Taking a few deep breaths, Adam considered his options.
In truth, only one choice was available to him because Causal was already out from the beginning. After all, he could sleep just fine, even if he dreamed of nothing, within the Dreamscape or Illusion, as he kept stubbornly calling it in his head.
The second option, ironically called Dreamscape, pointed at a separation of human-occupied territory from that of the ancient fairytale-like giant forest he had grown accustomed to visiting every night after midnight.
However, since Adam would not have complete access to everything the Local Dreamscape offered, it was not a good choice for him. Yes, the offered protection would be nice for dealing with stronger enemies. But he already possessed a strong Methodology, and he would not figure out all its kinks by coddling himself within safety.
No.
For that, real threatening combat was the only requirement.
Nonetheless, the ultimate reason why Adam’s mind gravitated toward Nightmare as his Mode of Dreaming had to do with his current presence within something called a Nightmare Gate.
At first, Adam thought it might be a Dungeon, and it might still be, and if it is, then it is more than just a simple Dungeon with an inner world of strange geography and endless roaming Monsters. At least until one reached the Dungeon Core and either destroyed or subjected it for one's own purposes. Either way, a Dungeon, as Adam knew from Adamu’s memories, could not replicate past events as he was witnessing currently.
It simply was not within its functions, and there were reasons for that. However, when an Aspect of Time and Fate was concerned, those same reasons got thrown out of the window.
Adding on top of Causality’s presence and her meddling with Adam’s life and his future traveling trip to the Past, it hinted that the Realm Veil, or Time Stream as it was more commonly known, had also been meddled with on top of the Realm Grid. Additionally, the clear presence of the golden glowing bulb high up in the Sky shining down True Light made that problem more apparent because a Dungeon could not replicate a Divine Domain of Ina’s Rank.
No, that had been clear to Adam the very second he initiated the Dawn Prayer after entering this Nightmare Gate because, if a Nightmare Gate had been a regular Dungeon, then Adam could have immediately absolved the Oath made on his Spirit, which was now diffused with his whole existence, and sworn to Ina, the Light of the World, because a Dungeon counted as a world within a world, and therefore separate enough for Adam to be excluded from the Realm permeated with Ina’s Divine Domain.
Hence, the exit clause of the Oath would have been satisfied if he spent enough time within a regular Dungeon. However, when the light show accompanying his every Daily Prayer occurred, Adam knew there was far more to his current surroundings than already suspected.
He just had to puzzle out how and why, and acquiring unrestricted access to the Local Dreamscape and Nightmare would be the first clue to figuring out said puzzle. After all, had not Future Adam used the dying Adamu, after he landed on this Realm, to pass on the message ‘Uncover the uniqueness, develop your Essence, and the First of Man shall rise again’ to the Past Adam, which was the current him.
That being the case, nothing screamed more of a uniqueness than a Dungeon able to replicate events of the Past on top of Time Traveling.
Shaking and nodding his head multiple times, Adam affirmed his choice and focused on the choice before him, or in his mind, in this case.
The moment it was done, the information within his mind reorganized.
Dreamer Adam, you have chosen Nightmare as your default Mode of Dreaming.
Is that Correct?
One simple question, and a lot of Adam's mental fortitude over his choice vanished.
Still, he had made a choice, and he would stick with it.
“Yes. My choice is Correct.” Adam spoke up, just in case.
Very well… However, before definitive affirmation is concluded, please fill out this questionnaire to double-check if your Choice is still the correct Choice.
In the same instance, another prompt manifested within Adam’s mind as he began reading it from the beginning.
“Why is he taking so long?” Martin spoke up just loud enough for his doubts to carry to his party.
“Not sure.” Paul replied, but at the same moment, he answered, he noticed Evelyn step away from the group to walk towards Adam and the stone pedestal every single human touched at the very least once in their life, with newborn babies brought to it right after their birth.
Evelyn’s actions became the excuse for the others to do the same. As such, a few moments later, they were within earshot of Adam and the stone pedestal linked to Ina's Idol protecting all within the town
“No… I am not Mentally Deficient.” Evelyna and the group suddenly heard, yet their minds flowered with opinions on what that exactly meant in Adam’s case since it was clear that he was when abnormal compared to regular people.
“No… I am not forced either.”
“Yes… I am aware of the possible consequences… I think.”
“Ugh… Yes… I am certain of the possible consequences.”
“No… I will not hold any grudge with you or your creator for my poor choices in life.”
“Phu… Stupid questionnaire. Never thought I would come across one of those here.”
.
.
.
“EULA? What is that? And why should I sign it?”
“End User License Agreement?” Adam voiced out in confusion. “Never heard of it before. Is that a Contract?”
.
.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
.
“Holly... That is a lot of clauses.” Ceasing there, the four Adventurers were beyond clueless at this point. However, they did not interrupt Adam to provide them with clarity. As such, a few moments passed before Adam spoke up again. “So… In essence, Dream Incorporated washes their hands from everything? No matter what happens to me because of my poor Choice? How convenient for them. Fine.. Not like I will need whoever Dream Incorporated is after this in the first place…”
“Yes… How do I sign this?” In the same instance it got questioned, the pedestal every Adventure was familiar with, yet the four present had never ever witnessed or actually heard of, began to glow, only for the glow to manifest right above the pedestal and transform into a book made of light, thus transforming a simple stone pedestal into a stone pedestal meant to hold a book.
Staring with stunned eyes, the four Adventurers could not believe what their eyes saw. Then, more light escaped from the stone book pedestal and transformed into a simple quill with a black tip and golden-branched feathers.
Seeing the quill, Adam placed Sun Bearer, whom he'd held with his left hand all this time, to lean on the stone book pedestal from the side. Then he switched the hands connected to the stone book pedestal from the right hand to the left, in slight fear of having to redo everything again, and grabbed the quill with his right hand before signing his name in the Human Tongue on the clearly indicated placeholder.
The instant he wrote down his Name, the quill, and the book retreated within the stone pedestal, and a new prompt emerged within Adam’s mind.
Following as instructed, Adam placed one of his hands, in this case being the right one as it was free, on the pedestal. A moment later, he felt something pass from the stone book pedestal and through his right palm to the back of his right hand.
There, it ceased moving before infusing itself into the outer layers of the skin on the back of his right hand, almost like a tattoo but far more efficient and non-damaging to the skin.
Once it manifested enough, Adam stared at two distinct cloud-like images swirling around each other before being sucked on one end into a singular point right in the middle of the back of his right hand.
One cloud was black, while the other was white.
Then, when the cloud-like and tattoo-like manifestation fully emerged, Adam instantly became aware of three base functions of the DNA, or Dream/Nightmare Augment, as Adam innately understood.
The first function, represented by the white cloud, was the Dream Augment, and it dealt with the Local Dreamscape and its functions.
The second function, represented by the black cloud, was the Nightmare Augment, and it dealt with Nightmare and everything it Spawned.
However, it was the last one that took hold of Adam’s attention.
Following the instructions he'd been provided, Adam grabbed Sun Bearer by the shaft, opened up his Petal of Function, and channeled the Essence it manifested right into the dot at the center of the tattoo around which the black and white cloud swirled.
The moment his Essence and the dot touched, Adam’s awareness of the dot's insides flared up, causing him to both smirk and grunt in displeasure.
“Damn it… It's too small to hold Sun Bearer.”
“What is too small?” Evelyn suddenly called out, totally interrupting all thoughts in Adam’s head.
“Ehh…” Adam instantly jumped away, turned his body, and pointed his Sun Bearer at Evelyn and thereby, at Jacob, Paul, and Martin as well. When he recognized them, he instantly understood that he had been so focused on what was going on in his head that he hadn't even noticed anybody approaching him from behind.
“Ah… Sorry about that. You guys surprised me quite a bit.”
“What was that about something being too small?” Evelyn repeated her question because her curiosity right now was at its highest. The same could be seen in the other three. But it was Evelyn who took the first step. “It's clear you did something none of us knew about. Spit it out because I have never seen or heard of what you just did.”
Seeing the nods of agreement, Adam acquiesced to their desires. “Then, either nobody knows about it. Or you are kept in the dark about it. However, remember Paul’s little tale? And how he had petitioned with the Church to seek Nightmare Gates within his birth city?”
Reminded of it, the Adventurers nodded before registering where Adam wanted to lead their thoughts.
“Don't say anything more.” Jacob suddenly called out before smothering his desire for the answer and urging his party members to leave. “Let’s leave for the Adventurers Guild.”
Jacob’s tone of command was absolute, so the Adventurers turned quiet and followed. Nodding with the understanding that he was not to speak any further, Adam did as instructed. After all, it was but a matter of time before he was asked to spill his guts for it.
Nonetheless, before he followed his newly acquired friends, he unconsciously looked around, only to notice a few faces staring his way. Ignoring the townsfolk, Adam pointed his golden eyes at the stone Chapel, not too far from the center of the town, and there he saw what could only be a clergy priesthood member staring his way.
Naturally, not afraid of him, Adam smiled and nodded at him before joining his party members in their march to the northern part of the town where one of the biggest wooden structures lay.
Passing through the street leading to said large three-story building, Adam noticed more and more people appear.
At the same time, it was easy to notice that the street also functioned as a trader's street with an increasing number of stands selling stuff, with food being the number one choice.
Just seeing the food, Adam could already imagine himself stuffing his mouth with their products. “I take it the northern district if it can be called a district, is the lower district where the commoners reside?” Adam inquired, ignoring the urge to simply grab something. “And since the main power base of the Guild is the common people, that is where the Guild resides, no matter the city?”
“Pretty much.” Paul answered confidently. “However, in larger cities, the Guild is much closer to the center. Truthfully, most of anything important vies to be closer to the center of the village, town, or city.”
“Let me guess.” Adam commented. “The closer to the Idol, the stronger the protection received?”
“Yes.” Paul confirmed and explained because it was clear the kid known as Adam knew Profound Knowledge yet lacked the common sense of those born within the human cities. “That is how the story goes, and it is probably true to some degree. Only it's not absolute because the quantity of Possessions and Nightmare Gates gets substituted for quality.”
“Hmm…” Hearing the term Possessed, Adam would have loved to ask more, but he refrained. Instead, he said no more and simply walked.
Moments later, they arrived at the biggest building within the northern district of the town.
Adam stared at the sword and shield triangular sign carved and painted above the double door leading inside for a moment before following his four new acquaintances inside and found himself within a rather large first floor that almost made you feel like you entered a bar because on one side there were stools and tables, while on its opposite, an elongated bar counter rested.
Behind the bar counter was seated a brown-haired and brown-eyed woman with decent features. Her clothes, while somewhat fancy looking, were nothing special, with her top made of refined and colored green wool.
What she wore below, Adam could neither see nor want to see. Instead, the moment he took her features into account, he shifted his gaze away and focused on the other feature that took his attention.
Staring for a few seconds, Adam witnessed every piece of paper hanging on the specified part of the wooden wall written in Common. Grunting with displeasure at not being able to read it, he focused on the only other thing of interest. Namely, the few people seated on the stools drinking what could only be some kind of alcoholic beverage.
Thinking of it, Adam once again felt his desires spike. His mouth watered at the thought of drinking something other than water despite being clearly aware that most beverages had subpar tastes.
No, it was clear to Adam, after recovering the memories before his rebirth, that he had been starved of such things because being a Spiritless, the villagers and his parents had deemed him not deserving of anything fancy tasting.
As such, there was no doubt in Adam’s mind that had to change.
If not for his lack of funds to pay for said base sensations, he'd have already jumped at the thought of ordering something because it was obvious that the Adventuring Guild functioned as a bar on the side.
Thankfully, Jacob’s loud voice distracted him from offering one of his Essence Stones for a sip.
“What do you mean I can't meet with the Guild Master.”