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Realizing that the dissociation of the dream was inevitable, all they could do was ensure the hero's safety during the process, and they all stayed by his side.

Judging from the current situation, the possibility that the mortal realm will forcibly take the hero away is almost 100%.

The thought of having to explain everything to the people after waking up, and even the brave warriors used to boost morale and unite people, made Mara's scalp tingle.

However, Ji Mo's first words upon his return stunned everyone present:

"You have not succeeded in summoning a new hero."

Mara, Tina, and Jane's gazes unconsciously fell on the hero, who still wore an innocent expression, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

Mara, who was terrified of death, took a small step back, feeling a dryness in her throat: "You...didn't you come here specifically to pick him up? Since the summoning failed, why is he on the summoning circle?"

Tina deceives herself into believing she is a member of the noble family, Jane dresses in power armor as a paladin, and Mara knows the secret that the nobles have tried more than once to summon the hero and seal away the failed secret.

Everyone present was a master at concealing the truth, which led to the need for the witness to come, and the three of them had to witness it simultaneously before they dared to believe the result.

Surely all three of them couldn't have made a mistake, right?

"Did you summon him after you attempted to create the dream, or before?"

"...After that," Mara paused for a moment, then raised another point of doubt, "but you also saw him with your own eyes; he truly exists in reality."

Mara was unaware of the effects of the Invulnerability to All Laws and the Boundary Bottle. From her perspective, this dream was utterly insignificant to Ji Mo, and nothing that did not exist objectively could escape his notice.

The influence of dreams is limited to this world at most; it is impossible for them to cross worlds and drag heroes here in order to fulfill their wishes.

"You did not summon a new hero, but you awakened an old one."

The old... brave man?

Regarding the fact that the new heroes summoned during the Second Catastrophe were of little use, Mara had actually participated in the nobles' discussions and had similar conjectures as Himeko.

The hero from seven hundred years ago may have come from the mortal realm.

The mortal realm is so good at keeping secrets from ordinary people that most of the locals who were swept into this other world are unaware that their homeland is one of the seven great realms, and they are even less likely to tell the locals about it.

Mara stared blankly at the hero's face and suddenly realized that he bore a resemblance to the hero in the photo her master had shown her.

Why hadn't she noticed this before? Was it influenced by her perception of dreams? Mara knew in her heart that her guess was probably correct.

But... this shouldn't be happening!

Not to mention that the former hero left without looking back after resolving the disaster, breaking his master's heart and causing him to eventually die in despair.

According to records, the hero was already a sixth-level transcendent when he left!

The man in front of me is only at the second level!

"Aren't you going to explain yourself, brave warrior?"

The hero smiled, no longer showing the unease he had felt about the other world, but with the composure of a seasoned veteran: "I am indeed the hero from seven hundred years ago."

"I have never left this world. The problem I had to solve was not just that stone, but also other high-level supernatural beings who had been resurrected."

"Sacrificing myself to seal most of the problems underground is a very worthwhile deal."

"I lied and said I was going home so as not to hurt my friends from back then."

He spoke of it so casually, as if life and death were nothing to him.

Having been summoned to this world at the age of fourteen and lived here for over thirty years, his feelings for this world have surpassed those for his vaguely remembered hometown.

"But... but why did you come back to life?" Mara asked, her words trailing off.

She suddenly realized something.

Disasters can bring the dead back to life, and dreams can respond to the deepest prayers of the living.

At that time, they felt that dreams were not secure enough, and they tried to seek a psychological support, just like the nobles.

So they succeeded in summoning the hero, who should have been sleeping peacefully, from the ground. The hero, who should have been unable to think, maintained his thinking ability due to the dream, and the false cognition also allowed the hero to successfully overcome the possibility of being discovered when he first woke up in his skeletal form.

"That's how I woke up, but I lost my memories and powers along with them. However, it didn't take long before I discovered the problem." His smile revealed a hint of inscrutable calmness. "After all, covering up the truth has always been one of my specialties."

"However, how did you guess that I was the hero from back then?"

Perhaps because he had personally admitted that he was a dead man, the hero had a deathly aura about him, and his body gradually withered, just like when Mara and the others first saw him.

They thought it was the pain that made him thin, but they never thought that for a person who had been sleeping peacefully for seven hundred years, his appearance at that time was already considered plump.

"Logically speaking, when outsiders see the essence of my existence here, the first thing they should think of is an ordinary person who has come back to life."

"Wow, we've become outsiders now." Jiu Chonglou clicked his tongue in amazement and answered for Ji Mo: "It's simple. We have a population database. Although the names are fake and the illnesses are fake, at least your face is real. We were able to find the data after spending some time."

"The person in the database is from seven hundred years ago. The rest is not hard to guess."

This is also why the two returned without sealing the stone or destroying the mirrors.

Without the energy supply from the stone and the mental capacity provided by the dream, it would be a good ending for this hero to simply turn into a handful of dust.

The fear is that humans will become indistinguishable from ordinary undead creatures, indiscriminately killing all living beings around them.

Even if the hero before them is a ghost from seven hundred years ago, the fact that he can receive information from the program team means that the mortal world is still willing to acknowledge his existence.

"In the name of the mortal realm, I ask you again: do you still insist on remaining in this world?"

"My answer hasn't changed; I want to stay here." Before the others could even feel moved, the hero chuckled twice, shattering their illusions in the process: "However, in my current state, I'd probably only be a hindrance, so I might as well continue sleeping peacefully. As a fellow countryman, I can still offer this small assistance, right?"

"...Okay." Ji Mo paused, then reassured Mara and the others, "Although the person who needed to be guided is no longer here, the humanitarian support I promised will not be cancelled. If needed, we can also assist in deploying a barrier capable of protecting the royal city..."

Noticing Jiu Chonglou's persistent gaze, Ji Mo added, "Of course, you also need to pay a friendly price for labor. Considering your limited funds, you can pay in installments first."