Beneath the altar, a giant egg half the height of a person lay quietly within a metal box crafted through Dragon Alchemy.
The dragon egg was entirely golden, with dark golden patterns slowly flowing across its shell. Despite the unknown passage of time, the egg still retained a faint vitality.
Moreover, a rich fragrance wafted from the egg, causing Richard to swallow his saliva involuntarily.
What a fragrant egg.
Bruto introduced it to Richard: "Sir, this is the offspring of a Dragon King from ancient times. Back then, our Magic Dwarf clan served a six-headed Dragon King. Later, the Wizards overthrew the Dragon Throne, and this Dragon King was slain by the Wizards.
Before his death, he entrusted this egg to us, hoping we would hatch it when the time was right.
But after the Wizards overthrew the dragons, we too became their servants. At that time, many remnants of the dragons were still hiding in the Wizard World, and the Wizards' only approach to dragons was slaughter. This led our ancestors to postpone the idea of hatching this egg.
Later, war broke out among the Wizards, and our clan lost many things in the conflict, including the knowledge of how to hatch this dragon egg."
Bruto lifted the dragon egg from the box and placed it before Richard.
"Sir, the High Priest instructed me to give this egg to you. He believes that in your hands, this egg might still hatch.
As for what you do with it after hatching—whether you keep it as a magic pet or preserve it as a specimen—that's entirely up to you."
Richard looked at the egg before him, feeling somewhat conflicted.
He was torn between eating the egg or hatching it.
His body told him that consuming the egg would trigger a significant transformation. However, having the offspring of a Dragon King as a magic pet would bring benefits no less than those of a transformation.
Bruto said nothing more, his task was complete. Whatever Richard decided next was none of his concern.
In the end, Richard abandoned the idea of consuming the egg for transformation. Instead, he stored the egg along with its container.
As he touched the box, the Miracle Furnace sent him a message.
[Material: Dragon Egg Preservation Box]
[Extractable Information: Static Force Field Tree Pattern]
[Extraction Cost: 30 Mental Energy]
[Extractable Technique: Dragon Alchemy (Incomplete)]
[Extraction Cost: 20 Mental Energy]
"Not bad, an unexpected gain," Richard thought with a hidden smile.
After securing the egg and the box, Richard followed Bruto out of the mine.
Outside the mine, the Magic Dwarves were cutting down trees and building cabins.
Richard had no intention of making these dwarves his vassals. Firstly, their numbers were too small—thirty was far from enough, regardless of their talents.
Secondly, these dwarves possessed no special skills or abilities that Richard needed.
Their rudimentary alchemy was of no use to Richard, and their ability to locate mineral veins was equally irrelevant.
Finally, their faith rendered their last potential utility null.
Thus, Richard decided to let these dwarves thrive on their own in the Wizard World.
He could sense that the high-ranking members of the Council of Truth were constantly working to restore the Wizard World's environment.
The Magic Dwarves from the Mirror World would eventually return to the Wizard World.
If these dwarves could establish roots in the Wizard World beforehand, it would benefit their eventual return.
Before leaving, Richard advised, "If you lack anything, go to the nearby human kingdoms to purchase it. As for mining... I don't recommend it.
The mineral veins of the entire Wizard World have been sealed by the Council of Truth. If you mine without permission, you'll be prosecuted by the Wizards of the Legal Department."
"Sir, what if we want to read books?" Bruto suddenly asked.
"Books?" Richard was surprised. "Reading is a good habit.
If it's apprentice-level knowledge, that's fine. You can seek help from nearby Wizard academies. But for more advanced knowledge, you'll have to trade for it yourselves.
If you truly want to read, focus on increasing your population. Once your numbers reach a certain level, you can go to the Tower of Truth and contact the Nine Stars Commerce to reach me.
At that time, I can introduce you to the Plane Wars, where you can earn commissions.
But be warned, the Plane Wars are brutal. Even Wizards often perish. Make sure you're mentally prepared before deciding."
Bruto remained silent, quietly jotting down Richard's words in a notebook.
After finishing, he performed a Wizard Salute toward Richard.
"Sir, your kindness to us is as vast as a mountain. The Magic Dwarves will never forget your grace."
Richard smiled and turned to leave. Bruto stood still, watching Richard's figure gradually shrink until it disappeared.
...
Back at the One-Ring Tower of Truth, Richard began inquiring about the Dreamwalker Club.
He remembered that the club's leader had once told him its address, but after over two hundred years and a Darkness of the Soul event, Richard had completely forgotten it.
Thus, he had to start his search from scratch.
After much inquiry, Richard finally confirmed that the Dreamwalker Club was not in this Tower of Truth.
This left Richard somewhat disheartened.
Having spent half a year in the Tower of Truth and several hundred Magic Essences only to learn that the club wasn't here was enough to dampen anyone's spirits.
However, Richard's disappointment didn't last long, as the Nine Stars Commerce's cross-domain trade was about to begin.
Joining the caravan, Richard set off once more. This time, their destination was the Two-Ring Tower of Truth, passing through seven worlds and expected to take two and a half years.
It must be said, cross-domain trade is an incredibly enlightening activity.
After these two trips, Richard not only witnessed the unique landscapes of the Element Imbalanced Worlds—from floating islands to mountain ranges and endless oceans—but also encountered many world-specific rules.
From the aurora-filled Aurora World to the ever-windy Hurricane World, and even the Death Reversal World where death marked the beginning.
The unique rules of these worlds left Richard exclaiming in disbelief.
The boundless Astral World, with its infinite realms, could give rise to any fantastical world in the vast sea of stars.
Two and a half years later, the caravan successfully arrived at the Two-Ring Tower of Truth.
Richard bid farewell to the caravan leader and began inquiring about the Dreamwalker Club in the Two-Ring Tower of Truth.
"You're looking for the Dreamwalker Club?"
In the tavern, the bartender wiped a glass behind the counter, while Richard, cloaked in black and wearing a silver mask, placed a piece of Magic Essence on the counter.
Taverns, in fantasy worlds, are often places for gathering information.
In the Wizard World, taverns served the same purpose.
In this era of expansion, war had left many Wizards with psychological issues. While not classified as illnesses, these issues caused them great discomfort.
Thus, they needed an outlet for their emotions.
Taverns, places Wizards had heard of even in their mortal days, became just that.
Stimulated by alcohol, Wizards could loudly share their experiences, boast of their achievements, and vent their frustrations.
Such a place would be a waste if it didn't also deal in information.
"You've heard of it?" Richard asked.
"Indeed, I have," the bartender replied casually. "Ten Magic Essences, and I'll tell you their address."
Without hesitation, Richard pulled out nine more pieces of Magic Essence from his pocket.
The bartender accepted them, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Their headquarters is on the twelfth floor of the residential area, number three hundred sixty-two."
With the address in hand, Richard didn't linger. He immediately stood up and left the tavern.
Just as he was about to exit, the bartender's voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Friend, a word of advice—stay away from those Wizards."
Richard turned back.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing much. I've heard that Wizards who joined them ended up going mad."
Richard frowned, wanting to delve deeper, but the bartender shook his head.
"It's just hearsay. I don't know the specifics."
Richard gave a slight bow in thanks, then quickly left the tavern.
...
Twelfth floor of the residential area.
Richard flew leisurely through the sky, the bartender's warning echoing in his mind.
Wizards going mad wasn't uncommon.
Their thirst for truth often drove them to explore the unknown. Beneath the world's veil, there were many things capable of shattering a Wizard's sanity.
But the Dreamwalker Club wasn't studying anything unnameable.
According to the Pyramid Nightmare Lord Richard had once encountered, before the Wizard Wars, Wizards had extensively explored the Nightmare Wizard World.
The rituals they left behind shouldn't have any issues.
If technical problems were ruled out, the only remaining possibility was that they had encountered some major trouble in the Nightmare World.
"Such a hassle," Richard sighed.
Soon, Richard found the Wizard Tower at number three hundred sixty-two, as described by the bartender.
The tower was quite ordinary, similar to Richard's Black Tower, with the only difference being it had two extra floors.
But the moment he saw it, Richard sensed something amiss.
The tower exuded an aura of "nightmare" from within.
"Ulysses, what do you think of this tower?" Richard asked the black crow on his shoulder.
"This tower?" Ulysses opened his eyes and gave a small yawn.
"Let me see."
A faint glint appeared in Ulysses's eyes, and the entire tower began to emit an eerie aura in his vision.
As a World Master, Ulysses wasn't deceived by appearances. He immediately recognized that the eerie aura was the result of "evaporating" nightmare rules.
"Interesting," Ulysses remarked with curiosity. "This tower seems like it was transported from the Nightmare World. Its entire structure is evaporating nightmare rules from the inside out.
That's highly unusual."
"Is it dangerous?" Richard asked quickly.
"Caw, I'm not entirely sure."
Ulysses stared at the tower, his tone uncertain. But after observing the surrounding environment, his tone shifted to certainty.
"Isn't this the Tower of Truth? Feel free to enter boldly. This is the Wizards' stronghold—what chaos could Nightmare World entities possibly stir up here?"
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