Chapter 372
Chapter 372
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 372
>Chapter Title: Someone's Dream
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Lucia suddenly appeared, throwing Kang Seol into confusion.
“…You killed them?”
“Ah, yeah! They were being annoying.”
Kang Seol glared at her.
It wasn’t outright hostility—more like wariness.
‘Killed them?’
He hadn’t paid much attention to the stragglers, but since they could become variables in clearing the checkpoint, he’d only wanted information on them.
He hadn’t expected to hear that she’d killed them herself.
“Don’t misunderstand—they got eaten.”
“…I see.”
Lucia’s explanation made the situation clear right away.
‘Which means the Federation forces were probably wiped out the moment they entered.’
The personnel might have been hopelessly inferior to the Conquerors. Or perhaps they’d underestimated the labyrinth and failed to prepare adequately.
This was the pitch-black labyrinth, perilous even for those who had passed through it once.
‘But how is she seeing ahead?’
Kang Seol’s eyes drifted to her seal.
A ring fusing the Seal of Blood and the Seal of Plague—it was glowing.
‘Well, guess the seal came with some decent effects.’
That would also explain how she’d adapted to the labyrinth so smoothly.
“Take me with you, beyond this point.”
“The next checkpoint…”
“I know, that’s why I’m asking! I really won’t get in the way!”
Kang Seol glanced at Shinrip.
He wanted to hear the man’s judgment.
The original plan had been for Kang Seol to enter the checkpoint alone.
“The more souls that enter a checkpoint, the better it could be—or the worse.”
It was an obvious statement, but he was still curious about the reasoning.
“Why is that?”
“Because dreams can become intertwined.”
“…Intertwined?”
“Indeed. With souls’ dreams mixing together, if someone drags a nightmare into the mix, you could face far greater dangers than what you’d originally encounter. However, if even a single person realizes they’re inside a dream and escapes, the entire world of dreams collapses immediately.”
“……”
“In other words, you face greater risks, but in exchange, greater opportunities as well. The power you gain scales accordingly, of course. And… this is just my insight, but it seems the achievements in the next checkpoint may depend on the quantity and quality of the souls that enter.”
Kang Seol thought it over deeply.
If achievements scaled with the number of souls, it might be worth bringing Shinrip and Shinhyeon along too.
“Don’t get overconfident—no one can fully wield their power in a dream. You start from absolute rock bottom, with nothing. Do it right, and you could claim immense achievements, but do you really think they’ll pull that off?”
He had no counterargument.
“And if you enter, there are still plenty more itching to follow. Look over there.”
Flinch…
The masked sisters leaning against a stone pillar, watching cautiously.
Belian and Belldre, dispatched from the Holy Relic Society.
“W-We’re going in too.”
“……”
“It’s a temporary truce… We have to get out of the labyrinth somehow…”
Explaining the dangers now would just be a waste of breath, so he resigned himself to it.
At their level, even more souls wouldn’t be much cause for concern.
Shinhyeon spoke up.
“Hehehe… You gonna take all of them? The dream world is so vast, you might never even cross paths. But they could drag in dreams even more horrific than yours.”
Kang Seol smiled.
“There’s nothing more horrific than my own dream.”
“…You sure about that?”
“Yes.”
If a dream tied to the gods emerged, that would make the checkpoint’s difficulty impossible to predict.
‘Still… I overcame that one, so it probably won’t show up easily.’
The odds of dreaming about being manipulated by the gods were minuscule. He had conquered his inner demons while acquiring the Night Raven.
‘Other people’s dreams might actually be preferable… Hm?’
Tug.
Someone grabbed his cape.
He knew this sensation.
It was that one.
“…Shinyu.”
Scribble…
- Don’t go. Dangerous.
Shinrip and Shinhyeon chuckled at the sight of Shinyu frantically scribbling on the floor.
“Hehe… Looks like he doesn’t want you to go.”
“That tracks.”
Kang Seol spoke to Shinyu.
“I’m going.”
- Can’t protect you.
“It’s fine. We made it this far.”
Shinrip said quietly.
“Shinyu, go with him.”
Shinyu crooked his index finger toward himself, as if to say, *Me?*
“We’ll stay here. Once the next checkpoint is cleared, the gates will stay open for a while anyway—we’ll see each other then.”
“If the trial drags on, we’ll need someone at the checkpoint to prepare countermeasures.”
Shinrip nodded, then addressed Shinyu again.
“So go, Shinyu.”
Shinyu pondered for a moment before rapidly shaking his palm up and down.
Got it.
Shinrip placed a hand on Kang Seol’s shoulder.
“Kang Seol, it doesn’t matter who you are or how you’ve lived. The dream beast will fabricate a version of you from an entirely different world. You might be a stray there, or a war slave. A herb gatherer, or a hunter scraping by.”
Infinite possibilities.
“A new life will unfold. Find yourself within it. No—gather the scattered fragments of yourself.”
Kang Seol nodded and turned around.
The Belian and Belldre sisters, Lucia, and even Shinyu.
He gave a lingering glance to his companions—whether he’d encounter them in the dream or not—before taking a step forward.
Rumble…
The second checkpoint opened.
[You have achieved an unprecedented feat in the Gate of Darkness.]
[Acquiring additional rewards.]
[Conducting mid-settlement for the Great March.]
[Acquired Improper Natural Sediment.]
[Grace of Blood descends.]
[Grace of Darkness descends.]
[Grace of Light descends.]
[Grace of Storm descends.]
[Grace will be applied to the next checkpoint.]
……
Swoosh…
Kang Seol and his companions set foot into the checkpoint.
Boom—!
In that instant, the world felt like it evaporated, the ground vanishing beneath them.
[Sudden adventure ‘Someone’s Dream’ has begun.]
[This adventure is extremely dangerous.]
……
* * *
Dreams might just be constructs of human desires.
Pushing away what you hate, drawing near what you love…
The dull, dreary routine of daily life slips past like scenery from a train window—already gone.
Time flows that much faster in dreams.
Tap tap…
“Ah!”
“Jeez! What’re you thinking about, Seol-ah?”
“Oh, nothing. I just spaced out for a sec.”
“…What was that?”
“Yurim-ah, what about you? Not sleeping?”
Yurim.
The girl who’d helped me adjust to this place.
She still hadn’t lost all her baby teeth, but we’d been sold here together and shared every hardship.
“Go to sleep already. We’re on unloading duty tomorrow—if you’re sleepy, you’re really done for.”
“…If it’s unloading duty, we’d die even wide awake.”
“True, but…”
Bang bang bang—!
Someone pounded hard on the door.
“Shut your traps, you brats!?”
“……”
“……”
Surveillance was ironclad here.
Stricter than a prison for criminals, maybe.
This was Melton’s port, where the whip held more sway than the law.
Yurim and I had both been abandoned by our parents, snatched by slavers, and sold into slavery at the port.
Putting children to hard labor was taboo in Melton.
Even slaves weren’t worked until they’d aged a bit.
‘They don’t strictly enforce it here, though…’
Legally, at least, we were protected. If only we could get out of here.
The Smiling Face ruled everything from the unloading yards to the gambling dens and brothels.
Surprisingly, Smiling Face was literally what they called him.
‘If it weren’t for that guy…’
Would our lives have turned out a little differently without him?
Maybe we’d have ended up as slaves with somewhat better treatment.
No one knew the Smiling Face’s true identity. Not even his face was well-known.
Zzaaaack—!
The crack of a whip echoed.
Someone had screwed up at the yard.
‘Who… Oh!’
Usually, it was Yurim.
“Who told you to slack off!”
“I-I wasn’t slacking! It was just… too heavy…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Zzaaaack—!
“Aaack—!”
The whip slashed across Yurim’s body.
Whoooosh…
Another lash rained down on the unresisting girl.
“Yurim-ah!”
Zzaaaack—!
“Kuuh…!”
“S-Seol-ah…”
“You little shit. What do you think you’re doing!”
“P-Please stop… Yurim didn’t…”
“You dare cover for her in front of me?”
The overseer rolled up his sleeves and swung the whip.
Whoooosh…
Zzaaaack—!
“Aaack—!”
Something horrific tore across my back.
“Aa…”
A new scar layered over the old ones.
“You filthy little…”
Whoooosh…
Smack—!
“…Huh?”
“…Don’t hit Seol.”
Today had been full of shocks.
Yurim had caught the whip with her bare hand.
Her palm was torn open, but she’d distributed the force just right—no severed fingers.
‘How…?’
The overseer stared in disbelief when someone approached his side.
‘Ah… that guy…’
To everyone else, he seemed like a perfectly nice person.
But to me…
“What’s going on?”
“Karuna-nim, these two brats were slacking off, so…”
A glance swept over me once.
I knew that look.