Chapter 600: Icy Currents of the Dreamscape

With searching for a safe spot to enter the dreamscape having become a far harder endeavor than she had originally anticipated, Scaly found herself aimlessly wandering around the snow-covered landscape in the opposite direction of the large adventurer city Verdell had entered. Encountering both strong and weak monsters along her journey, though none that posed any significant challenge to her with her current strength having already reached the limits of her current evolution.

As for what specifically the danger lurking on the other side was... She couldn’t say for certain; it was like a thin mist covering the deeper parts of the dreamscape and whenever the thought of entering the dreamscape emerged, she felt a profound sense of danger emerging from every part of her body. Warning her that doing so would mean certain death.

Because of this, she continued wandering for what felt like hours and by the time her dwarf friend had officially been promoted to an S Rank Adventurer, she was already exhausted and had used up a good portion of her mana to peer into the dreamscape only to find no real entry point that didn’t scream certain death.

Funnily enough, though she had felt certain death from the dreamy mist of the dreamscape, she had yet to spot a single dreamscape monster while peering into the dreamscape through her dream magic.

At first, she had thought she was just unlucky and hadn’t managed to find any monsters, but after over a dozen attempts peering into the dreamscape, she realized that it wasn’t her being unlucky and not finding any dreamscape monster. Instead, it was the thin dreamy mist of the dreamscape hiding any of the dreamscape monsters she would have originally been able to see through her dream magic when peering into the dreamscape.

In turn, this also made her aware that the sense of danger she felt whenever she thought about entering the dreamscape might have had to do with there being a dreamscape monster on the other side that she just hadn’t been able to perceive through the dreamy mist that seemed to shroud the deeper parts of the dreamscape.

Still, even knowing this, she didn’t give up searching for a safe place to enter the dreamscape. Once again using her dream magic to peer into the dreamscape-

Huh? That is-!

However, contrary to her previous failed attempts, this time around she didn’t see a place engulfed by a seemingly endless dreamy mist that made it impossible to see anything. Instead, she saw a piece of land clearly visible on the other side and along with that, she sensed no imminent danger the second she thought about opening a gate to travel to the dreamscape.

Whoosh~!

Knowing that this might be the only opportunity she was going to have to safely enter the dreamscape and properly figuring out the situation on the other side, Scaly didn’t hesitate for a second after realizing she could enter the dreamscape safely. Directly using her dream magic to shuffle from the ice-cold frozen north to the dreamscape that she soon enough realized wasn’t any better than the north when it came to temperature.

Almost like the cold of the north had been copied and transferred to the dreamscape alongside her, though that thought only lasted for a short time as she took in her surroundings. Finding herself on top a small piece of floating land that was more accurately a piece of floating ice moving through the dreamscape. The dreamy mist she had seen while peering into the dreamscape through her dream magic manifesting not as the dreamy mist she had seen, but instead a light blue colored mist that drifted through the dreamscape.

But that wasn’t important, the important part was that the deadly threat she felt didn’t come from any dreamscape monster hiding within the dreamscape. Instead, the deadly threat she had felt came from this seemingly harmless light blue colored mist drifting through the dreamscape.

Sensing through the subtle mana fluctuations, that this seemingly harmless stream of light blue colored mist was in fact a deadly current of ice mana that would freeze anything it encountered. Even her, with a powerful body and a bit of resistance against the cold, wouldn’t stand a chance in the face of this deadly icy current flowing through this section of the dreamscape.

Even worse, as what she had seen earlier indicated, this light blue colored mist was extremely common and could be seen everywhere around her throughout this part of the dreamscape. Even if she wanted to attempt flying higher up into what could be considered the safe part of the dreamscape she had previously been journeying through, it wasn’t simple as she would have to avoid those deadly icy currents.

And... Unfortunately for her, her current size made it close to impossible to properly maneuver through this deadly part of the dreamscape, with the icy currents changing and twisting randomly as they moved through the dreamscape. Leaving little to no chance for a dragon her size to move through the deadly currents safely.

Crack~

To make matters worse, the ice block she found herself standing atop wouldn’t last for long. The only reason why she had been able to remain safe from the icy currents outside so far being that the ice block floating through the dreamscape that served as her temporary safe spot created some kind of unique barrier around itself that prevented those icy currents from getting too close. Making them twist around the ice block.

But... With the ice block cracking, those icy currents twisting around it had already started readjusting, as if about to break through the barrier formed around the ice block that served as her temporary safe spot within the deadly icy dreamscape.

Still, it should last another few minutes. More than enough time for her to escape back out of the dreamscape if she wished.

However, given her main purpose of coming to the dreamscape was to find somewhere safe and secluded to undergo her next evolution, she didn’t leave immediately, but instead began inspecting the surroundings for any other floating piece of ice that might potentially serve as a place for her to retreat to and try to figure out how to navigate this deadly part of the dreamscape.

In the process, she did indeed find several new ice blocks much like her own while also seeing how these ice blocks formed in the first place, as it happened whenever to especially ferocious stream of icy mana collided with one another, something that wasn’t exactly rare, as it also became awfully clear that these blocks of ice didn’t last long from their formation to destruction.

They were more like small temporary pieces of land throughout this deadly part of the dreamscape, while what she was looking for was a more permanent piece of land that she would be able to hide away inside to undergo her evolution without any outside disturbance.

Funnily enough, though this part of the dreamscape was deadly, it was also clearly inhospitable to dreamscape monsters. Making it an immensely safe place for her to undergo her evolution if she could find a safe place to do so.

Luckily, she didn’t have to look around for too long before she spotted a large island made entirely of ice floating through the icy dreamscape. Any piece of ice colliding with it merging with it, causing it to grow larger, while any icy currents trying to weaken it instead served it and helped it grow further.

A perfect place for her to stay.

Problem was... It wasn’t exactly close to where she was standing and even at the closest point, it would still be some distance from her. Meaning she would have to travel through the deadly icy currents for a good hundred or so meters to reach the floating island made of ice, something she didn’t feel confident in, as there was a good chance those icy currents would overwhelm her and drag her along with them. At which point she was almost certainly doomed.

After all, landmasses weren’t exactly common within this part of the dreamscape given how this ice island was the only piece of land she had spotted so far capable of surviving and growing inside this extreme environment.

Still... That island would undoubtedly be a perfect spot for her to undergo her evolution, as it was extremely unlikely for any adventurer or dreamscape monster to come and disturb her within this kind of extreme environment.

If anything, there was a good chance evolving in this kind of unique environment might also bring about some kind of hidden benefits that would allow her to become even strong... And as this thought emerged, Scaly had already convinced herself that she had to have that piece of land for herself.

Beginning to plan how to get there before the ice block she found herself standing on shattered beneath her and threw her into the deadly icy currents all around her.