--- Outside the Dungeon, Melbourne Central, Australia ---

Joker and Jarek removed all the rice powder stuck to Yong. The other two Hunters also left after receiving the rent. The three of them left the Dungeon and were now sitting on an iron chair on the side of the road, each with a bowl of ramen in hand.

“…Sorry for being rude.” After a while of eating and drinking in silence, Yong began to speak with a slightly slack smile.
“Forget it, there's no big loss. I just upgraded again.” Joker used steel chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish cake and ate it leisurely, even without a smile on his face.
"Fighting each other to release all anger and restore old relationships, what's better?" Jarek smiled. She couldn't help but be pleased to see the two boys who had fought to the death now sitting in the same place eating and drinking together.

“Sorry for the late introduction, I'm Yong Da, a Hunter. I'm not sure what Class I belong to.” Yong nodded slightly to Jarek and then held out his hand.
“I'm Jarek, nice to meet you.”

Jarek returned his hand and shook it gently. From the handshake, young Asia couldn't help but feel shocked. He clearly felt that behind that female Shapechanger's slender and soft hand was a large amount of tightly compressed muscles!

“I am honored to know the Joker again.” Yong tried to keep a smile on his face to hide his overwhelm.
“Hopefully we will get along well in the future~.” Jarek said then continued to pick up his chopsticks to eat ramen.
“I look forward to that too.” Yong said then turned to Joker. “But, I didn't expect your body to be so strong. No matter how serious the injury, you recover almost immediately.”
“The Demon form is also news to me, as is the fire knife that can heal injuries.” Joker answered with his eyes still not leaving the bowl of ramen, his voice still speaking monotonously.

“My knife, in addition to controlling temperature, can also heal and slow down time.” Yong summoned the knife in his hand and turned it around. “Actually, I don't know why I have different abilities from warriors and Spellcasters. I don't think I've made a deal with a demon like a Warlock, much less a devout one like a Cleric or a Paladin…”
“You're obviously not one of them,” After finishing the bowl of broth and placing it on his lap, Jarek replied. “because you are also a Dreamer.”
"…Huh?" The Asian boy was stunned when he heard that strange concept.
“Welcome to my world.”

Joker creates water all over his hands and washes his mouth. He began to briefly narrate what he had heard and knew about Dream and Dreamer.

“Mo… sounds like Mo Diep.” Yong rubbed his chin and thought, then he spoke louder in excitement. “This is truly the discovery of the century!”
“I advise you not to tell everyone how to create a Dream.” Jarek spoke a warning. Her face became more serious, her dog ears also stood up straight. Even so, her hands were still holding out the empty bowl.
“…May I know the reason?” The Chinese boy blinked a few times, out of curiosity.

“In the past, many people were blinded by dreams to see reality.” Jarek continued to eat the bowl of ramen that was refilled by Joker's hand. “Among them, the one I remember the most is when they created religions and gods and controlled an entire continent. Others wanted unification and an end to war, resulting in the creation of destructive nuclear weapons.”
“Dark Ages and World War 2.” Joker leaned back in his chair and gave the answer he could think of.
“Such great power must be used with caution, I understand.” Yong nodded after clearly understanding the benefits and disadvantages of this new knowledge.

“I just need to get stronger, so I don't care too much about other details.” The boy with short black hair said casually as he took out his smartphone and swiped at the screen.
“Then…” Yong smiled with amusement.” What made you agree to reveal it to us?”
“Joker once saved my life, a stranger when he himself was not safe. He is also willing to save as many people as possible.” Jarek smiled while sucking on a noodle. ”And you are a good person, willing to do anything to help your friends.”

“Thank you for speaking highly of us.” The boy bowed slightly and humbly, swaying his long hair. "And you almost immediately came to me as soon as Joker disappeared, he's taken care of."
“Yes, Joker is very important to me~.” Jarek smiled brightly. She expressed her feelings very naturally, without any reservation.

“Let me ask you a question, her words carry a lot of weight with you, is that your wife, Joker?” Yong leaned into his ear and whispered with a grin.
“…” Joker frowned, he raised his hands with half-open eyes. “Look at my 10 fingers to see if there is any wedding ring?”
“So you're a girlfriend.” The Asian boy hid his grin and patted his friend's shoulder. “You've really changed dramatically in the past few years.”
“We just met less than a week ago. And I don't even know anything about her other than her name and her powers. If you ignore the strange way of talking.” Joker pushed Yong's hand away from his shoulder. “Do you think I'm sick like my old man?”

“Aren't you also very close to Albina?” Yong smiled meaningfully.
“…She's a genius, that's for sure. However, she is too gentle.” Joker was silent for a moment, although his eyes were looking at the phone screen, his mind was elsewhere. “So at the very least, as an incompetent person, I will try to follow her and do what she cannot do.”
“You're strong, but you're too self-conscious, brother.” Yong sighed with a smile, he took out a scroll from the Bag of Holding. “This Spell Scroll was originally intended to revive you in case something goes wrong. But maybe it's no longer necessary. Keep it, maybe it will be useful."

“Revivify, Teleportation Circle. Spending $290,000 just to fight with me, you're crazy.” Joker smirked sarcastically then took the scroll and put it in the Bag of Holding on his belt.
“This is nothing compared to being able to understand your brother.” Yong spoke in a more relaxed and slower voice.
“My brothers and sisters at my house are annoying enough~.” The black haired boy shrugged with a sigh.
“But… if I refused to surrender just now, what were you going to do?” Yong placed the finished bowl of ramen on the ground.
“Shoot and then take it to the church or temple to wake up.” Joker replied briefly.
“Hah, that's the Joker.” Yong chuckled at his friend's method of being hot and cold at the same time. He grinned and spoke jokingly to help lighten the atmosphere. “But I didn't expect you to hide your extraordinary fighting ability like that all the time. A bowl of ramen where you shoot your chopsticks and water like a gun!”
“Not really, I just learned how to use it a few days ago.”

Joker lowered his phone and looked at Jarek for a moment. Following those eyes and looking at the girl who was still leisurely eating ramen, Yong immediately understood the whole situation. Especially after he pieced together what he had heard and seen so far.

 

 

“Thank you for helping Joker.”

The Chinese boy spoke with a heart full of relief and warmth. It was as if all the difficulties, misunderstandings, and dissatisfaction he had had over the past few years with his best friend had been removed.

“Don't worry about it~.” Jarek replied with a friendly grin. She herself was extremely pleased to see that the two old friends had become close again.

“But, I won't bother you two anymore.” Yong stood up and walked away, turning to Joker. "Next time let's play some new game together~."

“I am always at home and free from afternoon until dawn.” Joker glanced at his friend.

“Heheh, I'm looking forward to the day we play games all night like old times.” The Chinese boy chuckled and waved as he walked away and merged into the sea of people on the street.

“…I have to let you help me again.” After a while, Joker spoke to Jarek. “In addition to pointing things out, she also helped me solve a few other personal problems. So if you need me to do anything, two requests are free.”

“Wait, really!” The Shapechanger girl stood up suddenly. Her eyes seemed to light up, and both her dog ears and tail stood up.

"Right." Joker replied indifferently, without any hesitation.

“Hmmm, then…” Jarek rubbed her chin and thought for a moment, even her tail was equally active. “Can I come visit your house?”

“I don't think that's something that needs to be asked of me.” Joker frowned when he heard that request.

“So I ask you to be closer to me from now on, okay?” That girl wagged her tail more fiercely when she heard that!

“… Just how close do you want to be?”

The black-haired boy looked at the other person more cautiously. He increasingly couldn't understand what it was about him that made her want to approach him so much. Even when knowing that the opponent is 50% not a bad person, the ambiguity of the rest still makes Joker wary.

--- A few minutes later, at Joker's house, Hampton Park ---

After taking an Uber back home with Jarek, Joker quickly took a shower to clean himself from the dirt and smell of blood after the battle. Only then did the boy feel more relieved than ever.

“Your bathroom is so small…”

Jarek commented as it was her turn to take a shower. The bathroom is in the  corner of the room, only big enough for one person, separated by two glass panels. On the wall is a single showerhead, controlled by two temperature-controlled wipers. With the coldness of nearly 12 degrees Celsius in autumn, bathing in water will not be a pleasant thing. Luckily, Joker had gone to shower first, so hot water was almost already in the shower.

“If you find it inconvenient, you can come and live with me. It's right next door so moving house is easy~.” Jarek immersed himself in the steaming warm water jets, her voice echoing out into the bedroom next door.

"Are not." Joker replied curtly while lying on the bed, typing on the laptop keyboard with the screen displaying the game Subla.

“So do you need me to call someone to help expand your house larger?” The Shapechanger girl came up with another idea while rubbing her dog's hair and tail with soap.

"Are not." The boy answered the same question without any hesitation, his eyes never leaving the laptop screen.

“So do you want to install a bathtub? You can create water with your power so you don't have to worry about water bills." Jarek turned on the warm water and washed away the soap bubbles on her body, her mouth still kept coming up with ideas.

“…I will think more.” Hearing this, Joker stopped refusing after 3 seconds of silence.

“Ah… how pleasant~.” Jarek came out of the bathroom with a large towel drying his hair and tail. “But what are you playing? Can I play multiplayer?

“… This is a one-person game, if we play together, just change the game-” Joker quickly saved the game and turned to Jarek. For a moment, he suddenly fell silent.

"What's wrong?"

The Shapechanger girl tilted her head with a curious smile. Her brown hair was now long and soft, swaying with each step like wavy waves. It is the brown color of the earth, iridescent under the light like sunlight. With her body fragrant with flowers, Jarek looks more feminine than ever.

 

 

 

“… And why are your hair and tail suddenly bushier?” Joker took a few seconds to wonder at the change.
“Thanks to your abundant ramen. I usually store energy and biological resources in my hair.” Jarek grinned, she took out a laptop from the Bag of Holding and placed it on Joker's desk. She sat next to the homeowner's mattress, turned on the computer with her dog's tail wagging in excitement. "So what games can we play?"
“…Probably Baldr Door 5. It's quite easy to play and you don't have to worry about doing anything other than adventuring." Joker said and gave a USB to Jarek. "Install the game and then start fighting."
“ CGL ~.”

Jarek accepted the USB and responded in Irish. In just a moment, the game was installed on the laptop. The Shapechanger girl quickly started the game Baldr Door 5, created a character and then joined the Joker. in the fantasy world. Their adventure begins with many difficult challenges. First, he was abducted by aliens. They then encounter a school of fish that use psychic energy to throw spears. Next, they have to fight against an extremely violent giant sea monster. Finally, they confront a formidable tentacled creature with unparalleled spiritual power.

--- 5 hours later---

“Don't you need to sleep?” After playing the game for a while and seeing that it was past midnight, Joker asked.
“I can stay awake like some animals and need very little sleep, like dolphins, giraffes, frogs, swallows ~.” Jarek smiled, but then looked at Joker a bit worried. “You… can't sleep anymore, can you?”
"…Right." The black haired boy sighed as he thought about his own healing ability. ”At first it seemed fun, but the extra 8 hours suddenly became too long and more boring… especially when there was less to do.”
“Then let me help you sleep well.” The Shapechanger girl patted the mattress and invited Joker to sleep.
“… What method are you planning to use?” Joker turned to look at the girl.
“It's simple~.”

Jarek smiled reassuringly. Joker frowned, he turned off the laptop and placed it on the table, then lay back on the mattress and waited. The Shapechanger girl gently wiggled her dog ears and then placed her hand on Joker's cheek. A series of steam blew out from her hand, one by one taking the boy's breath. Little by little, the feeling of relief and comfort gradually filled Joker's mind, the lightness spread, making his body feel extremely relieved. Slowly, his body seemed to float into the clouds, his mind drifting into dreamland.

In that dream, he saw the silhouette of a hairy creature as big as a bear but with the head of an owl, a Bearowl.

 

It let out a long but intense howl of a wild animal. It swung its forelegs once, and Joker's vision was turned around. The next scene, he found himself lying on the bed with bandages all over his body. By his bedside were boys and girls who shared the same blood as him. They spoke in laughter or criticism, only the younger girl with white hair was different. The little girl walked over to ask about Joker with teary eyes. That fleeting presence both soothed the pain throughout his body and made his heart tighten.

“ … Albina sis.”

Joker muttered the name of the person he saw. Opening his eyes, he saw the ceiling of his room again. Reaching for the phone on the nightstand to check, he saw that an hour had passed in the blink of an eye.

“…What dream is not a dream, that dream again.”

Joker sighed, this was his first sleep after many sleepless nights. About to sit up, he suddenly realized there was an arm embracing him, and one leg was resting on the lower half of his body. Turning to the side, Joker realized it was Jarek! The Shapechanger girl's body pressed close to his, making him clearly feel the softness of her seductive curves. The warmth from Jarek in the cold weather of autumn brings a very pleasant feeling. The floral scent emanating from her creates a relaxing and reassuring atmosphere for the guy. For others, this is an irresistible experience. But with Joker, it's not like that.

“…Excuse me, why are you suddenly hugging me?” Joker spoke up after a moment of silence because he wanted to get out of this situation.
“Ah, you woke up!” Jarek's dog ears and tail bristled as she opened her eyes, her face closer to Joker's than ever before. “Well… hugging will help you relax more and help you sleep.”
“…Honestly, what do you want from me?” Joker sat up, he grinned and looked at Jarek with a visible frown. By now he had lost all patience so he decided to ask.
“…” Jarek backed away from the mattress, his dog ears flattened, his tail wrapped around his waist. She clasped her index fingers together, her head bowed slightly and she averted her eyes to avoid the other person's gaze.
“Please explain properly, or I will have to answer for disturbing someone in their sleep.” The boy's face softened, but he picked up the phone again.

“P-please slow down!” The Shapechanger girl raised her dog's ears and tail as she tried to beg.
“Please explain, don't beat around the bush as much as possible.” Joker sat with his back against the wall, arms crossed, waiting for an answer.
“I... I…” Jarek tried to find the courage to say what she was hiding in her heart. Faced with Joker's judgmental eyes, she guessed that hiding it any longer would only make things worse. She placed her hands in front of her chest and took a breath to speak. “I fell in love with you…”