It was weird. I have always had an imagination that far surpassed other people’s but that was because I read books a lot. But this time it was different.

....

"Fuck, let me sleep. I still have an exam tomorrow."

Jin said as he yawned and closed his eyes in preparation for sleep. He was quite tired. After coming home from school, he went straight to his room and studied. Such was the life of a college student.

Jin was an imaginative person and he found love in reading novels. Whenever he went to sleep, he would imagine himself as the main character of a story and that in turn, would help him fall asleep. This time, he did so as well.

…

Unknowingly, Jin found himself inside a pitch-dark space.

'Is this a dream? ’

He thought to himself as all he saw was pitch black darkness.

He surveyed his surroundings and after a brief moment, words appeared in front of him coupled with a machine like female voice.

(Hello Dream Lord! Are you ready to start your adventure?) the voice said.

"Huh? What the fuck?" He said in confusion as he warily looked at the text.

"What is happening right now?" He muttered to himself.

(Dream Lord, you are sleeping right now, and this is the gateway to the infinite worlds.) The voice answered.

Jin was stunned as he heard that and then chuckled to himself.

"Hahaha what type of dream is this?"

"This is strange though. Usually when I become conscious in my dreams, I always wake up soon after but it's not happening in this dream..." He murmured.

"Am I conscious right now?" He tried to probe the voice.

(Yes, you are.)

"Then what is happening right now? "

(You are sleeping in reality, and you are now in the gateway to the infinite worlds, Dream Lord).

"Why do you keep on calling me Dream Lord?"

(Authority is not enough to access that information. Please gather more dream points.)

"Dream points? "

(Yes, dream points are the energy that only the Dream Lord can harness)

"And how many dream points do I have? "

(0. To gather more dream points, you need to enter a dream world. When the dream world is over, your dream points will naturally be calculated)

"Ok ok stop this is giving me a headache... "

He thought for a few seconds and then smiled.

"Well, dream or not I guess I won't lose anything... I mean, I won't die, right? " Jin still found it hard to believe that what was happening now was not all his imagination but, in the end, he realized that it didn't matter because he had read countless novels like this, and he genuinely felt like this wasn't a new experience.

(Yes, you cannot die in the real world if you enter a dream world.)

“What a joke hahaha. I really am dreaming! Maybe it was that spoiled macaroni and cheese that I ate. Oh well, I guess this is better than having to review for my exams!”

"Alright. Let's do this! I want to enter a world where I am a god! " He said excitedly.

(Error. Insufficient Dream Points. Current Dream Worlds that are available: 0) the voice crushed his expectations soon after.

"Then how can I enter... " Jin asked as he felt a bit down.

(Dream Lord, you can exchange your lifespan for Dream Points. 1 year = 100 Dream Points)

Jin suddenly shivered. The voice sounded creepier when it said that.

'Lifespan for Dream Points?? Isn't this a fraud? '

A few minutes later after carefully considering it. Jin answered,

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Hmm. Ok. I guess one year will not affect me that much. I mean, this could all be a dream right?... "

"Ok. Convert 1 year of my lifespan and use it to do your magic.”

(Affirmative. Converting....)

(Conversion done.)

(Acquired 100 Dream Points)

(Please select how many points do you want to invest in generating a Dream World.)

"Use all of them I guess?”

(Generating a random world...)

After a few moments, a new text appeared in front of Jin.

(Dream World generated.)

(Dream World # 09827252 - Sword and Magic)

(Would you like to enter this world?)

"Uhm.. yes?"

A bright light enveloped his view, and he suddenly felt a bit dizzy.

In the next moment, he found himself inside a small tent with a sword in his right hand. The tent was small and there was no light inside. The air was filled with a thick smell of dirt and feces.

Suddenly, he heard a ringing sound that was accompanied by a very panicked scream.

"Get your asses up! Enemy incoming! 2km to the south! Prepare for battle!"

"I repeat... "

‘What the fuck is happening? Where am I?’ Jin thought to himself as he looked around.

“Whoosh” The door of his tent was opened by a burly man with no hair.

“Fuck! Get up newb! The enemy has spotted us and will arrive within 5 minutes!” The man shouted.

He pulled Jin up and then smacked him on the head.

“Ouch!” Jin yelled out.

“Don’t just stay there and act fucking dazed! Hurry up!” Said the man angrily as he glared at Jin.

Jin woke up from his daze and he involuntarily replied, “Yes Sir!”.

‘Huh? What the…’ he thought to himself.

Suddenly as if thousands of rubber bands were wrapped around his forehead, an excruciating pain attacked his whole being.

“Arhhrhrhrggggg!!!” He yelled out loud as he fell and tumbled on the ground.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?! You know what!? Never mind! Stay here and die!” The burly man yelled out in a panic as he left Jin there.

Tons of information invaded Jin’s mind as he lay on the ground like a twig.

After he processed the information, he stood up and looked at the surroundings once more. The first time he inspected this place, he felt that it was unfamiliar but now, he felt like this scenery and situation was something that he has already experienced multiple times in his life.

“So I’m Arko Vonn, a 15 year old mercenary.” he muttered to himself. His eyes glinted with a bit of shock. He could sense that the atmosphere was tense and that he was in a very dangerous situation.

“Shit! I’m gonna die!” he said with a grim expression. Fear overloading his mind. He grabbed his sword and he quickly ran towards the other members to find safety.

Now he knew that he was a part of a mercenary group called Crimson Talons. He has been with this group ever since he was little. In Jin’s modern moral perspective, the group was composed of a bunch of criminals that banded together.

“The enemy is fast approaching! Within a minute, they will all be here! Men, brandish your weapons! Tonight, we will live or die!” A tall and dark skinned man full of scars yelled out. Clearly this man was the leader of this mercenary group.

In the blink of an eye,

The enemies arrived and the two groups engaged in a deadly battle. The enemies wore silver plated armor and shining weapons. Their steeds were donned with armor. It was clear that the Crimson Talons were no match for them.

“I applaud these lowlives for their bravery but unfortunately, they will all die shortly.” The leader of the Iron Vanguards calmly stated. His eyes radiating with a dangerous light.

Jin on the other hand hid at the rear under a table and was shivering excessively.

‘Fuck! Is this really happening? Why the fuck am I here? Wait, is this what that voice meant by Generating World and me entering it??’ he thought to himself as he looked at his hands that were trembling.

He breathed in and out for a few seconds and tried to calm himself down. Shortly after, he found out that it was no use.

“Fuck!” Even with the memories of this body, this was still his first time encountering such a situation! Those memories that filled his mind felt like an illusion!

He gritted his teeth and stood up. His sword in his right hand.

(Ding!)

(Dream Lord, you are in a dangerous situation! You have gained an achievement.)

(Newbie in Danger!)

(Reward: 1 spin on the skill wheel)

Jin saw a bunch of texts appear in front of him. He hid once more under a table and read the messages.

“Skill wheel?? Fuck! Okay…. Okay… spin-spin the wheel! Hurry!” He anxiously said.

(Compiling all of Dream Lord's knowledge on abilities).

(Compilation done.)

A spinning sound could be heard echoing inside his mind.

(Ding!)

(Congratulations Dream Lord! You have acquired the skill: Appraisal)

(Appraisal: You are able to see everything there is to know about anything.)

“Shit…” Jin muttered in despair. He didn’t need a skill like this! He needed a combat skill. Like fireball or thunder strike! Something that would help him survive.

Jin used his appraisal skill on his sword.

Name: Old Silver Sword

Description: Broken down, dilapidated silver sword.

Durability 28/50

Weight: 35 pounds

Skill engraved: None

Additional information: Arko Vonn’s sword since 5 years old. Picked up from a mutilated corpse.

‘Even this sword is useless!’ Jin exclaimed in despair.

Jin carefully surveyed the surroundings and used his appraisal skill on everything. Hoping that there would be something of use to him.

But unfortunately, there wasn’t!

He hid under the table once more as he shivered and panicked.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!” Jin muttered aggressively as he slammed his fist down on the ground repeatedly.

“Hey someone’s down here!” someone yelled out as the table was lifted up.

Jin’s heart constricted as he almost shat himself in fear. He looked at the person who lifted the table and found that the man was 6’9 ft and looked to be about 280 pounds! A gigantic man! He had a nasty look on his face as he looked at Jin. The gigantic man radiated a dangerous aura and his body was filled with visible scars. Clearly he was a veteran in fighting.

“Ahh!!” Jin screamed in fear as he anxiously swung his sword at the giant.

The giant deflected the sword with his armor and laughed out loud. The sword flew a few meters away due to the collision.

“Clang!” The sound of metal hitting metal reverberated.

“HAHAHAHA little man, don’t be afraid. I won’t kill you…” The giant looked at Jin with a perverted look. His eyes were inspecting Jin’s frail body.

Jin shivered all over as cold sweat dripped down his back. His body was going numb from fear and he couldn’t do anything but stand there like a statue. When he felt the giant’s gaze, he felt like he was being stripped bare.

He looked at the giant and used his appraisal skill.

Name: Dom Lierman

Title: Ogre

Height: 6’9ft

Weight: 280 pounds

Weakness: Soft skin on the neck

Additional Info: Loves young children.

(Use more energy to see more information)

‘Shit! He’s going to make me his plaything! I’d rather die!’ Jin thought to himself as he despaired even more.

Every living organism that was faced with the threat of death had 2 core functions inside of them. These 2 were engraved on their souls and it would serve as their response to such a desperate situation. Just like how a rat would attack a cat, even a human, if threatened with death.

Jin too, acted. It was fight or flight.

Jin’s survival instinct activated in an instant. He felt his mind go blank as he mustered all of his courage and tried to run away.

However, after just a few meters, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head.

An arrow pierced his head and blood dripped from it.

He felt numb all over his body. He fell on the ground with a light thud.

‘What is this cold feeling…’ he thought to himself with his little remaining consciousness. His vision starting to go black.

As he was leaving this world, he faintly heard a conversation between that giant and another man.

“Why did you kill him?? I really liked that kid!” The giant angrily said.

“Dom you already have dozens of kids in captivity. The captain said that you cannot take any more unless you kill some of them.” A distinct hoarse voice sounded out.