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n10 Blood

nAs Lumian stepped out the door, he felt as thought he was transported to another world.

nBefore him lay no longer the familiar Cordu, but a dark-red mountain peak and the collapsed buildings surrounding it. Together, they formed a strange ruin.

nThe fog in the sky was thick and pale, making it difficult for light to enter. The ground was shattered and there were many rocks. Lumian gripped his axe tightly and inched forward carefully, his heart pounding in his chest. Along the way, he couldn’t find a place to hide.

nThere were no weeds or trees.

nLumian walked in fear, his every sense on high alert. All he could do was hunch his back and comfort himself. At the very least, if there was any danger in this area, it would be obvious at a glance. He could discover it in advance.

nFinally, he arrived at the ruins, a half-collapsed building that had been wrecked by fire.

nLumian surveyed the area for a moment and tentatively confirmed that there were no other creatures lurking about. Satisfied with his assessment, he cautiously made his way inside the building, being mindful of the charred wood that could fall at any moment from midair.

nAs he searched the room, his eyes landed on a broken pot in the corner of the house. There was a hint of gold shining through the cracks.

nLumian approached the pot slowly and realized that it was a gold coin.

nCan it be true? There’s actually treasure in the ruins of my dream? He picked up the gold coin and wiped it against his body.

nThe patterns on the surface of the coin were revealed.

nThe coin featured a man’s portrait carved on the front. His face was thin, and his hair was parted 30-70. There was a mustache on his lips, and his gaze was rather firm. On the back was a bunch of sweet iris flowers surrounding the number 20.

nLumian recognized the man depicted on the coin. It was none other than the first president of the Intis Republic, Levanx.

nIt’s actually a Louis d’or… Lumian was rather surprised.

nFirstly, he couldn’t believe that the currency in this strange dream ruin was actually the currency of the Intis Republic in reality. And secondly, he had casually picked up something as valuable as a Louis d’or.

nHe knew that in the present day, the legal currencies of the Intis Republic were verl d’or and coppet. One verl d’or was equivalent to 100 coppet.

nCoppet existed in the form of copper coins and silver coins. The copper coins were divided into three categories: 1 coppet, 5 coppet, 10 coppet, while the silver coins had the denominations of 20 coppet and 50 coppet.

nVerl d’or could be found in the form of silver coins, gold coins, or banknotes. In silver coins, there were denominations of 1, 5, and 10 verl d’or, while gold coins came in 5, 10, 20, 40, and 50 denominations.

nThe denominations of banknotes were even more varied, ranging from 5, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 verl d’or.

nIn reality, the people of Intis still clung to the old currency units. For example, the most widely used 5 coppet copper coins were known as ‘lick.’

nSimilarly, gold coins worth 20 verl were commonly referred to as Louis d’or.

nIn the old currency era, Louis d’or had been known as Roselle. But after the Republic was established, the name was changed to Louis d’or in order to erase Emperor Roselle’s influence.

nAs Lumian understood it, even in the rural area of Cordu, a Louis d’or could sustain a poor family with fields for an entire month.

nHe knew that without Aurore’s high income, he might never have even seen what a Louis d’or looked like. In fact, in the entire village of Cordu, only the siblings and the family of the administrator had ever seen or owned a Louis d’or.

nTo any villager, this Louis d’or was an incredibly valuable gain.

nUnfortunately, this is just a dream… Lumian couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

nThis was something ordinary, making it unlikely he could “bring” it out of the dream.

nBut even so, he handled the Louis d’or with great care and respect. Having spent much of his life wandering, he knew the value of every coppet.

nAnd he knew that one Louis d’or was equivalent to 2,000 coppet, which was equal to one gold pound in the Loen Kingdom, though slightly less. According to the papers he had read, 24 verl d’or could only be exchanged for one gold pound.

nLumian continued his search for any written information that could shed light on the ruins and their history. He wanted to see if this place corresponded to a certain location in reality, and whether a village in the Intis Republic had been “transported” into this dream world. The appearance of the Louis d’or had only fueled his curiosity.

nAs Lumian moved cautiously through the ruined building, his eyes fell upon a spot where a stove had once stood, now stained with a dark red color.

n“Blood?” His pupils dilated as he quickly made a guess.

nImmediately after, he made a judgment.

nAlthough it wasn’t fresh, it hadn’t yet turned black—it looked as though it had just dripped there two or three days prior, or perhaps even more recently!

nAs his heart began to race, Lumian suddenly felt the light around him dim, as if something had silently blocked the light filtering through the dense fog from above!

nThe memory of past attacks flooded Lumian’s mind like a turbulent wave, causing him to react instinctively.

nWithout a thought, he lunged forward and wrapped his body in midair, rolling on the ground to avoid any potential danger.

nThump!

nA loud thump echoed through the air as something heavy fell behind him.

nLumian quickly rolled to the left side of the dilapidated stove, using a nearby rock to leverage himself around.

nAs he rose to his feet, axe at the ready, he saw an additional figure standing where he had just been moments before.

nThe dim light made it difficult to discern whether it was human or some kind of humanoid creature.

nThe figure hunched in front of Lumian was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was a monster, with no clothes or shoes to speak of. Its skin had been peeled off, revealing the red muscles, blood vessels, and yellowed fascia beneath. Sticky liquid dripped from its body, yet it didn’t fall to the ground.

nIt was a monster!

nIts eyes seemed to be embedded in its face, and its mouth hung open with all its might, revealing uneven teeth and a long drool of saliva.

nDespite all the ghost stories Lumian had fabricated in the past, he never expected to encounter such an evil spirit in real life.

nWhoosh!

nThe stench of blood filled Lumian’s nostrils as the panting of the monster filled his ears.

nInstinct took over Lumian as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the blood-red monster’s attack.

nLumian knew that he had Aurore’s guidance and years of experience fighting on the streets to thank for his quick reflexes. Without them, he might not have been able to react in time.

nTaking a deep breath to calm himself, Lumian charged after the monster that had pounced on him. With his sharp axe in hand, he swung with all his might and struck the monster in the back.

nBang!

nLumian’s axe felled the monster mid-turn, sending a spray of pus and blood in every direction.

nWithout a moment’s hesitation, Lumian knelt down on one knee and raised his axe again, ready to strike another blow.

nBang! Bang! Bang!

nAgain and again, Lumian swung his axe with precision and force, each strike slicing through the monster’s flesh and leaving deep, wide cracks on the back of its head, neck, and back.

nFinally, the monster lay still, defeated by Lumian’s fierce barrage of blows.

n“Huff! Puff! You don’t act as terrifyingly as you look.” Lumian heaved a sigh of relief, his voice tinged with a hint of mockery.

nHe wiped his face with his left hand, then used it to wipe off the blood on his other hand.

n“Is this monster’s bodily fluids poisonous? For the time being, there’s no pain of the fluids eating at me…” Lumian began to worry about another problem.

nJust as Lumian mustered up his courage and was about to search the monster’s body, he was caught off guard by a sudden movement. The skinless, blood-colored monster propped itself up with both hands and bounced up again, as if it were still alive.

nIt isn’t dead yet?

nDespite being slashed to such a state, it seemed that the monster was still alive.

nLumian was shocked and afraid.

nFear and trepidation took hold of Lumian.

nIf Lumian had been facing normal humans, beasts, or monsters, he would not have been so afraid, even if he couldn’t defeat them. But this monster in front of him seemed unkillable, rendering Lumian’s every move useless.

nTaking advantage of the monster’s brief disorientation, Lumian made a quick decision. He propped himself up with his feet, exerted strength on his knees, and ran wildly.

nThud! Thud! Thud!

nHe ran with all his might, but he could feel the monster’s breath on the back of his neck, and the sound of its heavy breathing echoed in his ears.

nThe monster followed closely behind him.

nDespite his fear, Lumian gritted his teeth and allowed his fear to push himself

nto run even faster, surpassing his previous limits.

nTo his delight, he soon realized that the distance between him and the monster was no longer shortening.

nThud! Thud! Thud!

nLumian finally reached his semi-subterranean two-story building as he pulled open the unlocked door and jumped inside.

nWith a loud clang, he slammed the door shut and quickly made his way to the stove, where he picked up a steel fork that was leaning against the wall.

nThen he focused on the door.

nBut then, he heard the sound of the monster’s running footsteps fading away. He waited, but the monster didn’t try to slam through the door.

nIt knows that I’m lying in ambush here? Lumian couldn’t believe that the monster had higher intelligence.

nHe slowly moved towards the window near the door and peeked out.

nSuddenly, a face appeared on the glass—a bloody, skinless mess with uneven teeth.

nLumian froze for a moment, his heart almost stopping.

nTo Lumian’s surprise, the monster didn’t try to break the glass or attack him. Instead, it simply met his gaze.

nLumian snapped out of his daze and retreated, brandishing the long fork with both hands.

nThe monster left the window.

nLumian watched cautiously, observing its movements as it lingered in the light fog for a while before finally retreating back to the ruins.

nLumian was at a loss.

nHe had been prepared to trap the monster and make a quick escape from the dream, but the creature had simply left without attacking.

nAfter some thought, a possibility occurred to Lumian. Perhaps the monster is afraid to enter my house?

nYes, there’s no signs of damage to the house at all…

nIn the dream, this is an absolutely safe place?

nWith this realization, Lumian felt a sense of relief wash over him.

nLumian was hit with a wave of exhaustion the next second.

nThe short chase had taken more out of him than an entire afternoon of combat training.

nLumian made his way upstairs to his bedroom, clutching the pitchfork and axe tightly in his hands. As he lay down on the bed, Lumian attempted to fall asleep.

n…

nLumian opened his eyes, feeling disoriented and groggy.

nOutside the curtains, it was still dark, and the room was shrouded in shadows.

nFor a moment, Lumian couldn’t tell if he was still in the dream world or if he had somehow returned to reality. But then he noticed the lack of gray fog and the fact that he was wearing his pajamas, and he realized that he must have woken up.

n“I woke up early because of the fright,” Lumian muttered to himself, subconsciously patting the pocket of his pajamas. But when he didn’t feel the weight of the Louis d’or, he felt a pang of disappointment.

nIt confirmed another fact—that money couldn’t be brought out of the dream world!

nLumian took a deep breath and composed himself, his thoughts turning to a serious problem:

nHow was he supposed to deal with that unkillable monster?

nWhile Lumian knew that he could bypass the area and enter stealthily, he also knew that this was not a long-term solution. The possibility of encountering similar monsters in the future was always there, and he couldn’t afford to risk his life by being unprepared.

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