Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 782 - 781: The Town After the Bell Tolls

After a brief attempt, Gawain confirmed that Daniel’s situation was indeed different from his own.

Not only was the surrounding environment distinctly different, but more importantly, Daniel did not seem to be in a state where he could disconnect from the network at any time like himself.

After several attempts to disconnect from the network failed, Daniel reported his status with a hint of worry: "...My Lord, I can’t feel the border of the real world. The hazy, illusory mist here seems to not only block my five senses in the dream realm but also interfere with my positioning of the real world. Without positioning reality, there’s no way to disconnect from the network."

Interference, huh...

Gawain didn’t answer for a moment, just silently analyzing in his heart.

He could connect with Daniel’s consciousness, which showed that the other’s mind was still within the network, but some unknown "force" was shielding it, and the hazy mist he mentioned... possessing the properties of blocking senses and interfering with reality perception, might just be the embodiment of this shielding force on Daniel’s side.

But this interference and shielding force clearly did not affect Gawain, the Wanderer from Outer Realm who tagged along on the network.

Could this peculiar "exemption" nature help Daniel out of his predicament?

Gawain was unsure of this, but he felt that at least he needed to find Daniel’s "location" and make contact with him before he could verify it.

In the mental network, it’s possible to "locate" the other’s coordinates, and this positioning technology was a collaborative achievement of Gawain and Daniel—it’s part of the reason why Daniel could smoothly ascend from the Nightmare Mentor to the rank of bishop.

Now, the strange "screening" state that Daniel and the others were in seemed to be interfering with the network’s positioning function as well. When Gawain tried to search for Daniel’s location, all he "saw" was a chaotic void shadow.

But just as Gawain left a ton of secret ports and exploitable breaches in the login and communication layers of the mental network, this positioning system also had nearly a dozen "hidden lines" inserted by him and Daniel, which essentially acted as another set of stealth positioning mechanisms—unmonitored by the mental network, and unknown to anyone other than Gawain and Daniel.

With the intention of verifying some hypotheses, Gawain slightly closed his eyes and quietly activated a network link that had never been used before. In the hazy darkness, a "net" with glimmering faint light appeared in his mental visual field and coincided with this bizarre town.

A flickering light spot then appeared not far away—that was Daniel’s mind.

Gawain felt quite calm inside, carrying a sense of anticipated tranquility.

Sure enough, the Sandbox One’s power was ineffective against these various "hidden ports" and "hidden links" that he and Daniel set up.

Because these hidden ports and links are unknown to outsiders, the Eternal Sleepers are unaware of them, the mental network is unaware of them, so Sandbox One, built by the Eternal Sleepers and rooted in the mental network... naturally doesn’t know of them either.

Just as Gawain thought: a virtual system cannot simulate things that exceed the system itself, no matter how powerful the "peculiarities" nurtured in Sandbox One might be, they cannot touch things it doesn’t understand.

He himself not being affected by many of the strange powers of Sandbox One should be for this reason: as a "Wanderer from Outer Realm" hitching a ride on the network and with a soul not belonging to this world, he should be the most inexpressible and incomprehensible "entity" to Sandbox One, even... Sandbox One should not even be able to perceive his existence from the framework itself.

Just like those Eternal Sleepers priests who have been acting with Gawain all this time, yet have always remained oblivious to his presence.

But this should be limited to the current situation; when the power of Sandbox One exceeds the sandbox itself, becoming a sort of god-like entity, it’s uncertain whether this limitation would still be in effect.

As thoughts flipped in his mind and various conjectures and plans constantly took shape, Gawain had already walked leisurely down the silent and deserted streets of the town and arrived deep within an alley near the square.

This was the location shown by the positioning system as where Daniel was.

Yet it was empty, without a single figure.

Gawain slightly closed his eyes, in that illusory positioning grid, the light spot representing Daniel was blinking right in front of him, with a clear and stable signal.

"My Lord," Daniel’s voice simultaneously echoed in his mind, "I sense that you’re nearby, but I can’t see you..."

"I can’t see you either, but since you can sense my presence, it seems that Sandbox One’s ’screening’ breach is quite substantial," Gawain said calmly in his mind, "It seems unable to block a series of ’Deep Channels’ we set up, you should be able to use them to disconnect from the network.

"Try it out first, but don’t actually disconnect—this town seems to harbor many oddities; we should explore some more.

"Plus, I’m also concerned about where everyone who’s been ’deleted’ has ended up."

"Yes, my Lord," Daniel responded respectfully and then fell silent, beginning to try reestablishing contact with the real world using those "Deep Channels" that could bypass the surface of the mental network. About ten seconds later, his voice sounded again, carrying a sense of relaxation and reverence, "My Lord, it’s exactly as you said! After activating the Deep Channels, I’ve regained perception of the reality border, and I should be able to successfully disconnect from the current state."

"Good," Gawain nodded, "Then next, we’ll need to find your real position..."

As he spoke, he looked around, trying to find something out of place.

Daniel’s "position" was right here, there was no doubt about it, Sandbox One couldn’t block those hidden links in the "Deep Channels," so the positioning system should be functioning well, yet he couldn’t see anyone... sensory interference? Parallel space? Or...

In contemplation, his sight swept over the nearby ground, and a small puddle of water caught his eye.

This made his heart stir, and he couldn’t help but recall the reflections he saw in the water on the square.

He approached the puddle, seeing the still, mirror-like water surface reflecting the appearance of the surrounding streets—just like the reflections he saw on the square, the Illusion Town lit up with warm, bright street lamps, and households lit their lights in that reflection.

Gawain crouched beside the puddle, recalling the mysticism knowledge he mastered, gaining an understanding in his heart.

He reached out, gently touching the calm water surface, and a few scattered ripples spread through the reflection. The shadow of the town shook and trembled before him, and as the water slowly stilled, he saw that the lights in the reflected town were extinguished, quietly enveloped by boundless darkness.

Gawain stood up, hearing faint sounds of laughter and conversation from the residences behind him. Bright and warm light spilled from the top of a nearby iron-black lamppost, illuminating the street, casting his shadow long upon the pavement.

This is the town after the bell had rung.

He had pierced through some kind of "veil," arriving at the "other side" of this town!

Gawain saw Daniel’s figure as well.

The old mage stood quietly under a street lamp a short distance away, his waist bent, eyes staring blankly ahead as if lost in thought, completely oblivious to Gawain’s presence.

Gawain frowned, recalling that Daniel used the image of an elegant middle-aged mage when entering the mental network. Yet now he had turned into his true form from the real world—was it the bizarre town that nullified Daniel’s disguise? Or had Daniel unconsciously removed it under mental interference after the "deletion"?

Suspicion flashed across his mind briefly, and Gawain stepped beside Daniel. First confirming the absence of Selena and others nearby, he then raised his hand, lightly but firmly patting Daniel’s shoulder.

This was just an attempt, yet it immediately had an effect. Gawain distinctly felt some stagnant, distorted aura shatter and dissipate upon his pat. Daniel’s eyes blinked twice, the trance-like state dissipating. He instinctively showed a wary expression, and then saw Gawain, along with the street illuminated by lamplight around them.

"My lord," Daniel immediately bowed to Gawain and looked around confusedly, "what is this..."

"If I’m not mistaken, this should be the Illusion Town after the bell rang," Gawain said solemnly. "I came in through the water’s reflection. Some unknown force has split the town into parts before and after the bell rings, the post-bell town hidden deep within. You are trapped here, and others should be the same."

He paused, showing a slight smile: "Seems my mere presence is enough to disrupt the ’rules’ here—I didn’t expect it to be so easy to awaken you. I initially thought that if the pat didn’t work, I’d have to use more intense methods to break this strange place."

"Your power is unparalleled," Daniel immediately said with a hint of reverence and gratitude, then noticed his own image change, and showed a confused expression, "Why have I turned into my real-world appearance..."

Gawain glanced at the old mage: "I’m curious too—you have no idea what’s going on?"

"This... I don’t know," Daniel frowned, "strange, not only have I turned into my real-world form, but I can’t disguise myself again..."

"Perhaps it’s the town’s bizarre forces suppressing external objects," Gawain muttered, looking down the street, "or maybe the town’s depths don’t support ’virtual imagery.’ Anyway, stay alert. I now truly feel... this town is alive and has ill intentions."

"Yes," Daniel said respectfully, following Gawain’s gaze, "My lord, what shall we do next?"

"Let’s find others, investigate along the way," Gawain said casually, "using the Deep Channel, you should be able to locate others’ positions, right?"

Daniel tried for a moment, then nodded: "I can. I’ve sensed Magnan and Yuri’s positions nearby; they seem to be together."

"Let’s go, check it out."

They left, heading further down the street, accompanied by occasional voices from nearby homes, the various lights throughout the town casting an uncanny, terrifying atmosphere between the ancient, dark buildings and street corners. Walking beside Gawain, cloaked in black robes and with neural cords slowly writhing, Daniel’s gloomy demeanor heightened the effect—

There seemed nothing more fitting for a "haunted town" atmosphere than a sombre black-robed old wizard.

Walking on, Gawain couldn’t resist glancing at Daniel, casually saying: "Your mental state should have stabilized now, right?"

The old mage didn’t know why Gawain suddenly brought this up but answered immediately: "Yes, thanks to your grace, I’m freed from that terrible mental torment."

"Then don’t you consider altering your demeanor and style in the real world?"

"This..." The old mage appeared a bit dazed, "Mary did mention wanting to prepare some new clothes for me, but... no, doesn’t matter, if it’s your wish, then I..."

Gawain quickly envisioned this old mage’s change in style in the real world, and after a series of chaotic images emerged, he promptly curtailed this overly divergent thought before Daniel’s words concluded, interrupting: "Never mind, I was merely speaking offhand, don’t take it to heart."

Daniel remained as ever, without doubt: "As you wish."

Gawain acknowledged with a hum, glancing ahead and slowly halting.

He saw two figures standing abruptly at a distance, precisely the other two Eternal Sleeper Archbishops shielded alongside Daniel to this "side."

They too had their disguises removed, reverted to their real-world appearances, standing blankly by the road.

One donned a white robe, with a scholarly demeanor, wearing a monocle, recognizable as Archbishop Yuri, except that he was middle-aged, with some wrinkles on his face, more white hair on his head, and had slightly gained weight.

The other was unmistakably Archbishop Magnan, whose real-world form showed little change compared to his "virtual image," except that his height reduced from over two meters to just under a meter and a half... about Amber’s height.

Gawain silently glanced at the two archbishops not far away and said quietly to Daniel: "The Eternal Sleepers have quite a few characters with distinct personalities."

Daniel: "Indeed as you say."

(Ah yes, during the double period, seeking monthly votes!)