Chapter 278

Chapter 262: The Hunting Team

“You don’t need to thank me. Selecting talented individuals is my duty…” As James said this, he took a Dream Anchor Sigil from the drawer and handed it to Gregor.

“This is the dream coordinate for the next gathering of the bureau’s Dream Realm hunting team, as well as the starting point for their next hunt. The gathering time is ten o’clock tonight. The code word is ‘Frontier.’ By then, members of the main bureau’s hunting team will bring along those who have been promoted from various branches to hunt together. If you perform well, you can gather more spirituality; don’t embarrass us in Igewent.”

James looked directly at Gregor as he spoke. After listening to James, Gregor accepted the sigil, nodded seriously, and then replied.

“I understand, Mr. James!”

…

Time passed quickly, and the daylight in the sky soon slipped away. Before long, day turned to night.

After finishing work, Gregor, who did not have overtime, hurried home early. After grabbing a simple meal at a restaurant, he returned to Nanyang Flower Road and walked up to his apartment building.

Once home, Gregor took a shower and made himself a cup of red tea. Then, he comfortably lay on the sofa, starting to read a newspaper, especially the novel he had bought from the bookstore. During the busy times before, he had barely had time to do these things, often falling asleep as soon as he got home.

He read the novel until about nine-thirty in the evening. After glancing at the clock on the wall, he stretched lazily, put the novel away, changed into his pajamas, and prepared for bed.

Lying in bed, Gregor pressed the Dream Anchor Sigil that James had given him to his forehead. After using it, the sigil burned away, and then he covered himself with a blanket, closed his eyes, and quickly fell into a deep sleep using the method of entering dreams.

Inside the dream, Gregor woke up in his dream room. After chanting the incantation he learned at the bureau, his form quickly changed, and with a flash of light, he transformed into a black hunting dog.

In his black dog form, Gregor let out a loud roar into the air, opening the illusory door that led to the Dream Realm. After passing through the door, he arrived in a Dream Realm forest filled with towering trees, standing atop his dream cocoon. In front of him was another dream portal, unclear where it led, opened just now by the Dream Realm sigil Gregor had used.

Without hesitation, Gregor, in his black dog form, leaped into the portal opened by the Dream Anchor Sigil. After a dazzling flash of light, his feet touched solid ground, arriving at a new location.

This area still belonged to the forest, on a vibrant lawn beneath the towering trees. Upon arriving at the new location, Gregor was greeted by numerous black dogs, all similar to himself.

There were about ten black hunting dogs in front of him, all resting on the grass. As Gregor arrived, some of the black dogs turned their gazes toward him, their expressions varying—some cautious, some curious. Gregor also looked around with curiosity at everything in front of him.

‘So many black dog manifestations… Are these all from across the country, needing promotions from the An Yin Bureau? Quite a number, indeed…’

Looking at the scene before him, Gregor thought, the black dog manifestation was the most common dream form used by mid-level extraordinary beings in the Prit An Yin Bureau.

Because extraordinary beings in the An Yin Bureau generally used dream hunts to accumulate spirituality, black dog manifestations were quite active and widespread in the forest, often clashing and interacting with other extraordinary beings from societies. Additionally, because hunters wore all black uniforms, many societies dissatisfied with the An Yin Bureau referred to them or the hunters as black dogs in reality.

Just as Gregor was carefully observing his surroundings, a sudden sound of rushing wind came from above. Gregor looked up and saw a black figure rapidly descending in front of him. He focused cautiously and realized that it was a black dog with long wings.

This black dog bore a strong resemblance to Gregor’s own manifestation, but was nearly twice its size, appearing more ferocious. On this black dog’s back were large, fleshy wings.

“Which bureau are you from? What’s your name? Who recommended you? What’s the code for this hunt?”

The large winged black dog spoke to Gregor in a serious tone. Gregor was momentarily taken aback by the other dog’s imposing presence, then replied.

“I am Gregor Osgath Meyshos from the Igewent branch. I was recommended by our Bureau Chief, James. The code for this hunt is ‘Frontier.'”

“Igewent? Heh… that’s quite far. My name is Flandy, from the Tivyán main bureau… the captain of this group hunt. From now on, follow my orders, and don’t think of acting on your own, unless you want to be crushed by me.”

“Now you can rest over there for a while. The hunt will start soon, Igewent kid.”

The winged hunting dog named Flandy commanded Gregor after confirming his identity, then flapped his wings and flew up to a branch high above, overlooking the gathering place below, staying on alert.

Watching Flandy fly away, Gregor paused slightly and walked over to a patch of grass to rest. He looked around at the other black dogs like himself, then glanced up at the proud-looking dog on the branch.

“Is this what someone from the main bureau is like? Heh… really impressive…”

“Yeah, quite impressive. Looks a bit annoying, but annoying or not, don’t really disregard his commands; it can be dangerous.”

At that moment, a voice came from beside Gregor. He turned to see a black dog similar to him calmly looking at him.

“You are…”

“Thomas from the North Calder branch. Nice to meet you~” the black dog said to Gregor, and he responded immediately.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Gregor from Igewent.”

“Oh, Igewent? I’ve heard their red leaf wine is nice. I’m planning to buy a couple bottles someday.”

“Red leaf wine? Haha… buy more; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.” Gregor casually conversed with the unfamiliar dog, then quickly steered the topic back.

“By the way, you just mentioned that ignoring Flandy’s orders could be very dangerous? You mean he punishes those who don’t listen to him?” Gregor asked Thomas, as Flandy had made threats during their introduction, leaving him with a bad impression.

“Punish? Yes, if you make him angry, he certainly will do that. But it makes sense; he’s not only the highest manifested among us, but also the one with the most experience in forest hunts here. The forest is fraught with danger, especially in this area. If you don’t want your manifestation destroyed, and to lose your spirituality and lie in bed for more than a month, it’s best not to defy him.”

Thomas continued explaining to Gregor, who became more curious and asked.

“Is this area dangerous?”

“Of course, it’s very dangerous. If it weren’t, why would so many of us come here? Isn’t it because there are so many Dream Realm beings? There are dangers, but also opportunities.” Thomas replied, and Gregor nodded.

“I see. It seems the Dream Realm beings here are quite strong…”

Upon hearing Gregor’s comment, Thomas paused slightly, looked around, then quietly said to Gregor.

“It’s not just that the Dream Realm beings here are strong; there are also unknown dangers in this area.”

“Unknown dangers?” Gregor asked in confusion, and Thomas continued mysteriously.

“Yes, let me tell you, this area is quite peculiar. It is said that in the past, there weren’t so many Dream Realm beings gathered here; their numbers suddenly surged a few months ago.”

“Suddenly surged… Why is that?”

“The exact reason is currently unclear, but according to some guys working at the main bureau, it’s very likely that the sudden increase of Dream Realm beings here was due to being driven away…”

“Driven away?”

“Yes, some people found that many of these Dream Realm beings had migrated en masse from the same direction, seeming to be hiding from something out of fear.”