The Dreamer's POV

[7:30 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2024]

I woke up that morning with a mild headache.

As my dark brown hair fluttered with the gentle movement I made, my slightly open amber eyes captured the brightness of the morning.

"Ah…" I muttered, rubbing my forehead with a bit of concern. It was a brand new day, yet I could already feel the kind of strain today would have on me.

"I guess I'll check in with the drugstore later…"

I rose up from my small bed, greeted by a very plain and sparsely furnished room. Other than my bed and wardrobe, nothing worthy of note was in sight.

I took a few steps away from my bed and looked at myself in the mirror on the wall, performing the same ritual I did every morning.

I blinked.

I yawned.

I moved my arms and legs. Jumped too.

Finally, I placed my hands on the mirror.

And, much to my relief… nothing happened. It appeared I wasn't in a dream.

"Alright, Mikey. Let's start the day!"

*****

For over ten years, I had been having dreams.

Most of them were nonsense that I could hardly understand, and I easily forgot them. However, there were certain dreams that remained etched in my memory due to the grim impression they made on me.

Those were true nightmares.

While I had lucid dreams sometimes, where I would be conscious that I was dreaming, most of my dreams had me completely immersed in the narrative.

I nearly went crazy living a life in a dream, only to wake up and find out none of it was real. So, in order to confirm if I was in a dream or not, I made it my ritual to always check my reflection in the mirror.

There were several methods to check if one was in a dream, and using mirrors happened to be one of them.

In a dream, the person's reflection in the mirror would often be distorted, incomplete, or downright different. Mirrors oftentimes served as portals in dreams, since a lot of things in a dreamscape defied the laws of physics.

I heard that other solutions such as 'pain' or a 'spinning top' existed, but they were never as reliable as this one. Besides, only a certain threshold of pain caused me to wake up, and I was certainly not going to intentionally harm myself to such a degree as to confirm if I was dreaming or awake.

By performing various actions in front of my reflection, and confirming that the mirror was as solid as one would expect, I could confirm whether I was in a dream, or in reality.

It helped me keep my sanity.

*****

I jogged down the cold street in my tracksuit, feeling the cool wind brush past my face as I huffed and puffed.

Beads of sweat were already forming on my face, but I ignored them and focused on the path ahead of me. My muscles stung, and my body ached, but I endured the uncomfortable sensations and acclimated in no time.

It had been a few months since I started working out, and so far it helped me a lot in terms of clearing my head and keeping a healthy lifestyle.

With the gym being a bit far from my studio apartment, I had to jog there. It was a bit thrilling, to be honest.

As my heart raced, and my muscles ached, I kept up pace and made my way to the gym.

*****

"Mikey, you're here!"

"Oh, it's Mikey!"

"Looking good, Mikey!"

I was a little popular in the gym, but not for any reason I particularly liked. In fact, it was due to a very weird series of events.

It was a bit embarrassing, but apparently, I used to sleepwalk and arrive three hours earlier than usual to get some crunches and sets in. And then, I would return later in the evening to do exercise even more.

Even I had no idea how that was possible, but apparently, it was.

At first, I thought my gym buddies were pulling my legs when they said they saw me often in the gym. Many even commended me. It was only until I saw the footage that one of them took that I realized what was going on.

'Thankfully, none of them know it was sleepwalking…' I made sure to smile and greet everyone, while having this thought to myself.

They told me they hadn't seen me do anything of the sort throughout the week, so I had to assume the sleepwalking stopped.

'Same as my nightmares. Thank goodness. Is it finally time for my life to take a turn for the normal?'

I would hope so, considering I was going to be twenty-one in September, and I still didn't have a girlfriend. But, who knows, perhaps things were already changing for the better.

'I hope it continues being this way.'

*****

After my rounds at the gym, I took my shower, changed, and then left. My headache persisted, so I decided to take a detour and branch by the drugstore to get something to alleviate the pain.

'This isn't my first time, so…' A tired smile formed on my face.

The Drugstore was opposite the very back of my apartment complex, just a few blocks away. However, considering the building structure, I had to walk a whole street across, and then turn around, just to reach it.

That was why I simply decided to get it on my way back.

I entered the store, and it looked the same as usual.

The cool air-conditioned atmosphere of the drugstore greeted me as I entered, bright fluorescent lights illuminated the store, casting a clinical glow over the shelves stocked with an array of products.

I walked past a display of skincare products, each bottle adorned with bold claims of rejuvenation and renewal. The aroma of perfumes and colognes wafted through the air as I made my way toward the pharmacy counter at the back of the store.

As I passed the aisles of over-the-counter medications, I saw what I was looking for and grabbed it, still walking in the direction of the counter. I noticed how quiet the store was, but I was too tired to think much of it.

Somehow, I felt a little heavy within, and the pain in my head intensified, but that only made me quicken my pace so I could pay for the medications and go home.

Upon finally reaching the pharmacy counter, though, I found it empty.

'H-huh?' I thought to myself.

There was no one behind the counter. Why? What was going on? I looked around me to find out, only to realize something even more confusing.

I… I was the only person in this store.

"Why am I…?"

~DING~

I suddenly heard a sound, and a game-like System Window suddenly opened in front of me.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

<Paradise Will Now Be Initialized>

{The realm of the gods, Paradise, will be revealed to the chosen humans. Overcome the 99 Floors and reach the Final Realm.}

<Tutorial Will Begin Once The Announcement Has Been Concluded>

{Your mission is to survive the Tutorial so you can be qualified to enter Paradise. Time Left until the end of the Tutorial: 168 hrs: 00 mins: 00 secs}

<Announcement is ending… The Tutorial will now commence>

'This again?!' I angrily thought.

I was dreaming again, wasn't I? But I did the 'Mirror Trick' already, didn't I? Why was this happening?

"GRRRRRRRRRR…." I suddenly heard a low growl, almost like that of a dangerous animal.

The hair on my skin slowly stood erect, and I felt a chill run down my spine. The growling noise was coming from behind the counter.

'W-what is… this is a dream… right?' I took a step back, and then two more steps. My gaze was fixed on the counter, or rather, what was behind it, but I kept walking back.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the cosmetics and beauty section, and I was greeted by mirrors.

'N-no…'

The reflections were perfect.

I touched one, and it was solid.

As much as I would like to assume I was dreaming, the evidence told me otherwise.

"I-I am… awake—?"

~BOOM!~

Something erupted from behind the counter, leaping from its hidden place out into the open. It defied explanation, and all I could see was a very thin and malformed grey blur.

'N-not… a dream…?' The pain in my head intensified as my heart raced.

But I had seen this monster countless times in my nightmares. They were called Demons, weren't they?

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<You Have Encountered A Demon>

The emaciated creature, with long arms and razor-sharp jaws for teeth, moved too rapidly for my eyes to completely grasp, but before I could move another muscle, it appeared right in front of me.

'N-no… no, I—!'

~SQUELCH~

I didn't realize it when its hand was buried deep in my chest. Blood dripped, slowly making a red puddle beneath me, yet I remained paralyzed.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<Your Life Force Has Dropped Below 5 Percent.>

{You will soon die…}

"Ack.. koff… haaa… haa…" I looked at the grinning creature, realizing it still had a piece of labcoat on. It even resembled the pharmacist of this drugstore, if I could ignore its bald head, slimy grey skin, and deformed face.

Now it was nothing more than a monster.

"S-so… will I die here?"

Why? Even though I knew this wasn't a dream, why wasn't I panicking more? We only have one life, you know?

I didn't believe in God or anything, so this was it!

Was I really okay with letting my life end just like that? Why wasn't I more terrified by the creature that killed me?!

Perhaps… perhaps I already had the answers to that question.

After all, this wasn't the first time. It wasn't the tenth time. It wasn't the millionth time; that I had been killed in my dream.

In all my dreams, every single nightmare I had… I was always killed. That was the threshold of pain that was required to wake me.

'But this isn't a dream…' I thought to myself, feeling my consciousness fade away.

'... Or is it?'

[You Have Died]

<Dream Sequence Has Ended>

{Based On Exclusive Skill: The Dreamer, your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}

<You Will Now Be Returned To The Preset Save Point>

[You Will Now Wake Up]

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[A/N]

I hope you enjoyed this second chapter.

In case you don't understand what's happening yet, just keep reading, it'll become clearer to you.

Please continue to support me. Thanks

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com