“I am the god of nightmares. Lord of darkness. Inevitable is my power, and feared is my name. I am the supreme among the supreme, omnipotent and omnipresent. In all I am, and in all I am based. From darkness I compose myself, and with darkness I destroy anybody. That said, I ask you human, are you really willing to challenge me?” He stares at me from above.

I don’t answer, and just proceed with loading my skill.

I can't be distracted... I can't! Not after all I've done to get here! Sigh. I need to stay calm.

Noticing my intense focus, and noticing the increase in elemental particles at the tip of my arrow, the vile black dragon soars into the air creating ten magical barriers in front of him.

“Hmph, your madness will speak for itself.”

Mad? Me? Well, maybe I am. After so many attempts, anyone would call me insane. But what can I do, this is my life, isn't it? That was the path I chose, wasn't it? Should I go back and get stronger? Impossible. After all, I've already reached my limit.

Current Mana: 999.999

Closing my eyes, I take my last deep breath. The moment had arrived, and as the climax knocked on the door, my heart pounded.

Now is the time... The time to extinguish all suffering!

“Skill: Blazing Demon!”

The infernal arrow is shot, and it takes the form of a flaming eagle.

“Kraaaw!!”

Like lightning, it swoops down into the first protective barrier, swooping in on subsequent ones.

Everywhere it travels is covered in flames, and only traces of magic are left behind.

“Now it's your turn to die, god of gods! As an enemy, this is the only and inevitable fate that awaits you!”

The eagle continues steadily, until it completely dissolves at the seventh barrier.

“—What!?”

He laughs.

“I warned you of your madness. Now get ready to feel the true despair—Skill: Final Redemption!”

Taking a deep breath, the mighty god thrusts towards me, destroying everything in his path with his dark breath.

Damn it! That was my last resort! I have no more mana left to dodge!!

WHOOSH!!

My skin is darkened, and I turn to dust where I stand.

Game Over!

Want to try again? (90 energy will be spent for this action).

Ah... I lost again, phew.

I drop my smartphone on the table and settle on my classroom chair.

And to think that there would be a boss that difficult to defeat... Exciting, certainly exciting. I like things that makes you explore your limits, like this RPG I was playing just now. After all, why else would I become strong in a game, if it wasn’t to be beaten and to beat a broken enemy? Fufu, that's definitely awesome! That and animes, obviously.

Ah, my name is Kazuki Ryouzen by the way. I'm a 2nd year in high school and, despite my badass name, I still haven't conquered any girls. Yeah, that’s sad, I hope things changes till my graduation.

“Huh? Still trying? Give up man.”

“Haha, why? Afraid I'll clear the challenge before you?”

“Argh! Damn you!” He gets annoyed, showing his fists.

Haha, teasing this guy is the best thing ever!

This is Taichi, Taichi Hashimoto. One of my few friends from school. He is bald and very energetic. In a nutshell, he's a videogame addict just like me.

Fufu, he was the one who showed me this game at the beginning of the year, but I already reached the maximum level before him!

“Pfft, pathetic. You guys waste time arguing over such trivial things, and end up forgetting the true meaning of life.” He turns his face to the side, and tosses his silky black hair in the air.

This is my other friend, Hansuke Matsuno. Unlike Taichi, he has lots of hair, and wears glasses.

Looking at him like that, you can almost say he’s the genius of high school, reading science books all the time. Well, if only that was the truth. In fact, the reality behind this is completely different. Taking covers from other books as a disguise, he is reading erotic texts, all the time.

And to think that this facade of a man think he can give us moral lessons... He really has no shame.

“H-hey!”

Taichi pulls the book from Hansuke's hands, and immediately removes the fake cover.

“Let's see which one it is today, ‘Daddy and the ......?’”

Making half a second of silence, the bald man stares at the hairy man, with disgust ridden across his face.

“What the fuck is this, Hansuke?”

Wait, wait, wait just a minute, is this book about... No, it can't be! Hansuke is certainly a perv, but he has a decent taste!

“Hmph! As if my intellectual level was of such low quality. Check the synopsis.”

Taichi decides to give his friend a vote of confidence and turns the book around. The expression of relief that takes over his face is unique.

“Thank heavens! Your soul still has salvation!”

“Oh! What is this book you are reading, Taichi?”

Amidst the chaos, a girl subtly appears from behind us, taking the work in question in her hands.

Haha, this is starting to get interesting!

The one that just appeared is Hana, Hana Nakamura. The sweet girl of the class. She has short purple hair and is very nice.

“H-Hana! Don't take it! Please!” Taichi spoke with a shaky voice, as if he was about to have a heart attack at any moment.

Obviously he would feel that way, after all, the one who was about to make the best misunderstanding ever was none other than the girl he liked so much and admired.

But don’t get it wrong, though. His love is more of a platonic one, you know? Yeah, he wouldn't have what it takes to approach her and ask her out. No way. Every day, when he doesn't have anything interesting to say, he's praising Hana like she's a goddess. He always says that ‘tomorrow’ he will take the courage to approach her, but that ‘tomorrow’ never comes. It actually ends up as some excuse the next day.

“‘Daddy and the Discovery of the Century’? Cool! Must be interesting!”

Hansuke smiles from one eye to the other, seeing Taichi's deplorable situation.

Phew! I really want to know what will happen next but... I can’t let this happen.

I immediately take the volume from Hana's hands and tuck it into my backpack.

“Sorry Hana, but as you can see, this book belongs to a collector friend of mine. He asked me to be extremely careful and not to damage it.”

"Eh? What a shame… It seemed so fun!"

Uh... She's so innocent!

Taichi bows his head to me as Hana leaves, and grabs my hands like they're a trophy. He cried like a baby.

“You are my savior, Kazuki! I will buy any skin you want! Just name it!”

Uhu... Uahahaha! Mission completed successfully!

I know this bald guy very well, obviously I wouldn't leave empty-handed.

“Well, if that is the case, give me the one that has Pharaoh using a golden belt."

“Leave it to me! I'll do it right now!” He sobs.

Hee, looking to the side, the only one who wasn't satisfied with all this mess was Hansuke.

“Tch. Thought I would see something interesting today.”

“Bastard! Because of you, my life almost went to ruins! If not for Kazuki I would be lost for sure!” Taichi holds Hansuke’s collar with tremendous hatred, but he just laughs again.

“Kukuku, who was the one that messed with my stuff again? Ah, it was you.”

Ignoring the both of them, I pick up my smartphone again.

Game over, right? Phew. I really can’t understand. I've played this level 23 times, and lost every single one. If you are wondering, this is a brand-new event that started a week ago. It's called the 'God’s Nightmares'. The items you receive after completing the level are very high quality, but less than 1% of the players are able to complete it. I consider myself a relatively strong player. I'm in the last league of PvP, and I've already killed all the world bosses, but even so, no matter how hard I try, I can't get past this stage at all. I wonder if the players who defeated the final god were cheating? No... It's unlikely. Maybe I just need better items.

“Very creative, isn't it? Name this event 'God’s Nightmares'?” Says the bald guy to me, with his phone also logged into the server.

True, the name they chose for the event was based on a new phenomenon that has been happening in all corners of the world. Lately, people have been having more nightmares than usual. This started recently, but it's intensifying every day. It’s everywhere in the news.

To be honest, though, I'm sleeping well, I haven't had any nightmares these days. Taichi, on the other hand, tells of a headless killer doll who visited his room last night. Hansuke, on the other hand, said he saw girls with dicks, two dicks actually. Sigh. It really varies from person to person.

CLIN!

A notification appears in my mailbox.

“Oh, the skin has arrived! Thanks Taichi!”

“This is nothing, my friend. It's just the least I can do for the one who just saved my life! I can’t think of a world without my dear Hana!”

Yeah… He really likes her, and I can see eye to eye to him, indeed, Hana is a very pretty girl, but honestly, she's not really my type, but on the other hand...

I take a look at my diagonal, three chairs to the right, and one to the front. There she was, the beauty sitting elegantly. She had blue eyes and long silver hair. Sitting cross-legged, and resting her head with one of her hands, she was indeed a goddess. Yep, a beauty from another dimension.

Scarllet Amiella Murakami, also known as 'The Iron Heart'. Yeah, even though she's drop dead gorgeous, boys are afraid to ask her out. Of course, out of the countless invitations she's received, she's turned them all down! If you are wondering, my love may be more platonic than Taichi's—Hm?

The classroom’s door opens, and a very known person shows up.

Tch, what's this guy doing here?

“Kyaaa! It's Yuuto!!”

“Yuuto Toyosaki!”

That bastard! Girls crawl at this guy’s feet! Argh! Get back to your room already!

“Fufufu, hello ladies, how are you?”

“Hey, Yuuto, I made you this snack!”

Even Hana... Poor Taichi. At the moment he looked like a wizard reciting a curse while swearing profusely at him.

“Thank you, my sweet heart, but this snack would not satisfy me. I'm allergic to this sauce, you know?”

RIP!

Taichi grabbed a pair of scissors, and held it in a very psychopathic way.

“Hey, my good friend Kazuki. After I kill this creature, would you help me hide the body?

“What the fuck!”

“Excuse me ladies, but there's someone special I'd like to talk to today.”

He approaches Murakami.

“.........”

“Ah, we can chop him up and feed him to the dogs.”

“My dear Scarllet, I believe you have not seen the invitation I sent you yesterday...”

She sighs, as someone not in the mood to talk, but even so responds, just as not to be unrespectful.

“You must be really comfortable, right? To call me by my first name.”

“Cough! Cough! Murakami, yes, my dear Murakami! So, about the invitation...”

“I read it, and I refuse.” Says her, turning her head to the side.

Haha! Take this, you moron!

Like Medusa had just looked him in the eyes, he turned into a statue, having no idea what to say, or what to do. He certainly wasn't used to getting dumped.

“I-I think your answer was a little hasty... I can give you some more time to think—"

“Sorry, not interested.”

Murakami crosses her arms.

Hee, as expected from the Iron Heart. Girls around her were possessed with envy!

Toyosaki, seeing the amount of pride lost in just a single moment, doesn’t say a word, and just leaves the room, completely humiliated, and with an evil look in his face.

Fufu, this will be the day of his life that he will never forget! His bad mood for sure will last a long time!

I look back at Murakami.

Um... weird. What's wrong with her? I, as a professional Murakami observer, can say that she has been acting a little differently from her usual self these past few days. She seems more thoughtful than usual... Okay, she wasn't really into expressing herself with much energy or enthusiastic, but even so she always managed to keep a good conversation going on with her classmates.

The problem is that these days she seems out of focus, not paying much attention to her surroundings. I wonder what must be happening to her... Could this have any relation to the nightmare episodes? Maybe she wasn't getting any good sleep? Ah, a little more courage, and I would ask.

* * *

“Hey, hold my hand.”

Amidst the darkness, an enlightened being approaches me. It was a girl, with hair and wings of fire.

Who is she? An angel? Wait, this isn't my room… Where am I?

No matter where I looked, I saw nothing but its light.

Wait a minute! Am I really floating!?

“Come human, it's time to ascend.”

Ascend? ...What the fuck is she talking about?

“The time has come for you to come to the other world.”

“Huh?! Wait, you can’t just pull me—"

Without waiting for me to understand the situation, she takes my arm and pulls me towards another light—

FLASH!

My vision was completely blurred, but little by little it starts to gain color and sharpness, revealing in front of me huge… cat ears?!

“Master! Is it really you?!” The girl looks at me scared, but anxious.

“Huh?! Why is there a cat girl right in front of me!?”

W-wait! Just what's going on here?! First an angel, then a feline human! Am I hallucinating?! Not to mention that this place—

I face the environment around me. As I look at it, there was no doubt, I was on top of a ruin—to be more exact, on top of a half-destroyed medieval tower.

"Hey, I'm not a cat, I'm a wolf!" She says, annoyed.

Hm? I notice the individual in front of me again. Long dark hair, purple eyes… and the only parts that were animals were just their ears and tail. An exotic beauty indeed. But, wait a minute, haven't I seen her somewhere before? Could she be...

“Are you Loveta?”

It can only be, she is very similar! Not to mention that the clothes she wears are exactly the same! Loveta is simply the best protagonist of my favorite anime!

“Gyaaa!! So Master Kazuki remembers!!” She jumps with delight on me.

Huh? How does she know my name??

No, no, no! I need to think! There's a lot of craziness happening all at once! First a fire angel girl, then Loveta... Added to this strange place... Ah! Why didn't I think of this before!

“Hey, I'm dreaming, aren't I?”

“Yeah!!” She smiles happily.

I sighed. Of course it would be a dream… What else if not?

Well, so if that is the case, let’s enjoy my lucid dream, right? After all this is rare!

I grab Loveta's shoulders and drop her to the ground.

“M-Master...”

She blushes, gently turning her face to the side.

How cute.

You know, there are times when Hansuke's advice really comes in handy. Glad I read ‘Daddy and the Discovery of the Century’ before bed. Ah, the book ended up staying with me in the end, and it blew my mind away! It shows me things I didn't know were possible! Okay, without further ado let's start by putting some of the teachings into practice.

“Master, why are you...”

“Shhh! Let daddy sail the boat.”

“Aah...umm...”

Hoho, that feeling of rigidity, with just the right amount of elasticity. Yeah, just as expected from Loveta's big boobs.

Strange, I don't think I've ever had a dream as realistic as this... Well, lucky me!

“Kazu... I-I didn't expect that we would get to this moment so quickly...”

I touch her delicate face, and whisper in her ear.

“Some opportunities only come up once, so we must be smart to grab them as soon as they come.”

“B-but I want to see my Master more often!”

“Shhh! Don’t you worry my lady, you'll see as many times you—"

BOOOM!

The wall beside us is completely obliterated, and several strange creatures appear on top of the tower.

What the fuck is happening?!

“Found the ‘soul-linked'! Looks like she captured a 'dreamian'!” Says a strange creature to some kind of advanced radio.

All of them wore golden armor, and were equipped with the most diverse weapons.

“Tch! These knights wanting to spoil my perfect moment with Master—I won't let you! Quick Master, hide!”

Furious, Loveta pulls two chains from her waist, and begins to twirl them endlessly through the air.

It's her weapon! Just like in the anime!!

BOOOM! KABOOM!

Cannonballs come out of one of the creatures' weapons, and explosions erupt all over the place. A fierce fight starts happening right in front of my eyes.

Damn it! Why…? Why?! Everything was peaceful half a second ago! How did things get like this?!

Tch! I need to get out of here now!

I prepare to flee, but almost immediately I feel my body getting heavy.

Fuck! Give me a break! Why can't I walk anymore?!

A masked girl in shining armor then lands in front of me, and points her katana at me.

Is this the end of me?! Will my wonderful, heavenly dream end up like a hellish nightmare?! What horrible timing! I couldn't even do it with Loveta!

Tch! Damn it! I don't care about it anymore; I don't care about anything anymore! I need to wake up soon! I need to wake up now!!

“Wake up!!”

The girl poses to attack me, raising her sharp katana aloft.

Loveta despairs.

“No! Master Kazuki!!”

As soon as she screams for me, the blade that was about to cut me terribly in half comes to an abrupt stop, stopping just inches from my hair, and then—

ZOOOM!

I wake up startled, sweating nonstop. My heart was pounding with great intensity. Looking sideways, I was indeed at my bedroom now.

“…What the fuck did just dream?!"