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As we decided to make our way down the hole into whatever this strange, underground jungle could truly be, I noticed several notifications pop up in front of me.

Right, I did earn quite a decent amount of EXP from all the battles, huh?

Ding!

[You and your Party have defeated several formidable Nightmares!]

[You have earned a very high quantity of EXP!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Your Level has increased from Level 289 to Level 293/300!]

[All of your Stats have increased.]

[You earned +4.000.000 System Points.]

[Because of having upgraded five or more Dream Weapons using your Special Abilities, you've earned the Title Skill: [Dream Weapon Forgemaster: Lv1]!]

[Because you've helped your friends evolve and grow stronger even further within this short frame of time, both emotionally and in terms of strength, you've strengthened your bonds with them.]

[You earned +20.000 Friendship Points.]

Oh nice, more Friendship Points, there are needed to upgrade Dream Weapons after all… Not those of others though, only my own, for some reason.

I don't know why though? I guess maybe when I'm upgrading and evolving another person's dream weapon, it is as if I'm already fulfilling the "Friendship" requirement or whatever?

So when I must upgrade my own, I need the points instead… Okay I get it.

Or maybe not, whatever the case, there's this new Skill as well, a Title that might be just what I needed.

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[Dream Weapon Forgemaster: Lv1]

The World has recognized your efforts and your great feats, forging and evolving over five Dream Weapons on your own with powers never seen before, you're someone of immense talent, and perhaps the only one that could give Humanity enough Hope to defeat the Nightmares tormenting them every day.

You've been given the title of a Dream Weapon Forgemaster, and you can now not only evolve, but modify, enhance, and transform Dream Weapons using compatible materials, while also possessing the ability to forge new Dream Weapons and assign them to new Masters, who will develop unique Dream Hearts.

Evolution, Enhancement, Modification, Transformation, and Creation of Dream Weapons will all come with their unique and respective prices and material requirements. But the more you do any of this, the stronger your Authority as a Dream Weapon Forgemaster will grow, giving you several bonuses.

Authority Bonuses:

Dream Weapon Evolution, Enhancement, Modification, Transformation, and Creation Cost Decreases by 25%.

Dream Weapon Evolution, Enhancement, Modification, Transformation, and Creation Power and Effects Increase by 25%.

Any Dream Weapon you've modified will gain your "Forgemaster Mark" that will make them 25% Stronger.

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Oh my! This is really quite good! I got the jackpot right away with this new Skill, and it sure is damn useful, it gives me a whole lot of new things to play around with.

I not only can Evolve them, but I can do much more now, hehe.

I wonder what effects Enhancement, Modification, or Transformation could give… Although everything requiring materials is quite annoying… And I bet even more System Points.

The discount in materials is nice though! So I hope that discount keeps increasing.

Now, didn't Nyx asked me to upgrade her Dream Weapon? Also Lucifer.

For Nyx, her dream weapon is her battle axe, the one I made for her called "Chaos", and there's also her dress, Achlys. But I don't know if that also became her Dream Weapon.

I don't think it did? I'll have to check that up close.

If I remember correctly, I made them a while ago, when we were back in the desert exploring and slaying monsters while hunting vampire and killing gods.

Damn that story arc sure was long, huh?

…

Is it weird to refer to segments of my life as "story arcs"? Enjoying the story? Discover more on M|V|LEM6PYR.

Maybe.

…Alright, let's take attention to what's in front of me instead.

"Oh wow… Was this beneath the island this whole time?!" Alma gasped.

"I can't believe it… It's a lush jungle…! It looks similar to the vegetation of the island too, so it is all infected with Nightmare Miasma, huh?" Emily wondered.

"But it feels strangely different, like… it is not as poisonous? Or fresh? It gives off a more ancient vibe… to me at least," Sofia said.

"I wouldn't say it's not as poisonous…" I said. "I can sense that this area is indeed very ancient, and the Nightmare Miasma that's been in here is even older. But technically, this place is even more toxic and infectious than the surface."

As we stopped our descent into a large, grassy hill surrounded by enormous trees and giant, colorful tropical flowers, we admired our surroundings while commenting about them.

And indeed, as I had detected, this place… was ancient!

I don't want to say it might lead to the Center of the Earth, but… it just might be a thing in here!

I can't believe it, not only this world is full of Nightmares and Dream Weapons but there's a whole Hollow Earth thing?

Is this Hollow Earth related to the Nightmares though?

Seeing how everything in here is all an Ancient Nightmare Field, it might as well be.

But at the same time, it just feels different.

"I-It is even more dangerous then?!" Sofia panicked.

"Don't worry, as long as you're wearing my Armor you should be fine," I said with a gentle smile. "I've already cast Nightmare Protection on all of you as well, so it's fine, calm down."

"A-Ah… Okay then," Sofia nodded nervously.

"Oh wow… This might be a Nightmare Field and all, but isn't it quite beautiful from here?" Emeraldine commented, looking into the distance from the hill.

We walked forward to see what she saw, and indeed, she wasn't wrong at all.

It was a damn beautiful view from here!

The enormous mountains, the vast wildlands, the forests, grasslands, the flying… nightmare beasts the size of plains, which were like ancient dinosaurs, directly coming towards us, the beautiful orange sky, the clouds, the sun, and even the wind- Wait a second.

"There's a sky?!" I gasped. "And a sun! And clouds! Even though we're down here?! Wait, how much did we walk down?"

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