Chapter 167 – Small World

Dream continued fighting for a few hours as he thought about what to do. 

Eventually, though, some people came to join him.

"Dream! We did it!"

A voice came from afar as Dream was in the middle of crushing a demon's head. He turned and found Iris flying towards him, flames and all. Right behind her was the rest of the family too. 

"I knew you would."

"Yea but you weren't there for the grand finale. Guess how I killed the demon?"

"How?"

"I punched him. Straight through the chest. You should've seen it! My flames ate him from the inside out. His heart was especially delicious."

"Mm, nothing sexier than a woman who eats hearts."

"Huhu, I know. Kiss kiss."

"Oof."

Jumping at him, Iris tackled him to the floor and planted her lips on his. Dream obviously made sure to remove his helmet as they went down.

The two made out for a bit as Iris covered them in a dome of fire. That was until Riddick came over and blew the fire away, but by that time, the two were already separated and standing up as if nothing happened.

"*sigh* Only you two would mess around in the middle of an enemy army."

"Whatever do you mean 'mess around'? We were just giving each other wholesome hugs."

"Hmph."

"They're kids, honey. As if we weren't doing the same thing when we met."

Selene flew over and cuddled up to Riddick while 'reprimanding' him. He just huffed again as Luna went over to Dream.

"So? Was your hunt successful?"

"Mhm. I was able to extract the skill I needed, but I've also learned some things that I really don't like."

"Like what?"

"The demon's skills. They're not good news."

When he said that, Dream had Sophia sent them what he found. The family looked through it for a bit before coming out frowning.

"No wonder they could get so strong so fast." (Luna)

"That demonic regeneration is crazy. All those skills are! They're all meant to enslave you!" (Iris)

"Pretty much. There's nothing we can do about it though. Although I'm planning to run an experiment with those skills, see what I can do."

"What kind of experiment?"

"Those hierarchy skills allow you to grant skills to souls that you have unrestricted access to. I'm gonna find some souls to test that on, and then I'm gonna try and grant some skills to Aegis."

"Aegis? But he's your armor."

"Not anymore. After merging with the heart, he kind of gained something like a soul. It's not totally complete and he doesn't have a status, but he's got a Will so he should be able to drive skills and enchantments. I'm planning on subordinating Aegis and gifting him more power using the hierarchy skills."

"...It's amazing how you're able to copy skills."

"I can't use them perfectly, so Sophia modifies them to fit me. It's very useful. Anyway I'm thinking I'm going to find some animals to test this stuff out on."

"Animals? Subordination works with them too?"

"Of course. Souls are souls. Though it's not going to be easy finding good ones. If I'm going to subordinate animals, I want them to be decent and not just throwaways. Oh! I know the perfect place!"

"The Animal continent!" (Iris)

"Nope."

"Damn."

"I know a shop and a guy. He tames animals for a living at the Mountain. He definitely has some good ones, or at least knows a place to find them. You guys wanna come with?"

"Sure!"

"Alright. What about the parents?"

"Hm, I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to go visit Graff." (Riddick)

"Then it's settled. Let's fly!"

Saying that, Dream took to the skies with the family in tow. 

............

A little while later, the sun began to set. This was also when the family made it to the mountain. 

Not caring about proper entry, the 5 just flew into the Mountain. Nobody could see them anyway due to Dream's stealth.

"Alright Boy, we'll head to Graff's."

"Ok. See ya."

Riddick took Selene and flew off, leaving Dream and the girls.

"So where's this guy of yours?"

"Just follow me. Oh, crap. I forgot I'm radiating mana. Let's just suck that in... And we're good. Let's go."

Saying that, Dream turned in a specific direction and flew, the girls following. Soon they were over a certain district that was much less lively than the rest of the city.

"*sigh* I remember when I was buying materials with the money your dad gave me. A lot's changed in less than a year. Oh! There's the shop."

Dream suddenly caught sight of the familiar shop he went to only twice. Flying down, the three walked up to it and entered.

*Ring!*

"Hello! Anyone home!"

"A minute!"

When Dream walked in shouting, he received a shout from the back room. It was a man's voice, but surprisingly, not the one he knew.

"Hello! Welcome to my humble shop. How can I help you?"

Soon, a man came out and greeted the three. He was a short and pudgy man, and Dream immediately knew that something had changed.

"Uhh, you're not John."

"John? Oh! He was the previous owner of this shop."

"He moved?"

"Yes. He's now in the high-class district. A fine and successful gentleman living the life of luxury. I hear he recently got a woman and decided to get a better residence."

"Oh. Very nice. Do you know where in that district he is?"

"Next to a restaurant, I believe. What is it... Starlight Cabaret! That's the name. You'll notice it rather easily as it's one of the tallest buildings in the district."

"Oh, thank you very much. Here's a penny for your troubles."

Saying that, Dream took out a bar of grade 8 mithril and tossed it to the man. He caught it in surprise, and when he looked at what it was, he was shocked.

"M-Mithril?!"

"Alright, I'll be going. Have a nice day."

"O-Oh! You too, young man!"

Waving bye, Dream walked out of the shop and into the street. Iris bumped into his side with a teasing voice.

"Well aren't you generous? I sometimes forget how amazingly rich you are."

"Just paying him for information. And yes, I am rather rich, though not in gold."

"Mm. So Starlight Cabaret. A nice name."

"Let's go find it. Shouldn't be too hard, though I don't want to take too much time. It's difficult to hold in the heart's energy."

"Are you gonna be good?"

"Yea. I should be good for maybe a few hours before things get dangerous. Let's go."

Rising off the ground, the three flew off to the high class district, and it wasn't long before they arrived. 

In fact, they immediately found the restaurant. It really was one of the tallest buildings, and the sign made it easy to point out. 

"Alright. There's the restaurant... And there's John's shop."

Seeing the building next to the restaurant, Dream smiled and flew down. After landing on the floor, the three deactivated stealth and walked into the shop.

*Ring!*

"Hello! Anyon- Oh. There's people."

As Dream walked in, he immediately spotted several people who were waiting around on couches. They all turned to him, scowling at his loud entrance.

"Hey, quiet down kid!"

"Don't come in here barking like a dog."

"Dog?! Listen here, asshole!"

"Now now, Scarlet. We're not here to burn the shop down."

As people started berating Dream, Iris quickly got pissed and snapped back, flaring up in anger. Dream pacified her though for fear she would kill someone, or worse, destroy the shop. 

Iris snarled at the people before giving up.

"Hmph. Whatever. Just a bunch of class 2's anyway."

"Hey. What's with all the racket! I don't allow fighting in my shop!"

Suddenly, a rough voice sounded out from the back of the shop. Dream turned, smiling.

"Don't worry John! I would never want to turn your newfound success into a pile of rubble."

"..."

*Tap* *Tap* *Tap* *Tap*

After Dream spoke, everyone could hear hasty footsteps coming towards them. Soon, a man came running through the doorway. He quickly laid eyes on Dream.

"...No way. Dream?"

"That's my name."

"It's you! Hahaha! How have you been my friend?!"

Laughing uproariously, John came walking up and picked Dream up in a bear hug. Meanwhile, when everyone heard the name Dream, they were shocked.

"Dream? I only know one person with that name..."

"He's the one from the Grand Meeting!"

"His signature was on the war declaration too. John knows Dream?"

"How did he manage to meet a famous person like him?"

Everyone's eyes were wide as they watched the two men who looked more like brothers. 

"Haha, I'm doing pretty good, John. Seems like you're doing great too. I like the new place."

Dream chuckled awkwardly as John set him down.

"Ah, this is alright. None of this would've happened without your help."

"Not necessarily. I heard you got yourself a girl. That definitely wasn't my doing."

"Haha, yes I did indeed! But it seems you've topped me even in that respect."

John smiled as he looked at Luna and Iris standing behind Dream. Dream just scratched his head.

"Yes I did get pretty lucky. They did too though."

"Charming." (Luna)

"Hahaha! Well I'm happy for you. Come in, come in. I'll introduce you to my lovely lady and we can have a good chat."

Waving them over, John took the three into the back room. Everyone just watched amazedly for a bit before some took their leave, knowing they probably weren't going to get service now.

After they walked into the back, John led them up to the second floor. In here they found a large space acting as a living area and a kitchen. It looked like an apartment.

"Hey Elisa!"

"Yea!"

"Come down here! I've got someone for you to meet!"

John shouted to the second floor where a girl responded from. After getting a response, John smiled and spoke to Dream.

"I met Elisa as I was out hunting. I had found an animal that I was supposed to tame, but turns out, this girl had her eye on it too. She's a class 3 and we fought quite a bit before she eventually gave up. Though not before I agreed to take her out for dinner.."

"Well isn't that cute. Elisa huh? Where have I heard that name..."

"We have guests? Should I put on some... tea..."

As Elisa walked down the stairs, her eyes and Dream's met. Suddenly, Dream remembered.

"Spearwoman! No way..."

"Dream?! And you two fox girls!"

Both parties were flabbergasted as they saw each other. Elisa was the spearwoman that Dream and the girls fought alongside in the dungeon party. Back then they were all pretty weak, only fighting giant rats. But now, it looked like everyone had gone up in the world.

"Hm? You guys know each other?"

John looked between them, surprised.

"Hehe, yea we know each other. Way back when, we fought in a dungeon party. We only met like once, but looks like we made a good impression."

"Good impression? Maybe a bit, but how could I forget you after the Grand Meeting? Everyone knows your name now, and I happened to be one who knows the face. Well, you've changed a lot, but I still recognize you. The girls too. Luna and Iris, right? You two are pretty memorable." (Elisa)

"Heh, small world I guess. Congrats you two. I hope you're happy." (Dream)

"Aww, thanks."

"Haha, how could I not be happy with such a strong girl?"

John and Elisa sidled up to each other while smiling happily. Seeing that, Iris transformed into a fox and hopped up on Dream's shoulders. Luna also moved in closer.

"Haha, since we all know each other, then this makes things easy. You have any plans for tonight, Dream? We'd love to have you for dinner."

"That sounds nice. Sure, I'm in."

"Fantastic! Elisa, mind grabbing some food for everyone?"

"Sure."

"You two should go with her. Whatever you want." (Dream)

"Ok!" (Iris)

"Take this with you."

Saying that, Dream took out some more ingots of grade 8 mithril and handed it to Luna. After giving them kisses, the three girls walked out to go shopping.

"That mithril should be enough for whatever they need."

"There's no need for you to pay for anything. After all you've done for me?"

"You'd be surprised at how much they eat. Especially Iris. She'll eat out a restaurant."

"Hah! I may just be able to buy out a restaurant, not to mention their food. Anyway, what brings you to my humble abode, my friend? Just stopping by?"

John led Dream to a couch as they got to business.

"I could actually use your help."

"Just say the word."

"I need some animals. I'm performing some tests that involve a kind of subordination contract technique. I would've just gone out and found some wild animals, but if I'm successful in my tests, that means I have to take care of the animals. I didn't want to have to care for some throwaways, so I'm looking to find some good high class animals."

"Interesting. It sounds like there's some risk to this contract you have."

"There is. It's an extremely advanced technique. Should it succeed, the animals can get stronger. Should it fail, they'll either die or become forever crippled. Although I have a high degree of confidence, you never know."

"Indeed. Well fret not, I'm the best man you could've come to for this. I've got a sizeable stock of all kinds of animals ranging from class 2 all the way to class 4."

"Class 4? Impressive."

"I only have two, and they cost an arm and a leg to capture. But I did it, and right now, I'm the only one in the city who has tamed two class 4 animals. As far as I'm concerned though, you could have them both."

"No no, that's not necessary. I wouldn't want to take away your trophies. And if I did, you'd come out even richer than before. I just need a class 3. I'll try out this technique and... Actually? I don't really even need to take them. I'll just contract them to you."

"To me? You sure?"

"Totally. If I succeed then great. I'll just hand it off to you and you can make some money off of it. Better than me taking it as a pet."

"Whatever works best for you, my friend. Come with me. I'll show you my inventory."

Saying that, John and Dream stood up and headed down to the lobby. After that they went down another level into the underground.

The first two underground levels of John's shop had hundreds of class 2's and dozens of class 3 animals. These were all the animals that were either on display or being prepared for an order.

The third level though only had around 25 class 3's. These class 3's were the cream of the crop. Whether they were rare or held unnaturally high combat power, they all had something that made them special. Naturally they were much more expensive as well. But even these were topped by the two animals on the 4th floor.

Those two animals were the class 4's that John had painstakingly caught. Regardless of their features, they were class 4's and they would catch an unbelievable price no matter where they were sold. 

John gave Dream a tour of all the floors and let him have his pick of whatever animal to test his technique on. For this, Dream went to the second floor and picked out an average class 3. He didn't want to lose John money.

The animal Dream picked was a deer. It looked pretty and specialized in illusory magic, as apparently most deer did. 

"Alright. This may or may not hurt."

Dream went up to the deer in the cage and placed his hand on its head, beginning his first test.