Astr collapsed in the arms of Rafeal, who is being imitated by Canvasbane now.
The throbbing agony in Astr's fingers mimicked the sharp cut of a knife, and his mind felt as if a mallet were relentlessly pounding, stirring up a chaotic whirlwind in his brain.
However, feeling the heavy weight in his pocket, the corners of Astr's mouth trembled with satisfaction.
"The oak banshee of the forest is dead; I will bring you back to reality~"
Rafeal said with great enthusiasm, raised his hand, and waved, and with a pop, the space was torn open like a piece of silk.Astr half-squinted his eyes and let Rafeal hold him very efficiently.
In that moment, Astr sensed a gaze spanning the entire nightmare realm, projecting towards him from the distant centre.
The enhanced perception made Astr's hair stand on end even before he could react to the portrait of a nightmare creature that was coming.
"Run away—" Astr roared from between his teeth.
Although Rafeal didn't know what happened, he immediately jumped into the space crack without hesitation.
The next moment, an indescribable sense of oppression hit his back.
"Ugh!"
Rafeal threw his head back and screamed. He felt his back burning like fire.
Protecting the immobile Astr with one hand, he refrained from looking back and swiftly raised his other hand, conjuring a colossal cyclone that swept through the vast corridor.
"Boom——!"
However, his move was torn apart in an instant, as simple as tearing a piece of paper.
"Poof!"
Rafeal sprayed out red paint and suffered severe injuries to his body. But this moment of obstruction bought them time to escape.
The two figures swiftly traversed the delicate boundary between dream and reality, vanishing and barricading the menacing force from the outside.
[...]
At the centre of the dream space, A pure white church. A man wearing a holy priest's robe holds a paintbrush stained with paint and looks silently towards the door.
Those deep amber eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the wall, and they looked at the crack in space in the distance.
He opened his thin lips lightly and murmured, [Astr Serene...]
This voice was like a breeze, but it spread to the entire nightmare dream space, echoing in the ears of the trembling creatures who huddled up.
After a while, the man slowly closed his eyes, withdrew his gaze, and returned the peace to the Nightmare Creature that they wanted.
He lowered his head and continued to concentrate on painting.
As the brush smeared, a girl with a peaceful and compassionate expression gradually emerged.
...
Astr gradually opened his eyes. The pale yellow moonlight painted a familiar scene in his vision, casting its glow on the furnishings he recognized. He found himself back in his dream space.
Suddenly, an indescribable sense of security surrounded Astr, as if his feet had finally stepped on solid ground.
He got up from the bed and found that there was no serious problem with his body. Instead, he felt refreshed, but his head still hurt.
Because he absorbed the strength from the oak banshee, his body gradually got repaired after settling down.
Recalling the battle not long ago, Astr could not help but feel his heart beating wildly and shuddering.
'It was so fucking thrilling. Killing the BOSS with three times the level difference was unheard of even in my previous life.
If it weren't for the fusion skill with the canvasbane that allowed me to continue to rely on erosion to maintain my life after "death", I would have become part of the Oak Banshee of the forest.'
Even so, the crazy state caused by the erosion rate exceeding 60% left Astr with lingering fears.
'Hey, I looked so scary. I was totally different from the usual gentle and kind me~'
Astr wiped away his crocodile tears and opened the system panel.
[Name:Astr Serene (14 years old)]
[Template: Human male NPC] (318 days until the start of the public beta of version 1.0)
[Comprehensive level: level 15]
[Public experience: 60] (It can be added to any job.)
[Skill points: 4]
[Health: 71%] (Weakness: ALS; it will continue to decline.)
[Mana: 32]
[Nightmare Erosion: 55%]
[Job Class - First Level - Wizard Apprentice Level 10 (25/45).
- Swordsman level 5 (0/25 ]
[Skills: Meditation (max), Dream Catcher (level 6), Soul Thread (level 1), Basic Swordsmanship (level 7)]
'Killing the Oak Banshee, I got a lot of experience points.'
Astr thought for a moment, upgraded the wizard apprentice to level 11, and then added the remaining experience points to the swordsman class.
[Wizard Apprentice Lv10 → Lv11]
[Swordsman Lv5 → Lv6]
[Acquired 2 skill points]
A power emerged from Astr's body, filling up the internal organs and crawling through the blood vessels like magma, making Astr's breathing much more stable.
"Huh, it is so cool." Astr exhaled a long breath, full of joy.
The swordsman class can increase physical fitness, causing health points to drop less and recover faster. Recalling that when he first travelled here, he couldn't even walk on his own.
Now, with his weak body, he killed the Nightmare BOSS Creature. A huge sense of satisfaction made Astr grin, revealing his canine teeth.
Astr stared at his right hand; the feeling of clenching the hilt of the sword still seemed to remain on it.
'I really want to... kill her again...' As the violence spread, Astr clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to calm down the restlessness in his heart.
After a while, Astr opened his eyes again.Those icy-blue eyes were still gentle and peaceful, as well-behaved as a little lamb.
They look very harmless. Now, Astr has a total of 6 skill points. He simply used it all in one go.
He added 4 points to [Dream Catcher] and 2 points to [Soul Thread].
As for the [basic swordsmanship] of the swordsman class...
'I will definitely do that next time.'
After the skill was upgraded, the darkness around the bedroom receded like a tide.
Through the window, Astr saw the swaying roses on his manor, which were so delicate and red as blood. Especially the circle of sharp teeth in the middle stamen is quite eye-catching.
The roses were stunned when they noticed that the land under their roots suddenly became someone else's private property.
They shook their heads nonchalantly, bared their fangsand claws, and stared majestically towards the window.
But when they met Astr's icy-blue eyes, the roses were stunned for a moment, and then all of them curled up their bright red petals.
He huddled up in a ball, started shivering, and we all had the same thought.
'This human being is so scary, please don't eat me'.
Astr seemed to hear the scream of the roses, and the power of fear flowed into his body.
'It's a bit cute~'
Astr bent his eyes and looked at his upgraded [Dream Catcher] skill.
[Dream Catcher Level 10: Covers a circular area not exceeding a radius of 150 metres, forming a dreamland and catching your prey.]
[Dream Catcher has reached level 10, and a new skill effect has been unlocked, "Lord Contract."]
[Lord Contract: You can sign a contract with other nightmare creatures, allowing them to live in your nightmares if they pay taxes to you regularly.]
[Evaluation: If you want to become a powerful Nightmares Lord, it looks good to have some subordinates, right?]
'Huh? I am the Nightmare Lord. Since then, I didn't know about it.'
Astr looked a little weird and raised the corners of his mouth playfully.
'A human nightmare, Lord...is really shocking to the world and is very avant-garde.'
Astr rolled his eyes, looked down at the roses under the window, and said softly in a voice filled with gentleness:
"My lovely ladies and gentlemen, I have an offer for you. Do you want to sign a contract with me?"