Skill: [ Aspect ]
Aquamorphism
[Morphogenesis]
100
Name
H.P
P.P
Threat
Stoneclaw Lvl.2
11▼/26
425▼/1447
Behemoth
Name
H.P
P.P
Threat
Stoneclaw
3▼/25
967▼/1239
Behemoth
Name
H.P
P.P
Threat
Stoneclaw
7▼/26
749▼/1270
Behemoth
Skill: [ Aspect ]
Cryomorphism
[Morphogenesis]
100
“Great, now the finishing touch.”
[ Aero ]
Apprentice
Galestrike Spear Lvl.5
149
Summoning countless spears, Dream made them rain down upon the large sloth-like creatures.
Name
H.P
P.P
Threat
Stoneclaw
0▼/26
414▼/1447
Behemoth
Name
H.P
P.P
Threat
Stoneclaw
0▼/25
961▼/1239
Behemoth
Name
H.P
P.P
Threat
Stoneclaw
0▼/26
743▼/1270
Behemoth
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Synergy initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Synergy completed.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Absorption initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Absorption completed.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Integration initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Integration completed.
[ Nexus Alert]
Awakened Beasts Consumed
H.P▲
P.P▲
21
989
“Great! This will make a fine addition to my collection.”
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
270▲/307▲
3017▲/3269▲
4723/4994▲
1036▲
429▼/687
19
After days, and perhaps even weeks, of valkyrie hunting, there were few to no valkyrie squads or larger groups left further south than Dream's current position. They had all been exterminated by Dream. However, one group remained—a group of five valkyries.
It had been some time since the last group of valkyries he had slain. Only one group was left to go, and he could finally resume his relatively laid-back monster-slaying routine. Yet, instead of heading straight for that group of valkyries, he decided to reverse the roles to what they used to be. Rather than him going to them, he wanted them to come to him.
So, he waited, engaging in the occasional slaughter of awakened beasts here and there; from the look of it, they’ve got an indirect means to figure out his location, and that means is the death of their own kin, which allowed them to pinpoint his latest location. So, normally stubborn as they are, they should soon rush to his lattest location, which was the place he defeated his lattest batch of valkyries, and yet, much to Dream's surprise, they did not show up.
“They're really not coming, it seems," Dream mumbled to himself. "Did they get eaten by a monster or something?” he wondered aloud, allowing the threads to appear. He started counting them. "No, they're still ali-Oh, wait, there's just four of them instead of five,” he noted as he checked the number of golden threads. “It seems they lost one of their fellow valkyries, but it's not her... she's still alive.”
Hesitating for a moment, Dream eventually came to a decision and declared, “I've waited for far too long. I'm going to them myself.” He wanted to get this done as quickly as possible so that he could return to his laid-back days. The only reason he hadn't done so earlier was that deep down, there was a truth he didn't want to face. A person he didn't want to encounter. And that person was among the remaining group of four valkyries.
Following the remaining four golden threads, it took Dream barely three dozen minutes to reach the valkyries, that's how close he was to them. He found them in a downslope that reminded him of the place he fought against the Bomwingers. Hidden by the thick gray fog of the no man's land, Dream observed them from above the slope.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Class
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Valkyrie lvl.41
37/62
393/862
170
⥈
Class
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Valkyrie lvl.44
37/68
262/998
197
⥈
Class
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Valkyrie lvl.37
31/55
393/730
143
⥈
They hadn't noticed his presence as most of their attention was on a gigantic creature lying defeated beside them—a mawcrawler.
Name
H.P
A.P
W.P
Aspect
Lesser Aspect
Mawcrawler
0▼/24
13▼/279
0.4
Morphogenesis
Aquamorphism
Cryomorphism
As the threads had suggested, there were four valkyries present: the towering valkyrie who had severed his arm, the valkyrie wielding chakrams, an unfamiliar valkyrie, and last but not least, her. Seeing her, Dream sighed to himself, "Impressed you managed to make it this far." He began descending the slope, immediately catching the attention of the recovering valkyries.
“What was that?!” the towering valkyrie exclaimed, her attention shifting toward Dream's direction. “Another of these creatures?!” she added with a hint of panic in her voice.
To this, Dream replied, “No, it's not. It’s just me.”
With his appearance resembling that of a short young boy with short black hair and a pair of large, golden antlers that shimmered, especially in the fog. While this gave him a majestic aura, especially with those with those unnaturally blue eyes of his, it also made him, here in that monster-filled wasteland, look like an actual man-shaped monstrosity. The valkyries had obviously recognized Dream, immediately bearing their weapons at the ready. The towering valkyrie summoned her scythes, the other valkyrie summoned her chakrams, while the last and new one brandished a sword. Yet, despite this and the window of opportunity given to them, none of them took advantage to initiate the hostilities against Dream. His gaze swept over the four of them, eventually locking onto the frailest-looking valkyrie among them. In spite of her injuries, she leaned on a dead tree for support and managed to summon her weapon—a golden serpentine tail.
As their gazes met, Dream clearly read her lips forming the name he had once gone by: “Rustler.” To which he replied, “Men'ma... I'm impressed you managed to make it this far.”
A grimace formed on her face as she attempted to retort, “Did you expect me to die sooner, perhaps?”
Understanding the seriousness of her question, Dream replied, “No, I was just hoping that you would be reasonable enough to retrace your steps back from whence you came.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm handling myself well,” she clearly lied. It was evident that she was fooling no one, including herself. “I can see that,” Dream remarked sarcastically.
A strange silence hung in the air for a good dozen seconds. It was eventually broken by Dream's voice, “Men'ma, for old time's sake, I'd like to give you a choice.”
At that moment, Men'ma exchanged glances with her fellow valkyries, and questioned, “And what choice is this about?”
“It's about your fate. You can either die here, like all the valkyries who would've fallen by my hands before you, or you can choose to return to where you came from—the one and only reasonable choice you should've made ages ago.”
“So you offer to spare me, how generous of you.” Men'ma's retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Dream remained silent, waiting for a more reasoned response from her. However, it was the towering valkyrie who spoke up next, interrupting Men'ma, “No one here needs your mercy. The matriar—”
[ Electro ]
Acolyte
Thunderstrike Lvl.5
149
Before the valkyrie could finish her sentence, Dream cut her off mid-sentence with a mantra, obliterating the arm she held her scythe with. "Who gave you permission to talk?" Dream replied coldly.
“Sister… Bastard!” one of the valkyries barked.
“How dare you!” also barked another, indignant at his sudden attack. However, once again, none of them dared to open hostilities against Dream. Especially after he pointed at the towering valkyrie, who fell to her knees, hugging her bleeding wounds.
“Just because I didn't instantly obliterate your ugly face from existence, don't think I've forgotten what you've done to me, rabid hog,” Dream retorted with a chilling tone, his attention returning to Men'ma, who appeared stunned. He thought, Perhaps I shouldn't have done that.
He declared for her to hear, “I'm willing to compromise. You won't survive on your own on your way back to the capital. I'll spare them all, even the rabid dog. So, for heaven's sake, just head back from where you came.”
Dream noticed that his words seemed to bring Men'ma out of the daze induced by seeing her comrade's arm obliterated. Locking eyes with him, she added, “Instead of thinking about your Matriarch, tree, or whatever oracle you believe in, right now I want you to think about the people waiting for you where you come from.”
In that moment, Dream felt like his words partially hit home, but the next instant Men'ma looked to her comrades for answers. Dream intervened before the conversation could veer off track, “There's no pride for parents in a dead daughter.”
“I know,” she replied, her eyes showing resolution or perhaps resignation toward her fate.
In a final attempt, Dream implored, “Then why? What's the point of this? Is this some emotional ploy to get me to kill someone I care about? It's not going to work.”
“So you care for me, huh?” she teased, her tone reminiscent of how it used to be. But Dream was in no mood for games. “Men’ma, I'm serious. I'm going to kill you,” he stated, his voice firm.
Men'ma didn't respond; her silence conveyed her answer. Dream clicked his tongue in frustration, muttering, “Fool.”
[ Aero ]
Apprentice
Galestrike Spear Lvl.2
38
***
Walking past the lifeless forms of the valkyries Men'ma had been with, Dream approached her.
“You could've aimed for a spot that would've killed me in one blow, like the head or the heart,” she complained, sitting against a dead tree in the gray wasteland. Trembling, she reached for the spear that had penetrated her shoulder.
“That would've been ugly to watch,” Dream replied, his hand reaching for the odo spear. He melted the tip that was embedded in her shoulder wound, stopping the blood loss.
Men'ma winced and seethed in pain.
“You didn't feel like you felt it was ugly to watch when you did it to my sister,” she reproached, grimacing from the pain.
“I didn't. And that was one thing, this is another," Dream sighed, looking down at her. “Besides, I wanted to talk to you.”
“Talk to me, huh? What are you, lonely? Got no one else to talk to?” Men'ma retorted sarcastically.
“No, I'm not lonely. I just wanted to talk to you one last time,” Dream explained. “And seriously, do you want your last words to be a stupid joke?”
“That wouldn't be bad, not bad at…” she said, trailing off mid sentence as she met Dream's eyes. “Well, I guess not,” she conceded.
A strange silence settled between them until Men'ma broke it by asking, "Why?"
Dream replied, “Why what?”
“Why did it have to end up like this?" she pressed on.
“If you're talking about this position we’re in, you should be asking yourself that question. You gave me no choice.”
“I'm not talking about that!” Men'ma suddenly barked, causing her to cough up blood. “I'm talking about all of this. Why did it have to end up like this? Why did you do what you did? What are you doing all of this?” She asked, pointing at her slain comrades.
“I already gave you an explanation back then; did you turn deaf or something?” Dream retorted, exasperated.
“I don't give a crap about that explanation of yours; not only did I not understand any of the crap you spouted about, the little I understood didn't make sense to me,” Men'ma complained.
Dream sighed and replied, “I'm not going to bother explaining everything to you, so I'll give you the short answer to that question: I've found my purpose. This is it.” He activated his skill, Blessing of the Guardian Dragon.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Synergy initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Synergy completed.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Absorption initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Absorption completed.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Integration initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Integration completed.
Men'ma watched with horror as her comrades were being absorbed into Dream. Then, with a stern expression on her face, she asked, “Wasn't it something about adventure?”
“A grand adventure,” Dream corrected.
“A grand adventure, huh? And could you please tell me which part of this grand adventure is this? Because from what I know of an adventure, it ought to be fun. I doubt that even for someone like you, there is much fun in… in this.”
Dream remained silent for a moment, his blue eyes fixated on Men'ma's eyes hidden behind her visor, which allowed him to see her eyes without any obstruction.
“This is the part where I'm exterminating the vermin that stand in the way of realizing what I'm seeking after. Vermin that blindly came to me, claiming that I stole something that I didn't even steal from them. This is the part where I have to eliminate obstacles to enjoy what comes next. Sure, there isn't much fun in it, for now, but this is the part I must go through. As he said, I'll eventually get used to it, and I did. So yeah, this isn't the best part of the journey, but it's definitely a part of it.”
“You're insane. Tsk, who am I kidding, of course you are. You’ve always been. I don't even know what I can say to explain my own stupidity. Just do what you have to do, I'm done,” Men'ma uttered bitterly.
“You're serious?”
“I am. Unless you want me to live. If I said I wanted to, what would you do?”
“Perhaps... I'll spare you.”
“You can't do that, Rustler. Giving hope to a poor dying girl. Even if you spare me, I'll die eaten by the monsters filling this place. I barely made it here alive. You might as well leave me here to be eaten by a random monster. I won't survive to make it back to the capital. Unless you accompany me to the capital.”
“That's your plan?”
“It worked once; I ought to try it a second time.”
“Fool.”
“You know, I've changed my mind.”
“About what?”
“About what would be my last words. At this point, I don’t think I even care anymore if my last words are a very bad joke or just random gibberish.”
Dream sighed once again, taking a deep breath before declaring, “Then speak it,” as the thought settled in his mind.
She paused as if trying to come up with something relevant before ultimately voicing, “You're an idiot, Rustler.”
“That's it?”
“Yes.”
“I see,” Dream shook his head in defeat. “You're truly insufferable. And one last thing, it's not Rustler anymore. I’m Dream.”
“Rustler, Dream, BlessingReaver, Alexei... in the end, I don’t believe I care. What I see here is a colossal idiot.”
***
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Synergy initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Synergy completed.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Absorption initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Absorption completed.
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Integration initiated…
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon: Integration completed.
[ Nexus Alert]
Valkyrie lvl.1 Consumed
H.P
O.P▲
O.M.P▲
5.46▲
37▲
6▲
[ Nexus Alert]
Blessing of the Valkyrie deleted
Skills
Draconic / Godling
Aspect
Blessing
Blessing of the Guardian Dragon
Nexus System
Golden Blessing
Odo Leveling
Morphogenesis [0.2]
Elemental Resonance [0.5]
Dream spot where Men'ma had been sitting just moments before. An eerie silence settled in, shrouding the desolate gray landscape. He then shifted his gaze downward, stared emptily at the vanishing sigil on his hand. He clenched his golden fists, a rustling metallic noise resonating cold and unfeeling material.
“This is fine,” he muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. “This wouldn’t be my first time. This shouldn't hurt me anymore. That's right...I’m no longer the weak me from back then anymore… this is fine.”