Chapter 5: Mysterious

Mysterious, Chapter 5: Mysterious. Before long, five disheveled men stepped forward.

They were generally dressed in worn-out flaxen-colored cloth garments, their faces covered in thick beards, which were clearly rarely groomed, making it impossible to tell their actual ages.

"Your names..."

Aaron Sotos sighed inwardly and began to ask.

"I am Sanchez."

"Gelin."

"Baker."

"Adam."

"Bazhi, my lord."

The five Militia members each reported their names. Aaron glanced at the man named 'Bazhi', seeing he was about thirty years old, with a sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked appearance. Upon seeing Aaron's gaze, he revealed a fawning smile, though it was greatly diminished by his mouthful of rotten teeth.

Aaron scanned the man's left and right hands, and sure enough, the little fingers were missing, causing his heart to stir.

According to the laws established by Theodore, anyone in the territory caught stealing was immediately punished with the sentence of 'finger-chopping'!

'This man had two fingers chopped off, meaning he was caught twice, and who knows how many times he wasn't caught...'

'Despicable thieves, honest-to-goodness farmers... Father really gave me a fine selection.'

Aaron's voice became stern: "From today on, you are each a Squad Leader. You must complete the tasks I assign, especially on the battlefield. Do you understand?"

A listless chorus of agreement rang out; it was clear this was a group of old soldiers.

Once on the battlefield, they would surely prioritize saving their own lives. They might be good at snatching spoils, but expecting them to maneuver against a strong enemy was a pipe dream!

Fortunately, Aaron had never held much hope to begin with.

To the Lord, they were merely cannon fodder.

And for Aaron, having this group act as meat shields—or at the very least, distracting the enemy's attention when it came time to run—was enough!

"Now, begin training!"

He coughed and pointed his longsword at Bazhi: "You, come over and spar with me!"

Aaron had studied the art of managing people a little, and he prepared to establish his authority right then.

The opponent was nothing more than a thief who often went hungry and perhaps had some experience in street brawls; in any case, he was no match for someone trained as a proper Knight!

In the forest.

After briefly disciplining each Squad Leader, giving them a beating to establish authority, promising future distribution of spoils, and giving them a pep talk, Aaron went off on his own with his bow and arrows to hunt in the forest.

Whoosh!

His archery had also been honed through hard practice; while not comparable to a specialized Archer, it was still respectable.

At this moment, catching a glimpse of prey tracks, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow. As his fingers released, the bowstring vibrated continuously.

Pfft!

Not far away, a small deer was pierced by the arrow, collapsed on the ground, and a pool of blood flowed out.

"Good luck today, we can have an extra meal."

Aaron nodded and walked out of the forest with his prey.

Along the way, the commoners of the Lower Green Forest bowed to show their respect upon seeing him.

Aaron kept a cold face and largely ignored them; he was used to it, and it was impossible to respond to everyone. Only the occasional prominent figure in the territory received a nod of acknowledgment from him.

Before long, he arrived outside the castle.

Jinni was holding up the hem of her cake dress, about to head out. Seeing Aaron, she couldn't help but step forward to greet him: "Aaron... is this your prey?"

She had beautiful blonde hair, and the purple eyes inherited by the Sotos Family were like gemstones. At this moment, they were blinking incessantly, staring at Aaron's prey, her expression full of longing.

Aaron smiled and patted Jinni's head: "Don't worry, there will be plenty for you."

He found it somewhat amusing and recalled the past.

He still remembered the first time Jinni saw him kill a wild rabbit; the little girl's eyes were full of tears: "The little bunnies are so cute, why kill them?"

Then... Aaron made a dish of braised rabbit meat and stuffed a piece into Jinni's mouth...

The result was that Jinni discovered a New Continent—it turned out that little bunnies were not only cute but also delicious!

Not only that, the little bunnies' mommies and daddies were also delicious!

The little deer were also delicious!

"That's a promise then, this is our pact for a lifetime."

Jinni blinked mischievously.

Aaron's palm couldn't help but slide down to pinch Jinni's smooth cheek.

Well, it had to be said, little girls were indeed the cutest. This left him feeling a bit wistful; he really should have had a daughter in his past life. As for sons, who even dogs would dislike, he would set them aside for now.

'Although... I didn't even have a wife in my past life...'

"I'm already ten years old, don't pinch my cheeks anymore."

Jinni puffed up and swatted away Aaron's hand, her cheeks bulging like buns, as if performing a facial expression act.

"Haha!"

Seeing this, Aaron couldn't help but laugh happily.

Although Sonia and Sean were very annoying, this younger sister was still quite cute.

It was just hard to say whether this pure family affection could be maintained after she grew up.

Thinking of Colin and Sean, Aaron couldn't help but sigh deeply again.

Night.

Entering the Dream World once again.

The originally azure sea, which had been refracting Scarlet Light, now underwent a change, beginning to turn entirely scarlet, as if it were the "Red Sea"!

Aaron looked up, gazing at that Scarlet sun; he did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt the sun growing increasingly scarlet, giving him a deeply uncomfortable feeling of nausea.

It was so red it was turning black, as if blood were about to drip from it...

"To think I could do such a thing in my dream..."

Aaron looked at the direction he had set for himself, but did not begin to move.

According to his observations, movement also required energy.

And the savings from the previous sixteen years had already been exhausted on the matter of changing the sun.

Now he had returned to the miserable era of his childhood, though fortunately, he could already begin to act.

"Current energy is precious, and in reality, I am facing the danger of war; using it to move is a waste. It would be better to try and see how it can help me... for instance, bringing the Mysterious power from the dream into the real world. Even without that great power to change the world, just one ten-thousandth, or one hundred-thousandth of it, would be peerless in reality, and perhaps... could even make me immortal?"

A look of longing appeared in Aaron's eyes as he began to try and recall the feeling from when he had changed the sun earlier.

That kind of—authority of the 【Dream Creator】!

"I want to become stronger!"

"I want to obtain the Mysterious!"

"I want to become extraordinary!"

In a manner similar to a prayer, Aaron recited his needs in his heart.

Complex and terrifying sounds came to his ears.

It was as if that day had been recreated, with endless Chaos and madness surging forth.

In a state of near-frenzy, Aaron obtained his "feedback"!

【Mysterious insufficient!】

"Mysterious? Is this the energy I defined before, the thing that is produced along with my daily entry into the dream?"

Aaron discovered that in this semi-mad state, his permissions had been elevated, granting him a sliver of an "omniscient" experience.

"As I am now, I cannot reshape my body, because I lack..."

"Extraordinary consciousness can be obtained, but the energy is insufficient!"

"Moreover, it is easy to obtain the extraordinary in this world, but to manifest divinity in the real world is very difficult!"