The Dreamer's POV

It was a peaceful night.

I had a dream of enjoying my beauty sleep, feeling my body acclimate to the pleasure of having an enjoyable rest without the pangs of hunger and the stings of regret bothering me.

I was completely at peace, anticipating the next day when I would hunt down Demons once again.

... Until...

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!~

A loud explosion woke me from my sleep, but not from the dream.

I instantly shot up from my position, my line of sight darting toward the origin of the noise.

It was only when I looked that I understood the meaning of an imposing despair.

The secure metal obstruction that defended the front door of the Drugstore had collapsed, and standing right outside was a horrifying creature I had yet to encounter.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

<You Have Encountered A Dangerous Demon>

'Dangerous?' Weren't all Demons Dangerous? There mere fact that the System chose to qualify this particular one in this way meant it was far deadlier than anything I had seen thus far.

And I wasn't surprised by that analysis.

The Demon stood about five meters tall, with a bulky body that appeared to be an unholy alliance of fat and muscle.

It's potbelly bounced as it's extremely muscular arms swung around, tearing whatever remained of the front door so it could gain entry into the Drugstore.

My eyes met its gaze, and I instinctively realized there was no escape.

"ROOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"

It lunged at me with ferocity, not even granting me enough time to prepare my 'Rocks' or throw them—not like they would have made a difference.

~SQUELCH!~

It dug its sharp fang-like teeth into my body, completely draining me of all my energy in moments.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

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<Your Life Force Has Dropped Below 5 Percent.>

{You will soon die…}

In a final fit of desperation, I slammed both rocks on the beast, feeling the recoil of the attack bounce back to me.

It felt as though I was hitting an impenetrable wall.

My useless attacks didn't stop the monster from biting more into my flesh and consuming my innards as blood dripped to the ground to form a puddle.

It was at that point that the last thread of my life snapped...

[You Have Died]

<Dream Sequence Has Ended>

{Based On Exclusive Skill: <Dream>; your recent experiences have been dissolved into a dream}

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

[You Will Now Wake Up]

... And I woke up from the dream.

********

<Day 5 of the Tutorial>

[12:52 PM, Thursday 4th of May, 2024]

"Argh! ahhh... haaa...."

I woke up from a terrible dream, clutching my body instinctively as I found myself in the drugstore, waking up from my short nap after eating my meal.

"Haa... I see. So that's what happened."

I just had a dream where a Demon more powerful than anything I had ever seen before appeared.

I was no match for it, even after I had levelled up some more for the day, and even used my trusty weapons.

'It seems I still haven't gotten the hang of basic survival as I thought.' A wry smile formed on my face as beads of sweat dropped down.

Did I really think I could rest and easily survive the Tutorial by simply performing simple tasks?

Why didn't I take stronger Demons and tougher conditions into account?

"Looks like I made a mistake again. It cost me my life, and if not for <Dream>, it would have been game over."

I owed a lot to this Exclusive Skill of mine. It made even an idiot like me capable of living through this hell.

'To be fair, though, there's no way I could have seen it coming. How did it know I was here?'

I wasn't quite sure, but then again, it didn't really matter.

This place was no longer safe for me.

'I have observed the lesser Demons, so I can somewhat read their moves and decipher their patterns, but I know nothing about this one.'

And it was too risky to try to do so at this point.

"I'm too weak to do anything against it. Even if I grind for the rest of today, there's no saying I'll be strong enough to win."

Besides, if one Demon like that could break in, there's nothing stopping another from doing the same.

After all, I wasn't certain only one of those Demons existed.

"The System specifically warned me that I encountered a 'Dangerous Demon'. That means there is a higher probability that there are more of them out there."

I couldn't let my guard down.

"It's regrettable, but it seems I can't stay here any longer."

And it no longer applied to this place.

"I can't stay in a single location for more than one night."

It could be paranoia, but I had a feeling that the Tutorial wanted to discourage staying in a single location for too long—specifically one as comfortable as this one.

For someone like me who was both actively hunting and also within a haven of abundance, I had the best of both worlds.

Perhaps I broke the balance of survival a little, and so the giant Demon was meant to disrupt that semblance of stability and peace.

'Or maybe I'm just unlucky. It's better not to overthink things.'

What I had to do now was pretty simple. I had to gather as many supplies and foodstuff as I required and leave this place.

'It's a shame, but this is for the best.' As I stared at the stash of drugs and medicines in the room, I realised it would be a waste to leave them behind as well.

'Who knows when they might come in handy?'

And then an idea struck me!

"Why don't I change the locations of these drugs and the bulk of the resources here to a separate area? I'll use that as my store. Then I'll choose another place as my living quarters, switching positions to different places from time to time?"

That way, I could safeguard these assets of mine.

'It'll take some time, but it's not impossible.'

This was a residential area, so there were many places I could use as options.

'If I read the patterns of the Demons, I don't even need to use an invisibility potion. I'll avoid them and carry the resources in batches.'

Afterward, u had to find a residential area that was close to the store, so I could access it easily and also monitor it.

'There's only like two more days before the end of the Tutorial. I should be able to hold out until then.'

It seemed levelling up for today would have to wait. For now, I had to move out.

'But... that isn't all I have to do, is it?'

The frustration and humiliation I experienced when facing that giant demon—feeling the crushing weight of powerlessness take over me...

"I can't forget it."

Despite trying so hard to ignore it, I just couldn't let it go.

"Haaa... looks like it's not quite over yet." A smile began to form on my face.

Since it was that Demon's fault that I wouldn't be able to Level Up anymore for today, and that I was now homeless, it had to take responsibility.

"That's right. I need to recover all those Levels somehow..."

A sharp glint appeared in my eyes as an idea popped up in my head.

"I'll have to hunt it. The Colossal Demon."

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

I wonder what plan Mikey has up his sleeves. Comment your thoughts below.