[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 201: The Garden on the Fog (3)

...****************...

After finishing her guard, Noelle and Olivia went straight into the cabin, moving into the room that was reserved for them.

After moving the sleeping Levina to the same room as Chloe and Brackas, Noelle is lying on the bed, with Olivia propping her down from above. Despite that, Noelle was not visibly disturbed, and instead enjoyed the additional burden on her body.

He with a serious look that strangely seemed relaxed looked to the side, precisely at the slightly open window, letting the cold and heavy sea breeze in.

The sky was still covered by thick black clouds, but the two of them could faintly see what was behind it.

It was the moon, which was many times larger than the moon they knew.

They may both be too focused on themselves, so they are not aware of how much time has passed. Maybe, it's been an hour or two.

They were all now in the real world, so the usual physical restrictions were back in effect, unlike in that collective dreamland. So, maybe some of the people on the ship have already finished their rest and lunch now.

Olivia, whose face was still slightly flushed with a few drops of sweat flowing from her cheeks, finally lifted her face. He looked at Noelle up close, trying to guess what Noelle was thinking.

"Noelle .. Is something wrong? Noelle seemed to think of many things earlier … "

The memories of what happened earlier instantly flooded Olivia's head. It made her a little embarrassed, and gave a red hue on her face. Even so, it did not make him stop to direct an anxious look at Noelle.

Noelle, however, she only smiled a little in response. She turned her head and looked back at Olivia, and without saying anything immediately strengthened her embrace, making Olivia return to her original position.

Her face was stuck around Noelle's neck, and her gentle breath tickled a little. But Noelle was barely affected by it, and instead muttered, "I'm just curious."

"Absolutely curious about what? "

Olivia raised her head slightly, then asked while tilting her head curiously. Although, in reality she already had a guess as to the curiosity that Noelle had.

Realizing that, Noelle simply smiled wryly and helplessly replied, "So, I suddenly remembered .. The hypothesis we created earlier. Based on what we know, the six Gods are fighting, right? But who is his opponent? "

After hearing all Noelle's questions, Olivia inevitably pouted and again drowned her face in Noelle's neck.

"Noelle was really thinking about something else in the middle of it all, yeah … "

Olivia was already expecting this answer, but she couldn't help herself from the slight disappointment of finding out that Noelle was already focusing on something else while spending time with her.

"Thinking about other things while you're spending time with your partner is not good. Noelle knows that, right? "

Olivia now raised her upper body, using both her hands to support her own body on the padded mattress. Her gaze was straight into Noelle's eyes, while her slightly loose and tangled nightgown swayed whenever the sea breeze hit her.

Just by directing her gaze slightly downwards, Noelle could already see the part that was usually hard to see. It made her almost instinctively look the other way, before finally looking back at Olivia.

"Mh."

He only slightly nodded, without giving any additional answers. This irritated Olivia a little, but she could only endure her annoyance with resignation.

There were many things that Noelle thought of after she put out her hypothesis about the situation that happened to the gods. It made him unable to calm down even for a moment.

Ignoring Olivia who was still pouting, Noelle then woke up and sat in her place, making Olivia who was in her down position also wake up in surprise.

She widened her eyes for a moment, but soon returned to normal as she realized there were many things Noelle had to think about.

In fact, it would all be easier if Noelle stopped thinking about it, and spent time as usual. However, Noelle obviously could not do that.

His high curiosity, followed by how much information he had made him subconsciously moved to find out the truth.

He himself was aware that this was an annoying trait and could be very dangerous. However, he could do nothing to stop this tendency.

Noelle involuntarily moved her hand to hug Olivia from her waist, and Olivia also responded by tightening her arms at Noelle.

The interlocking warmth, followed by the softness of each surface of their bodies made the two of them gradually become calmer. Noelle closed her eyes, trying to calm her own mind.

However, right at that moment, his intuition of danger would be slightly triggered.

Noelle immediately opened her eyes, and pulled Olivia further into her arms, leaving Olivia almost completely covered by her body.

Even so, it seemed like it was a futile act.

His intuition of danger could be triggered not because of the danger targeting the two of them, but because Noelle who thought that something dangerous was approaching.

In reality, this may be almost harmless. At least on the surface.

A thick gray fog reappeared, followed by increasingly heavy air.

Both Noelle and Olivia still remember this fog. It is the same fog that draws them to the collective dreamland!

As Noelle warily watched her surroundings, her eyes became heavier, and she quickly lost all desire to wake up.

Within seconds, he and everyone on board had been sound asleep.

...****************...

When she opened her eyes, Noelle realized that she was not in the room in the giant castle anymore. His body was normal without any changes to being a child.

Looking around, Noelle then concluded that she was now in a different place and in a different state than when she had entered into the collective dreamland before.

(My body is normal, and the location is different .. Will this collective dreamland give a different result every time someone walks into it? I have to check it out myself .. )

Noelle got up from her position, and looked around once more. Now he realized he might be in a very tall tower.

There were many towers in that area of the castle, so it was a little impossible to guess which one. However, Noelle knew for sure that this tower was located in a different place from the previous giant castle.

It was due to its size that was in accordance with the ordinary human body. All the things in the castle had the unique characteristic of being extremely large in size, so it could be concluded that he was not there right now.

Noelle stretched a little, and finally walked away from the tower.

However, just as he was about to step outside, he heard something from the top floor of the tower he was in.

(Is there anyone else here? )

His own voice was not so strange, just like sheet after sheet of a book that was opened and then read by the person who opened it.

Noelle who was curious about the figure finally decided to return to the tower. He prepared with his weapon, and slowly climbed up the stairs towards the room from which the sound originated.

After finding the right room, Noelle did not rush to barge in and instead observed it for a while.

He focused his detection to make sure that what he felt was truly human or not. Then, he sliced a bit of his finger, made a few drops of blood come out and into the crack of the door that blocked him from the room.

As soon as her blood came in, Noelle immediately channeled her magic power to the nata section to activate《Clairvoyance》 to see what was behind the door. The blood he had put in the room was already placed in an area that was difficult to detect, making it a weapon of emergency at any time.

As soon as she looked inside, Noelle soon found a man who looked to be about mid-30 years old was silent while looking at the book, seemingly focused on the content written on it.

The face of the man had the hallmarks of people who were from the south. With a friendly face, a warm gaze and a thin smile that lingered on complemented his appearance as a 'friendly middle-aged man'.

Noelle herself had never gone south, so she almost never saw the people there. However, his activities as an adventurer made him able to recognize the facial characteristics of each country based only on written characteristics.

The man's skin was slightly tanned, and his somewhat black hair had several parts that had been bleached, indicating a very clear passage of time.

In addition to the friendly looking facial features, the man had a slightly unkempt appearance. His hair was a little messy, and his face had a dirty thin mustache and beard. The clothes he used were also only white shirts whose arms were rolled up to the elbows, and black jeans wrapped around a brown belt.

Completing it, he also used a tattered gray robe.

Noelle had unknowingly noticed the man for a time that she herself did not know. Until finally, the man realized Noelle's whereabouts.

He turned towards the door that was blocking him and Noelle, then gave a gentle smile.

Opening his mouth, he then chuckled in a hoarse voice. "Don't be too careful with me. I'm just an old man who's been stuck here for years."

What she said made Noelle widen her eyes in surprise. The man had just said that he had been stuck here for a long time. But, what he meant by 'here' was what exactly? Maybe it was the real world? Or maybe a collective dream?

Personally, Noelle preferred the first answer.

That answer he made was based on the fact that the force that attracted everyone to dreamland would only last for some time, then make them wake up again.

So, it was impossible for one to be stuck in this realm for the rest of his life.

As Noelle was perplexed at the thought of the situation, the door opened by itself, easily displaying Noelle's figure before the man, making Noelle instantly act wary by controlling all the swords in her hands.

"A teenager? "

He did not expect that the existence that he had sensed would be a teenager who had not even reached the age of mental adulthood.

However, that expression of shock did not last long, and was soon replaced with a warm smile that appeared on his face.

"Did you come here with your group? "

Not sensing any danger, Noelle lowered her weapon. He was still somewhat wary as he answered the man.

"Yes." Yeah."

After praying for a short answer from Noelle, the man immediately showed a clear face of relief as he sighed.

"Thank God .. For a moment I thought that you were brought to this place in a strange way .. Praise Miss," said the man, closing his eyes and pinching his finger, then knock on his chest three times in a crescent moon pattern.

(The movement .. )

It was a familiar move for Noelle. She and Olivia were taught to do the move whenever something good approached them. However, in the end the two of them had never done it again since they had become vampires.

It was a hand gesture made to show gratitude at the existence of a certain—Vesperi Goddess Zelica.

"Someone from the church? "

Noelle immediately made a guess, but the man only responded with a wry smile.

"I am only a devout believer, and did not officially join the church. Of course, I occasionally give charity and do some volunteer work at Mass."

After saying so, the man immediately averted his gaze and returned to look at the book in his hand.

"By the way, son, how did you get here? Ahh, I didn't ask you about dreamland, but a place that has fog that can pull you to this place."

(So he knows, yes .. )

Although Noelle was curious about how the man could maintain his consciousness in dreamland, it did not stop Noelle from acting kindly and answered the friendly man.

He already regarded this man as a good person who would not be a threat. Even so, it was good to be vigilant, so Noelle put a lot of her blood in many places in this room.

"I and my colleagues .. We were taken to that place because of forced teleportation. At first we were in a dungeon, trying to find a way out. But … "

Noelle did not continue her words, and instead saw there was the man. The man himself had been silent for a while, before finally looking back at him.

"Have you all come because of the Spirit Gate? "

"You know something about the Spirit Gate? Old man, who are you really? "

A dry laugh came out of the man. Her warm smile turned into a slick smile, and her gaze sharpened slightly.

"I'm only 34 years old. All right, you can call me Erwin. Actually, I am just a merchant who happens to be affiliated with some guilds and adventurer organizations. It makes me often involved in dangerous things. About how I came to this place, I'll tell you after you tell me your part."

Erwin then looked at Noelle, knowing that she was still hiding something.

Noelle initially wanted to refuse to tell her, but then she saw no point in doing that. So, he did what he wanted, which was to tell Erwin some parts.

He also wanted to share this experience with others, people who were likely more experienced than him.

"I originally invited my comrades to go to an island in the Northern Kingdom, but then we were forcibly teleported to a dungeon."

"We don't know the location of the asti from the dungeon, but we have some conjectures about who created it. There, we mentioned the name of his honor', making us again move to a flower garden filled with gloomy fog. Just like you said, we can come here with the Spirit Gate that appears after saying the honor's name'."

Noelle was finally done with her story. He was silent for a moment when a feeling of relief filled him. He never felt this satisfied when he told someone about his experience.

Erwin was silent for quite some time, and his forehead naturally wrinkled. "What problems get you involved with the outer gods … "

"Actually I was also curious about that … "

Noelle was unable to answer him, so she could only turn her gaze wryly while thinking of Terneth who might have been convulsing due to his failure in revenge.

"By the way, my name is Noelle. About you earlier ... How did you come to this place, Erwin? "

For a moment, Noelle managed to forget about the problem that had stuck in her head. He finally chose to chat with Erwin to gather some information.

(Thank God there is still at least one person who can maintain his consciousness here .. )

"Well, that's a long story. Did you you hear that? Maybe ... Won't take 15 minutes."

"All right." Noelle nodded and took out two recliners from her spatial storage.

" … You're obviously a great witch."

...****************...

After 15 minutes, Erwin's story ended. And from that, Noelle managed to obtain some important information.

The first information was something he already knew. The area with fog that was able to attract them to this dreamland was located not far from the Senor Sea.

Previously, Erwin was puzzled by how long he had been stuck in this area. However, Noelle later said that in the outside world it is now 741, which makes Erwin realize that he has been trapped for 4 years.

The year calculation system Noelle mentioned uses the same dating system that is used by the majority of countries on the continent. His first year was counted from the moment of the Demon King's defeat by Hero Aaron.

Then, the slightly sad Erwin explained that he had originally joined a joint team consisting of several adventurers and bounty hunters. Although he himself was just a merchant, Erwin had a lot of experience with dangerous situations, and he also had connections with the Vesperi Goddess Church, making him the perfect person to be a travel companion.

Erwin hails from the Republic of Waldenholt, and follows his group to head to a primitive island found around the Senor Sea.

Long story short, he and his group used a large sailing ship to traverse the Senor Sea using a relatively safe route.

The journey went well. Although the weather in the Senor Sea was unstable, and had to make them face several major storms several times, it was all not a special problem considering the preparations they were doing were already quite perfect.

Sea monsters also occasionally appeared, but it did not do anything dangerous because the sea monsters that appeared to the surface were not aggressive types of monsters.

Finally, they reached the primitive island in question. But then everything turned strange.

One by one the ship's crew and bodyguards went crazy, and began attacking each other. There were even some highly ranked adventurers with many experiences that turned into strange monsters.

By that time, almost all of the crew had died for various reasons. Some committed suicide, and some died in scenes of mutual suicide.

Finally, there was only Erwin and two crew members left. The three of them managed to survive and escape from the ship, fully relying on their ability in swimming to head for the nearby island.

Yet again, bad luck befell them. One crew member died from the poison that had spread throughout his body as he swam. There is also the origin of the poison, Erwin suspected that the poison came from one of the weapons owned by another crew while still on the ship.

Unfinished there, one other remaining crew finally loses control and turns into monsters for reasons Erwin didn't know about.

Erwin is the only one who manages to survive all of that, and he chooses to remain silent on the island until he finds a chance to get out.

Based on all that information, Noelle had found many interesting things. One of them is the condition of the crew who suddenly go crazy and turn into monsters. It was probably the same condition as Berserk.

For the cause, Noelle still did not know because Erwin did not provide further explanation. But, he was able to deduce that the condition was achieved due to outside influences.

The fog and heavy air surrounding this area could cause one to gradually suffer mental damage, affecting their soul and making them lose control.

Erwin should have known that already, considering he had been stuck here for four years.

(Wait, he was 34 when he got stuck. Does that mean he's 38 now? )

Noelle decided to put the matter aside for a moment as she looked at the paper roll Erwin gave her in the middle of the story.

Noelle unrolled the scroll, and found an image made in red ink that she did not know where it came from.

What Erwin gave him was a map of this region. He had already been stuck for four years, and it was enough to surround all the parts and map out many places.

"Wait, you already have the map, but why haven't you left this place yet? "

Erwin looked sad for a moment before finally answering, "The problem is, I can't find a way out. It's like there's an invisible wall blocking the way, and it keeps us trapped in a boundless labyrinth."

He looked at Noelle. "Do you know anything about the way out? "

...****************...