It was the most bizarre feeling Sariel had ever experienced.

His body fell to the ground, and it sank down into the ground before pushing itself back up onto the surface of a foreign world.

The sky was red. A pure white moon illuminated the sky, revealing an abandoned cityscape. A familiar terrain. Sariel had watched this dream for ten years, and finally had the reins on the story he once used to spectate. Every hero started with a desire, a goal, a passion.

His story would begin in his dream, by bypassing the demon guarding the exit of the small alley he found himself in.

Sariel stood behind a dumpster, unseen by the monster. ‘Well, I’ve seen this a million times, and I suppose it’s finally time to try it…’ Sariel extended his arm, focusing his concentration on his palm. Sariel focused on the glowing light coalescing on his palm. They swirled in beautiful white threads in mesmerising complexities. He formed an orb and slammed it into his chest, unlocking the most essential aspect of survival and creating a connection to his Spirit, and by extension, the System.

With the connection finally established, he called out, ‘Omni: Sword!’

The Omni was the weapon of the Dreamers. It took every form, and was the only weapon the Dreamers could use. Sariel walked out, immediately garnering the attention of the demon. It roared, and he backed into the alleyway to prevent other demons interfering with the fight.

Sariel furrowed his brows. This was the System prompt; The guiding light for all Spirit users. While he was spectating the dreams of the heroes, he had heard much conversation about the System. How great it was, how useful it was, and so on.

But what was this abhorrent use of the Scientific Notation? Just say 33.1 HP, why would it use Scientific Notation for that? Ah, no matter. There were bigger problems to worry about.

The demon known as the Hound ran on six legs, and was covered in rough, matted fur. The black and red painted across its body allowed for anyone to easily identify and avoid it. It had no eyes, nor ears, nor a nose; a brutal abomination with only the ability to devour.

Sariel stood his ground as the ferocious dog-like demon charged towards him. The beast's fur bristled and its eyes glowed with a malevolent red light. Sariel tightened his grip on his massive claymore, feeling the weight of the weapon in his hands.

Otherside was not forgiving to its newest guests. Being set at transcendence one left you almost entirely vulnerable. Three or four blows was enough for death, and Sariel knew it well.

That was the reason that, as the demon lunged forward, Sariel stepped to the side and swung his claymore in a wide arc. The blade glinted in the dim light of the dungeon as it sliced through the air. The demon let out a howl of rage and pain as the claymore cut deep into its flesh. Sariel gritted his teeth and prepared to strike again.

The battle raged on, with Sariel and the demon trading blow after blow. A leap by the beast was met with a sidestep from Sariel, followed by a quick jab. No dice; the hide of the hound was too tough. The beast spun around, smashing its foot into the ground to jump straight at Sariel. Again, a sidestep, followed by a quick jump onto the wall of the alley to leap onto the hound.

It thrashed violently, attempting to throw the man off its head, but to no avail; a series of violent pierces sent it crashing into a wall in an attempt to get Sariel off. It succeeded, but as it attempted to recover from its daze, Sariel sunk his blade into the exposed paw of the Hound, crippling its mobility.

The demon leapt into the sky for a final, desperate attempt at survival, and crashed down into the ground, sending a shockwave that sent Sariel off his feet. He reciprocated by swapping his Omni to a giant greatsword, stabbing it into the ground to spin around it and land on the ground. With a final, thunderous strike, Sariel brought his claymore over his head down on the demon's own, shattering its skull and ending the fight.

As Sariel caught his breath, he heard a low growl behind him. Turning quickly, he saw another dog-like demon leaping towards him, its jaws gaping wide. Sariel barely had time to react, but he raised his claymore just in time to block the demon's attack. The force of the blow sent a shockwave through Sariel's arms, but he held his ground. Red numbers going down flashed across his vision whilst the two opponents locked eyes, each sizing up the other.

The demon was even more massive than the previous one, and its fur was thicker and blacker. Its eyes burned with a fierce intelligence, and Sariel surged with joy. It was much easier when the demons just came directly to you.

The two combatants circled each other warily, looking for an opening. The demon attacked again, its claws raking towards Sariel's face. Sariel dodged to the side and swung his claymore, but the demon was too fast. It leapt over Sariel's head and landed behind him, ready to strike again. Sariel spun around, cleanly parrying the incoming blow and clenching his fist to strike directly into the chest of the demon.

It was miserable to have to keep dodging. Sariel saw so many openings on this wretched dog, and dearly longed to strike it down in one swipe. But no; no indeed, because it wasn't a game he was playing. It was life, and at least until he transcended once, he would have to resort to dodging and parrying.

It sustained the blow and raised its paw to deliver another strike, and Sariel matched with a sidestep, followed by a massive strike. The blade pierced the hide of the beast to sink into its flesh, warranting a loud screech and a lunge out of desperation. Sariel quickly de-summoned the Omni, and reformed it in his hand to shove it in the mouth of the incoming demon. It impaled itself on his claymore, and with a final thrust, the hound’s body fell off the claymore and landed pathetically on the ground.

As the life of the demon faded, a red ball rose from the body and rose into the sky. A wisp of light from within the ball drew itself to Sariel, depositing itself into the core of his body. The rest of the ball ascended into the sky, leaving only a calm Sariel.

This was the true essence of Spirit; harnessing the Spirit of dead beings, driving it into your own body, and strengthening yourself as a result.

‘Status.’

Sariel sighed. He didn’t even get a full level up from two mob creatures? Seriously, who was balancing this? Furthermore, the hounds didn’t drop any items? But he reflected for a bit more before sighing once again.

From what Sariel had seen, the heroes found items mostly from only boss monsters and dungeons. They rarely dropped from normal demons running around in the overworld. The Otherside truly punished the weakest Dreamers; They gain no loot while they desperately try to survive, and remain as weak as ever.

Sariel emerged from the alleyway, scanning the abandoned city streets. Time to find a few more targets.

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I see our newest batch of invaders has arrived. They keep sending them. It gets annoying.

A few have already been killed. Worthless, as they are.

But who is this? A black-haired boy with golden eyes, wearing a mask bearing the symbol of the Flower? I had just killed the last bearer of the Flower symbol recently. Incredible how fast it gets picked up.

I see him cleave through the smallest in our ranks. They return to me now, bruised and defeated. Their Darkness will serve a different purpose, then. Useless, as they are.

Ah, I wonder if he will survive long enough for me to notice him again. But for now, there are more important things to look at. The Kingdom Zone, mostly.

But he looks so nice. I hope I'll get to keep him soon.

RaineAndBow

This first chapter has been reworked with the suggestions of M.G. Driver, who has written A Black Market LitRPG!

Raine here! 

I hope you liked this chapter! I want to share to you all my own dreams, and I hope you're ready to receive them!