Dreamland: Freedom (Terror Infinity, Ultimate Evolution)

Eden was given a lot of information by that man, so he asked, "Why did you tell me all this? And why do you look so scared of me?"

The man scratched the back of his head, replying, "Look, I mean no disrespect, but Nightmares don't exactly have the best track records. To start off, to make the decision to choose the highest difficulty in a game of survival means you must have issues… well, let's say that you guys are not exactly mundane."

Eden neither agreed nor refuted the man's words, and simply thanked him, "No offense taken. Anyway, you've given me quite a lot of useful information, so I'll give you a discount on my products."

The man looked happy at that, and Eden believed he deserved it. He had given him a lot of information, and information was never free. Actually, now that he thought about it, since this guy was so informed, maybe he would be able to help in finding out the Necronomicon's language.

So, he took out the book and said, "If you can tell me what language was used-"

Eden stopped his own sentence as he saw the man's happy expression vanish, and be immediately replaced by fear as he cried out, moving away from Eden's stall. His cry attracted the attention of the people around, who, upon seeing the book, reacted similarly.

Frowning at their reactions, Eden said, "What's up with you? It's just a book."

"Please put that away before getting us in trouble!"

Eden rolled his eyes at the guy's antics, the book was not that bad. Even before awakening his Talent, Eden only started getting debuffs when he touched it. Looking at it only made him slightly dizzy even when his magical attributes were locked.

Still, that caused the surrounding people to calm down. After a few seconds, he asked the man, "What was that fuss all about?"

The man still looked uneasy as he replied, "You just invited a whole lot of trouble onto yourself."

"Why? It's just a book. A copy, actually."

The man still looked tensed, his jaw clenched as he replied with trepidation, "The Necronomicon is a book of incredible evil, be it the original or its copies. It will erode the spirit of anyone using it, until contaminating their soul. That's why one of the largest guilds in Dreamland, the Holy Order, actively hunt any traces of it, along with the owner."

Eden snorted in response, "So what, a bunch of priests are going to come after me? I've seen scarier. Now if I were a kid, they would be scary."

The man's eyes opened wide at Eden's clear mocking of the Holy Order, when another infuriated voice shouted, "You dare blaspheme our benevolent Order!"

The guy Eden had been talking to nearly tripped to the ground when he heard the voice. The rest of the crowd quickly distanced themselves, as if a fight was about to go on.

Turning around, Eden saw a standing there. He donned white and gold robes, and held a ceremonial golden staff. He had a dignified air to him, as if he was looking down on the rest of the world. He looked like a fantasy priest.

The man Eden had been speaking to immediately bowed at the priest and apologized, as if he had done something wrong, "Your Excellency, I did not know he was a blasphemer, he was the one who would not-"

The priest looked coldly at the man, interrupting indifferently, "Then it will be only ten whips for you."

Much to Eden's shock, instead of looking outraged, the man looked thankful as he bowed several times, thanking the priest.

Two men dressed as monks walked up to the man and brought him away, while the priest looked at Eden and commanded, "For insulting our Holy Order, you should receive a thousand whips. I am merciful, however, and thus you shall only receive a hundred whips."

Another two monks appeared next to Eden, intent on bringing him away, but as they approached, one of them found a gun aimed at his forehead, and the other had Jason's Machete on his throat. Forcing them to back off, Eden looked at the priest and smirked, "I don't know if you're retarded or something, but this is the market, and I'm trying to do business, so I would appreciate it if you would kindly piss off."

The priest's face turned into a burgundy red, his golden accessories shaking as he looked like he was about to have an aneurysm, "How dare you!"

Instead of an aneurysm though, a golden aura burst out of his body, pressing down on everyone around them. Had he felt it from afar, Eden would have called it holy, but as he was standing in it, he realized that it was a tad bit too tyrannical to be called holy. It felt like there was a higher presence trying to exert its influence over the crowd, and force them to bow down.

Some in the crowd could not resist and knelt against their will, and even those who resisted had their face become intense. The monks were the only one at ease, likely used to the aura, or benefiting of some kind of status that granted them immunity from it.

As for Eden… a breeze would have had a better effect on him.

Gesturing at the priest with his machete, Eden said, "While I appreciate the light show, you are kind of bumming out my customers. Although, now that I look at it, this skill of yours is mighty convenient. Must be easier to fuck people over when they're forced to kneel."

The priest's rage reached a peak as the golden aura intensified behind him, as if on the verge of an attack. However, Eden remained unmoved as he felt no warning of danger from his Talent.

And sure enough, despite the priest looking like he wanted nothing more than to tear Eden apart, in the end, he did not attack. Instead, he took out a piece of parchment, and tore it open.

This caused a ray of light to appear, one that moved too fast for Eden to dodge as it slammed itself into his forehead.

[Tracer applied to the player…]

[Soul Overlord nullifies the effects.]

The light disappeared like it was never there, and Eden burst out into laughter. The priest, shaking in rage, shouted, "You will regret this!"

He turned to the surrounding crowd, and hollered loudly, "Whoever teams up with man in the future shall become a mortal enemy of the Holy Order! And if anyone can give me his name, they shall be rewarded with 10000 Dream Points!"

The reward was enticing, but even as the people in the crowd used their analysing skills on Eden, some more esoteric than others, all the results came out blank. And they knew better than coming up with a fake name to deceive the Holy Order.

Had it been back on Earth, before Eden experienced Dreamland, he would have done his best to make himself unremarkable. But for better or worse, Eden had started developing a sense of pride, and no longer felt the need to please everyone around him.

Back on Earth, there was strength in numbers, and Eden had always viewed making a good impression more important than anything else. But now that he had experienced Dreamland, his mindset had unknowingly started changing.

Sure, there was still strength in numbers, but what good would numbers do before absolute strength?

Of course, Eden was far from said absolute strength, and had no guarantee of ever reaching it, but that did not mean he would bow down before others any longer.

Instead of following the path charted by others, too afraid to cause any ripples, he would rather walk down his own path, and trample any obstacle on the way.

So, with a cheeky smile, Eden proclaimed loudly, "Name's Ozymandias! Gimme my 10000 Dream Points now!"

This time, even the priest looked shocked as Eden gave out his own name. However, he quickly sneered, "And why would I believe you?"

Eden's smile did not recede in the slightest, the priest having leaped into his trap with both feet. Clicking his tongue, Eden said, "Ah, to think the Holy Order would renege on a promise they made. Whatever, I don't need money from shameless cunts."

Eden might be new to Dreamland, but he was long used to human interactions. Even if it was filled with super human freaks, a religion always strove on reputation, which Eden guessed was the case for the Holy Order. Hence, what would anger the most would be to sully said reputation.

As expected, the priest's eyes started emitting golden light, as if he was about to smite Eden where he stood. Eden was far from impressed, however, as he shooed him away, as if he was but a vulgar peasant, "Alright, fuck off with the light show, I've got business to do."

The priest's voice gained a magnetic tone to it as the golden light around him reached a peak, and he addressed not only Eden, but the rest of the crowd as well, "None shall conduct any business with Ozymandias, or they shall make enemies of the Holy Order!"

Eden briefly glanced at the Players around him, and indeed, they all looked like they wanted to run more than anything else. However, he did not believe that no Player would be brave enough to defy their orders, especially not if they stood to gain something. Raising Jason's Hockey Mask, Eden proclaimed loudly, "Whoever can lead me to a place where Players aren't pussies, I'll reward them with this!"

The priest looked on coldly, and for a few seconds, no one moved. But then, a man walked out of the crowd. He was a tall, imposing man, carrying a large sword in his back, and dressed in a heavy metal armor. If he did not know any better, Eden would say it was Guts from Berserk.

He remained unaffected by the golden light, and even let out an aura of his own. One of savagery.

He walked past the priest as if he was not there, and stopped in front of Eden.

Now that the man stood in front of him, Eden noticed that even his physical features looked similar to Guts. His armor looked like the Berserker Armor, his sword like Dragon Slayer, and his features like Guts'.

Were it not for him having both his eyes eyes and arms, and that it was obviously a Player, Eden would have said he was standing before the real deal.

The mysterious man, who stood even taller than Eden, looked at him calmly as he asked, "You're a Nightmare, aren't you?"

Eden nodded, "Are you?"

This made the name snort, not bothering to answer as he introduced himself, "Name's Guts."

Eden raised an eyebrow at that, wondering for a brief moment whether he actually had the main character from Berserk standing in front of him. Considering he knew very little about Dreamland and what it could offer, he did not dismiss the possibility.

Seeing that Guts was not explaining any further, Eden did not bring it up either, and handed over the mask, saying, "Ozymandias."

Guts nodded, but did not take the mask, and instead said, "Follow me."

Eden quickly put everything back in his Inventory, and took off his stall before following Guts. It would be quite tragic if he ended up forgetting about it and it continued draining Dream Points from him. He also did not forget to send one last mocking look at the priest before leaving.

Was it the wisest thing to do to piss off what may be one of Dreamland's mightiest guilds? Probably not. But it sure felt liberating.

Carving a path through the crowd, Guts led Eden toward the Upper Zone, much to Eden's surprise. He thought it was a place that was reserved to the higher level players, but he said nothing as they stopped at an establishment that was right at the limit between the Upper Zone and the Market Place.

It was called the Nightmare Realm.

As he walked through the doorway, a red light appeared from above, scanning him. It quickly disappeared, and Eden could not feel anything different. He looked at Guts, who explained briefly, "This detects what kind of Tutorial you went through. This place only allows real Nightmares in."

Once inside, Eden immediately felt like he had entered a bloody den, with an aura trying to press down on him. Unlike the golden radiance of the priest though, this one was invisible, and felt like someone was about to jump at him and try to kill him. But unlike before, it was not directed at him. Instead, it was more that the room was full of killers, and when they gathered together, they unconsciously created this aura.

Of course, Eden's Talent never disappointed, and he showed no reaction to it. He could feel a few gazes of approval on him at that.

Paying it no mind, Guts led Eden to the bar stand, and the two sat down.

Barely had they done so though, that the killing intent intensified. Moreover, this time, it was directed solely on Eden. They ignored it, and Guts gestured at the bar tender, but in the few seconds she took to approach, the gazes multiplied, and by the time she arrived, it felt like the whole bar wanted to rip Eden apart.

Looking around the room in confusion, Eden heard Guts chortle, "The fuckers sure were fast."

Eden looked at him, and followed his gaze to a screen above the bar. He had not paid much attention to them at first, but now that he did, he realized they displayed bounties. And right now, his face was plastered all over them.

[Wanted – Ozymandias]

[Bounty: 20 000 Dream Points, 1 Rare Weapon]

[Issuer: Holy Temple]

Eden raised an eyebrow at the bounty, now understanding the gazes. Hell, even he was tempted, not to mention the others. The bar tender, who had stopped in front of them, looked at him silently, waiting for his reaction.

Actually, she was not the only one. So, after a moment of silence, Eden chuckled and took out the Necronomicon, and placed it on the counter in front of him.