"Catch him!"
"Don't let him get away this time!"
Seven men were chasing after a young man in a dark cave. They were wearing the same clothes as though they belonged to an organization.
Unlike the young man, they were skilled in running and used various techniques to stop the young man.
"Argh! He is like a rat! He enters any hole he sees!" one of them yelled in frustration.
"Should I just use the rabbit bomb?!"
"Are you stupid?! We are in a cave! It will crush us!"
While they discussed their strategy, the young man had gained some distance between them.
'These fuckers are chasing again!' he cursed in frustration.
"What do they even want from me?" he asked himself. "They have been after me for the past 6 months. I don't remember doing anything to become their target. I don't even know who they are. They just started chasing after me when I was fishing by the river.
Seriously, because of them, I haven't been able to enjoy my dreams anymore. Every time I sleep, I wake up to them either chasing after me or in their captivity. I need to die to wake up in the real world, but it's not easy.
I feel everything that happens to me in the dream. I taste food, feel thirsty and drink water. I can even control my breathing. Oh, I suddenly remember that one time when I was drowning, and I died.
The best thing I can do to get rid of them is to die. One would think that they are chasing me to kill me, but they aren't. I have been caught by them a dozen times in the past six months, and all they do is torture me and do bare minimum to keep me alive. They will block my pressure points as soon as they catch me so I will be unable to move!
I don't know what they want, but I can't let myself get caught by them. I need to die as soon as possible."
However, there weren't many options to die in the cave. Had it been a cliff, he would have jumped to death.
After running for a while, the seven masked men caught up to the young man.
"There he is!" They surrounded him from all the sides.
"You are not getting away now~"
The young man was calm despite being caught by them.
"I will make sure to give you special treatment~ Haha!"
"Kekekeke!"
They all laughed, celebrating their victory. However, for some reason, the young man was also laughing with them.
"Why are you laughing?" one asked.
"Looks like he lost his mind."
"You are just a bunch of idiots." The young man smirked at them.
"What did you say?!" one took out his sword.
"Calm down." Another stopped the man and said, "He is trying to provoke us. Keep your guard."
"Hah? We have surrounded him. What can he do? If he knew how to fight, he would have fought us when he had the advantage."
"That's right. I don't know how to fight. You all are just shitty goons, anyway. How does it feel to gang up on a young kid, huh?"
"That's how jianghu is. It's ruthless and fearless. If you are ready to kill, then you should be ready to die!"
"Huhu. When have I ever tried to kill you, huh? But what you said is correct. If one is to kill, then to die, too." The young man spread his arms with a vicious smile on his face and laughed.
"What are you doing?! Capture him before he runs away again!"
Three men jumped on the young man, but they couldn't touch him. Their bodies were chopped and their heads rolled in the dark.
"Wh…at?" All of them were baffled.
"What just… happened?" They couldn't comprehend reality.
"What did you do…?" they asked the young man.
"Hmm? I did nothing." The young man shrugged his shoulders innocently. "Did you see me move? Why don't you test it yourself?"
"Shut up!" Another man jumped on the young man, but he met the same fate as the previous three.
Now the remaining three men began to shake. Their hands trembled as they struggled to hold the swords tight.
"How… are you doing this…?! Answer me!"
"I am truly not doing anything."
"Don't lie! Tell me what's going on! Who's helping you?!"
"Helping me? If I truly had a companion, I wouldn't be running, would I?"
"Shut your mouth and answer me!"
"What if I don't? You will kill me? Hahaha. Go ahead and kill me!"
The young man's goal was to die, while the seven pursuers' goal was to catch him alive. Now, even though they wanted to kill him, they were too afraid to do so.
"What's wrong? Here." The young man closed his eyes and turned around. "What about now? Go ahead and kill me."
The three men glanced back and forth at each other, seemingly wondering if they should kill him.
One of the three men didn't waste a single second and dashed at the young man, while the other two watched.
STAB!
The young man was stabbed in the back, and the sword came out from the front.
"He did it!" They rejoiced and stepped closer.
However, the next moment, the three of them were cut into small pieces.
The young man stood still as the blood came out of his mouth and stomach. He touched the sword and tried to push it back, but he had lost his strength.
"Fucking hell! Why didn't that guy die…? Bguh!" The blood gushed out of his mouth.
"It fucking hurts! I guess I miscalculated. I brought them into the cave so the beast inside could kill all of us in an instant. I didn't want to feel pain before dying, but… fuck them…"
The young man stared deep into the cave as his vision got blurry.
"What are you waiting for? Kill me already…" He gathered all his strength and stepped forward.
SWISH~!
The next second, the young man's body was chopped, and he died.
"Humans…. Disgusting…" A voice followed by a growl silently echoed in the cave.
—
-
.
While the young man was dreaming, he was sleeping in the classroom.
[Fuck the heroes! They don't know how to minimize the damage to the surroundings. They destroyed an entire district while fighting an A-rank monster!] A man yelled into the mic.
The camera then immediately switched to another scene where the heroes were getting praised.
[The heroes are the hope of humanity. We cannot thank them enough.]
A recent incident report was being played on a large projector screen in a class full of students.
"As you can see, people will get angry even at the heroes who saved their lives," the instructor, who seemed to be in his late twenties, paused the video and stepped on the stage.
He looked at all the students with hope in eyes and continued, "You all are going to start your journey as a hero. Some of you are already recruited by well-known guilds, which is something worth bragging about. Anyway, today is your last class. What lesson did you learn today?"
Most of the students raised their hands with confidence in their eyes.
"Yes, Jacob."
"Today, we learned that a hero should keep their surroundings in mind and they must try to minimize the damage," Jacob answered with a smile on his face.
"That's obvious. Anyone could tell that. You may sit down." The instructor turned to the class once again. "Okay, let me change the question. Why does it matter to minimize the damage? The citizens are already evacuated in such cases. The loss is covered by the guild the hero belongs to."
Now, only a few students raised their hands unlike before. The instructor chose one of them to answer.
"People lose their homes. Their shops. Their livelihood. Even if they get compensated, it takes a lot of time for everything to be rebuilt. The victims need to find new homes and means of living."
"Great answer. Let's move on to the last assignment of the class. The rank evaluation is tomorrow, so you must come here before 6 in the morning. We will head to the tower, where you will show your prowess and be picked up by the guilds. It's the first step of your journey. I wish you all the best. "
All the students except one stood up and thanked the instructor.
"We thank you for everything you've done for us."
"We will never forget your teachings."
Although the instructor was taken aback by it, he stayed composed. "It's my job. I get paid to do it."
One student raised his hand and asked, "Instructor William, I won't be able to get here at six tomorrow. Last week, a portal appeared on the metro track and the heroes are currently clearing it. I have to commute by bus, and the first bus starts at six and it will take me about an hour to get here."
"I see." The instructor took a moment to consider. "Then you can come directly to the tower. The same goes for everyone. If you are late, you can come directly to the tower."
"Okay~!"
The students left one by one after saying their goodbyes to the instructor. However, one student remained seated.
He was sleeping.
The instructor stared at him and couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment. He walked to him and moved his hand to shake him, seemingly to wake him up. But he stopped halfway and let out a short sigh before leaving the room.
"I am worried about him. This isn't the first time I caught him sleeping in class."
The student was lost in his dream, and it wasn't an ordinary dream.
—
-
.
The sleeping student woke up and gasped as he struggled to catch a breath.
"Those assholes…"
He took out a water bottle from his bag and drank all the water.
SIGH!
"I fell asleep in class once again. William will give me an earful." He got up from his seat and left the classroom. "Let's leave before he catches me."
He hurried down the stairs and reached the end of the hallway, where he saw a silhouette hiding behind the pillar.
'There he is! I almost got caught!'
He quietly opened the window and jumped out.
"Heh! I am an expert at escaping!"
"Oh, is that so?" a figure appeared from behind the tree.
"William?! How are you… wait, who was that then?" he asked with a curious yet confused look on his face.
"A dummy used in training. Also, call me instructor."
"Yes, yes. So, instructor, what are you doing here?"
William's face twitched as he asked, "Do you want to die by my hands, Liam?"
"Of course, not. I would rather die at the hands of a beautiful girl with big balloons."
William let out a sigh and uttered, "Look, Liam. I am worried about your future. You don't take anything seriously. Life is not a joke. Just be serious for once."
With a serious look on his face, Liam responded, "But I am serious. I would rather die at the hands of a beautiful girl with big balloons."
"That's not what I am talking about!" William shouted. "Have you thought about your future?! What are you going to do with your life? Today was the last day of classes!"
"I know."
Willian greeted his teeth in anger and grabbed Liam by the collar. He then glared into his eyes and asserted, "Do you think you can survive on your own?! The world is full of monsters, humans included. You were in the same class last year too! You entered the tower last year too! Why did you not get your system while everyone else did?! You are being called a failure! Your life has no future! "
Liam calmly smiled at Willian and uttered, "Don't worry. I will survive. I will become the greatest and the strongest hero to ever exist."
"This isn't the time for jokes!"
"I am not joking."
Willian let go of Liam and walked away after saying, "Go home. Come to the tower tomorrow. And once the trial floor is completed, pretend that you got a system."
Liam left the school and made his way to his apartment. He stopped at a convenience store on the way and bought instant noodles and a can of juice.
He walked and walked with his gaze fixated on his feet until he reached his apartment building. It was a shabby, three-story apartment building with five rooms in the front and five on the back in each story.
Liam's apartment was in the corner of the third-story. He unlocked the door and went inside, although no one was waiting for him.
He lived alone and paid all his expenses by himself.
"William was grumpier than usual today. Did he eat something or what?" he chuckled.
He took a long bath and ate the noodles while scrolling on his phone.
[Ever since the 70th floor of the tower was cleared, more and more people are applying as a hero. Tomorrow is also the country's 249th rank evaluation day of the young heroes.]
"Ah, it's that day again. 249th evaluation, my ass. It happens once a year, but it's not like it doesn't happen on other days. Anyone can evaluate their ranks at any time. The tower only opens once a year when both new and veteran heroes enter the tower, but the rank evaluation doesn't happen in the tower.
This is something the guilds artificially created. They say it's only to recruit heroes in their guilds, but I see it as an auction house where the heroes are auctioned. What a fucking load of bullshit."
"Well… I am going to be auctioned as well…"
When a new hero enters the tower, they go into the trial floor where their survival is tested. Upon entering, the tower grants them a system and skills. That was the must for every hero. However, Liam didn't get a system.
Such a thing had never happened in the history of humanity. It was something unheard of, and Liam had become a victim to it.
Had he told everyone that he didn't receive the system, he would have become a laughing stock, or even something worse. Thus, he hid the fact that he hadn't gained a system. The only person who knew about it was William, who took care of the rest of things.
Nonetheless, to cover the truth, a bitter lie was told.
'Liam didn't receive an invitation from any guilds.'
Although he was still deemed as a failure, it was acceptable.
Liam wasted his time watching videos and harassing people by making offending comments on the internet.
'Oh man, it's almost twelve. I should sleep and try to wake up early. I can't piss off William more than he already has. Or… he might shit himself next.'
Liam would enter the dream world if he fell asleep. He didn't have to worry about waking up. No matter how quickly he died in the dream, he would only wake up in the morning. Even if he had spent five minutes in the dream, more time would pass in the real world.
Of course, he never tried to live in the dream world for long. Once he would notice that the sun had risen or set, he would find the most easy way to die.
Sometimes, he would purposely piss off people so much by bullshitting that they would kill him.
When the clock hit 12, Liam's phone rang as the screen lit up.
[Happy Birthday, Master.]
Liam woke up in the dream world in a new location, although it wasn't far away from where he had died.
'It's been like a decade, but I can't understand how spawning works. Well, whatever. What should I do today?"