Item vs Boss

Where does one go after death?

Aldrich hadn't feared death. He believed it was a necessary transition. But if he could keep his ability to think, then he would have tried to learn more about that state. Even when the hot nozzle pressed itself against his temple, he was worried about the same thing. When he had closed his eyes, the only thing he said to himself was the same thing he had said before waking up the last time.

'I'll be the master of my Dreams.'

With a little difficulty, Aldrich opened his eyes. If the darkness could have been felt, then it could only do so at that place. He had been just floating in a place which may as well had never seen a ray of light. But something in his mind told him to come forward.

With a will from his current self, his ethereal body moved forward. He kept going in the same direction, but the end didn't seem to be near at all. Time had lost its meaning and the only thing that had remained in his mind was the call. If he were to compare it to something, it could have only been described as an earthquake. A sound that could only be felt and not heard.

After uncountable months, or years, or centuries, Aldrich could finally see something else in this place. Unlike Time, size always had meaning, as it was based on the relative comparison. In front of him was another being, but so enormous that only his blurry face could be made out. Aldrich realized that the face, or probably the whole being, was separated by a transparent Veil from him. He could only make sense of the being's eyes, which seemed to be closed. Who knew when it was the last time they had been opened?

For a long time, Aldrich tried to study the being's face but couldn't make out anything of it. The call within him had been becoming louder and louder. Suddenly the Veil shook by an unseen and unfelt breeze. A series of words had planted themselves within Aldrich. Even his ethereal body was on the verge of losing its presence when he tried to say those words aloud. But this was a chance that had been given to him. Aldrich had known that these words were a turning point if he would want to see any further developments.

He wondered if this place was like anything similar to the place he had seen after losing the dream-world last time. Then he could say these words out loud here, too. Aldrich tried to say something, but no sound came out. And time passed like an ever-flowing river.

"Da…"

For the first time, a sound could be heard. Aldrich's mind, now sharpened even more by the endless time, caught the crux of the feeling.

"Darkest among Dark."

"Devourer of Dreams."

"End…" His voice faltered to continue, but using the will that he had saved only for this moment, he shouted out the last words.

"Endless Veil of Slumber."

The Veil fluttered, and the call in his mind became an incomprehensible whisper. Aldrich's focus had been concentrated on the being's face. The edges of its face had lifted, giving a vague impression of a slight smile. And in the next moment, the eternally closed eyes of the being shot open.

Aldrich didn't even have the time to look away. An extreme wave of pain had washed over his mind. From the colorless eyes of that being, a seed-like item came out and penetrated the middle of Aldrich's forehead. A finger-wide deep hole could be seen in existence there. An ominous black vapor had emanated out of that hole.

Not only that, but his hair had also turned white. And white and black in his eyes had exchanged their color. A corner of the Veil tore itself out and covered the naked body of Aldrich like a robe. He could see the Veil in front of that being parted like a curtain and beyond it there was a world. With a sudden force, the opening pulled Aldrich into it.

When Aldrich gained his bearings, he had been hovering in mid-air, just over his dead body. All things around him seemed colorless, like a black and white painting. And in this colorless scenery, Aldrich got to see more things than he could see before.

Aldrich saw himself closing his eyes and the Boss Crawler's smirking face. He saw himself standing behind the gravestone in a stupor. He saw himself entering the Mana-film around the hill and he also saw himself fighting the Elite, the common Bigfoot, and the other Crawlers. Scenes of his all actions flowed in front of him like a video reel.

Aldrich realized if he wished to, he could have even gone further back in this flow of time. But for the moment, something had limited him to the second node only.

"Shared Vision. So it was like this! I had never thought of sleeping because I have always been sleeping. I never had a dream because I have always been dreaming. My reality has intertwined itself with my dreams."

Aldrich used his fingers to feel the hole in his head. He looked at the Boss's forehead and some ideas had formed in his mind. But this wasn't the time to ponder over them. The world had started to gain its color little by little and with his divine sense, he could feel his eyes gaining their original color back. With a feeling of falling, he plunged himself into his lifeless body.

The first thing Aldrich had noticed after opening his eyes was a list of different notifications.

[…

Hidden Quest time limit is over

Hidden Quest's Status: Failed

Dreamer's Class 'Generalist' is updated

…

Class: Generalist

Description: Dreamers of this Class can learn anything in the least amount of time. Dreamers can also create many Skills and Items using their Experience Points without facing repercussions from the System

Class-Specific Skill: Metacreativity

…]

Aldrich stood up and saw a bewildered look on the Boss Crawler. Even it couldn't seem to comprehend the absurdity of the things that had happened right in front of its eyes. Aldrich took out the daggers and dashed towards the Boss. With a quick thrust, he tried to pierce the heart of the dazed Crawler but the Boss used the rifle to deflect the dagger and unsheathed its Sabre.

Aldrich plunged the deflected dagger into the Crawler's chest and with quick back steps created a distance between them. The Sabre was crystal clear and had vibrated the moment it smelled the blood on its master and Aldrich's wounds. If it weren't for the Crawler's 'Old Gambler' Skill being over, Aldrich would have already crushed the Return Stone. But things had taken a turn in favor of Aldrich now.

He had regained his trump card.

[…

Item: Oldest Change

Type: Mask

Rank: Common

Durability: 300/300

Minimum Usage Condition: The highest Attribute of Dreamer must be greater than the sum of the two lowest Attributes

Description: +5% effect to all Perception-based Skills

Item-specific Skill: Change

Item-specific Skill's Detail: Transfer 50% of any Attribute to another Attribute

Warning: All effects of Item would be lost immediately upon being taken off

…]

"Change."

[…

Record of Aldrich

…

Agility: 78 (+4 +50)

…

Perception: 50 (-50)

…]

Aldrich felt like something had taken hold of his body. And that was - Pleasure. He took a long breath in and looked at the Boss. With a sudden motion, he disappeared. In the next moment, he appeared in front of the Crawler and slashed with the dagger in his left hand. The Boss couldn't even react to such a speed and had been caught off guard.

CHOP!!!

The right arm of the Boss was sent flying, and Aldrich followed the attack by a kick to its chest. The kick landed right on the dagger and, by the sudden impact, half of the blade came out of the boss's back along with flesh and blood.

"Ahhhkkkk!!!"

The Crawler howled in pain and threw the Sabre straight at Aldrich. But the Sabre changed its trajectory mid-air and went straight to the severed arm. The Blood Thirsty Sabre had always thirsted for blood and only more blood.

The boss had already picked up the fallen rifle. And seeing Aldrich disappearing again, it shouted aloud, "You think you can kill me by just using that speed? Humph!"

An explosion of Mana, like that of the grenades, happened with the Boss as the center. A flood of blue ethereal aura covered the Crawler's body and the rifle. Aldrich had immediately come to know that it was the Skill–Mana Burst. And then, even bigger and faster, Mana-bullets were fired at him. Aldrich dodged them easily and appeared somewhere else. But another Mana-bullet came right at him at the same time.

The Boss had seemed to predict Aldrich's fast movements just by depending on its 'experience'. Aldrich changed his strategy and ran in a circle around the Boss. It did not know where Aldrich was, but it didn't seem to panic. With a slight smile on its face, The Boss took a step. The step created a ripple and in the next moment, it came out of the gravestone far from Aldrich.

Aldrich had been waiting for this exact moment. There was a reason he had left the dagger in the Boss's chest. There was a reason he had used his Change Skill first.

"Target Lock."

[…

…

Agility: 101 (+4 +50 +23)

…

…]