"Okay, this might not be the brightest idea, but this nagging feeling just won't go away," I muttered, stepping into the building, an UZI gripped tightly in my hands as a precaution for whatever could be awaiting me inside.
The building was the same one I had woken up in. For some reason, I was convinced there was something special about it—maybe even answers to why I was here. Plus, there could be things I could use. Sure, I could conjure whatever I wanted, but the sheer range of possibilities left me unsure of what to make.
It was a weird problem to have, but, hey, that's me. Special in the most inconvenient ways.
Luck seemed to favor me so far—no monsters had shown up. Before long, I reached the building's lobby, where my eyes darted over the reception desk, an elevator, and a few scattered sofas. Naturally, the elevator grabbed most of my attention.
Before coming in, I'd glanced up at the exterior and pinpointed the floor I'd jumped from earlier: the 20th. Quite the luxury hotel, with neon signs at the top spelling out "Luxe Haven." Those same glowing words hung above the building's entrance.
Now, I was no masochist, so I preferred to take the elevator over climbing a ton of stairs, so I made my way to the elevator and pressed the call button.
...
...
Nothing happened. The button didn't even light up.
I pressed it a few more times, just to be sure. Still nothing. Even attempting to manipulate the "dream" to force it into working failed spectacularly.
"For fuck's sake..."
Sighing deeply, I considered taking the stairs... for one second. The idea mortified me, so I went with a far better solution.
Thinking back to that game I'd been playing recently; I remembered an item: the Ring of Space. In the game, it expanded the player's inventory and allowed for short-range teleportation.
Well, the short-range was as per the game's standards of what was considered to be short-range. Spoilers: It involved a couple of thousand kilometers.
It took mere seconds to conjure the ring, which I slipped onto my finger. I tried activating its abilities—no luck. No storage, no teleportation. Nothing.
"This is so fucking stupid," I grumbled, yanking the ring off and chucking it across the lobby.
"Oh well, jetpack it is."
I conjured a jetpack, took a step out of the building, and used it to soar up to the 20th floor, landing in the room I'd fled from earlier. It was messier than I remembered, likely from the earlier chaos.
My attention quickly turned to the coin and book I'd seen before. Thankfully, both were right where I left them.
I grabbed the book first. Its cover was plain dark green leather, devoid of any text or markings. When I opened it, I was greeted by a picture of the monster I'd blown up earlier, accompanied by a ton of text.
Disappointingly, the text told me nothing new. Even the name field was just three question marks. Skimming through the other pages revealed they were blank. Being the genius I am, I deduced that the pages would gradually fill with information about any monsters I encountered.
Yeah, brilliant conclusion. Gold star for me.
Still, a persistent voice in the back of my head whispered something I couldn't ignore: This is not a dream.
Sure, I'd already entertained the idea, but for the sake of my sanity, I kept pushing it aside. Now, after narrowly escaping death and having a moment to breathe, that voice was becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.
Sighing again, I conjured a multi-function backpack and stashed the book inside. Next, I reached for the coin. The moment my fingers touched it, a searing heat spread from my fingertips throughout my body, like a wave of fire.
I glanced at my hand—only to find the coin gone. Yet, I could feel something new coursing through me. An energy that was undeniably there. I knew instinctively I could figure out its properties by focusing on it, though that would take time. And time wasn't a luxury I felt I had right now.
"Guess there's nothing left to do here," I muttered, scanning the room for anything I might've missed. However, nothing caught my attention quite the same way the book and the coin did. Still, I decided to look around properly around everything and corners.
Once certain it was clear, I sighed before heading to the door and trying to open it.
It was locked.
"Fucking knew it," I hissed, vindicated in my decision to jump out of the window earlier.
Still, a locked door wasn't going to stop me. Examining the lock, I found it to be a modern one but with no electronic mechanism. Perfect.
I conjured another game item—a "Master-Pick." According to its description, it could unlock anything.
Upon inserting the item into the door's lock, it thankfully worked. Before stepping out, I created a USAS-12 full-auto shotgun, stashing the UZI into my backpack. Always good to be prepared with better firepower, you know?
After confirming the shotgun was loaded (RIP, random wall vase), I opened the door.
And there it was.
A cute puppy.
"Bark," said the puppy.
I froze. Then...
"Yeah, no. Fuck this."
Raising the shotgun, I aimed at its head and pulled the trigger without a second thought.