SV opened the forum and looked through the posts. He found several eye-catching titles.
[Don't attempt to class change.]
[My brother died in the game.]
[Several players have been reported to have experienced brain death.]
...
SV read the posts in silent contemplation. The comment section was full of sneers and disparagement, but SV could relate to the posts.
He then opened the leaderboard and saw that his name ranked first. Below him were the familiar silent names.
He closed the forum and sighed.
Then, he approached Yun Jierou and sat down beside her. He looked at her sleeping figure thoughtfully.
"There are some things that I don't understand, and many more things that I've ignored. But there is one thing I cannot ignore now."
He stopped and sighed, "this isn't just a game. Or maybe it is, but this world isn't virtual."
"I can't lie to myself anymore."
"I can't treat this as a simple game."
"I can't see you as an NPC."
He then stroked his beard, "it actually makes so much sense if I think about it now. You're a real person in this other world, and we're somehow invading your world."
"You're a real person with a purpose."
"I always found it strange where this place is. Why you're here. Why you don't have help."
"But that's because I thought that I am the focal point here. That this place is my tutorial, that the game revolves around me."
"That you are the outsider."
"But I think I understand now."
Something crossed his mind, and he seemed to understand many topics that eluded him; the dots gradually connected. "I found it strange that your attributes were a perfect one thousand. Not one more, not one less. A perfect one thousand. As if you're at a threshold."
"This is your trial isn't it? Is it the second threshold or the third? I don't know, but I'm certain that I'm the outisder here."
"It's not that you want to be here, it's not that you don't want to ask for help, it's because this place is your trial, so you have no choice."
"Yun Jierou, from the moment I appeared here, I feel that every decision I made was planned by you. I wondered why you prevented me from taking the trial, but I think I understand now. It's probably because the BOSS was SPR-based, and my possession was also SPR-based."
"You knew I'd definitely choose the impossible trial, so you had to convince me otherwise."
"It's impossible for you not to know the secret of the lake. You knew that dealing with the BOSS was hopeless, and you had to deal with the lake. But you couldn't get close to it. So you had to pave the way for me."
"And you had also predicted that the BOSS would change to WLL later. So you gave the pill bottle. You knew I would take on the trial, and you knew my possession would become WLL-based. So you facilitated the advancement."
"If I go possess the lake now, I'll probably succeed, right?"
SV felt that it was very likely.
But then, many doubts crossed his mind: "it's as if I'm made for this trial."
His talent was practically tailor-made for the trial.
"Did you pull me here? Impossible, right? I don't think you have the ability. So was it a coincidence?"
It didn't make sense; why would he spawn in a trial space?
"There are also many other points. Why did you pretend that you couldn't divine me in the dream? To push me away? Wouldn't it be just as well if you had informed me of your plan? Or is it that the success rate would change the moment I become privy to your plan?"
"Why were you all tight-lipped the first time we talked? Couldn't you have been forthright? What's with you being all afraid to tell me anything? What would change if you answered one or two questions of mine?"
SV thought about it, and it didn't make much sense to him. Of course, currently, it seemed that him not being privy to the plan would have a higher chance of success. He couldn't think of another reason for now.
"No matter."
He then fell into silence as he gazed at her.
"Actually, now that I know that you can actually die here, the most prudent choice is to just up and leave. Why should I risk my life for people I barely know?"
"Tell me Yun Jieoru. You've used me for so long, but what if I just leave now? What would happen to you? Are you gambling, or do you have some contingency plan?"
"I really am curious."
He then remained silent. But no answer came.
He sighed and removed her veil, taking a look at her peerless face. Her features were sharp with a sense of gentle majesty, her nose slender and her lips full and bright red. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Coupled with her phoenix eyes, she was someone that would become a permanent memory in whoever had the chance to gaze upon her visage.
SV curiously ran a thumb over her lips to see if she had applied any lipstick. He looked at his thumb but couldn't see any marks. It looked like a natural red color. But then again, why would she wear makeup if she was going to wear a veil?
SV gazed at her for a few moments before sighing, "Old Jack was right. You shouldn't be allowed on the streets."
He then placed the veil back on, "a small payback," he muttered. Actually, he felt she had predicted he'd remove her veil too.
So was it a reward from her or something he claimed himself?
But then, would a conservative woman like her really be fine with having her veil uncovered? And then make it a reward? Or was her image all an act as well?
He shook his head, feeling that he was going down a rabbit hole.
No matter, he had at least finally seen her face in all its glory.
He then got up and said, "fine, I'll help you. But you owe me five favors."
"No seven."
He approached the lake and touched it, pressing his ring and middle fingers against his palm. Immediately he transformed into light particles.
That was the first change he identified in the talent. It wasn't grey dust but finer bluish-white particles.
[Possession has been initiated.]
The message that popped up wasn't any different from before. Then, his vision traveled alongside the particles into the lake. Previously, his particles would've spread into the lake and become homogenous with it. But this time, he felt himself going deeper.
If he were to make an analogy, he felt that there was a metaphysical layer deep in the lake and that he was trying to access it. His particles vanished from the real world and touched the layer, but he couldn't cross it, feeling an obstruction. Just then, a system notification popped up.
[WLL check has been initiated. Special event detected. Check waived. Possession successful.]
SV felt the obstruction gone from the layer, and he phased through it. Immediately, he felt himself being warmly embraced.
Following that, he found himself gazing from above at the town below.
He blinked his eyes, and he could see several tiny ant-like figures walking. He felt he was connected to them by a thread.
SV figuratively raised an eyebrow. He then looked to see what he was capable of in this form. He could feel that he was connected to several thousand threads. SV curiously pulled on one thread, and he immediately was gazing out from a pair of new eyes.
Immediately, he was hit by a wave of sensations. The sore muscles from a long day of exercises, the thirst in his throat, the feel of coarse fabric against his skin, the sweat clinging to his body, the heat of the afternoon sun, and the weight of the hoe in his hand.
SV was momentarily stunned; he had never felt anything when he possessed people before. Then someone patted him on the shoulder, "Joe, whatcha dozing for?"
He snapped back and turned to the young man who patted him; he then shook his head, "I just felt that it was a blessing to be alive."
The young man was stunned as he stared at Joe walking away; he hurried to catch up, "oy Joe, what's up with you all of a sudden?"
Joe blinked and stared back at the young man in confusion, "whatcha talking about?"
"Y'know, you sounded like a philosopher just now!"
"I did? I don't remember."
"You can't just pretend now."
"But I really don't remember."
—
SV was once again watching the town from a bird's eye view. He looked at the threads coming out from the townspeople, and he seemed to understand something. This was what bound them to the dream? He was now the mastermind?
No, he figuratively narrowed his eyes. He couldn't be the only one. He then stared closely and saw that indeed, each figure had two threads coming out of them. One was connected to him, and the other was attached to a figure in the manor.
His gaze penetrated the layers of brick and landed on the figure in the office. The figure then seemed to sense something and looked up. SV was startled, and he immediately moved his gaze away.
It was an accident. He swore. He didn't know his gaze could penetrate structures.
SV felt that the BOSS would probably accelerate the plot now.
'Fuck,' but he had no time to wallow and immediately went into thought. The Nightmare quest indicated that he needed to destroy the dream and liberate the wills.
It was obvious now that liberating the wills meant cutting the threads attaching them to the BOSS. So how was he supposed to destroy the dream?
He thought deeply. Was he supposed to destroy the formation?
He had no such ability.
Then he remembered that he seemed to have not tried possessing the formation yet. So should he just leave the dream now?
He figuratively stroked his beard.
Actually, could he see if he could release Yun Jierou and her group from the dream?
He immediately turned to look for their figures around the inn. His gaze penetrated each room but found no trace of them. He then turned to the square but couldn't find Yun Jierou sitting there.
It was afternoon now; would they be back in the evening? What should he do in the meantime?
Should he try and look for them? But where? With a town so big, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
No matter, he'll see if he can cut off these threads.
SV sensed fixed his gaze on one of the townspeople and tried to sense them. He found the thread attached to them and found that he could pull it out. But that was his thread, not the BOSS's thread.
SV tried several times, but unfortunately, he had no access to the BOSS's thread, whether he was in possession of the guy or not.
He shook his head and pulled on one of the threads.
In one of the houses below, a woman was working in the kitchen, cutting vegetables. She suddenly stopped and plunged the knife into her throat. Strangely, the knife simply went through without releasing any blood.
She frowned and stabbed in several locations to no avail. She frowned and placed a hand to her heart. She could clearly feel the steady heartbeat, but it seemed this body of hers wasn't real?
The only thing that seemed to be affected was the clothes on her frame.
Suddenly, her gaze seemed confused, and she returned to cutting her vegetables, not realizing that her dress had several random holes in it.
SV frowned and tried several more times.
In the following period, the town was filled with strange incidents of people either stabbing themselves or stabbing others.