prudent."

She had used the [Three Realms Compass] to secretly place an extremely faint, almost undetectable "Space Road Mark" on several Players present at the time whom she deemed important or promising—including Lamb, Joy Hughes, and even Clayton Quinn and Ironhide.

The mark wasn’t aggressive and wouldn’t interfere with the target. Its only purpose was to allow her to sense their general location.

Originally, it was just her habitual way of leaving a trump card and gathering intelligence. She never expected it might come in handy so soon.

’As long as I can find that sheep, and then... hmm, invite him to become my special partner?’

Seraphina was already calculating how to persuade a sheep—who was also possibly a Beloved of a God—to help her activate the water cup.

Threats? Bribes?

Tempt him with tasty food? There had to be a way.

「Meanwhile, in a mountain hollow on Azure Star, far from the main safe zones.」

A certain sheep, curled up under a rock to shelter from the wind, suddenly shivered for no apparent reason.

Its thick, matted, and somewhat grimy fleece fluffed up a little.

It raised its head warily, its damp black nose sniffing hard at the cold air, its round brown eyes filled with confusion and a hint of unease.

"Baa—?"

’What’s going on? I feel like... like something troublesome has its eyes on me. A starving snow wolf? Or are those mystical nightmare whispers seeping through again?’

He shook his head, trying to dispel the strange sense of discomfort.

"Baa..."

’Whatever, I can’t figure it out anyway. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up... Ah, no, I mean the other Beloveds will handle it.

I should just go to sleep. Once I’m asleep, I can go to the Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams and eat tasty snacks. It’s hard to even find a mouthful of clean grass in reality... Zzz...’

This sheep, who seemed completely out of place with the style of reality and was still thinking about the Divine Kingdom’s snacks, quickly buried its head back in its fleece and began to snore lightly. Only occasionally would its ears twitch involuntarily.

Seraphina put the [Wish Water Cup] away for now and picked up the other reward.

The [Desire Upgrade Card].

’I hope this item doesn’t have any more of those awful "Beloved-exclusive" conditions.’

[Desire Upgrade Card]

[Effect: Can unconditionally increase the Grade (Level/Quality/Rank) of any existence by one!]

Seeing this simple description, Seraphina first felt a wave of disappointment:

’Isn’t this basically the same effect as the item upgrade cards I’ve seen before? It can only upgrade one thing...’

But then, Seraphina’s gaze fell upon the two words "any existence," and her heart leaped!

’Any existence... The word "existence" has a very broad scope.

Equipment and items are existences. What about Talents? Skills? Professions?

Even... what about me?

Isn’t a Player themselves a type of existence?’

A bold idea popped up, impossible to suppress.

What did Seraphina need most right now?

A comprehensive increase in her power!

And Level was one of the most important metrics for a Player’s fundamental power!

Going from Level 3 to Level 4 wasn’t just a change in numbers.

It often meant an increase in attribute points, the unlocking or strengthening of a Talent or Skills—it was a qualitative leap!

’I... also need to level up right now!’

Once this idea took root, it spread like wildfire.

With barely a moment’s hesitation, Seraphina decisively chose to use the [Desire Upgrade Card] on herself!

The card in her hand dissolved into brilliant points of starlight that instantly merged into her body.

[Ding! Player Seraphina Sullivan detected using special item [Desire Upgrade Card] on self! Conditions met. Judgment: Pass!]

[Ding! Player Seraphina Sullivan’s Level has increased! Current Level: Level 4!]

[Player: Seraphina Sullivan]

[Level: Level 4]

An indescribable sense of comfort instantly flowed through her entire body!

It felt as if some invisible shackles had been broken. Her cells cheered, and her spiritual power, like a dry riverbed being filled by a clear spring, began to grow rapidly, becoming more condensed and sharp!

Her vision seemed clearer.

Her perception of the energy around her had also risen by a whole new level.

Although she didn’t look at her specific attribute list,

Seraphina could clearly feel it.

Her Power, speed, endurance, and especially the total amount and fine control of her spiritual power, had all improved significantly!

"It really worked!" Seraphina was both surprised and overjoyed.

This was definitely an unexpectedly huge gain!

The fundamental increase in power brought by leveling up was something that no external item could easily replace.

’Leveling up is a good thing. The stronger I am, the greater my chances of survival in the upcoming disasters and dungeons.’

She clenched her fist, feeling the power surging within her.

However, amidst her joy, a practical problem immediately surfaced in her mind.

’But there’s a downside... Sean Chandler and I are different Levels now.’

Under normal circumstances, when the Disaster System matched Players for dungeons, it usually tended to group Players of similar Levels together.

She and Sean Chandler were both Level 3 before, so they would be placed in the same dungeons.

But now that she had advanced to Level 4 while Sean Chandler was still Level 3, it would be much more difficult for them to enter the same regular dungeons in the future.

Unless it was a special, large-scale "Trial Dungeon" or "Faction Confrontation Dungeon" like the "Zombie Kingdom" before, which deployed massive numbers of Players regardless of their Level.

This was indeed a problem.