Chapter 132

Chapter 132 – Chapter 23: Cross #2

“This is the dream setup stage . Are you sure you want to create a dream?”

Just like every time he levelled up, a woman’s voice was heard off-screen . It was a soft, warm voice, but after experimenting a few times, he came to the conclusion that a personality didn’t exist with it .

It was like the voice of an in-game NPC which repeated predefined words .

‘Well, it is understandable . ’

If the voice had a personality, it would be like a woman was peeping into his dream . If there was a peeper, people wouldn’t want to dream .

‘Embarrassment . ’

Of course, the voice was only present in the dream, so it couldn’t go and tell others about the dream . However, it was still embarrassing .

‘Yes, embarrassing . ’

He didn’t want to show his dream to others . It would be like revealing his secret desires to them .

In-gong calmed himself by taking a deep breath and looked straight ahead . Just like all the classic movies scenes he had seen in the past, the whole world was white . Furthermore, it was a wide space without walls, so there was no distinction between the sky and the earth .

It felt like a blank canvas which hadn’t been touched .

‘Okay, then the background . ’

This wasn’t actually his first time using the Lucid Dream Pillow .

The first time had been while pursuing the barbarian king from the second base . Another feature of the Lucid Dream Pillow was giving a good night’s sleep, so he had used it during the repeated marches .

‘I only tried a few settings . ’

The Lucid Dream Pillow was comparable to a game with a save slot . So, he set up a new game by leaving the first slot paused and opening a second slot .

“Please imagine the background you want in your mind . ”

“The guide voice can be activated or deactivated at any time . ”

The voice was heard in succession . In-gong closed his eyes and concentrated . Due to the nature of dreams, the first thing which came to mind was In-gong’s room .

It wasn’t his bedroom in his mansion at the Demon King’s Palace .

What he pictured was his room before he came to this world—the place where Joo In-gong, not Shutra, stayed . In-gong’s room had a bed, a closet and a bookcase . There was no need to retouch anything with his imagination . He was able to see it clearly like it had been taken with a photograph .

However, In-gong’s eyes didn’t open . He quickly erased the thoughts in his head . If he opened his eyes to see his room, it felt like something in In-gong’s mind would collapse . He had to forget those things in order to survive . So, he buried thoughts of the past in order to live in the current present .

In-gong took deep breaths . He emptied his head and thought of a new background, using his imagination to create the dream .

It was now a garden in the Demon King’s Palace, but it wasn’t exactly the same . It was much wider, and it wasn’t just his mansion that surrounded the garden . There was the mansion where Felicia and Silvan stayed as well as Caitlin’s and Chris’ mansion beside In-gong’s . There was also a blacksmith’s forge in the corner where Amita was playing around .

‘Amita is in the background . ’

In-gong laughed as he glanced up at the sky . The sky… It was the lofty, blue sky that In-gong liked .

It was also possible to control the weather . He made it sunny and warm, but the cold wind made it feel refreshing .

‘I felt it last time, but I can understand why there are separate slots . ’

Once he started making the settings, there was no limit . It was interesting to play around while setting up the dream .

It wasn’t just the background setting .

“The placement of people is the same as setting the background . ”

“The characters are just figures in the dream . They aren’t the actual people . Therefore, both the personality and abilities are created by the owner . Please note this point . ”

In-gong nodded while listening to the voice . It was impossible to create all the secrets and past histories of the people included in the dream . When he thought about it, In-gong didn’t have confidence to create them .

‘But still…’

He should at least attempt it once . In-gong closed his eyes and imagined it:

The person who had always been with him since entering this world… A voice which spoke up every time In-gong was in danger .

In-gong opened his eyes . A woman with white hair stood before him . She was wearing white clothes reminiscent of clergy attire and had a gold crown on her head . She had one red eye and one blue eye . The light in her eyes were friendly but lonely .

This was still the setup stage, so she couldn’t speak yet . In-gong closed his eyes again and imagined another person .

This time, he thought about Watcher Ainkel . As soon as he opened his eyes, In-gong was overwhelmed .

A gigantic creature was looking down at In-gong from a very high place . Ainkel’s body was a huge green dragon; this was the appearance he had seen when he conquered her dragon heart on Enger Plains . In-gong quickly changed the setting . Then Ainkel, who was bigger than a mountain, became the smaller Green Wind .

‘Ohh . ’

Deer horns sprouted from amidst long green hair, and leaves and stems weaved together to form natural clothes . She was a sacred, elegant and noble existence, and her green eyes were full of mystery .

It was the Green Wind he had first seen on Enger Plains .

The next moment, another Green Wind appeared next to Ainkel . She was the cute and charming Green Wind .

Their faces were the same, but the atmosphere they gave off was different . Unlike Ainkel, who stood calmly, Green Wind seemed like she wanted to rush toward In-gong . He was forced to think of a puppy eager to follow her master’s command .

It was at that moment that a tail formed from between Green Wind’s hips, and a dog snack appeared in front of her .

In-gong tried to hold in his laughter . It was cute, but somehow, he felt sorry . The Green Wind before him was the way that In-gong thought of her . Still, wasn’t it quite an exaggeration?

‘Anyway, this is fun . ’

This time, In-gong imagined Felicia . She was dressed in a woman’s suit and wearing black framed glasses, so she looked as good as expected . Although Felicia was the age of a high school student, In-gong’s image of Felicia was closer to a teacher or career woman .

Carack wore a black suit and sunglasses . It looked good since he had a great physique .

In-gong summoned Nayatra and looked around reflexively . Although he felt like the gazes of Conquest and Ainkel were somewhat judging, he changed Nayatra into a nurse outfit . Indeed, it worked well .

It was difficult to stop once he starting playing with them like dolls . Except for the white woman and Ainkel, In-gong erased the rest of the characters .

In the first place, the Lucid Dream Pillow was being used today in order to prepare for the fight against Vandal . In-gong imagined the barbarian king and Vandal, and the barbarian king and Vandal were now standing side by side .

‘Next is to limit their abilities . ’

If he changed everything using his thoughts, it wouldn’t be proper training . In-gong added additional settings so their abilities matched his current stats .

‘Can I use this to preview my stats?’

This was a type of simulator, so it was possible to verify how he should distribute his remaining points in the most efficient way .

‘The more I look at it, the more this system seems like a scam . ’

It would be no help in reality, but the value of the item wasn’t just how it could be utilized in battle . Like Felicia said, this was a tremendous item .

Now that he knew the true value of the item, he was once again thankful to Caitlin . Including Felicia, they were the two people he really wanted to protect .

‘Okay, then I shall begin . ’

“You haven’t set up a situation and story yet . ”

“Do you want to start the dream?”

“Once you start the dream, you won’t be able to wake up for eight hours unless something special happens . ”

“Examples of extraordinary events includes a strong impact from the outside, a strong request from the user or damage to the Lucid Dream Pillow in real life . ”

In-gong nodded . He had told Green Wind beforehand to wake him up if something happened .

In-gong was hoping for a fight with the barbarian king and Vandal, so no scenarios or settings were needed .

“Well, I’ll start the dream . I hope you have a good dream . ”

The moment the elegant voice spoke, the world changed . Everything was intact, but In-gong could feel it .

Everything in his dream came to life .

In-gong turned to Conquest . As expected, she didn’t say anything . She looked at In-gong with lonely but affectionate eyes .

Why was she making that expression? She had said that In-gong was her only hope .

Famine and Death felt strong affection toward her . War was ambivalent, but was a bit different from Famine and Death . War still liked Conquest .

In-gong wanted to hear more stories from Conquest, but it seemed impossible .

In-gong then turned toward Ainkel . She faced him and laughed softly . Ainkel grabbed the wind and made an invisible chair, then she said joyfully,

“The Lucid Dream Pillow is an interesting item . I know who made this item, but I can’t tell you . You still don’t have enough knowledge . ”

As the elegant voice had pointed out, In-gong hadn’t specified any instructions or stories . Nevertheless, Ainkel was acting like this . Moreover, the words she spoke weren’t things he knew .

She knew who made it but couldn’t tell him; this was knowledge unknown to In-gong .

“Ain…kel?”

“I’m not Ainkel . I am her remnant . I suppose I am the last piece . I am just the fragment of memory and personality that remains in the dragon heart . I am closer to your cute Green Wind than Ainkel . ”

In-gong understood . It wasn’t just Conquest who dwelled in In-gong’s soul; there was also the fragment of Ainkel .

In-gong turned to Conquest again, but she was still the same .

Ainkel said,

“The Lucid Dream Pillow is versatile, but it is still a limited tool . This world is made by you and is for you . I am buried deep in your consciousness and can talk to you with the help of the Lucid Dream Pillow, but that is it . I am limited in helping you and giving you information related to knowledge that you already have . ”

In-gong understood this . He then asked in a blunt manner,

“Ainkel, are Conquest, War, Famine and Death… involved in your death?”

“I guess so . ”

It was the answer he had expected . In the end, there was no reliable reason to change In-gong’s thoughts .

Instead of becoming frustrated, In-gong changed the topic to something else .

“Ainkel, I want to go to a dragon’s grave to learn dragon magic . Can you tell me where a dragon’s grave is?”

“You know the place . However, there are many things in your memory, so it isn’t coming up . I will give you a good tip . Figure out how to take advantage of me . Yes, I can help you if this is the case . ”

Obviously, he had seen it in the game, but he couldn’t remember it properly . Although Zephyr was a dragon humanoid, he felt no need to visit a dragon’s grave because he couldn’t learn dragon magic .

A dragon’s grave was a training ground for dragons . In Knight Saga, it was a place where a mighty dragon educated his children .

Ainkel summoned In-gong’s memory for him, and a map showing the approximate location of the dragon’s grave emerged in his head . It was the same as he had seen in a book .

As In-gong’s expression brightened, Ainkel smiled and said,

“I will leave it here for today . It is a short meeting, but I have been sleeping for too long . We can have a longer conversation next time . ”

In-gong felt somewhat regretful, but he didn’t show this towards Ainkel .

“I will go back now . Conquest Knight, look after Green Wind well . ”

With those words, Ainkel closed her eyes . She didn’t disappear into the wind like Green Wind, but In-gong could tell that the Ainkel in front of him now was just an empty shell .

In-gong sent Ainkel back . He would do the same to Conquest, but in the end, he didn’t . Perhaps she didn’t know that she could speak to In-gong through the Lucid Dream Pillow .

“Okay, then back to the main point . ”

In-gong turned towards the barbarian king and Vandal . It was like they had suddenly gained life, and the barbarian king and Vandal stared at In-gong .

The world of the Lucid Dream Pillow was a dream . Thus, it was impossible to gain experience or raise his skill levels while inside the dream . Even so, he was able to experience it . He was able to understand his techniques more deeply and could find ways to utilize them .

In-gong exhaled, and when he raised his head, he had Earth Quaker, White Eagle, Night Watch and the Dragon Scales Greaves equipped .

“Let’s get started . ”

The barbarian king raised Skull Crusher and approached .

Then eight hours later…

By the time Carack woke In-gong up, he had experienced 32 deaths .

&

“Shutra, did I appear in the dream?”

“Amita appeared . ”