Chapter 22 World of Dreams

"W-What? I forgot this damn dagger is cursed!"

[Cursed removed by 'Lyndall']

"Thanks, Dally!"

[ Congratulations! You have created a Poisonous Cursed Dragon Twin Dagger]

[Poisonous Cursed Dragon Twin Dagger]

- Increase critical damage +25%

- Cause bleeding to target

- Curse target (Target stats -20%) New

- Inflict poison on target New

- Active Skill: Poison and Cursed Dragon Tornado (MP Consumption: 30) (Single-target) New

*First use does not consume MP.

"Skill name sounds lame but overall, the weapon is OP. I thought the dagger might melt or just apply poison on the dagger only."

ROOAAAAARRRRRRR!

"Almost forgot about it." I used Isaac's 'Hunter's Game' and 'Iron Wall'.

I unequipped my scythe and equipped the twin dagger. As I was falling, I activated the 'Poison and Cursed Dragon Tornado' skill and targeted the boar's weak point, the head. The twin dagger thrusted deep into the boar's head, letting the poison from the dagger slowly sipped into the boar and dealing large damage to it.

[Target: Ravonsac Wild Boar has been cursed. Target stats decrease 20%. Target has been inflicted with poison. Due to the target having low poison resistance, more damage has been dealt.]

The boar's HP immediately dropped to 20%. The boar squealed in pain and tried to throw me off by shaking its head vigorously.

"Ouii~ I'm getting dizzy..." I pushed the dagger deeper. The boar's HP dropped faster.

The boar squealed again and shook even harder. My hands were shaking as I struggled to hold on. Before I knew it, I was thrown off, leaving my twin dagger in the boar.

Bang.

I slammed against the wall. The throw was so hard that my HP dropped down to 8%.

[Warning! Your HP has dropped below 10%.]

"That hurts so bad. If it wasn't for Rona's 'Iron Wall', I'll be dead by now." I coughed out some blood as I lay on the ground.

Pshht~

I turned and saw the boar charging at me. "Oui..." I immediately used Rona's 'Heal! Heal! Heal!' and my HP restored to 18%. I got up and barely dodged the boar. The pressure from the boar slamming the wall threw me forward, decreasing my HP to 12%. "The pressure alone decreased my HP by 6%? If I got slammed by it, I won't just go splat! I'll probably disintegrate."

The boar shook its head and rushed towards me again. I equipped the scythe and swung it at the boar. The scythe bounced off the boar.

[0 damage dealt]

"Uh-oh." I used 'Dash' and dodged the boar. It was a cat and mouse chase. I had to wait for the poison to reduce the boar's to 10%. As I dodged, my HP slowly reduced.

[Warning! Your HP has dropped below 5%.]

Bleurgh.

I fell on the ground and puked more blood on the floor. Huff. Puff. My body was getting weaker as I was struggling to keep myself awake. My eyes were blurred as I couldn't see the HP bar clearly. I was also seeing two boars in front of me. I thought to myself, 'Two boars? Where did the other one come from?' I thought this was the end for me. Nevertheless, I picked my scythe and decided to let fate decide. I estimated where the boar was and threw my scythe at it. After I threw the scythe, I fainted.

After some time, I woke up, seeing an unfamiliar ceiling. "Ugh... What happened?" I looked to my right and saw the boar that tried to kill me lying next to me. I sat up and poked the boar a few times. "You're asleep? Now? Way to ruin an opportunity."

[ Congratulations! You have killed Ravonsac Wild Boar. Due to your enemy's level difference, you are given extra EXP.]

[You and your teammates have level up to level 30!]

[ Congratulations, your teammates' skills went up! Dodge LV 6 -> 7, Dash LV 3 -> 5, Information Gathering LV 7 -> 8, Eagle's Eye LV 5 -> 6, Merry Go Lucky! LV 7 -> 8, Iron Wall LV 2 -> 3, Heal! Heal! Heal! LV 2 -> 3]

[Here are your rewards.]

Suddenly, a bunch of treasure chests appeared in the boss room.

I was so confused. "The boar is dead? How?"

I circled around the boar and found my scythe, stabbed deep into the boar's eyes and my twin dagger, thrust deep into the boar's head. I looked up and said, "Rona's skill works better than a charm. I owe Rona my life, big time." I bent down and pulled both my weapons out.

[Do you wish to put the Ravonsac Wild Boar in your inventory? Yes / No]

"Seriously? I can do that? Of course I would!" I pressed the 'Yes' button, and the boar disappeared into my inventory.

Ping.

[You have a new message]

Isaac: What was that noise?

Rona: You alright, Lil?

Isaac: Why aren't you replying?

Rona: Lil dead?

Isaac: Maybe? I find someone who can make a great gravestone while Rona will find a place for her to rest in peace.

Rona: Okey Dokey!

I sent 'I'm fine' to the chat without looking at the rest of the 999+ messages.

"I don't know whether I should be happy or mad." I sighed in conflict.

I shook my head and checked the treasure chests in the room. "Wow! There's so many treasure chests just by killing one boar. Maybe because I almost died?" I happily opened one of the treasure chests, and it jumped out and attacked me. I swung my dagger at it, and it disappeared.

[ Congratulations on killing your first mimic!]

"Mimic?! I knew it was too good to be true!" I looked at the rest of treasure chests and thought. 'The rest can't be mimic, right?' There was only silence in the air. I decided to open every chest there are in the room, just in case I might miss a valuable item.

After opening 999 treasure chests, 994 treasure chests were mimics. I cried, thinking how unlucky I was. "If only Rona was with me, I would have gotten better luck."

[You and your teammates have level up to level 35!]

[Skill Level Up! Stubbornness Level 5 -> 6]

"It's not stubbornness! It's perseverance!"

The screen was silent.

"Oh... What's the use of getting mad with a dumb screen." I looked away and took out the loots from the 5 treasure chests. Human bone, normal writing pen, MP potion, 2 paper clips, and a seed (unknown). "A seed? Like plant?" I sniffed and licked it. "Odourless and tasteless. Yuck!" I looked at my loots. "The only useful item is the mana potion... But I better keep all of them just in case of emergency."

[ Congratulations! You have gained a title. 'Hoarder Queen'.]

I screamed at the blue screen, "I'm not a hoarder! I'm just taking it just in case I need it for something later."

The blue screen enlarged the word 'Hoarder Queen.'''

"You're just doing this to piss me off, aren't you?"

The blue screen disappeared and went silent.

I glared at the air. "..."

Ping.

[You have a message]

"I hate you, blue screen."

Isaac: You're fine? What took you so long to reply just 2 words?

Rona: Isaac wants to bury you.

Isaac: I did not!

Llyne: It's fine. Isaac, look at the inventory.

Isaac: Rovansac Wild Boar?! Where did you get it?

Llyne: That was the boss I had to kill. It nearly killed me.

Rona: Meat!

Isaac: Good job. I can cook it for you all later.

Llyne: Thanks. I need my revenge.

Isaac: Ok...

Rona sent a 'question mark' sticker.

Llyne: I'll be continuing then.

Isaac: Sure.

Rona: Good luck!

I closed the chat and proceeded further.

Behind the boar's throne, there was a big black metal door. Unlike the boss room door, this doesn't have any weird inscription on it. I placed my sweaty hands against the door and pushed it slightly.

Creak.

The metal door opened. A gentle breeze blew passed along with an eerie sound of a woman singing. I took a big gulp and entered the mysterious area.

[HP and MP are fully recovered]

[Congratulation, you have passed Stage 2.]

[You have entered the World of Dreams. Beware! As they are not mere illusions.]

'...'

The eerie sound of a woman singing was nowhere to be heard. I sighed in relief.

I looked everywhere, but I couldn't see anything, just like how I met Lyndall. Dark and void. I could only rely on my hearings to guide me through the area.

Pitter Patter. Pitter Patter. I could hear little water droplets falling from nowhere onto the ground. However, when I stepped on the ground, there were no signs of water anywhere. I frowned, but I concentrated even harder on the sound. "It's close." I began to slowly walk towards the direction of the sound.

Step. Step. Step.

After walking for some time, I found a mysterious woman sitting on the floor making some crying sound. She was wearing a beautiful red traditional clothing with exquisite head accessories. Oddly, the weeping sound she was making sounded a lot like the eerie voice I heard before. My fear grew, but I couldn't turn a blind eye to a person's suffering.