It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon, and inside a school building on the third floor, a group of students quietly watched as a boy confronted a girl.
The room was filled with tension as everyone anxiously awaited the next turn of events.
The boy, with a mix of European and Southeast Asian features, had fair skin, deep blue eyes, slightly curly black hair, and a scar on his face that gave him an intimidating appearance, like that of a bully.
He boldly demanded, "Give it all to me, you b*tch."
He motioned for the girl to hand something over and added, "Make sure every penny is there."
Trembling, the girl cautiously placed her hands above the boy's outstretched hand and opened them.
The room broke its silence as the sound of money hitting the boy's palm echoed through the air.
He conscientiously counted the money, one by one, using his fingers.
After confirming that everything was there, he nodded and shifted his attention back to the frightened girl.
"Alright, that's enough for now," he said, gesturing for her to leave.
"Now go away. I don't want to see your face or smell your odor. It makes me sick! And remember to give me more tomorrow. Now, go!"
He sneered at her, treating her with contempt and cruelty, as if she were no more than an animal.
Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. With a mix of Korean and white American features, black wavy hair, and fair skin, she appeared even more vulnerable with her long legs and youthful Asian face.
How could someone speak to another person, especially a woman of such beauty, in such a heartless and hateful manner?
Sob!
Overwhelmed by her emotions, the tearful girl covered her face with her hands and left the room, seeking solace elsewhere, a place the bully cared not to know.
Meanwhile, the other students observed the scene from their own perspectives. Some ignored the boy, finding him terrible and giving him angry looks.
Others felt scared of him, fully aware of his influence and power within the room.
However, the boy didn't care about how they reacted. Their opinions didn't matter to him at all.
But as he watched the tearful girl leave with her friends, anger twisted his face.
"I promise, if I ever get infected, survive those nightmares, and gain powers, I'll make sure to embarrass that girl in front of everyone," he silently vowed. His tone was filled with intense hatred and determination, which was unusual for someone his age.
"I've endured this for far too long."
He clenched his hand and uncomfortably settled down.
In reality, he didn't belong in this time. His true name was Murky Smilodon, a soldier who had been drafted because his country had no other choice, and he had perished during the devastating nuclear war of 202X.
Yet, he found himself reborn in the distant future, in the year 3014, with the same name—Murky Smilodon. The mention of his past stirred emotions within him, and his expression shifted accordingly.
"Sigh, with my current circumstances, that will never happen. Yes, it will never come to pass. My revenge will never be realized," Murky muttered, sounding weary and frustrated.
"I detest this!"
He proclaimed and continued to forcefully contemplate in his mind, exhausted from attempting to figure out what to do in his helpless situation.
…
In this future, humans live inside a protective dome. They have technology similar to what existed in the 20th and 21st centuries, but they have learned to rely less on it. Instead, they possess mutated genes, which give them an inner strength more powerful than advanced weapons.
In the year 2661, Earth faced a crisis due to overpopulation and limited resources. Scientists attempted to access new resources by opening dimensions, but the project failed, resulting in the disappearance of the project's leader and members.
Subsequently, people began experiencing strange symptoms when they slept and dreamed. During these dreams, peculiar events would occur.
Some individuals transformed into dangerous creatures known as catalyst beings, releasing a deadly smoke that claimed the lives of thousands. However, these creatures had a positive impact on the environment and revived the ecosystem.
People started relocating the catalyst beings to specific areas, bringing happiness and promoting the flourishing of nature, which helped solve the resource problem. They even sent many of them to other planets for research.
However, a new problem arose as plants, animals, and other living things rapidly evolved, becoming stronger and more destructive. Human technology and weapons like nuclear bomb proved ineffective against them.
Fortunately, a group of individuals with mutated genes emerged—the survivors of those dreams. They were called nightmare soldiers. Equipped with the mutated genes from their dreams, they were able to halt the rampages of the evolved creatures.
However, not all nightmare soldiers could defeat these monsters, so they constructed protective domes. Eventually, humanity retreated to these domes, and the nightmare soldiers became the rulers and leaders of this new era.
Inside the domes, they had to devise new strategies for survival against the monsters. This marked the beginning of a new humanity, one with mutated genes.
…
Sighing, he opened his mouth to mumble.
"I was born without a mutated genes. To acquire one, I needed to enter the infected nightmare dream, but surviving there was a challenge. Without a mutated genes, I couldn't defend myself. I would die in the infected dream and become a catalyst in this world.
"What should I do? What if the infected nightmare dream comes now?"
Murky muttered anxiously, clenching his teeth.
If someone didn't have mutated genes, their chances of surviving in the infected dream were extremely low, at negative eighty percent.
To obtain mutated genes, they had to be born with it or enter the infected dream. However, as Murky mentioned, he couldn't go into the infected dream.
With only a physical body and no training or combat experience, he had nothing to rely on. In his past life, Murky was a lazy addict, always glued to his phone. Yet, he was drafted into the war.
Now in this life, in a society where mutated genes were highly valued, his family didn't bother to train him.
Why would they waste their effort?
"It's because of them that I'm having all these thoughts now," Murky muttered, clenching his fist and contorting his face in frustration.
Not having mutated genes was okay to him, but why was he mistreated, abused, ignored, and disrespected within his own family?
They didn't have to do that?
Why not just throw him away and let him watch his brother be given everything right before his eyes?
Toys, money, expensive gifts, careful training, an education from good teachers, etc.
Murky was treated as the unfavored child and even lost his fiancée which willingly left him for his brother. He also lost his inheritance, future, and dreams.
The most painful part was losing his mother's love, which was given to his brother instead, even though his brother wasn't his mother's biological child.
Thinking about all this, even though he had the mentality of a grown man, he couldn't help but feel angry all the time.
He was so furious that he wanted to eradicate them all!
He desired to humiliate them all!
If he wasn't helpless, he would treat them as lab rats and conduct experiments on their bodies.
The only time his family showed concern for him was when he was thrown out and taken care of by his less skilled uncle and aunt, who didn't possess much talent in using mutated genes.
They took care of him and enrolled him in the private school he currently attended, instead of allowing him to go to a public school. But Murky knew that his family's concern was only for the sake of their reputation.
They didn't want anyone in the family to study outside of a public school and didn't want others to know they mistreated a family member, living in public.
"Damn it! I just want to rest and sleep," muttered Murky, barely audible.
As expected, at five o'clock, the pretty girl and her friends returned. She seemed fine now and wasn't crying anymore, but Murky didn't care.
He noticed that his body felt heavy, his balance was off, and he had a headache. It scared him at first, but he casually brushed it off.
"It was normal; it would probably go away by tomorrow, just like it had in the past.
"No need to worry too much."
To distract himself from his troubling thoughts, Murky stared at the back of the slim girl who used to be kind and gentle but had changed into someone unrecognizable.
In the past, he made a mistake by approaching her.
"Hi, can you tell me where the cafeteria is? Huh? Beautiful..."
Murky felt embarrassed just thinking about it. It was like when you ask someone a question and suddenly get distracted by their beautiful face, forgetting what you were asking.
He's young, so why not try to get girls, right?
Who cares? Nobody will judge him.
And so, it all started from that embarrassing moment, leading to his terrible situation now.
At first, she had a nice personality. She understood that he wasn't used to talking and expressing his feelings. She didn't care about his lack of mutated genes at all when he told her.
She still treated him respectfully.
But after a year of being together, everything changed when she found out Murky's true position in the family, a neglected member of a powerful Smilodon bloodline family. Because of this, her attitude completely changed.
"You're not the person I thought you were!"
Murky still remembered when she said those words to him.
That's when Murky realized that the girl had only been with him because she saw him as a way to enter a prestigious family.
When she realized that she couldn't use his status for her own benefit, she became cold towards him. It was at that moment that Murky started questioning why a talented, famous, beautiful, and smart person would choose him without any apparent reason.
"Why?"
"Why!?"
"Why!!!!??"
Murky quickly realized the answer when she threatened to tell the authorities and his family about false accusations of sexual harassment.
She also threatened to expose his lack of power and support from his family to everyone, which sent a chill down his spine.
He knew she had evidence and could cause trouble for him. Murky remembered a time when he had tried to force himself on her, but she stopped him.
At that time, he didn't know why he did it, but he remembered feeling restless after drinking a beverage she offered him.
He was aware that it was wrong.
Yet, despite this knowledge, he still attempted it. She had evidence against him, and he lacked proof to defend himself.
He also knew she had the capability to carry out her threat. He felt desperate and pleaded with her to reconsider.
"No! Please, don't ever tell them!! Don't tell them!"
He held his words back as he watched her depart.
The thought of his family becoming entangled in a scandal was unbearable. It would bring shame to their name and cause him significant trouble, possibly even endangering his life.
Undoubtedly, his family would harm him if they found out.
In the end, the girl desired money, and she obtained it. However, money didn't hold much value to him. His aunt and uncle usually claimed most of the money his family gave him anyway.
Including this girl in that list wouldn't make much of a difference.
Moreover, he didn't particularly care for his family. Despite their wealth, they didn't treat him well. Though he still relied on their money, he only used what he needed.
Thus, Murky was willing to comply with her demands and allow her to exploit his family's unfortunate circumstances.
His only hope was that it would end there. However, she threatened him to behave like a terrible boyfriend, so she would appear virtuous and gain sympathy from others.
This caused people to despise and fear him while feeling sorry for her, for being in love with him.
Did he want to be a jerk or merely seem like one? Definitely not.
But he had no choice.
He lacked the power to control his own life.
Every day, it seemed like he was accepting her money, but the truth was she was the one taking almost all of his money.
"Damn!"
Just the thought of it made Murky furious. If only he had been born with a mutant gene, he wouldn't feel so helpless day after day.
"In the future, I promise!"
He muttered angrily under his breath. He felt relieved that no bullies or popular kids who idolized superheroes noticed his deceptive behavior, or he would be in significant trouble!
Just as he was about to curse the girl in his thoughts again, the classroom door suddenly swung open with a loud bang!
Kabam!
A strong, muscular, and confident woman entered the room. She had blonde hair, muscles, and wore a soldier's uniform and sunglasses.
"Alright, you little brats, line up!" she barked, asserting her authority.
It was time to check the students' temperatures as a precaution against the infection dream. Those showing symptoms would be taken to a separate location to prevent harm to others.
The blonde lady went from student to student, methodically checking their temperatures and assessing their well-being.
The room grew quiet as the process continued, each student anxiously waiting for their turn.
Murky's heart raced as he worried about the outcome. He realized that he didn't feel well.
Hoping his condition wouldn't be discovered or that it was just a normal sickness, he prepared himself.
Suddenly, the students fell silent as the blonde woman's gaze landed on Murky. She stopped in her tracks, looking shocked.
"Huh?"
The other students followed her gaze, their curious faces turning to horror. Murky furrowed his brow, sensing something seriously wrong from their reactions.
"Don't tell me..."
He said, feeling a sinking sense of dread.
A breeze brushed against his nose, and as his vision cleared, he saw the same muscular blonde woman again. She firmly placed her hands on Murky's shoulders and looked into his eyes.
"Remember this: choose a normal dream first, choose it to survive! Whatever you do, choose it to survive!"
The blonde woman spoke solemnly, locking eyes with Murky.
Frozen with fear, Murky stood there, shocked at the terrifying idea of being infected.
Him, a person without mutated genes?
Got the Infected Dream?
What on earth!?
How on earth?
But he tried his best to understand the words of the blonde woman. He desperately wanted to avoid becoming a catalyst creature for as long as possible. Even without mutated genes, he needed guidance.
Repeating her words in his mind, the blonde woman moved closer to Murky's face.
"And never choose a nightmare! Only choose a normal dream..."
She shouted directly at Murky.
"Do you understand!?"
She asked, waiting for Murky's response.
Feeling helpless and sweating, Murky nodded while trembling.
Seeing this, the blonde woman brought her face even closer to Murky's and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Okay..."
But she wasn't finished.
"But if you enter a nightmare, choose a [ single player mode ] and do everything in your power to trigger a mission! Get a mission! Do everything to get it!"
She shouted just as Murky was about to nod, but then he felt a sharp pain in his left neck.
He tried to touch it, but his vision quickly faded into darkness.
Ding!
[ New awakened Activator, welcome to the Infected Dream! ]