Astr's voice flowed slowly into Rose's heart like clear water. They slowly straightened the stems, and the bright red seemed more delicate. They whispered slowly to everyone,
[This human wants to sign a contract with us.]
[Is he the Nightmare Lord?]
[Can you believe him?]
[His voice is nice, and he looks good.]
[He looks like a gentleman.]
Hearing their conversation, Astr couldn't help but laugh out loud.
'Damn it, there are roses who are still "nymphomaniac".
He waited patiently. After a while, the roses raised their heads one by one and spoke shyly in a high-pitched voice.
Okay, we will sign a contract with you. After the words fell, a piece of light brown parchment paper appeared out of thin air, with a quill thoughtfully prepared beside Astr.
On the parchment, in standard font, it was written in the centre:
[Lord Contract of Astr Serene]
Below it is:
[Nightmare creatures residing in this domain must adhere to the rules established by the lord and remit a monthly payment of a specified number of moon faces as taxation.]
[Tips for newbies: Taxes are generally divided into levels 3, 5, 10, and 25 based on factors such as space and hazards.]
[Tax: ____ Moon Faces]
[Signature of the Lord: ____]
[Resident's signature: ____]
'Moon face? Isn't this an item in the game that will explode experience points if crushed and can be traded with the nightmare merchant?'
Astr's eyes lit up; he thought for a moment, filled in the number "5" after the tax, and then signed his name.
The rose ladies are quite cute, so let's not exploit them. After writing, the parchment automatically flew to the rose.
[Only 5 moon faces per month...]
[The Lord will not exploit us.]
[He is a good lord.]
The roses stretched out its stem and carefully scratched the parchment a few times.
After signing, the parchment flew back to Astr.
Astr looked at Rose's signature curiously and found that it was a line of words as thin and winding as a vine.
Although the crooked handwriting is very unfamiliar, it is automatically translated as "Miss Rose" in my mind.
It appears that just like the automatic translation of the nightmare creatures' words into the language he knows, Astr can also comprehend the words of the nightmare world without the concern of becoming a "Father of Nightmare Lord."
He waved his hand, and the parchment vanished, only to reappear with another wave.
'It is very convenient. It would be great if things in reality could come and go in such a short time.' Astr thought with regret.
Let's give you this month's taxes first.One Rose said, her body trembled, and a few light yellow spots emerged from her bodies and fell to the ground.
'...It's really like exploding gold coins.'Astr couldn't help but curse.
Astr saw the rose wrapping its vines around the light spots and presenting them to Astr.
Astr hooked his fingers, and the five light spots flew into his palm. It was cold as ice, like a metal mixed in a cold spring.
In fact, with the light gone, they really do look like round coins. The surface exudes a faint yellow light, the front is engraved with the smiling face of the moon in the sky, and the back is a one-eye with a simple shape.
Looking into this one eye, Astr felt inexplicably being watched. This is the currency of the nightmare world, Moon Face.
Printed and distributed by "Greed", one of the Seven Nightmare Lord
[When the Dream Catcher skill reaches level 20, it will be connected to the nearby Nightmare Market.] The system promoted appeared when Astr was thinking about this.
'Haha, good, good. The Nightmare Market sounds like a trading place. I wonder if I can buy some weird things.
Astr thought about it and couldn't help but look forward to it. He put away the five moon faces, and they turned into light points and sank into his body.
Astr leaned out of the window. He smiled at the roses and said in a gentle voice
"You are the first residents of my nightmare realm. Welcome, my lovely ladies."
His smile was like a blooming flower, making the roses burst into laughter. They blushed and became even brighter red.
[Beautiful Lord...]
[Kind Lord...]
[We like you.]
The high-pitched whispers reached Astr's ears, making his smile grow bigger. After upgrading four levels in a row, the changes brought about by [Dream Catcher] are significant.
Now, the entire Serene family mansion is under his shadow. Astr got out of bed, grabbed a candle, and left the bedroom.
Stepping barefoot on the plush scarlet carpet, Astr slowly walked into the deserted and silent corridor, admiring the deserted mansion under the moonlight.
"Click."
Astr walked by, and the knight in the corner saluted him with his sword, and the portraits on the wall showed respectful smiles.
Just like in reality, the mansion in the nightmare has not changed much. As for another upgraded skill, [Soul Thread], the upper limit of binding has been increased by one.
Not long after, Astr returned to his bedroom after inspecting the whole mansion. He put down the candle, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes.
'It's time to return to reality.' Thinking of this, Astr's body sank into the bed and sank into reality.
...
Astral Academy, Wizarding Department Infirmary
Astr slowly opened his eyes and smelled the smell of disinfectant on the tip of his nose.
His body was extremely sore. He pushed himself up slowly and with difficulty, lifted up his white shirt, and saw the bandage wrapped around his abdomen.
Because of his actions, blood began to ooze again. Astr put down his clothes nonchalantly. The health value showed that it was now 51%, so he could not die.
Beside, the breeze gently shook the curtains, and a pot of green radish was placed on the windowsill, which was full of vitality.
The sun streamed in, shining warmly at him.Astr turned his head and looked through the clean window, seeing the endless blue sky outside the window.
' I came back. Back to the real world without any distortion or weirdness.'
At this moment, Astr was even a little moved, and his eyes were slightly red.
'I think I am so awesome, I can actually come back alive from Nightmare Lord. '
Just as he was sighing, the door of the infirmary was suddenly pushed open.
Byron Richard, the lead examiner of the practical examination and the instructor of the Knight Department, came in leisurely while whistling.
Seeing Astr staring straight at him, he was stunned for a moment, and then he exclaimed
"Are you awake?"
Instructor Byron hurriedly took three steps; he jumped bedside to Astr, lifted up his clothes here and there, looked at the wounds, and murmured
"Your wounds actually healed so quickly... We originally estimated that it would take at least a week for you to wake up; I can't now believe you were born with a weak condition."
"Oh! That's right"
Instructor Byron suddenly slapped his forehead again and took out a dark red leather notebook and a golden badge from his arms.
"This is..." Astr was little bit touched seeing the golden letter, his eyes widened slightly, and he took these two things.
He saw the words "Astral Private Academy Student ID Card" printed on gold-gilded paper on the small soft-cover book.
When he opened it, he saw his name written clearly under the blank photo frame:Astr Serene
The golden badge is the Astral Academy emblem, the sword, and the rose.
"Welcome to Astral Academy, No. 1 in the history of written examinations, No. 1 in the history of actual combat, a god-given treasure, and a new star of the empire, Astral Serne."
Instructor Byron opened his arms and shouted cheerfully, with his eyes full of joy. Admiration and appreciation, as well as strong curiosity.
[Completed Main Quest 1: Successfully admitted to Astral Private Academy]
[Reward: 80 experience points, Goblin Bone mug-making technology]