Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 246 This dream is too real!

"So, I'm dreaming?"

Emlyn looked down at his hands. Having just crawled out of the coffin, he was no longer the man in formal attire he was in reality; instead, he was wearing a suit of armor. The inner layer was chainmail made of iron rings, while the outer layer was full plate armor of a dark silver color. He seemed to still have a cloak around his neck, but the cloak was already tattered, with only a few pieces of fabric remaining at the base.

A long sword with forsythia hanging from his left waist, and an iron shield shaped like an iron on his back. The front of the shield is decorated with a sword-shaped emblem formed by intricate and beautiful patterns, and there are still marks left by swords on it.

Overall, he looks like he's dressed as an ancient knight.

This style of dress was still popular even decades ago; it represented the last glorious era of knights.

The knights, clad in breastplates, charged madly at the array of muskets and cannons, destroying their opponents and flattening the lines. Unfortunately, they soon witnessed the invention and deployment of high-pressure steam rifles and six-barreled machine guns, and from then on, the traditional knights were completely rendered useless.

High-pressure steam rifles could easily penetrate their breastplates, while six-barreled machine guns could turn hordes of knights into muzzles! Faced with an army equipped with steam rifles and six-barreled machine guns, charging knights could only become sitting ducks.

"This dream felt so real," Emlyn murmured.

As Emlyn sighed, he suddenly frowned and reached for his right waist, where he felt a bulge that was quite uncomfortable. After groping around for a while, he took a dark green glass bottle from his waist, which contained a golden liquid.

【Element Bottle】

Dark green glass bottle,

It is a treasure of the immortal.

By accumulating elements over a campfire, drinking this beverage will restore your health.

Since ancient times, the immortals have always moved among campfires.

The elemental bottle traveled with it throughout the journey.

"Elemental Flask? To restore health?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Emlyn's eyes. He was still bewildered by everything that had happened. He didn't know what to do; he simply looked around instinctively, cautiously observing his surroundings.

One second he was lying on a bed of grass, dreaming, in front of Duke Olmer's tomb. The next second he was here.

He appeared in a desolate cemetery, lying in a coffin.

All around him were nameless tombstones and stone coffins, some broken and some intact, some buried underground and some exposed. But no matter their condition, these stone coffins and tombstones were piled up together, one after another.

Some of these sarcophagi were already open and empty, as if the bodies buried inside had left on their own, just like Emlyn who had just crawled out of his grave.

However, compared to the sheer number of stone coffins in the cemetery, the opened sections are negligible. Looking around, the entire cemetery is crammed with nameless tombstones and stone coffins, leaving almost no space. Even a rough estimate suggests that there are at least tens of thousands of stone coffins here!

There was only one road in front of him, while the other three sides were blocked by towering tombstones and cliffs.

"So, all I have to do is explore forward, right?" Emlyn muttered to himself, quickly settling on his goal.

Although he didn't understand why he had this dream, he was certain that it was closely related to Duke Omer. And since that lord had given him such a dream, he must have wanted him to do something in the dream.

Whatever Duke Olmer wants them to do in the dream, exploration is the first step.

As he continued on his journey, he soon encountered a "person".

A 'person' completely shrouded in black clothing, revealing emaciated limbs and a withered face. Even from a distance, Emlyn could hear the beast-like growls emanating from the creature.

It was more like a living corpse than a person in the traditional sense, which made Emlyn wonder if it could communicate...

Emlyn was still hesitating when the undead noticed his presence. It seemed to suddenly become more alert, roaring as it charged at him with its broken straight sword.

Although he didn't understand what was going on, Emlyn reacted immediately.

He held the shield in his left hand, but did not draw the longsword from his waist.

As a vampire, he had naturally undergone a certain degree of close combat training and was quite adept at using a longsword.

But he was more adept at using the traditional fighting style of the vampires than a longsword—

Suddenly, an extra section of his five fingernails grew out, with sharp tips and covered with black patterns and symbols.

The instant the undead swung its broken straight sword down, Emlyn raised his shield to block the attack. At the same time, he thrust his right hand, with its sharp, corrosive claws, into the undead's neck and tore it apart with force.

Snapped!

The zombie's head was severed, and it lay limply on the ground, powerless. The broken straight sword also lost its support and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

【+20】

Emlyn, however, showed no joy at defeating the enemy; instead, he frowned slightly.

Firstly, killing a zombie in a dream is not something to be proud of.

Secondly, Emlyn is clearly aware that this is a dream, so why can he use extraordinary abilities in a dream?

In addition, there is a third point—

There were twelve vampires who "entered the dream" before Duke Olmer, but why haven't he encountered any others yet? Did the others fail to enter the dream successfully? Or have the others been killed by these undead?

Also, what exactly is this +20?

"Is it really that bad?"

Emlyn's expression was strange. The vampires who entered the dream were either viscounts or barons; surely they couldn't handle these undead? But if that wasn't the case, where were they? Had they already left beforehand?

If they've already left, why are these zombies still here? Weren't they attacked by the zombies?

So what exactly was this dream about?

-

In front of a clearing beside a cliff, a blonde girl wearing a light blue dress that allows for easy movement stands in the center of the clearing. In front of her is a bonfire made of white bones, with a spiral longsword stuck in it.

Audrey reached out and gently touched the campfire, and in the next instant, the fire seemed to sense something and ignited on its own.

"Is this what a campfire looks like?"

Audrey's eyes lit up slightly as she murmured to herself.

Since the incident with Adam, Audrey and Karula have become increasingly close, with Karula even inviting her to "dream" together. Audrey is indeed very curious about the dream Karula creates, after all, it's something even Sequence 1 Adam is interested in, so she gladly accepts Karula's invitation.

One second she was sound asleep in her own soft velvet bedding, and the next she was in this cemetery.

Fortunately, Audrey was prepared for all of this and quickly adapted to the changes around her.

Even as a "beta tester," she didn't have to be randomly assigned a class at "birth" like everyone else. Instead, on Karula's advice, she chose to start as a "useless person," thus bringing everything from reality into her dream, including the clothes she was wearing.

Although she encountered many zombies blocking her way, Audrey was able to reach the campfire without fighting thanks to the help of psychological invisibility.

The only thing that puzzled Audrey was that Carula had said that many people should have entered the dream with her, but why hadn't she seen any of them? Was it because of the special nature of the dream?

Despite her confusion, Audrey decided to continue exploring.

Using psychology to conceal herself, she bypassed many small paths or trails.

Finally, a towering city wall blocked her way.

There are three arched entrances below the city wall, but two of the shorter ones seem to be just for decoration, as they are blocked by bricks and stones. Only the rightmost arched doorway is unobstructed.

Through the arched doorway, a spacious but dilapidated "square" appeared before Audrey.

To the right of the square is a cliff, while to the left it is blocked by walls, piles of tombstones, and large trees with branches protruding from the ground. Ahead lies another city wall, with a tightly closed gate at its base.

In the center of the square stood a tall figure, half-crouching on the ground. Even in this position, his height far exceeded Audrey's, and even surpassed that of most adult men.

He wore a set of magnificent, bright silver armor, engraved with numerous intricate and beautiful patterns. To his right was a long halberd, its spiral patterns embedded diagonally into the ground.

A spiraling longsword pierced his left chest, and it seemed that this very sword was what restricted his movements. Meanwhile, black tentacles, flowing like liquid, were 'growing' on the back of his neck, constantly wriggling outwards.

Even though it was the first time Audrey had seen such a thing, she still instinctively felt disgusted, her delicate brows furrowing.

Given that the tall knight looked very strong, Audrey cautiously decided to bypass him.

Because she advanced from Sequence 7 to Sequence 5 in one fell swoop, Audrey has no combat experience to date. And since psychological invisibility can avoid combat, there's no need for unnecessary fighting.

Despite her psychological stealth abilities, Audrey still kept a wary eye on the tall, kneeling knight, worried that he might suddenly stand up and deliver a fatal blow. But none of this happened, and Audrey reached the tightly closed bronze door without any trouble.

If the sequence remains low, Audrey might find herself trapped by this closed door.

However, after advancing to Sequence 6 'Hypnotist', the physical attributes of extraordinary individuals through the 'Audience' pathway are greatly enhanced. Both their strength and agility surpass the level of ordinary humans.

The physical attributes of the Sequence 5 "Dream Walker" will also be greatly enhanced.

In terms of physical fitness alone, he is already on par with extraordinary individuals of the same rank through other pathways.

"call!"

Audrey took a deep breath, placed her hands on the two doors, and tentatively pushed them.

Rumble!

With a heavy creaking sound, the girl in the light blue dress pushed open the door, revealing a gap large enough for one person to pass through.

"Huh?"

Audrey blinked; it seemed simpler than she had imagined.

Looking back at the tall knight still kneeling in the center of the square, Audrey turned back to continue her exploration. Her gaze fell upon a tombstone ahead, before which lay a massive, hunched skeleton. And on the skeleton, there was a white orb of light.

Audrey curiously reached out and touched it, and a prompt instantly appeared before her eyes:

A broken straight sword

A straight sword with half its blade broken.

It can no longer be considered a weapon.

Unless it's a crazed ghost,

Otherwise, most people wouldn't use it.

Combat Art: Prepare for Attack

Prepare for a follow-up normal attack

It can disrupt the balance of shield-bearing enemies from below;

During a heavy attack, you can take a step forward and thrust upward to attack.

It can be used flexibly.

However, using a broken straight sword is hardly presentable.

"Are these the weapons those zombies were carrying?"

Audrey thoughtfully sheathed her broken straight sword and continued up the broken staircase.

On either side of the staircase were overgrown clearings, scattered with numerous tombstones. Beneath some of these tombstones sat wandering spirits, weapons in hand. Further to the left and right, sheer cliffs plunged into the distance.

Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down, all you can see is the bottomless white fog and the hazy snow-capped mountains in the distance.

As she wound her way up the stairs, a towering building finally came into view.

For a moment, the view dimmed as you passed through the arched doorway.

But soon, illuminated by the candlelight that filled the building, Audrey witnessed a scene that shocked her—

She saw five thrones, five thrones arranged symmetrically!

These thrones vary in size, and each throne is surrounded by a considerable number of candles.

It seems like a lament for the throne's owners, or perhaps a tribute to them.

Four of the thrones were currently suspended in mid-air, except for the second throne on the left, where a small figure sat.

He was dressed in bright red clothes, wearing a crown on his head, and resting his chin on his hands as if deep in thought.

Audrey looked down and realized that she was on the second floor of the building.

The building is circular in shape, with a staircase at the edge leading to the second floor.

One side displays five thrones, while the other side is Audrey's 'entrance' to the building. To the right are two staircases, one leading to the 'first floor' and the other to the 'third floor'.

On the stairs on the first floor sat a 'knight' with his head bowed and a long sword on his back.

He seemed different from the undead outside; he was someone you could communicate with.

"Welcome to the campfire, Lord Ashes Without Fire."

The girl went downstairs and was about to talk to the knight with his head down when a soft voice suddenly reached her ears.

Audrey stopped in her tracks, paused for a moment, and thought the voice sounded familiar.

She turned her head and saw a woman in a black dress standing in front of the roundabout on her left, looking at Audrey with a gentle smile.

Looking at the other person's face, Audrey almost blurted out:

"Kalu..."

The woman smiled and interrupted her, introducing herself as she went:

"I am the Fire Keeper—the one who maintains the campfire and serves you."

"If you need help in finding the kings who have abandoned their thrones, please use me."

"Huh?"

Audrey blinked. So, Karula, you also have a 'role' in this dream?

(End of this chapter)