Joining the Guild, Part 3
"Sigh... Why are the higher-ups always so clueless?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You don't need to know, Hero."
The Hero, modeled after Han Haneul, tilted her head in confusion.
"Let's just get on with the quest..."
"Alright!"
To blow off some steam, I planned to hunt the beast-type monsters I had seen in the Gate today. I felt like I could have fought better back then. I must have been too tense to fight properly.
I needed to review and practice like this in my dreams.
As for why the dream had to feature the Hero... well, was it just because Han Haneul was on my mind? Honestly, she had been a bit of a nuisance, but she only did it because she was worried about me.
I suppose it was a mix of gratitude and awkwardness. Thinking about her before falling asleep must have summoned her into my dream.
"They say the dungeon boss spawning these monsters is inside that cave. Our objective for this quest is to kill it."
"Ah, I see."
I made the setting as similar to the Gate as possible. Although the Hero was here, she wasn't overwhelmingly powerful at this point in time. She could use Sword Qi, but she couldn't spam it or manifest a Sword Aura yet.
She was just a companion who wielded a slightly sharper sword.
I should enter the cave like this, fight a few times, and get a feel for it.
"Alright, Hero. Let's go."
"Yeah!"
Is this... a dream?
Who... am I? Ah, right. I'm the Hero. Traveling with my porter. We took a quest from the village and came to clear out a cave that has turned into a dungeon.
The cave was quite deep, but there weren't many monsters. Thanks to that, we reached the end quickly. Even though the quest description said an immense number of monsters were spawning here.
"So that's the dungeon boss..."
"Pfft. It's so ugly."
The dungeon boss was a massive chimera.
It had the head of a lion, several beast heads sprouting from its torso, and a snake for a tail.
It looked incredibly grotesque.
After all, one head is more than enough for any single beast.
"Porter! I'll kill it quickly! Wait a bit further back!"
"Ah, okay."
Every time the chimera breathed, flames leaked from the beast heads on its torso. The snake tail was dripping venom from its fangs.
My porter might get caught in the crossfire if we fight.
That was why I intended to send him as far away as possible.
"Hero. I'll leave it to you, then."
"Yeah. Leave it to me! Because I'm the Hero..."
After the porter retreated toward the entrance, the battle began.
The chimera was strong. It was deceptively fast for its massive size, and I had to fight with extreme caution to avoid its venomous fangs and bursts of flame. Slowly, keeping my distance, I engaged in a hit-and-run battle.
There was no need to rush.
As time passed, the wounds carved into the chimera's body multiplied one by one.
"Grrrrr...!@#$%"
Finally, my sword plunged into the wounded chimera's head.
The chimera collapsed limply.
It was a powerful foe. So much so that it felt strange for it to be in such a small dungeon. It was as if someone had artificially created it.
But that wasn't important right now.
If I told my porter about these strange details, we could figure it out together. I should hurry back to the entrance.
...Huh? Were there always this many corpses?
But something was wrong.
I had barely encountered any monsters on my way in. Yet now, there was an absurd number of monster corpses. It was as if monsters had flooded in while I was gone, and someone else had dealt with them.
Indeed, there had been an unnaturally small number of monsters earlier.
Had those monsters been scattered outside? And then rushed back into the cave when the boss was attacked?
"...Where is the porter?"
An ominous premonition. I immediately dashed toward the dungeon entrance. The cave felt unnaturally deep. Was it because of my racing heart? It felt much longer than when I first entered.
Gradually, the scent of blood grew thicker.
Finally, when I reached the spot where the porter should be.
"Porter!"
A massive wolf monster was lunging at the porter. Without thinking, I swung my sword through the empty air. But my Sword Qi wasn't powerful enough to reach that far.
In the end, the wolf monster tore into the porter's throat.
I ran to the porter, far too late.
Why? Why did I swing my sword at the empty air? Why did I think it would reach? The wolf collapsed helplessly under my sword, which was now coated in Sword Qi.
The porter was dying. His blood was draining away. His body was growing cold.
And then.
When I opened my eyes again.
"...Huh?"
I was standing in front of the chimera once more.
There was no time to comprehend the situation. Instinctively, I turned to run back and save the porter. But the chimera lunged faster.
Barely dodging the chimera's attack,
I swung my sword to counterattack.
I can't leave until I kill this thing.
I had to quickly dispatch the dungeon boss, the chimera, and go save the porter. I didn't understand why the same situation was repeating, but that single thought consumed my mind.
It's fine. I've already beaten it once.
I was only slow earlier because I was being cautious. If I hurry a little, I can win.
Clinging to that thought, I charged at the chimera.
"...Huh?"
Unlike before, the severed heads on the chimera's torso began to regenerate. I realized something was terribly wrong.
It was stronger than before.
And when I somehow managed to defeat the chimera and ran to the porter.
"Aaaah!!!"
The porter was killed by the wolf monster yet again.
And once more, I stood before the chimera.
"Tsk. This is tough. Is it because it turned into a nightmare?"
I repeated the dream after setting a few simple rules.
First, while I was fighting, the Hero couldn't come because she was busy dealing with the chimera. After all, my goal was to recreate the battle at the Gate.
There would be no point in training if the Hero just killed everything for me.
Second, the wolf's final attack could not be dodged. Back at the Gate, if I had dodged, the other porters behind me would have died.
My goal was to overcome the exact same situation on my own.
"It's been a while since I've had to conquer a nightmare."
Nightmare transformation.
Once a dream turned into a nightmare, it wouldn't bend to my will even if I was lucid. In fact, the nightmare could persist into my next lucid dream.
An anxious mind strengthens the nightmare, and fear manifests in violent forms within the dream. On the flip side, if I could conquer this nightmare, my lucid dreaming control would become that much more robust.
Because it meant I had overcome my inner fear.
"Alright. Let's try one more time."
An endless wave of monsters.
The anxiety creeping up from the depths of my heart, the fear of death, the physiological disgust toward violence, and the helplessness dragging me down.
Due to the nature of nightmares, my condition was at its absolute worst.
And that was why it was perfect.
If I could overcome this nightmare, I wouldn't break down no matter how many times the same situation presented itself in reality.
"I feel like I can block that bastard wolf."
As I systematically slaughtered the weaker monsters, I reviewed the moment the wolf had lunged.
I had to block a head-on pounce from a monster several times heavier than me. And I had to do it without any skills, using nothing but a single sword.
How should I go about it?
Deflecting the wolf was impossible. The damn thing was too heavy. In the end, my best bet was to use the wolf's own momentum against it to kill it, but that was easier said than done. It wasn't something a basic technique could pull off.
Maybe I'll succeed after dying about twenty more times.
Well, it was just a dream anyway. I could die as many times as it took.
"Grrrr..."
"Oh, did you miss me?"
You absolute bastard of a wolf.
"Gasppp!"
It was... a dream. Thank goodness.
It was just a nightmare... right?
"A dream? A memory? Huh?"
I didn't know. Lately, I had been having so many nightmares that I was getting confused. My hands trembled. I had watched the porter die over and over again.
The scene was so vivid I didn't even need to write it down in my diary to remember it.
...Ah. That wolf. It was the wolf I saw at the Gate.
My thoughts finally settled, and the memories of that day rushed back. The Gate, the cave, the monster corpses, the wolf. Except for that bizarre chimera, everything was exactly as it had been at the Gate that day.
I had saved Siwoo-ssi that day.
It had been such a close call. If I hadn't realized how to manifest Sword Aura, I surely wouldn't have been able to save him. That must be why I had such a nightmare.
A nightmare where I couldn't use Sword Aura, failing to save my porter... failing to save Siwoo-ssi, and falling into despair. Deep down, I must have been incredibly anxious.
I've been having so many nightmares lately...
But in reality, I saved him.
Thank goodness. A nightmare is just a nightmare. I was so incredibly relieved.
Is it... really a relief?
The circumstances were different, but it was still true that I had failed to save my porter in the past. And even at the Gate, I had almost lost Siwoo-ssi again.
...I don't know when something like this might happen again.
Since he had joined the Resource Team, he would be exploring Gates frequently from now on. It would be hard enough for him to adapt to the guild's work. It wouldn't be surprising if something went wrong when I wasn't looking.
I hated that. I didn't want to lose him.
I'm scared...
As I thought, I need to look after Siwoo-ssi even more.
I will always protect him by his side.
So that no one dares to put Siwoo-ssi in danger.
Because Siwoo-ssi is my porter...
Past lives, being a Hero—none of that mattered anymore.
I just wanted to protect him.
"Siwoo-ssi."
"Haha... Yes, Hunter Han Haneul..."
"I told you to call me Haneul-ssi."
"Yes..."
Please, just spare me.
What is this? Is she an assassin sent by Senior Sua to ruin my career?
"You have a Gate exploration scheduled for today, right?"
"Yes."
"I will be participating in that as your escort."
"...Excuse me?"