[CREATOR SYSTEM]
[Race Population: 984]
[Average Race Rank: Dirt]
[Race Ruler: None]
[Race Artefact: None]
[Race Beast: None]
[Race Home: White Ravine]
---
"What is a Race Artefact, and Race Beast?"
Hora stuck his sword into the dirt and asked the question to the seated Mariketh.
The woman, who had started to think the Ashlord had forgotten she had even existed, swiftly rose to attention.
"A race Artefact is an item that grants passive buffs to the entirety of a race of people. These are usually items that are constantly kept within the inventories of the Race Ruler. However, because we Ashfallen have never owned an Artefact, I don't know how they are obtained, or what they are capable of."
"Sounds like an interesting system," Hora responded. "And a Race Beast?"
"A race Beast is a designated beast whose sole goal is to protect the entirety of a race. They are usually chosen by a master tamer, and are commonly found in land owned by that race. For example, the humans have Haugr, the White Dragon."
Another interesting system.
"Why is a dragon owned by the Humans? Wouldn't it make more sense for Haugr to be owned by a dragonkin race?"
"Hmph, the humans take what they want, Ashlord. They are enemies of all races and allies to none." Mariketh laughed.
Sounds about right.
After asking his questions, Hora returned to his sword practice. He noticed that as he practised with the sword, his rank progression slowly increased to 61.5%. However, he doubted this was the most efficient method for ranking up.
Eventually, Mariketh interrupted him politely.
"Ashlord, could I ask you a question?"
Hora continued swinging his sword. He felt he was slowly getting the hang of its weight.
"If you want."
"Where did you come from? Prophecy says that the Ashlord would emerge from the ashes, grown and mature and born from no mother. But surely you had a beginning?"
It was a question that Hora had expected to be asked eventually.
His mind flashed back to his life on earth. The day he fell asleep, crying and cursing the gods, only to wake up the next day as a 'god' himself.
He had no intention of telling them how he was once a school kid who was limited by his parents' rules.
So instead, he answered vaguely. "I came from another world."
"Another world?" Mariketh gawked with excitement. "Were you some sort of king, or maybe even a god? Did you rule that world, eventually ascending its mortal system and travelling to a new world to test yourself once again?"
Hora almost laughed.
Yes, I was a god. The God of Gaming!
"That's enough questions for today." Was his real answer. "I need to enter another dream."
Mariketh's face lost its excitement. Still, she nodded her head respectfully. "Of course, Ashlord. I will watch over your body once again."
"Thank you."
With that, Hora lay himself down on his back again and waited for the Black Dream to take him.
---
[Black Dream Entered]
[Difficult Rank: Dirt]
[Reward Rank: Copper]
[Conditions: Slay 1 Shadow Child]
Hora woke up in the same location as before, yet this time, he entered the dream with his longsword in hand.
Immediately, he pushed himself to his feet, feeling more confident than before. He had a weapon, and the dream rank was lower than the other.
Afterwards, he looked around. The shadows were less thick than before.
He could see the beast walking towards him.
'Shadow Child' was an accurate description. Its body was onyx black, and humanoid, but it was the height of a ten-year-old child. It had glowing white eyes that glared at Hora as it slowly walked through the field.
Eventually, it broke into a sprint. Its thin limbs moved with clumsiness, but it was clear that the child was ready to kill.
Hora didn't have time to summon his wings. Instead, he readied his sword.
As the beast stepped into range, Hora activated its sword skill; Cleave. He felt the blade charge with strength as he swung it horizontally, which was a requirement for the skill to activate.
A normal swing would travel much faster, but weaker. Cleave was an attack that increased the blade's weight during the beginning of the swing, allowing for increased impact at the cost of decreased speed.
Its speed wasn't enough. The child jumped into the air, leaping over the blade and leaving Hora off balance as he missed his swing. He had trained with the sword, but he was no swordsman.
"Shit!"
The child took the opportunity to jump onto Hora's back, wrapping its arms and legs around him as if trying to suffocate him.
Hora could've become worried, but he didn't. He remained calm, taking deep breaths and letting them out.
Afterwards, he released his wings. They shot from his spine at a rapid speed, crashing into the shadow child on his back and sending the beast tumbling across the grass.
Hora smiled. It seemed that his wings could be used as a weapon too.
Before allowing the beast to recover, Hora flapped his wings and dashed towards the tumbling child. At the same time, he activated cleave again.
His blade crashed horizontally into the shadow child, causing it to let out a shriek as its body was severed in half.
Its torso lay on the ground a few meters away from its legs. Its white eyes were wide, but they eventually faded away, along with the rest of its shadowy body.
This time, Hora definitely felt a change in his body. It was as though it wanted to reach a new level of strength, but couldn't.
Have I reached the breakthrough point to the next rank? He thought to himself as he tried to recover from his physical exhaustion.
Eventually, the familiar black screen appeared.
[Black Dream Completed]
[Reward Obtained: Copper Pill]
[Exiting Black Dream...]
Just like that, Hora Ashfallen had cleared another Black Dream. And he seemed to have been rewarded with the means to advance to the next rank.