Today is Monday.
The view of the sky from outside my apartment window still looked blue and bright even though the outside temperature was colder than Kanae's world.
I checked the incoming messages after returning from Kanae's world.
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the death scenario of Kochou Kanae and almost every important figure.
You have contributed the most to this mission.
You are the MVP.]
—It's different. The system also calculated my contribution in taking care of Muzan and most of his subordinates.
How does the system actually calculate it?
[You have received rewards for your success and a bonus for your greatest participation.]
My contemplation was interrupted by the reward notification. I opened the Item Storage and, just like before, I got a random item. Are the rewards obtained always random items? What about the item rates? Not a single piece of information was visible from this gambling object.
[You have obtained Dream Nail. Where do you want the item to be placed? The world or Item Storage?]
I chose the world, and an object that looked like a handle with a round end, like a mirror, appeared in my hand.
"... Doesn't look like a nail."
The object was like an ornamental mirror, but without the glass that produces reflections. There was only a short handle for one hand and a round head made precisely and symmetrically on the inside. From first glance, people would think this object was used as a decoration or in a ritual rather than a weapon for fighting.
However, looking at its description, this object can open the boundary between the dream realm and the real world.
"Hmm…."
I channeled Kanvas into the object. Its handle and round head—let's call it an emblem from now on—glowed in white. A white energy blade that did not touch the circular emblem extended from its wide base and tapering to a small point at its tip.
"... How does this thing work?"
I swung it vertically and the real world shattered like glass, moving me directly into a world that looked like it was using a camera filter.
The light was very bright, as if someone had turned up the saturation. The colors of the world, which were previously realistic, looked like they were drawn in pastel colors.
This reminded me of an anime series about siblings who challenge a certain God of Play.
The Dream Nail in my hand had already lost its blade and its color turned back to black.
I assumed that I only needed to swing the sword once more to exit this realm. But for now, I would explore this place for a while.
"Before leaving, let's test my abilities first. It'll be dangerous if I can't do anything here."
Kanvas was still flowing, magic could still be used normally, and my Distortion Barrier was still active. However, I wasn't sure if my Distortion Barrier could withstand attacks from the dream realm or not.
'For now, I'll move first.'
I started walking, going wherever my footsteps took me.
After exploring for a few minutes, I gained some information about this realm.
The plane of existence seemed to consist of platforms floating above a void. Many ruins of giant buildings floated above the void.
There were strange-looking creatures scattered all over the place. They looked like animals and humans, but their entire bodies were distorted like several watercolor paints mixed together imperfectly.
Their bodies were somewhat transparent. Like ghosts and spirits people imagined.
The sky was always white. I couldn't tell the passage of time in this world. Perhaps because this is an immaterial world that has different laws from the real world.
This world was very empty and crowded together at the same time.
There was no life other than these weird looking creatures, but every object in this place represented that life "existed." Like food and also cell phones floating weightlessly, as if the world had no gravity.
—Does that mean this realm is the hub where everyone's dreams mix into one?
Unfortunately, I didn't find a single local resident of this world. Either because there weren't any or I was just unlucky.
I will try it on humans next.
For now, the experiment is enough.
I activated the Dream Nail and swung it to take me out of the dream realm.
"Hm? Is someone there?"
Unfortunately, I only felt their presence as I was leaving and running out of time. I'm sure we will meet again someday. Whether in the near future or not.
The world looked normal again, but I was in the middle of a highway now. My magic spell immediately activated as I willed it and protected myself from the world's perception.
So the Dream Nail adjusts to the place where you use it.
Pretty good, but this makes me wonder now. Did my physical body enter the dream realm, and not just my soul?
Or did my existence temporarily change into a memetic entity when moving to the Dream Realm?
Interesting….
But for now, I have to go back to the apartment.
***
["Ordinary Person": Let's do unboxing. I got something called Dream Nail.]
["Not-Ramen Topping": I got a Super Soldier Serum. From the description, it sounds amazing.]
["Ordinary Person": I don't think it's worth that much for your world. I recommend you give that to Mei and invest for it. I'm sure sooner or later, Mei will succeed in duplicating it. So you can have two serums that strengthen your body later.]
["Nerdy Raijin": As long as the ingredients aren't anything absurd, I think it will work. As it happens, I have a colleague who is an expert on the human body.]
It must be Dr. Mobius.
["Not-Ramen Topping": Is that so? If I give it to Mei-san, can I get more than one as the return?]
["Nerdy Raijin": If we succeed, not only you, but our world will also develop. The MOTH soldiers will become stronger.]
["Not-Ramen Topping": In that case, Mei-san! I'm counting on you!]
["Not-Ramen Topping" handed over Super Soldier Serum to "Nerdy Raijin"]
["Nerdy Raijin": Wait! We haven't discussed the details yet. Don't hand over the item right away!]
["Undying Father": Yahiko….]
["Ordinary Person": … You'd better be careful in the future and not make decisions immediately like this.]
["Not-Ramen Topping": Eh, so we don't just hand it over like that?]
["Flower Pillar": Today I learned that we must make sure we really know what we are doing before deciding.]
["Ordinary Person": Putting aside Yahiko's issue, Mei, what did you get?]
["Nerdy Raijin": A crystal ore named Originium.]
Originium? Interesting….
["Ordinary Person": Can I borrow it for a while? I know a bit about its function.]
["Nerdy Raijin": Borrow it? Well, since I'm busy with Yahiko's item, alright.]
["Ordinary Person": Thank you.]
["Undying Father": While we are exchanging rewards, I will also share mine. I got a spear that can be duplicated indefinitely.]
["Not-Ramen Topping": Isn't that really cool? If we build an army, we wouldn't have to spend a single penny on weapons if we have Ethan-san.]
["Undying Father": But I won't use a spear often myself, so I will sell it to anyone for 1,200 Points. I'm eyeing an item in the shop.]
["Ordinary Person": How about it, Yahiko. Don't you want to make infinite weapons for your army?]
["Not-Ramen Topping": I want it, but I don't have enough points yet.]
["Nerdy Raijin": I don't think we'll have enough points to buy level two or three items sooner. Every Level 1 item is around 0 to 1000 points. While the level 2 items are around 1.000 to 2.500 points. And until now, we have only gotten 760 shop points. The items we can buy the most are low-mid level 2 items. Meanwhile, Ethan-san's item is a high level 2 item. Not to mention level 3, then level 4.]
["Undying Father":Now that I think about it, you're right, Mei. The reason our points are still so few is because we haven't been members of the chat group for long.]
Mei, as the most genius person in the group, gave a reasonable opinion. Even I, who became MVP twice and haven't used points at all, am still limited to 760 points.
["Nerdy Raijin": Unless we find a way to earn points independently without waiting for the daily log-in, we will have to wait for years to get enough points to buy a level 5 item.]
Mei is right. We will need a very long time if we can only get points passively. It's been just over a month since the first time we became a member
Completing missions or killing enemies doesn't give you points at all. Then, where do you get points to buy things if you can't?
["Nerdy Raijin": The admin should be able to hear us, right? Why can't he provide the device tutorial properly? Doesn't that mean this thing is actually worse than a device made by regular humans?]
["Undying Father": Alright girl, chill.]
["Not-Ramen Topping": By the way, what did Kanae-san get?]
["Flower Pillar": I got a sword named Mortal Blade. It says the weapon can be used to summon the souls of the dead, but I'm not sure why we would need to summon the dead. And also, to summon them, you have to use the soul of another person.]
Summoning the souls of the dead? Doesn't that mean you can come back to life if the soul is bound to the world with a follow-up ritual?
In comparison, Kanae's was better than mine because it could grant you imperfect immortality. Not that mine couldn't create immortality. There must be a way, but it wasn't as clear and easy as Kanae's Mortal Blade.
[You get a Raw Originium Cube from "Nerdy Raijin"]
["Ordinary Person": Thank you, Mei, I will try to return it as soon as possible.]
I entered the Training Field and activated Time Dilation+ before bringing out the Raw Originium Cube that Mei had sent earlier.
Its size was quite large. Five cubic meters. Half of the Item Storage… are we really can't make the storage bigger without inviting other people as members?
But putting that aside, I immediately cast the tracing spell on the stone in front of me to read its composition.
"No—"
"Just the composition isn't enough. I must be able to enter the world of information inside this crystal."
Using the Dream Nail as a reference, I could create a spell that would give me access to the digital world inside the Originium.
And this could also be a great experimental opportunity regarding the Dream Nail.
"Can I access the dream realm inside the Training Field?"
I summoned live enemies from Ethan's world, making them stand still as a control condition. I took out the Dream Nail from the Item Storage and immediately used it to open the gate to the dream realm.
The world changed, but there wasn't much difference from the usual Training Field, except that in the dream realm within the Training Field, every color was inverted.
I used the Dream Nail once more and exited the dream realm.
I had to remember the sensation of entering and exiting the dream realm.
This is going to be a very long experiment.