209 The Hermit's Shackles

Ian shoved the music box he had brought along into his bag. Since it had been packed in a small box, he didn’t need to worry about it being altered by contact with the grimoire.

It weighed more than he had expected. By rough estimate, it was a little over 1 kg. For a music box, it was absurdly heavy, but since it was a byproduct made through an anomaly, he let it slide.

‘The real question is whether this can withstand an Outer God’s presence…’

It went without saying, but a normal tool couldn’t fully summon an Outer God. Still, it was possible to have a brief conversation. Even a plain statue made by Pygmalion had managed to summon the lord of the Outer Sea for a few seconds, so there was no reason a music box couldn’t.

Probably around ten seconds at minimum. At most, maybe a few minutes.

“When you use the music box, please be careful not to tamper with any mysteries related to dreams. For example, monkey dreams, or a dream within a dream. If you provoke them for no reason, it’ll only make things harder for Lord Shin Ian. The anomalies that make their home in dreams are especially troublesome once you’re inside a dream.”

“Got it. Anything else I should watch out for?”

“Hmm... it can be used on humans, but the human target will be left brain-dead? That’s about it.”

Ian nodded. He grabbed the bag’s zipper, hoisted it back onto his back, and stood up.

“Then I’ll be going now. Call me again if you need anything later.”...