Day One of From the Nightmare

From the Nightmare. A virtual reality Soulslike game developed by the famous Japanese studio, Kadami. Its difficulty was notoriously brutal. And thanks to that notoriety, it had become incredibly popular, played by countless internet streamers.

Man, the realism is insane. It was on a completely different level compared to Ghost Phobia, the horror game I had played with Nina and Miho before. If Ghost Phobia had a bit of a B-movie vibe, this felt like a masterpiece where a master craftsman had hand-carved every single pixel. Telling reality apart from the virtual world was almost impossible.

But the most shocking part was the vivid smell. I couldn't believe they had managed to replicate the sense of smell so perfectly. Was this really human technology?

"Wait, guys. Do you smell something weird?"

"Hey! What do you mean, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'newbie smell'? And 'delicious'? Just how desperate are you guys? You perverts!"

Look at these guys, jumping at the first opportunity to start sniffing around. Well, technically my body did smell pretty good, but whatever, at least everyone was having fun. Since we were still in the starting area, there weren't many backseat gamers yet. I hoped the chat would stay this clean.

"Guys, I'm going to shrink the chat window a bit."

If the chat window was too big during gameplay, it would get in the way. I shrank the chat and the donation alerts too. Nice. Perfect.

"Also, I might not be able to respond to chat or donations while I'm playing, so I'm apologizing in advance. Sorry!"

Since everyone was cool with it, time to warm up for real.

"First, let's check my equipped gear. Starting with the armor!"

What I was currently wearing was a slightly uncomfortable, worn-out set of armor. It was a sturdy iron protector, promising a decent defensive boost. It even came with a helmet, gauntlets, and boots. Great loadout. I definitely made the right choice starting as a Knight. Getting a full set of armor and a weapon right off the bat was amazing.

Of course, it wasn't full plate armor, but rather armor reinforced with iron plates. It didn't completely cover my entire body.

"This armor is super solid."

I tapped the chest plate with my fist, and it let out a hollow, metallic ring. Judging by the resonance, it seemed pretty durable.

"You know, this is my first time wearing armor in my life, and it's actually pretty heavy."

What? They all expected me to reroll my character because of the armor weight. But they forgot that I was a possessor with at least 1.5 times the strength of an adult male. It felt like my previous self and my current self had merged, inheriting all those physical stats.

"It feels a bit heavy, but it's not too bad. Look, I can even jump!"

Come to think of it, I had shown off quite a few physical stunts as a talent show ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during my debut stream. Starting with a full headstand bow, I did backflips, handstands, one-armed push-ups, and various other difficult poses. I had effortlessly pulled off a series of movements that a normal human could never do. Since I could easily do them in real life, I had executed them flawlessly without a single awkward movement.

"I am a girl! I'll prove it to you next time during a cooking stream!"

A rare hand-cam cooking stream is bound to become legendary. That was a famous proverb in the VTuber world. And if you wanted to be absolutely thorough about protecting your red pill, you had to wear white gloves to cover your fingers completely. It was always best to keep your red pill hidden.

Otherwise, you'll end up with all kinds of trouble, like stalkers or old classmates asking for money.

Of course, some VTubers had their faces exposed accidentally when their past streaming identities were discovered or their red pills leaked. Others subtly dropped hints to reveal their real faces on purpose. And in almost every case of a "subtle reveal," the streamer was gorgeous. They did it intentionally because they were confident in their looks. Besides, the yuksu went absolutely crazy for red pills. If a VTuber was pretty in real life, their fans would naturally brag, saying, "My favorite VTuber is gorgeous even behind the avatar!"

"We can talk about the cooking stream later. For now, let's check out my weapons!"

A relatively short straight sword was sheathed at my waist, and a small buckler was strapped to my left arm. Neither of them felt particularly heavy. They felt just right for swinging around.

"Hiyah! Yah! How's that? Pretty good swordplay, right?"

I deliberately acted a bit clumsy and put on a cute show to please my bangsaengi, and the chat was instantly flooded with heart emojis. Cute little rascals. "Alright! Let's head in!"

I stepped onto the wet, muddy ground and walked forward. Before long, an enemy appeared. It was a shriveled figure draped in dirty, foul-smelling rags that looked more like floor mops than clothes. Was that even human?

"A dream... This is a dream. We are trapped in a dream. This world is a broken nightmare."

The creature muttered gibberish as it dug into the dirt with a broken straight sword. It seemed completely out of its mind. No, wait, it wasn't a person—just an NPC. The game was so realistic that I kept mistaking them for actual humans. I needed to stay focused.

"Guys, can I backstab this guy?"

Judging by their reactions, I probably shouldn't attack. It was a classic trope in games like this. You'd assume someone was an enemy because of their hideous appearance, only to find out they were a merchant or a quest NPC you could talk to.

"Excuse me." I cautiously approached the beggar digging in the dirt and spoke to him. He slowly turned his head and grinned at me. His eyes were pitch black, completely devoid of whites. He had yellowed teeth, a creepy smile, a foul stench, and a face covered in scars.

"Ah... The cycle begins anew." He looked absolutely hideous, but his voice was surprisingly pleasant. Did they hire an expensive voice actor for this?

"You are the new protagonist of this dream. Have you come to end the recurring nightmare?" How was I supposed to answer that? "Uh, yeah? I guess so?"

"Is that so? I see. Hahaha..." At my response, the beggar NPC laughed for a long time. Soon, a black haze began to rise from his body. Why was this guy suddenly turning evil?! "What the! What's wrong with him all of a sudden?! Do I need to kill him now?! Was this a trap?!"

Oh, it was nothing. Whew, I got scared for a second. I almost drove my straight sword right into his skull. I seriously clenched my fist. I hadn't realized it before, but I seemed to be the type of person whose fists reacted before their brain when startled. It was the same during the horror game stream last time—whenever I got too shocked, my hands automatically balled into tight fists.

Since he didn't seem like someone I should attack, I kept watching. Soon, the beggar's body was completely enveloped in darkness, flickering like a black flame. So this was his true form. Pitch-black fire. A swaying shadow. Only his two eyes glowed with a bright, piercing light.

"Will you truly be able to reach the end of this dream?" "At the end of this endless nightmare..." "I wonder what choice you will make." What is he even talking about? The blackened beggar muttered his cryptic lines and pulled something out from his chest.

"Take this, traveler at the threshold of the illusion. May this lantern light your path." What he handed me was a glowing glass bottle. After telling me it would help me, the old man dissolved entirely into a shadow and vanished. What was that? Was he just waiting here to give me this?

"Oh! It's a healing item!" Wow, he was actually a good guy! What would have happened if I had just attacked him without talking? "Hey, guys. What happens if you just attack him right away?"

So Lawrence's Lantern dropped even if you killed him. But judging by their reactions, there seemed to be some kind of consequence for doing so. I definitely made the right call by sparing him. There was no need to make things harder on my very first playthrough. "Alright, let's keep moving."

There was only one path leading out of the cave-like graveyard. Positioned along the way to the exit were enemies meant for beginners. They were beggars dressed similarly to the one I had just met—literally tutorial monsters designed to help players get a feel for the game.

"Aaah... Aaah..." "Ah!" The mindless enemies, incapable of speech, swung their broken straight swords like daggers. Wait, this is... surprisingly fast!

I dodged it. I twisted my body to avoid the blade flying straight at my face, then thrust my straight sword into the beggar's chest... but then, something horrific happened. "A-Ah! What is this?! Blood! Oh my god, blood!"

As the blade pierced deep into his chest, an absolute torrent of blood gushed out! Oh my god! This was insane! The blood spray was incredibly realistic. "Ugh! W-Wait a second. *Gag*." I felt like throwing up. The metallic stench of blood made me dizzy, and my stomach churned. Why did it have to be so vivid? Why did these developers have to be such perverts about the details? The blood actually felt warm, which made it even more nauseating. *Gag*.

"How do I even pause this thing?!"