As the sunlight disappeared outside, Murky entered the cave and instinctively turned left, just like the main character had done in the movie.
It was as if, although he couldn't remember all those scenes from the movie, when he was there in that location, facing it in the present moment, those memories about the movie's scenes would just come to his head eventually.
In the movie, the main character wanted to confuse the snake dragon that was following him by taking a different path from the others who were looking for the special water.
"I just need to keep moving forward."
Murky whispered to himself, trying to stay determined.
Looking at the side screen with the mission details, Murky continued into the darkness.
He felt the pain of the cold and sharp rocks under his feet, but he ignored it and kept going. Despite bleeding and having swollen, painful feet, he didn't let it stop him.
"I only have five minutes left before the game starts," he reminded himself urgently.
Eventually, Murky reached a dead end, and he became serious. He took a step back, gathered his strength, and then charged forward with a powerful push from his left leg and a burst of momentum from his right.
He crashed into the boulder with a loud noise, creating a small cloud of dust that went into his nose and mouth.
Coughing and clearing the dust away, Murky examined the wall in front of him.
"Huh?"
He questioned.
"Is it really here, or am I far weaker than the main character?"
In the movie, the main character had found this dead end wall while being chased by a constrictor snake-like dragon.
The main character had slammed into the wall and broke it easily without even taking a moment to get comfortable or in position like Murky right now.
This made Murky wonder if he was truly weaker than the main character or if the secret cave only existed in the movie and not in this dream.
"I, Murky, refused to believe I was weaker or that there wasn't a cave here!"
Murky shouted desperately.
The mounting pressure in his mind confused his thoughts and weighed heavily on his head.
Determined, he tried again to break through by throwing himself at the wall. But it remained unmoving.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam Bam!
He pounded relentlessly on the stubborn obstacle, feeling frustrated and determined at the same time.
After seven unsuccessful attempts, doubt started to enter Murky's mind.
"No! No! No! I won't believe there's no secret cave here! I won't accept that I'm weaker than the main character!"
These thoughts entered his mind, raising many questions.
Why was he here? What was he doing? Why not give up?
Was his effort worth it? Was this dream or nightmare even real, like a movie?
What if this dream was different from the movie? What good was his knowledge of the movie if he couldn't change anything? What if he was just imagining things?
What if someone else was controlling his reality? Why was he even trying?
Why did the system exist? Was the stone wall he was pounding the same wall the main character had entered with a single push?
Each question weakened Murky's determination with every strike against the unyielding stone wall.
He felt his energy draining away, and a feeling of hopelessness settled over him.
Eventually, he stopped, staring at the stone wall with a look of despair on his face.
Murky realized that these thoughts and questions had weighed him down for a long time.
Ever since he had been reborn in this era, he had endured the antics of the crazy girl, the abandonment and mistreatment by his family, and even the absence of love from his parents. He believed he didn't deserve any positive emotions.
If he did feel positive about them, he would feel alone. So the pain that was inflicted to him by these people at least made him belong in this time, and would replace the bad feeling of being alone. However, faced with desperation, Murky now woke up to the fact that the feeling of being alone had never truly gone away.
It was when he entered this movie world, felt the essence of the movie, and saw familiar places and scenes that he realized it.
The feeling of being alone was merely hidden, acting as a nonexistent feeling that would erupt anytime. And as time passed, it grew heavier.
It was like missing his high school and returning to it after a long time, only to realize that Murky didn't miss the school itself, but rather the memories he had created there.
Yet, he couldn't do anything about it. Everyone else was moving forward, and if he didn't leave or move on, he would be left behind.
Being reborn in this era made him feel like a child back in high school. He didn't know anyone, and it wasn't a return to the past. These were different people, different children, different memories.
Was he worthy of belonging in this place? Was he worthy of being alive and creating new memories? Why did he even experience being reborn with memories from his original timeline?
Murky mumbled, "I can't do it, I am..."
His words trailed off as the system screen suddenly appeared once again.
Ding!
The sound echoed in his mind as the system screen appeared.
[ Welcome, players, to the survival game! Survive and become the strongest! Achieve goals and get rewards! Remember, no matter how high you go, the world and the universe will challenge you. Be the first to reach the top of humanity, reach the height where even the universe won't be able to defeat you!
[ Keep surviving and living! Get what you want and become the strongest! Again, welcome, players, to this new era, starting with 'Taming Hundred thousand of Dragonss!' survival world! Remember, there are no clues in hard and multiplayer mode! Good luck, players! ]
[ Bonus Mission: Kill the dragons and other players. ]
[ … ]
Seeing and reading the message, a strange fiery light sparked in Murky's eyes.
Memories from the past began to flash back in his eyes, how his friends died in the 21rst century nuclear war, where they were just laughing yesterday and they would become corpses tomorrow riddle I'm bullets and left to be discarded in the battlefield.
How he sees children, civilians, disabled people and old people die, mercilessly. And how these innocent people too tried to kill him too many times because of hatred.
Yet somehow, he was not sad. But why was he not sad? Having been sent to the future, being bullied all his life, and being sent to an unfamiliar dream that was similar to the movie she knew, why was he not sad?
Then Murky remembered something, he knew life was fragile when the despair is on him right now, he felt so alive.
Yes!
It's like he's been suppressing this.
It's like, he loves danger! he's not scared to die of these dangers, but felt like he's more scared of looking pathetic while dying.
So why is he complaining?
Knowing the fragility of life and having only one of it came back to his head.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
He cursed angrily, but soon his contorted face turned to an arrogant smile.
"Ehhmmm… Why am so weak like this."
Murky said as he realized how pathetic he is right now that it's making him chuckle.
"In this world, or even in other worlds or other universes, wherever I am, I know nobody cares about me. Nobody cares about anything or anyone. So it's best that I'll just do whatever it takes to get what I want. But to get what I want, I need power. I want a power where I won't die again like in the past, during the nuclear war. I won't die full of regrets.
"Because dying like that was pathetic.
"That death made me remember how important my life was, and I am the only one responsible for it. I won't face the same fate again. I won't face the same regret again. I won't die pathetic again, so If I am going to die, why not make it a little grander!"
Murky this time didn't move. His face still wore a cruel smile.
"I'll embrace life and get what I desire. And what do I desire? Is to laugh in my death where I can't find any more route to escape or ways to save myself. Yes, I desire to be in the position where I don't have a choice but face death in the situation I didn't put myself in. Or even if I put myself in that position, I won't be pathetic.
"That's all there is to it, Hahahah!"
Murky's maniacal laughter echoed through the whole cave.
"That's so simple, and I like it simple. And for that, with my situation right now, I still have a choice. I can still use the knowledge I know of, and I don't care if it's real or I'm just hallucinating, I need power And I will get that power.
"And for that power, I know, I haven't tried enough yet!"
Murky raged with a maniacal calm smile, his determination at its peak. With renewed determination, he pushed against the stubborn stone wall once again.
Again, and again, and again, and again, he tried, refusing to give up, relentless in his pursuit of his goals, relentless push to the stone wall with a smile.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam Bam!
After a while, Murky felt his shoulder growing numb, and his body was covered in cuts and bruises.
Despite the lack of feeling in one shoulder, he kept going, relying on the other to continue until it went numb too. And then he would switch back to the other again and repeat all the process.
"As long as there's hope and a chance for me to gain power, I won't hesitate to take it," he muttered with determination.
"I don't care if it's real or not. This could be my moment, my time to shine.
"Hahaha!
"Whether the movie and this dream game are different or not, it doesn't matter. I'll try, and I'll make it. I promise to use all my goddamn knowledge this time!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Murky pounded relentlessly on the stone wall, refusing to give up.
"Give in to me! I'm still breathing, my feet are still not broken, I can still stand, I can still speak, and my heart is still pumping blood! So I can still push and I can still try!"
Finally, the wall was crushed!
He didn't even look to see if the wall had crumbled; he simply pressed forward, his injured and bruised feet urging him on.
It didn't matter to him.
There was no time for celebration until he obtained that power.
That's when he would allow himself to revel in victory.
It didn't take long for Murky to reach his destination.
There, he saw a group of eggs, glowing brightly in the dark night. Next to them was a spring, its flowing water casting a magical light on the eggs, making them shimmer in the darkness.
As Murky cautiously approached, his eyes focused on the eggs, but then he noticed the crushed one in the middle.
"In the movie, every single creature inside these eggs struggled to breathe and had already hatched when the main character reached this point," Murky thought out loud, speaking softly.
"But I don't care about them. I want the one that has already hatched, and the other that's already dead when he came here. Where was it again?"
Lost in thought, he looked around.
It didn't even take long, he already had a clue, it's not sure but he knew that's the only place a creature could hide.
Without wasting time, Murky looked beneath the surface of the water, exploring the depths of the small spring.
There, under the rock he was standing on, he found a secret cave below.
He was amazed to discover it right below him.
"SHAAAAAAA!"
The creature growled angrily, surprising him.
Ding!
[ Name: Unknown
[ Level: 1.
[ Dragon class: Six.
[ Status: Verge of death. ]
"There you are."
Unfazed by the creature's aggressive behavior, Murky smiled seeing its size, it's too small, like the size of a chihuahua, but he knew if given a little more time, it would become giant in a split second.
Eventually, Murky closed his eyes, focusing on the strong presence of the creature.
He could feel its fear in the very essence of its breath.
Murky knew he couldn't tame or convince it by force alone. Like before, he thought about different ways to subdue this powerful beast.
In the Book of Dragons from the internet fandom information, there were techniques for taming, but Murky wasn't sure if they would work.
Nevertheless, he was determined to give it a try.
He didn't see any other options and decided to use the first method, the one that seemed most effective according to the knowledge of the creature from the internet fandom.
If it doesn't work, well that's when he would force it.
"I know you're scared. I get that you don't want to get hurt. I understand you're angry and hungry."
Murky began, speaking calmly and confidently.
"But I want you to know that I didn't come here to hurt you. I don't want to kill you like the other dragons or any creatures that haunt your nightmares. However, I'm a person who wants power, and to get that, I need your help.
"In return, unlike your ancestors who only lived for a short time, maybe a year, I promise that if you choose me as your master, I'll do everything I can to give you a lifespan of a thousand years."
Murky's eyes showed no emotion as he made his proposal.
He continued, "I can't guarantee for sure that you'll live for a thousand years, but based on what I know and my expertise, I believe it's very likely. So, can I be your master?
"Will you, who longs for freedom and the ability to fly in the sky, accept my offer and have a life that may last a thousand years? I will help you become one of the strongest dragons as you should be, and roam the world and sky, Snow White?"