The Dreamer's POV

[Time Left: 30 Days, 7 Hours]

<Current Number of Participants: 11,942>

"Quest complete."

Once I reached out to the man, I could feel something like a repelling force push me away. It was probably the Oak's way of resisting, though it was an effort in vain.

Swiftly equipping my wyvern blade, I infused it with the wind element, improving its cut abilities.

'This will take one sec. Don't move…' I quietly grinned, brandishing the blade to deal as swift an attack as possible.

And then…

~SWISH!~

… In an instant, it was over.

The Oak Tree's body cracked open, vomiting the ragged body of the old fellow it held onto for so long.

'Since this is a Quest by the System, it's probably all simulated anyway…'

The grey haired man collapsed in my grasp, so I made sure to stand upright and hold onto him tight.

"URRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRGHHHHHHH!!!!"

Rather unfortunately, the moment he was free, the roars of the trees grew even more severe, and even more of them started to move.

I could see so many of them, even from the back, take action as they chattered loudly.

'And those damn whispers don't make this any better!' I groaned.

My Advanced Grand Rock was dealing with so many trees at once, but with so many charging at us, even from the air now, it became a bit too much to ask for.

'We're surrounded by them, so they hold the advantage.'

Perhaps if I was at full energy, I wouldn't have minded taking care of them, but I was currently on the brink of exhaustion.

Killing trees wasn't part of the Quest details, and with there being no end in sight when it came to destroying them, I couldn't invest myself in the act.

"Not worth it…"

'<Grand Flight>' My thoughts echoed, and my body pulsated with instant power.

I felt light, and with my feet being dislodged from the earth, my grip on the old man fastened.

It would be bad if he fell right off as I tried to fly.

~WHOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!~

I shot up to the sky, damning all the trees beneath me. My Advanced Grand Rock trailed after me, destroying any obstacles that wanted to impede my escape.

It didn't take very long until I was out of their reach. I could stare at them from my distance as I watched them screech and wriggle in annoyance.

No matter. I had achieved my goal.

'<Fallen Foe>'

Summoning a Dragon to ride on, the colossal creature manifested out of thin air, like a shadowy fog creeping up against someone.

'I can't maintain <Grand Flight> forever, so this is the best alternative.' A sigh escaped my lips as I placed the unconscious old man on the dragon while I sat on it soon afterwards.

The hard and scaly back of the dragon didn't make it comfortable. It felt like I was sitting on very tough wood, with some itchy edges ebbing at me.

Fortunately, it wasn't unbearable, so I put up with it.

My heavy eyes tried to shut themselves.

It had been a long day, after all.

I deserves some rest.

Right?

Right…

"G-GIVEEEEEEEEE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…. THEEEEEEEEE… RUUUUUNNNEEEEESSSS!"

"Fuck!" I shouted, my reddened eyes snapping back open as I heard the annoying treant's voice for the umpteenth time.

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The Boss' whispers were beyond frustrating or annoying at this point.

They were maddening!

"I can't even rest for an hour? Damnit!"

In my frustration, my eyes diverted to the greying old man who was laid opposite me on the dragon's back.

We were currently stationary in the air since I didn't want him to fall off, and also because I had no idea where to go for my final Quest.

If I had to guess, I would say far west. The reason was because the Boss was located at the North. A guardian of the runes was located at the South, and I found this man at the East.

'At the very least, the West should have something worth checking…'

The only thing hindering an active investigation on my part was this man here.

'I don't know what to do with him. If I leave him on the surface, the trees will probably trap him again. What will that mean for my mission?'

I had no idea.

The safest bet I had was to keep him closer to me until I was done with all the missions.

'That's the most cumbersome one, though.'

I didn't need anyone holding me back.

********

Time Left: 30 Days, 5 Hours]

<Current Number of Participants: 9,201>

"U-urghh…"

After nearly two hours of sleeping on the very uncomfortable back of my dragon, the old man I rescued finally woke up.

Technically, he seemed more malnourished than old. His face had a youthful glow to it, so I would have placed him in his late twenties or early thirties if not for his emaciated face and the wrinkles it now had.

"W-where… where am I?" The man whispered as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around him.

I could tell that this was my queue to enter the conversation.

"You're away from the forest. You're safe now, since I rescu-"

"Argh! Ahhhh! What in the world? What's this? I'm in the air? I-is that… is this a dragon?

What the hell?"

Of course, this stuff would happen.

I nearly slapped my face just watching the man, but I controlled myself and kept up a poker face the whole time.

"Relax. It's my dragon. It won't hurt you." My voice was calm as I spoke.

"Y-your dragon…?"

I could tell that he had been struggling to choose between clinging tightly onto something as dangerous as a dragon, or to simply fall to his doom. However, after my revelation, he held fast onto my minion and showed no sign of ever letting go.

"A-ah… haha… I see. That makes sense, then… ahaha!"

The man in front of me was acting too human despite being a mere narrative device placed here by the System.

It made me both curious and wary.

'Could it be…?' My thoughts began to have some suspicions.

And there was only one way to quell them.

'Absolute Appraisal.'

[Skill Error]

<You are unable to view the Status Information of the target>

The instant my Skill failed, my eyes nearly bulged as my jaws loosened. As I narrowed my eyes at the man in front of me, a bead of sweat fell from my cheek.

'Who the hell… is this guy?'

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Cheers!