Adam leaned back, spine aching from running laps around the town alley. The girl trailed behind him silently. I had agreed to make her come with me, but now that she was here, Adam was left wondering—
What the hell am I supposed to do with her?
Manori simply stared at him—blank, distant, hopeless.
"Rehan, can you inspect her?" Adam muttered absently, rubbing his chin.
[Manori: Lv. 5 | HP: 70Background: Dreamer]
Adam stared at the floating text in the air. A thought hit him hard:She is the dreamer.This whole world—everything inside it—was created by her.
"…Then what the hell am I?" he mumbled to himself. I MEAN... My thoughts thinking hard im the person who entered through the door, so im clearly the one different.
I'm jealous. [man i wish i could do that]
He shook the thought away. He already knew—he didn't come from this dream. He was an outsider. A stranger wandering through someone else's escape.
What happens if she wakes up?Adam squinted toward the sky. He shrugged.
Too much work to think about.It is what it is. I guess...
With a sigh, he reached out and pinched her nose. She covered it with the same blank, tired expression.
"Don't do that," Manori said flatly.
Adam just grinned and walked off. "Then follow me," he teased. If I can't make her leave, then I'll annoy her all the way through.
Suddenly, Adam's eyes widened. Fear surged in his chest.No—not again.He staggered, coughing as his heart pounded in his ears.
The ground surrounding the clocktower began to shift.Dark mist curled up from the soil, crawling up the tower walls. White lightning cracked through the sky, and unseen hands began repairing it—snapping in panels, adjusting the clock's hands. Bolts spun back into place. Shattered bricks reset like a time lapse in reverse.
Then, it formed—a massive white jelly-like blob, bigger than both of them. Its one eye blinked. It stared.
Adam froze.
Of course… I'm alone.
Then—Someone grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie.
It was Manori. Her blank face stared at him, unimpressed. Disappointed normal expression, maybe.
Somehow… it calmed him... Only because her face was funny adam thought.
The blob spoke in a liquid, vibrating voice.
"I see… two new guests in this town," it said. "Characters, I presume?"
It smiled. Not with a mouth—just with its eye.Two long, white arms extended, offering to shake Adam's hand. They were like dried plaster—smooth, old, cracking.
Adam forced a smile."I mean… we're just exploring, after all."
His thoughts:Screw you, monster. Who is the type of person who..Trying to rattle me out. No one makes friends on a first impression. Except—
Me. Apparently.
The creature let go of his hand, turning its attention to the girl.
"I see. I see. I see..." it murmured. "I just hope…"
Its eye narrowed.
"Don't explore too deep. You might free something I don't want freed."
Then it began to melt into the ground, dripping and sinking out of sight. Before its gaze vanished, it turned to Manori.
"I hope you find something."
And then—silence.
"Why is it telling me what to do?" Manori muttered. "I do what I do."
Adam groaned, brushing himself off. "You could've told that guy while he was still here…"
He was getting tired.
Manori looked at him. "I can see that you're tired. You can rest, you know."
Adam blinked. "…Yeah. But where?"
He scratched his head, thinking.
"I want a bed. You got money?"
Manori: "Absolutely not."
A few hours passed.
Adam did a couple errands for the townspeople—planting mushrooms in the field, painting rooftops.Manori, without being asked, followed him through every job.To others, she looked like his assistant.
But really?They were just errand beggars.That's what Adam called them...
Inside someone's house, Adam ran through the bathroom with a mop. The people here were oddly friendly.
Manori silently scrubbed a dishwasher in the kitchen.
Adam glanced at her, puzzled.
Dreams usually reflect the core of the dreamer…Then why the hell was she doing this?
He turned back to the bathroom—Saw a giant black head rising from the toilet.
"…Nope."
He flushed it. It bubbled and screamed as it swirled down, disappearing.
Adam stared at the toilet. Flat expression. Eyes half-lidded.
"I'm not doing that."
[Quest complete]