NOVPUB
Chapter 200: The Reflected Mirror In The Mirror (2)
I traveled around the pioneer village and entered the villagers’ dream to defeat all the concubi I encountered.
[You have purchased Dream Appearance.]
[You have used 100 species points!]
[You now have 6,012 species points.]
When I beat up the ninth concubi, rumors about me started spreading among the species. In the tenth dream, as soon as the incubus wearing the orphanage director’s face saw me, he screamed.
“Eeeeek! You’re that crazy thug!”
It brought a smile to my face. “I see the news about me has finally spread.”
It felt rewarding. After all, I had used Dream Appearance ten times, so of course I was hoping it would be worth it. I swore this wasn’t me trying to blow off steam after what Uburka had done.
“W-Why do you interfere with our business?”
“Because you happened to catch my eye. Consider yourself unlucky. Why do you look like my orphanage director?”
“We heard that if we look like this guy, you won’t hit us as harshly...”
“Damn, you guys are smart.”
I still hit the incubus a decent amount.
“Aaaaaah! Why?!”
“You said I won’t hit you as harshly. That doesn’t mean I won’t hit you at all. Anyhow, you’re a child from this new continent. Spread the word about me among your species if you want me to stop beating you up. A hobgoblin will sleep in this village square today, so bring as many of your kin as possible and enter his dream.”
“Why?”
“I’m the Terras’ guardian god. They look after the Shellmounts and Sylvans, so that makes me the guardian god of three species in total. And you guys are out here trying to put my children into eternal sleep. How can I just stand by and watch?”
The incubus looked me up and down with doubt in his eyes. “You’re a god?”
When I prepared to throw another punch, the incubus quickly looked away.
“I-I understand! I will tell my kin about you.”
That night, we decided to carry out the operation as planned. Uburka would fall asleep, and the Black Witch and I would enter his dream. Once the concubi entered the dream as well, we would start persuading them. Uburka’s mind would basically serve as our conference hall.
“I have not slept since I became a Constellation.”
Despite Uburka’s statement, he fell asleep surprisingly quickly.
The village by the ocean was quiet. It had been built by people who had crossed the vast ocean while dreaming of a new world, but the villagers were now truly caught in their dream. The cicadas in the village sang to the rhythm of the waves that were crashing by the shore.
“Shall we go in now, Senior?”
“Death King,” the Black Witch said quietly, her voice one with the echoes of the black waves and the cries of the cicadas under the white moonlight.
“Yes?”
“Stop trying to matchmake me with your son.”
I was a little surprised. “Oh. You noticed?”
“How many times do you think I’ve been proposed to in my life? When it comes to romance, there aren’t many people who are more well-versed than me. Though I never thought a Constellation or a hobgoblin would express romantic interest in me.”
“Err, sorry. I did think it would be impolite to keep it a secret, but it felt awkward to blabber about it.”
“I don’t plan on dating anyone,” the Black Witch said, tucking her hair behind her ear as the summer breeze kept tousling it. “By loving someone, you’re willingly leaving yourself vulnerable. I don’t want to be weak.”
“Don’t we also become a little stronger when we love others?”
“Yes, but are you sure you can live without the Duke of Ivansia?”
I couldn’t reply.
“You’re alright, but there is something risky about you. If your duke dies, you’ll break down. Even if the Paladin or I die, something within you will break down. The same applies in the case of the Viper or the Inquisitor dying.” The Black Witch moved her finger in the air, probably making a purchase in the Civilization Store. “It’s difficult for me to walk on a tightrope with my life on the line.”
She turned to me again. “I want to be able to handle my life on my own, so the only things in my pockets should be things I can throw away when necessary. Ugh, it’s embarrassing to say this out loud.”
“Not at all, Senior. Thank you for telling me.”
“Yeah. Please tell your son to endure the tragedy of his first love.”
My poor son got dumped before he could even confess. I looked down with pity at Uburka, who was sleeping in the square.
“Enough with the serious talk. Shall we go in and rescue our children now?” the Black Witch asked.
“Okay.”
[You have purchased Dream Appearance.]
[You have used 100 species points!]
[You now have 5,912 species points.]
We entered Uburka’s dream.
***
When I opened my eyes, a dense jungle was before me.
“Hmm.”
The smell of wet soil was strong. It was the same smell that my nostrils picked up on whenever I walked down the street on a rainy night. There were no asphalt roads or flashy signs here, but trees as tall as the buildings surrounded me.
Uburka was sitting on a large rock. “Welcome, Daddy and Daddy’s friend.”
“Where are we?”
“I used to train here about two hundred years ago. Many powerful monsters live here, so I had a base built around here. Everyone knew this area was dangerous, so not many tried approaching it. Still, the harsher the training, the sweeter the results.”
Uburka boasted about himself, not forgetting to flex his chest muscles. Well, his muscles were indeed as big as the Pacific Ocean...
The Black Witch smiled affectionately, like a mother would do. “Your son has a very good mindset. Is this how it feels like to have a younger brother?”
“Ugor. Younger brother...?” Uburka tilted his head and looked at me, furtively writing on my arm.
Daddy, if she considers me her family, isn't that a good thing? That means I have a good chance with her.
No, he had just been dumped in a way that couldn’t have been clearer. He really had to pay attention to the fact that she referred to him as her younger brother, not anything else. Her constant praising of him was a subtle way of telling him to give up.
My son seriously had to learn how to read between the lines if he wanted to survive in the rough world of love.
Krrrr...
A beast’s cry echoed in the forest. The three of us immediately stopped chatting and turned our heads in the direction of the noise.
Grrr...
There were more than one or two beasts. In the shady jungle, hundreds of pairs of blue eyes shone like fireflies. One beast resembling a stag had horns on its head that were larger than itself, while another beast hissed at us with its snake mouth open.
“Yeah, you did say that there are a lot of monsters here...”
“These are probably the ones I have defeated in the past,” Uburka speculated.
Hundreds of beasts surrounded us, circling us threateningly and savagely. Their heavy breathing made the humid air of the jungle hotter than it was before.
However, such a sight had stopped phasing Uburka and the Black Witch long ago. She treated the monsters like neighborhood dogs. “You guys are concubi, right? We’re the ones taking care of the species on the continent across the ocean. We’re here to protest your invasion. Honestly, I want to ask you if you are in your right mind.”
The beasts didn’t answer.
“Many of our children are now dehydrated and malnourished because you devour their dreams. Many of them have already died, and it’s only a matter of time before the number increases. We want to talk to your leader right now. I need to know what they were thinking when they did this.”
The beasts turned their heads and looked at each other. Perhaps they realized that threatening us with numbers was of no use.
A horned deer with jungle leaves resembling fish scales on its back walked out from among the beasts. “I heard about the guardian god... I see. Judging from how you maintain yourselves in our world, you are no ordinary people.”
I asked, “Are you the king of the concubi?”
The deer looked into my eyes. “What a foolish question. We have no king.”
“If there is no king, what qualifies you to come forward?”
“Do not judge us by your standards. You may think you’re talking with us, but you’re not. We simply possess your dream and are speaking according to your memories.”
The Black Witch frowned. “What are you trying to say?”
“We have no form or identities of our own. We can’t use words you do not know or imitate people you have never seen before.”
I thought of the ten concubi I had beaten up so far. “You all seemed very life-like, though. You talk very frivolously too.”
“Every one of us you have met so far reflects your image. If our tone is frivolous, it’s only because that is what your tone is like. If they don’t like being hit, it’s because you don’t like getting hit either. Stranger, we’re simply mirrors.”
“You mean the concubi I have encountered so far were mimicking me?”
“That’s right.”
I was shocked. “There is no way I’m that frivolous! I’m a Hunter known as a serious gentleman!”
Uburka and the Black Witch silently glanced at me.
“What is it? Why are you two looking at me like that?”
“No reason, Death King.”
“I didn’t say anything, Daddy.”
“See? My friend and son agree with me!”
The horned deer looked amused. “We have no interest in your reputation, stranger. There is only one thing that interests us: your species’ near-infinite dreams.”
“You only care about dreams?”
The deer stepped on a jungle centipede with their front paws and crushed it. “Your dreams are exceptionally delicious. What we have eaten over the years has been animal dreams. They were like thin porridge, at best. Compared to that, your dreams are so colorful!”
The horned deer stuck out their long tongue. “We were truly uncivilized before we met you because we only had access to poor intellects and meager memories... We didn’t even know there was another reality outside of ours, and we had no idea we were a species that depended on dreams to live. Thanks to your dreams, we have developed rapidly.”
I understood what the deer was saying. “Shouldn’t you be grateful to our children, then? They had not intended for this to happen, but they helped you become smarter.”
“We have already repaid them by giving them the happiest dreams they could have.”
“What is the meaning of a happy dream if they all die?”
“Happy dreams or a miserable reality. Of the two, you seem to prefer the latter,” the horned deer sneered. They then laughed, which sounded very bizarre. “However, the species we have met so far think differently. Why aren’t you happy for them, stranger?”
I frowned. “You talk nicely, but you sound as if you just want to devour more delicious food.”
The horned deer monster was very stubborn. “It’s surprising you can maintain your sanity in our world, but you’re still from the outside world. It’s impossible for you to inflict any significant damage on us, let alone stop us.
“Don’t worry. We have no intention of exterminating your species. After crossing the ocean, we’ll tone down our Dream Feast so we can continue doing this for generations. However, the dreams you people have are so charming that we may binge on them a bit before we start doing that.”
I see.
“In short, there is no way I can defeat you, so you’ll do whatever you want.”
“That is how we see things.”
Normally, people were humble only around those who could harm them. It seemed that the laws of my world were no different for the concubi who lived in dreams.
“I’m glad you’re easy to read.”
“You sound as if you want to attack us,” the deer commented.
“Yeah, I know how great this dream world of yours is.”
I opened the Civilization Store.
[You have purchased Person Possession.]
[You have used 2,000 species points!]
[You now have 3,912 species points.]
“Even though I look like this, I have already experienced all kinds of worlds, kiddos.”
I looked forward to seeing what it felt like to be a concubus as I stared at the horned deer with a grin.
Time to use Person Possession.
An infinite dream world unfolded before me.
