"That's bad, right?"
Her expression darkened. The gravity of the situation clutched her heart.
"It could be worse, but we'll be fine. There are no monsters we have to watch out for anyway."
Indeed, mana is mostly used for combat.
Accepting his reasoning, her body relaxed slightly.
"The only problem is food. We need to look for more. And for the temple, let's look for clues in the city."
Sure, there was a lot of food in the town, but it would only last around five days. Shun doubted they'd leave the area that quickly.
As for building the temple, Shun had a gist: the Tower itself gave hidden hints.
"Un." She nodded and followed Shun. As soon as they stepped back into the town, they heard muffled voices in the distance—yet there was no one in sight.
They kept their guard up and continued walking, paying attention to any changes in the environment.
They didn't find anything strange, except for the crowd noises. It seemed ethereal and reminded Shun of the default background noise in video games, when the devs forget to place NPCs.
It creeped the heck out of him nevertheless.
Turning his head to one of the buildings, he noticed a silhouette at the window—yet beyond it, the room was empty.
"This place gives me the creeps. We should leave."
The crowd noises fell silent. The silhouettes at the windows turned their heads toward them.
Shun and Akira gulped down their nervousness. The hairs on their bodies rose.
Their instincts screamed: Run. Red lights blared in their minds.
Fear devoured them, freezing their bodies. They even forgot to breathe.
Something ominous and dark was approaching, quietly.
We gotta move! Shun screamed inwardly and focused all his strength to move his arm. It twitched slightly.
He took a deep breath and rushed his aura to it. His arm glowed yellow.
Gotcha! he exclaimed inwardly.
"Forgive my friend's words! She's just anxious in a new place. We'll stay here a bit longer," Shun blurted, slapping himself in the face. A red mark imprinted on his cheek.
It looked painful—and with aura coating the slap, it was a miracle he didn't get blown away by his own hand.
The crowd noises resumed. The silhouettes turned their attention elsewhere.
The ominous, unpleasant force vanished too.
"We're saved." She collapsed and exhaled heavily.
"No kidding. I thought I was going to die." Shun smiled bitterly.
Following that event, the noises and silhouettes became less creepy. Could one call it a blessing in disguise?
"It seems they react to certain words. We should be careful about what we say next."
They just had to avoid saying anything unpleasant about the town.
"Okay."
Thankfully, she understood his meaning without further explanation.
Until dawn, they strolled through the town, looking for clues regarding the temple. The result was disappointing.
Shun rubbed his forehead, smearing his thoughts into his skin.
"Where on earth could it be?" he gritted his teeth, voice mixed with exasperation.
"We should continue the search tomorrow. It's almost night." The girl looked at the sky.
The sun sank like a dying ember, bleeding its last warmth into the clouds. She shifted her eyes to Shun.
His shoulders drooped, eyes screaming exhaustion. She tapped his back. He turned around to her.
"You okay?"
"...I'm okay. Just tired, that's all." He smiled bitterly.
Hmm? He sensed the air change and looked around. The silhouettes seemed to stare at them. The atmosphere grew unpleasant.
Sweat trickled across his cheek.
Did we say something wrong? Shun thought. He couldn't find any mistake they made.
Then, realization struck like lightning.
"Time to leave."
She cast her gaze at the dark figures. "Alright."
The black figures continued whatever they were doing. Shun and Akira left the town.
"Where are we going to sleep?" Her eyes shifted left and right, searching for a good spot—then sighed when she found none.
"Could you create a small house?"
"Nope. My mana isn't enough. Best I can do is a half-built one."
"I see." She stared at the soft patch of grass with a reluctant look.
They had nowhere to go, and staying in the town meant death.
They had no choice but to sleep on the grass.
As a city girl who had never touched wilderness, such a thing was a fresh—and uncomfortable—experience for her.
"It looks like there's no other option." She sighed in resignation and sat under a tree.
Shun had been observing her the whole time and couldn't help but be impressed by her adaptability.
He sat a bit farther from her and gazed up at the sky, his hands behind his head as a pillow.
The stars decorated the dark, empty sky like glittering gems.
Whether here or in the real world, the stars never changed. Shun found comfort in that.
How many humans has it seen, staring up at it? Shun thought, feeling a little lonely.
"Hey… do you think I can go home alive?" Her voice echoed through the darkness, embedded with solitude.
"I don't know." His eyes remained glued to the sky. "Alive or not, it's up to you to decide. Keep fighting, or cower in fear.
"I can only help you as much as I can. But the choice is yours."
"I don't think I'll make it out alive."
A town where phantoms of the past lived—yet had voices. A lively place, yet empty.
A town that seemed stuck in time and refused to move forward until an outside force disturbed it.
Everything she had seen was far from normal.
Wouldn't the danger be just as unnatural?
Sure, they survived one threat earlier, but how much longer could she survive?
Perhaps she was thinking along those lines. Shun understood her fears. That's why he said this:
"If that's your answer, I won't say more—just one thing. Are you satisfied with it?"
"No."
"I can't hear you."
"No!" she raised her voice.
"Then hold onto that answer as tightly as you can until you make it out."
She grunted in acknowledgment, so soft Shun almost missed it.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The wind blew, taking their worries and concerns with it—vanishing into the night.
"Good night."
The night was extremely quiet—a stark contrast to the evening, when the city had been bustling despite being empty.
Why is it so quiet now? Shun wondered and shifted his gaze toward the town.
"?" He tilted his head. A thick, gray fog had covered the city.
As his attention fixed on it, he heard muffled, shrilling screams, children crying, warriors shouting, and the clang of swords.
What is going on? he asked himself, body tensed as he stood. The urge to check the town was palpable.
Just as he was about to take a step—
The same gray fog from the town spread and filled the area.
"Where did it come from?" Shun increased his guard, worried about Akira. He turned toward where she should be, but the fog was so dense he couldn't see beyond two meters.
Crap. What's going on? Is it an enemy? Shun braced himself to transform—but before he could—
He yawned. An overwhelming drowsiness swept over him, as though he hadn't slept for days.
The first thing to give out were his legs. His breathing slowed, easing into calm. His eyelids grew heavier until they finally shut tight.
He fell into slumber. The screams faded like a passing nightmare.
In his slumber, he encountered the System:
---
[Welcome to the Dream Realm.]
[Please gather as many materials as possible.]
Dream Realm? Materials? Shun recited hazily in his heart.
[Your Nightmare has appeared.]
[Don't let it find you.]