System's POV

Chapter 1346: Nothing To Believe In [Part 3]

The Rainbow-Colored Jellyfish hovering in the sky was a Rank 9 Sovereign.

However, it didn’t belong to any faction.

It simply wandered across the land, passing through the Samara Desert as part of its regular route.

The spores it released were due to its passive ability. It brought out the desires, fears, and insecurities of people.

Those below the jellyfish’s rank could not resist its effect and would immediately fall into a deep sleep, where they had to face whatever they had to face.

If one failed to overcome this challenge, they might not wake up ever again.

A spore managed to slip past Thirteen’s umbrella, and the teenage boy reached out to hold it in his hand.

Unlike the other Wanderers and the Jinns lying on the ground, he was completely unaffected.

In fact, Thirteen even had a strong urge to capture the floating jellyfish for himself, but eventually decided against it.

It was an existence that simply went with the flow of the world, so he wasn’t too keen on bringing it into the center of a conflict.

Still, the spores of the jellyfish were quite precious, so he ordered Tiona and his Demons to gather as many as they could.

He planned to study it for a while and let Evuvug, Glenn, and Ossan, the Purple Snail with countless eyes, help him with his research.

Maybe they could create something that had a similar effect, which would be useful in battle.

After all, the mentioned three monsters from Thirteen’s Army specialized in mind control.

They were his trump cards that could tilt the battle in his favor if mobilized correctly.

The only downside was that the three of them didn’t have strong fighting abilities and purely relied on the creatures that had fallen under their control.

But despite their weakness, they were the perfect trump cards when fighting against massive armies.

“Shasha… come here,” Derek muttered in his sleep. “I’ll make you feel good.”

As soon as Thirteen heard the bastard swordsman mutter the name of his sister, he didn’t hesitate to take out a twelve-foot pole from his dimensional storage and whack Derek in his sleep.

“Argh!” Derek cried out in his sleep. Surprisingly, he didn’t wake up after getting slapped by Thirteen’s pole. “You don’t have to slap me… you know. I’m just joking, Shasha. If I touch you, Master will definitely kill me. I don’t want to die…”

Thirteen nodded in satisfaction after hearing Derek’s reply. He didn’t know what kind of dream the swordsman was having, but it seemed that he was having the time of his life.

As for Roland, the Hero’s face looked pale, as if he was having some kind of nightmare.

But Thirteen wasn’t too worried about him. The last person he would worry for was a Hero who had plot armor to help him during times of crisis.

In fact, he was certain that Roland would suddenly increase his rank after he woke up from his dream, becoming stronger than before.

This was also why he didn’t notify anyone about the jellyfish. It was an encounter of a lifetime.

Overcoming a heart demon was helpful in breaking the barriers in a person’s heart, allowing them to become more confident in themselves in the long run.

Just as the sun was about to set, Derek abruptly opened his eyes.

His body glowed faintly, and a ripple of power spread in his surroundings.

“He ranked up.” Thirteen smirked. “It looks like he didn’t suffer like the others.”

The teenage boy was right. Derek didn’t suffer like Roland. In fact, he even enjoyed his dream because he was able to do the things that he couldn’t do in real life.

He was a healthy young man, and he also had his desires. But he was unable to release them for fear that he would be judged by people.

But the dream he had was simply catered for him, giving him the time of his life.

A dream that he didn’t mind revisiting, for it fulfilled the inner desire deeply rooted inside his heart.

Derek might not look like someone who was suffering from an inferiority complex, but that was his heart demon.

Roland, Joshua, and his Master, Zion, were simply so outstanding that they overshadowed him.

Also, when Jason called him Roland’s sidekick, the insecurity that he buried deep inside his heart once again resurfaced.

Now, he finally felt fulfilled and loved, which allowed his rank to shoot up all the way to the Grandmaster Rank.

A feat that people his age wouldn’t be able to do so easily.

“Congratulations, Derek,” Thirteen said with a smile. “You’re now a Grandmaster.”

“G-Grandmaster?” Derek thought that his Master was just joking. But after taking some time to check his Rank, he realized that Zion wasn’t pranking him.

The Swordsman laughed out loud, which woke up some Wanderers as well.

Ripples of their rank advancement spread in the surroundings and filled their faces with joy.

And while they were happy and excited about the blessings that fell on their heads, some of their comrades were still asleep and had faces filled with grief, pain, and suffering.

Thirteen looked at the hourglass that he had set beside his chair.

Once all the sand in it had fallen, he would forcefully wake up the Wanderers from their slumber.

Because once they went past the limit, they would no longer be able to return and continue to sleep until they drew their last breath.

Thirteen had explained what had happened to those who had woken up, which made them look at their comrades with concern.

Just like Derek, they were the “lucky ones” who had a happy dream instead of a nightmare.

“Will they be alright?” Derek asked Thirteen, his voice tinged with worry.

“We’ll know in thirty more minutes,” Thirteen replied, pointing at the hourglass. “If they fail to escape from their dream, I will force them all to wake up.”

Derek nodded in understanding, but the worry on his face didn’t disappear.

He had always looked up to Roland, and he believed that whatever he could do, the Hero could do it better.

Thirty minutes later, Roland finally woke up, but his face looked as pale as a sheet of paper, as if he had just experienced something that nearly broke him completely.