《A World Beyond Slumber》


 The Beginning

    Magic, were said to be myth and fantasy. A creation from the a spark of a human imagination. Little do we know that this was common knowledge, and it still does to some extent. Its only just beyond the ability of human eyes to actually see this unusual phenomena.


    Long ago, before magic was counted as a taboo, right in the beginning of the medieval era, the early 10<sup>th</sup> century, magic evolved from a spiritual enlightenment to a means of education. A tool to assist in daily activities, economics and as a short cut to be the top of the society. Magicians and wizards were honored for their knowledge in magic and also feared by some. Magic had become so common that even a mere farmer was able to cast a fire spell to clear out weeds and insects.


    In the early 1200, magic reached its peak. Even magic class were given free of charge by middle classed magicians to spread the magic knowledge. An organization of magicians were established to protect the rights of even to the lowest class of magicians. These organization were highly regarded by the authority that they were given a set of power in the ruling system. While the middle classed magicians were busy with their teaching and lectures, the high class magicians spend their time doing experiment and research to unravel the mystery of magic.


    While most prefer working alone, some cooperate with other magicians to increase the speed of their research. The leaders of the magic organization, the seven great wizard, held a research agreement to uncover and to prove the existence of another dimension. The research caught the attention of some kingdoms and these kingdoms funded their research. Not many knew of this research as it was considered confidential.


    It took a while but their sweat paid off in mid 12<sup>th</sup> century when the seven great wizard successfully opened a portal to another dimension. The dimension of elves, dwarves, monsters, demons and many more. However, the portal was unstable. Before the great wizards could close the portal, it expanded rapidly and consumed the mana of the great wizards, enlarging from the size of a soccer ball to the size of a castle.


    With a giant spherical portal opening in the middle of a forest, the magical creatures and monster; lost to their natural curiosity, entered the human dimension; attacking villages and some bigger creatures ravaged castles and strongholds.


    The sudden appearance of these creatures caused a controversy between the magic organization and the anti-magic countries. Even so, the catastrophe itself must be settled first and a united army was created to hunt every creature that entered through the portal. This army was also tasked to protect the magicians for when they are going to close the portal.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    In the late 12<sup>th</sup> century, the magic organization found a way to close the portal. However as time goes by, more and more creatures entered through the portal. Quite some time had passed since the first opening of the portals and the creatures were already building their nest in the forest where the huge spherical portal resides. After getting the approval of all parties, the united army gathered their man, 600 thousand men strong with more than a thousand mages and wizards, to conduct an all out war to clear out the creature surrounding the huge portal.


    Even with the huge number and the help of mages and wizards, it took almost a week and the number of the creatures were not decreasing. For every creature they kill, another one would just pop out of the portal. With the lost of almost half of the wizards and mages, and a quarter of the army, they decided that it was best to close portal first rather than clearing out the creatures. As the army cleared the way for the wizards and mages to get close enough to cast a spell, a loud trumpet sound echoed throughout the field. An army of dark-elves, doning a striking jet-black armor march out of the portal. At first, the general of the united army tried to strike a deal with the dark elves but was beheaded instead. Seeing the scene in front of them, the army knew what to do and marched forward with one thing in mind; push these elves back into their dimension.


    The battle was hard fought as less than 10 percent of the army were left and only about a hundred wizards and mages left standing. The magic used by the dark elves were not that impressive but the way the foot soldiers and mages work together easily balanced the huge number of the human army. If only the magicians could fight together with the soldiers as as one army, the death would not be so great.


    The remaining wizards and mages casted a spell together to close the portal but the dark elves were resilient as they were struggling to fight back. A group of soldiers, loyal to the general were filled with anger but still have one goal in mind, as they pushed the struggling dark elves back into the portal. They force themselves to enter the portal just to ensure all the dark elves were pushed back to their dimension. Knowing the consequences of their action, they put up a smirking smile towards the routing dark-elves soldier as the portal closes behind them. About a hundred of them were trapped inside the other dimension, sacrificing themselves for their own world.


    After the great war, a prince of one of the king that died in the war ascended the thrones. Filled with hatred and mallice, the young prince hated the magicians as he thought they were the sole cause of the war and his father¡¯s death. And so, he used every bits of his fortune and began to put up a bounty to hunt every last wizards and mages or anyone that practices magic. This so called bounty hunting were widely known as witch hunting in the medieval era. The hunt goes on and on until in the year 1346, the great witch hunter met a famous witch known during the great war. She was a death mage which was once the high brass of the magic organization. During her last breath, she casted her greatest spell of all. The effect of the spell caused another catastrophe to the human, a death plague that killed many. The Black Death was the name given to this catastrophe by the modern historian.


    As the years goes by, those who practice magic decreased and forgotten. However, the creatures that managed to flee from the great war still roamed the world; dragons, centaurs, and many more. How these creatures were hunted down was unknown. They might still exist but hidden from human eyes. Throughout the history, the tales of these creatures were past from one generation to another. Making these creatures appear in different places folklore. Thus, this was how the legends and myth came to be. However the story does not stop here¡­

 Chapter 1: Nightmares or Reality?

    ¡°Ouch, just what the heck was that¡­¡± I said while softly touching my nose.


    The wet feeling in my nostrils made it hard for me to breath. Wiping it with the back of my hand, I could see the crimson red fluid dripping down to my fingers. No doubt about it, this was definitely blood.


    ¡°Woah, thats quite a bleed there Yuu..¡± said a person in front of me. The dizziness was making my eye blurry and the person moves closer. His face was definitely familiar to me. He bend down and said ¡°here¡­¡± as he lend me a pocket-sized tissue pack.


    ¡°Aaaa, thanks Aki¡­¡± I replied, taking the tissue out of the pack and whipping off the blood. There was still a tinge of sharp pain in my hand rubbed roughly on my nose. The dizziness was making it hard for me to even control my hand. I took another tissue out of the pack and role it to make a pointy edge. Slowly, I put the rolled tissue into my nose to stop the blood from dripping off my nose. It took a several try for me to actually stick the tissue into my nose with this dizziness.


    ¡°Geez, I thought you were dead. Just what the heck are you doing here. Did you get punched and knocked out?¡± said Aki with the usual concerned face. He stood up straight while adjusting his glasses.


    Aki lend out his hand and I grab it. Slowly he pulled me up and continued, ¡°You''re lucky i was found you here, if it was someone else they would have taken your wallet and ripped you off.¡±


    Still twisting the tissue in my nose to absorb all the blood, I just replied him with a nod. However, it does not make sense for someone to do so though. People frequently passed by this road so no thief would be brave enough to steal from an unconscious guy in broad day light with pedestrian looking.


    Whipping off my pants from dirt, I looked towards a baseball field at the end of the road. I somehow remembered the reason why I was unconscious in the middle of the walkway; something hit the back of my head. Then I passed out from the hit and fell face first on the floor. Think I got my nose bleed from that.


    ¡°Oii Yuu, where are you going?!¡± Aki shouted towards me, he held my shoulder but I shrugged it off and went straight to the baseball field.


    ¡°¡­where else, beating those jerks off for making my nose bleed!¡± I said rolling up the sleeves of my uniform. I cannot think of any other that I passed out other than getting hit by a baseball


    As I arrived, no one was there. No one was playing baseball at all. I swear all kinds of curse words in my heart to the person that hit the ball. They must have ran away while i was unconscious. I can¡¯t wait till tomorrow when I will teach those jerks a lesson.


    ¡°Seriously?! You¡¯re gonna get another nosebleed dude! Lets not mess with someone more physically fit than you,¡± Aki said with a face of annoyance. He looked at me like I was going to get beaten. ¡°Anyway Yuu, its rare to see you back so late.¡±


    After he said those words, I finally realized that it was already getting dark. I looked at my watch and saw it was already half past five. ¡°What?! Its already this late?!¡± I shouted with shock.


    How long have I been unconscious? I remembered that I left school at 2 and was on my way back. Then I must have passed out for three whole hours?! The only reason I went back early from school was because I was not in any club while Aki here is the president of social studies club.


    ¡°Hey, I gotta hurry back now..¡± I said and I shoved the tissue pack to his chest pocket, ¡°..thanks for this though.¡±


    I face my back to him and walked away, putting my hands up, ¡°See you tomorrow Aki.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, fix that nose of yours or you¡¯re gonna make Sensei mad again,¡± he said as we parted away.


    Walking the walkway towards my house, I could still feel the dizziness in my head, spinning the world that I am seeing. In fact, I could that its getting worse than when I woke up. My feet were slightly numb and my balance was not particularly good. I had to walk with my hand holding the walls and fences and whatever there was just to keep myself from falling and dragging my feet across the floor. Again, I cursed those people who threw the ball and made me walk like a drunken salesman who just had a fail business with his clients.


    I looked at my watch again and saw it was almost six o¡¯clock. If I was not this dizzy I would have already reached my house in just 10 minutes from where I passed out. I walk back in this situation and arrived 20 minutes later.


    Arriving home, I used the back door like I usually did. Slowly turning the door knob, the rusty axle of the door made a squeaky sound before it got stuck halfway.


    ¡°Curse you rusty old door!¡± I shouted. Pushing the door with my body, I continued ¡°Move aside damn it!¡±


    The door opens wide and with the momentum I fell face flat on the floor. If I was not so dizzy I would have stop the fall with my hands but my body just would not react quickly enough as I wanted. ¡°Arghhh, damn it door! Why do I even used the back door.¡± I continued complaining as I walk towards the kitchen rubbing my nose. ¡°Aaaa yeah, they¡¯re not home..¡± Then it came to my mind that my parents were not home and that explains why I would use the back door. It was lucky that they were not here to see my nose bleed and back home so late. They would flip out if they knew about this. Its not likely they will find out about this since it doesn''t have an obvious mark so I have nothing to worry about. They will be back in a week for a trip and by then my nose would be healed.


    After having a light dinner, the usual food that any high school boy would eat when their mother is away, a cup ramen, I went on to have a nice bath. Slowly, I sit myself in the bath tub and the warmth of the water slowly seeps into my body. I could feel my senses were getting back to normal. The numbness could still be felt slightly but it would be gone after a good night sleep. Submerging myself up to the mouth, just barely leaving a space for my nose to breath, then I closed my eyes. My minds slowly drifted away assisted with the calmness effects of the warm bath.


    There I saw it, a dream where I was in the middle of a forest with the spring flowers blossomed radiantly, attracting butterflies and bees with their fragrant nectar seducing them to take a sip. The birds flew in a beautiful manner, as if dancing with the beats of the choir of their chirping song and the orchestra of trees with the instrumental string of the rustling leaves. While watching the harmonious nature, a sudden stinging pain could be felt in my head and woke me from the peaceful dream.


    The sudden jolt of my body made the water to rippled and some of it went into my nose. I had to cough out the water and it woke me up fully. After sneezing out the chlorine filled water out of my nose, the stinging pain was gone but was removed with the annoying runny nose. ¡®Just how bad could this day be¡­¡¯ I thought to myself.


    I wanted to finish my homework but the dizziness were still there. I had already took a pill but I guess it would take a while before the pill kicks in.


    Laying myself down on the bed, I took a look at my phone and saw the time was still 8 o¡¯clock. I would usually hit the sack just before 11 but since my head was spinning continuously, I would have to end the day early.


    After laying the phone on the bedside table, I move my hands towards the blanket at the end of the bed. Somehow, I could hear the soft ruffling of the fabric as my hand rub against the smooth bed sheet. I pulled the blanket to cover my whole body as it was quite cold in the room. As the heat builds up in the blanket. I felt more comfortable and the sandman was already doing his job.


    The dizziness in my head was kicking off again as I walk into my slumber. Right before I closed my eyes, the scene of my bedroom ceiling was swirling like a vortex. Finally closing my eyes, my body felt very light, and warm. The warmth was not the same as the warm from the blanket, but something different. It felt more natural. The lightness in my body weight felt as if I was floating. This must be a dream. However, what was so strange was that I am fully aware that I was dreaming.


    While I was enjoying feeling of floating around in my dream, an abrupt force pulled me down. Similarly as gravity pulls an apple down from a tree. Right at the end of the fall, I felt like I was entering something. The feeling was more of an insight rather than a sense of touch.Stolen novel; please report.


    Quite a while after I fell, I could finally regain every movement of my body. Despite that, I could feel that every parts of my body was numb. My sense of touch and sense of heat, none of it was accurate. I could feel the ground below my feet but I could not sense whether it was rough or smooth. I could sense the wind hitting my face but I could not perceive whether it was cold or warm.


    Slowly opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was the beautiful moon, glimmering with a pale blue light. I finally realize that I was looking up. Slowly I shift my sight down to the front. It was even harder to move my muscle as it was feeling numb. As my view was shifting down, despite the blurry vision, I could see the shape of trees in front of me. Inhaling the air, I could recognize a tinge of grassy fragrant in the air. No doubt about it, I was in a forest.


    All my senses were dull, but I am fully aware of my body and the surrounding. I knew, I was dreaming. What else could it be. It was hard to believe it but I could say that it was lucid dream; where I can control myself in the dream and are fully conscious about it. This was my first time experiencing this.


    Despite the bad premonition that I have about this dream; mostly the fear of being chased by a ghost, but curiosity always win. The excitement of adventuring in this dream poured adrenaline into my blood veins and my feet started to move. Now it was finally time for me to see how far can this dream go.


    As I continue on walking the grassy ground, I came upon an animal trail. It was lucky for me to find this. It was hard for me to walk on the grass because I could not see the rocks or roots as they are covered by the grass plus with the poor visibility due to lack of light. I have already tripped many times and somehow, I could slightly feel the pain in my toe as I trip.


    I was amazed while continuing the stroll. I found many beautiful flowers blooming with a glow, radiating with the breath-taking moon. Not just the flowers, some of the grass before glows blue as I stepped on them. Even the animal trails have its own colorful glows.


    After a while, I realize that my senses were getting better. I could feel and hear the soft crunching sound of leaves beneath my feet and the rhythmical chirping of crickets at night. The fragrant smell of the glowing blooms of the flower was getting stronger as time goes by. The view was getting more exquisite. Every cracks and every detail from a tree and the leaves, I could see it. Somehow, I was doubting that this was actually a dream.


    Amazed by the dazzling view of the forest, I did not realize that i had reached the end of the trail. In front of me, it was a small grassy opening where there are no trees. The blue ray of the moon shone the grass and a small yellowish light floats above them. Without a second thought, I knew it was the firefly. I went to the middle of the opening. The fireflies moved away as I approached near them. Somehow, I could feel that it was getting chilly. The moment I looked down on my body, there were no string attached, literally no strings at all. I was naked. That explains why I was feeling cold between my thighs. Well it was still a dream so who cares, no one is here to see my dangling man sword and its two round shields. I closed my eyes to feel the feeling of being free with the nature both physically and mentally.


    However something was off. It was unusually quiet. The sound of crickets suddenly stopped and left with only the rustling leaves as a gale of wind blows. A chill ran down my spine as I got the feeling of being watched. With haste, I turned around to find what cause this intense glare and the eerie feeling. As my vision shifted along the spaces between the trees, one thing caught my attention. Another chill ran down my spine as many things come into mind to what was this two floating balls of red light. Could be a ghost?! The very thing that I was afraid from the very beginning of my journey in this dream had come to manifestation. ''This beautiful dream is going to become a nightmare now.''


    Like how anyone would act when confronting this thing in their dream, I ran of course! I ran towards the opposite direction of where the thing was. I ran as fast as I could. Gasping for air, pushing away the branches that was over my head. I almost trip by the roots beneath the grass. However I continue on running without looking back.


    I could hear the rustling of leaves from high above where it sounded like something heavy landed on the branches. The sound keeps getting closer. I could imagine that the thing was hopping form one branch to another just from the sound. I just knew this thing would happen. Just who can overrun a ghost in their nightmare. One would just always lose against this creature when it comes to chasing people down.


    When the sound of rustling leaves were directly above my head, I closed my eyes and readied myself for the thing to pounce on me.


    ¡°Ughhhh¡­¡± I coughed out the air as something heavy pushed me. I landed on the ground heavily with a loud thud, rolling a few rounds as the momentum carried me further.


    ¡°F*ck you ghost..¡± I said as I came to a stop. Pushing myself up I grunted, ¡°why cant u just leave me alone in my dream ughhhh¡­¡± I was stopped halfway as my left leg were in so much pain as I tried to stretch it. I sat myself down. Even with the poor visibility, I could make it out that my leg was bleeding. I could only guess the wound was quite deep as it pours out blood vigorously. There were so much blood that the blood splattered on the glowing flower turning its original blue fluorescent into a red glow.


    The pain felt so real. I could feel the wound throbbing and my sweat pouring like a broken dam. Every inch of my face was crunching its muscle, making me wrinkled with the agony. ¡°Arghhh!¡± I screamed. The pain was so intense that my mind was starting to get blank. Just how could a dream feel so painful. I had never felt this much pain ever in my life.


    As I continue on wailing my throat out and holding my leg like I was going to lose it, a shadow moved closer in front of me. With tears in my eye, I shifted my vision towards this shadow. My body was starting to get cold as more blood is lost. I continue on examining this creature as I shift my vision towards its legs, body and the head. It¡¯s height was similar to me while sitting on the ground. With its slender legs moving forward one after another, the body leaned forward, prowling towards me. The feet wasn¡¯t a feet, but paws with golden claws protruding out. It had a silky jet black fur. Our eyes met each other. Those gleaming blood-red pair of eyes were focusing as to create a small slit as if stares into my very soul. I could feel a sense of anger coming from it. Its whiskers were long, painted with gold colour as it reflects the light from the moon and the glowing flowers. Those pointy triangular ears flickers as if reacting to the sound of rustling leaves. And the tail behind sways left to right dancing eagerly.


    No doubt about it, this was a giant cat. A jaguar probably, with the way it leaps on me from above. And those pointy hocked claws would easily penetrate my skin with its weight and momentum. That would easily explains the deep wounds on my leg.


    ¡°What the f*ck is a huge cat doing in my drea-!!¡± I shouted as rage fills my entire mind on this mere thought.


    As if agitated by my shout, the jaguar leaped on me, mouth wide, with its paws swinging towards my face. The sheer force of the slap turned my head so hard that a crack could be heard at the back of my neck. A sign that my neck was broken. Theres no telling what the claws did to my face. I could not feel anything. My left eye was probably popped out of its socket. My right eye was the only part of my face that I can feel.


    With my head laying on the floor, the jaguar on top of me. I looked at its face. My heart was filled more with rage as this creature puts up a little smirk. Opening its mouth wide, it ripped off my throat with a thunderous roar.


    Until that point the pain that I was suffering, vanished immediately. My mind was still filled with annoyance and rage towards the smirking face of that leopard. Was it trying to show off that it was stronger than me?


    ******


    ¡°Wahhh!!¡± I woke up with a shout. The usual shout that any movie character would do after waking from a bad dream.


    My head was throbbing again, aching with its dizziness. My body was wet with my sweats. The churning of my stomach just wont stop that all the ramen that I ate for dinner painted my room floor as I vomitted. I emptied the content of my stomach so much that I even vomitted the hydrochloric acid in the stomach. The after taste of the vomit in my mouth made it worse. The pain in my nose after vomiting only invites more mucus to make itself home in my nose.


    I ran to the bath room, stepping on the fresh beautiful painting of my half digested dinner. It took a while before the nausea was gone. The dizziness on the other hand, just wont cease to make a mess in my head.


    I cleaned my feet and took a mop. I cleaned the floor and throw away a slimy-chunk of what I thought was my dinner. Taking a sip of the salt water that I got from the kitchen, the salty taste down my throat just isn¡¯t enough to make me forget the dream. The pain was too real, the agony, the fear and the rage looking at the beast. The image that I saw of that jaguar was so define, even for a guy who ''don¡¯t remember every single time why he entered the room'', those detail just wont go away. I wonder if this was how a lucid dream was supposed to be. I wonder if others who experience lucid dream felt the same way.


    I brew a black coffee and started my research on this lucid dreaming. The swivel of my desk chair squeaked as I sat my bottoms on it. Switching on the table lamp, I took my phone and saw the time was almost 9. I was confused. I slept at around 8 o¡¯clock. Then I must have just slept for a few minutes because it took quite a while to clean up myself and the floor. But the dream felt so long. I felt like I have walking around the forest for hours before that f*cking cat chased me and ripped my neck off.


    ¡°hahhhhhh¡­¡± I let out a long sigh and continue on clicking the browser icon. As I typed the keyboard on my phone screen, I realized something. My senses, was dull like before. Instead I felt it was getting better. Too much that it frightened me a little. Why do I say that? I could hear things other than the digital sound when I touched the keyboard on my phone screen. The dripping water from the tap in the bathroom, the rustling sound of fabric brushing against each other as I move, and mice of which I don¡¯t know where. I know its at night and hearing would be easier but this was too different. It was like my ears were directly beside the sound, of which I could hear it clearly.


    Thing just get stranger after I got hit in the head earlier. The dizziness just wont go away and its making my muscle numb. Now my senses just gets like a hell lot of levels up. And there was the thing about that dream. As I pressed enter, the first thing I saw was a description from wikipedia. The only thing right about this was that im fully aware but the rest doesn¡¯t really apply to me. I could not control it, the environment was there by itself and fuck no I can¡¯t control the characters. Those shitty cat just ripped my neck off and it hurt like hell. If I can control the dream I would have summoned a sword with my mind and fight it off or something. Oh wait, I didn¡¯t really think of that. I was too scared that I ran for my life and didn¡¯t even try to fight back. Now I feel pathetic of myself...


    Then, I just got to check on medical site just why am I feeling dizzy like this. That hit on the head wouldn¡¯t take this long to recover.


    Before I could read the details, my eyelids were feeling so heavy. I must have somehow taken the sleeping pill just now. I don¡¯t really know though. That just show how bad my memory was. Well the coffee was really unnecessary, I didn''t even get to take a sip.


    I turned off the lamp and stand on the side of the bed. Letting the gravity pull and lay me on the bed, I landed head first to the soft pillow. With my listless hand, I pulled the blankets and covered some parts of my body. Closing my eyes, I let the sandman do his job again. With those strange event out of my mind and good sleep as my target, my consciousness slowly drifted.


    Wait, if I¡¯m going to sleep then am I still having that weird dream. Without me noticing, my eyes had already closed itself. But usually dreams won¡¯t come out when we are drugged with sleeping pills. So I have nothing to worry about.


    However, this uneasy feeling just won¡¯t go away. My consciousness did not fade like how it usually does. I tried moving my body but I can¡¯t feel anything. The feeling of being suspended in the air engulfed my whole body. It was the same as it was before. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me im going to go back to that dre..¡¯


    Before I could finish my words, I was pulled down by some force. In an instant, I could feel my whole body again. I could feel the warmth, the warmth from a sunshine. The dangling feeling of my manhood sword and its two shields, was telling me that I¡¯m naked. I this was it. I really didn¡¯t want to open my eyes but I did it anyways. The bright sunlight forced me to wrinkled my forehead and shut my eyes again. I pulled up my hands and covers the bright ray. There I saw the same forest that was in my dream when I fall asleep in the bath.


    I looked around to find that damnation cat but it was nowhere to be found. I thought of wanting to walk around to find the cat. Something hooked my feet and I almost fell head first if not for my hands stopping the fall. This was a bit different from the last dream because I could fully use my body and my reflex were top notch. I looked at my feet to see what did I stepped on.


    ¡°Just what the f*ck is this?!¡± I screamed as I felt a sudden urge to vomit. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. Just how is this possible¡­

 Chapter 2: Solution

    ¡°Just what the fuck is this?!¡± I screamed as I felt a sudden urge to vomit. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes, just how is this possible¡­


    An evaporating corpse if I could simply describe it. The body laying on the ground was emitting a lot of steam as it started to decay rapidly. Veins and bones could be clearly seen on the corpse as the skins and flesh evaporates. What surprises me the most was that the corpse had the same feature like me. Or it might even be me. The throat was not there as if it was being ripped off by something. No doubt about it, this corpse was definitely me. The me that was from the previous dream. I was so overwhelmed by the sight of the corpse, that it is actually my corpse.


    Taking a few steps back, I tripped on a protruding root hidden in the long grass and fell on my buttocks. My mind was blank, and I could not think of anything as this was too preposterous. I sat there, and watched the corpse decayed while emitting steam. From the flesh to the bones, it decayed as if it was not the work of bacteria decomposing them but because of the endless steam emitted.


    The only thing that wandered in my mind was the sight of the jaguar ripping off my neck leaving a huge hole in my throat as blood gushed out endlessly. The smirk on the jaguar enraged me but it also carved fear deep into my mind. I started to shiver and cold sweat poured out like a broken dam.


    Everything revolved in my mind like a spinning wheel. In all those confusion, I didn¡¯t realize that the sun had already set to the horizon, painting the sky with shades of orange. The forest was dark due to the shadow of a distant hills and mountains covered the entirety of it. Flower that initially were not anywhere in my view suddenly bloomed with its natural blue glow. Somehow, the fear that I had just a few seconds ago was fading. These glowing flowers gave out a sweet fragrant smell that I had never smelled before. Maybe those fragrance and the dim glow gave a calming effect on me.


    Looking at where my evaporating corpse was, the only things left was a pile of ash that still emits a little steam. I stood myself up, wiping my buttock. I remembered what I had thought just before I went to sleep. This was a dream which I can control so I should try making a sword or something.


    But no matter how hard I think of how a sword looked like. It just won¡¯t pop out like how a normal dream should be.


    ¡°Sword summon!!¡± I shouted as I tried some stupid posing as if I was summoning a demonic sword or something. I tried a few more times but came out empty.


    I guess I really don¡¯t have any control over this dream. I was out of idea of how to handle this situation. But something still catches my attention. The glowing flower just now, when it bloomed the fear that I felt were fading slowly. Maybe this flower do have some kind of effect on it.


    As I plucked the glowing flower, the fragrant smell was so strong as if it exploded its bomb of aroma when the stem was detached. My fear was gone immediately. I felt so calm that all my senses were so sharp that I could even hear the smallest sound of some insect hopping from one leaf to another. My hearing continued further as I closed my eyes. From a dripping droplet of water to the stomping march of an army of ants. Going further I heard a slow breathing and thumping sound as dried leaves crunched to the weight.


    The sound of crickets suddenly stopped. I knew what it was and searched at where that sound came from and there it was. Two crimson red eyes staring at me between two bushes. It was quite far away, almost a hundred meter away, but somehow I could see it. It was in a stalking position ready to pounce while taking its steps silently moving through the cracks between the bushes, closing its distance to me. What surprise me most was that I wasn¡¯t scared. My heartbeat was beating fast but somehow I feel calm and composed. I search around to look for anything I can use as a weapon, rubbing my hand against the soft grass and took a palm-size stone. I readied my stance while holding the stone like I¡¯m holding a dagger.


    As if the jaguar knew its presence was known, it starts running towards me. Even with my calmness and composure, I could not fight the natural instinct to run away from incoming dangers. So I ran again like how I did in the first dream, pushing away branches above my head and stumbling upon rocks and roots beneath the grass.


    I was despise myself for being so helpless in this situation.


    As I looked back, the jaguar had already closed much of the distance between us as it leaps from the tree barks to another just to avoid the rocks and roots that I had stumbled on just now. This definitely was its turf. It knew whatever it was in its way and avoided it to catch up on me.


    To my desperation I shouted ¡°Get away from me!¡± and threw the stone in my hand which the jaguar swiftly evaded. I knew there was no chance for me if I ran. I held my and stopped, turning to face the jaguar. As I turned around the jaguar was already leaping towards me with its paw raised high up. I held up my hands up in hope that my face wouldn¡¯t get shred by those claws again.


    ¡°Sphhhttt!!¡± the crisp sound of flesh being torn apart. I fell to the ground by the momentum and put my hands on the ground reflexively to prevent from falling to hard but¡­


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    ¡°Arghhhh!¡± I shouted. It was not there, I could not feel the ground. No, I could not even feel my fingers. I held my left hand close to my face, but it was not there. From the wrist onward, it was gone. The blood gushed out like a fountain from what remains of my left arm.


    ¡°Haaaa!! Ahhh!! Arghhhh!!!¡± surprised by the fact that my left hand were gone, I wailed like a baby.


    Looking upfront, I say the jaguar was shaking its head vigorously and staggered from left to right. To my surprise, it was raining with golden light. To be precise, a small glowing yellowish dust was floating around the jaguar. The dust slowly falls on the ground followed by pieces of blue glowing petal.


    As my eye followed the petals fall, there I saw it, my left hand was beneath the jaguar, holding the stem of a glowing flower that was torn apart. Then that explains the falling petal and the glowing dust. The jaguar must have hit my left hand and the glowing flower too, causing the petals of the flower to fall apart and scatter its yellowish-glowing spores.


    The jaguar still staggered and shock its head as if trying to shake off the spores. Somehow, the jaguar looked drowsy and it leaned on a tree as it stares at me with its blood-shot eyes, eager to end my very life.


    I saw this was my only opportunity and stood up hastily.


    I could not run fast. My body was starting to get cold and my head was dizzy. I ran and ran, holding my left hand tight trying whatever I can just to stop the bleeding.


    The throbbing pain was just too much. It hurts even more the further I go.


    ¡°Ughhh!¡± I grunted as I gripped my left hand tighter. I could taste blood in my mouth from gritting my teeth too hard just to hold of the pain. It wasn¡¯t long before started running and I fell to the ground. Something had hit my legs.


    With my hands to my chest, I fell and hit my head on a rock. I could feel the blood dripping down to my nose. I was helpless. I was cold. I could only muster enough energy just to face my body upwards. Its too painful.


    My eye is getting blurry and I could only smell the iron in my dripping blood. The jaguar slowly walks on top of me with its eye staring long into my eye. The breath of the jaguar hit my face. I could sense anger and a tinge of confusion in those pairs of bloodthirsty eyes.


    While it was staring long at me, I searched whatever there was near to me moving my right hand along the ground. I grab hold of a small stone and hit its head repeatedly.


    The jaguar immediately caught my right hand with its mouth. I tried preventing the jaguar from biting it off as I smeared its eye with the blood spraying out of my left arm.


    ¡°Arghhhh!!!¡± I shouted as the pain from hitting the wounds directly to the jaguars eye was too much but the instinct of survival made me continue on attacking it¡¯s right eye just for me to slip away. The jaguar jumped back and shock its head. I crawled away using both my elbows as my right hands was already shredded that it was barely attached.


    My desperation didn¡¯t last long as I felt dozens of sharp teeth buried itself in the back of my neck. I could not breath, my neck was being crushed by the pressure of the jaw. At some point I heard a snap at the back of my neck. In that instant, all the pain were gone and continued with the feeling of being suspended in the air.


    ¡®I died by the jaw of that jaguar again..¡¯


    *****


    I opened my eyes and all I saw was the wall of my room. Beads of sweat falls into my eyes as it dripped down across my face causing me to shut my eyes again. I sit myself on the bed. My shirt clung to my skin as it was wet with sweat. My stomach started churning but I didn¡¯t feel like vomiting. Maybe because there¡¯s nothing in my stomach anymore to vomit out.


    I lay my head on the palm of my hands. The feeling of losing my hand was crystal clear in my mind. The pain, the agony, everything was fresh as try to remember what happened in that dream. Just why am I dreaming this kind of thing. And what¡¯s worse, those dreams were definitely intertwined with each other. Especially when I saw my own corpse, it looked like my next dream was a continuation of my previous dream.


    ¡®Just what in the world happened?¡¯ I thought to myself. Feeling down and anxious. I took my phone to search for any medical explanation for this. Probably when I hit my head, something happened to my brain that alters my dream or if it was some kind of psychological disease.


    Pressing the power button, the bright screen light caused my eye to twitch and took a few second to readjust its pupil. The time indicates it was half pass ten which means I was only asleep for about one and half hour.


    I¡¯m pretty sure that I was in that dream for half a day, from when the sun was up until I got chased by the jaguar at night. ¡®Just what the heck is happening¡¯


    I continued my search for any medical explanation but nothing comes close. There were still so many mysteries about dreams that my problem here can¡¯t be explained at all. Some sites specifies that the probability of waking up when REM(rapid eye movement) is at max that I experienced a more vivid storyline in the dream but it does not specify that my senses was too realistic. Especially the pain. I would never want to feel that ever again.


    Giving up my research, I charged my phone and went to the kitchen. I brewed a green tea to help calm myself down. I don¡¯t want to go back to sleep. The only reason why is that; I¡¯m just too afraid that dream will come again.


    Trying to keep myself awake, I went back to my room with a cup and a jug of green tea. I remembered that there were lots of school homework for today. This will be enough to keep me up all night. I took everything out of my bag pack and started finishing my homework.


    ****


    Looking at the time, it was already quarter past 1 in the morning. It really took a while to finish my homework but it wasn¡¯t enough to past the time till morning. Sleep was the last thing that I want. I tried finding something else to do. I took out my laptop and switched it on. Maybe watching videos can make time fly fast.


    I watched as many videos in youtube, many of which were related to animes and random videos. After watching about dozens of videos, three hours had passed. My eye lids were getting heavier and heavier. I drank more of the tea but it just won¡¯t work. I was at the edge of falling to sleep when I saw a video on the recommended section. It was a video about creating a primitive weapons.


    With just that, an idea popped out of my head. If those dream was a continuous dream then that jaguar will just keep on hunting and killing me. I must do whatever I could to defend myself from this beast. I must create my own weapon and fight that thing even if it was certain that I would lose. One thing I know was that I really hate that feeling of helplessness, being chased by that jaguar and killed by it. At least if I die, I died fighting, not being helplessly killed.


    As I thought of this, I was struck with fear just thinking of being stared by that beast and the pain that would be inflicted on me. However, when I was in that second dream, I did fight back a little and I was surprisingly calm.


    ¡®What was it? Come onnn!! Remember it you stupid brain!!¡¯ I thought to myself, trying to remember that small detail that I had forgotten, of how I overcome my fear and think straight. Then I looked out of the window, the street light was bright enough that I don¡¯t have to switch on the light in my room to navigate around. My mini cactus pot was aligned in the middle of the rack just before the window. A small red flower was blooming right on top of the cactus. With the light from the street lamp, the ray passed through the thin flower petal, as if the flower had its own glow.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!!¡± I shouted as I stood up. The chair flipped to the back as the force at the back of my knee pushed the chair.


    ¡°Thank you my little cactus, here have a drink..¡± I said with gratitude as I sprayed the mini cactus with a small spray bottle. I pulled my chair up and sat with a squeak. Opening both the video site and the search engine, searching for ways to make primitive weapons, with one goal in mind; survive and defend myself from that jaguar.


    ¡°Just you wait furball, I¡¯m going to kill you for all those misery¡­¡± I mumbled. Feeling somewhat optimistic as my goal slightly shifted.

 Chapter 3: Survival Plan

    *****


    ¡°*Yawn, can I make it out alive today.¡± I shrugged while closing my mouth with my hand. Dragging my feet along as I walk on a stone pavement, creating a rough sound. My eyes are so heavy right now. It hurts as I rub the watery eye with my hand.


    I used the usual route to school, earlier than usual. It was 7 in the morning and the roads were already busy. I walked with my eyes half closed and would sometime stagger as I was so sleepy. I really wanted to sleep but I will definitely die again in that dream so no thank you.


    Arriving at the school front gate, there were already some students running around like little kids playing tag. Some were just sitting on benches chit-chatting or reading book and even ate breakfast. Arriving at the school building entrance, I heard a running footstep behind my back and I unconsciously turned my body trying to avoid something. In the next second, a loud thud could be heard as somebody fell to floor. With my drowsy head, I tried to observe this fallen body and it took a while before I could recognize this person. He had a large stature, thick arms and large chest. The shape of the muscle was clear beneath those school uniform, stretching them like it was going ripped apart at any moment. His face had a stern look on him, but when he smiled his face will change from the dead serious wrestler to muscle brain dork. Those sharp jaw lines would cut any girls heart. His hair were short and messy. I just knew who it was the moment I say his large stature.


    ¡°Don, don¡¯t you have any larger school uniform other than this? I got a feeling that it¡¯s going to rip apart soon.¡± I said to him. I thought that he didn¡¯t heard what I said as he was already seated on the floor, rubbing his head because of the fall. I lend him a hand and said, ¡°What were you trying to do?¡± He took my hand. I tried pulling him up but he was so heavy that I staggered a little bit. In the end I didn¡¯t have to pull him up too much as he was raising himself up.


    ¡°How did you know I was going to tackle you?¡± he said as he rubbed off his pant.


    ¡°You what? I¡¯m totally going to black out if you tackle me with that body!¡± I said as I emphasized the difference of weight between our body. We the same height but comparing the wideness of his body, than I¡¯m just a twig that will break if he sat on me.


    He put a hand on my shoulder and continued, ¡°Relax, you did good to evade my tackle.¡± he burst out a laugh before adding, ¡°Woah, that¡¯s a lot of bag you¡¯re carrying there.¡± he looked at me seriously.


    I looked at myself and check whether he was saying the truth. I knew I was drowsy and sleepy so I might have ended up bringing too many bags. ¡°What? I¡¯m only carrying this bag.¡± I said as I hold it in front of him to see.


    ¡°No no, there¡¯s two more bags. That two eye bags that you are carrying. Hahaha¡± he laughed out at his own jokes. There were other students who entered and saw him laughing. They must have thought he was too loud or something. Wiping his tears from the burst of laughter, he continued ¡°Fuhhh, that was funny. You¡¯ve got to laugh at my jokes sometimes you know. Really though, what¡¯s with that eye bag. Been on an all-nighter? If you know what I mean.. hahaha¡±


    He laughed again, with his hands on his hip, acting so proud about something. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t sleep last night. Been having this really weird dreams though. I just don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡± I said as rubbed my eyes again. After changing to my indoor shoes, I walked through the hallway towards the stairs. Don continued on following me.


    ¡°Oooo poor little Yuu, he¡¯s got a nightmare and he can¡¯t sleep because he¡¯s afraid.¡± he said while acting out like I was a baby.


    ¡°Oiiiii!! You lazy ass Don! Get to the field now and get running!¡± a shout could be heard as it echoed throughout the hallway. As I looked out the window, the PE teacher was staring towards us, or specifically towards Don, with his hand on his hip holding a file holder.


    ¡°Ohhh shit! Got to go Yuu!¡± he ran as he said that with his back facing towards me. He was an athlete, of which his specialty are shot put and hammer throwing. That explains his large stature very much. As I looked towards him, he ran with not much noise even for a large size like him. With that weight, his running should have been noisy as he stomp across this hallway. Then how did I manage to hear him running to tackle me just now, and he must have been extra careful to not make as much noise as possible. I pondered on this thing until I reached my class.


    Upon reaching the class, all the seats were empty. It seems like I was the first person to enter the class. I strode along the tables and chairs to my seat, the seat that was the nearest to the windows and in the middle of the column. I put down my bag on the floor and sat on the chair.


    Lazily, I rest my chin on the palm of my hand as I looked out the window. The leaves of the trees rustles as a spring breeze blew. Suddenly I remembered the memory of when I entered the dream, it was beautiful though. However, despite the beauty, nature always have its dark side. For me, I have seen this dark side, twice already.


    ¡®Will I be able to survive in that dream? Will my plans work?¡¯ I thought as I stare at the trees in the front yard of the school.


    My eyes were very heavy. So heavy that if I were to lay my head on this table, I would just fall asleep in that instant. I pinched my arm to keep myself awake, but it was not enough. The pain was already dull as I had done it so many times already.


    ¡°Hohoho, look who¡¯s early today.¡± a voice entered my ear as I was about to doze off. Turning my body to face the source of the voice, I replied ¡°Hey Aki. You¡¯re early too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always early you know. So it¡¯s not that rare to see me at this time. I¡¯m just surprised to see you this early.¡± Aki said as he walk next to me and sat on the chair. ¡°Woah, it¡¯s even more rare to see you become a panda. Did you even sleep last night?¡± he continued.


    ¡°Yeah, some¡­ stuff happened.¡± I said, not wanting to tell him about the dream. I was reluctant to tell him because of how Don reacted just now. I wouldn¡¯t want him to think me as immature kid who got scared of nightmare so much that I ended up refusing to sleep. Plus, no one would believe me if I said that my dreams were so realistic that I could even feel pain.


    He looked at me, adjusting his spectacles. He stared at me for a while and continued, ¡°Well then, if you¡¯re not going to tell me anything then its fine.¡± He let out a sigh after those words and took a book out of his bag. ¡°If you stayed up late last night then you must have done your homework right?¡± Aki said, wearing a very wide smile.


    I knew what he wanted from me judging from the book he took out and that annoying smile. I took the similar book from my bag and gave it to him, ¡°If you want to copy my homework just say it. I really hate that annoying smile of yours.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I knew you would understand¡­ I¡¯m really surprised you did all this homework. It¡¯s ridiculous how sensei gave us this much homework though. Does she think we can even finish this much. Well you did what she wanted, then you really must have been targeting her didn¡¯t you?¡± Aki continued his long chat while copying my homework. I only listened as I was too sleepy to answer him. At least I won¡¯t fall asleep if he keeps on talking though.


    The long chat continued until the class was full of students making all kind of noises. However, it was getting harder for me to stay awake as all the noises, even Aki¡¯s voice, became white noise to my ears. Pinching myself just wont help anymore. The only outcome was a numb feeling and a red skin.


    I just had to wash off my face with cold water to at least reduce the drowsiness. ¡°If you¡¯re done, just placed it on my table. I¡¯m going to the toilet for a sec.¡± I said to Aki which he replied with a nod. I don¡¯t think my book is going to be returned soon. Three people were already gathering near Aki to copy my homework.


    I walked to the sliding door and opened it. As I was about to exit the classroom I stumbled with someone and the person staggered as papers scattered on the floor.


    ¡°Hyaa!..¡± a woman shrieked as all the papers fell off her hands. I immediately went to the ground and help her picked up those papers since it was my fault anyway. After lending her the paper that I had picked, I immediately apologize, realizing that it was sensei that I stumbled on.


    ¡°Haaa! Yuu, pay attention where you¡¯re walking next time!¡± she shouted as she pulled my ear. Even with this drowsiness, my gaze was fixed at her chest at it was pressed on by the paper she was holding.


    ¡°Ouch ouch, I¡¯m sorry sensei!¡± I apologized again as she was pulling my ears so much that my head tilted down to her height. Well she was definitely shorter than me but just that strength to pull my head down was to be feared.


    ¡°Where did you intend to go? Homeroom is starting soon.¡± she glared at me thinking that I was going to skip the class.


    ¡°I was on my way to the toilet though, gotta wash my face to freshen up a bit.¡± I said as I smiled wryly. Then she examined my face intently that I couldn¡¯t hide my surprise as her she so closed to me.


    ¡°Yuu! Those eyebags! Don¡¯t tell me that you stayed up late playing games again last night!¡± she said puffing her cheeks. She reached her hands again, precisely towards my ear, but I managed to stop her halfway.


    ¡°Sensei please don¡¯t jump to conclusion. Please put your hand down, my ear is going to fall off if you pull it again,¡± I said as I put her hand down and continued ¡°Some accident happened while I was on my way home yesterday and made me awake for the entire night. I promise I¡¯m not lying okay and I did finish your homework.¡± I had to promise that I wasn¡¯t lying as she was already trying to pull my ear again.¡±


    ¡°What kind of accident huh? Don¡¯t make excuses, you young boys have to sleep properly if you want to grow properly.¡± She said while pulling her hair to back of her ear. ¡°Quickly go to the toilet and wash your face and don¡¯t wander around, I have important thing to announce later.¡± She said again as she entered the class.


    I was glad that she didn¡¯t pry more on the accident yesterday or about me being awake all night. As I thanked her in my heart, I went to toilet and washed my face. Even with how she pulled my ear, that wasn¡¯t enough to clear this drowsiness. Even washing my face to the point my shirt was wet still couldn¡¯t reduce this sleepiness by a tinge.


    I gave end and just walk back to the class, being half asleep. As I entered, sensei had already started homeroom and her voice became white noise to my ears. I went straight to my sit and rest my chin on my hand. Sensei was definitely angry at me for still being sleepy even after going to the toilet. Well she must have noticed that my shirt was wet so I guess she won¡¯t think I lied that I told her I was going to the toilet.


    As she continued talking, my drowsiness started to kick in. ¡®Oh shit, I forgot that I get sleepy easily when sensei talks in front of the class.¡¯ With me being so sleepy like this, theres no telling that I will definitely fall asleep.


    ¡®Shit! Hold it, don¡¯t sleep dammit. Not in here!¡¯ I cried out loud in my mind as my eyelid slowly closed itself. This was the first time ever I tried so hard not fall asleep. I tried to stop my eyelid from closing by using my fingers to hold it but even my hands would not move anymore.


    ¡®Fuck! Here it comes!¡¯ I shouted in my heart as my eyes were fully closed and continued by the feeling of floating in mid-air. Then an abrupt force pull me down to the ground.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    *****


    ¡°Damn it, I didn¡¯t think I will be back here so soon¡­¡± I said as I looked around. I was in the middle of the forest. There were sound of crickets chirping were soft as it was covered by the sound of hissing, the one you usually hear when putting out a flame. A cold breeze hit my face followed by a hot steam. I stepped back as the heat made my body reacted reflexively. As I looked down, there it is, ¡°Guhhh, this is gruesome¡­¡±


    On the ground, my body was decomposing as it emits steam. I could even make out my face outline, without much of the skin left. My head was loosely attached to the body as half of the neck was gone. The left hand is also not there. This is basically how I ended up dying in my previous dream.


    ¡°So this is how it¡¯s going to be huh¡­¡± I mumbled as I understood one thing. Every time I die, my body will decompose itself into steam. I have no idea how it turns into steam but who cares anyway. This will end the dream and wake me up. Another thing to add, the time I spend in this dream is longer than reality. Basically I can spend half a day in this dream but will be awake half an hour later from when I fell asleep. Lastly, when I am back again in this dream, I will be greeted by my decaying steaming corpse.


    ¡°Oh wait¡­¡± I looked around the forest. The glowing flowers around the area were only glowing dimly. The ground level of the forest was still dark. Looking up to the sky, I could barely see the sky with the forest canopy blocking the view but it was enough to distinct what time it was. The sky was still dark but painted with a tinge of orange ray of light. The sound of the choir of birds sings harmonically. It was still dawn.


    If I can conclude from this and my previous dream. I will always return to this dream in the morning or specifically a few hours after I previously died.


    ¡°Haaa¡­¡± I let out a sigh as I thought of my fate. Just what did I do to end up having this frightful and painful dream as this. I shook my head and slap both my cheeks to pump myself up. I tried to remember back what I had researched last night in order to survive.


    I was surprised that I could remember every detail of the plans that I tried to memorize. Somehow, after having this weird dream even my memory was getting better. I walked around as started the first plan for my survival in this dream, finding a shelter. A good place to hide, and store whatever weapon that I make later.


    I walked around the forest carefully, striding from one tree to another. Even with the decisive my plan in my mind, it would not work if I met the jaguar again without preparing everything. It was also the best choice to strode around trees as it was still dark on the forest ground since the sun was not up in the sky. The glowing flowers were glowing dimly so there was barely enough light for me to see.


    After walking around for a while, the sun was high enough for the ray to passed through the canopy of leaves above and now I could clearly see the crevices of each tree roots and animal trails. At least I will not accidently step on tree roots of sharp rocks beneath the grass. I could already feel the pain on my toes and beneath my feet as I had already stepped on so many hard rocks.


    Luckily, there was no sign of the jaguar anywhere near me. I was fairly confident since I realised that my senses were very sharp. I could even hear the flapping of birds as it rest on a tree branch and even pinpoint where it was. At least with this I could sense the jaguar if it was anywhere near me. And with this sharp senses, I could finally walk with a destination in mind rather than walking around blindly. I was able to listen to the sound of flowing water probably a bit far ahead. I could only hope that it was a steam. It would be an assurance to have a water supply to survive in this forest.


    As I was heading towards the supposedly water stream ahead, I was aware of other animals around me. Particularly there were many small animals. My vision now can even see further than I can previously. I could even see rabbits lurking between bushes roughly 200 metres away, staring at me. But this rabbit was definitely different, it had a fluffy rainbow-coloured round tail. It gave a feeling off an other worldly creature, just like how I felt for the jaguar. The rabbit was definitely harmless as it was scared and hopped away when I get close.


    Along the journey, I meet many different weird animals, mostly are harmless. Some of which gave me quite a surprise, a squirrels with colourful fur, a dark red fox with colourful horns, and even frogs with two silver heads. Many animals that I saw have the same characteristic of having bright colours in any parts of their body.


    Some larger animals that I saw was a white deer with flowers growing on its antler. I had a feeling that the deer was intently watching my every movement. Even as I was approaching near, it did not run away but stood there magnificently. Since I was walking on the small animal trail and the deer was standing on an elevated boulder, I could not be amazed looking at its magnificent figure as the ray of light shone on its white fur. Despite it being larger than me, it did not give out killing intent but rather pleasant and welcoming feeling. Walking pass the deer, the fragrance of flower emitted by the flower on its antler gave me the feeling of being relaxed at home. This was definitely different from the impression that the jaguar emits. Somehow this gave a between the day and night where this magnificent deer welcomed me to its home as a guest while the jaguar eliminates and treat me like an intruder. Even as I walk away and faced my back towards the deer, I could still feel its gaze as if wanting to see me off safely.


    My minds were jumbled up to think if this was a fantasy world or either my dream was getting so messed up. I despise the jaguar for how much it wanted to kill me but the creature in the day especially the deer was very pleasant and even gave a feeling of wanting to stay in this dream longer.


    After walking probably two hours and meeting many kind of animals, I reached a small stream of water. The view was breathtakingly beautiful. The stream was clear enough that the rocks beneath could be seen glimmering with the radiance of the sunlight. The rocks itself was translucent-white thus making it looked like water was flowing on a glass bed. Boulders reside near the streams covered with colourful moss. There were rows of colourful flowers blooming under a tree. The trees lining along the stream was unique but I could not call it trees since there were no trunk but just roots. The roots protruded out of the ground like a mangrove tree. It continues to curved above the stream and meets the other side of the stream where the roots protruded into the ground, creating an arch above the stream. For as far as my eyes can see, the rows of the tree roots continued on creating many beautiful arch with flowers growing on them.


    ¡®How can this be just a dream? Can my brain even create such beautiful scenery? I would have never even imagined this kind of thing. This must be more than just a dream.¡¯


    Approaching on the root arch, I can see a potential shelter beneath the protruded roots. There was enough space for me to sleep in those root columns. Although there are spaces between the roots but it can be covered with leaves or clay. There were also many flowers around it so it may even cover my scene from the jaguar if it were to approach here.


    I stood near next to the stream and dipped my finger. It was cold, but just cold enough. Without hesitation, I scoop the water with my hands and drink the water. The water flows in my throat, washing away the dry feeling after a long walk. It was refreshing. It was tasty. Never have I tasted plain water this tasty and I continued scooping the water to drink it.


    ¡®Oh shit! What if the water is contaminated?¡¯ I thought and suddenly stopped drinking. All kinds of thoughts crossed my mind but somehow I had a feeling that I can just let this go. ¡®There¡¯s no way a water that tasted so great can be contaminated right?¡¯


    After I had shrugging it off, I washed of my face. Even just washing my face was enough to freshen up my body. Without thinking further, I took a dip in the water and sat there where the flowing water washed away all the anxiousness I had since dawn. The water stream was not that deep as it was only my chest level even while I¡¯m sitting in it.


    While enjoying the cold and calming effect of the flowing stream. I moved on the next phase of my survival plan, creating weapons and tools. I searched for stones beneath the water to make primitives that I have been learning to make in the YouTube videos that I have watched. While searching for the perfect sized stones, I was just amazed by how beautiful they were. Some were translucent white while some were just transparent, reflecting the sunlight as if it was a diamond. I was slightly worried that this kind of stone would be too brittle or just to hard to be made into simple primitive tools. ¡®I¡¯ll know once I try.¡¯ I thought as I continued searching.


    After searching for a while, I lined up all the stones that I needed on a small boulder beside the stream. One stone larger than a fist to make a stone axe, five fist sized stone for spears head and several small flat stones for arrows head. There were many stones that were already in a knife-like shape with a cylindrical body and a pointy end so I took it to make a stone knife.


    I start with the knife-like stone first since it was already in the correct shape. I took a fist size stone and smashed the edge of the pointy end. As I hit the first strike, I prayed in my heart that it would at least fracture a little.


    ¡°Lucky! I don¡¯t know what kind of stone you are but if I can make you into weapons then who cares!¡± I shouted as I saw a small fragment of the stone breaks. I continued knapping the edge of the stone to make a rough outline of the sharp edge. After I finished outlining the shape of a dagger, the edge was sharpen by grinding it on the boulder that I was sitting on. I repeatedly grind it and washed off the micro fragments with the stream water.


    It took more than an hour just to finish sharpening the stone knife. I held it upright and the sharp edges of the stone knife reflected the sunlight. I quenched my eyes as I looked at the beautiful transparent stone knife. My first ever creation, the feeling of successfully creating something was delightful. Especially when the material itself was beautiful. I was eager to try the sharpness of this knife but the sun had already reached its peak height. It took this much from dawn, just to find a shelter and creating a single knife. There was no way I will be able to finish all my plan in a single day. Whatever it takes, I have to prepare my shelter and survive the night even if I have to hide cowardly.


    Postponing the weapon making, I walked around to find tree branches and big leaves to cover the crevices of the tree roots that I was planning to make my shelter. One knife would be sufficient enough to cut leaves but cutting a tree branch would be too much. It would break or chip off the sharp edge. So, I will have to break tree branches with my own hand.


    Taking the animal that I used earlier, I retraced back my footstep. I remembered that there were many trees that have large leaves like a banana tree. I know I would be able to climb the tree to get the leaves but at least I will find some fallen leaves at the ground. Again, I¡¯m amazed that I had such a good memory that I remembered small details even by just looking at it once.


    As I arrived, my memory really served me well. They were many large leaves beneath a seemingly large tree. The tree trunk stretched even further than the forest canopy. Since my senses have been super sharp, I could see the large leaf waving at the tree branch as wind blows by. My eyes suddenly hurts as I tried to look further above. Somehow, I can control my eyes like a scope, observing things further away and zooming towards it but over extending cause my eyes to ache so much. I had to rub my eyes a few times to get I back to normal.


    I went and collected the big leaves as much as I could. I shaved off the fibres of one of the leaves and separate it off into thinner string. Then I twisted it off into cordage. It took me quite a while to make a bundle of the string but it was worth it. Since the very beginning of the dream, I have been stark naked so I tried making a primitive loin cloth using the string and the large leaves. To my surprise, the stone knife was very sharp. It did not require much force to even cut the strings that I made. After just a few minutes, I had finished making my first cloth in this dream and I added a scabbard for the stone knife at the side of the loincloth. ¡®It ain¡¯t much, but it¡¯s honest work¡¯ I thought to myself as I wore the loincloth.


    It took probably 3 hours just for me to find the tree leaves and back to my base. Since I took some time to make the strings and the time to walk back and forth was quite long too. I probably have a few hours more left before dusk so I started building my shelter. Tying the strings to the large tree leaves, I covered the crevices of the tree root and splattered smaller crevices and holes with clay. The large leaves were also used a cover on the ground of the shelter. Lastly, I took several flowers around the tree roots and rubbed in on to my shelter hoping that it would be enough to cover my scent.


    As I finished everything, I sat next to the water stream and drank a lot of water. ¡®It ain¡¯t much, but it¡¯s honest work¡¯ I thought of that word again while proudly looking at my shelter. It looked weird with all the clay and mud plastered unevenly on the large leaves.


    ¡°*growl~*¡­¡± a sudden growl shocked me and I hurriedly took out my knife and searched for the sound.


    ¡°*GROWL~*..¡± another growl could be heard. I was worried for nothing, it was just my stomach. I was really hungry. I just realized I have been going around from dawn and not eaten anything. Well I was thinking this was actually a dream so I never thought I would be hungry.


    I stood up and tried to remember if there were any fruit or edible plants around this area. My thoughts were put on hold when a creature lurks behind the shadows of nearby tree. I was surprised that I did not even hear any footsteps nor do I feel any killing intent but there were already something there. Is it the jaguar? Readying my stance, I point my knife towards the tree. My hearts were beating fast. Adrenaline started to rush in my blood.


    The moment the creature stepped out of the shadow between the trees, I put down my knife. ¡°Haaaa, it was just you huh¡­¡± breathing out a relieving sigh, I sat myself on the boulder again as I looked at this creature. Its muscled legs could be seen beneath the white fur as it moves. The white deer approached me slowly. No matter how I looked at it, I just could not feel any fear of being suddenly attacked by this deer even though I have been killed twice by that bastard jaguar. This magnificent white coloured fur reminded me of the white transparent stone beneath the water stream.


    It stopped just in front of me and lowered its head. I was surprised of what it was doing when suddenly the flowers on its antler swells into a sphere and falls off to the ground. There were at least eight of the swelled up flowers in front of me and the sweet fragrance itself was enough to make my stomach growled again.


    The deer nod again, pointing towards the swelled up flowers as if signalling me to have my fill on them. I took one of the swelled flower and smelled it. The sweet fragrance smell was invigorating, my mouths were eager to have a taste on this delicacy for the first time as it spurts out saliva. The deer looked intently at me, waiting for me take a bite. Feeling a bit embarrassed of being watched, I took a small bit of the swollen part of the flower.


    ¡°Wahhh!¡± I shouted as the burst of flavour attacked my taste buds. The balance between the sweet and sour throws away the fatigue that I had stored in my body and gave me a soothing calming effect just as how the stream water had done to my body previously. ¡®Could it possibly be that this deer have any correlation with the water stream with its pure white stone?¡¯ I thought as I munched of the flower, or should I say fruit. This taste, I have fever tasted any fruit like this before in my life. This was definitely something new.


    As I started munching off the second fruit, the walked to the water stream and drink it slowly. This view was definitely magnificent. If I had a camera, I would take this picture and hang it on the wall. The combination of the white deer and the glass-like rock beneath the stream was definitely a feast to the eye. Even looking at this scenery was enough to gave me a wonderful feeling in my heart.


    After taking a few sip, the deer turned to look at me again before walking off into the forest again. I managed to give the deer a thankful nod for the food it gave me. Without realizing it, I had already finished eating another two of the fruits that the deer gave me. I was already full with just eating four of those fruits. I wrapped the remaining of the fruits using large leaves and stored it in my shelter.


    Looking at the sky, it probably was already around 5 in the evening. Shadows were already casted in the forest floor as the sun shifter towards the horizon. Blue flowers can be seen glowing dimly over the casted shadows and the flowers around the tree roots closed their petals.


    I used the remaining time to make another weapon before the forest gets totally dark. I ended up making one stone spear head for around an hour. Looking at the stones that I have collected, they were glowing dimly. As I looked towards the water stream, the transparent stone beneath were also glowing. Even as the forest enters into darkness, it was still beautiful. As far as my eyes can see, there will always be something glowing, rocks, plants, and even some small animals were glowing.


    Looking at the sky, it was already painted in violet with a tinge of red from the setting sun. It was time for me hide in my shelter. I plucked off a glowing blue flower as I entered my shelter and closed the entrance.


    Laying down with the leaves-covered ground. I examined the blue glowing flower. ¡®To make it simple, I¡¯ll call it blue glower now.¡¯ I remembered in my previous dream, the jaguar strikes my hand and also hit this flower. The flower was ripped apart along with my hand.


    ¡®The jaguar was acting weird when this blue glower burst its spores. It even staggered a little when¡­¡¯ as I thought to myself I played around with the blue glower and accidently pulled its petal. The blue glower suddenly burst out its golden glowing spore. ¡®Ugh, shit I breathed it in¡­ wait¡­¡¯ as I accidently breathed in the glowing spore, my head suddenly feel drowsy. ¡°¡­this is¡­ sleeping¡­ powder¡­¡± I mumbled as fell into a deep sleep


    *****


    I woke up, in an unfamiliar ceiling. As I looked to my right, sensei was looking at my face with watery eyes.


    ¡°Yuu! You¡¯re awake!¡± she shouted as she hugged me tight. I could feel something soft on my face as she pressed my head on her chest. ¡°Nu.. Nurse! He¡¯s awake!¡± she shouted.


    ¡®I survived in my dream but I¡¯m confused what is happening now.¡¯

 Chapter 4: A pleasant surprise

    *****


    ¡°*Beep* *Beep*¡±


    The room was silent with only the sound of electrical beeping from the heart rate monitor equipment, placed beside my bed. A nurse stood beside me, analysing the equipment as she checked out the list on her tablet.


    Staring blankly at water dripping in the Drip equipment, I was still confused of what had happen. Just after I woke up from the dream, I was already in the hospital. Grasping from whatever conversation that the doctors and nurse had before, it seems like I was in a coma for a short period of time. I really felt sorry for Sensei since she was the one who was beside me when I wake up.


    ¡°Mr. Kamiya, could you please sit up¡­¡± the nurse said as she carefully held my hand to help me up. She continued taking a cup of fluid and lend it to me. ¡°¡­here¡¯s a vitamin supplements, this should give you some energy. Once you have recovered a little bit, we¡¯ll deliver some food okay.¡± She said with a lovely smile. I drank the supplement and laid back again as she finished up everything and exit the room.


    I stared at the door waiting for someone to come in as the door opened, ¡°How are you feeling Yuu?¡± a familiar smile greeted me as she gently closed the door, not wanting to even make any noises.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine I guess. I don¡¯t really know what happened though,¡± I smiled wryly as I said those words.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t expect you to know anything when you¡¯re asleep the whole time.¡± She took a sit by my bed and held my hand. ¡°Geez, I was really worried. I should have noticed it from the very beginning, instead I scolded you¡­¡± she paused as she looked down, trying to hold up the tears and continued with a shaking voice, ¡°I¡¯m a failure as a teacher¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, this wasn¡¯t your fault Sensei. Please don¡¯t blame yourself for this, I was the one that insisted on going to school even when I¡¯m feeling unwell.¡± I gripped her hand as I said those words. ¡°If anything, I¡¯m thankful that you were beside me Sensei. I¡¯m lucky to have a beautiful women standing beside my bed.¡± I said as I slowly pulled her hand to my mouth.


    Sensei quickly pulled her hand as she realized my intention, ¡°Geez, even when you¡¯re sick you still act like this.¡± She said with a relieved smile. Looking at this kind beautiful Sensei was really rare as my heart skip a beat.


    ¡°Really, I¡¯m thankful that you waited for me. Even though you have classes to teach.¡±


    ¡°Well it can¡¯t be help, your parents are not here. Someone have to watch over you. I called them and they will be back in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I shouted, I grasped her hands. ¡°Please take care of me sensei!¡± She just smiled wryly, knowing my true intention.


    Based on what Sensei told me, she thought that I fell asleep during homeroom but she did not care and continued with the homeroom. After first bell rang, I was still asleep so she decided to wake me up with a surprise, by pouring my head with cold water. But I still would not wake up, so she pulled my ear and I ended up falling on the floor. Everyone was shocked and my classmates immediately carried me to the infirmary. When the school nurse was checking up on me, she found that I wasn¡¯t responding to anything aside from my beating heart. So they had to call up the ambulance and send me to hospital for further check-up. In the end, the doctors had to conclude that I was in the state of coma and had me admitted.


    To their surprise, I regained consciousness again after 5 hours. After further examination, I was merely fatigued and didn¡¯t eat properly. Since I said that something hit my head the other day, they will let me leave the next day to examine me further for head injuries. So for now, I should just take a rest and let them take care of everything.


    ¡°So something like that happened yesterday and you still went to school?¡± Sensei said as I told her what happened the other day. Although I omit out the nightmare and just said I could not sleep because of the headache. ¡°¡­but luckily you passed out at school. If you were to pass out at home no one would know and it would have gotten worse.¡± she sighed with a relief as she peel the apple.


    I was relieved that there was someone to talk to in this unfamiliar hospital but honestly, I was more relieved that I survived that dream. I survived and woke up without feeling nausea or drowsy as I was previously. This was definitely a success in my plan. But my plan does not end there. I have to survive again the next dream. I have to survive from that jaguar, if all things fail, I will just have to kill that jaguar.


    However, I doubt that was a dream anymore. It was too realistic, and my previous death was the proof. From now on, I¡¯ll call that the dream world. A world that only I can access to by going to sleep. A world where I will revive again after getting killed but even so, I must survive. I cannot let myself be killed. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to go through that kind of agony anymore.


    As I was busy with those thoughts, a nurse came in and served me lunch then left after checking the equipment. It was already afternoon and sensei already finished cutting the apple into several pieces. Sensei must have no had her lunch too so I offered her, ¡°Sensei, lets eat this food together.¡±


    ¡°Eh, no no. You should eat it. They made it for you and you¡¯re the sick one here.¡± she said while pouring water into my glass.


    ¡°To be honest I don¡¯t feel hungry and I¡¯m sure I wont be able to finish this alone.¡± I said as I scoop out the mushroom soup and offered it to her. ¡°I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t had anything to eat yet. Plus, food taste better if we eat together.¡± still pointing my spoon to her, I tried to convince her to eat with me.


    She just stayed silence for a while before she took a bite. I just couldn¡¯t take my eye off of her as she pulled her hair to the back of her ear. If my male classmates were to see this, they would have killed ten times over.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ now you should eat it too.¡± She said bashfully.


    We continued eating the food together and had a small talk. Just what a lucky day it is for me. I survived the dream and even spent a pleasant time with such a beautiful lady. Definitely my male classmates would want to swap place with me even if they were to break their legs just to have this moment with sensei. She¡¯s definitely beautiful. Short dark brown hair as smooth as silk, long enough to reach her shoulder and short enough to expose her bare smooth neck. Endowed with beautiful round brown eyes and long eye lashes, it struck my heart whenever she looked at me. Her cheek was soft and flushed with light pink colour. She would occasionally cover her small cherry-coloured lips every time she giggles.


    One weird thing that I realized was, I was not hungry. The last thing I ate was cup ramen yesterday but I still vomit it out after I woke up. I should have been hungry by now since I didn¡¯t eat anything after that. Even after sharing the lunch with sensei, I was too full to even eat the apple that she cut. Then I remembered the fruit that I ate in that dream. It was really delicious and just eating two was enough for me to stay full for the rest of the day. ¡®Was I not hungry because of that?¡¯ I thought to myself. But it just doesn¡¯t make sense that I could feel like this just because of that dream.


    The conversation continued with sensei until it was evening. I felt bad for her that I asked her to go back home.


    ¡°¡­but someone have to watch over you if something happen again!¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you stayed here for me until now. I¡¯m sure you would want to have a change of cloth and clean yourself don¡¯t you? I¡¯m already in the hospital and they¡¯re going to check me anyway so you don¡¯t have to worry okay?¡± I said as I tried convincing her as much as I can.


    She looked at me and reluctantly said, ¡°Fine. But if anything happens I¡¯ll come immediately. And call the nurse immediately if you feel weird in any way okay?¡±


    With those word, she packed up her stuff and waved me goodbye as she left the room. Since I have nothing better to do, I wanted to plan out what I¡¯m going to do next in the dream world. The first thing I saw on my phone was all kinds of ¡®get well soon¡¯ messages from my friends and family. Since I didn¡¯t want to worry them any further, I had to call them and tell them what happened. I ended up spending hours on the phone talking with each of them.


    After I had my dinner, I finally had time to start my planning for my next dream. Before I wake up from that dream, I remembered that I was playing with the glowing flower and found out that the spores was actually a sleeping powder. No wonder the jaguar staggered when it inhaled the spores. This was definitely a great discovery as this will greatly enhance my chances of winning.


    Finalizing everything I had to do in the next dream, I prayed in my heart that everything will go smoothly. The time was already half past 9 and the nurse did a last check up on me and gave me a sleeping pill just in case if couldn¡¯t sleep. I knew I didn¡¯t need that and immediately closed my eyes.


    ¡®Here goes nothing¡¯ I said in my heart as the floating sensation and warmth enveloped my body. ¡®Let¡¯s get out of this alive.¡¯


    *****


    The sound of chirping birds signals that I was already in the dream world. As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling again. But I knew what it was immediately. Line of roots surrounded me with mud and clay plastered with huge leaves covering the crevices. There was definitely some holes left as small ray of lights light up my hiding hole.


    I had to break the entrance of my hiding hole in order to get out as the mud and clay had already harden. The cold breeze and sound of the flowing stream was definitely peaceful. The rustling of leaves and chirping of birds really signifies that I was alive.


    ¡°I survived the night in this dreamworld!¡± I shouted with my fist high up. It really got me pumped up and all kinds of things I wanted to do rushed into my head. My first plan was to finish my weapons. I needed to continue making my spear, axe, bow and arrows. But I need to gather material first.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Before I head out to gather materials, I took a dip into the stream and it was as I thought, this stream somehow have a calming effect. Even though I was so pumped up but now I feel calm and clear headed. After drinking the stream water I went into my hiding hole to get my knife.


    As I crawled out of my hiding hole, I was greeted by an unfamiliar animals. Three fluffy white rabbits with colourful teeth and a round fluffy tail. They were holding something that looks like a carrot in their arms and taking a few bites. It seems they did not notice me exiting my hiding hole, so I sneak up behind them to take a closer look. They looked so cute that I feel like I want to put my face in their fluffy tail.


    ¡°Hello there!¡± I said as I was about to touch one of the rabbit¡¯s tail while crouching down.


    ¡°Wahhh! Run! It¡¯s the hairless monkey!¡± a high-pitched voice scream as the rabbits hopped away leaving their carrots behind.


    ¡°Wait, did that rabbit just¡­¡± I said with my dumbfounded face. ¡°No no no, I must be imagining it. There is just no way animals can talk. Well since it¡¯s just a dream so it might be possible. Hahaha!¡± I laughed it off as I see the rabbits hopped away into the bushes.


    I looked at the sky and it was definitely still in the morning. I have already memorised where the sun rises and sets. Since the stream flows from north to south, I decided that I¡¯ll just follow the down the stream in order to not get lost.


    Before I head out to search for materials, I made a pair of simple sandal with the leftover strings and big leaves. I didn¡¯t want my feet to feel sore after searching for materials though.


    As I walk along the stream, I could not stop being amazed by the beauty of this nature. Every bird I saw had beautiful colours and the flowers that blooms everywhere was just breath taking. I did not forget to collect some sticks and even collect some plant fibres in order to make more strings. I even found a very long cylindrical stone. I thought that it might be useful so picked it up and it was very light despite its large size. This thing can be used for many things in my crafting so I¡¯ll think of what to do with it later.


    I tied up everything I have collected. I tried to search for the blue glower (glowing flower) but I could not even find anything that looks similar to it. I guess it only appears and blooms at night so decided to go back to my base and started crafting. I knew that crafting my weapons will take a lot of time so should start before afternoon.


    My senses in this dream world have been really sharp and I realised that I have been hearing whispers coming from bushes the last few hours. I didn¡¯t think it was ghost or anything since it does not sound evil. If it weren¡¯t for my sharp senses I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear it. It were a mix of high-pitched voices and the only thing I can grasp on the voices was ¡®hairless monkey¡¯. That words keep on repeating as the voices continued to whisper. I tried to look for the sources but the only thing I saw was small animals and birds.


    I continued walking while being extra cautious. I realised there were small animals that kept on following me from the start. It were hiding behind the bushes so I couldn¡¯t see what it was. Since it doesn¡¯t look like its going to harm me so I just let it pass.


    As I arrived at my base, there was a familiar figure standing near the stream. It was the deer. No matter how many times I see it, the deer looked very magnificent and the fur looked as if it was glowing as the sun ray reflects on it.


    I walked closer to the deer and it seemed to have realized I arrived. The deer look at me intently and slightly bows its head.


    I bowed back reflexively and walked past it. I put the materials down on the boulders. I sat there and started crafting. The first thing I did was craft a spear as I have already finished the spear heads. The only thing left to do was to shape the sticks into a pole. Using the knife I carefully fashion the stick into a pole. Luckily, I found enough sticks that is as tall as me so if messed up I can just redo it again.


    While I was busy crafting, I looked up and realized the deer was standing next to me and watching me carefully. I was surprised that the deer seems to be interested in what I¡¯m doing. ¡°Oh, good afternoon there Mr. Deer. You can sit there and watch me craft this.¡± I said as I continued crafting my spear. I unintentionally talk to it as I was feeling lonely already. Since the deer was quite tall, its hard for me to look up whenever I want to said something I ended up telling it to sit down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡± a deep and manly voice replied to me.


    Surprised, I looked at the deer. It quietly sat on the ground in front of me while looking intently. I gulped and asked, ¡°Um, excuse me Mr. Deer, did you just¡­ talk?¡±


    ¡°Well, who else is here other than me?¡± the voice replied.


    I was so shocked that I jumped back and fell into the stream. Quickly I stood up and blow my nose off the water. ¡®I definitely saw the mouth moving with the voice¡¯ I thought to myself as I washed my face with the water again and again.


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re quite funny to be surprised by that.¡± the deer laugh it off with its deep and manly voice. ¡°Have you calm down yet?¡±


    The stream water calming effects kicked in right away and I continued sitting down on the boulder. Taking in a deep breath, I thought to myself about this absurd scene and took a long look at the deer.


    To be honest, the deer looked like it really enjoyed itself as it continued laughing with its deep voice. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at how kind its voice sounded. ¡°What the heck is happening, now I¡¯m talking to a deer. I must be crazy.¡±


    ¡°Oh deer, don¡¯t say that. You¡¯re fine. To be honest I¡¯m quite surprise myself that you can talk.¡± the deer said with its kind voice. ¡°Oh my, sorry for distracting you. Don¡¯t mind me and continue with your work. I would like to observe further.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I can continue with my work while a talking deer is watching me.¡± I said as I took my knife and continued carving the stick. Even though I said that, I was still able to continue crafting. The calming effect of the stream water really cleared my mind and made me face this situation calmly. Emotionally, I was still shocked. ¡°So, what exactly are you Mr. Deer? Why am I able to talk to you? I was pretty sure you didn¡¯t talk yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, I apologize for my rudeness. My name is Arzrail Wooford Elfpez Williak Anderadrin Powelf Antfler the Guardian of Light and Day. You can call me Arzrail. Honestly, I was not able to understand you either yesterday. I did give you the fruit to prevent you from getting poisoned from this stream water but I didn¡¯t know that you can understand me just from eating that. I¡¯m surprised myself. Well then, and you are?¡± the deer said.


    I was surprised by its name. It didn¡¯t even stutter while saying such long and weird name. But the ¡®guardian of light and day¡¯ struck me hard. Just be the magnificent look, I can definitely agree with that title. But no matter how you look at it, this is too fantasy-ish.


    If my ear serves me right, he did say the stream water was poisonous. Damn this forest. Trying to kill me every chance it get. I must have been really lucky that the deer gave me the antidote but to think that the fruit can make me understand animals was really absurd.


    I cleared my throat before replying to Arzrail, ¡°Um, my name is Yuu, Kamiya Yuu. You can call me Yuu. Thank you so much for giving me the fruits. I didn¡¯t know that the water was poisonous¡± I said while still carving the stick.


    ¡°Ah I see, I¡¯m quite surprised that you have a last name. Well, the water looks harmless but it contains a lot of mana that would end up bursting if left alone. The fruit merely lets you absorb the mana to your body. Well then, would you mind telling me what are you? The residents of the forest have been quite rude for calling you rude names. You looked like an elf but those short ears doesn¡¯t resemble one.¡± Arzrail said as he examined me.


    ¡®Mana and Elf? Why does everything sound so fantasy-ish?¡¯ The more Arzrail talks, the more this dream world sounds like a fantasy world. Can my mind really come up with this kind of dream? He even said the residents of the forest was talking about me. Then that explains the voices I have been hearing the whole day. I just can¡¯t believe I have been hearing animal voices from the morning.


    ¡°I¡¯m just a normal human,¡± I said.


    ¡°A human?! Where have I heard that before.¡± Arzrail said as he pondered for a while. He then continued, ¡° Well I can¡¯t remember but this is my first time meeting one. Nice to meet you, Yuu.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, nice to meet you too.¡± I paused for a while as I pondered how to ask him this question. ¡°Um, Arzrail, can you tell me more about this¡­ place?¡± I asked with a wry smile.


    Arzrail looked at me carefully and answered everything I wanted to know. Even though it was the answer I wanted, but I was not ready for it. The way he answered my question, he structured it well enough for him to see how I would react. I knew I wanted to keep a straight face but I just couldn¡¯t hide my shock.


    This is definitely a different world. This is not merely a world that I can just create with my mind. I will have to face the fact that I¡¯m living in two different world now. And I¡¯m currently living in a world where I will have to survive as much as I could. As far as the deer said, there are different mythical creature living in this world. The elves, the dwarves and many more races live outside of this forest. There are much more beyond this forest and Arzrail just said to me that I will just have to discover about it myself.


    ¡°You should get use to living here. I will help you as much as I can.¡± Arzrail said. With how I reacted, I thought that he might have realized my situation. I glad that the first person that I talked to was very kind and heart-warming person.


    ¡°I um¡­ thank you so much Arzrail.¡± I gave my heartful gratitude for giving me support.


    ¡°Enough with the gloomy topic. Shall we call out those that are hiding over there?¡± Arzrail suggested to me. I realized that there were some animals around us for a while now hiding in the bushes. I ust replied him with a nod and he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you think its rude to eavesdrop on other people,¡± Arzrail said while looking at a nearby bush. ¡°Why don¡¯t you apologize to him too since you have been calling him rude names.¡±


    Three fluffy little bunny came out of the bushes. They hopped with their two hind legs whilst carrying carrots in their arms.


    ¡°Aaaa! Aren¡¯t the three of you I saw in the morning?¡± I said as I hold in the urge to pet them.


    ¡°Yeah, sorry for what happened in the morning,¡± one of the bunny said. ¡°And sorry we called you hairless monkey,¡± the other one continued. ¡°Well, here¡¯s some carrot for our apologies,¡± the last one said and three of them put down the carrots next to me.


    I wasn¡¯t surprised anymore by the talking animals since the deer gave such a big impression already. Their high-pitched voice reminded me of the voices when I went out to collect materials just now. It must have been them following me.


    ¡°Ohh, thank you for the carrot. I¡¯m Yuu Kamiya.¡± I said slightly bowing my head.


    The three little rabbit continued on sitting next to Arzrail. They introduced themselves as Rabbi, Rabbu and Rabbo. However, there were no difference in appearance between the three to differentiate them and even their voices sounded similar. They were definitely lively creatures as they continued talking without stop while they munch on some nuts. I ate the carrots while continuing doing my craft and joined in their conversation.


    As I had finished crafting my spear already, I continued on crafting a stone axe. Even though quite some time have passed, the three little bunny and Arzrail were still happily chatting mostly about delicious berries and some nice places in the forest.


    ¡°What are doing Mr. Yuu? You seem to be busy with those things for a while now.¡± One of the bunny asked. Arzrail looked at me but I can tell he knows what I was up to.


    ¡°I¡¯m making weapons. To protect myself of course.¡± I said as started knapping a stone larger than a fist in order to make the axe head. After doing it for so many times, I was already getting the hang of it and fashioning into a desired shape was quite simple.


    As I was busy crafting, I suddenly realised that they have been quiet for a while. The bunny looked at each other in confusion. One of the bunny broke the silence and said ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t you¡­¡± it stuttered a bit before rephrasing it again, ¡°¡­You mean to fight the creatures of the night?¡±


    I really did not understand what it meant by creatures of the night. The only thing comes in mind was the jaguar so just nod to answer its question. Were there more creatures like the jaguar at night?


    ¡°No no no!¡± the three of the bunny shouted in unison. ¡°You mustn¡¯t! The creatures of the night are not to be trifled with. They are ruthless killer. They will kill you just for the sake of it!¡± the bunny said as they take turn to talk.


    The three bunnies were worried and frightened too as they mentioned about the creature of the night. I could even see their ear shaking a little as the looked at me worriedly. Remembering my first meeting with the jaguar made me realize how frightening the creature was and I could understand why they were trembling just mentioning them.


    Arzrail on the hand was calm and collected and said, ¡°What they said is true. Fighting even one of the creatures of the night will surely bring harm to you. It would be best to avoid fighting at all cost.¡± Arzrail said. He then looked me and then at the bunnies and said, ¡°I can only keep the peace in this forest during the day. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t protect you in the night. Yuu, when the sun sets, hide.¡± He said apologetically.


    The three bunnies nod their head in unison to Arzrail¡¯s word as they looked at me. The worried faces that the bunnies made were really cute and I could feel Arzrail¡¯s worries too even though he just kept a straight face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is just for protection,¡± I said as I try to relieve their worries. Somehow, I started to waver even though I have everything planned out to kill the jaguar. ¡®I survived yesterday just by hiding. Shouldn¡¯t I be able to do the same again?¡¯ I thought. What Arzrail said was true, who knows what will happen if I fight the jaguar again. What if I were unable to fight back and still get myself killed. I really don¡¯t want to feel that kind of pain anymore. Maybe I should just hide. What¡¯s important here was that I have to survive the night. I looked at them again and pointed at my hiding hole, ¡°I¡¯ll just in that hole again when the times come okay¡±


    The bunnies and Arzrail somehow looked satisfied with my answer. We then continued chatting as I crafted my weapons. Still, the weapons was necessary for me to protect myself at least so should just continue crafting it. ¡®I might as well craft some tools next time and fixed my hiding place.¡¯


    As time passes, the sky was already died red and the sun was about to set. The bunnies and Arzrail bid me farewell as they went separate ways. Before I even realised it, I had already finished crafting an axe, some arrows and another spear. The only left to craft was a bow but I could do it the next day.


    ¡°Nothing beats the satisfaction of finally finishing my craft.¡± I said to myself. Looking at my own craftsmanship, it was not too shabby but I can say it was a pass. ¡°Even dwarves would want to have such craftmanship, hahaha!¡± I laughed at my own boasting.


    The only thing left to do now was to collect some glowing flower. I had planned to use it to make it into a drug and coat my weapons with it. The glowing flower¡¯s spores have a unique property like a sleeping powder. So I thought of grinding the flowers and mix it with water. This was my trump card in order to fight the jaguar but since my priority have changed now, I will use it on myself. It will be a good substituted for a sleeping pill. I knew that since I will go back to the real world after sleeping, having the sleeping drug to sleep immediately would be a relief.


    I waited for a while as the sun sets and the glowing flowers started to bloom. I hang my axe on my waist with the knife and I brought along my spear to search for the glowing flower. It was not far from my hiding hole so I hoped to get done with it and hide myself quickly.


    As I plucked one of the glowing flower, a chill ran down my spine. I could feel a cold glare, staring at me. A heavy breathing made my body to reflexively point my spear in a stance


    ¡°Hooo, you¡¯re alive again.¡± A deep hoarse voice echoed in the quiet forest.


    I desperately searched for the source of the voice. My hand was trembling. It was no doubt that was the jaguar. I cursed myself for not hiding in the hole immediately after sun set. To think that I would be found so quickly like this.


    Suddenly something landed in front of me with a loud thud. There it was, the black jaguar.