Reiji was now on the bed inside the bedroom. He was just lying there, playing with the system interface, looking very bored. Yuki’s unexpected visit had ruined most of his plans.

He had also discovered a lottery pull in the system and was instantly attracted to it. Too bad it was locked until he reached level two. It was a lottery pull that had killed him the last time. He just hoped this one wouldn’t.

Reiji also had a faint guess that it might not only be the lottery interface, most things he couldn’t see, like an inventory, were probably features he would unlock when he leveled up.

The thought made him want to find the nearest gate and go on a raid. But he knew that with his weak stats, if he was spotted, he would be captured and wouldn’t be able to fight back.

Time quickly flew by, and it was now night time.

Hina and Yuki had taken their baths and put on cute matching pajamas that they got at the mall.

After taking several pictures and talking about secret and private girl matters, they finally tired themselves out and fell asleep.

For Reiji, the entire time they were chatting and playing was pure torture. At one point, when Yuki said something embarrassing, he almost laughed out loud but had to swallow it back, knowing the consequences.

What surprised him the most was how casually Hina talked about private things – her body specifically – as if he wasn’t even there.

Reiji, being who he was, was having a hard time keeping his "holy sword" in check.

When he no longer heard any noise did he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t dare poke his head out until several minutes when he heard steady breathing of both girls.

His figure quietly titoed towards the door.

*Click*

The door opened with a soft click and Reiji quietly slipped out of the room.

On the bed, Yuki’s eyes, which had been closed moments ago, slowly fluttered open. She saw a faint silhouette of a man leaving through the door. But she was too sleepy to process it properly. She closed her eyes again brushing it off.

Reiji quietly hurried down the stairs, he opened the closet and his makeshift weapon was still there. He had thought that Hina or Yuki might find it in here when he had his it in here in hurry after they arrived. But luckily, nothing like that happened.

Reiji picked it up and did a few practice swings. Then a jab, the air cut softly. He glanced at the system interface.

Time Left: 0:01:03

Reiji tightened his grip. ’Almost time.’

*Click*

Reiji suddenly froze. The bedroom door upstairs had just opened. His thoughts instantly jumped to Hina, but then he remembered she was a deep sleeper. It made his heart skipped.

’Yuki’

Without thinking, he rushed into the kitchen and hid behind the counter.

Yuki walked down the stairs, her footsteps, soft and slow. She had always had the habit of taking a glass of water every night.

With sleepy eyes, she walked down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen.

Reiji’s breath hitched. Her footsteps were getting closer. ’Why is she coming here...? Did she see me when I left the room?’

His thoughts spiraled into chaos.

Time Left: 0:00:42

Yuki reached the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and moved toward the sink, pouring water slowly.

Every small sound felt amplified. The running water, her breathing. To Reiji, it all sounded deafening.

He stayed perfectly still. Then he noticed something, the light was dim. She hadn’t turned it on.

Reiji felt a little relieved. Slowly but carefully he began to move. Taking one step at a time. He slipped behind her, each movement controlled and silent.

Time Left: 0:00:21

Just a few more steps, he could make it. He reached the edge of the counter.

Safe

Or so he thought.

Yuki suddenly turned and saw Reiji standing directly under the faint overhead light.

Their eyes met, for a brief second time seemed to stop moving between them.

Yuki’s eyes widen in disbelief as she spat out the water in her mouth. And the cup slipped from her hands and dropped to the floor.

Thud!

Water splashed across her feet.

Reiji couldn’t move. Yuki stared in disbelief unable to believe why she was seeing, she rubbed her eyes.

Time Left: 0:00:03

Reiji’s heart pounded violently.

’I’m dead.’ Just when Reiji though it was all over the system chimed in right out time.

Ding!

[Host has failed to complete the Daily Quest before the given time. As punishment, the Host will spend thirty minutes in the Devil’s Island Dreamscape.]

In the next instant Reiji disappeared. When Yuki removed her hands from her eyes Reiji had vanished.

The space in front of her was empty.

Her hands trembled slightly. "...What?"

She rubbed her eyes again. No one. Just the quiet kitchen.

"...Must be my imagination," she muttered weakly. "That dummy couldn’t possibly still be around... right?"

***

A cold wind brushed against Reiji’s skin, sending a chill down his spine. He instinctively hugged himself, the thin black T-shirt and pants from earlier doing little to keep out the biting air.

"Where am I?" Reiji muttered to himself. His grip tightened unconsciously around his makeshift weapon.

The world around him was wrong, nothing like his previous Earth or the one he transmigrated to.

A thick, suffocating fog stretched endlessly in every direction, swallowing the horizon whole. The ground beneath his feet felt damp and uneven, like rotting soil that hadn’t seen sunlight in years.

There were no buildings, no roads, just silence. A heavy, unnatural silence.

Reiji’s heartbeat grew louder in his ears as his eyes frantically scanned every direction.

Crack.

Reiji sensed something move across the fog. His body froze instantly.

"Rooaarr!"

The fog in front of him was violently blown away, and a massive black eastern dragon revealed itself. Its vicious eyes locked onto him like a predator sizing up its prey. It was only a foot away from tearing Reiji into pieces.

Reiji could feel the hot breath coming from the creature’s nose on his face. It seemed it was bound by something and couldn’t come any closer.

Reiji didn’t want to know what was holding the creature or how long it would last. All he could think about was running and getting the fuck out of there.

He had completely underestimated the Devil’s Island Dreamscape. He had expected weak monsters, undead skeletons, maybe something manageable. But this, this completely shattered that illusion.

Now he only looked pathetic, and the makeshift weapon in his hands felt like a joke against the beast in front of him.

He had only begun slowly backing away when he felt a cold dread crawl up his spine, and he immediately stopped dead in his tracks.

"Rooaarr!!"

The fog behind him cleared up in an instant, revealing the big jagged teeth of a creature. Its teeth were the size of Reiji’s head.

Reiji turned around and saw an identical dragon, but this one was white, and it was only a centimeter away from him. If he had moved any further, he would have been swallowed by the creature. The thought sent chills down his spine.

Unlike the black dragon, which had stopped after realizing it couldn’t harm him, this white dragon was relentless and kept charging forward, trying to snap Reiji’s head clean in half.

Every time it lunged, Reiji stood frozen in place from fear.

"What the hell! I’m dead! What kind of penalty is this system?! Do you just hate me that much?!"

Luckily for Reiji, both dragons couldn’t come any closer. That was when he saw the chain on the white dragon’s neck. Because it was moving so much, unlike the black one, Reiji was able to see that a mysterious chain, oozing a black liquid that turned into white vapor, was clamped firmly around the dragon’s neck, preventing it from moving an inch forward.

Ding!

[Devil’s Island Dreamscape (D)]

The system suddenly chimed in his head. When he saw the tag next to the text, Reiji’s heart sank.

"D Rank?" He was just at level one with pathetic stats. How could he face a D Rank dungeon?

[Survive thirty minutes in the Devil’s Island Dreamscape. You have 5 lives remaining. If your life reaches zero, you die.]

Reiji’s face went pale. He noticed that the system didn’t have its usual taunts. It was dead serious.

"If I die ten times..."

The slow realization hit him.

"I die for real."

[Time Left: 00:29:59]

[Lives: ♡♡♡♡♡]

Reiji suddenly felt the world seemed to shift. His instincts was telling him to run as fast as he could. The sense of danger wasn’t coming from the dragons but from around him.

"Ahhhh!!!"

A loud shriek rang out, the sound was so creepy it made Reiji skin crawl. ’What the hell is that?’

That was when he saw them. Black, translucent beings. They looked like a mix between ghouls and ghosts.

Reiji held the weapon in his hands firmly, assuming what he thought was a fighting stance. Mentally preparing himself for the oncoming fight while maintaining safe distance from both dragons.

"Ahhhh!!"

They all let out another scream. It overlapped, foming a nightmarish chorus as they all rushed towards Reiji at full speed.

Reiji pupils shrank. ’So fast.’

He jabbed the makeshift weapon at first monster that had reached him. But to his horror the weapon passed straight through it. The creature didn’t even flinch, it wasn’t hurt.

Reiji’s stomach dropped.

Before he could recover, they all swarmed him from every direction.

BOOM!

Reiji exploded like a water balloon. His blood spraying the floor.