The wolves’ forms were vivid. That ant they were seared deep into mory. Even low-grade monsters in numbers were tough to face with only a chef’s knife. It was better to avoid them as much as possible.
– Grmph.
– Grrk.
The wolves pressed their snouts to the asphalt and sniffed as if searching for sothing. They didn’t seem interested in . Fortunately, no one else was nearby...
‘Huff!’
A man in work clothes was approaching as if heading to his job. Even in a dream, I wondered if I should warn him.
“Man, I’m beat.”
The man trudged past the wolves. They didn’t react to him, either. Dreams don’t affect each other, I guess. Otherwise it’d be chaos.
‘I wish they couldn’t sense , too.’
Probably not. A cell-phone shop stood right across the street, but it’d be wiser to skirt around elsewhere—phones were everywhere. I backed down a side alley. Behind a car, I spotted soone crouched low.
‘...No way.’
A small child, no older than ten, I thought. The mont I saw the kid, I knew what the wolves were hunting. The child pressed their eyes shut and held their breath. The blue-wolf outbreak was four years ago. In reality, the child would be older now, but they were trapped in past nightmares—maybe dozens of them.
‘Even if it’s only a dream...’
I couldn’t help every nightmare sufferer. Still, I scanned the area—there was sothing I needed to check. The wolves continued combing the street. I turned and dashed into a nearby supermarket.
“Hey! Han Yujin!”
“Hello!”
I gave a quick bow to a shopper and wheeled my cart to the at section. Fresh at, fresh at. Anything still bloody? I tore open packaging and loaded slabs of raw at into the cart. Shocked glances pricked my back—people would think I was having a weird dream.
“For the kids’ dinner.”
“...Right.”
Pushing the cart loaded with at, I rumbled out. Wheels clattered over the curbstones. I steered onto the road and pushed the cart hard for speed. Just before reaching the wolves, I gave one final shove and let go. The at-laden cart rattled and rolled straight toward the wolves across the intersection.
– Rrrk!
A at-and-blood-scented object barreled toward them. The startled wolves imdiately gave chase. The cart flipped, and I heard the tallic screech of their jaws. There wouldn’t be much ti. I sprinted toward where the child hid.
“Hi there!”
The crouched child opened wide eyes and stared. I gave my brightest smile.
“You know , right? Dodam Sanctuary Director Han Yujin.”
“Oh—yes, I know.”
“What’s your na?”
“...Kim Jiho.”
“Right, Jiho. Want to help catch those wolves?”
“W-what?”
Jiho jumped back, then sat down abruptly. The wolves could be anywhere. I felt a flicker of tension but kept my expression calm as I drew my chef’s knife. If worst ca to worst, I’d scoop Jiho onto my back and run.
“You rember Myungwoo, right? My friend, the Golden Smith.”
If Jiho had vivid mories of monster attacks, they’d be interested in Hunters. Jiho nodded.
“He made this weapon for . It looks like a knife now, but it can turn into a gun.”
“T-the white gun? The one on the broadcast....”
“That’s right! The gun that blew away an S-rank Hunter.”
I handed Jiho the knife. This is Jiho’s dream, and any absurdity could happen—if the drear truly believed it.
Jiho gripped the knife firmly and stood. It shifted form, glowing pure white as it transford into a magic gun.
– Grrrrng!
The wolves that had been gnawing at the cart turned toward us. I helped Jiho hold the gun steady.
“Those wolves are only F to E-rank. Compared to S-rank, they’re nothing.”
Jiho’s body grew taller—maybe thirteen or fourteen. I whispered as I supported their arm. They aid, and then:
“Fire.”
– Ker-hng!
A wolf leaped at us. Jiho’s finger squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew in slow motion against the charging wolf.
Bang!
The wolf hit by the shot vanished like smoke. Then bang, bang, bang! Jiho fired off shot after shot. The empty road lay silent as Jiho panted and stared.
“Amazing!”
Jiho, still dazed, looked back at and smiled. Then they yawned. The tension of the nightmare released, and Jiho’s form blurred as though drifting into non-dream sleep. Soon, Jiho was gone.
Clink.
The chef’s knife clattered to the ground.
“When the drear disappears, the power doesn’t hold.”
The world’s backdrop remained like reality, but individual dreams vanished when their drears woke.
“The power was weak, too.”
Maybe because they’d been influenced by Jiho, the lynx-gun’s rounds were just normal bullets. Still, it looked like dreams could manifest many phenona. Could I do the sa? I looked around. No one was there.
‘Belief. Belief is key.’
I picked up the knife and gripped it with both hands. Then I closed my eyes. This knife is actually... the Threefold Sacrifice Spear. A weapon of imnse power. Believe, Han Yujin.
“Threefold Sacrifice Spear, transform!”
The weapon in my hands... asuring its might is impossible! I cracked my eyes open. There was my hand raised high, knife in grasp. How embarrassing.
“Huh, huh. Still not working.”
No one must have seen. I quickly sheathed the knife at my waist and headed to the cell-phone shop. I grabbed a display phone that was powered on. All the apps and even web search worked. First, I searched for nearby large-truck dealers or areas with many trucks. Then:
‘Oh, they left the SIM in. I can call too.’
With nowhere to call, I installed SNS apps. I could log into my account anyway. Comnts piled up asking when I’d upload again. I’d been busy all this ti.
‘It’s exactly the sa.’
I even saw a photo YSO posted today of Gyeol. Gifts from Soyeong: plushies piled around Gyeol, with Byeori and Seol’s tails peeking out. Gyeol’s famous now; Seol and Byeori aren’t, so Soyeong only ntioned Gyeol. All three seed to be having fun. That was a relief.
‘It must update based on drears’ mories.’
Hyunah hasn’t posted yet. I went outside, took a selfie with the surroundings. Kind of shy—never posted just myself before...
[Departing Busan soon! See you at ho ♡]
I posted as casually as if nothing happened. In reality, comnts would flood in, but in a dream, reactions were slow. Still, I got a few likes and comnts.
‘Yerim’s most likely to notice.’
She’s the most active on SNS and quick thinking. Once she gets a phone, she might contact right away. Yuhyun... their private account hasn’t been used in ages, only I follow them. Director Song might check surprisingly fast—young Hunters post live feeds of their exploits. I heard there’s even SNS monitoring in guild halls.
‘Yuhyun’s trouble, though.’
At least they’ll try to return ho. They’re with Peace, the strongest among us, so safety’s less of a worry. ...Just don’t fight, Peace.
I stashed the phone in my sash and left the shop. The big-truck dealer was far—I needed sothing to ride there. Standard car dealerships were everywhere, but who knew if a key was handy. I swiped a bicycle from the shop across the street.
“Everyone, obey signals in reality, please.”
A dream’s a dream—don’t judge . I pedaled down the road. As night deepened, a few pedestrians appeared. More monsters would show up, so I hurried. Rounding a corner, I spotted a car dealership ahead—
SMASH!
Sothing barreled into and the bike. I hit the ground, and a large man appeared in front of my eyes.
“Wow, it really is Han Yujin.”
He was flanked by several human silhouettes. Though blurry, they looked like Hunters—sa guild vests.
“What should we do?”
The man asked his Hunters. Had his dream created them? If you could manifest monsters, you could manifest people, too.
“Isn’t this dangerous?”
One of the dream-Hunters said. The man scowled.
“We can’t just send her back. What should we do—”
In reality, they wouldn’t dare attack , but in a dream people act on impulse. I took a cautious step back and looked at him. Would this work?
“You idiots.”
“What?”
The man balled his fist at my words, sneering.
“If you’ve got a brain, think. You really think I ca alone? Don’t you know Guildmaster Haeyeon overprotects ?”
“That’s—”
“Ah, Yuhyun! Over here!”
He waved cheerfully behind him. Of course, there was nothing there. As the man whirled around in shock—
“What’re you doing to my brother?”
Yuhyun appeared. Not the real one, but a blurry dream form like the others. Yuhyun fixed the man with an icy glare. They looked taller and bigger than in reality.
“S-sorry!”
The man dropped to his knees. His Hunters did the sa.
“Please spare ! Please spare !”
They seed terrified. But Yuhyun wouldn’t actually kill people in the city—right?
Whoosh! Flas ignited. What the—how dare they think of hurting my sibling? The fire was bright red, not dark crimson. It engulfed the man and his Hunters.
“AAAH!”
“Wow, your imagination’s vivid.”
“Please spare ! Hah!”
The man trembled in the flas and then vanished. The fire, Yuhyun, and the dream-Hunters all lted away /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ without a trace.
“This...”
Like with Jiho, dreams of ordinary people weren’t that powerful. Their materialization had limits. But those with stronger abilities—and once mana stabilizes in this world—drears might do more.
And the strongest power belonged to...
‘The Transcendent seed.’
Whoever beca this world’s pillar in Mari’s place. My heart pounded.
‘It’s not Mari. But...’
Mari said dream materialization. The seed’s the dream’s owner. Crescent couldn’t wield that power in our world, so they must have planted a Transcendent seed in advance.
‘Whoever had strong influence on Mari.’
Marisa Moore. Linked with Crescent even before regression. That fit. But why did Marisa make this dream world instead of Mari?
‘Because she cared for Mari? And she’s trying to save our world.’
Marisa wanted to save the world. She used , but at least she could be reasoned with. I stood up the bicycle and walked it toward the car lot I’d seen.
‘Maybe she’ll help .’
I didn’t know how to et her or what to say yet. But a new possibility had opened. Could Marisa, with this world’s power, help reach Yuhyun and bring my sibling ho?
By now she wouldn’t refuse —I’d saved the world, made it safe. I could offer to fulfill any wish.
‘I’ll devote my life to this world, anything you want.’
That wasn’t so bad. I wanted to help young Awakened, too. I’d ask for anything. Marisa wouldn’t demand sothing weird. It was worth a try.
‘...Then it’s really over.’
I could finally return ho with Yuhyun. My heart fluttered in anticipation.
“Rookie! Hey!”
I wanted to ask how to et Marisa, but there was no reply. The line must’ve cut off long ago.
‘Crescent still can’t interfere, so Marisa acts of her own will.’
I needed to et her before Crescent got involved. First, I’d hurry back to Seoul and, once reconnected with the rookie, find Marisa. I left the bike outside and stepped into the dealership. Though they were display models, all the functions—like opening doors—worked, so the keys would too.
“Here they are!”
Keys hung in a display case behind the counter—no locks. I grabbed one and opened a driver’s door. A beep sounded as it unlocked.
“Pardon for a mont.”
I placed my bag on the passenger seat, buckled up, and started the engine.
“I’ve wanted to do this at least once.”
Facing forward, I floored the accelerator. CRASH! The windshield shattered into pieces as the car leaped from the sidewalk onto the road. Screeching the wheel, I streaked down the street. No GPS—phone out, I searched for directions again. Then an alert popped up. Yerim.
I opened SNS to her new post:
[Sowhere in China! Heading to the airport. See you at ho, mister!]
She’d made it to China? The photo showed a smiling Yerim with Noah, Riet, and Hwangrim. Riet held a rope around Hwangrim’s neck—what luck, a colleague turned traitor.
‘Maybe Yuhyun’s in another country, too.’
I hoped they returned safely. Hyunjae would manage; only Director Song worried .
– Kyaa!
A small leopard-like creature darted onto the road. Crash! I sped up and ran it down—no problem.
– Vroom!
– Vwhiiing.
“...There was an armored-cow dungeon in Busan too.”
That dungeon was popular. A herd of three-ter-long leathery cows charged at the car. I slamd on the brakes. Even un-manned by mana, their size was imnse. Which Hunter dread this? I swerved around them. I wanted to bid farewell, but—
– Vrark!
Clack, clack. Hoofbeats gouged the asphalt.
“Aaah, damn it!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud—the ground vibrated from behind. Still, the car was faster! I mashed the accelerator and lifted my phone to film out the rear window.
[It’s a bit tight, but I’m moving safely! Yerim, stay safe.]
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