The Dreamer's Epilogue-Chapter 4: Fleeting time
Chapter 4 – Fleeting time
A day and a half had already passed.
A time where Emrys did nothing except fighting and running for his dear life. Mostly running, honestly.
The overwhelming fear that had taken over him had lessened significantly since the beginning of the end of the world.
Now, he no longer froze and acted mindlessly like a lost lamb begging to be slaughtered.
He was calmer.
Added to that, Emrys had become slightly stronger since the first time. He ran faster, struck stronger, and spent less time healing if something wounded him.
He found it incredible, even magical, to witness in real time such profound changes in his body in such a short amount of time.
However, it was not only him.
The red spawns, too, were getting stronger. Emrys had met one that was taller, nastier, and clearly stronger from afar.
He hadn’t even thought twice and immediately turned and ran toward the opposite direction without hesitation.
Currently, Emrys was examining what he had gotten during all this time. Besides the skill Rock Strike he had obtained first, the other things were Unranked health potions, explosive balls, and finally, lately, a piece of bread and a jar full of water.
The last two were especially important in the current situation. However, Emrys felt no appetite. His stomach felt like it had tightened, making him unable to enjoy eating.
He had tried once, only to empty out his stomach. Never again.
So now Emrys only drank the water with his medicine. Fortunately, they hadn’t fallen off during the chaos. He didn’t quite want to let his schizophrenic brain disorder kick in at the current moment.
’I am seeing and hearing enough nonsensical things already. No need to add more.’
Emrys thought, then settled deeper into the shattered building he was hiding in.
He exhaled, his body subtly trembling despite telling himself he was used to fear.
Seeing so many corpses of humans in the worst kinds of states along the way had made him have nightmares every time he dared to close his eyes.
Not only that.
Despite himself, Emrys couldn’t help but wonder how his stepmother was doing.
Was she dead by the hands of those monsters? Or in any other way? Or even... was she still alive?
Emrys didn’t know.
And the simple act of trying to know the truth made his heart bleed.
Here he was, blaming her for his father’s death not long ago. Yet still here he was, internally hoping that she was alive.
’That’s... that’s the only family I have left,’ Emrys painfully mused, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
In the current state of the world, Emrys wished nothing more than to have at least one being he could call family. Someone who might remember him and tell him everything would be okay.
It was selfish, for he was wishing for her to live mainly to ease his own mind and heart.
But it was what it was.
Sighing once more, Emrys looked at the countdown at the corner of his right eye.
[Remaining Time: 1 day 7 hours 43 minutes 35 seconds.]
Time was passing so quickly that Emrys was struggling to keep up.
The anxiety of not finding a portal before the actual destruction of the world was weighing heavily on his mind.
He hardened his eyes and summoned back the items he had obtained from his limited inventory.
Looking at them with the intent to know more, a panel flashed just above them.
[Health Potion (Unranked): A health potion even the worst of alchemists of the Alchemy Tower could create. Count on this when you have a small scratch. Don’t count on this when your guts are ripped away.]
Emrys’s lips twitched. He looked at the next one. It looked like a black, medium-sized rock with red tattoos like fire swirling around it.
[Explosive Talisman Ball (Unranked): A ball that explodes when it touches the ground with enough impact. The explosion range is limited. However, be careful, the explosion does not differentiate between thrower and receiver.]
Reading the description, Emrys wisely stored the explosive balls properly in the limited inventory.
He looked at the skill scroll, the first one he had obtained.
[Skill Scroll (Rock Strike — Unranked Skill): Take a rock and strike with it. Your strike will hit harder and will continue to hit harder if you train it well.]
[To use the skill, you will need GeumGeum. You don’t have GeumGeum. Reach the Tower to awaken.]
Emrys cursed the system and stored the skill back.
Useless, he thought bitterly.
After observing everything, Emrys’s thoughts began to spiral in a dizzying circle.
’Are these enough to get out of this situation?’ he wondered inwardly.
But he knew it was useless.
Enough or not, he had no choice but to get out and seek a portal.
Time was scarce.
So without any hesitation, Emrys took his jar of water and gulped down a mouthful, refreshing his dry throat.
Next, he pushed himself up, his body creaking in protest, and slowly walked out of the building. He made sure to make little to no noise, crushing the splinters gently.
This building felt like it had once been a house.
He only took one step out of the ruined building — ready to stealthily stride toward a random direction, hoping for a miracle — before regretting that decision atrociously.
"I just took my meds..." he muttered, wondering if he was experiencing a crisis again.
After all...
High in the distance, a Red Spawn — the biggest, meanest, angriest he had ever seen since his last encounter — was pursuing a woman so fast Emrys was momentarily awed.
But that awe turned into dread when the woman noticed him from afar.
And then...
’No! No! No!’ Emrys immediately panicked, realizing this was no dream slipping through his reality.
He immediately tried to hide himself behind the destroyed door of the building. Yet it was too late.
"HEY! HEY! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!"
The woman ran directly toward him, the monster now finally noticing him. It roared viciously, the ground shaking, and Emrys cursed every ancestor of the blonde-haired woman running toward him.
"FUCKKKK!!!!!"
He turned his body and bolted away.
"NO! SAVE MEEEEEEE!"
The woman pursued him. The Red Spawn pursued the woman.
And now the Red Spawn was pursuing Emrys.
"Oh come on!! Fuck!!!"
— End of Chapter 4 —
