Liam walked in the forest for a while and enjoyed his time, as always.
In the dream world, no one expected anything from him. He could live and do whatever he wanted. He could be the king of his own world.
"What should I do?" Liam asked himself. He then looked up at the sky and muttered, "It looks like I have a few hours before sunset. Should I hunt something?"
Ever since Liam started living alone, he never had healthy food. Sometimes, he would skip meals for weeks because he could eat in his dreams. But he didn't have money in the dream world either. Thus, sometimes, he would hunt a few things and bring them to the nearest town, where he would give them what he hunted in return for a meal.
It was a good deal for the restaurants too, since they get fresh meat. However, some would kick him out for his offer.
Liam had never owned anything in the dream world since he would lose it all the time upon dying. The killers would rob his belongings or people would take it after he died. It was a natural thing to happen, which is why he stopped owning and earning in the dream world.
"Argh! I am too lazy to make a trap and catch something~!" He groaned in frustration. "I don't even have a weapon on me."
After living in a dream world for over a decade, Liam had learned several survival skills such as hunting and hiding, which helped him many times— although he would die in the end.
"What if it runs away while I am taking it out of the trap, like the last time?" Liam pondered for a moment.
Sometimes, when Liam wasn't in the mood for hunting, he would go to a restaurant which was most crowded. He would then order his meal and eat it before bailing out of there without paying.
'Should I try that? It's the easiest shit to do.'
Liam walked out of the forest and climbed down the mountain, where he spotted a small village. He stood in the market and let out a weary sigh.
'It took me more than an hour and a half, but it's a good place to be.'
"Potent herbs and elixirs! Revitalize your spirit and enhance your martial arts!"
"Finest swords and hidden daggers! Forged in the fires of legends! Choose your destiny!" The street vendors called out the passersby.
Since Liam had to die in a few hours, he had never gotten a chance to explore his dream world. While walking in the market, Liam noticed a few stalls in every alley. The smell of food made his stomach growl out of hunger.
"Steamed buns and dumplings, fresh and fragrant! A taste worthy of the finest warriors!"
Stalls were a comparatively easy target, since there would mostly be one or two people serving. However, Liam had a rule to never target the poor and weak, although he was one too.
The reason restaurants and taverns were Liam's target is because most of them practiced unlawfulness towards the customers. He didn't have to feel guilty about his actions. Nor will they go out of business if one customer didn't pay them.
'Let's not feel guilty. Let's not feel guilty. This is not even real. None of this actually exists. This is just a dream.' Liam comforted himself when he spotted a huge restaurant.
He went inside and immediately noticed how different the environment was compared to the outside.
'Okay. First of all…' Liam cautiously glanced around to make sure the pursuers weren't inside. He at least wanted to have his meal in peace.
"Welcome, young master. Are you alone?" A host greeted Liam and asked, "Are you alone?"
Liam looked at the host and pondered for a moment before replying, "No, my companions went to get their weapons fixed. They should be here soon."
"Oh?" The host's face lightened up after hearing that. "Should I take you to a table of six people, then?"
"Four is fine."
"Follow me, young master." The host took Liam to the second floor, where the atmosphere itself spoke of luxury.
While leading the way, the host asked, "If you don't mind, which sect do you belong to?"
"I belong to Ethereal Mist Sect, you may have heard of it," Liam made up a random sect name and responded casually.
"I can't recall that."
"I am glad to hear that."
"Pardon?" The host stopped in his tracks.
"It's a hidden sect, and we like to keep ourselves hidden. If someone tries to find information about it, they go missing."
The host gulped down nervously after hearing that and didn't ask a single question until they reached the table.
"I will send your companions when they come here." The host began to walk away, but Liam stopped him.
"Can I make my order? I am starving after subjugating the beast of the valley."
"Of course." The host smiled and asked, "What would you like to have?"
"Noodle Soup with Jade Vegetables, Chickpea and Vegetable Stir-Fry."
"That's a great choice of meal. What about drinks?"
"I am fine. Bring whatever is ready first. Those assholes will take their time to eat. Sigh. I hate working with them."
"Hehe. You seem tired. Do you want me to send you some company until your companions come?" The host asked with a perverted look on his face.
"Our sect prohibits us from indulging in that kind of activity." Liam frowned. "Are you insulting my sect?!" He shouted.
"N-No, no! Of course not, young master. I apologize for my actions. Please don't get angry!" The Host pleaded for his life.
"This is a serious matter! You should be glad that it's only me here. If any of my companions had heard you, your head would have been rolling on the floor by now!"
"Truly, I apologize. I have made a grave mistake. What can I do for you to forgive me?"
Liam pretended to ponder, and then said, "Give me a free meal. If you do that, I will keep my mouth shut."
"Of course~!" The host left in a hurry.
SIGH!
Liam leaned back in his chair and glanced around, then looked at the lower floor.
'I saw blood on his knuckles. He must have punched someone before he came to greet me. He didn't seem like an owner, though. Better run away after eating.'
After a few minutes, Liam's meal had arrived.
SNIFF!
Liam filled his lungs with the delicious smell. 'Ah~ I would have had to spend thousands to eat this in the real world.'
By the time Liam finished one dish, another had arrived. He was already feeling full but couldn't pass the third dish.
Once he had finished eating, he got up from his seat and casually proceeded to head downstairs to leave the restaurant. He didn't haste his steps and walked confidently.
'I am almost there!'
As soon as Liam tried to step out, three guards blocked his way.
"Stop right there!" A voice yelled from inside.
Liam turned around and saw the host standing with five more guards.
"What is the meaning of this?" Liam raised his brow.
"I sent my men to the smith shop. There is no one inside! You were lying!"
'Dammit! I was so close to a perfect victory!'
"I have seen many bastards like you trying to get a free meal. Do you know what happens to them?"
The guards at the back pushed Liam inside.
"Catch him!"
The guards jumped to catch Liam, but he was unfazed.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"What?"
"My companions might have gone to another shop. I remember they were talking about buying some pills."
The host froze for a moment, but soon said, "You are lying! You don't even have weapons with you!"
Liam shrugged his shoulders casually and chuckled. "I told you my friends went to the smith. I gave them my weapons as well."
"I don't believe you!"
"That's not my problem. You can choose to not believe and attack me, but be prepared for the consequences of harming the members of the Ethereal mist sect."
"..." The host was speechless. 'What should I do?' He thought to himself. 'If what he is saying is true… no. He is surely lying! In case he is telling the truth, I will capture his team members as well!'
'Dammit! I have only two options. I can run away, but these guards will surely chase me down and I truly don't feel like running after having my stomach full. But if I let them catch me here, they will beat the shit out of me.'
Liam began to regret his choices and wished that he had taken a different approach instead.
"I will forgive you if you—!"
Before Liam could finish his sentence, he was hit by a needle in the neck and he fell to the floor.
The guards immediately picked him up and took him to the back room. There, they put him on a table and began tying him.
"Tie him up!"
"Make sure you block his pressure points first."
"Yeah. If he truly turns out to be a martial artist, it will be bad for us."
"He is one man. He can't win against us."
"Shut up, you good-for-nothing shits! Tie him up and leave the room!" The host shouted at them.
After they had tied up Liam, they left the room. The host rubbed his small beard and muttered, "Let's wait for him to wake up. The effect of the drug should end soon."
—
-
.
Liam opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar room.
'Fuck, I am alive. They should have killed me. Where am I?'
Liam tried to move his hands, but soon realized he was tied.
'Those fuckers! Not only did they tie me up, they blocked my pressure points too! What are they planning to do?'
Liam glanced to his left and saw a body tied up the same way he was, but what surprised him was that the body was cut up and its organs were taken out.
"You are awake~" A voice said.
It was the host. He had brought two people with him in a bizarre attire that was stained with blood.
"What the hell is going on?!"
The host punched Liam in the face and laughed out loud.
"Oh! I like that glare~"
The host punched him again, this time even harder. He kept punching Liam until most of his teeth had fallen off. And with several more punches, his jaw was dislocated.
"I hope this will keep your mouth shut now."
'Why the fuck is this happening to me? Why am I getting beaten up in my own fucking dream?!' Liam asked himself.
"I knew you were a fraud the moment I saw you."
The host grabbed Liam's hand and began breaking his fingers.
"How dare you shout at me and threaten me, huh?!"
'Fuck me! Why am I getting tortured for not paying the bill?! Isn't it a bit too extreme?!' Liam could only blame himself for whatever was happening to him.
After breaking all of Liam's fingers, the host looked him in the eyes and uttered, "Had you paid the bill and kept your mouth shut, I would have killed you when you were unconscious. But now, suffer the pain of getting disassembled alive!"
"Cut him up! And make sure he screams!"
The two men first stabbed a dagger into Liam's chest and slowly opened his body. Liam was alive and in pain, but he didn't scream.
"Take out his heart, liver, lungs, and brain. Once you are done, throw him with the rest. We have an important guest coming today who specifically requests for human liver and brain~ Oh, don't forget his eyeballs~" After saying that, the host left.
'This is a rather painful way of dying. How did I end up in this mess? I will surely remember the faces and come back to hunt you down!' For the first time in his life, Liam had sworn to kill someone with such rage filled eyes.
Sure, he was killed every time in his dreams and he never held it against his killers, but never was he killed in such a gruesome way.
The two men carried their task diligently while Liam was in agony. They could have taken his heart and killed him, but after opening up his chest, they grabbed a kunai and a hammer and began breaking his skull open.
They then stopped and gouged out his eyeballs.
Eventually, died due to excessive blood loss.
After completing their task, they dumped Liam's body in a bag with the other bodies and put it in the carriage that was ready to leave.
One man handed a few silver coins to the coachman and said, "Make sure no one sees you when you are dumping the bodies into the river."
The carriage left and stopped in the middle of a forest. It was nighttime, so the visibility was less and no one dared to enter the forest in the middle of the night.
"Go and take out the bag." The coachman said to his man.
The man nodded and got off the carriage. When he looked at the bag full of bodies, he walked to the front and said, "There are more than five bodies. I can't carry it alone."
"Tch! Useless bastard." The coach man got off the carriage and carried the bag to the nearby river.
They dumped the bodies one by one and left the forest.
The river carried the bodies with its current and went separate ways. Some fell down the waterfall, one got stuck between the boulder, one got thrown out of the river, while Liam…
'Ah, finally! I am back in the real world again.' Liam opened his eyes, hoping to wake up in his room.
However, he found himself in a cage with dozens of other people. They were surrounded by the people of the mysterious organization that were chasing Liam for the past few months.
'Wait… what the fuck? Why am I still here?!'
'Where am I?' Liam wondered.
He glanced around and noticed a few guards wearing the same attires as the pursuers. There were fifty cages, and each cage had ten hostages. There was a guard assigned to each cage, excluding the guards who were patrolling the area.
'Holy shit! Was the restaurant host involved with them? But…'
Liam immediately placed his hand on his chest and head and muttered, "No… I am sure I died. They cut my chest open and… my head… they even gauged my eyes out. Surely, that's enough for anyone to die. But… I don't understand.'
Liam couldn't comprehend the situation. To him, dying in the dream and waking up in the real world was a normal occurrence. It was like spilling the water and getting wet.
'If I died, why am I still here? Well, whatever, I will just kill myself again and get the shit out of here.'
[I suggest you avoid that.]
"...!"
A screen popped up in front of Liam's eyes. Even though he had never experienced it himself, he was certain that it was a system.