《Dreams of Men》
Authors Note + Character / Setting
Author''s Note
This web novel is structured differently than other web novels, so I think it is necessary to explain the chapter numbering and the order people will read the novel. This novel is divided into the main plot and side stories. Both the main plot and side stories can branch into subplots that may or may not happen concurrently. This is done to avoid the premature spoiling of key plot events.
Subplots are then divided into chapters, then subchapters. A typical chapter number would look like this: Chapter B123.4. The letter B denotes the current subplot. The letter A will be used for the main subplot. Chapter numbers that do not have letters are either completely on the main plot or have suggested the merge of all main subplots. In this case, side subplots will retain their letters.
For the chapter number: Chapter B123 would be the 123rd chapter of the B subplot. When merging subplots, the next chapter number will be incremented from the previous unlettered number. If no chapters were previously unlettered, the chapter number for the first merge would be Chapter 2.x. Subchapters of the same chapter and subplot merge together into a single chapter after it is finished. This is done to allow a more flexible release schedule.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Character List
"Significant" characters
The young boy (First appeared A1.1) - the lead character
The young boy''s brother (First appeared A1.1)
The young boy''s parents (First mentioned A1.1)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First appeared A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First appeared A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First appearedA1.3)
"???" - antagonist
"???" - antagonist
"???" - antagonist
"???"
"???"
"???"
"???"
"???"
"???"
"???"
"Insignificant" characters
The elementary school teacher (First mentioned A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First mentioned A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First mentioned A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First mentioned A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First mentioned A1.3)
"???" - the young boy''s classmate(First mentioned A1.3)
"Unknown significance" (as of A1.2)
The girl- (First appeared A1.1)
The hobo - (First appeared A1.1)
The kid- (First appeared A1.1)
The guy - (First appeared A1.1)
"???" - the elementary school principal (First mentioned ???)
Others
The narrator - (First appeared A1.1) - Unknown if first-person or third-person
A1.1
This is the story of a young boy, his coming-of-age, and his rise to the top.
What we are about to enter is a fantasy world so similar to the real world, yet so different; so familiar yet so foreign. A world with similar environmental, technological, and social conditions as ours, yet so different for the fact that the kind of stories and characters in this fantasy world do not exist in the real world anymore. World-building aside, let''s get back to the main plot.
The young boy was a quite handsome, confident, precocious and principled elementary schooler. He was around two and a half feet tall and wore eyeglasses matching his oval-shaped face and fair skin complexion. Though unworked, his skeletal muscles leaned towards the lean side, which was unusual since the only thing he does at home is eat, sleep, read, and use his computer.
His family was slightly less than ideal; they weren''t really rich yet they were able to live a comfortable life. His parents were working abroad and seldom contacted him yet sent money every month for him and his older brother to use.
One night, the young boy was fetched from the mall by his brother. They cruised around the streets, with the boy looking at the sidewalk, observing each street lamp, each closing establishment, each unilluminated alley. It was a chilly night with snow flurrying onto the streets, creating a lens flare-like effect in combination with the light from the full moon and defective street lamps.
The boy had a detached expression, yet was still confounded to see some people outside due to the cold, the dark night, and the ghastly feeling of the place.
One of which was a tipsy woman who was around sixteen to eighteen years old. She looked like a skinny K-pop idol, and perhaps also acted like a K-pop idol. She was wearing a cream fur coat and a black latex miniskirt; beautiful but not so fresh, I''d bet. When she sneaked into a dark alley, "Shouldn''t she have been arrested by the police?", the young boy asked himself, but went back to his detached state right after. It seemed like the young boy knew what she was about to be doing, and I think we all know what she was about to be doing.
On another dark alley was a strongly-built man who had nothing on his body except for his leather jacket and skinny jeans, not even underwear. Of course the young boy didn''t know this, as the narrator I just felt obliged to share it. He had a disturbing scar just below his left eye, had grime all over his body, yet still had a shaven face. He was lying down on the alley, basically a hobo.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Walking along the sidewalk was another boy his age; blond, had sectoral heterochromia, quite rich-looking, wearing a white tiger fur coat. It looked like he was lost. Lost in more ways than one. "Doesn''t he have a phone?", the young boy said. Although it didn''t seem like he ran away from his parents, the young boy couldn''t guess why the rich boy was there. Well, if the rich boy went to the police, he would be confronted about where he got a coat with the fur of an endangered animal. Or maybe not, depending on how competent and concerned the police are.
At this point, the young boy felt that the night was really unusual so he placed more attention to the happenings. His brother who was driving also had a glimpse of the side of the street, but didn''t care about it at all. In fact, for a few moments, nothing notable happened. After a few moments of unease, the young boy finally found something of interest.
A dilapidated black car with the plate pumber CII8 stopped over the opposite side of the road. The boy thought that the single-numbered plates were hard to come by, but the fact that the car looked like it came straight from a junk shop made it more peculiar. A man wearing a black polo shirt came out of it, walking towards another dark alley. The man stopped and pulled something from his pocket which the young boy had difficulty in seeing due to their increasing distance. Perplexed, the young boy then thought about why so many shady people were present in that street that night when normally there should be none.
"Has that place ever been a hotspot for shady activity? Wait, I don''t think so, but I also don''t think this is coincidence. What must it be? Hmmm..."
I feel that we are in a perilous situation since the main character, with his limited point-of-view, is trying to sense the presence of the fourth wall and the conflicting, sovereign, and causal nature of narrative fiction. I must not let my existence be exposed. I must not let the readers'' existence be exposed. As the narrator, I must fix this. Quick, before he notices it! Whew. I thought we were in a rough ride there. Let''s go back to the story. While we''re at it, let me drop some hints to where will the story move to.
Out of the four characters introduced earlier, only one of them is a Chekhov''s gun.
Oops, time''s up.
After thinking about it for a while, the young boy returned to proper sitting position and moved on with his life.
A1.2
The young boy was starting to get sleepy, so he lied down in the car''s back seat. When they arrived at home, his brother woke him up but he was still sleepy so he remained in the back seat for a few minutes. After a few minutes, he got out of the car and entered the house.
Opening the door, he removed his shoes and placed it on the shoe rack. He checked the time from the clock; it was 12:54 AM. He went ahead to his room in the second floor where he was greeted with the cold air from his air conditioner which must have been turned on the whole day. He turned the lights on, dropped his bag, placed his glasses on his study table, and didn''t even remove his clothes or turn the lights back off. He just jumped onto the bed and slept.
He was very relaxed and satisfied in his sound sleep, or should I say overly relaxed. It was as if he wouldn''t notice someone pouring hot water on him. Even if war broke out, he wouldn''t notice all the noise. When he woke up, he spent a few seconds closing his eyes to adjust his brain. When he first opened his eyes, he slowly saw the blurry light coming out of the window. He then rubbed his eyes and saw his brightly illuminated room.
"Oh no! I''ve overslept!", he panicked while looking at his wristwatch which read 6:09 AM. Considering that his classes start at 7:00 AM, and considering the time it takes to do various bathroom tasks, eat, change clothes, pack up, and travel to school, he might''ve really overslept.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
However, if I were to be asked, I think it is better to consider other perspectives. Aside from having overslept, he also underslept at the same time. He had only 5 hours and 15 minutes of sleep which is well below the minimum required sleep of 7 hours for a boy his age. So you better sleep well during classes, boy.
He then picked up his phone and checked for any messages and notifications, but there were none. He pulled his school clothes out of his wardrobe: his underwear, a white polo, a midnight blue coat, tie, pants, and socks. He took a half bath while urinating, then dried his body quickly. He then changed his clothes, grabbed his bag, and placed his phone and wallet inside his pocket. Before leaving the room, he turned the lights and air conditioning off. Dashing through the hallway towards the stairs, he leaped directly to the first floor, breaking his fall by crouching. He then rushed into the kitchen and grabbed his lunchbox which also had his breakfast inside and placed it in his school bag.
"Woah, take it slow!", his brother said while removing his apron.
While his brother was preparing his stuff, the young boy wore his school shoes and waited in the car. He was browsing the web with his phone on his left hand and eating the ham-egg TLC sandwich his brother made for him for breakfast on his right. Checking the time on his phone, it was 6:45 AM. As such, he had a 30% chance of arriving at school on time.
A moment later, his brother entered the car and accelerated to approach the speed limit. Luckily, the roads weren''t too congested that they were able to reach school on time. 7:00 AM. The young boy said goodbye to his brother and proceeded to his classroom.