Chapter 67. Nightmare (2)
“Ji-Eun! Hold them off for one minute!” Eun-Ho shouted.
“ː∑!” Ji-Eun replied.
He sure hoped that strange noise meant “okay.”
Vwooom—!
Ji-Eun let out a bizarre sound, scrambling to collect the scattered weapons lying near the fallen survivors.
“Ye-Ji! Hand me the &∏!” Eun-Ho called.
“Kyaaa! You thieving ∮∃¡!”
There was a bit of garbled shouting, but it worked well enough.
[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation praises the Sector 13 subjects for their incredible survival instincts.]
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management says this is exactly the kind of subordinate they like.]
Ji-Eun hovered the blades into the air, forming a protective wall around Eun-Ho and the group. That gave him a small window to act.
[You are afflicted with hallucinations caused by fear.]
Reflecting on the system message, Eun-Ho realized the hallucinations would vanish without fear—and he had just the item for that.
[Elixir of Fortification]
- A protective tonic that shields the drinker’s mind from fear and disease-based status effects for 3 hours.
So it’s less like a stimulant, and more like a tranquilizer for the soul.
“Ah! That’s the one you got after the skeleton ШЯъ trial, right?!” Ji-Eun called out in half-garbled shrieks.
“Yes. If I drink it, I should be able to break free from the hallucinations,” Eun-Ho explained.
“¤! That’s perfect! Too bad there’s only one bottle...”
She glanced at Jae-Hyuk, whose head was buried in the dirt, hiccuping in terror. Clearly, she was worried about how he’d survive until the end in that state.
Eun-Ho held the single glass vial. Once it went into his stomach, that was it.
“It’s not just one bottle,” Eun-Ho said.
“ΦΨ?”
“I can split it.”
“Huh?”
Ji-Eun, busy swatting away monsters with floating blades, whipped her head around. Her fanged mouth hung open in shock.
[Watered-Down Fatigue Recovery Potion]
- A fatigue recovery potion brewed from herbs.
- Water was added to stretch the quantity. It doesn’t have a strong effect, but it should help with everyday fatigue.
He was inspired by the diluted tonics he had seen at the very first roadside stall, the low-tier shop.
The potency decreases when diluted, but the core property remains.
He put a few drops of the elixir into a leftover bottle of water. Thus, an elixir with a very short duration of just 10 seconds was created.
Ding!
[Watered-Down Elixir of Fortification]
- A protective tonic that shields the drinker’s mind from fear and disease-based status effects.
- The amount is too small to provide full effect. The effect will last for 10 seconds.
[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation bursts out laughing at this level of resourcefulness.]
[An anonymous observer admires your inventive item usage!]
So diluting reduces the effect and splitting into tiny sips shortens the duration...
That meant he could stretch the original 3-hour elixir into multiple shorter uses. Of course, shorter durations meant it could run out at the worst moment. Nevertheless, Eun-Ho still poured the elixir into a water bottle he had prepared that morning.
Drip!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The single 3-hour elixir became ten 18-minute vials. He immediately downed the first one.
Gulp!
The cool liquid filled his mouth and slid down his throat. Rather than water or carbonation, it felt more like a warm, flowing energy.
[You have consumed the Watered-Down Elixir of Fortification!]
[The fear in your heart has been driven out.]
[A mental shield has been formed. The remaining duration is 17 minutes 59 seconds.]
Fwoosh!
Warmth spread throughout him, pushing away the chilling weight that had gripped his skin.
Shff, tap! Shff, tap!
The subtle current ran down his spine. His legs, which used to be like heavy logs, lightened. They became tools again, not burdens.
Finally, I can breathe.
He hadn’t realized just how suffocating that fear had been until it was gone. There were nine vials remaining and when he lined the water bottles up in front of him, Ji-Eun nearly jumped in shock.
“You’re sharing those?!” Ji-Eun asked.
“Huh?”
“Phew... Eun-Ho, you’re really...!”
Seeing her ready to cry in gratitude, Eun-Ho corrected her calmly. “No, that’d be was—or rather inefficient.”
He almost said wasteful out loud, then caught himself. Even if it was just one-tenth of a bottle, he wanted to invest the bare minimum.
“The hallucinations will end as long as we kill the Dream Demons. The elixir should only go to the ones who absolutely need it.” He glanced around. “Ji-Eun, you can endure it with willpower, so you don’t need any. We’ll give these to three others.”
“Three?” she asked, blinking.
It’s definitely not because I’m stingy with potions. It’s just... for the sake of efficiency. That’s all.
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management gives a thumbs-up, saying a clever friend truly is different.]
[The Prince from the Bureau of Investigation chuckles, wondering where all this stinginess will even lead.]
Eun-Ho didn’t answer. Instead, he turned away and walked toward his first test subject.
Thud! Thump!
“Kyaaaah! Put So-Young down, you bastard!”
Whack!
Sol-Ah was ripping a streetlight out of the ground with bare hands, a feral snarl twisting her face. The usual cool, composed girl had vanished, replaced by something like a hound. The hallucination had clearly struck deep into her heart.
“So-Young! Come here! Please!”
The seventeen-year-old girl’s fingernails were cracked and bleeding, torn apart from clawing at the metal.
So-Young...?
She was the girl who’d been killed by the homeless man during the Seoul Station trial.
“Ah...”
Tap!
Suppressing the pang of pity, Eun-Ho gripped Sol-Ah’s shoulder and poured the diluted elixir between her lips.
“Mister?”
The girl blinked through tear-clumped lashes, finally snapping out of her trance. Her gaze darted around in confusion before her limbs went limp.
He gestured to her shredded hands, which looked like she had been tortured. “Sol-Ah! Heal yourself first. Heal your hands, quickly!”
Sol-Ah swept aside her sweat-soaked hair, trembling. “Okay...”
Fwoosh!
Then, a blue glow wrapped around her hands, fresh skin rapidly forming over the bleeding wounds. It was a relief that he had found her in time. If she had gripped the streetlight wrong and conducted a live current, that would’ve been a disaster.
He swallowed hard and asked, “Can you heal the others when they fall into a status effect?”
“I’ll try.”
Sol-Ah grabbed Yeo-Jin, who was still trapped in terror. Her small but firm hands radiated a gentle light, enveloping her last remaining friend.
Fwoosh!
Moments later, Yeo-Jin’s sharp, bright eyes returned to her. “Huh?”
“Min Yeo-Jin! Are you okay?!”
“I-I’m okay—”
However, it didn’t last. Yeo-Jin slipped back under the nightmare’s influence.
“Min Yeo-Jin! Wake up!”
“Please! Please, let me live!”
So healing only lasts about ten seconds, then the nightmare takes hold again.
Sol-Ah bowed her head, despair creeping back into her eyes. However, this much was enough because Eun-Ho hadn’t expected an instant cure. The important part was simple: to at least prevent immediate fatalities.
“Whenever someone loses control, you can heal them to interrupt it, right?” Eun-Ho asked.
Sol-Ah nodded hard.
“Waaaah!”
Next up was a tiny five-year-old girl who was sobbing like her world had ended. “Mommy! Don’t go!”
Eun-Ho crouched and embraced the wailing child. He couldn’t give her mother back, but he could at least stop her from choking on grief.
“It’s okay, Yul. Drink this.”
He poured the diluted elixir past her lips, just like giving medicine to a sick child. After a few gulps, the girl sniffled and blinked her wet eyes.
“Yul. Stay here with your dad and hold hands with everyone, okay?” He wanted to comfort her more, but there was no time. “You can do that, right?”
“Y-yeah...”
Even through tears, her nod was brave and determined. Finally, he tipped the last vial into Jae-Hyuk’s mouth.
“M-my limbs are back?” Jae-Hyuk stared at his arms and legs in awe. “I-I survived! I’m alive, Hyungnim!”
“Good. Congratulations.”
“Hyuuuungnim!”
Now, they were ready.
“Alright, let’s hunt.”
***
Eun-Ho ran, dodged, stabbed, blocked, closed in and killed. The restored freedom of movement filled him with both familiarity and exhilaration. It was like being untied after years of binding. He dashed across the battlefield like a wild stallion, swinging his blade with lethal precision.
Shnk!
He drove steel into a pulsing heart and followed the glowing core with his eyes, cutting along its line.
Thanks to his Order Opposer title, he could see the Dream Demons’ cores. Every time he carved through that weakness, muscle and bone parted like tender, cooked meat.
[You have defeated the Dream Demon!]
[You have defeated the Dream Demon!]
...
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management is thrilled by your unstoppable assault!]
[The Crow from the Bureau of Management has donated five hundred Welfare Points!]
Whether it was because of the nightmare’s design, or his focused strikes on the cores, the Demons were falling fast. Individually, they weren’t all that strong.
“I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”
Most people around him were either crouched and trembling, or stabbing wildly at anything that moved. The nightmare was almost over.
Thud! Thwack!
“Noonim! This side’s clear! Do you need help?”
“Yes! Come over!”
Jae-Hyuk sprinted to assist Ji-Eun.
“Kyaaaah!”
Then, a blood-red Demon leapt, crushing the corpse of a fallen comrade beneath its clawed feet. It was man-sized, with eyes so stretched they nearly touched its temples. Jagged teeth jutted from its bloody mouth, sending shivers down Eun-Ho’s spine.
[31.7%]
However, it had a heart, bled, and lost HP like humans, hence it could die.
There’s no reason to fear!
[19.2%]
Eun-Ho severed its left arm.
[6.2%]
Then, he did the same with its right leg.
“Kyeeeak!”
As its scream dwindled, the number above its head dropped to zero.
[0%]
[You have defeated the Dream Demon!]
[You have earned 200 Welfare Points.]
That was the twenty-eighth kill.
“Almost done,” Eun-Ho muttered.
Only two of the original thirty remained.
Flap! Flap!
Just then, a new monster emerged. It was taller than the rest, with vestigial bat-like wings twitching along its back. Barely held within its hands was a two-meter, thick spear.
“Are you the boss?”
The Demon bared its fangs in response. “Kyaaaaah! Pitiful humans!”
It had been lurking, waiting until the weaker Dream Demons were nearly gone. Eun-Ho didn’t intend to waste any more time, so he lunged forward, dodging the massive spear like a striking whip.
Swoosh—!
His blade sank into its exposed neck.
The cut ran from collarbone to nape, splitting it wide. Then, black smoke poured from the wound instead of blood. It was a fatal strike.
However, as he charged in for the finishing blow, his body locked up. From the waist down, his right leg turned to stone, rigid and useless.
[Duration has expired.]
[The elixir effect has ended.]
[Nightmare’s influence has returned and abyssal fear has taken hold.]
The 18 minutes were up, but the Demon was already in reach, so there was no need to run or escape.
Eun-Ho drove his blade home, severing its life. “Die.”
Shnk!
[You have defeated the Abyssal Dream Demon!]
[You have earned 500 Welfare Points.]
A cloud of black smoke rose off the dead Abyssal Dream Demon. Eun-Ho’s center of gravity pitched forward with the strike. He definitely remembered this feeling. Without something to hold onto, he couldn’t lean forward.
As a bitter smile tugged at his lips, Ji-Eun caught his right arm. “Eun-Ho! Are you alright?”
“Hyungnim! You saved us all!” Jae-Hyuk cried, clutching his left arm.
“You... you really killed them all?!”
“Hyungnim would’ve wiped all thirty even without us!”
Their awe-filled faces made his heart lighten. When he opened his mouth to reply, something fell from the billowing black smoke.
Thunk! Roll...
“Huh?”
A transparent orb hit the ground, scattering sunlight into five shimmering colors.