“I have to ask,” Dream began, trying to figure something out. “The one who sent you, didn’t they specify that they wanted me alive?”
Because I have this feeling that you guys want me dead.
The thin-tailed valkyrie looked at her sisters, and replied, “I don’t think it was ever specified.”
I see, so that’s what it was.
“We were just tasked to find the matriarch’s blessing and bring it back to her.”
Even with just my corpse, it would get the job done then. Well, it would make sense if I think about it, after all, all they would have to do, I suppose, would be to feed me to that damn tree. But still...
"The Matriarch's blessing, huh? I'm sorry, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure I have anything that could be considered your Matriarch's," Dream declared, summoning a new arm to replace his left severed one.
This is a rather precarious situation that I find myself in, so for the time being, let's attempt to buy some time.
“Then why do you have Odo while you’re clearly an Arbian?”
“This? Well, this is something that I got from someone of your kind. Someone that while related to your matriarch, didn’t have much to do with her. In another word there was nothing that I could’ve stolen from your so highly revered matriarch,” Dream explained, his mind racing to find a way to get himself out of this mess.
“You killed one of our sisters.”
"Did I?" Dream dramatically frowned. "My simple motive was to get my power back. I just wanted what was mine to be returned to me, but I couldn't because of your staves. So when I understood that there was a way—only one for me to get it back, I did what I was ought to do, that sister of yours just happened to—"
"Enough," the thin-tailed Valkyrie cut in. "Do you think you're being slick here with what you're trying to do? We won't allow you to waste any more seconds of our time, nor will we let you buy more time for yourself."
“Tsk.”
Busted, I guess. Well, that wasn’t enough time bought, but I gotta make it enough, somehow.
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
42/54
203/831
189/210▲
25.6▲
126▲
13
This is going to be one of those hit or miss situations, but I don't have much choice other than to roll with it.
“Let’s end this, return home, sisters.”
“Yes.”
"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure about the returning home part," Dream declared, robbing them of the opportunity to once again instigate the hostilities.
[ Electro ]
Apprentice
Slithering Strikes Lvl.2
38.15
Unleashing a slithering strike at them, the valkyries quickly jumped back to avoid the rampant bolts of lightning. With Electrical energy crackling in the air, Dream’s mantra was able to even harm any of the valkyries but it did manage to at least separate the two valkyries who were most fond of close range combat.
[ Aero ]
Apprentice
Wind Blades Lvl.1
15
Jumping on this chance, Dream unleashed a barrage of Aero-elementalis attacks at the gauntleted valkyrie, forcing her to adopt a defensive approach toward his assault. Fainting an attempt at closing the distance between him and the gauntleted valkyrie, he prompted the other valkyrie, whom he had been deliberately ignoring, to come at him swinging her blade-like thin tail.
The thin-side tail she waved around with kick attack provided her with a considerable range advantage, and the motion of her attack resembled that of a long glaive. Recognizing the danger, Dream immediately proceeded to back down, deftly evading her incoming attack. He carefully maintained his distance, knowing that getting too close to her swinging tail would be far too perilous.
For a brief moment, he remained out of the valkyrie's blade path. However, with him backing away from her and her rushing at him, she quickly closed the distance between them, trapping him within her blade's reach. Despite his efforts to defend himself and manage at least a series of swings, Dream struggled, knowing that if he didn't act quickly, things were about to take a grim turn for him.
Luckily for him, having studied her stance during their short but intense confrontation, he noticed an opening as she came with another bisecting kick. Betting everything, including his life, Dream didn't try to evade the sweeping kick that threatened to literally cut his head off. However, he refused to allow such a thing to happen. To intercept the razor-sharp appendage coming at him, he turned around, allowing his left arm to intercept the blade-like tail.
During the time he spent in the forest, he had devoted considerable effort to contemplate how he could improve all the assets in his possession. Arcane was, for the time, out of reach. His Pranakinesis was, with all the monsters around to grind on, improving quite exponentially. Now, only one question remained—what about his Odo-wielding capability?
When facing the Eldest, he realized that although becoming an Odo wielder provided him with significant physical boosts, he excelled only at bullying mages or Raj with his abilities. Unfortunately, even with those boosts, he found himself at a complete disadvantage against monsters or valkyries, much like his current predicament.
Without having received proper life-long training in how to wield Odo correctly, Dream, through his many slaughters, came to understand several things about it. Aside from its summonic characteristic, Odo functioned similarly to how strength worked when applied to muscles to achieve a desired effect.
If an individual couldn't snap a snappable twig in half on the first attempt, they could usually achieve it by simply trying harder to snap it. All one needs is just more strength. This simple and rustic principle aligned precisely with how Odo operated—it involved assigning an imaginary but finite strength to an external vessel, often an appendage or, in Dream's case, a limb. However, Dream was no common mortal; he possessed something that enabled him to bestow actual and substantial value to those imaginary yet potent values: the system.
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
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41/54
73▼/831
89/210▲
25.6▲
126▲
13
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
32
167▼/347
67
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.22
Gauging through the eyes of the system that it was a bet worth taking, he proceeded to block the valkyrie's blade-swiping attack. His decision proved wise, for though it didn't completely halt the blade's momentum, Dream felt the immense force behind the valkyrie's strike. Gritting his teeth and mustering all his strength, he pushed back with all his might, successfully bringing the blade to a complete halt. However, it slightly lodged into Dream's arm.
"What," she panickedly reacted.
Before she could muster any other reaction, Dream unleashed another Electro-elementalis attack with his other hand, one that at that close distance had little to no way of avoiding.
He'd just struck her when he lunged at her, his hand reaching out for her face. Pressing her to the ground, Dream unleashed a powerful discharge, watching her H.P almost instantly depleting to 0.
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
0▼
151▼/347
67
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.22
"Bastard! Get off her!" screamed the gauntleted valkyrie, rushing at her fallen comrade. But it was too late. The electro-elemental attack had taken its toll, leaving the thin-tailed valkyrie incapacitated on the ground.
"One taken care of. Two more to go," Dream thought as he used his elementalis to hurl himself up in the air, evading the furious gauntleted valkyrie's strike.
Performing a midair maneuver that sent him forward to the last valkyrie who remained in the background, Dream watched as the valkyrie's rope whistled, whipping ominously in his direction.
Betting his few last remnants of prana on his electro-elementalis to avoid being fatally struck by the whip, he witnessed first-hand the strength of his conjured wind as it twisted his path out of the rope's trajectory.
He landed just a few meters from the valkyrie, immediately lunging at her with a dagger summoned into his hands, he looked up at his target.
Name
HP
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Class
???
35
43▼/341
67
⥈
Valkyrie lvl.22
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
41/54
73▼/831
69/210▲
25.6▲
126▲
13
I can win this. I just have to not mess up.
Dream lunged at her.
"Fool, you think you can take me down just because you get closer to me? How bold and foolish," the valkyrie taunted, seemingly unshaken by Dream's attempt.
Once again, the sound of the rope being called back by the valkyrie's whistling filled the air, ominously darting in his direction. Anticipating the attack, Dream sacrificed his left arm as a deflecting shield, and though the rope severed cleanly through it, he managed to deflect it away, avoiding a potentially lethal strike.
Not wasting any of the momentum provided by this unique opportunity, Dream swiftly turned around and hurled the dagger he had in hand at the valkyrie's face. Instinctively, she covered her face with her arm, around which part of the cuff-like rope coiled, dodging the fate of being impaled by Dream’s dagger.
But once again, as the valkyrie protected her face, she made a critical mistake: she lost sight of Dream. Taking advantage of this momentary opening, Dream lunged at her with all the remaining strength he could muster. Propelling himself forward with the last remnants of prana, he reached into her crown, using the pair of curved, mountain goat-like horns to offer him the firmest grip.
With a ruthless force, he drove his left arm, which had taken the shape of a short sword, into her head. The valkyrie let out a strangled cry, caught off guard by the sudden and brutal attack.
Their combined weight crashed to the ground, Dream's arm still buried deep into the valkyrie's head. As the valkyrie pressed down on him, Dream watched his actions deplete her H.P to 0. He was forced to get off her as the last standing valkyrie charged at him with murderous rage after the loss of her two comrades. She appeared to want to say something, but overwhelmed by anger, all that came out were groans and gritted teeth.
Watching her, Dream mumbled to himself, "One more gone, one last one to go, but first," he declared, calling forth his draconic skill.
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]
Valkyries Consumed
H.P
O.P▲
O.M.P▲
17▲
152▲
11▲
“It all more or less worked out just fine this time, but it was a really risky bet and a very close call,” Dream remarked.
Name
H.P
P.P
O.P
O.M.P
A.P
Level
Dream
58▲/71▲
73▼/831
221/362▲
36.7▲
126▲
13
“But well, I guess given the gains, it was pretty much worth it,” Dream added with a hint of relief in his voice.
“What have you done?!” the gauntleted valkyrie shouted, lunging at him with an attack. She had witnessed helplessly as her comrades were being absorbed. Dream, who had now recovered enough O.P, summoned a new arm for himself, blocking her attack before backing away several meters from her. Like a maddened beast devoid of reason she rushed to him.
Well, I myself am not a big fan of how it looks, so I can't blame you, but…
“... Now that it's just you against me,” Dream declared, summoning daggers. “Let's see this through fairly.”
***
Dream walked up to the mangled body of the valkyrie, covered in blood and heavily breathing. He knelt down beside her, reaching to remove her visor, but she suddenly grabbed onto his wrist. Dream remained unfazed; after all, she didn't have any O.P left to spare to pose any threat to him. Her trembling hand gripped weakly, unable to deter him.
Dream proceeded to remove the visor, giving him the opportunity to ask, “How many of you are out there after me?”
She didn't answer Dream's question. Instead, she defiantly said, “You'll pay for this.”
“I don't see how you're going to make me,” Dream replied coolly.
“I won't, my sisters will,” she retorted.
“Oh, and how many of these sisters are there out there?” Dream inquired, curious about the magnitude of the threat he might face.
In the midst of her struggling expression, she managed to conjure a smile. "I don't know. Only the matriarch does, but they will come for you. And they will make you pay for what you've stolen," she confidently declared
"As I already said, I didn't steal the thing your Matriarch wants from me."
His words fell on deaf ears; she had already breathed her last breaths. Dream gently pulled his wrist free from her now lifeless hand, and a solemn silence settled over the scene.
Calling forth his Draconic skill, Dream absorbed the Valkyrie, just as he had done with her two sisters and all the Odoe he had absorbed before them. However, instead of being turned into dust-like light and vanishing like mages, Rajs, and awakened beasts do, her body was transformed into a golden liquid, similar to the one summoned by the Eldest and the Maiden Valkyrie for their ceremony. This liquid gathered around him and was absorbed through the pores of Dream's being.
He stood, then looked up searching for the moon before finding it. “Since I don't know how many are after me, I better hurry up and head southward. The further I get from that place, the better,” Dream declared, rushing across the stream to the other side of the forest. “Let’s also just hope I won’t stumble upon something I can’t yet handle in there.”