Chapter 2 - A New Life In A Dream

Lucid dream. It is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming and the dreamer have control over their character.

It has been a while since Rayne started having this lucid dreams. In it, he experience living a different life in a different world, akin to being in an isekai novels. The world he lived in this dream had a medieval period setting, where cold weapons were the mainstream and magic exist. Humans were also do not rule this world as there were other races more powerful such as vampires, beastmen, elves, dragons, etc..

He dubbed this world inside his dream as Fantasia.

What amaze him was the fact that when he is in Fantasia, he will be aware of himself being in a dream. And that he can remember knowledge he have in the real world.

Unfortunately though, he was not able to end the dream at will. The dream will always end on its own. Also, the dream duration changes every time. The only constant thing was that every time he entered Fantasia, however long the duration may be, only a night would have past in the real world. Also, his current dream will always be the continuation the previous one, which he had found out after writing down his experience in the dream the previous night. It then became a habit to him.

- - - - - -

[Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.]

Rayne was awoken from his slumber as the loud sound of the bell rang early in the morning. After getting his bearings, he noticed that he was in Fantasia. This means that the bell ringing throughout the city was an indication that there was an emergency.

He got out of bed to open the window of his room. The scene of the one of the main street of Adven was then revealed. He saw a variety of people, mostly armed with weapons, such as sword, bow and arrow, spear, etc..

"I'm back in Fantasia, huh." He said.

Watching this scene, he reminisce the time when he first arrived in this world a month ago. He treated it as if he was having any other dreams back then.

At first, he does not know what to do in this world. He would just wander around, confused after being thrown into an unknown world.

There is nothing more scary that the unknown.

But at the same time, for someone like him who was fond of reading fantasy novels, he was also full of curiosity to explore this world as he relived what the MCs of these novels. This lit up the fire of his adventurous spirit. Though he struggled for a while, he was able to adapt and find purpose in life in this new found world. This was all thanks to the help of some kind-hearted natives of Fantasia. The family of owner of the inn called Sleeping Roses that he's currently staying at was amongst them.

Starting from them, he was able to interact with the residents of Adven and even made some connections.

Rayne swiftly dressed up, wanting to go out and check what's the commotion is about. As he running through the hallway, he met a young lovely girl named Layla, the eldest daughter of the inn's owner.

"Hi there, Layla, there's seems to be an emergency. I'll go check what's it about. Can you cover up for me for a bit, please."

"Huh! This again! Aren't you just ditching work." Layla replied, following him as he went on his way out of the inn.

"Come on. Don't be like that. How about I buy you the you a strawberry tart from Sweet Treats on my way back?"

Layla became silent for a while, considering Rayne's offer.

Unable to resist the temptation of her favorite sweets, she bargained and said, "Make it 2 and we have a deal."

"Got that. I'll be on my way, then."

Rayne smiled as he ran leaving the her just outside of the inn.

"Be sure to come back quickly before pops come looking for you. Also don't get in trouble." Layla reminded.

Rayne just waved his hands as he dashed to his destination without turning back.

Arriving at the north city gate where the warning bell came from, Rayne saw a familiar face.

"Hey Henry, what the emergency this time?" Rayne asked a man his 40s with a mustache who was standing just outside the guardhouse. He also took notice of the people armed with different type of weapons that are gathering just outside the gate. There are also a couple of carriages lined up.

"Oh Rayne! Why are you here?" Henry asked him back. "You aren't suppose to be here you know."

"I got curious about the warning bell. What's the emergency this time? Bandits? Monsters? Seeing that not only the army, but even the adventurers are being gathered, it seems to be something serious." Rayne inquired.

"Yes. There's a beast stampede in the Turtleback mountain." Henry answered as he pointed to a very large mountain that can immediately be identified from the rest due to its unique shape in which it got its name. "Based on the scout we sent, beasts of varying size are heading this way. Their number is also a threat so we need all the help we can get to subjugate them."

"I see. Are you not participating?"

"Nah. Not this time. I've been on night patrol and was just about to head home and call it a day when the emergency bell rang. I had to help out a bit here. That aside. How's your training these days? Drop by my house sometime so we can have sparring again."

"Sure. I have improved since our last sparring. Maybe I will be kicking your butt this time." Rayne boasted.

Henry just laughed at it. "I like your confidence."

"Anyway, I'll be on my way. I'll see you tomorrow." Rayne left and made his way back to the inn. He didn't forget to drop by the sweets shop to buy the two strawberry tart that he had promised for Layla.