The Dream Shop
When the fortress as been destroyed in a couple of 4 - 5 days later, there a rumors in Axel never traveled in straight lines; The rumor reached Kazuma first, which was already a bad sign for everyone involved. He burst into the guild with the kind of energy that only appeared when something was either profitable or extremely questionable, scanning the room until his eyes locked onto Ruko sitting in the corner flipping through his phone-cyclopedia. "Ruko," Kazuma whispered loudly, which defeated the purpose of whispering, "I heard something important." Ruko didn't look up. "If it's about debt, I'm not involved." "It's not debt," Kazuma said, pulling a chair and leaning in. "It's about a shop. A special shop. A dream shop."
That made Ruko pause. Slowly, he lowered the phone. "Define dream." Kazuma grinned like a villain. "You sleep, they show you your ideal scenario. Completely safe. Completely fake. No consequences." While gives a thmbs up. Ruko stared at him for a long second. "That sounds like either advanced illusion magic… or a scam." "It's real," Kazuma insisted. "Adventurers are lining up for it. They say it feels real but it doesn't break any rules. It's basically mental training." "Ah," Ruko said. "You want to call it training so you don't feel guilty." Kazuma pointed at him. "You're coming with me." "No." "Your curiosity is literally vibrating." "…I hate that you know me."
Ruko leaned back in his chair, eyes half-lidded, but his mind was already working. Dream-based magic that preserved consciousness boundaries, emotional simulation without soul tethering, controlled illusion layering—if that was true, it was a high-level construct. That wasn't normal Axel magic. "…We observe only," Ruko said finally. "No participation. Just analysis." Kazuma nodded immediately. "Observation as approve!" Both of them knew that was a lie. They waited until night. Not because they needed to, but because sneaking made it feel less like a bad decision and more like a secret mission. Kazuma wore a cloak he definitely stole from someone. Ruko didn't bother disguising himself, which somehow made him look more suspicious.
"You walk like your some big shot," Kazuma whispered. "Look who's talking you walk like a thief," Ruko replied. "I am a thief." "Fair." The shop was hidden between two normal buildings, marked only by a small lantern glowing violet. The air around it felt thicker, layered with faint mana threads that brushed against Ruko's senses like spider silk. He stopped at the entrance. "This is not beginner magic," he said quietly. Kazuma grinned. "So it's worth to try inside." Inside, the lighting was soft, almost unreal. Curtains divided the room into sections, and a calm receptionist greeted them like they were regular customers instead of two teenagers sneaking into a fantasy dream service.
"Hello. Welcome. Is this your girst time?" she asked. "Observation only," Ruko said immediately. Kazuma nodded. "Observation." She smiled in a way that suggested she had heard that exact sentence a thousand times. "The dreams are safe so no threat," she explained. "They respond to your subconscious but never override your will. If you resist, the dream weakens. Many adventurers use it to train mental discipline." Ruko's eyes sharpened slightly at that. That part mattered. A controllable illusion that scaled with resistance meant it could be used as a willpower test. A mental battlefield. Kazuma, meanwhile, was already sweating. "So… hypothetically… if someone had weak willpower…"
"They would wake up quickly," she said.
Ruko glanced at him. "You're going to last five seconds my brother. So take it in." "I will last ten," Kazuma snapped.
"Progress much i see." They were led to two separate rooms with simple beds and a faint magic circle carved into the floor. The mana was clean, stable, and surprisingly refined. Ruko could feel the layered structure: sensory projection, emotional resonance, cognitive feedback loop. Whoever designed this wasn't just talented—they were quite careful and carefree. Kazuma lay down immediately. "For research," he said, then closed his eyes. Ruko remained standing for a moment, watching the circle glow faintly. His chest tightened slightly, not from embarrassment but from something deeper. Dreams built from desire. Artificial connection. Safe warmth that vanished when you woke up.
"…This is data collection, but... what will appear at my dream," he told himself quietly. He lay down. The magic activated like a gentle tide pulling at his mind. For a brief moment there was nothing—just darkness and the sensation of floating. Then shapes began to form at the edge of his perception, drawn from memory fragments he didn't consciously offer. He felt it immediately—the temptation wasn't physical, it was emotional. A sense of belonging. Someone calling his name. A place where he wasn't alone. Ruko's eyes snapped open inside the dream. "No," he said. The world around him flickered.
He forced his breathing to slow, focusing on the structure of the illusion instead of its content. Mana flow, pattern stability, anchor points. Treat it like a spell, not a feeling. The warmth weakened. The voice distorted. System logs flickered faintly in his mind.
[Mental intrusion detected – non-hostile]
[Willpower response: active]
The dream pushed once more, stronger, offering comfort instead of temptation. That was more dangerous. Ruko sat down in the middle of the fading illusion. "You're not real so stop it," he said calmly. "You're a construct built from fragmented desire." The entire scene shattered like glass. He woke up immediately, breath steady, eyes clear. Kazuma burst out of his room at the same time, red-faced and sweating. "I lasted nine seconds," Kazuma said proudly. "You counted?" "I counted."
Ruko stood up slowly, processing the experience. It wasn't just a dream service—it was a controlled psychological mirror. A safe one, but still a mirror.
"We can use this," Ruko said. Kazuma blinked. "Use it?" "For mental resistance training," Ruko replied. "If you can recognize the illusion before emotional attachment forms, you can break higher-level charm and fear spells." Kazuma stared at him. "You turned the dream girlfriend shop into a training dungeon." "That is correct my guy." Gives a thumbs up. Kazuma sighed. "You're not normal. Even back at earth as well." As they stepped outside, the night air felt sharper, more real. Ruko didn't speak for a while. The dream had tried to show him something he didn't want to look at—loneliness shaped into comfort. Safe, temporary, false.
He clenched his hand slightly. Training. That's all it was for him. Behind them, the violet lantern flickered. Neither of them noticed Aqua watching from the end of the street, eyes glowing with divine suspicion.