What Am I Supposed to Do?
I was a bit startled for a moment, but I couldn't help smirking at the obvious trick.
It had to be some kind of illusion. I could tell without even looking.
You are now trapped in the Prison of False Dreams!
Communication with your sponsoring constellation is blocked within the Prison of False Dreams!
The first trial will begin soon! Prepare yourself!
Right? This is just an illusion. Nothing more.
...Though the part about not being able to communicate with my sponsoring constellation was unexpected.
I didn't know who set this up, but blocking even constellation messages? A space like that.
More than the illusion itself, I couldn't gauge how annoying the 'being' waiting outside after breaking the illusion would be.
The guy who wiped out most of the Sword and Glory raid team.
Coincidentally, from Milo and the survivors' testimonies in my first playthrough, it was hard to infer a strategy for that ridiculously strong monster.
They just said it was a huge monster handling various attributes.
They'd said the way they repelled it was just by pushing forward with the resolve to die.
...I couldn't get a sense of its size at all.
First, I need to get out of here.
For some reason, my back had felt soft since earlier. Turns out I was lying on the old bed I used to sleep in.
I got off the bed without delay and checked my appearance in the full-length mirror standing in one corner.
"...I haven't reverted to how I looked back then."
It was just my current self, but dressed in shabby pajamas.
Were my abilities intact too? Just as I tried lightly circulating mana to check—
"This kid hasn't come out of his room yet, even though it's this late. Isn't he sleeping?"
"Should I go check?"
"Yeah. You go up."
Two faint voices from beyond the door. The moment I heard them, my mind blanked for a second, and my body stiffened.
...Ah, right. Of course it'd be like this.
From the moment the background was set in my 'old family home,' I'd had a hunch.
Knock knock.
"Jae-min. You asleep? Can I come in?"
And sure enough.
"I'm coming in? Really coming in? No complaining later?"
Click.
Before the door fully opened beyond the full-length mirror, the doorknob turned.
I turned to look behind me.
Standing at the door was—
"Hey, what're you doing standing in front of the mirror?"
Dad in casual clothes, whom I hadn't seen in 13 years, staring at me with wide eyes.
...Shit. This illusion is one hell of a bastard.
I knew it. That wasn't my real dad. Just a fake.
So no need to get shaken.
Besides, I've been through something similar before.
In the Reverse Dungeon, I'd reunited with Dad while possessing Mom's body.
Back then, emotions surged unexpectedly, and I'd hugged him on impulse... but now, knowing full well this was all an illusion, I didn't feel that way.
"Why no answer? What're you doing in front of the mirror?"
That was the moment.
The illusion—Dad—slowly approached me and reached out toward my forehead.
"...!"
The instant I caught sight of that hand, my crisis instinct rang alarm bells.
If I let the illusion touch me freely, who knew what might happen.
So I had to swat that hand away. Had to.
But...
Smoothly.
"Hm, no fever..."
For some reason, up until the illusion placed its hand on my forehead...
I couldn't take any action.
"..."
Up close, the illusion's features became clear. Distinct nasolabial folds. A few scattered white hairs, not too severe. A slightly more aged impression than in my memories.
Yeah. As if, if the Dad I last remembered had aged 13 more years...
He'd look exactly like this.
...Hmm, I couldn't tell what this illusion was forcing on me.
For now, maybe play along a bit?
Come to think of it, there was that system message earlier: the first trial would start soon, so prepare.
Until clear info on the trial appeared, it was best not to act rashly.
"I'm fine, Dad. Guess I haven't fully woken up yet."
I smiled warmly at the worried-looking illusion.
The illusion withdrew its hand, looking relieved.
"Good. But hey, even if it's the weekend, isn't sleeping in too much?"
"I-Is it?"
"Come down and eat. Your mom'll flip the table again like last time if you're late."
...Flipping the table? They even nailed the personality.
I followed the illusion down the stairs to the first floor.
There, as expected, was Mom in an apron at the living room kitchen.
Mom also looked about 13 years older.
...But why did it feel so unfamiliar?
"Your eyes look sunken too. Did you stay up all night watching something naughty—"
"Hey now, honey. Cut the kid some slack as a parent. You'll hurt his feelings."
"Who said anything? I'm not some uptight mom. Just watch enough not to mess up your daily life."
"Jae-min. It's fine. It's normal at your age when hormones are raging. Right?"
...The conversation was veering into weird territory, so I quickly changed the subject.
"B-By the way. No raid schedules for you two today?"
It was just idle talk.
But—
"Rai... what?"
"Raid? What's that?"
Not the response I expected.
...What's a raid?
It's not just denial.
They reacted like they'd never even heard the word.
As I hesitated, a hypothesis flashed through my mind.
No, not even a hypothesis. At this point, it was certain.
A world without monsters or Awakeners.
And that world was one I'd fantasized about as a child, in a way.
If monsters and gates never appeared in this world, if Mom and Dad weren't players,
They wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves fighting the Destroyer.
If so, then probably...
Mom and Dad would still be by my side right now.
I'd hear their voices in my ears, feel their warm presence on my skin.
And that happiness, now just a dreamlike fantasy, I'd have taken for granted.
"..."
...This place really is nice.
Even knowing it was an illusion, I couldn't help thinking that.
The first trial begins!
To escape the Prison of False Dreams, kill the two people before you!
"...What?"
A shock hit me like a hammer to the head.
I double-checked the text in disbelief, but no illusion.
"No way..."
Even for a shitty illusion, this was too much.
There were limits to how trashy it could be.
"Jae-min? What's with that face?"
"The kid seems off today..."
The two before me. Mom and Dad. I had to kill them to get out?
Damn it...
Right when I'd realized this was the ideal world I'd dreamed of, the trial condition to kill Mom and Dad to escape was revealed.
No coincidence. Pure malice to corner me mentally.
"...Damn."
This wouldn't be easy. Fakes had levels too. This one converged endlessly on real.
Voice, expressions, gestures, touch... Every detail perfectly recreated my remembered parents.
Not like those mannequins in the sanctuary.
"..."
Yeah. I won't kill these illusions.
I don't want to.
More than that...
"You think I'll just follow this shitty trial?"
No need to kill anyway.
Tat-tat!
"Jae-min?"
"Where you going?!"
I spun around and burst out the front door.
Even then,
"Jae-min!"
Mom and Dad cried my name desperately.
I almost looked back reflexively but clenched my fist and endured.
Get it together, Hwang Jae-min...!
How long will you keep dreaming?
You can't go back to those days anymore.
Time to accept it.
"...!"
The moment I stepped into the yard in front of the house lot, defiance surged.
"Let's see who wins...!"
This elaborately faked illusion world—how far did it extend? I'd see for myself.
Whoosh!
I summoned wings with Ascender's Flight and soared powerfully.
Should've done this from the start.
If it were a simple illusion, Spirit King's Favor would've activated immediately.
Mind-control illusions fell under status ailments too.
But Spirit King's Favor showed no reaction.
That meant,
I've been physically summoned into this illusion world.
So if I kept flying in one direction, eventually I'd reach the 'edge' of this illusion world.
No matter how intricate, it was just a fake mimicking the real world.
An artificial space like that wouldn't have infinite area like reality.
How high had I climbed? Oxygen was thinning.
But I didn't stop. Higher, even higher.
Until this fake world's 'boundary' appeared, I kept ascending relentlessly.
After a while.
"Bingo."
I stopped flapping and grinned.
Now I could see it. Something wavy, impossible in a normal sky.
That ripple had to be the 'boundary' marking this fake world's end.
Or 'barrier,' if you like.
"Not content with digging into my painful past, huh?"
Oddly, I felt infinite gratitude toward Yuseongsu right now.
If not for his real Growth skill triggering my second awakening, I wouldn't have,
Roar—
the power of Ether that could burn even this barrier.
"Want out? Kill the two people before you?"
Roarrr!!
The fiery Ether gathered in my fist blazed fiercer.
"The bastard who designed this—I'll rip him apart with my own hands."
I charged the sky's ripple, pulling back my Ether-clad fist like a drawn bowstring.
My right arm's muscles bulged massively, veins bulging vividly.
Baaaang!
My blazing fist, unleashing terrifying shockwaves, tore through the sky's ripple without mercy.
Escaping the Prison of False Dreams!
First escapee born!
Trial progression halted!
Shattering the barrier flipped the scenery in an instant.
Scanning around quickly, I realized this was a vast cavern.
"A cavern, but..."
Unusual structure. Iron doors of varying sizes stood one each to the front, back, left, and right.
That's when Mom's message suddenly blocked my view.
Constellation Sung Hyun-sook urgently cheers on 'our son♡'!
"...Mom."
Sung Hyun-sook fidgets anxiously, asking if you're hurt anywhere!
"I'm fine. Not hurt."
Maybe because of what just happened, Mom's messages felt even more tender than usual.
Sung Hyun-sook sighs in relief, startled at you suddenly getting sucked into the barrier!
Sung Hyun-sook asks worriedly what happened in there!
"Uh? It's a bit long to explain..."
No. Not that long?
As I started to tell Mom what happened in the barrier,
Flash!
Flash!
Suddenly, pillars of light erupted around, spitting out people one by one.
"Ugh..."
"W-What is this now..."
"H-Huh? I was clearly at my hometown..."
Sword and Glory members reacting with confusion. From their mutterings, it seemed I wasn't the only one trapped in an illusion space.
Then, Milo, regaining his senses, hurriedly reorganized the ranks.
"Everyone okay? Injured members, speak up now! We'll do emergency treatment while we can... Huh?"
As he scanned the members, his gaze landed on me.
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening.
And muttered in disbelief.
"Hwang Jae-min...?"
"...Ah."
The moment my name left his mouth, I flinched and touched my face.
...30 minutes passed, huh.
Hmm, what now?
"..."
Sensing something off, maybe? Milo scanned the group again.
Soon realizing one person was missing, he said,
"Hey."
He glared at me with eyes flashing murderously.
"Where's my little brother right now?"