The Villain has Perished

78 True Rule

Glup—!

I downed another MP potion from Jae-sung's inventory.

The disappearance of dozens of MP potions would definitely make Jae-sung suspicious. But my current predicament wasn't luxurious enough for me to focus on such paltry issues.

"Hold tight"

When Faena didn't follow my words, I was forced to use my one arm to grab onto her, while riding the hound wolf.

I clicked my tongue inwardly. Holding Faena was nothing but a nuisance – a distraction on this battlefield.

⟪ You have killed Dream Creature, 3rd Mortal Awakening ⟫

⟪ 300 Coins… ⟫

⟪ + 1 Kill… ⟫

|| +100 Life…. ||

⟪ You have killed Dream Creature…. ⟫

Thankfully, the treants were more than capable of defeating the dream creatures.

"The treants… are they your spirits…? How can you summon… no, why can they defeat the dream creatures?"

I repeated a rule to answer Faena.

"The dream creatures are stronger than their enemies."

To be specific, the dream creatures would always be 'only a bit' stronger than their opponents. It was a rule set by the Illusive Dragon King.

The treants were my summons, hence dream creatures were a tiny bit stronger than me, not the 3-star Master rank treants.

The ban on spirits in the dream world was to avoid this kind of cheating. Unfortunately for Qantal, I wasn't a spirit tamer, but a summoner.

It was nothing but a strange twist of fate that Qantal's sadistic tendencies became the reason, a hope for the counterattack.

'...But there is only so much treants can do.'

Time was running out.

There was only one way to end everything: Lumine

To defeat Qantal, I had to leave this dream world and find Lumine.

She was the key to this otherwise dead end.

"How many spirits can you summon?" asked Faena in shock, finding another group of treants surrounding the gigantic baby above us.

Contracting two spirits was considered a talent.

Three was a genius.

Reaching out to four spirits was a legendary feat.

With five spirits, the person has the unconditional right to become the king of elves.

The highest in history was 6 – the previous and strongest Elf King to exist.

There had been only a single individual who could summon without restraint. The being who went against all logic.

But I ignored her shock.

By now, the dream creatures were numbering in the hundreds. Even with superior strength, there were only 80 treants against the ever-increasing number of enemies.

If we wanted to leave the dream world. We had to be quick.

'The rules are fake.'

There was only one true rule of the Dream Tree…

I faced Lumine. The rules that entered our mind earlier were secondary rules Qantal created using the original rule of <Dream Tree>.

"I need your help."

It was time for Faena to repay for saving her life.

…

Faena listened to Sol's request serenely.

It wasn't anything different from what she was doing before. All he asked her was to protect the gigantic baby while fighting.

"Why should I help…"

At that moment, an attack of a dream creature passed through the treant's defense formation and landed on the gigantic baby. Sol's shirt was torn, a deep gash running through his stomach.

Faena's words trailed off and her eyes widened as the horrible injury suddenly appeared over Sol's abdomen.

"This is your dream world." gasped Faena.

The gigantic baby was Sol's dream core. Faena recalled the rules. The damage received by a dream core is transferred to the owner of the dream world….

"Will you do it?"

Sol's composed voice rang.

Injuries were piling over his body as the number of dream creatures continued to increase, leaving treants unable to defend the dream core.

Yet Sol's cold and emotionless expression didn't change.

In this hellish battlefield, he stared at Faena with an overbearing – and slightly arrogant – gaze.

He didn't rush her and waited.

It was as if he was saying his pride was more important than his life to him. Even in the face of death, he won't cower, won't beg, nor would he despair.

He would fight back.

Faena immediately made her decision.

"I can get you 3 minutes."

Only in extreme situations do people reveal their true selves.

In the current situation, a slight mistake could cost Sol his life. But he remained calm and continued to command treants to fight.

Faena decided to place her trust in him.

It would be a lie to say she didn't hate Sol. He was the 'master' of Lumine. But perhaps Sol was also enchanted by Lumine. Maybe it wasn't his fault.

…and Faena hated herself more. If she had resolved everything centuries ago, maybe her daughter wouldn't be living the life of a slave.

"Block the dream creatures and leave the final strike to the treants. This method is the most favorable to fight back." advised Sol.

A treant used its vine to create a platform under Sol's feet.

He stood over it, raising his sword over his head while Faena continued to fight.

One minute passed.

She blocked as many of the dream creatures as possible, leaving the treants to finish them.

[ Avarice Wind (E) + Frozen Mist (D) = Devourer (D+) ]

A green shadow swallowed the dozens of dream creatures into a vortex.

Two minutes passed.

Faena continued to defend to the best of her abilities. But she was being pushed back.

Barely breathing, she turned to look at Sol.

He was bleeding from every orifice. His clothes were completely torn. And the water surrounding him turned red.

Nevertheless, his unfaltering gaze remained.

With his sword raised, he seemed to be waiting for something. His muscles were taut and his breaths firm.

Three minutes passed.

"Can you do it?" asked Faena as their defense line broke.

…

Leaving everything to Faena. I focused on myself.

There was only one true rule of the Dream Tree…

'You are what you believe.'

My truth was the truth of the world. I needed to believe.

Believe in myself.

'I can use Star Slaying swordsmanship.'

A massive dream creature broke through the defense line. The treants and Faena were helplessly pushed back.

The monster held the gigantic baby with its six arms, choking it.

I became unable to breathe.

Deep impression of fingers appeared over my neck which was turning red.

However...

'I can use Star Slaying Swordsmanship.'

In this world, as long as I believed my lie wholeheartedly, it would become the truth.

'I can use…'

There was no need to aim for an omnipotent strength. I needed only one thing to reach Lumine…

'Star Slaying Swordsmanship.'

Ding!

⟪ You have awakened Stellar Mana ⟫

⟪ You have learned Star Slaying Swordsmanship Level 1 ⟫

⟪ Star Slaying Swordsmanship reached level 2… ⟫

⟪ Star Slaying Swordsmanship reached level 3… ⟫

⟪ Star Slaying Swordsmanship reached level 4… ⟫

⟪ Star Slaying Swordsmanship reached level 5… ⟫

⟪ Star Slaying Swordsmanship reached MAX level… ⟫

⟪ Conditions to evolve 'Star Slaying Swordsmanship' has been reached ⟫

A flurry of notifications erupted, covering my entire vision.

⟪ User has not reached Master rank. ⟫