While Murky was inside the infected dream, dreaming, the world outside became very chaotic.
Alarms kept beeping loudly, and red lights were flashing everywhere.
The chaos was happening in tall buildings, on the streets, and even underground.
The people living in the dome felt like something dangerous was about to happen, so they were very alert.
A loud voice came from all around the dome, saying.
( Warning: the infected dream has the possibility of changing and entering a new era. If you want to go into the dream, be really careful. If you're new, don't play the [ Hard mode ] or the [ Multiplayer mode ]. If you're experienced, make sure someone you trust is watching your body to avoid outbreak of catastrophe. )
The warning kept repeating for more than ten minutes to make sure everyone understood how serious the situation was.
It was meant to warn people that bad things could happen if they didn't follow the rules.
Some are scared, some are excited and some are confused but most are prepared.
…
In the middle of all the chaos, there were tall buildings with a special mark of a sabertooth.
Inside one of these buildings, a man watched the commotion from a window with a sly smile on his face. He said to himself.
"So, it's a new era? I wonder what will happen."
He sounded excited and curious.
The man took out a cigarette and lit it. The glowing tip made his face look strange. Then he said to himself,
"We say goodbye to one era and enter a new one. I wonder what will be everyone's reaction, should I enter too?"
Smoke floated up as he breathed out. He looked outside at all the chaos and thought about it while enjoying the taste of the smoke.
"I will enter later, even though I'm sure it will be boring like the others in the past," the man complained angrily.
"Every new era was all about regular creatures surviving. They don't have any special powers besides transforming. But outside this dome, there are creatures that can breathe fire and shoot things from their mouths. We're stuck with weak powers and boring transformations ability."
As he kept complaining, the man suddenly stopped.
He heard a familiar sound—a bell!
A mechanical voice interrupted him.
It said, "There's a secretary at the door. Should I let her come in?"
He looked to the side a little, still looking out the window, and calmly said.
"Yes, let her in."
With a sound like air releasing—Pshhh—the door opened, and a woman came in.
She was wearing a formal skirt and had glasses.
Her long black hair was pulled back neatly, and she seemed very organized. She said urgently.
"Sir, one of your sons went into the infected dream, but we don't know if he chose the dangerous hard mode or multiplayer mode."
The man's expression changed quickly. He asked.
"Who?"
And then he turned to face his secretary. But before he could understand her answer, she kept talking as if she wasn't bothered by his sudden change. She said,
"The person is Murky Smilodon, your twenty-third child. He didn't have any mutated gene and was going to one of our family's private schools."
When the man heard the name, he looked at his secretary and they stared at each other silently for a while.
Finally, he breathed out deeply, feeling relieved and frustrated at the same time.
He said,
"Oh, that... You scared me. I thought it was one of my beloved sons, not some useless dreg."
He laughed, showing that he was grateful it wasn't one of his beloved children. The room filled with his laughter and the feeling of relief.
The man knew very well that each new era came with dangers.
Even though his sons were talented and had a good chance of surviving, there was still a possibility that they might not make it.
He wanted his other sons to face as little risk as possible in the infected dream of the new era.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, recognizing something. He interrupted and said.
"Wait, I remember that kid."
His voice showed a mix of remembering and dislike. He thought about the child and images of him appeared in his mind as he spoke.
"That child was a big disappointment in my life, and he bothered me a lot. He would tell me stories about the past, but I couldn't check if they were true. I had my doubts about him, so I kicked him out. I forgot that I told the school that if he ever got infected, I wanted to know what happened to him. We've never seen someone without powers who got infected before."
"Plus I didn't train him myself and told the school not to either. If he ever survived, there's a chance that he might be telling the truth."
"But anyway, why care, that little guy has little hope."
The man said, his attention still on the world outside the window. He looked outside and watched what was happening. Then he raised his hand to show what he wanted.
He said, "Tell me if he survives and gets special powers or a mutated gene. If he fails, don't bother to tell me. He will die in a few years anyway because he's lacking a lot if he starts at [ Easy Mode ] and [ Single Player ]."
After saying that, the man looked at a faraway point on the street and started thinking.
"But I want you to keep helping him," the man ordered, sounding firm and in charge.
The secretary, who was respectful and loyal, nodded to show she understood and agreed. She bowed her head to show respect.
The man wanted to make sure that if there was even a small chance his neglected and unfavored child could survive and decided to hide his special powers because he wanted revenge, there wouldn't be huge animosity or bad feelings between him and the family.
However, the gorgeous secretary had more to say, not just about the man's unfavored child, and she spoke with a calm demeanor.
"Sir, I have more information," she began.
The man furrowed his brow and looked down, his gaze fixed as if he could see beyond the horizon.
He asked, "What is it?" in a low voice.
The secretary took a moment before responding, making sure to choose her words carefully.
"Your most talented son, Fang Smilodon, expressed his desire to enter the infected dream and compete against the most talented offspring from the other three families.
"He wanted to join you, master."
The man, still looking outside, froze once again.
This time, he didn't turn to face the secretary. He simply exhaled a breath of smoke from the cigarette he held between his fingers and remained silent.
The secretary stood there quietly, accustomed to his moments of contemplation.
Normally, the man wouldn't make a hasty decision, since his son's life would be at stake.
However, declining the challenge would bring ridicule upon their family. He knew his son well enough to understand that his motivation likely stemmed from his rivalry with the most talented offspring of the other three families.
The Phorus Family, with their terror bird transformations, the Arcto Family, with their short-faced bear transformations, and the Canis Family, with their dire and gray wolf transformations, were all considered rivals.
Yet, in the face of external threats from the monsters outside, they were also allies.
Still, that's not the only thing the man was worried about, he knew that there are other domes or human civilization and other intelligent humanoid civilization that would be invited to the dreams.
That's why, no matter what kind of preparation they make, they would still be in danger even if they are thoroughly prepared.
The most problematic aspect was that his son, Fang Smilodon, resembled both him and his father. Being born with a rare five-class rating mutated gene. If both of them were to perish in the infected dream of the new era, the family would face an imminent catastrophe from within, as they were the only ones possessing such class of mutated gene.
He strongly desired to avert this outcome.
However, the other family detected something suspicious.
"Why would they send their most talented son? Isn't it dangerous?"
The man anxiously traced the glass, feeling a mix of worry and adrenaline. Due to their actions, he could somehow sense that there was something different about this new era compared to the others.
Finally, the man took another drag from his cigarette, the smoke billowing against the glass wall.
"If he truly desires it, tell him he may proceed," he said.
He paused for a moment before continuing, his voice laced with caution.
"But warn him not to underestimate anything inside the dream, or he will meet his demise. Advise him to gather a team and devise a plan for cooperation once inside the infected dream. Let him know that I don't want to be disappointed by his death within the dream."
The man didn't have a choice, it was always like this even in his time. If they lagged behind, their family would become a weaker subordinate to the other three families.
After that, the beautiful secretary nodded and bowed, he only gestured for her to leave with his hands.
As the door closed behind him, the man continued to gaze at the buildings, lost in deep contemplation.
Suddenly, as he was lost in thought, his phone began to ring.
Diriririring! Diriririring! Diriririring!
Despite having a myriad of things on his mind, he instinctively reached into his pocket and answered the ringing phone without even checking the caller ID. Placing it against his left ear, he responded,
"Yes?"
On the other end, a familiar old voice resounded.
"I will join the new era as well."
Upon hearing these words, the man's facial expression transformed into one of complete astonishment, a hundred and eighty degrees from his previous state of mind.
…
Meanwhile, inside the infected dream, Murky found himself in a scene from the movie "Taming Hundred thousand of Dragons."
An important place for the main character.
He looked at the options presented to him, which floated in the air beside him.
The system mission appeared on the screen, indicating that he had five minutes before the start of the mission:
[ Survive the dragon attack and kill as many dragons as you can. ]
Murky's attention shifted to a small entrance of a cave.
It seemed too narrow for the adult raiders, who had already transformed into dragon warriors, to enter.
He stroked his mustache and commented.
"In the movie, the dragon warriors, of these Draugrskins, grew massive in size because of their awakened dragon gene. Due to their enlarged bodies, they were prohibited from forcefully entering the cave to avoid destroying it.
"The cave held great importance to the raiders because the water inside possessed properties that could help restore their dragon's mutated gene, albeit to a limited extent. Despite its weakness, the water remained vital to them.
"The only way to get the special water in this cave is to send the male Draugrskins who haven't awakened their dragon powers, like me and what the big Draugrskins from earlier did to me.
"But whatever, let me check out the cave."
Murky said. He took off all his clothes except for his pants.