NOVPUB
Chapter 201: The Reflected Mirror In The Mirror (3)
The world around me became completely white. I could sense that the concubus was confused; they also realized something unusual was happening.
What are you doing? Are you trying to invade our world? That’s impossible. You will have no terminal that leads to us. What in the world...?
Chickening out, are we?
I sneered, knowing that the concubus was aware the dream had come to a halt. Although I had no mouth to laugh with, it was clear I was taunting him.
The deer growled.
You arrogant...!
Arrogant people tend to run their mouths. Ah, maybe you don’t understand this concept since you have the brain of a deer at the moment.
You’re very arrogant for a creature living in this miserable material world. We hold the dreams of the universe. Do you think you’ll maintain your sanity if you step foot in our world?
I grinned.
Does this mean I’m allowed entry?
Bring it on!
Okay. I will consider this your consent, good sir.
I suppressed my laughter. The white space changed as my mind became one with that of the concubus.
[Congratulations!]
[You are the first visitor of the Phantom Realm.]
[You are the first person to achieve this feat.]
[You have received 3,000 species points!]
The world that unfolded before me was completely different from what I was used to. The sky was pink. The color made me think of sweets just by looking at it. A transcendental being seemed to have gone to great lengths to materialize the sky that a child with an adventurous spirit would have painted.
“Ugh!”
The pink invaded not only the sky but also my mind. Wait, my mind? No, my mind and myself were one. I had no body.
“Uh...”
The memories that made me who I am, as well as my footsteps faded in the blink of an eye. Like footprints on a sandy beach being swept away by a single wave, the pink waves eroded the beach of my memories.
“—————.”
I could hear children’s laughter from... somewhere. After a series of auditory and visual hallucinations, the sky suddenly changed from pink to yellow. My mind also became tinged with yellow. When the sky turned blue, it also bruised my mind blue.
“Hmm.”
My existence was as transparent as water in a conical flask. Every time this world dropped a bit of its colorful paint, my water turned red, yellow, and then blue. In this world, moments flickered one after another. This was the place where the concubi lived.
“This is a bit dangerous,” I murmured.
My past disappeared as more of my memories faded, leaving less space for me to move. My individuality was losing its color. I felt hazy, as if I were high on drugs. Now all I could perceive was my present. I felt like I would lose myself if I let my guard down even a little.
If I had been alone, I would have been helpless, but I wasn’t the only one that made up who I was as an individual. I shouted, “Monster Legion Reincarnation.”
[Activating the Skill Monster Legion Reincarnation.]
My black shadow suddenly expanded. The shade wasn’t faint, but pure black. The darkness allowed no other colors to mix with it as it spread in all directions.
Swooosh—!
The black ate up the pink sky, swallowing its yellow and even blue tinges. My shadow became tens of thousands of fingers, scratching the sky of this world from the corners until it shed colorful blood.
In the place where the pink paint melted and flowed, my monsters borrowed my memories little by little, and the people who made me who I was appeared one by one.
The Fire Emperor looked around in annoyance. “The fuck? What random fuckery is going on now?”
Petra, who used an animal skull to cover half her face, looked up at the sky. Chilling coldness seeped into her eyes. She looked at the world as if she were looking at an animal corpse.
Goldencup, also known as Sylvia Evanail, was wearing a maid’s uniform. She looked up awkwardly. “No, I will remake the tea right away. My apologies, Your Grace! I won’t forget my rebirth and make you good scented tea... Uh? Huh? What? The fuck? Is this?”
Raviel...
Goldencup was working as a maid of Ivansia. It seemed she had been summoned while my duke was scolding her.
I nodded. I’m glad you’re enjoying life, my love.
“Where are we?”
“Look over there. The sky has a very strange color.”
“It’s too alluring to be a paradise. Our Young Heaven really chooses interesting places to travel!”
“Huh.”
The Four Demon Kings, the elites of the Heavenly Demon Cult, had been summoned as well, the hems of their ink-colored robes swaying in the air. They were amazed by the Phantom Realm. By the time the hem of their robes fluttered twice, the summoning of the demonic cult army was complete.
I was finally able to heave a sigh of relief now that I had some room to breathe.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
Everyone looked at me, and I looked back at them. As we locked eyes, the distant past returned to me. My memories made the outline of my existence a lot clearer.
I was the Fire Emperor’s enemy, Preta’s master, the man of Goldencup’s love rival, and the cultists’ Young Heaven. My revenge, my duty, my love, and my responsibility—I could see everything in their eyes. Just as they had become reincarnated ghosts because of me, I had also become the person I was today because of them. As long as I had them, I wouldn’t disappear.
“Nice to meet you all, except for that one chimpanzee that keeps saying ‘fuck’ over there.”
Yoo Soo-Ha frowned. “Huuuuuh? Are you talking about me? I was called in the middle of work, so do you think I’m happy to be here, you bastard?”
He was wearing a brown apron with the words Cafe Planetarium written on it. Apparently, he was working a part-time job at Hamustra’s cafe. Along with Kim Yul, Yoo Soo-Ha was contributing a lot to attracting customers.
Yoo Soo-Ha and Kim Yul both had ponytails. One was a wacko who ended every sentence with a curse, the other one had the charm of a city man. Coincidentally, even their hair colors—black and white—contrasted each other. There was a good reason the cafe’s regular customers asked for americano every day until they became caffeine addicts.
“What am I, a traveling barber who teleports in whenever you call me? Ha, you’re very rude, you bastard. I’m already frustrated as hell that I didn’t even get to reach Class E, but I still have to clean up your mess...”
I pointed to a place far away from where we were. “Go over there and dance.”
“Fuck!”
While Yoo Soo-Ha showed off his hip-hop moves, I explained the situation to everyone. Goldencup stroked her chin. She still looked elegant, even while wearing a maid’s uniform. It seemed she had maintained her reputation as a member of high society for a good reason.
Goldencup poked me in the arm. “Hoh... A species that leeches off others' dreams. Interesting. Then do concubi also dream? Do they have dreams within their dream world? This is like a Constellation eroding you. I find this romantic, my butler.”
“I’m the duke consort, not your butler.”
“Come on. Don’t fret over little details, my butler. That is how you end up with hair loss. Actually, I can definitely see you losing hair in the future! I can feel it in my bones. Ah, yes! I can see the Duke of Ivansia sighing as she strokes the top of your balding head—”
I pointed somewhere in the distance once again. “Yeah, you go over there and dance too.”
“Fuck!”
While Goldencup went to waltz next to Yoo Soo-Ha, me and everyone else began concocting a plan.
“As that blonde maid pointed out, the concubi’s characteristics seem similar to those of Constellations,” Preta said. “If I use Constellations as references, the concubi are not combat-type. The trait that allows them to manipulate dreams defines them. By applying their principles, they distort reality. This kind of enemy cannot be defeated using force.”
“These guys make their own rules.”
Preta’s skull mask rattled as she adjusted it. “Precisely, Master. After all, a dream is a reproduction of a memory or a materialization of a wish. It’s the act of dwelling on the past while also reaching out toward the future. Among these options, I think you value the latter more. If you grant wishes in a more satisfying way than the concubi can, you’ll automatically be able to suppress this world—”
Preta suddenly closed her mouth. Perplexity appeared in her eyes, despite her usual indifference. However, she wasn't the only perplexed one.
A young lady riding a magnificent chariot pulled by four horses showed up. But wait, the chariot was being pulled by naked people, not horses. The young lady seemed to have a lot of fun whipping them.
“Hahahaha! Tell me who I am! Come on! Do it!!”
“Y-You are the brightest moon in the empire, Her Majesty the Empress Sylvia Evanail whom all people look up to!”
“That’s sweet! But it’s not earnest enough. Praise me as if you mean it!”
“Ah, you’re the Merciful and Beautiful Empress Sylvia Evanail...!”
“More!”
It was Goldencup. To be exact, it was a concubus from the Phantom Realm who looked exactly like her.
Hmm.
We turned toward the real Goldencup, who was still showing off her waltz skills. She was quick to defend herself. “T-That’s not me! It’s an illusion! The foolish residents of this world fabricated this to instigate all of you against me!”
“Well, this is a world of dreams. In other words, this is your dream...” I said, pointing at her.
“That’s offensive, Butler! I will sue you in the imperial court!”
“You do know that Ivansia sponsors half of the noble judges in that court, right?”
“Shit! Why are all the people in power corrupt?”
Goldencup performed a triple axel. Next to her, the concubus that took her form laughed as she kept whipping the people tied to the chariot.
This truly was the world of dreams. Chaos reigned all around us.
Preta finally came to her senses late and said, “Ah, it seems our dreams have been reflected as well.”
“I guess so.”
“This world is completely different from others we have visited, Master. The longer you stay here, the more distorted your logic and knowledge will become. We have to find the core of this world as quickly as possible and fix it so we don’t—well, so we can minimize the damage taken.”
Preta was probably going to say “so we don’t lose our minds,” something I fully agreed with.
“Where do you think the core is?” I asked.
“In a world like this, location and direction mean very little. We need to think chronologically.”
“Hmm.”
“If I compare this to the video games of your world, this is a linear game, not a sandbox. After you endure the dreams that unfold before you one by one, you... will be able to... reach the concubi’s first dream... Ah, that is... what I think...”
There was a reason Preta had trouble talking.
“Mr. Yoo Soo-Ha, here is the signature cocktail you ordered.”
“Mmm, this is pretty mid. I can drink this kind of stuff at my local bars.”
“I’m sorry. I deserve to die a thousand times for tainting your elegant taste buds.”
“Well, you don’t need to go that far—”
“As expected from you, Mr. Yoo Soo-Ha. People say that the more rice ripens, the more it bows its head, but the reason the rice bows this time is that it’s dazzled by your heart of gold.”
“Hey, hey. You’re flattering me too much.”
“My apologies. I’ve been thinking about this for so long, it just slipped out.”
“Well, there is nothing I can do about it if you speak from your heart.”
Yoo Soo-Ha, the concubi’s materialized dream fragment, was wearing a tank top with a sweat suit. Gentlemen dressed in suits flocked endlessly around him.
“Mr. Yoo Soo-Ha, this is a watch that our brand has scheduled to release. It’s a shabby piece of trash, but if you wear this on your noble wrist, it would truly be an honor for us, ignorant people.”
“Eh? This shit sucks. Well, I’ll use it since you thought of giving it to me. Though I’ll throw it away in two days.”
“We’ll remember these two days for the next thousand years.”
“Sir, we have gathered the most famous chefs in the Tower and prepared a course meal for you. If you enjoy the dishes with your sophisticated—”
“Ah, you talk too much. Just bring the dishes over here.”
“Oh, so you don’t like that I talk so much... May I have permission to cry?”
From afar, the sky glowed pink. We looked at the real Yoo Soo-Ha, who looked very displeased. He snapped. “What are you looking at me for? Do you think of yourselves as the epitome of honor?”
“Master,” Preta said. Her eyes looked very serious behind her mask. “I sincerely request that if you wish to have more people under your command, please select them very, very carefully and wisely.”
Even though she was in the same legion as Goldencup and Yoo Soo-Ha, she didn’t want to be lumped in with them. For some reason, that made me feel bad.
