"Your team has slain a level 45 dream creature, reward increased to 110 times, congratulations on earning 150,000 experience points."
The surge of experience points flooded into Henry's body, instantly elevating him two levels to level 25.
Leveling up is indeed faster with a general-tier awakener like Fatima. Just one creature and I've gained two levels.
But the level of combat from such tier awakeners, even just the aftermath, could cause me injury or even death.
Henry, sitting at the edge of the altar, gnawing on his ice bear jerky, contemplated whether he could continue to follow Fatima for more experience points.
Eventually, he deemed it unrealistic and abandoned the idea.
The battle between Fatima and the dark god's imprint, which proclaimed itself as 'Dream', was intense.
Fatima seemed to be slightly at a disadvantage.
But this outcome was expected.
The opponent was an unseen deity, and without the right abilities to counter it, it's tough for an awakener to overcome such an entity.
Watching Fatima gradually losing ground, Henry furrowed his brows.
If Fatima were to be defeated in the end, he too would perish.
Although Fatima might not have revealed her trump card yet, to be prepared, it's best for me to think of ways to assist her.
But how can I intervene in a battle of this caliber?
What method can I use to help her?
Henry furrowed his brows, suddenly recalling something...
[A Forged Death Scepter]
This staff-like object was a mysterious item Henry had acquired in the Snowland.
Despite its lack of a grade, it had been forged to possess a hint of Death's power, even capable of unleashing the unbeatable move, Desolation.
In the Snowland, Algado's apprentice Leonardo had used this move to defeat his own master.
However, this skill had one flaw – it did not differentiate between friend and foe.
Anyone within a 10-meter radius of the staff would be affected by the Desolation effect.
So, when activating Desolation, the scepter must be at least ten meters away from Henry... and also maintain a ten-meter distance from Fatima.
With this in mind, Henry called out loudly to Fatima:
"General White Tiger, use long-range attacks next. I need to verify something!"
Fatima didn't verbalize any objection, swiftly moving to a position over ten meters away from the imprint of Dream.
Henry took a deep breath and threw the forged scepter.
As the staff was about to touch the imprint of Dream, it suddenly emitted a fierce light.
The imprint of Dream let out a surprised voice:
"The essence of other deities? Indeed, there are traces of other gods in your world!"
"How exhilarating it would be to create a Sealing Artifact from a deity!"
As Maldream's imprint was reveling in surprise, it suddenly sensed an alien power flooding into its imprint.
This force was overwhelming and domineering, almost heralding the destruction of everything.
"A deity of a higher order than me, how... how is this possible?"
Maldream's imprint exclaimed in shock, feeling its connection with the imprint rapidly dissipating.
"Cursed deity, you shall not sever my connection to this world. I will find a way to enter!"
The voice of Dream gradually weakened and finally vanished abruptly, as the overpowering force of Desolation destroyed its lingering traces.
"What is this thing? I sense Algado's presence in it. Did you obtain it in Snowland?" General White Tiger quickly surmised.
Henry nodded:
"Indeed, it was acquired from Snowland. I suspect this may have been an attempt by Algado to seize the Scepter of Death, and he created this forgery."
"But it was ultimately imbued with a certain divinity. When Death encounters another deity of its kind, the effect of Desolation is amplified. That's why it could be used to expel the remnants of this dark god's imprint."
General White Tiger Fatima looked at Henry with a complex expression:
"Not bad at all. For an awakener barely over level 20, you've managed to involve yourself in an event of divine magnitude."
Henry humbly responded:
"I'm far from that level. It's just that I happened to have the right mysterious item to make a difference. If the opponent weren't a deity, I doubt the Desolation ability in the mysterious item would have been effective."
General White Tiger Fatima snorted coldly:
"Did you sleep with my sister?"
?
A question mark appeared in Henry's mind.
Why did the topic change so abruptly?
One second they were discussing the dark god, and the next second, it shifted to whether he had slept with her sister.
However, Henry nodded honestly:
"We did have some interactions before. Perhaps it's the shared experiences through these missions that brought us closer, and things naturally progressed."
Fatima sighed with a knowing look:
"I really don't know if letting Emily join your team was right or wrong."
"I know you have other women, and I won't force you to leave them, but I do hope you'll treat Emily well."
Henry nodded earnestly: "You have my word."
Fatima then turned her attention back to the imprint about to fall.
But Henry suddenly interjected:
"So, does this mean I should start calling you 'Auntie' now?"
Fatima stared at Henry with a resigned expression.
"Ha ha, just kidding," Henry said, finding Fatima's exasperated look quite amusing.
Four minutes passed, and the imprint finally couldn't withstand the erosion of Desolation, completely losing the trace of its original master, Dream.
Instantly, an imprint glowing with immense light appeared in Fatima's hand.
"Ding, your team has slain a fragment of Maldream. Your 10x reward has been triggered, congratulations on obtaining the Intense Mental Imprint of Maldream."
"[Intense Mental Imprint of Maldream]: An imprint from a special realm's dark god, possessing powers in the realms of dreams and sealing. It can be used to craft corresponding mysterious items."
Indeed effective, Fatima rarely showed a hint of a smile as she looked at the mysterious imprint in her hand.
With this dark god's imprint, she wouldn't be entirely helpless when facing Algado's descent in the future.
"I'm very satisfied with the rewards from this mission. By the way, Henry, you must have triggered your reward multiplier as well, right? What did you get?" Fatima asked Henry.
"Ding, your team has slain a fragment of Maldream. Your 110x reward has been triggered, congratulations on obtaining the Fiery Heart of Maldream."
"[Fiery Heart of Maldream]: The living heart of a dark god. Possessing this heart is akin to having control over the main body of Maldream. It can be used to contact the dark god, and if the heart is crushed, the dark god's power will suffer a significant decline."
Henry's heart thumped wildly as he looked at the pulsating heart in his hand, speaking with an indescribable tone:
"It seems I've been rewarded with something quite extraordinary."
After Henry explained the specifics of the heart to Fatima, she was completely stunned, remaining silent for a long time before murmuring:
"Why was I so excited just now?"
She had only obtained an imprint of a dark god, whereas Henry had acquired the heart of a dark god!
The disparity between the two was just too vast.
Fatima looked at Henry with a touch of envy.
"Are you sure this is just a 10x reward? This is the heart of a dark god, beyond the realm of a Level 100 human awakener. Currently, no awakener in the world has reached this stage!"
"Henry, from some perspectives, you've got yourself a powerful servant!"
A god-tier servant?
Henry's heart raced as he asked, "How should I use it?"
"Hold it in your hand and feel the will of the dark god within it with your mind," Fatima instructed.
Henry closed his eyes, attuning his consciousness to the pulsating heart in his hand.
Suddenly, an angry voice echoed in his mind, and an enchanting, sinister woman appeared in Henry's mental world:
"Why has the heart from my body ended up in your hands!"