"...wake up, Master."
The voice sounded faint, as if coming from beneath the water.
Rayne jolted.
His eyes opened wide—
Bukkk!
His head slammed into the wooden wall right above him. The loud sound froze him instantly.
His breath caught.
He was inside a wooden box. Narrow, dark, and felt very unfamiliar… yet at the same time, painfully real.
"W-what is this…?"
Buakkk!
With a single reflexive kick, powerful like a instinct trained over years, the box's board shattered and flew open. Rayne crawled out, his body still tense like he had just left a battlefield.
His foot struck the floor.
His eyes kept searching for danger.
And the first thing he saw—
His room.
A moderately luxurious room, with an open window, neatly arranged accessories, and soft morning light seeping in.
A place he once considered ordinary… but now felt like a luxury.
Rayne stepped back several paces, his legs trembling.
"...Impossible."
Just seconds ago, he had been in a world filled with fire and darkness.
Fighting monsters that could erase a city with a single breath.
Feeling heat that melted the earth and blood soaking his body.
And now…
He stood in his old room.
"...A-am I… dreaming?"
"{DING! To be precise, you have just awakened from a dream, Master.}"
The system replied suddenly.
Rayne immediately frowned.
"Awaken…?
A dream…?"
He swallowed.
"You mean… everything I went through… was just a dream?"
"{DING! Correct, Master.}"
Silence followed.
As reality began to seep into his mind, his breathing grew heavy. Not from relief—but from piercing confusion.
If it was a dream…
Why did it feel so real?
The scent of blood, fear, the sensation of wounds, all emotions were far too vivid.
"Then… why are you still here?" he asked softly.
The system answered without hesitation.
"{DING! While you were asleep inside the box, the system fully recovered and began synchronization. That process triggered the formation of a synchronization dream—a dream you can experience as if it were real.}"
Rayne froze.
A synchronization dream…
A dream that feels like reality because the system connects his consciousness directly to a random simulation space.
So that world…
That battle…
The pain and the power…
It was only a dream, but not an ordinary one—a reality without actuality.
Rayne lowered his head, gripping his face.
Everything made sense now.
After all, he had also wondered how he could keep surviving conditions that should have already taken his life.
Brakkk!... Suddenly the door was kicked open from outside, an old man stumbling inside.
"Grandpa…?" Rayne looked at him in confusion.
The old servant hurried over, his expression panicked.
"Child, don't go out. No matter what you hear, stay in the room. Everything will be fine!"
Without waiting for Rayne to ask anything, the old man immediately left again, shutting the door in a rush.
Rayne frowned, not because of the words, but because of what he had just seen.
The old man's back looked faded, and even parts of his clothes were missing.
"Ah.... "
"So that's how it is." He smiled faintly, but moments later....
The walls trembled softly, and he realized something big was happening outside.
Quickly, he moved to the window and pulled the curtain aside—
And his gaze froze.
In the Voltare courtyard, a bear monster seven feet tall was rampaging. Its muscles bulged, its fur stood rigid, and its roar echoed throughout the grounds.
There stood the King, his father Ardyn, his mother, his older siblings, and a little girl hiding fearfully behind the King.
The guards protected them while trying to restrain the monster, but every time the bear slammed the ground—
GUBRAAKK!
The vibrations traveled up to Rayne's window.
The marble courtyard even creaked—though it did not crack due to its extremely high quality.
But Rayne was not focused on his family.
Not on the King.
Not on the guards.
He was focused solely on the monster.
His eyes narrowed.
"...That bear monster…"
There was something very familiar about it.
The way it moved.
The sound of its breathing.
"If I'm right, soon it will… grow bigger," he muttered softly.
And sure enough.
Within seconds—
The monster's bones shifted, its muscles thickened—
GROAARRR!!
Its body doubled in size.
Everyone was immediately shocked.
Ardyn Voltare, Rayne's father, stepped forward with a serious expression.
"Your Majesty, please retreat with your daughter. This monster… may be a level twenty monster."
"What?!" The King's face lost all color.
The guards quickly escorted the King and his daughter backward, forming a protective line so Ardyn and his children could move without obstruction.
"Formation—Artzaber!" Ardyn shouted.
The shield-bearing guards advanced at once, planting their stances as a thin yet sturdy defensive formation enclosed the monster.
Behind them, magi and knights began chanting spells.
Ardyn, Zinux, Iliya, and Zuban… each gathered mana of different colors and intensities.
Flashes of energy converged in the air, forming a massive magic circle directly above the monster.
Ardyn lowered his head slightly, his voice low yet commanding:
"O great God of War…
God who destroys evil and safeguards peace…
Lend us your power."
All sounds vanished for a moment, leaving only the chant.
Then—
"Formation Artzaber!"
They shouted in unison.
Swwsshhh!
Sraakkk! Sraakkk!
The magic circle in the air unleashed blades of light like a rain of knives.
Each beam that struck the guard formation bounced repeatedly.
The bear monster's skin peeled in places—red patches, long gashes—and its massive body hunched over, releasing a low growl as if suppressing something.
Rayne watched with a furrowed brow.
"Oh no… that will only make things worse. That monster… will grow again," he said, almost whispering.
And as if the world followed his words—
The monster's body swelled again.
Its muscles doubled. Its bones stretched.
Until it was now twice as large as before.
Yet strangely…
It remained hunched. As if protecting something beneath its body.
Ardyn narrowed his eyes, his face filled with a bad premonition.
"Something has been wrong from the start…" he muttered, before shouting:
"Reinforce the formation!"
The blades of light intensified.
The shield formation trembled.
The air filled with sharp sounds like glass being sliced by a blade.
The monster's body now had almost no uninjured area—its skin torn, its fur shredded.
Rayne let out a short breath.
"...This will get much worse."
His gaze dropped to his own hands.
His heart beat calmly, steadily.
If that synchronization dream was not merely a dream,
if all those abilities and items truly came from a world connected to the system…
Then—
"System…" Rayne called softly.
"{DING! The system understands, Master.}"
Immediately after, three objects appeared floating before him like miniature suns.
A golden sphere of light. A thick, worn book. A black hooded cloak.
Blue panels containing explanations appeared one by one.
"{Weapon Core}"
A small black object that can transform into any weapon according to the owner's desire.
Has no level limit.
Once bound, it cannot be removed.
"{Book of a Thousand Blades}"
An ancient book containing complete understanding of all types of weapons—
even those that have never existed in any world.
Note: may influence the owner's personality.
"{Cloak of Night}"
A cloak that conceals presence, neutralizes elements to a certain degree, and can alter the wearer's appearance.
Slightly different from what he encountered in the dream.
But 90%—almost identical.
Without delay, Rayne sat cross-legged beside the window.
He stared at the weapon core, and as if understanding his intent, it shot straight into his chest.
The unbearable pain was exactly like in the dream.
Rayne clenched his teeth, but his expression remained calm.
It didn't take long for the weapon core to become part of him.
After that, he looked at the Book of a Thousand Blades.
"System… learn."
Information about hundreds of sword techniques, thousands of weapon forms, metal structures from other worlds—flooded into his mind like a merciless tsunami.
Rayne's vision blurred slightly.
It felt like his head was about to explode.
Yet he remained still and accepted it.
When everything was finished, he slowly stood up.
"System… does Mora energy still exist in this world?"
"{DING! Yes, Master.}"
Rayne nodded slightly.
"Good."
He briefly held the black cloak, examined its texture, then stored it into system space.
He took a breath…
And when his awareness fully returned to the situation outside the window—
At some point—
Both of his hands were already holding a black pistol.
Its barrel was aimed directly at… the bear monster's groin.
Rayne raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly.
A very unfriendly smile. And....
Dorrr!