Dreamland: Freedom (Terror Infinity, Ultimate Evolution)

The effect was instant, as most gazes retreated. Even Guts reacted to the book, his expression turning interested as he grunted, "That's a dangerous thing to wave around. Most of those who were stubborn enough to cling to it ended up dying, and not because of the Holy Order."

Eden closed the book, putting it back in his Inventory as he replied, "I know what I'm doing, but thanks for the concern."

Guts scoffed, "It's not just about the natural contamination, you know. You've probably guessed that the book's true value is not the artefact itself, but the spells written within, right?"

Eden nodded, so Guts continued, "Those are the real danger. They are powerful, that's for sure, but they are also profoundly dark and evil. Even if you can somehow resist the book's contamination, the simple exposure to these spells will attract dark powers to you. My advice? Get rid of it as soon as possible."

Eden smiled but said nothing, not taking the warning to heart. Others might be in danger, but he had Soul Overlord.

Guts did not look bothered, which was to be expected. The two did not know each other, and Eden saw no reason for him to care about his choices.

Guts turned to the bartender, who asked, "Same as usual?"

Guts nodded silently, and as she turned to Eden, he shook his head, saying, "I'm fine, thank you." Although the Spirit Panacea had shown him that consumables could have positive effects on Players, he would rather not waste his points on them now.

While the bartender prepared Guts' drink, Eden asked, "Any idea of how I could translate the book?"

Guts shrugged, "It's your life to throw away. If you really are intent on translating it, you should go to the Training Grounds, to the Intelligence Hall. Have you been there yet?"

Eden nodded, "I did, but a fiery lady took me away before I could try any of them."

The bar suddenly became silent as several people looked his way. Guts himself looked surprised as he asked, "You're the newbie who made a ruckus with Lady Phoenix?"

"We just ate together."

Guts chuckled darkly, "Seems like you have a talent for bringing trouble over to yourself. Did you accept to join them? The Divine Beasts Palace?"

Eden shook his head to show he had refused, which prompted Guts to say, "Pity for you. They could have protected you against the Holy Order."

Eden frowned, replying, "Why is everyone so scared of them? It's impossible to attack other Players in Nexus, right?"

"Not impossible, no. Places like the Market Place and the Training Grounds are protected, but more secluded areas are not. The Upper Zone is not protected, for example. However, for newcomers, the primary danger comes from the mission worlds. Guilds have a lot of resources, and by placing a bounty on you, most Players in your next mission world will be trying to kill you to get the bounty. And since you refused the Divine Beasts Palace's offer, you'll be on your own."

Eden shrugged, not regretting his decision. He said, "I'll be fine. Also, what in the Intelligence Hall could help me with the Necronomicon?"

The bar tender returned with Guts' drink, which was a thick red liquid that looked suspiciously similar to blood, and after taking a swing of it, Guts replied coolly, "The Training Grounds give you a special space in which you will receive a boost to the growth of your attributes. But the way to boost your stats remains intrinsically the same.

"For Intelligence, anything related to magic will do, although at your level it can even be simply intellectual. Reading a book, or in your case, translating one. You will also be given the tools for that once inside. They have pretty much all the languages that exist, and most of them are for free."

Surprised at how easy it sounded, Eden asked, "Any idea what language is used in the Necronomicon?"

"Never read the damned book, and never will. I heard different copies are written in different languages too, so you'll have to figure it out yourself… if you don't turn crazy before that."

Eden smirked, not taking the warning to heart, "Thanks for the info. I'd pay you a drink, but I have an inkling your drink is more expensive than a beer."

Guts snorted, amused, which Eden took as confirmation. He added another question, "So, where should I sell my stuff?"

Guts took another sip before pointing at a corner of the bar, "For that mask of yours, those shady fellows should be interested in it. As for your gun, you'd be better off auctioning it off. For that, you'll have to ask Mad Maggie here."

Eden looked over the counter at the bartender. She was a woman in her thirties, with raven dark hair, and a scar on her left cheek that made her look fearsome.

Hearing her name being mentioned, and seeing Eden look over, she said, "I take a 10% commission fee."

Guts added helpfully, "Most Nightmares end up banned from the Market Place one way or another, so we pretty much all go through Maggie to sell our items."

Eden asked, "But there is no system protection on our items here, is there?"

Both Guts and Maggie laughed. The woman slid a drink over to him, saying, "I like your style. This one's on me."

As for Guts, he strongly patted Eden's shoulder, "Reputation is more important than anything in this kind of job. She wouldn't even bat an eyelid even if you trusted her with a Legendary piece of equipment, much less your stuff. Don't worry, she can be trusted. And the same goes for violence. Nightmare's Realm does not have the system's protection, but no one will attack here. Not unless they want to die gruesomely."

Eden did not know if he would really go as far as to put his trust in her, but he did need to use a venture to sell his stuff. Besides, what Guts had said was right. If Mad Maggie stole from her customers, her reputation would go down the drain.

It was much more profitable for her to carry out her deals openly than to steal from her customers.

Of course, there was still the possibility that this was an elaborate scam, and that Mad Maggie was not a real seller, but Eden doubted that. His senses told him they were strong, she and Guts. Much stronger than him, to the point they should not care about something like his 1911.

[Mad Maggie has sent you a friend request!]

Eden accepted it and transferred the gun, along with the magazines and the extra ammo, to her. Upon receiving them, Maggie asked, "Any time limits, handsome?"

Ignoring the compliment, Eden replied, "Three days. Thank you for the help."

Maggie grinned, "You'll always be welcomed here. And a small tip from a veteran player because I like you: take as much as possible from the training room early on."

Eden nodded briskly before heading over to the shady corner of the bar. The players looked like they were cloaked in shadows, and talked quietly to each other.

Seeing him approach, they all quieted down. He showed them the mask, not scared that they would steal it with the rules of the establishment, and asked, "How much for this?"

One of the hooded men took the mask from Eden's hands, inspected it, and offered, "One mission."

Not understanding what kind of offer this was, Eden asked, "What do you mean?"

The hooded man elaborated, "Shadows' members will ignore your bounty for one mission."

Intrigued by the offer, Eden questioned, "Is Shadows the name of your guild? What are you, a bunch of assassins?"

The hooded man nodded slowly, "You can say that."

Eden smiled. He was intrigued by the offer, but that did not make him interested.

"I'll take my chances. I want Dream Points or items. Skills, too, if they are interesting."

The hooded man looked at his companions, communicating with them in a way Eden did not catch, before turning back to him, offering, "The Analysis skill."

Saying that, he took out a scroll.

[Consume to learn the skill 'Analysis'.]

The hooded man added, "Because it is a system skill, even Free Players can learn it by consuming the skill book."

Eden considered the deal for a moment before deciding to make the exchange. The skill did seem mighty useful, and appeared to be a cornerstone of the game. 'Consuming' the skill book, Eden said, "Happy doing business with you. Say, will it hamper future business if I kill the assassins you send after me?"

At the same time, he used Analysis for the first time on the man. He only got question marks.

The hooded man, meanwhile, replied coldly, "These are two separate things. If our members die, then they simply were not good enough. If you find any other interesting items, you are welcome to come directly to us."

Eden grinned at the response, "Business is business, huh?"

The hooded man did not have anything to say to that, so after waving at Guts and Maggie, Eden walked out of the Nightmare Realm.

Eden half expected there to be someone waiting for him outside, either to ambush him or try to recruit him, but they had thankfully either not dared to follow him here, or the word of his presence at the Nightmare Realm had not spread yet.

Whichever it was, it suited Eden as he managed to reach the Training Grounds, a protected zone, without anyone bothering him. He directly skipped the Market Place, since he would likely not need to go there again in the near future.

Eden directly headed for the Intelligence Hall, and this time, no one stopped him as he stood in one of the small circles. A second later, he was teleported away.

He appeared in a small cubic room. It was pretty bare and looked like a small reading room. There was a bookcase against a wall, filled to the brim with books. He could not move, however, as a prompt appeared before him.

[Welcome to the Intelligence Room! While in this room, Intelligence training gains can be boosted by 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 150 and 200%.]

[To use this room, you will have to pay correspondingly 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 Dream Points per hour.]

Eden was pleasantly surprised by the cost of the Training Room, which was meager in comparison to the amount Eden had. Even if Eden were to spend every hour of the next week in the maximum setting, he would still have points left, and that was without taking the gun he was auctioning into account.

Directly selecting the highest setting, Eden felt the restriction placed on his movements disappear. Not wasting any time, Eden approached the bookcase to search for some kind of dictionary for languages.

But as he approached the bookcase, another prompt appeared before Eden, asking him for a subject. Putting in the Necronomicon, a bunch of titles appeared in front of him, too many to fit in the bookcase. Some of them were free to read, and others had costs to them.

Eden selected a few books he believed would have answers for him, all related to the Necronomicon, and all of which were free. As he confirmed his choice, several blank books pulled themselves out of the bookcase, transforming into the books Eden had ordered.

Eden also pulled out the Necronomicon's Copy from his Inventory for the boost it gave to Intelligence. He was not sure whether it was just an illusion of his mind or not, but he felt like his mind was swifter when his Intelligence was boosted by the equipment.

All set, Eden started his reading.