---Noble Park, Australia, 204x---
“HA!”
J suddenly jumped up from his mattress with a sweaty forehead, eyes wide open, mouth panting. After a few seconds of calming down, he saw the white wall of the familiar small room again. The mattress takes up 2/3 of the room, which is less than 3 meters long and wide. A low table as high as my mattress is placed at the end of the bed, on top of that table is a laptop. A low cabinet next to it with miscellaneous snacks and items placed on it. Two doors lead to the living room and bathroom, until the window above the bed is still in the exact position J remembered. The small house had no one but himself.
“…” J touched his hands all over his body. His body was still intact in a t-shirt and shorts. ”…Just a nightmare?”
Half-convinced, J pulled aside the curtain on the window. From the window is the green grass of his backyard under the daytime sun, making him feel more secure. The pleasant cool breeze blowing in the room was not above 20 degrees Celsius as confirmation that he was still at home.
“…I don't know what it is, but never mind.”
J breathed a sigh of relief, putting aside last night's terrifying experience. He started checking his phone, receiving his food and drink orders. He walked calmly into the living room, coming to the kitchen table with only an Air Fryer, Microwave, and an electric stove only as big as a laptop. J leisurely took out the pan, and cooking ingredients appeared on the pan from his hand. White ramen noodles, peeled eggs, slices of char siu meat with red skin. He grilled it until it was crispy on the outside and then placed the pan on the wooden table.
Sitting on the ground, J sighed lazily, secretly wishing that his abilities could be as versatile as the Spectator species in Dnd. Putting aside idle thoughts, he turned on YouTube and watched the rabbit-eared female Vtuber Livestream the game, using iron chopsticks to pick up food from the pan to eat. When watching the stream, he somehow smiled. Complaints and screams like a child from a rabbit-eared female Vtuber struggling to capture humans in Palworld. Those sounds and reactions were like melodious music for J's breakfast.
“…Huh, completely forgot about this!”
After finishing the meal and cleaning up, J noticed that he forgot to wear his glasses. Quickly putting on the inseparable item, he saw everything around him become larger and dimmer than usual. When J took off his glasses, he could see his surroundings extremely clearly.
“God Gruumsh… what the hell is going on?”
J frowned when he encountered another anomaly. Poor eyesight can be recovered from medical services or Raw Magic. Yet, he refused it in the belief that one day he would cure his nearsightedness himself. Even when he couldn't explain what was going on, J had to put it aside because of the lack of reliable information. He changed into a t-shirt, long pants, then put on a hooded jacket, put his phone and wallet in his pockets, and hung a bag on his back. J put on his sneakers, left the house, locked the door, turned on his phone to see the customer's address.
Outside on the road, on the ground are extremely bustling auto-driving hovering cars, and in mid-air are flying cars. J leisurely stood in front of a hologram board on the sidewalk to catch the bus. It only took 10 minutes for a bus to land and give the ramen delivery boy a ride. Sitting by the window of the car that had flown into the air, he looked back at a tall pillar rising above the clouds. One of the hooked pillars marks the place where other dangerous creatures were imprisoned by the gods two decades ago - the Dungeon. Even though I didn't really want to set foot there, ironically it was the address where customers were waiting for J's ramen!
The Dungeon Gate stood tall in front of us, taller than tall buildings, radiating cold air. J looked up at it with narrowed eyes, the corners of his mouth completely turned down, as if he had encountered the worst. He shook his head a few times to calm himself down and then walked to a recycling bin. J gently took out 10 empty 500ml plastic bottles that looked intact, then he went to a drainage area on the side of the road. J poured out all the water, removed all packaging and labels and put it in the trash. He added a little soap and then used water from his hands to wash away all the dirt inside and outside the bottle. After cleaning, J filled them with water and then poured the juice powder and tea packets into the bottles. After shaking the mixture well, he put 10 bottles of water in the bag on his back, but they didn't make the bag bulge any more. Because that bag is a Bag of Holding - a tool that holds the same capacity as a carry-on suitcase and is always as light as nothing.
Having finished preparing, J arrived at the Dungeon gate and encountered a group of most prominent people. A young Elf with pointed ears and long red hair, a brown-bearded Dwarf with a short height, a female Dragonborn with dark golden scales. That group of people are all armed, with different weapons in their hands and on their bodies. Some people wield spears, swords, or battle rifles. The weapons they carry on their bodies range from pistols, shields, crossbows, bows, spears, hand axes or knives. One of them had a Dwarf standing with his phone in his hand, staring, his shoes tapping the ground while his eyes wandered around.
“You guys ordered 10 servings of ramen and juice, right?” J walked over to start a conversation with a stiff smile.
“Oh yes!” The Dwarf lowered his phone with a smiling face. ”My stomach is excited to be filled with this recommended dish.”
“Here you go~.”
J replied, still smiling stiffly while taking a few bottles of juice from his bag. He also did the same thing as taking things out of the bag, but actually created ramen bowls with sealed lids and iron chopsticks. His guests kept one bowl in the same bag as him, and one bowl was opened to eat. As for phone J, it reported that the amount of money had been transferred to the bank account about $250.
“Still working hard, eh, Jozo?” A young Asian man somewhat shorter and thinner than J walked over. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail, a friendly smile, and his eyes seemed to be closed.
“Y-yo, Yong~.” J's smile became more distorted before the unexpected meeting.
"Are you fine." The person called Yong smiled and held out his hand.
“Yeah… voltage stabilizer…” J answered half-heartedly and then lightly slapped his hand in response. “What's going on here?”
“Taking a newbie to practice fighting Monsters.” Yong looked towards the same-aged customers eating ramen. “They are all people with potential to be Hunters or Guardians. Monster hunting, or protecting security from dangerous creatures is the future they aim for.”
“Does Mr Yong know this person?” The Elf stopped his chopsticks and expressed curiosity.
“My classmate, and the class's fighting prodigy.” Yong smiled and patted the back of his friend who was a bean taller than him.
“Oh.” The Elf guy's eyes widened when he heard that.
"That's interesting." The Dwarf finished eating the bowl of noodles and drank a bottle of water and then put them down. He took the shield from his back and held the spear with eagerness. “Can I give it a try, coach's friend?”
“I would like to decline.” J shook his head vigorously, still smiling crookedly.
“Oooh… I really want to try.” The Dwarf began to plead.
“I don't even have any armor or weapons.” J shrugged his shoulders with an excuse.
“Knives, swords, axes, spears, guns, which one do you want?” Yong pulled out each weapon for his friend, even two knives, one hot and the other cold, appeared in his hand. "If you're injured, there's enough medicine and first aid equipment here, so don't worry."
“No no, I'm a pacifist, I don't fight.” J waved his hand and refused to borrow a weapon for practice.
“Let's see, it's just a newcomer who wants to learn from the seniors' experience.” The long-haired Asian guy patted J's back. "If you need it, I'll buy you a buffet, or some tips, you won't lose out~."
“Don’t tempt me, Frodo!” J suddenly spoke in an annoyed whisper, the volume only enough for Yong to hear.
“What do you think, just a ramen boy. This effeminate guy doesn't look like a warrior at all~.” The female Dragonborn frowned as she glanced at J.
“Come on, co-workers are supposed to be friendly.” Yong refuted his student's words then turned to J and whispered in worry. “…Aren't you going to refute it, Joker?”
“I'm not a warrior or a Spellcaster.” The boy called Joker sighed and turned away. "Then I'll ask your permission."
“W-wait!” Yong was confused when his friend left. He turned to the trainees and laughed. "Wait a minute, I'll be back."
“I thought you were busy?” Joker still walked away indifferently.
“Since that day, have you always been so strange?” Yong walked right next to him and complained.
“I just choose a career that suits me to live leisurely day by day, it has nothing to do with it.” The ramen boy answered immediately without any hesitation or hesitation.
“Is that so…” The Asian guy's eyebrows slightly drooped, but he still tried to smile at another topic. “By the way, when are you free, let's go eat or hang out somewhere-“
“My working hours are not fixed so I can't say in advance.” Joker answered right before the other person finished speaking.
“…Well, there was a new game recently, have you played it-“
“I just watch anime.”
“So when are you free, I'll come over and visit-”
“I was out all day.”
“Do you like any food or drink-”
“I only eat and drink homemade food.”
“Can I call you at a convenient time-“
“I don't know, and I like to be alone and relax with Pekora's stream. Ok."
Yong followed and tried to start a conversation, but Joker only answered quickly and coldly. That ramen guy got into a bus and left the Dungeon gate area. Standing next to the hologram lamppost, Yong quietly looked up and watched the bus fly away, his hands clenched with veins emerging.
“…Sigh.”
Leaning back in his chair and taking out his phone, Joker let out a long, tired sigh. The light from the phone screen shined on Joker's face, softening the gloom on his face. Flicking his fingers through the applications, he accidentally clicked on the photo folder. Suddenly, a series of strange images appeared before Joker's eyes. Rolling golden sand, giant black scorpions, and a sturdy armored vehicle. Standing out among the desolate landscape is a young blond man with a face full of tattoos, whom Joker has never met. Looking at the photo taking time, he was startled to realize that it was all taken while he was sleeping!
“…Clearly something unusual is going on.”
Joker began to piece together what had happened to him throughout the day.
Surreal dreams, restored vision, pictures on the phone. Everyone was giving him the answer that last night's dream was real, and it definitely had the hand of Spell or Raw Magic! At this moment, the thought of going to a specialist flashed through his mind. Guardians or your family members will most likely easily find out the problems and solve them. However, the discomfort of having to seek help from strangers, or bothering family members. Joker chose to stay alone away from home to find the missing piece of himself, to feel complete when he returned. For that reason, he refused to choose to seek other help.
“…I will solve this problem myself.”
Joker said to himself while on the way home. He also tried to find out more information online about whether there was anything related to Dreamer and Dream. Most of the information he could find online was mostly fictional and hypothetical rather than something that fully explained the situation Jarek mentioned. Even information related to the Dream Plane, although it also involves it being a world where some people travel to when they sleep, or that Plane Travelers can go to. Information about Dreamer and how Dream was formed to match Jarek's words was completely impossible to find.
“Maybe it would be better to ask the owner…”
After understanding that there was no satisfactory answer, Joker came to a final conclusion. The easiest way is to ask the person who made you wonder. Even so, it was unclear how long it would take for him to meet again the young man he knew nothing about other than the power he wielded and the name Jarek.
--- ---
“...Huh?”
After a while of sleep, the noise of the engine and the surrounding vibrations woke Joker up. Seeing nothing but black, he tried to sit up only to have his face hit something like a wall a few centimeters in front of him. Both sides of him also had similar walls.
"What the hell is it!"
Joker was irritated and unable to understand the situation, he used his strength to push the wall of that cramped space. Bright light shone into his eyes, and he realized he had just opened the lid of a coffin. Outside the coffin is in the seat room of a flying helicopter.
“…J!”
“Huh?”
Someone shouted the Joker's short name. He looked over and saw two strange faces not far from the coffin.
