The Dream Archive

Just as quickly as she lost consciousness, she found herself awake in a strange place. Filled with swirling purple mist and galaxies far beyond the horizon. It didn’t have any discernible scent and sounds that echoed for what seemed like miles. A glowing figure wrapped in white mist approaches her. While awaiting their arrival, she looked around a bit more.

“No doubt about it, it’s the dream archive. It's exactly like the game. I guess I conked out after the spider den.” She thought.

The figure arrived, and its features became clearer to observe. The clouds that made up its figure began taking the form of a human. He had a strong jawline, covered in stubble. Slicked back and peppered hair, with dark red eyes. He sat in the mist atop a boulder. When he snapped his fingers, the fog in most of the area dispersed. The ground had thick white tiles, while the walls were still covered in mist.

“I was a bit worried that you didn’t embody the blood blade spirit. But now I see my fears were unfounded.” He spoke in a gruff voice. “The way you fought that spider, he he, you’ve got a talent for this class.”

“I didn’t really have a choice…” She mutters.

“Either way, doesn’t matter. Did you enjoy the passive skill?” He asked between puffs of a smoke pipe.

“Passive skill?”

“Do you live under a rock? All advanced classes have a passive skill out of the gate.” He says. “Did you think you were tearing through spiders in one hit with those noodle arms? Or cracking the big one’s legs with your sad form? I didn’t think so.”

A vein appeared in her head.

“T-true, I did notice that I was a bit stronger.” She admitted.

“Blood for blood. The more blood you lose, the stronger you become. It sounds like a hassle, but it makes you immune to things like anemia. But that makes it easier to run out of blood, though, so be careful.” He explained.

“Won’t it take a long time to get blood back, though?” she asks.

“Blood Blades regenerate their blood much faster than the average person. As long as you’re resting properly, you should be fine.” He states.

He pointed his pipe in her direction.

“Behind you is the wall. As you grow stronger, every skill you unlock is listed there.” He explains.

The wall is a giant slab of stone with words written in what appeared to be blood. As he mentioned before, blood for blood was at the top of the list. However, the second skill had only just materialized.

“I can explain it to you and teach you how to use them as you unlock them. Starting with the second skill.” He added.

“Before we get into that, why does Blood Blade feel so weak? I feel like I should get stronger for having an advanced class, but it’s like nothing’s changed.” She asks.

“It doesn’t work like other classes, in that you don’t get stronger just for having it. Many believe it to be a fatal flaw. It's like you’re at the level of a farmer, easy to kill in general. But just by losing a little blood, you jump to the level of a knight in terms of raw power, agility, and durability. When you lose a lot, you’re comparable to a grand knight, twice as strong as before, and then the final boost comes when you’re near death. You’ve lost so much blood that your body is shutting down. That's the berserker state. Due to the lack of blood going to your brain, you lose control and are three times stronger than a grand-knight. Although not many blood blades survive that. I sure didn’t. Hahaha!” He lets out a hearty laugh.

“I need to change classes soon.” She mutters.

“Hey, don’t give up on it so soon. That’s why I’m here. To teach you my tricks of the trade.” He says. “Now, let's get to practicing. The next skill you’ll be learning is Blood draw.”

He waved his hand, and a pair of swords appeared before them. They began her training during the time she was unconscious in the waking world, clashing swords, her mentor sharing tips about her class and how to use her new skills.

The training felt like hours, and in the distance, a bright orb began to rise on the horizon.

“It looks like time is up for now. Don’t forget what I taught ya.” He states.

“Thanks for teaching me.” She says.

“Don’t mention it. I’ve got nuthin' better to do anyway. Stay alive out there.” He says.

Right after his words finished, the bright orb fully engulfed the sky, blinding her, and turned all the dark mist white. Soon after the entire space was blindingly enveloped, when the light faded, the familiar view of the cave stood before her. Letting out a yawn, she noticed her head was softly resting on something. A small crumb landed on her cheek, revealing that Leo was eating one of the rations they had. She shot up from his lap and slammed into his chin. They both groaned in pain.

“Good to see you’re up…” He grumbled.

“Me too…” She groaned. “Looks like the antidote worked.”

“Of course it did! I’m as fit as a fiddle!” He said, quickly breaking into a one-handed handstand.

“Show off.” She states.

Following her foray into the dream archive, Arte started stretching her body. The pain from her wounds still lingered, causing a strong stinging sensation.

“Looks like he was right, I can tell some of my blood’s returned, but I’m still not quite back to full. It really is like a sixth sense.” She thought.

“Looks like potions still take time to heal you, even here.” She says. “How long was I out for?”

“Maybe a bit longer than an hour? No watch or anything down here.” He says, lowering himself from the handstand.

“Hm… Potions sure do take a while to heal…” She sighed. “Well, whatever. We just have to roll with it.”

“I just wish we could find some loot or something.” He added.

“If it’s loot, I did fight another unique monster earlier.” She states.

“And you beat it without me?!” He exclaimed.

She poked him in the forehead.

“No, I did it for you. It was the only way to get back.” She states.

“Well, I guess I can’t complain then, thanks.” He says. “Where is it?”

“It’s in the basin.” She pointed.

Leo removed his shirt and pants, in the blink of an eye, jumping into the basin in his underwear with his dagger.

While underwater, he spotted the spider a short swim downward. The water pressure made the swim down easy. As he got closer, he quickly realized how much of a size difference it was and dejectedly tried to swim back, but realized he was being pushed back by the waterfall. His eyebrows raised as he scratched his head. He then saw a hand reach into the water and grabbed it, and was pulled out of the water in a single tug, which sent him flying a bit, but he managed to land on his feet.

“When did you get so strong?” He asks.

“Advanced class, remember? Also, at least listen before you leap.” She sighed. ”It’s too big to get out of the basin.”

“Whoops.” He smiled.

“This whole thing was my fault anyway.” She says. “But now I won’t be as much of a liability.”

While getting dressed, he peered at her from over his shoulder.

“Sounds like someone went to the archive.” He says.

She tosses him his dagger, and he notices her sword is missing from her hip.

“Where’s your sword?” He asks.

“I broke it off in that spider's ass.” She says.

“Creative.” He chuckled.

“Luckily, I learned something that’ll help out.” She says.

“My new skill, Blood Draw, has two functions. Its main functionality is to spend some blood to strengthen my sword, drawing out its true potential. As for its second…” She thought.

She tightly closed her hand as though she were holding a sword, and blood began to form in the air, shaping into a broadsword like the one she had held previously. She gave it a good few swings before placing it in her sheath.

“It’s less durable than your average sword, but it’ll do for now.” She says.

While Leo was leaning against a boulder, she walked over and grabbed a canteen and a ration. The ration was square-shaped and thick. A rough amalgamation of various nutrient-rich foods.

“I always wondered how these taste… gross.” She groaned, but continued to eat. While eating, she explained what had happened earlier.

“Hm.. So you finally found that boss; that thing was super elusive. Damn, I wish I could’ve joined in.” He said. “Now we just need to get outta here.”

“Then we’ll need to beat the final boss of this dungeon.” She says.

“Yeah, once we defeat that, the exit should be open for business.” Leo rubs his hands together. “Sounds like loot to me.”

“Then let's get moving.” She suggested. Throwing the rest of her ration into her mouth, she took another sip of the canteen before returning it. To the right of the room was a separate path covered by thick vines. Using the blood sword, they cut through them and easily progressed beyond them.

In the halls beyond that point, the vines slowly became withered and black. Larger grub-like creatures were grazing upon the blackened bark. Their bodies were transparent, and their internal organs were visible. Upon hearing the sound of their footsteps, they coiled up into balls and rammed into the duo. Leo stopped the first with his foot and drove his dagger into its back; their spongey bodies could do naught to stop the blade. Arte slipped past him and sliced through one of the remaining two with a downward slash. Then, she kicked the last grub against the wall, sending it bouncing off, and Leo stabbed it.

“Still not used to actually killing things.” His hand tightly gripped the dagger and trembled.

“It doesn’t feel good, but it's them or us.” She replied.

“You’re right.” He says.

He took a deep breath and continued onward. They encountered more goblins as they kept going and dispatched them with relative ease. The smell of rotten wood grew stronger the further they got until they reached a doorway blocked entirely with rotten wood. Dark liquid oozed from the rotten wooden barricade, and the smell was overly sweet but also had a faint rotting scent. They cover their noses at the powerful stench, and Arte cuts down the wood blocking the entrance.

“This’ll technically be our first boss fight together.” She said.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's get it going!” Leo says excitedly.

The two of them walk into the boss's room, and rotting vines grow dramatically, blocking the entire entrance and part of the wall. The room is full of larger roots that converge to the ceiling, but several that wrap together forming a cocoon in the back. Puddles of black ichor filled the area, concentrating the stench in this room. The cocoon began to pulsate as glowing light penetrated the bark.