The Dreamer's POV

[7:30 AM; Saturday, 29th of April, 2024]

I woke up that morning with a mild headache.

As my dark brown hair fluttered with the gentle movement I made, my slightly open amber eyes captured the brightness of the morning.

"Ah…" I muttered, rubbing my forehead with a bit of concern. It was a brand new day, yet I could already feel the kind of strain today would have on me.

"I guess I'll check in with the drugstore later…"

I rose up from my small bed, greeted by a very plain and sparsely furnished room. Other than my bed and wardrobe, nothing worthy of note was in sight.

I took a few steps away from my bed and looked at myself in the mirror on the wall, performing the same ritual I did every morning.

I blinked.

I yawned.

I moved my arms and legs. Jumped too.

Finally, I placed my hands on the mirror.

And, much to my relief… nothing happened. It appeared I wasn't in a dream.

"Alright, Mikey. Let's start the day!"

*****

For over ten years, I had been having dreams.

Most of them were nonsense that I could hardly understand, and I easily forgot them. However, there were certain dreams that remained etched in my memory due to the grim impression they made on me.

Those were true nightmares.

While I had lucid dreams sometimes, where I would be conscious that I was dreaming, most of my dreams had me completely immersed in the narrative.

I nearly went crazy living a life in a dream, only to wake up and find out none of it was real. So, in order to confirm if I was in a dream or not, I made it my ritual to always check my reflection in the mirror.

There were several methods to check if one was in a dream, and using mirrors happened to be one of them.

In a dream, the person's reflection in the mirror would often be distorted, incomplete, or downright different. Mirrors oftentimes served as portals in dreams, since a lot of things in a dreamscape defied the laws of physics.

I heard that other solutions such as 'pain' or a 'spinning top' existed, but they were never as reliable as this one. Besides, only a certain threshold of pain caused me to wake up, and I was certainly not going to intentionally harm myself to such a degree as to confirm if I was dreaming or awake.

By performing various actions in front of my reflection, and confirming that the mirror was as solid as one would expect, I could confirm whether I was in a dream, or in reality.

It helped me keep my sanity.

*****

I jogged down the cold street in my tracksuit, feeling the cool wind brush past my face as I huffed and puffed.

Beads of sweat were already forming on my face, but I ignored them and focused on the path ahead of me. My muscles stung, and my body ached, but I endured the uncomfortable sensations and acclimated in no time.

It had been a few months since I started working out, and so far it helped me a lot in terms of clearing my head and keeping a healthy lifestyle.

With the gym being a bit far from my studio apartment, I had to jog there. It was a bit thrilling, to be honest.

As my heart raced, and my muscles ached, I kept up pace and made my way to the gym.

*****

"Mikey, you're here!"

"Oh, it's Mikey!"

"Looking good, Mikey!"

I was a little popular in the gym, but not for any reason I particularly liked. In fact, it was due to a very weird series of events.

It was a bit embarrassing, but apparently, I used to sleepwalk and arrive three hours earlier than usual to get some crunches and sets in. And then, I would return later in the evening to do exercise even more.

Even I had no idea how that was possible, but apparently, it was.

At first, I thought my gym buddies were pulling my legs when they said they saw me often in the gym. Many even commended me. It was only until I saw the footage that one of them took that I realized what was going on.

'Thankfully, none of them know it was sleepwalking…' I made sure to smile and greet everyone, while having this thought to myself.

They told me they hadn't seen me do anything of the sort throughout the week, so I had to assume the sleepwalking stopped.

'Same as my nightmares. Thank goodness. Is it finally time for my life to take a turn for the normal?'

I would hope so, considering I was going to be twenty-one in September, and I still didn't have a girlfriend. But, who knows, perhaps things were already changing for the better.

'I hope it continues being this way.'

*****

After my rounds at the gym, I took my shower, changed, and then left. My headache persisted, so I decided to take a detour and branch by the drugstore to get something to alleviate the pain.

'This isn't my first time, so…' A tired smile formed on my face.

The Drugstore was opposite the very back of my apartment complex, just a few blocks away. However, considering the building structure, I had to walk a whole street across, and then turn around, just to reach it.

That was why I simply decided to get it on my way back.

I entered the store, and it looked the same as usual.

The cool air-conditioned atmosphere of the drugstore greeted me as I entered, bright fluorescent lights illuminated the store, casting a clinical glow over the shelves stocked with an array of products.

I walked past a display of skincare products, each bottle adorned with bold claims of rejuvenation and renewal. The aroma of perfumes and colognes wafted through the air as I made my way toward the pharmacy counter at the back of the store.

As I passed the aisles of over-the-counter medications, I saw what I was looking for and grabbed it, still walking in the direction of the counter. I noticed how quiet the store was, but I was too tired to think much of it.

Somehow, I felt a little heavy within, and the pain in my head intensified, but that only made me quicken my pace so I could pay for the medications and go home.

Upon finally reaching the pharmacy counter, though, I found it empty.

'H-huh?' I thought to myself.

There was no one behind the counter. Why? What was going on? I looked around me to find out, only to realize something even more confusing.

I… I was the only person in this store.

"Why am I…?"

~DING~

I suddenly heard a sound, and a game-like System Window suddenly opened in front of me.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

<Paradise Will Now Be Initialized>

{The realm of the gods, Paradise, will be revealed to the chosen humans. Overcome the 99 Floors and reach the Final Realm.}

<Tutorial Will Begin Once The Announcement Has Been Concluded>

{Your mission is to survive the Tutorial so you can be qualified to enter Paradise. Time Left until the end of the Tutorial: 168 hrs: 00 mins: 00 secs}

<Announcement is ending… The Tutorial will now commence>

'This again?!' I angrily thought.

I was dreaming again, wasn't I? But I did the 'Mirror Trick' already, didn't I? Why was this happening?

"GRRRRRRRRRR…." I suddenly heard a low growl, almost like that of a dangerous animal.

The hair on my skin slowly stood erect, and I felt a chill run down my spine. The growling noise was coming from behind the counter.

'W-what is… this is a dream… right?' I took a step back, and then two more steps. My gaze was fixed on the counter, or rather, what was behind it, but I kept walking back.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the cosmetics and beauty section, and I was greeted by mirrors.

'N-no…'

The reflections were perfect.

I touched one, and it was solid.

As much as I would like to assume I was dreaming, the evidence told me otherwise.

"I-I am… awake—?"

~BOOM!~

Something erupted from behind the counter, leaping from its hidden place out into the open. It defied explanation, and all I could see was a very thin and malformed grey blur.

'N-not… a dream…?' The pain in my head intensified as my heart raced.

But I had seen this monster countless times in my nightmares. They were called Demons, weren't they?

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<You Have Encountered A Demon>

The emaciated creature, with long arms and razor-sharp jaws for teeth, moved too rapidly for my eyes to completely grasp, but before I could move another muscle, it appeared right in front of me.

'N-no… no, I—!'

~SQUELCH~

I didn't realize it when its hand was buried deep in my chest. Blood dripped, slowly making a red puddle beneath me, yet I remained paralyzed.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<Your Life Force Has Dropped Below 5 Percent.>

{You will soon die…}

"Ack.. koff… haaa… haa…" I looked at the grinning creature, realizing it still had a piece of labcoat on. It even resembled the pharmacist of this drugstore, if I could ignore its bald head, slimy grey skin, and deformed face.

Now it was nothing more than a monster.

"S-so… will I die here?"

Why? Even though I knew this wasn't a dream, why wasn't I panicking more? We only have one life, you know?

I didn't believe in God or anything, so this was it!

Was I really okay with letting my life end just like that? Why wasn't I more terrified by the creature that killed me?!

Perhaps… perhaps I already had the answers to that question.

After all, this wasn't the first time. It wasn't the tenth time. It wasn't the millionth time; that I had been killed in my dream.

In all my dreams, every single nightmare I had… I was always killed. That was the threshold of pain that was required to wake me.

'But this isn't a dream…' I thought to myself, feeling my consciousness fade away.

'... Or is it?'

[You Have Died]

<Dream Sequence Has Ended>

{Based On Exclusive Skill: The Dreamer, your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}

<You Will Now Be Returned To The Preset Save Point>

[You Will Now Wake Up]

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[A/N]

I hope you enjoyed this second chapter.

In case you don't understand what's happening yet, just keep reading, it'll become clearer to you.

Please continue to support me. Thanks