Chapter 66. Nightmare (1)

[Multiple observers are pleased with the fast development!]

[The Night-Shift Fairy from the Bureau of Audit asks if this channel ever gets a break.]

[The Crow from the Bureau of Management reminds you that even a great man needs to eat.]

As the trial began, the Eye reopened, and the observer messages came flooding in. However, Eun-Ho didn’t have the luxury to reply to any of them.

Ji-Eun—or what used to be her—was staring at him, her face twisting hideously. “W-what’s wrong with my face?”

Every part of her that was visible to the eyes was flushed red, as if her skin had been peeled off, leaving only the raw muscle beneath. The sight resembled the old Buddhist painting of a yaksha demon.

That wasn’t even the worst of it. Her eyes swelled and shrank rapidly, twitching in grotesque rhythm with every movement of her face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

If I tell her that her face looks like a monster, won’t she be devastated?

“You’re...

um...

a little red.”

“R-really? I don’t feel—∮∃...”

Huh? That last part didn’t even sound like words...

“

Kyaaa!

Y-your face! Why is like ∀∏—?!”

“Look at yours! What the hell— ¤¿ː∑ wrong with you?!”

Ye-Ji and the Swear-Master screamed at the same time, jabbing their fingers at each other. Their faces had twisted into the same monstrous visages.

Jae-Hyuk crept closer, trembling. “Hyungni—

Huh?

Hieeeek!

”

He then recoiled in horror, backing away on all fours. There was no mistaking it.

One of the personality evaluation trails listed in the proposal has started. It must be Nightmare, the one they said was used for large-scale selection.

And he was right.

[The final trial, Nightmare, has begun.]

[Defeat the Dream Demon!]

This trial was designed to push Subjects to their mental limits and test their minds in extreme conditions. The proposal talked about nightmares and hallucinations, so he had wondered what form it would take.

[Your nightmare begins.]

[You are afflicted with hallucinations caused by fear.]

[Excessive fear has triggered full-body muscle tension.]

[Your Strength stat has been drastically reduced.]

[Your Agility stat has been drastically reduced.]

Shhh—

A chill ran up the back of his neck, as if someone was breathing cold air directly into his ear.

“

Kyaaa!

H-help! ШЯъ, I just did—”

“M-monster! It’s a ∮∃¡!”

A hundred voices screamed in terror around Eun-Ho.

I thought this trial would maximize our fear just like when we’re dealing with monsters, but I guess I was wrong.

Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but grotesque creatures. Even the words people spoke were distorted with strange sounds, making communication nearly impossible.

Then, what about the Order Opposer title...?

Its benefit was seeing the core of things. He tried scanning his surroundings, but nothing stood out. Every single “monster” had the same pulsing, bulging red heart that swelled and shrank in their chests.

[Due to the effect of the title Order Opposer, the nightmare’s effects have been slightly reduced.]

[You can understand some of the speech of the Dream Demons!]

Can I even begin to make sense of that mess?

Then, he took a steadying breath. Fear locked him in place, whispering that everyone would tear him apart—that he could trust no one but himself.

However, he wasn’t about to just stand there.

“Summon!”

The Razor Beak Blade’s familiar weight settled into his palm, and his heart calmed a little. He never thought he’d find comfort in holding a weapon.

I have to stay cool.

According to the proposal, the nightmare would drag out the fear of the abyss, manifesting one’s deepest, most personal fear.

What would mine be? Death? Being erased? Or maybe an enemy I can’t possibly overcome?

All of the above were the kind of fear that seeped into his bones. Still, he gripped the hilt tightly, ready to face whatever came.

[You have entered the nightmare's influence.]

A cold message crawled up his spine. He felt the weight on his legs, one that he hadn’t felt in years.

“

Haha...

”

Laughing dryly, he grabbed his pant legs and then let go.

Shff. Tap.

With every step, the familiar sound of dragging and dropping followed, just as he had done every day for the past ten years.

So, this is it.

Back then, his athletic physique was all he had—and he lost even that. Going back to crawling and fighting to survive, no matter how pitiful it seemed, was his greatest fear.

It’s still better than being erased. Though, I wouldn’t be able to run, fight properly, or even dodge.

Eun-Ho smirked at his own pitiful thoughts. Then, next to him, Jae-Hyuk collapsed, thrashing on the ground.

“

Kyaaa!

M-my body! ∏¿ː∑

Aaaah!

”

His limbs were still attached but he moved like they were severed, dangling uselessly.

“

Ugh!

It’s... It’s cutting me apart! ‰¤†!”

Then he started rubbing his face against the asphalt, like he was being dismembered.

His nightmare must be being torn apart piece by piece.

“

Uaaaah!

‰ΨΦ!”

“Jae-Hyuk! It’s just a hallucination! Hang on!” Eun-Ho shouted, but it was too late.

“

Uaaaaah!

”

His pupils were blown wide, filled only with terror and despair. His jaw hung open in a scream, drool threatening to spill out. Then, the metallic clash of weapons echoed from somewhere in the distance.

Clang!

In a way, maybe it was better that he could not hear anything anymore. If he heard that sound right now, it would have crushed what little hope he had left.

Thunk!

A bone-spear-wielding monster stabbed another red-skinned creature in rags. Despite what it seemed like, only distorted screams of normal people reached his ears.

“

Kyaaaaah!

Keugh!

”

“ΦΨ‡?! D-Don’t come any closer!”

“Everyone! Grab your weapons! They’re attacking!” Eun-Ho shouted to the people near him, but it was hopeless.

On this chaotic battlefield, he couldn’t even tell if the thing in front of him was really Ji-Eun or a Dream Demon.

Thud!

“What the hell ‰∀ː∃?!”

“Get lost! Ψ¤ЯШ-!”

Eun-Ho’s team couldn’t even tell who the enemies were, while the enemies saw everyone as someone to kill—it was like fighting blind.

But still, I can’t just sit here and die!

He had to find a way to distinguish friend from foe.

“Pathetic humans...”

“Find peace in death...”

Perhaps, thanks to his title, he caught faint fragments of the Dream Demons’ whispers. However, that was all. In this vast arena, with everyone panicking and tangled together, it was nearly impossible to know who was speaking.

Still... there has to be a pattern.

He focused every nerve on the sporadic, bloody skirmishes.

“

Huh?

”

The next moment, a flicker of recognition struck him. The red numbers floating above their heads seemed to be the remaining HP, but something felt off about the way it was dropping.

[91.0%]

[87.0%]

[83.0%]

Unlike most of the HPs, which were dropping in whole percentage chunks, some were dropping by tenths of a percent.

[99.7%]

[99.4%]

[99.3%]

...

If they were taking the same attacks but losing less HP, that meant their base HP was at least ten times higher.

Is it that one?

Click!

The next moment, Eun-Ho raised the summoned gun, feeling a strange certainty. The monster was cutting through the crowd, moving closer. Its back was wide open to him, meaning there were no obstacles in the way.

All he had to do was pull the trigger.

But what if I’m wrong?

Eun-Ho hesitated, his grip tightening on insufficient evidence. Then, Ji-Eun in her monster form tilted her head, her mouth twitching unnervingly.

“Hey... Why is that ∮∏∀ hitting people and not ¤†ъ?”

“

Huh?

”

“Look! There’s a ЯШ∑ right next to them! An actual monster!”

She seemed confident, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then, a spark went off in his mind.

Wait a second...

Eun-Ho shouted, the thought clicking into place, “Ji-Eun! What do I look like to you?!”

“æ€?!”

Her bulging, blood-red eyes snapped toward him. One even popped out on a string of scarlet sinew, like a yo-yo.

Ugh, gross.

However, Eun-Ho forced himself not to recoil and waited.

“You’re... ΔΘφ... have bright eyes, handsome nose... and handsome!”

It’s just as I thought.

The reason she had been speaking nonsense was because she could see them as normal humans and not monsters.

“You’re immune to the hallucination because of your high mental resilience!”

“

Huh?

This was a hallucination ‰∀ the whole time?!”

Boing!

The eyeball bounced again, but Eun-Ho tried to ignore it, pointing at the monster he’d been watching.

“Then tell me. Where’s the monster?!”

She looked around, then jabbed a finger. “Over there! Beneath the traffic light. It just stabbed someone with a ∮ъШЯ‡!”

Found you.

Shuffle, thump. Shuffle, thump.

Dragging his wooden legs, Eun-Ho closed the distance. Three steps that felt like thirty, but he still lined up his gun and waited for that perfect moment.

Bang!

The shot tore through the air. A faint golden orb raced through the chaotic crowd, slamming into the monster’s exposed back.

“

Kyaaaah!

”

The monster spun, howling, and lunged straight for Eun-Ho.

“ΔΘφ! Dodge!”

“... I can’t!”

He couldn’t dodge with these legs, which meant he had to kill it before it got to him.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He fired repeatedly and relentlessly. When its slavering jaws came close enough for him to see, the creature vanished in a spray of golden light.

[You have defeated the Dream Demon!]

Nice!

Eun-Ho was thankful for the gun as with these legs, he wouldn’t have survived a melee fight.

“Ji-Eun! How many monsters are left?!”

“Φ¿─Ξ∑! Around thirty!”

That’d be bad news in a normal fight. Now, it was especially worse with their allies panicking and mixing with the enemies.

Besides, Eun-Ho even spotted some Dream Demons creeping toward them, drawn by the gunfire.

[10 minutes have passed.]

[The nightmare's influence is increasing!]

Then came the grim announcement, and truly the nightmare deepened.

“

Ugh...

Keugh!

”

Thunk!

The Dream Demons went berserk.

“Ψ‡! I-I can’t!”

“ШЯ¿¤! Please!”

People broke under the crushing fear, bolting from the group one by one, only to slam into an invisible wall.

[You cannot exit the arena.]

“Look out!”

Shhhk!

Those who were met with dead ends were skewered like kebabs by monsters’ spears.

“

Kyaaaah!

”

“I-I don’t care anymore! ЯШ¤! Please let me out!”

The sight alone was enough to make the others’ knees give out. One by one, they collapsed in terror.

“

Uh...

ΔΘφ! What do we do?! Everyone’s ΞΘΔ!”

They were truly in absolute despair, but Eun-Ho just nodded. “It’s fine. We can handle this ourselves.”

“∀¤€... What? Are you sure about that? But I can’t do anything!”

She wasn’t wrong. If they were left to their current, terrified selves, they were doomed for sure. That was why Eun-Ho needed help.

“Then we’ll take a little help,” Eun-Ho said.

“Huh? ΦæЯ?”

Eun-Ho grinned at his thoughts.

Have you ever heard of fighting with drugs instead of gear?

“Summon!”