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nChapter 102 – Nightmare

n“Is it because I didn’t work?”

nNot long after the portals changed color, I was tossing and turning in my sleep every night.

nI was experiencing insomnia for the first time in my life.

nIt was probably due to the dreams I had.

nHowever, I could not remember it.

nI kept waking up feeling suffocated and angry, heavily panting.

nThe pillow and blankets would be soaked with sweat.

nTo top it all off, a feeling that I had forgotten something important would wash over me.

nIt’s already been a week since I’ve started to suffer from insomnia.

nI felt that it cannot go on like this.

nI thought that I should at least try to sleep by tiring out my body first.

nFor that reason, I finally visited a dungeon.

nThe location I arrived was that level 34 dungeon in Gapyeong, which was the place I visited every day until the fight with the radical faction was over.

nSince it wasn’t a dungeon that was officially registered with the association, the surrounding area was desolate.

nOf course, even if this dungeon was officially registered, no one would be insane enough to go.

nThis was the place where I fought with Ghost.

nThe memory of that time briefly passed me by.

nEven though 3 months had passed, it felt like it happened yesterday.

nThe monsters of this dungeon would also be 1.5 times stronger than before.

nHowever, the experience and the loot they drop did not increase.

nWithout a doubt, mankind was at a greater disadvantage than before.

n“Coming to the level 34 dungeon for a workout. If anyone heard this, they would be shocked beyond belief.”

nI entered the snow white interior of the dungeon.

n****

nJust like when I used to hunt nonstop, I hunted for 12 hours long.

nWas it due to my abnormally high stamina stat?

nInstead of swinging my sword, I used only magic to hunt in this dungeon.

nMy body wasn’t tired in the slightest.

nI didn’t need to use Mega Cure, a spell known for its high healing power. Heck, I didn’t need to use almost any for of heal at this rate.

n“I can’t drink alcohol or medication for this either. Think I’m going crazy. I wonder if I can sleep tonight….”

nAs I muttered complaints, I headed to the market to sell the bloodstones.

nThe owner of the market was quite pleased after looking at the A ranking bloodstones I brought.

nDue to the increased difficulty of the dungeons, it must be difficult to even see B or A ranking stones.

nOur current society operated on bloodstones as an energy source.

nThe rate of consumption was the same as before, but the supply was beginning to dwindle.

nDue to that, the price of the stones rose.

nFrom Ho Jin, who returned to the the association, I received Awakened credit.

nSince I did not go to school, my activities as an Awakened was on an indefinite halt.

nThanks to that, I could no longer obtain the credit worth the value of the stones under my name.

nIt was illegal to use fake credit, but for someone like me who was an integral part to the fight that decided on the fate the nation, should they let this much slide?

nHo Jin had the same idea as me and gave this for me to use.

nThis was technically illegal, but this was common sense of the world.

nAs I said before, a lot more money was put onto the fake card than before due to the rise in prices for the stones.

n“Since the monsters became 1.5 times stronger, the price also rose by 1.5 times. What an amusing world.”

nEven after seeing the amount of money deposited to the credit, I didn’t feel anything.

nAfter all, I had more than enough money.

nIt was just that I found this situation to be ironic.

nHumanity suffered greatly at the appearance of the monsters.

nFor 41 years, many lost their lives and their homes.

nBut now humanity could no longer live without the drops the monsters gave out.

nI knew that humankind was known for their ability to adapt, but I couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

nThe money earned here would be donated to the efforts of repairing the areas that were destroyed by the monsters.

nThe first time is always difficult, but the second time and onward are easier.

nMother’s generosity was big enough already, but I was continuing to support the effort myself.

nI knew that it this was to help others in need, but it felt like I was consoling myself.

nCharity.

nWell, money doesn’t change a person’s morals.

nI returned home after.

nThe estate was like the one you’d find in movies or drama, about twice the size of your average school.

nThe metal gates the size of a house opened, leading into a road that headed straight for the estate.

nThe garden was well taken care of with flowers blooming all over.

nStatues were found sparsely in the tranquil garden.

nThe center was a fountain that was frozen until recently, thawing out as if announcing the arrival of spring.

nIt had already been a month since I’ve arrived at this home, yet I still found myself doubting if this really was my house.

nThe structure was composed completely out of nanomaterial.

nEven amongst nanomaterials, it was of the highest grade.

nIt was the same material used when crafting S ranking weapons and armor.

nThat level was enough to withstand a level 200 Holy Missile, and on top of that, the structure was double layered to further increase durability.

nThe portal explosions started to decrease, but one could never be fully prepared.

nI immediately prepared to sleep.

nPhysically I wasn’t tired in the slightest, but my urge to sleep had reached its peak.

nThis was something that no amount of magic could solve.

nIt was never like this before though.

nI had to worry about if I could sleep at all or not.

nJust like that, I laid down and unlike my worries, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

n****

n“Those who died at your hands…”

n“……”

n“The screams of my brethren….”

n“…..”

n“I’ll rip you to shreds and spread your remains all over the demon realm…..”

n“……”

n“99 days…. Sacrifice…. Destruction……”

n“…… Ah. So annoying! I finally fell into deep sleep after so long.”

nIt felt like I was still in a dream.

nNo. It could be reality.

nI felt as though I was in between sleep and consciousness.

nI wasn’t completely asleep nor was I completely awake.

nAlmost as if someone was giving a speech in an empty lecture hall, that voice kept ringing in my head.

nI couldn’t hear it clearly, but I could tell that it was directed towards me.

nWho was it?

nWas this the dream that kept interrupting my sleep each day?

nI attempted to locate the source of the sound.

nIt was then.

nThe darkness that blocked my view began to dissipate, allowing me to see in front of me.

nI was standing alone.

nFrom a third person’s view, I could see myself from afar, looking off somewhere in a lonely expression.

nThe self that I saw was standing on a plain that didn’t seem to end.

nIn front of myself stood a wall as red as blood.

nThe wall was insanely high, enough to make me appear like a dot.

nI couldn’t be absolutely sure, but the terrain looked desolate and ruined.

nThe soil looked so lifeless that not even weed seemed to be able to grow on it.

nAlmost as if I had fallen off a cliff, the self that I saw was staring at the ground hopelessly.

nI appeared as if given into despair with my shoulders loosened.

nI wanted to ask myself what happened and why I was here, as well as who was it that was talking to me up to a moment ago.

nHowever, almost as if my body was bound and silenced, I could not move or make a sound.

nI could only look at myself from far away instead.

nIt was then.

nSomething began to approach the self that I saw from all directions from the edges of the plain.

nThey were monsters.

nIt didn’t take long before monsters poured in like the tidewaters coming in, surrounding me completely.

nThere were so many that it didn’t seem plausible.

nAfter they came near me, the self that I saw kneeled before the blood colored cliff. 1

n‘Damn! What are you doing! Kill them all!’

n‘You know this isn’t the time to do that!’

n‘Hurry up and use your skill!’

nI couldn’t talk, but I continued to scream inside my head.

nI would be busy enough handling the mob of monsters surrounding me, but I could see that the self I saw was kneeling down as if given up on everything.

nThis couldn’t be reality.

nHowever, the emotion I felt made me feel rage beyond possibility.

nThat only lasted a moment though.

nWhat I originally thought to be a cliff began to move.

nThe wall suddenly rose up straight into the air.

nCalming my anger, I looked at it.

nHowever….

n“O….Oh……”

nI couldn’t help but be in disbelief at what I saw.

nThe scene before me didn’t make any sense.

nWhat I thought to be a wall that was raised into the air was actually a giant sword.

nBehind that was the darkness that I thought was the limit of vision’s distance.

nHowever, it was the owner of the sword.

nRaising the sword without much effort, blood began pour down like rain from it.

nI looked at the owner’s form carefully.

nOther than his or her massive size, the form looked exactly like that of human.

nAs he or she raised their form, more of the form came into view out of the darkness.

nNot a single thread covered his or her body.

nHowever, I could not tell if the form was that of a male or female.

nHe or she did not have any of the characteristics that were unique to each gender.

nCountless wounds covered the giant body.

nSince the sizes and locations of the wounds all differed, I could tell that the wounds weren’t all from a single battle.

nA purple aura was emanating from the body.

nThe heavy feeling that accompanied the aura was more than enough to threaten most opponents.

nOn top of that, something was sticking out above the shoulder blades of the body.

n‘No!’

n-SLASH!

n“…….”

nI woke up from my dream with that.

nCalming down my ragged breath, I had sweated enough to soak the bed sheets.

nThe last thing I remembered from my dream was being sliced apart by that giant blade until I could no longer recognize my own form.

nI was enraged as if it had actually happened, and it was difficult to control my anger.

nWas it just a simple dream?

nIt was then that I heard Jong Ho’s voice.

n“Yo. Are you okay, Min-Cheol?”

n“Ha….. Ha……”

n“What kind of a dream did you have to sleep talk that violently?”

n“Ha..… Ha…..”

nI did hear Jong Ho’s voice, but I hadn’t snapped out of it enough to reply back.

nNormally, I did not remember my dreams, and it was my first time having a dream this vivid, so it was difficult to snap out of it.

n“Whew…. Who….”

n“Did you have a nightmare?”

n“Whew……”

n“…….”

nThings turned out in a way where Jong Ho hyung was now living here.

nHe did not have a family.

nSince he wasn’t that attached to his previous residence, he eagerly accepted my offer.

nOn the other hand, I felt reassured that I had a powerful Awakened at my side.

nA brief moment later…

n“I had such a vivid dream.”

n“Oh boy. Look at all that sweat. You haven’t been sleeping much for the past few days. Isn’t because you’re tired from that?”

n“I’m not sure…. but….. even the pain I felt was so realistic. What time is it?”

nJong Ho spoke as he wiped my sweat with a dry towel.

n“23:30.”

n“……”

n“Guess you went to sleep early because you were tired.”

n“No. The last time I checked the time, it was at 23:20.”

n“…….”

n“It was too long and vivid of a dream to believe that it was only 10 minutes long…..”

nAfter that, Jong Ho brought sleeping medication and water, then left the room.

nEven for a long time after that, I blankly stared into an empty space and muttered to myself.

n“Who subjugated me into such a helpless state…..”

n1. There’s a cliff and a wall.

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