Leonel looked around. The Dream Pavilion was indeed a place of great beauty. Plus, their uniforms were, indeed, quite cool. He liked the turban look, especially the range of colors between a deep black to light blues and violets. He felt that it matched him quite well.
He sent a gaze toward those that had followed in and found himself feeling quite amused. If they were struggling so much to enter this place, why were they trying so hard to do so?
What Leonel didn't know was that even for the current Deputy Pavilion Heads, or even the best geniuses of the Dream Pavilion in recent times and into the past, the first trip into the Dream Pavilion was always a difficult one. The fact they could walk around without going straight into a state of meditation like Khelgis and Adru had was a testament that they indeed had some talent.
The main problem was that the Vast Dream Pavilion was a Pavilion ranked near the top 100, and yet it didn't have nearly the talent to uphold that ranking. As a result, its environment was far more lush and vibrant than the norm.
Usually, when you were approaching the top 100, the Pavilion Heads would have Dream Force already surpassing the Lower Life State, many would be beyond the Middle Life State as well. The environment, as a result, was something that could suffocate you if your Dream Force affinity was only average, and if it was too weak, you could directly collapse.
Gemmes, who was paying attention to Leonel the entire time, felt his eyes widen. From the start, Leonel didn't even waver. He took the step as though he was going from one sunny breeze to a slightly cloudy one, there was hardly a change at all. In fact, he was looking around and admiring the scenery.
By comparison, the others were already slightly stiff in their movements. They didn't even have the presence of mind to notice how much easier Leonel was taking it because they were focused on themselves. If they lost their sense of self now, they might lose their minds forever.
Their basic assumption was that everyone was struggling just like they were. Unfortunately, they were very wrong.
Gemmes shook his head and looked away. In his heart, though, the waves had yet to cease. Clarence was very correct about this young man, but would it be enough?
"This is the Vast Dream Pavilion," Gemmes said in a booming voice. "The pressure you feel on your mind now is nothing but the ambient Dream Force concentration in the air. If you want a chance to make it to the real Dream Pavilion, you'll need to walk through this path-"
Leonel walked by Gemmes with a flicker and vanished.
The so-called path was a snaking road of rainbow-colored clouds. If the path they had taken before was an appetizer, this was the real challenge.
lightsΝοvel Technically, if you were strong enough and realized you couldn't take it after the first appetizer, you could still give up and go back now.
However, it wasn't a challenge for Leonel. He was more interested in seeing what was on the inside, and Gemmes didn't stop him. After the old man had seen Leonel's casualness until now, he realized that there wasn't really a point in trying to stop it any longer.
The others only now seemed to notice Leonel's casualness. They had been paying attention to the road because Gemmes was describing it, only to see that Leonel had already vanished down the other end of it in the blink of an eye.
The Pavilion Heads froze. That momentary distraction almost cost them their lives.
...
Leonel appeared on the other side of the road, looking around with an interested expression.
"You've come. Come up."
Clarence stood at the top of a Pavilion's stairs. He seemed to have been waiting here for Leonel in specific.
Leonel found it a bit odd, especially since he remembered this man's feverish gaze from the selection, but this was precisely why he had come here.
After some thought, Leonel complied and walked up the stairs. The Ancient Chinese style architecture was truly a sight for sore eyes, it was maybe the most beautiful craftsmanship that Leonel had ever seen. No, it most definitely was. The more he looked, the more detail there seemed to be to admire.
'I guess I shouldn't call it Ancient China, huh? This is probably the influence Ancient China learned it from?'
He wasn't sure, but after seeing the apartment buildings of the Golden City, it only made sense to look at things this way.
"You're quite confident," Clarence said with a smile.
"Confident? No. But some things are necessary," Leonel said calmly.
"So the Dream Force called to you?" Clarence said knowingly.
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
"No," Clarence surprisingly said. "When I activated the challenge, I did so out of spite. I was painted into a corner and had no other choice. My original hope was to raise you into a new King to stabilize the Pavilion, but you chose the Cult instead. Which is ironic... because that's the same choice the late King made."
Leonel blinked. He didn't understand what that meant, King chose the Cult?
Well, that probably made sense... King was said to be a founder of the Cult-him, the Demoness, and the Silver Emperor. But here, he was known as the Pavilion Head of the Dream Pavilion.
It was odd that both would be true, and yet the powers would seem so independent here.
"What is happening here, exactly? What is the Challenge?"
Clarence looked at Leonel deeply. Instead of answering, he beckoned him into the empty temple. Inside, there was a familiar set of nine steps, a prayer mat, and a treasure box.
"That treasure box is both the greatest humiliation and the greatest chance of the Pavilion. If you want to improve your Dream Force in the shortest time possible, try your hand at walking up them."
"Oh?" Leonel's eyes narrowed, but in the end, he agreed.
What Clarence didn't expect was that he would take the first step so steadily.
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