Chapter 225: The Dream Land's Challenge 1

Drake POV

After revealing something important right in front of me such as the Venerables coming back to life, the Fox Venerable smiled cheekily at me.

The Venerables are planning to come back?! These are indeed incredible big news though! But I feel like I shouldn't talk about this to anyone, it might incur the world's wrath.

But when I asked her why she revealed something so important to me, she answered me as if she truly were like a child.

"I kind of like you, so I did it on a whim..."

Sigh... She's very unpredictable. Like a wild card, or a jester of sorts.

And then, out of nowhere, she smiled back at me once more, her fluffy, pink-colored fox ears twitched cutely, as her fluffy pink fox tails waved around. Her eyes shone brightly. She had come out with some devilish idea, I bet.

"Hm, how about this? I'll give you a little challenge, if you can complete it, I'll let you go back, and with a gift included!"

What?!

So she's not letting me go. By just saying this she implied she has me captured here. Ugh.

And a challenge? What challenge? But... if it is inside a dream, she had said that when someone fails a dream challenge... your soul is slowly consumed. Maybe if I had a stronger soul, I could take a few hits, but as of now, a single bite is enough to destroy it.

This is very dangerous. I have slipped right where Yggdrasil's Will wanted me to. And she, somehow, is playing along with it despite having implied that she disliked this entity.

What is she planning to do?

"Why?" I asked.

"Fufu, don't think that it is because I am allying with the world's will. That's not it. I simply want to test you. I am quite surprised by how you've entered my inheritance like nothing not once but twice already. So I want to see if you're truly someone promising... Fufu, it is not like you have another option, right?" she smiled back at me.

Her eyes were as deep as the abyss. She acted cutely, but she was after all a Demon Venerable, someone who had slaughtered millions of innocents and caused chaos all across the world, she wasn't a good person at all. I couldn't expect her to do something nice to me out of pity. Like a fox, she might as well want to just play around with her prey just for fun...

"How... is this challenge?" I asked. I had no option. It was either the challenge... or staying here forever, I would suppose. I don't want to keep my soul trapped in here, my body will eventually whiter away without proper energy intake from food. After all, the Immortal Body is fueled with energy, which I take by eating.

If I sleep, I cannot eat, and therefore, it won't work properly.

I have no option than to ask her what she wants me to do...

If I ever grow strong enough, I will teach her a lesson though.

"Hmm~! I like that spirit! Fufu, it is a simple task! You'll get inside one of my custom-made dreamlands. They are like mini dream worlds. You must complete this story within this small dreamland correctly! If you reach the proper storyline and complete the dream accordingly, you'll get to leave, and I will even gift you something very nice." She said.

The only dreams I've ever entered before were those of Benladann, and I have only seen them. They are often incredibly realistic, resembling a world by themselves.

But I've never entered inside a Dream Land, I don't know what to expect inside. Apparently, she said I must complete the "storyline" whatever that means.

"Can you explain to me more about it?" I asked.

"Hmmm... that wouldn't be fun! I cannot find out if you're truly talented if I guide you through it, right? But I'll give you a clue... You must die at the end."

"What? At the end? But... if I die inside a dream, won't I lose?" I asked.

"Fufu... Who knows? Now... let's go! Poof!"

The fox girl waved her hands, and I was sent away elsewhere...

I opened my eyes once more.

Did I found myself... somewhere else?

I glance around my surroundings and find that I am inside a leather tent, there is the smell of burnt wood and flesh coming from outside, and then, I begin to hear the screams of people.

I look at my own body, finding myself in the small body of a girl, I had fox-like ears and a tail of orange-brown color, and I looked to be around 6 years of age.

I am a young fox-kin girl?

Wait, is this the Venerable's past?!

<Correct, you've been transported inside one of her Dream Lands.>

Ah!

System! You're here!

<Your Unique Skills are part of your soul, when you enter a dreamland, you enter with your soul. I have managed to finally reach up to you, before her presence, it was impossible. But I can do it here.>

So you're telling me I am here in the past?

<Correct. I don't know the details, I am still analyzing this dream, but it appears that you must complete certain tasks and go according to the story to win in these dreamlands... the only clue we have is that you must die at the end.>

But how do we know when is the end?

Nice! At least I have some tools... What about Immortal Body?

Agh... Alright, let's walk outside.

I slowly moved outside, timidly to not find someone that would kill me instantly.

What I find is an entire village of fox-kin being burnt to the ground... by humans.