Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

He prepared to observe carefully so he could better simulate it using the Mirror Surface.

After observing for a long time, he still hadn't noticed anything peculiar about the dream monster. It kept repeating its hammering action. Even the location of its strikes, the interval between each hammer blow, and the force exerted were all exactly the same.

Confirming that he indeed couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, Alka once again manifested a spear in his hand, formed from pink mist.

He lifted it and gave it a light swing.

In this Dream Realm, the spear formed from pink mist was so fast that the instant it was thrown, it pierced through the arm.

Before the mist could spread, the arm collapsed, turning into faint shadows of light that dispersed and vanished within the Dream World.

Is that it?

That was too weak.

It was far weaker than the previous eyeball creature. Alka believed he wouldn't even need the pink mist; his own body in the Dream Realm could have crushed that arm.

But since it was dead, it hardly mattered. It had collapsed so casually, without leaving any loot.

Continuing his task, Alka also pushed Pororo's Dream Bubble upwards.

This was the Dream Bubble farthest from him.

Finally, six Dream Bubbles were stacked within the misty eggshell, protected.

As for Jason's Dream Bubble, there was nothing he could do for now. Jason hadn't slept yet. Once he fell asleep, Alka would drag his Dream Bubble over.

He prepared to formally explore the differences in this external Dream World.

Controlling his dream body, he began to float and travel through the Dream World.

The surrounding Dream World was incredibly empty. Not a single Dream Bubble was in sight, nor were there any dream creatures.

All he could see were occasional, palm-sized, bird-like shadows of light flitting back and forth, dragging long trails behind them as they flew.

As these "birds" were of different colors, they looked exceptionally ethereal.

These bird-like forms, composed of light and shadow, felt much weaker than the arm from before.

It seemed a mere flick would be enough to shatter them.

Indeed, Alka had just flicked one away as if it were a mosquito, causing it to collapse.

There are very few monsters around here, and it's overly desolate.

This likely means that locations in the Dream Realm correspond to locations in reality.

Alka unconsciously controlled his dream body to float, his mind beginning to ponder.

In the physical world, they were currently at the starting point of their voyage, a route leading away from the Homeland Sea. Besides their group, which had just departed, there would hardly be anyone else in this area.

Moreover, their sailing speed was considerable, so others who had left the Homeland Sea at the same time were likely far behind, not having caught up yet.

This desolate region might only see passersby once every ten years or so.

Consequently, in the Dream Realm, the corresponding location might only see a few Dream Bubbles appear every ten years or so.

Although Alka wasn't yet fully knowledgeable about the Dream Realm, he did know some basic principles.

For instance, dream monsters feed on dreams—not just human dreams, but also those of all intelligent beings in the external world, and even animals with developed minds.

Any creature that dreams counts, though the dreams of intelligent beings are more attractive and thus more enticing to powerful monsters.

For creatures whose dreams are preyed upon, these dream-feeding monsters aren't necessarily entirely harmful, nor are they entirely beneficial.

For those whose dreams were consumed, milder consequences might simply involve poor rest or experiencing a nightmare.

Severe cases could affect their mental state, leading to critical insomnia, or even mental collapse resulting in death.

Of course, most cases only result in mild effects.

Severe effects typically occur only in specific territories, as these are inhabited by monsters considered fearsome even within the Dream Realm.

However, a greater likelihood is that in certain areas, the veil between reality and the Dream Realm is extremely thin, thus causing a more significant impact.

This was some of the information the Dream Catcher had conveyed to Alka.

This meant their current location in the Dream Realm corresponded to a place in reality akin to a deserted, extremely bleak wilderness.

Yet, even so, Alka finally spotted a monster in the Dream Realm.

It was a humanoid monster, clad in a robe woven from light and shadow, and wielding a Scythe.

To be honest, this figure vaguely resembled the Death God from legends.

Could it be that the Death God in people's dreams was conceived from such creatures?

Alka couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.

He flew swiftly through the Dream Realm, leaving a long trail of light and shadow.

The trail displayed an interweaving of black and white.

Alka followed from a distance, observing its actions.

The Death God-like dream monster approached a tiny Dream Bubble.

The owner of this tiny Dream Bubble was likely some highly intelligent creature from the Ocean.

He could tell from its size and the thinness of its shell.

Definitely an animal's.

This experience stemmed from Alka's mastery of the Dream Catcher, as he had entered animals' dreams before.

Upon reaching the small Dream Bubble, the Death God-like dream monster raised its Scythe.

Black and white light coalesced on the Scythe, twisting, before the blade swung down.

It effortlessly broke through the Dream Bubble's shell, and a copious amount of pink mist began to flow out from the dream within.

The monster began to devour, and the pink mist merged into its body.

The pink mist flowed out for several minutes before the Dream Bubble shattered.

Awake?

It should be awake now. With such fragmentation, the damage likely only caused it to awaken from a brief nightmare.

It might not even remember what the nightmare was about.

So, it seems even such an imposing Dream Death God only causes damage equivalent to a nightmare.

And that was just against the Dream Bubble of a less intelligent animal, so weak.

This means that outside the Divine Sea Region, perhaps even getting a peaceful night's sleep isn't so easy.

Hmm... I need to observe more.

Subsequently, the monster seemed satiated.

It started curling up on the spot, eventually transforming into a swirling black and white sphere of mist, about the size of a head.

The nearby Scythe continued to revolve slowly around the sphere of mist.

Is it resting?

Alka speculated, continuing to observe covertly from nearby.

I kind of want to simulate this monster, because it looks really intimidating.