Again, as usual, the lone crow takes flight in the vastness of the library. However, today the crow decides to fly beyond the bookshelves and into a new room, one adjacent to the section about creatures and monsters from the Xendan Sand Dunes Region , a place far Southeast of the country the library was in.
The crow manages to disrupt the field of Force that was created to protect the room from even Calamity-Style Dragon attacks, an action that even the Champions from this world could not even start to attempt.
With a deep breath, the crow announces its arrival.
"Nevermore is here, Wizard" and after saying this, it perched itself on an expensive looking arcane implement known only as Nine Lives Stealer.
A white and gold robed man looks to be startled by the crow's presence, as if it was the first time hearing its voice.
"Will I really never get a safe place that not even you can trespass?" answers the Wizard to the brazen creature.
"You should know the limitations of your powers when dealing with Nevermore, Wizard. It was yourself who gave me the ability to dispel the meager effects of your magic, after all"
"Well, I can't really say I don't know what you are capable of" says the man, now taking a glass flask full of a bright red liquid from a nearby shelf.
"Still, it's a shame I don't have the power to control you anymore"
Indignant, the crow flaps its wings at the words of its master, filling the room with the sound of crystal bells.
"Nevermore was never controlled by anyone, Wizard" says the crow while gripping its talons tightly to the arcane implement, enough to scratch the hard surface.
"Hey, my words are no reason to harm such an invaluable weapon!"
"Hmph, you worry for nothing, Wizard. Nevermore can make another one for you"
The crow then, from thin air, makes an unharmed copy of the weapon.
And, with a defeated look on his face, the man says "So 'invaluable' means nothing with you nearby, huh..." as he takes both the scratched and pristine looking swords on both his hands.
"All that aside, why did you come here? Another question you have an answer for already but still want to ask anyway?" asks the Wizard.
With a long pause, the crow seems to think carefully, only for then to say "What was the reason for you to create the Magisterium?"
"Heh, finally recognizing my great deeds, are you?" proudly states the man.
"Not at all, Nevermore is just interested in the reason as to why an institution is needed to learn such a trivial subject like magic"
"Really, so openly insulting all the Wizards in the world even though one created you..."
Standing up now to face the crow and with a serious face, a short answer comes from the Wizard's lips.
"To protect everyone from a Disaster"
Curtly, the crow answers in a similar short manner "Well, it was ultimately futile, Wizard"
----------------------------------------
The wind was blowing and the sun was bright on the cloudless sky.
For whatever reason, I went from opening the door to my room to being standing below a now lone doorframe, still holding the handle with my hand.
So another dream of mine, huh?
This occurrence was not an uncommon one: having a dream where I get transported to another world only for me to fight some monsters from the books I read. What was weird was that I was still holding my phone in my other hand, and had the clothes I was previously wearing.
Maybe this is a dream within a dream, because I recall getting up to answer the door.
Yeah, that had to be it, if not there would've been an answer to my questioning the late night door knocker. The unconscious mind was a truly unpredictable place, after all.
Stretching myself I checked my phone. They say if a dream is too realistic, like the one I was in right now, looking at a clock might prove that it is indeed a dream since each time you look at a clock it should tell a different time.
03:05
It was the time I got up, if I recall correctly.
I decided to wait and check the time again.
03:06
Hmm, weird... I thought. So the time-checking method has failed, then. No worries though, it might just be that this dream is particularly immersive.
I closed the door, leaving it in the middle of the field like a piece of expressionist sculpture.
Huuu, haaa...
Taking a deep breath and looking around where I was, I could only see green, green and more green grass as well as some trees and mountains to my back.
Oh, is that...?
As I was forcing my sight, I could barely make out the outline of what appeared to be some buildings, maybe houses or a farm. I decided to go there, preparing myself for a long walk.
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I still didn't know what time period this dream world was in, however most of my dreams I was battling monsters in the typical fantasy medieval setting, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case. Maybe I'll even get to fight a dragon that was attacking a castle or something.
Wait a minute.
While walking to the buildings I saw, I got an idea. Can I use magic in this dream?
It wasn't uncommon for me to be able to cast grand spells out of my hands, though sometimes it wasn't the case and I got to fight with just a sword.
And, still lingering on that idea, I tried to cast a spell. Extending my hands in front of me and targeting a small boulder in the distance, I shouted.
"Fireball!"
Nothing happened.
These things sometimes happen, I thought to myself. I tried again, but this time thinking harder about the spell I wanted to cast.
"FIREBALL!"
I shouted, and again nothing happened.
"Well, I guess swords and bows it is..."
Feeling dejected, I continued on walking.
✦✦✦
Who would've thought that walking through miles and miles of grass would be such a therapeutic experience.
However, even for a lucid dream like this, it was too realistic. I got tired after some time, stopped to take a short rest and continue on walking. Normally, I could time skip or move suddenly faster but here I couldn't. Maybe my body was so tired my brain decided it wanted to save power and omitted these features.
It really seemed infinite, this expanse of grass.
Still, I carried on with the task. Walking, resting, continuing on walking.
Before long, I was now close to the the buildings I had seen before, and could clearly see it was a town of sorts. However, I got too tired of walking and being beneath a scorching sun, so the only thing I felt like doing was look for a shade to rest beneath and arrive to the town later since it was still some time before it got dark.
Who gets physically tired in their dreams, anyways?
Looking around, I quickly found a small tree that had a nice and leafy top, and made my way to it.
"Haaaaaaaaaaah..."
I tumbled myself beneath the shade and laid my head on the trunk of the tree.
A nice and cool breeze was blowing from the position of the sun in the middle of the sky. With this, I started to doze off and within minutes, I fell asleep.
✦✦✦
Rustle, rustle
Having heard a strange sound coming from behind me, I opened up my eyes. The sky had sprung clouds and the day had turned darker.
Rustle, rustle
I heard it again, it was as if something was rummaging around the tall grass that was behind me. And then...
Whoosh
The sound of something coming from the grass and rapidly approaching me, only missing my head for about 10 centimeters. I followed with my eyes the trajectory in which the object should've fallen to.
An arrow
As I saw the arrow firmly buried in the ground, multiple more sounds started coming from behind me.
I quickly got up as my sense of danger was urgently telling me "RUN!".
What emerged from the tall grass were 6 small humanoid figures, 3 or 3 and a half feet tall, all of them dressed in leather clothes that had a soiled look to them. They had pale yellow skin with small brown spots as well as amber colored eyes. Two of them wielded a small bow and carried a quiver with arrows on their backs, the other four gripped tightly on short swords, maces and clubs. And all of them had a horrible grin on their face.
I ran. I ran as fast as my legs would allow me.
"HYAHAHAHYA!" shouted the small creatures while pursuing me with surprising ferocity.
The little shits are fast for having such short legs.
These had to be a gang of goblins. A popular monster in fantasy RPGs and fantasy literature. The lowest of low when it came to strength and are constantly portrayed as weak and cowardly. They date back to the fourteenth century in various cultures' mythos.
Why am I sweating so much, why am I so scared, why am I not fighting them?!
About now was the time where, in my dream, I would have summoned a strange power or a magical weapon or ability to defend myself, but now it was not happening and the dream had suddenly turned into a nightmare.
Woosh, woosh
More arrows barely missing my back, my calves, my feet. They seemed to want to disable me and stop me from running. Who knows what they will do to me if they catch me.
Huff, huff panting from running with all my might to the entrance of the nearby town, I was starting to feel the hotness of my legs, the fire burning in my chest from my labored breathing and the pain swelling in my head.
I don't want to die were the words that constantly repeated themselves in my mind every time an arrow missed me or a goblin laughed. It was like a way my mind had to convince the machinery of my now overworked muscles to continue on working despite the cries of the strands that comprise them, only for me to arrive at the entrance of the town.
"Fuck!"
I tripped. A small unseen rock had made an appearance. A small misfortune that threatened to end with my life.
Wait, at what point had I forgotten this was a dream? I thought, trying to make sense of the situation as the goblins were getting closer, laughing manically at their new meal.
As much as I wanted this to be a bad dream, as much as I wanted to be pierced by a blade only to wake up in my bed, as much as I wanted this to end... My brain was telling me the reality of the situation:
I am living this, right here, right now. And I am going to die.
The evil shine of multiple sets of eyes now at an arms reach was all that I could see. Smiles that had the shade of bloodlust surrounded me and, as a blade was risen to strike my heart...
Thump, thump
Two of the goblins had fallen down, pierced by an arrow surrounded by a green light that quickly dissipated as the goblin stopped moving.
Thump, thump thump
Then, three more goblins but this time by three rays of fire that burned off the spot of flesh they made contact with, leaving a nasty burn mark that showed the chest bones of the three, now dead goblins.
Finally, as the last goblin was backing off to get away looking scared at the corpses of its friends, a glint of silver crossed the goblin's thick neck, and what I could see next was a man clad in shining full plate armor holding a long sword, as well as the spray of blood from where the goblin's head had previously been.
A dark purple puddle was now forming beneath my feet, staining the tip of my shoe.
"Are you okay?" said the Knight in shining armor as I slipped into unconsciousness.