Soul of Searing Steel

A man who smelt familiar stood beside Nostradamus, and appeared to be making rather unusual preparations. 

—Count Radcliffe, Lord of Moldavia, dragon slayer.

That was the man who stood in front of her.

The Great Nun who had her eyes covered nodded slightly. It was worth noting that Roland had gone to his domain and met him recently, and it seems that her 'brother' lived rather well and wasn't simply staying out in the wild and losing his way in dark forests.

But what was he doing? Saya was a little nonplussed as she 'watched' Joshua.

In the corner of her mind's eye, the warrior was raising his right index finger, gathering a thin flash of combat aura. Its illumination was so weak it could have been blown away by the wind.

And it did die out in almost no time at all.

"Huh. The oscillation and attributes are as I thought." Joshua's tone and expression showed that he had predicted this. Snorting as he withdrew his hand, he started to mumble. "So it really was this plaything, even if it really isn't time for it to debut yet."

Nostradamus had been doing something similar too. The old mage's eyes emitted a soft-blue glow as he watched the black shroud calmly. His gaze appeared to penetrate dimensions as he scanned the black shroud, and his brow seemed to tighten the more he looked.

After a while, the archmage deactivated his spell of observation and told everyone around with a vigilant and solemn voice, "This thing appears to be just black shroud but the dimensional axis within had been thrown into disarray. Now it resembles something from another realm; you would lose your way easily if you enter carelessly."

At that, he noticed the movements of the warrior beside him. "Joshua," the elderly mage asked with interest. "What do you think you're doing?

"Who, me?" Joshua answered the question with another question, and then glanced at Ling at Ying beside him. Then, he said matter-of-factly, "I want to go in to have a look."

—Go in to have a look?

Nostradamus stared blankly. He had just told everyone that the interior of the shroud resembled a different world and entering essentially meant getting lost inside, and here Joshua was already saying that he was going in. The elderly mage considered it and opened his mouth as he thought of something, but was instead met with a palm. 

"I bet you want to say 'It's too dangerous to go without proper preparations—you would go missing just like Moore and Robzek in the shroud, and it's more a loss than a gain.'" The warrior stopped the archmage with a shake of his head. "Don't worry, I already know what this stuff is and have readied myself. I've even found out the reason why this shroud is so mysterious.

Joshua paused after saying that, and lifted his eyes towards that tranquil shroud that did not even had a single wave. "Though it looks incredibly similar, it's also completely different."

Ignoring Nostradamus and Saya's doubtful expression, Joshua keenly felt for the well-hidden but still detectable breath within the shroud.

It was an absolutely familiar sensation that he felt in his own bones and from Father Nature.

Divinity.

With divinity and the ability to twist the axis between dimensions, it made him remember a rather famous existence at the latter period of the sage's descent.

[Divine Dungeon Shroud]

The Divine Dungeon Shroud was no ordinary monster. It was not flesh and blood—and was not a living thing for that matter either. It was precisely a bunch of mist and was not formed by water but 'thought'.

In his preexistence, the great wave of monsters swept across the multiverse. Space and demiplanes plummeted into the main continent—including the residence of the gods, the Infinite Horizon.

It was then that the diverse races on the continent realized that there were so many deities living in this world, and that every race had their own patron god. Though their reputations were not apparent they did exist to protect their Children—the descent of the Seven even created a huge ruckus at locations where the faith flourished.

However, the Seven never seemed to concern themselves with mundane matters and the Church that acts as their voice were neutral and usually mediated between disputes. The Church also did not interfere with national politics; even in wars they did nothing more than take in refugees and heal the injured. While the arrival of the Seven had roused those followers, it did not change their stance. All they did was reside peacefully within the Great Altar and await the passing of the demonic onslaught and the moment they return to the Infinite Horizon.

Still, the Seven were able to live in tranquility on the Mycroft Continent because they possessed unparalleled abilities. As colossal deities who protect humans, elves, dwarves, demi-humans, and many other races their sheer power was unimaginable for the common folk. The history records had noted that they did vanquish several other gods too—the most recent being the deity of the orcs in the war of [Raging Mountain Winds]—which in turn caused the other gods to flinch at their name and run away at their sight.

Nevertheless, the reunion of the Mycroft Continent and the Infinite Horizon wrought considerable problems. Amongst them were the appearance of the [Divine Dungeon Shroud] that incurred many headaches.

Gods are eternal existences. Even when one was vanquished by other gods they would still leave an irremovable mark. For the world of Mycroft, the number of fallen gods across the centuries did not number to just a few—especially after the battles against the Dark Abyss and Evil Gods. Their marks were carved into the Infinite Horizon without a motion.

Then the Great Mana Tide came, and triggered those marks.

Where the Infinite Horizon touched the Continent, curious layers of shroud appeared and swallowed any who walked past. Adventurers across the land quickly discovered and looked into it, and finally ascertained that it was alive and spread autonomously to find more victims.

Thus the shroud turned from a mysterious phenomenon into a monster that needs to be quickly exterminated. Every level of adventurer from Silver, Gold to Supreme-tier had been lost within, consumed without so much of a cry out. Soon the entire world fell into terror until the Seven gave their personal orders.

The shroud itself was formed through the marks left after the death of ancient deities. It naturally condensed the thoughts of all life around it to strengthen itself, although this wasn't an attempt at resurrection but merely an unconscious instinct. It would bind every being within and drag them into eternal sleep. Since the deities had different personalities and hierarchy, their dreamworld would be different too. The only way to resist was an immense will.

People lost consciousness before only because they were not prepared. Though they had been vigilant they did not have any thoughts of resisting the dreamworld, and after having the right countermeasures the adventurers could enter. Even if one fell into the dreamworld accidentally there was a guarantee that the Self was awake, which in turn kept one from getting lost within.

Everything mentioned were the official settings of Continental War. Joshua knew for sure that these shroud—known as monsters in his past life, was in fact entrances into new dungeons.

[Raging Moutain Wind], [Oceanic Turbulence], [Hundred-head Serpent], [Mountain Giant]… those gods may have left imprint when they perish but it was as powerful as they once had been. In the dreamworlds, players could complete missions left behind from the deity's will, or fight against them to secure rewards. Some of them include formidable respiration techniques from the last millennium, lost spells, some precious supernatural skills, blueprints for magical items or all sorts of talents…. The reward was huge as long as the mission was completed.

That was, if it's completed.

The name [Divine Dungeon Shroud] was not to be trifled with; it was the very definition nightmare for players. Even if it was a dead god the tremendous power it possesses could easily be estimated. As an example, if the combat route was picked, the monsters that would appear were so much more powerful compared to monsters from the continent it would be comparing a heavyweight boxer with a street thug.

As such, there were just a handful of players who could clear the Dungeons of Divine Calamity. Most who enter would soon leave after they reached their limit. To retreat wisely was to protect yourself from self-torment.

When a normal bird could teleport as well as fly in supersonic speeds while unleashing light cannons and dragon breath, only fools with a death wish would keep going!

Nevertheless, Joshua was one of them who cleared it.

That being said, he had challenged the dungeons for a considerable amount of times after of which did he finally cleared one—practice makes perfect, after all.

Furthermore, the black shroud that appeared in the Royal Mage Guild was also starkly different.

"Too weak… This sort of divinity is like comparing a pothole to an ocean when compared to the Divine Dungeon Shroud …"

Divinity has great resistance against magic, which in turn made the mages helpless. As he nodded thoughtfully Joshua also noticed that the shroud was corrosive—another contrast against the Dense shroud of Holy Calamity. The mist back then was normal water vapor; many would not have gotten in it unwittingly otherwise. If that was the case, people would have given it a wide berth on the get-go and would not be trapped in dreamworlds.

Though there were many variants the warrior was certain that this was indeed the Dense shroud of Holy Calamity. Nostradamus and the Great Nun's explanation of the entire incident allowed him to conjecture that this could be an imprint left by some deity worshiped by an ancient race that was found beneath the Orc Palace.

"You're really going in, just like that?" Nostradamus was not doubting Joshua's intentions but merely checking if he was prepared. "I'll say this first," the archmage reminded the warrior. "My spells would be cut off by the shroud and might not be of use. As long as I'm not ready I won't enter alongside you."

"Not a problem."

Though it was a dungeon entrance in his preexistence, now he was really facing off against the [Divine Dungeon Shroud]. There might be a tremendous difference but Joshua never hesitated—he was confident both in his own self and the fact that he knew he now carried a shred of divinity.

It was precisely due to the divine attribute of the shroud that Gold and Supreme champions would be entrapped into dreamworlds. However, the warrior held a hint of divinity that greatly improved his natural resistance.

"You guys stay here." Joshua sighed and turned towards Ling and Ying; he had felt the fiery gaze of the two divine armaments beside him. "It's just a search, not a fight."

"Again with this…"

"But it looks so interesting…"

"You're so…"

Not too concerned about Joshua's interaction with his weapons and the complaints from the young twins, Nostradamus was still unable to find a reason to stop the warrior's adventure.

Nonetheless, the old mage was never one to stop others from jumping into action. In addition, Joshua was now approaching Supreme-tier—meaning that he had even less reason to stop him. Ultimately he just shrugged and gave his blessing.

"May the Truth keep you, and good luck."

If he were to be honest he had a rather curious trust in Joshua. The man who stood in front of him seemed unstoppable by any hardship—even the Dense shroud that was causing him major headaches. As long as the warrior was allowed to advance, he would vaporize stuff.

So he might as well let him try.

Beside them, the Great Nun Saya—who had been quiet for a while—looked up. Though she wore an eye mask her gaze was focused as she watched Joshua prepare for his venture.

The warrior himself sense waves of sacred light and holy spells. In moments he could sense that his own body was given seven to eight stat enhancements and more than five anti-debuff skills.

[Holy Word. Protection] [Divine Guard] [Prayer of the Holy Light][Combat Spirit of the Heroic Soul] [Holy Word. Endurance]… the blessings kept coming and the source was the quiet and motionless Great Nun.

Non-verbal casting? That is not a bad skill—it was, in fact, outstanding which in turns explains why she is the Great Nun of the Abbey.

"Thanks."

The warrior nodded. Though it was not necessary it was still an assistance given out of kindness, and there was no reason to refuse.

"May your journey be fruitful." The Great Nun replied softly as if she did nothing. "Dangers are scattered across the shroud. I could feel that its source lies beneath the ground of that building where seven mages slumber. However, they are very different compared to the other mage and Captain Robzek—they don't seem to be doing well."

"Husk and his bunch." Nostradamus shook his head. "A group of trash as expected; not one of them escaped."

He looked enraged. There was no shirking of his responsibility as leader of the guild, especially after such a huge mess. Even so, the archmage gave a crisp blessing, "May you solve this problem smoothly. Retreat if there's anything wrong, and I'll take over."

"No worries," Joshua said, shaking his head with a relaxed smile as he turned towards the black shroud. "I'll be right back."