“What? Why wouldn’t he want to get out of this dream? It’s just an illusion, anyway!” Rohan was shocked at this revetion.

  “I don’t think it really matters to him whether this pce is an illusion or not. All of his desires have come to life here, and maybe leaving them to return to his life is not something he wants.” Alexa shook her head in regret.

  “But-” Unfortunately, no words could come out of his mouth. After all, there was no one who wasn’t aware of the tragedy that befell the Briar Family.

  If something like that happened to Rohan, then even he wasn’t sure if he would have the courage to leave this beautiful dream.

  “Let’s go and find the monster ourselves. Once we defeat it, Ryder will get dragged out automatically.” Alexa advised.

  “But where will we find that Rose monster? The Academy grounds are huge!”

  “It’s not like I wasn’t doing anything while that teacher was talking. I already found out where the monster is.” Alexa answered.

  “Already? Where is it?”

  “Not here at the Academy.”

  “You mean it's hiding out in that fog?” Rohan questioned.

  “Maybe that’s the monster’s way of ensuring its survival. By staying out of our sight.” Alexa just shrugged. “Though whatever we do, we should do it quickly. I don’t know if you are aware, but ever since we entered this dreamscape, this monster’s been feeding on your mana and life force. Your bodies outside will soon be dry as a husk.”

  Now that she mentioned it, Rohan could feel his energy slowly getting sapped away.

  “How far away is it?” Rohan asked.

  “Only a few kilometers away.”

  “Then we should get there quickly.” Not wanting to lose any more of his life force, he quickly rushed ahead.

  As they left the Academy gates, the grey fog quickly blocked his vision once again. Following Alexa's directions, Rohan found himself at the familiar Indigo Road.

  “The fog here there is much lighter than the outside.” Rohan remarked as he walked over to the Briar household.

  “Probably because this pce is directly reted to Ryder’s desires.” Alexa replied. “The monster must be inside the mansion.”

  As Rohan was contempting whether to sneak in or ring the doorbell, the door suddenly opened and a beautiful silver-haired woman came out of the mansion.

  Rohan quickly noticed the golden-rose hairpin that tied her long hair back into a bun.

  “Hello, Rohan! Come here to kill me?” She asked, not a hint of worry in her eyes.

  “Yeah. Though you seem too rexed for a monster who’s about to be destroyed.”

  “Oh please. Do you think I learned nothing from the way you mercilessly killed your own father?” The monster smiled at him.

  “That thing wasn’t my father. It wasn’t even a good imitation.” Rohan annoyingly reacted.

  “Well, I am a good imitation of Ryder’s mother. Poor guy didn’t even find anything odd. He’s just too broken inside.”

  Rohan felt disgusted that this monster was mocking his friend, all the while wearing the face of his friend’s mother.

  Not wanting to listen to any more of the monster’s bullshit, Rohan took out his staff.

  The monster just stared at him, unflinching. “Killing your friend’s mother. And people call me a monster.”

  “You are not his mother. You are just a disgusting parasite that leeches off people’s vulnerabilities.”

  “Whatever you say, but are you sure Ryder will agree with that?” The monster nodded behind him.

  Rohan and Alexa quickly turned around to find a sweating Ryder standing behind them as if he had run all the way there. There was horror in his eyes, seeing his friend pointing a weapon at his mother, almost ready to kill her.

  “I texted him right after you guys left the Academy. The boy rushed here once he heard his poor mother was in danger. Now, I’ll leave you two alone. Py nicely, boys!” Saying that she quickly shut the door behind her.

  “Wow, that bitch really screwed us over.” Alexa commented, staring at the panicking Ryder they were left to face.

  Rohan just sighed in defeat.

  “Rohan...were you just trying to...attack my mother?” Ryder asked in disbelief.

  “Ryder, you have to listen to me. That thing is not your mother.” Rohan hoped that if he told him the circumstances again, this time he would listen to reason.

  However…

  “I don’t know what sort of delusion you are under, but she is my mother. How dare you think of hurting her” Ryder replied angrily, taking a sword out of his ring.

  Without waiting for a reply, Ryder rushed forward, bringing down his sword with full force.

  Against Ryder’s speed, Rohan could barely react in time, blocking the sword with his staff.

  “Now get away from my house and my mother!” Ryder angrily warned him, as he increased the force.

  “I’m really sorry, Ryder, but I can’t do that.” Rohan refused to back down. “This is just a dream. Your real family is waiting for you outside.”

  “My family is here!”

  “For god’s sake, forget him and get her. She’s the one whom we need to kill.” Alexa pointed towards the house.

  “Yeah, well. I am a little busy at the moment.” Rohan countered, trying to push Ryder off, but to no avail.

  Guess the monster wasn't taking away her guard's life force like it was sapping away his.

  “Then let me possess you, genius. I can overpower him.”

  Rohan sighed. Getting possessed twice in one day.

  He didn’t like the feeling of that. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

  “Suit yourself.” He decided to give her permission.

  Instantly, the feeling of control over his body disappeared一as if he was an observer watching his own body in third-person一as the hungry ghost took possession of his living body.

  It was different from the time he accessed Alexa’s Skill while fighting the monster at his house.

  He was still in control of his body, at that time.

  But this time, Alexa was fully in control. With all her Skills and Stats that she had when she was alive.

  "Don't hurt him too much. Or me." Rohan gently reminded her, as he watched their battle from the sidelines.

  “A bo staff? Eh, not my style.” Throwing her only weapon away, Alexa clenched her fists, full-on thug mode.

  Looking at Ryder, who was surprised at why his opponent had suddenly thrown away his weapon, Alexa warned him. “Clench your teeth, kid. You might not want to accidentally swallow them.”

  “Huh?”

  And then with no warning, she sucker-punched him right in the face.

  Rohan stared in pity一The poor guy didn’t even get a chance to defend himself, as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

  “I am sorry, little guy. No one should go through what you are going through right now. But that thing is just an imitation mocking the image of your mother in your mind. If you really hold her dear, you will let this go. For your own sake.” Alexa clicked her teeth in pity at the unconscious boy, before walking to the door of the mansion.

  With a single kick, she knocked the door out of its hinges.

  Rohan slowly floated behind her. “That was a bit harsh. I thought you were only good at tracking stuff, but that punch came out of nowhere.”

  “Oh please. Any self-respecting Hero would be able to knock out a boy, who didn’t even go to the Academy, like that. You should tell that Professor of yours to add some combat lessons to your curriculum.” Alexa commented, stepping foot inside the house.

  The monster, in the form of Ryder’s mother, was already waiting by the stairs, as if expecting them.

  “I really expected more from that bastard.” The monster looked at Ryder with intense disapproval and mockery in its eyes.

  Alexa moved in between them, making sure the monster didn’t look at Ryder with the face of his mother like that.

  “That boy was fighting to save his dear mother. Don’t you dare look at him with those disgusting eyes, you piece of filth.”

  “I mean, if he can fall for my little illusion just like that, just how much did he really love her, to not even be able to distinguish between us.” The monster just mocked him, ughing with his mother still on.

  Rohan couldn't believe it didn't even have the decency to turn back into its original form as if it was wanting to piss them off even more.

  “You seem to have already given up on your life, it seems.” Alexa clenched her fist in anger, hearing the repulsive words coming out of its mouth.

  “I was already ready for it the moment you guys killed my copy back in your house. However, I do wish I could’ve seen the boy’s face when he realizes all this was a lie after he wakes up. I really wanna know how he will react.” It answered with a smug smile on its face.

  Crack!’ Not able to hear another word come out of its disgusting mouth, Alexa grabbed the rose-shaped hair decoration on her head and crushed it to pieces.

  “You don’t need to worry about that. That boy has some great friends.” Alexa answered the fading monster, as the dream around them slowly faded into fog.

  “That monster just didn't know when to quit, did it?” Rohan observed, floating beside her.

  “Yeah. I just hate it when people or monsters disrespect the dead and their memories.” She stared in repulsion, as the monster’s body changed from human to rose, before fading into oblivion.

  "You speaking from experience?" Rohan wondered aloud, before quickly realising what he had and shutting his mouth.

  “You’ll understand sooner or ter.” Alexa gave him a slightly furious side-eye.

  “Hopefully, ter.” Rohan replied awkwardly at the ominous words.

  “Yeah. Hopefully.” Alexa couldn’t help but ugh at his awkward response. “I would love to possess your body for a bit longer, but I don’t want to scare you off. Make sure to get some combat lessons.”

  With a st reminder, Alexa left his body and Rohan’s spirit took back its ownership.

  When his eyes opened, he was back at the Dungeon, with a relieved Professor Ray looking over him. “I was a bit concerned there when both your bodies started convulsing. Did you two fight inside the dream?”

  “Some things happened. It’s a long story.” With the Professor’s support, Rohan slowly sat up.

  Beside him, Ryder was still sleeping. There was a single teardrop trailing down his right eye as if he knew that the dream was over, but he would still cherish the memories.

  Professor Ray seemed to have noticed it, too. “I hope I didn’t push him too far.”

  “He’s strong. He will be fine.” Rohan reassured him.

  In front of him, the golden rose was still standing一its petals now a wilting, sickly brown., slowly falling to the ground

  “Can we please go back home now?” He asked, not having the heart to fight any more monsters.

  “Yeah, let’s do that. But don’t forget to take your prize.” Ray pointed to the rose, which was almost petal-less now.

  A single golden bead was sitting at the top of its stalk. A golden mist kept swirling inside it, hypnotically, as if it would put anyone in a trance, if they looked inside long enough.

  Ripping away his gaze, he grabbed the Skill Bead, as Ray snapped his finger, lifting Ryder’s still unconscious body with a gust of wind.

  Fog of Destiny (D):

  Can trap anyone weaker than the user in a happy dream, as long as mana is supplemented.

  “Not bad for your first haul.” Ray praised him, as the two left the now barren field of flowers.

  When they reached the Dungeon Gate, Mike and Izzy were already waiting there with Deus and the twin Spirits.

  “Oh my god, what happened to Ryder?” They fussed over his sleeping body, as Ray handed him to Mike.

  “He’s just…dreaming. Let him sleep for a while.” Ray answered as they all headed back to their house.

  It was already evening outside the Dungeon when they came out.

  Ryder was lying peacefully on the couch, while the rest of them had some food delivered.

  Ray headed to the Den to sell the monster corpses that they all had collected in the Dungeon.

  It wasn’t much, but Ray promised to give all of them the profits as an allowance. After all, they had earned it.

  It was only an hour ter when Ryder finally woke up.

  Mike and Izzy weren’t sure of the details of what happened in the Dungeon, so Rohan took a seat beside him, handing him a box of chicken gyoza.

  “I am sorry for what I did to you in the dream.” Rohan apologized. After all, Alexa had knocked him out pretty badly.

  Ryder shook his head. “It’s fine. It was a nice dream, but in the end, you were right. It was just a dream.” There was a hint of gloominess in his tone, but Rohan knew that was something Ryder needed to fix on his own.

  “Anyway, look what we got. A Skill Bead on our first Dungeon Raid.” He decided to cheer him, using the reward they recieved from defeating the monster.

  “Damn, that’s great.” This time, Rohan smiled, taking the rare Skill Bead in his hand.

  At this moment, Mike and Izzy pitched in, noticing the improvement in the atmosphere.

  “Damn, guys! You really scored a Skill Bead on your first try. We only got stuck with some measly monsters.” Izzy hugged Ryder from behind, trying to get a better look at the Skill Bead.

  Blushing, Ryder shyly replied. “W-well, obviously. I am a Briar after all.”

  Mike just ughed, grabbing a gyoza from his box. “Don’t worry, I will get five Skill Beads on our next Dungeon Raid.”

  Hearing his ridiculous comment, all three of them started ughing.