"I agree."
[ Hm. ]
[ THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN SIGNED ]
[ YOU ARE THE FIRST DREAMER TO GET THE VOID'S CONTRACT ]
[ 5,000 COINS HAVE BEEN REWARDED ]
[ TOTAL ACCOUNT BALANCE - 5000CC ]
5,000 huh? It's pretty good. I can survive easily now. Well, now Dreamer's Delusion will begin. I need to find Seonyeon and Chaeyoung quickly.
[ I heard you died. ]
"Yeah, that's right."
[ Then how are you going to participate in Dreamer's Delusion? ]
"There are a lot of glitches. We're both bound by the contract, so you can probably see me, right?"
[ Yeah. I'll keep observing you. ]
I'll live.
The scene started fading.
I can change this dream now.
My vision started to feel dizzy.
[ I hope you'll be the finest pr— ]
The scene faded, and I got unconscious.
Wait, I forgot to talk to him about my memories, which he was making me see. He probably saw everything.
The sun was rising. A little bit of dark clouds were visible in the sky. The rising sun was beautiful.
I opened my eyes slowly but surely. Multiple buildings had crumbled. Their debris was scattered all across the place. I was buried under the debris.
[ 500 COINS HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN STRENGTH ]
[ STRENGTH - LVL 3 --> LVL 8 ]
[ TOTAL ACCOUNT BALANCE - 4500CC ]
Strength Lv. 3 wouldn't have been able to push away the debris.
Thud!
I pushed the debris that was laying on me away by using all my strength.
I got up.
A calm and gentle wind was flowing through the whole area. My cloak, which got tattered by the fights and the debris, started flowing in the air slowly and slowly. My hair was also flowing with the wind.
I gazed at the view for some refreshment.
I looked at my dusty hands.
"It ended, eh?"
My face and body were covered with dust. My cloak and clothes were tattered and had dust on them. I looked like a beggar.
I started walking on the debris, as there was no path to walk on.
I need to find Seonyeon and Chaeyoung. I was gone for 3 days, which means I didn't do any of the three quests. I should have gotten a penalty, but I still haven't.
[ THE VOID SAYS THAT YOU WON'T GET A PENALTY BECAUSE OF THE CONTRACT ]
Woah. Did he read my mind?
"How'd you know that I was thinking about this?"
[ THE VOID SAYS THAT HE KNOW EVERYTHING ]
Wow.
[ DREAMER'S DELUSION IS BEGINNING ]
[ SURVIVORS NEED TO GATHER NEAR 63 BUILDING IN 30 MINUTES ]
[ CURRENT NUMBER OF SURVIVORS - 493K ]
It's much lower than I expected. A lot died. Only 493K have managed to survive? In only 3 days, most of the population of Seoul has been wiped out.
This shows how impossible this dream is to survive. Not everyone can survive it.
"Time to go."
Not everyone can come to 63 Building unscathed. Many will die. A few will live. Seoul's destruction is already set in stone, which even I, the author of this Endless Dream, can't change.
I'm not a god, after all, who can save everyone. I doubt that even God can save everyone. Does God even exist? Probably, or probably not.
63 Building was filled with a lot of people. Most of them had made alliances and were working together, while a few were alone.
There were about 5-6K people gathered here. Usually, three locations are provided. You will get the nearest location. I wasn't so far from the abandoned building Seonyeon found, so maybe they also got this location.
The people were looking at me disgustedly. Well, it made sense—I was looking like a beggar.
No one dared to say a word to me. They all had disgusting thoughts of me going on in their heads, but no one could say them out loud.
Because they knew. They knew that this person standing in front of them wasn't someone who can be defeated easily. Do you wanna know why?
All of their clothes were clean, meanwhile mine were tattered. My cloak was flying in the air, my tattered clothes made me look like a beggar, my shoes were dusty. Everything about me wasn't something that could be praised. But still—
"G-Good work!"
"You did a great job!"
"Fight for us like this too!"
"Let's stay together, man!"
"Form a team with me!!"
"Join my team!"
Multiple voices filled the area around me. These voices were praising me. Multiple thoughts covered my head.
Why were they praising me? Did I do something worthy of praise? Am I getting regarded as their savior?
No.
It's not that.
Their clothes were clean because they found places where they could hide. They were hiding for 3 days straight. They didn't have the courage to go out and complete quests. Meanwhile, mine were tattered and dirty, which resembled that I was the only one who went out in this chaos to complete quests and fight monsters.
It was enough to make them believe that I could be their leader.
Haha, what a life. I never got praised for my work, but now I was getting praised just for going out. This world really has changed.
Most of them wanted to recruit me into their teams.
If it was me from before, then I would have probably said some words. But I won't do it in my present self.
I didn't show a bit of reaction to their words and continued walking.
Multiple thoughts were gathering around me—basically, those were the answers to my questions.
Weak. They are all weak. Weak praise the strong. Disgusting. They all disgust me. Why are you even praising me? You know nothing! You know nothing about me.
You don't know the things I faced through. You don't know my past, then how can you exist in my present?
Humans really are disgusting.
...
They started following me, begging me to join their team.
"Please join us! We'll survive!"
"This country needs you!"
Politicians
"I'll make you the minister."
"I'll give you money! Just become my bodyguard and protect me!"
"I'll make you the best politician ever!"
CEOs
"Let me be with you! I'll make you the head manager of my company!"
"Take my money, my company, but please let me survive with you!"
"..Loud."
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"What'd you say?"
"Mr., are you interested?"
Weak.
"You all are being way too loud. Better stay silent or you'll regret it."
"I'm not your guardian, nor do I know you, so why would I protect such shitty people like you?"
"Get lost."
I started walking again.
They were constantly yapping and begging me to come to them. Weaklings' mindset. They'll be the ones who will die in this Dreamer's Delusion.
Just like that.
I saw in front of me—
A girl with red hair was standing with bruises on her arms, dust on her clothes. She was also wearing a tattered cloak. With her, a little girl was standing too, with the same bruises, dust, and a tattered cloak.
They were standing in front of me.
I smiled gently.
"I'm back."
The small girl ran and hugged me tightly, tears shedding from her eyes.
The girl in front of me was doing her best to hold her tears back, but still, tears were shedding from her eyes.
"You took so long."
I finally met them.
"Hong."
I can't guarantee if my future will be safe, nor can I guarantee that I'll be safe with my knowledge.
If I die earlier in the story, then I would love to spend most of my time with my companions. Because that's the only thing that never happened with the main protagonist.
She lost everyone; she didn't get that much time to spend with anyone. In the end—
She ended up dying.
Her life was completely alone. That's why I don't want to turn out like her. Instead, I'll spend my time with them.
With Seonyeon and Chaeyoung.
If I had been devoured by the Void before, then I wouldn't have been able to meet them.
They would've thought for the rest of their lives about what happened to me.
I'm glad I made it back alive.
Seonyeon came a few steps forward and punched me on the chest.
"...It's your punishment for being so late."
This new life of mine won't turn out like my previous one. I won't be left alone like before anymore.
"I won't repeat the mistake so I won't get a punishment like this."
"...Idiot."
Chaeyoung grabbed my cloak a bit and lifted it up.
"Hm?"
"W-Where were you?"
This little sister of mine. I caressed her head.
"I was just lost."
"Don't go wandering off alone again."
I nodded while smiling gently.
I wish it could sta— no, it won't. Chaos will emerge and everyone will die. I need to change this.
I looked towards Seonyeon.
"Let's stay together from now on."
"You're the one who left. I won't leave anyone here."
"Anyways, how did you and Chaeyoung end up like this?"
"..."
I didn't get an answer. Well, I expected that.
"The building we found got destroyed by some large spiders. We didn't find any good place to hide, so we had to survive by always running."
She wasn't expressing it fully, but I was understanding it. She was sad. She had a responsibility to protect Chaeyoung. She did a really nice job. And me—who let himself be possessed by souls, then got a peaceful meeting with the Void.
I truly am pathetic.
"You did a great job, Seonyeon."
[ THE DREAMER'S DELUSION WILL BEGIN NOW ]
[ BEFORE THAT, YOU ALL WILL NOW OFFICIALLY BE REGARDED AS "ENDLESS DREAMERS" ]
[ YOU CAN NOW CHANGE YOUR STATUS BY YOUR PERFORMANCE ]
[ STATUS - NPC, SIDE CHR., MAIN CHR. ]
[ YOU ARE CURRENTLY "NPC" ]
[ YOU CAN NOW ACCESS YOUR DREAMER RANK AND YOUR "DREAMER PROFILE" ]
I gazed at my screen. I'm an NPC, eh. Will the skills I steal from Skill Plagiarist be shown here? Maybe?
Whatever. I'm an official dreamer now. I have access to multiple things now.
First of all,
"Dreamer's Profile."
[ Dreamer Profile ]
[ Name - Kang Hong ]
[ Sex - Male ]
[ Age - 23 ]
[ Status - NPC ]
[ Contract - Void ]
[ Coins Possessed - 4500cc ]
[ Skills - Skill Plagiarist lvl. 1 ]
[ Equipment - Endless Stride Cloak Edition, Inferno Grasp ]
As expected, Fire Element won't be able to show here because it's not my official skill. But how will I see it?
Seonyeon and Chaeyoung were looking surprised at their screens.
Everyone around the 63 building was looking at their profiles or were scared.
[ Dreamer's Delusion is beginning ]
[ 3 ]
[ 2 ]
[ 1 ]
...
It's finally beginning.
Gulp.
The delusion which took the lives of many was now beginning. A delusion that was created from the delusion of the first dreamer was now going to have a new story.
A story which will change the Dreamer's Delusion forever.
Begins now.
[ Dreamer's Delusion - 1 ]
[ Form a party and clear an S or A rank dungeon ]
[ Difficulty - A ]
[ Time Remaining - 50 days ]
[ Reward - 10,000cc ]
[ Lose - ??? ]
"Wait, what?!"
"A or S rank?! Are you joking with me?!!"
"We need strong members!!"
"Let's find new members."
"Hey! Over there! That man can help us!"
They were pointing at me. Again my clothes were making me look like a strong person.
"Hey! Form a party with me, please!!"
"Mister! Please form a party with me!!"
"Please, me!!"
Crowd gathered around me. They all were like beggars begging me to join them. They won't survive anyway.
So I know what I need to do.
[ Fire Element lvl. 1 has been acti— ]
The butler spawned out of a little bit of lightning.
"Weak. Disgusting."
The calm voice filled the whole area, making it completely silent. Everyone knew that they would die the moment they spoke. Some were putting their hands on their mouths in order to stay silent.
They were scared of this being.
"Much better. You all are too weak. Begging won't work. The Dreamer's Delusion has already begun, and you're here begging others to join you."
I gazed at the butler fearlessly. They will regret begging.
"I can't let such things happen here. Today's your lucky day. I won't kill you."
Huh..? Wait, what?! Did his higher-ups teach him a lesson?
I was laughing silently at the thought of his ass getting slapped by his higher-ups.
"Beggars won't be allowed here. If you're a beggar, then just die."
The butler clamped his fingers and the scenery changed.
We were all now standing in a green patch of land. The buildings, roads, cars—everything was now gone. We were in a strange place. Yet it felt so calm to look at the scenery.
The green grass was flowing with the calm, gentle wind. There wasn't a sun visible, but still it was day, and the sky looked beautiful.
There were hills, lakes, and forests visible far from us. Everything about this world was beautiful—
Until you know what type of place it really is.
"This is the hunting ground. You'll find multiple caves and lakes. All of them are dungeons. Hunt mana beasts in the forests. You'll all be staying here for the next 50 days."
The crowd gasped in fear. It was totally visible on their faces that they didn't want to stay here.
"Well then, you'll be dismissed with your party."
The butler smirked.
"Let the forest be filled with cries and pain."
He clamped his fingers again and everyone got teleported to different places. I was with Seonyeon and Chaeyoung as I predicted.
We were in a forest. It seemed like we were deep into it.
"Ah it started too quickly anyways what's the plan?"
"We'll raid lower dungeons first to get coins and exp. We need to play it carefully, otherwise we would be dead."
"What type of rank will be suitable for us?"
"Probably E. It's the lowest, and we aren't that strong."
We need to start from the lowest because we don't know what type of dungeons we'll encounter.
We started walking in a straight direction across the forest.
"I know nothing about dungeons."
"Don't worry, I know a lot."
At the very least, we need a goblin-type or bear-type dungeon. Anything above this will be dangerous for us. I don't know where the dungeons are in this place.
Usually, a cave or a lake is a dungeon, so I need to find it.
"The one radiating the least mana will be a low-rank dungeon."
"How'll we detect that?"
"You'll feel the pressure from outside. If the pressure is too hard, then it means it's a high-rank dungeon. But if it's too low, then it's a low-rank one."
"What if we don't feel any pressure?"
"Then it's a normal cave or an E-rank dungeon."
We need to increase our stats in order to raid a high-ranking one.
"You know a lot."
"Haha, i just happened to read a lot of isekai novels."
Now that I see, Chaeyoung is pretty silent.
"Chaeyoung, what do you think? Where should we go?"
I expected a reply to come, but I didn't get one.
"Chaeyoung?"
I looked back.
"Seonyeon..? Chaeyoung..?"
I wish I could spend more time with them.