Chapter 41 - 38: Member, Companion, Navigator

Chapter 41: Chapter 38: Member, Companion, Navigator

"Holy crap! The corruption and pollution on my body... they’re just gone?"

Profound Sword rolled the hems of his pant legs up as high as he could, even looking down to check inside his waistband again and again.

At this moment, apart from his ragged, torn clothes and a lingering physical weakness... there wasn’t a single trace of corruption left on him.

It was simply unbelievable!

A Divine Medicine! What the Manager had given him to drink was absolutely a Rare Divine Medicine!

But soon after, a wave of self-blame, frustration, and shame washed over Profound Sword.

Did he... even deserve the Manager’s Divine Medicine?

This kind of Divine Medicine was very likely the only life-saving medicine left in the Safe Zone. Yet, the Manager hadn’t hesitated to bring it out, purely to save the lives of the two of them.

What if the Manager needed it in the future, but had no Treasure Medicine left?

Thinking of this, Profound Sword felt he couldn’t forgive himself. It was all because he was too weak!

With complicated eyes, he looked to the side.

Over there, his old comrade, Hair Ghost, was swallowing mouthful after mouthful of the spring water of the Treasure Medicine, with the help of Old Cai and the other Dream Descenders.

Just like with him a moment ago, the deterioration of Hair Ghost’s symptoms halted in the blink of an eye. Wisps of cold black smoke began to rise from his body.

Some ominous energy was purified and expelled, dissipating into the air.

In just a dozen seconds, the symptoms of the Curse Object corruption on Hair Ghost had almost completely healed.

He woke from his coma and abruptly sat up.

Hair Ghost gasped for air. "I remember I triggered the Curse Object’s power too many times. I couldn’t hold on anymore. The backlash from the Curse Object was too severe. Could it be that I’ve already...

"Wait a minute, I’m still alive?"

He was surrounded by the familiar little shop in the Safe Zone. The floor-to-ceiling windows not far away were still polished enough to be used as mirrors.

Hair Ghost looked at his reflection in the glass.

Apart from a somewhat pale complexion, he was completely whole.

"W-What happened?"

"The Manager saved us," Profound Sword said.

"When we were conquering the Pollution Spring, if the Manager hadn’t intervened—acting as a Master of Ghost Objects to cross half the Nightmare Area and suppress the Ghost Shadow monsters one by one—we wouldn’t have survived even if we had multiple lives.

"And just now, the Manager used two doses of Rare Treasure Medicines to snatch us back from the jaws of death."

Hair Ghost also recalled what had happened.

Before he fell into a coma, his condition had been extremely dire. He hadn’t even expected to ever wake up again.

If a Treasure Medicine had saved his life, then everything made perfect sense!

But...

Hair Ghost’s thoughts mirrored Profound Sword’s.

No, in his eyes, Profound Sword was at least a genius with the bearing of a powerhouse and a promising future; his life was far more valuable.

But what about himself? He was nothing more than an ordinary Control Stage Dream Descender.

He could perish in the Nightmare World at any given moment.

He wasn’t worthy of having such an extremely precious Treasure Medicine wasted on him.

"Manager, you..."

"It was just a bit of spring water." Shi An waved his hand dismissively. He saved them simply because he wanted to.

Moreover, the Purification Spring produced enough free spring water for ten people every day, and any subsequent paid water was not expensive.

No, it would be more accurate to say it was quite cheap.

Shi An had already tested the effects of the Purifying Spring Water on Profound Sword and Hair Ghost, and the results were incredibly astonishing.

It was the ultimate Divine Medicine for curing negative status effects and corruption!

However, Profound Sword and Hair Ghost’s lips parted slightly in disbelief. They thought, "How could it just be a bit of spring water?!"

"Manager, we all know you’re deliberately acting nonchalant so we won’t feel guilty.

"But how could we be oblivious to the immense favor you’ve shown us?"

The Nightmare World was always a cold place. Even between Dream Descenders, there was often nothing but suspicion.

Profound Sword didn’t like it, but he had to admit that this was the norm in the Nightmare World.

But today, he realized he was wrong.

Perhaps most of the Nightmare World was cold, but this place was filled with warmth. Because the Manager simply standing there was like a radiant sun!

"You gave us sanctuary, descended like a rainbow of light, and even provided life-saving Treasure Medicines... We will engrave every single one of these deeds into our hearts. From now on, whatever requests you may have, just give the order. I, Little Sword, will go through hell and high water and do everything in my power to fulfill them."

"Me too!" Xi Xue chimed in, adding, "Just tell us what you need. It doesn’t matter if I don’t have it—I can go ask my teacher for it. She will definitely have it."

Hair Ghost, who had been silent for a long time, also spoke up. "Please allow me to follow you. Even though my strength isn’t worth mentioning... I can stay in the Nightmare World forever and handle trivial matters for you."

This was the only way he could think of to repay the Manager’s kindness.

But in reality, it still wasn’t enough.

How could his life equal the Manager’s life-saving grace and the gift of the Treasure Medicine?

He opened his mouth. Being honest and aloof by nature, he didn’t know how to express himself.

Profound Sword spoke on his behalf.

He said, "Of course, this is far from enough. You clearly gave us so much support, yet we couldn’t even successfully conquer a Nightmare. We’ve truly let down your expectations."

Shi An’s gaze swept across the three of them with an indescribable complexity.

He thought, "Is that... what I was thinking?

"And Hair Ghost even wants to abandon everything in reality to follow me? Following the usual tropes, this is the part where a beautiful girl like Xi Xue is supposed to stay behind."

Shi An let out a long sigh.

"You haven’t let down my expectations.

"Don’t belittle or blame yourselves. You clearly completed the mission perfectly, conquering a large-scale Nightmare without a single casualty. That is something to be proud of, something worth celebrating."

Profound Sword opened his mouth to speak.

Shi An continued, "I was the one who said I would give you support, and I was the one who said I would reinforce you. If anything, my reinforcements were too slow, making you suffer for nothing.

"Therefore, not only will I not blame you, but I will also reward you for your great contributions."

Shi An cut off whatever Profound Sword was about to say and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, one, two, three cards appeared, hovering face-down in mid-air.

On their backs was a profound, dark-blue starry sky with a giant, aqua-blue sphere in the center. Tiny golden particles revolved around the sphere.

"This is the reward for your bravery. Take them and see for yourselves."

The three were still slightly stunned, not understanding what they were.

But they each accepted a Member Card one by one.

Instantly, streams of information flooded their minds: Member... Binding... Safe Zone... Passage...

All three of them—whether it was the ordinary-born Hair Ghost or the well-backed Profound Sword and Xi Xue—revealed looks of absolute shock.

They wondered, "What in the world is this?!!

"We can actually travel directly to other Nightmare Worlds through the Safe Zone?

"Especially the part about binding to the Safe Zone... this is practically a ticket to escape the execution line of a Nightmare!"

If such a Member Card were to circulate in the market, its price would skyrocket to astronomical levels.

"Manager, I can’t accept this."

"Don’t be hasty," Shi An said. "This is a boarding ticket, but more importantly, it’s a contract.

"If you still possess the courage to forge ahead and the resolve to conquer Nightmares, then this Member Card is the ticket I’m giving you. It’s my support for my fellow travelers.

"It doesn’t come without a price.

"Will you press forward and endure more life-and-death trials, or choose something else?

"Make your choice."

The three exchanged complex expressions.

The Manager truly was like a radiant sun.

Of course, they still had the resolve to face Nightmares head-on. They were fellow travelers on this thorny path.

But the Manager wasn’t just a fellow traveler; he was their navigator.

The three reached out their hands.

The contract was formed.

On the front of the cards, avatars unique to each member materialized in the blink of an eye.