Chapter 120: Lord-Class Aberration: Tebidad

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【"Tebidad, the Sleepless"】

【Mission Description: He was once a high-ranking member of the Church of Suffering. However, after completing a certain mission, he discovered that in his dreams, he would always see a colossal creature with antlers made of thorns and tangled roots.】

【This massive, antlered monster traverses the landscape of dreams, enduring the ceaseless agony of black steel spikes piercing its flesh, accompanied by a thunderous heartbeat and beast-like roars of primal rage.】

【In his dreams, the creature is filled with such intense fury and pain that it longs, above all else, for a peaceful sleep.】

【One day, while "awake," the high-ranking priest who had been plagued by visions of this magnificent beast suddenly found his own soul transformed into an antlered behemoth, a twisted growth of tree roots, flesh, and bone...】

【From that day on, he seemed to suffer the same agony and the same unquenchable rage as the monster, forever robbed of the ability to sleep in peace.】

【His soul has been thoroughly twisted and plunged into chaos by this torment.】

【Mission Duration: Unlimited.】

【Mission Requirements: Bring "Aberration—Tebidad" to eternal rest (kill him).】

【Mission Rewards: "Dream Candle," Trace of Light *1, Mist Points *500.】

"So, the 'Trace of Light' is obtained from this..."

Colin unfolded the parchment, reading the mission details. "'Dream Candle,' what is that? Let me see..."

【"Dream Candle": You can use it to enter the dreams of others and gain a home-field advantage. You may kill enemies within the dream, and your death within the dream will not significantly impact your reality.】

"This..."

Colin suddenly understood the origin of this "Lord-level Aberration"...

He must have looked at something he shouldn't have.

【Tip: Once you approach within one hundred meters, it will wake up from its extremely shallow slumber.】

Dismissing the prompt.

"But to turn a person into a monster just through a dream, and a Lord-level one at that? What exactly is this dream..."

Colin felt a sense of dread toward the creature in the dream.

"It is highly likely a 'Great Miracle'," Russell commented.

A "Great Miracle" that manifests in dreams—if you dream of it for long enough, you eventually become a monster of its likeness...

Everyone couldn't help but feel a chill run through their bodies.

Does this mean that dreaming could be dangerous in the future?

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【You suspect this has to do with some past encounter of his and would not happen to just anyone.】

"No need to worry about that for now..."

Colin briefly explained the creature's information to the group, and then, to ensure they didn't disturb the monster just yet, they retreated to the far side of the hill.

Then, lying on the barren slope, Colin carefully poked his head out to observe "Tebidad."

The creature was about a kilometer away; only a vague outline could be seen, but it was enough to trigger the prompts.

【You suspect that "Tebidad" possesses some form of jump-teleportation ability. Within a range of five hundred meters, it can arrive at extreme speed, though it cannot use this movement ability consecutively.】

【Its psychological influence will cause anger to spread like a plague, causing victims to lose their sanity and become its minions...】

【When within three hundred meters of it, your heart rate will become uncontrollable. If you cannot quickly escape its area of influence, you will explode within thirty seconds to three minutes, depending on your physical constitution.】

"...Five-hundred-meter teleportation, psychological contamination, heart explosion... Lord-level aberrations really are terrifying..."

Colin muttered to himself. Whether it was because he had grown stronger or for some other reason, the prompts were clearly much more helpful now.

"So, if I don't attack it, can I just go around? It seems there's only one Lord-level aberration here..."

Acting on the principle of keeping the peace, Colin looked around the High Court, wondering if he could take a detour.

But the other areas surrounding the High Court seemed to be blurred out, as if covered by a mosaic.

This feeling was somewhat similar to the edge of the "Withered Olive Lands." He wondered if the same group of people was responsible for this.

"When I take this place, I'm going to strip this 'ghost-wall' technique of yours down to the bone!"

Colin muttered inwardly.

He didn't hesitate to share this information with the others, and they began to discuss.

They focused their discussion on how to "blow it to pieces."

Without a war machine, and with only explosives available, the only viable tactic was to "blast" it.

At the very least, they had to severely weaken its psychological influence during the first wave of the offensive; otherwise, the Level 3 servants would have no chance of entering the fray.

The greatest weakness of an aberration is that it lacks a brain.

Aside from "Kimino," Colin and the others had yet to see an aberration with a brain...

And Kimino, while called an "aberration," was in some sense closer to a "miracle" that hadn't yet been fully twisted.

If these Lord-level aberrations didn't have any flashy tricks, they wouldn't be particularly difficult to deal with.

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"If the 'No-Conscience Cannon' is to be effective, it must be used only after its psychological influence has been reduced by at least seventy percent..."

Otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to get close before collapsing and dying from being too near such a powerful life form.

Only by dealing a "heavy injury" state at the very start, as they did with the "Mourning Watcher," could the rest of the battle plan be executed properly.

Ten minutes later, the first steps were basically determined, and the group began discussing the next phase.

After nearly an hour of intensive conversation, they finally finalized the plan and accounted for various contingencies.

Once the first few crucial rounds of bombing were over, and while its strong psychological interference was broken, they would throw the manhole cover out to continue the suppression...

Just keep blasting until it dies.

After the discussion ended, they each memorized their roles, though they didn't act immediately.

"I finally understand why you've been able to kill Lord-level aberrations so early..."

Joining Colin's team for a battle for the first time, Russell finally understood the reason for their constant success.

Back where they came from, it usually only became slightly easier to hunt a Lord-level aberration when everyone's attributes were at five and they possessed a Level 3 war machine.

With a Level 1 war machine...

Scraping a bit of skin or causing a slowdown was the limit; it was very difficult to inflict a truly fatal wound.

But with Colin here, before a fight even starts, he "guesses" everything—from the color of your underwear to its size.

Laying explosives along the way, precise bombardment, and elaborate planning—he truly could create "miracles"...

As he thought about it, Russell couldn't help but sigh again: "It's not that we didn't have earth-shattering analytical items back then, but either they would kill you inexplicably while being used, or they had so many restrictions—usage counts, accuracy, and so on..."

"Yours has no usage limit, it actively helps you avoid pitfalls, and it has no usage conditions. If that's not a cheat, I don't know what is..."

Colin hadn't told him about the second and third points, but one could guess...

Colin activated his ability all day long; if the ability didn't actively help him avoid pitfalls, he would have died inexplicably a long time ago.

Not long after, following another thirty minutes of preparation, the battle plan commenced.