In the night sky, a vast expanse of stars lit up the darkness. The soft howl of the wind and the echo it left as it passed through the gaps in the ruins—of what was once a prosperous city—were interrupted by the furious roars of a beast.
"Argh! Just die!"
Currently, I was shouting at nothing, about to be devoured by a nightmare creature the size of a small truck. Summoning the Crimson Spear, I drove its point directly into the roof of the creature's mouth, and it came out cleanly through its skull. One more groan later, the nightmare creature fell dead to the ground.
[You have slain a Fallen Monster, Terrible Warg.]
[Your core strengthens.]
"At this rate, I'm going to die," I let out a weary sigh.
It had been about two months since I had landed in this forgotten zone of the Dream Realm. Honestly, it was a miracle I was still alive. The weakest creature here was a Fallen Beast; all Awakened Beasts had been violently slaughtered by other abominations, leaving only the strongest.
The Ruins.
As I called this place, it was an ancient city, with houses made of wood, rock, and clay, similar to ancient Egyptian architecture, but somehow more advanced, infused with essence.
Anyway, I'm getting off track. The ruins were dangerous. Awakened, Fallen, and even Corrupted monsters constantly roamed here. There were also Demons, Devils, Tyrants, and the occasional stray Terror from who-knows-where.
There was a gate leading to the waking world, but it was guarded by a Great Demon; in short, a beast that could only be slain by a Saint.
"Why don't I just try to leave here?"
Good question, and to answer it, listen carefully: it's impossible.
And I mean that literally. It is impossible to leave the ruins. The Great Demon possessed a spatial ability that teleported everything back to the start. In summary, if I leave the ruins and take that first step outside, I'll simply be right back inside.
I am trapped among nightmare creatures. Something really hilarious, considering my Luck attribute seems to be broken.
"Tsk, what a scam," I murmured, pulling my legs to my chest.
The Crimson Mantle shifted slowly with me. It was a Garment-type Memory, of the fifth-level Transcendent rank, which I obtained from killing the Devourer Queen.
It was an exquisite piece of clothing: a white mantle of fine, aesthetic cloth, with the red mantle over it as a protective cloak. Underneath, fine, elegant black cloth pants, and crimson cloth boots. Being a Transcendent Memory, it was incredibly durable; it had protected me many times from attacks by powerful creatures, one of them being an Awakened Devil, a wolf the size of four meters tall. Its claws would have cut me like wet paper if not for the mantle. I eventually killed it, but I was truly close to death.
"I guess luck is good for something, since I won its Echo."
A humorless laugh escaped my mouth.
Sensing another beast beginning to approach, I stood up, grabbed the Crimson Spear, and struck down the nightmare creature, dispersing its two soul fragments before leaving the area. Staying in one place too long was dangerous.
Using my Spatial Sense, I moved quickly through the rubble, leaping from rock to rock, sometimes using the half-collapsed roofs to gain speed. It was astonishing what I could achieve. No Earth human would dream of doing what I do.
Pushing off the ground forcefully, I took a great leap, soaring over a large sinkhole where giant spiders, ruled by a Fallen Tyrant, dwelled. Landing, I summoned the Crimson Spear and threw it at an abomination that leaped towards me. The spear lodged cleanly in its head right in mid-air, by sheer luck.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Terrible Wolf.]
[Your core strengthens.]
Dismissing the memory, I continued running until I reached my hideout. I entered an opening just large enough for a human, but small enough that monsters couldn't get through. I landed on the floor and stood up.
"Home sweet home," I said quite cheerfully, but no one answered.
"Who am I kidding? I'm alone." A solitary tear slid from my left eye.
The place where I lived was ancient. There was a rather comfortable and well-preserved bed, a wooden table I made in my spare time, and a purified water bucket I luckily found, capable of storing a large amount of water.
Approaching the bucket, I lifted it and took several heavy gulps. Setting it down, I sat on the bed and unfolded a large piece of cloth where I had drawn a rough map of the city based on my explorations.
Grabbing a piece of charcoal, I drew a new section and added two skulls.
After doing so, I looked at the map. It was circular, divided into several sections: Commercial Zone, Residential Zone, Training Zone, and the Castle, located on the elevated part, where the Great Demon, the gate's guardian, resided. The skulls represented the strongest creatures, the Tyrants. The number of skulls indicated their power level.
"Hmm... I need to make the Plague Tyrant fight the Spider Queen... Their two territories are close, and if a battle starts between them, it will be my easiest opportunity to kill the one left weaker."
I murmured to myself.
However, it was easier said than done. The Fallen Tyrant, known as Plague, was an extremely venomous creature whose territory was deadly; I had never dared to enter it. As for the spiders, it was equally dangerous; those things were fast, and their queen was worse.
I scratched my head, thoughtful. I needed to lure both into fighting each other. Using scouts wouldn't work, as they would just kill each other on sight.
"No, wait... I have this." A smile spread across my face as I summoned a memory I obtained from killing a troublesome monkey.
Memory: [Alluring Aroma]
Type:Tool.
Description:[Used by gladiators, this tool allows the user to attract creatures with the scent of what they most desire.]
"Yes, this will be very useful," I murmured with a smile.
If I used this memory, I could lure the Plague swarm towards the spider nest. Unable to resist the aroma, they would start a war. Though I would have to move to another zone, as the Plague's venom would spread quickly.
"I need to prepare. I guess I'll do it in two days."
Dismissing the memory, I stood up and blocked the entrance with a large rock weighing several hundred kilos. After preparing some monster meat and cooking it over a fire, I went to sleep.