"Is that what you call players here?" Martha asked, and then a thought crossed her mind: "wait, you didn't know?"
She was so used to NPCs identifying her as a player that she took it for granted. It didn't help either that Yun Jierou seemed to be aware of her identity before entering the dream.
Yun Jierou shook her head, "no, but in retrospect, it explains many things. This Yun should have thought of it sooner."
"Like what?"
"How your talent changed. How your name changed. The way you seem to be unkillable. You are not present here in your true body; is that correct?"
Martha nodded.
Yun Jierou nodded, and the group looked at Martha with varying degrees of envy.
Martha waved her hands, "you don't have to be jealous. My trial nearly killed me, so I'm not all that different from you. We digress; this doesn't explain why I'm here. Does it make sense for me to spawn in your trial?"
Yun Jierou thought for a moment and asked, "could you clarify what you mean by spawning here?"
"Like this is where I found myself when I first arrived in your world. I arrived directly in your trial."
Yun Jierou frowned and then shook her head, "it might have something to do with the way your people arrive in our world. Truthfully, This Yun is not well versed in the way of your people, so she cannot make reasonable deductions."
She turned to those around her, but they shook their heads too.
Martha then sighed, "well, it's fine. It actually isn't all that important. It's just that I want to know whether I can leave this place after your trial is complete."
Yun Jierou wanted to speak but then remained silent, unsure. She then gathered her thoughts and spoke slowly, "This Yun would assume so. But even if it is not possible, This Yun could ask her master for help later."
Martha chuckled, "this is the second time you're making me promises. And that's all assuming you can complete the trial."
"This Yun does not remember promising you anything before this," Yun Jierou spoke firmly.
Martha smiled, "you don't have to be so defensive. Anyway, with the introduction out of the way, I guess I should begin my tale."
The others refocused on Martha, waiting for her to start.
"The trial wasn't like this in the beginning; the first stage was outside the dream."
"When I first opened my eyes, I found myself in the graveyard; the corpses were roaming about, and the gates were closed, much like it is now. You were investigating the barrier around it, weren't you?"
They nodded.
"Don't look at me like that; I don't know what it's for either. Anyway, I then received a quest to escape the graveyard."
Kexin stopped him, "you received a quest?"
"Eh, is that strange?"
Yun Jierou asked hesitantly, "may This Yun be presumptuous to ask about your level?"
Martha cocked her head, not quite understanding them but complied nonetheless. She raised her head proudly and patted her chest, "I'm a level 11 powerhouse."
Kexin's eyelids twitched, as did the rest of the group apart from Yun Jierou. She just stared at Martha strangely.
"What's wrong again? Can you guys stop being surprised each time?" Martha said, slightly exasperated.
"Boy, you're subverting our world view, and you expect us to be calm?" The captor said.
"What did I do now?"
Kexin took over the conversation, "do you know that we cannot directly access our panels, much less receive quests? That's something that happens only after the second threshold. How can we not be surprised when a level 11 rookie can access it? That's saving you so much effort that it's unfair."
Martha blinked, "is it such a big deal?"
"Of course, if we had access to our panels, then we wouldn't be like headless flies here," Kexin said, and the others nodded with emotion.
Yun Jierou then said, "please continue. What was the quest's description?"
Martha was about to raise her hand to stroke her beard but then immediately lowered it, having learned her lesson, and then she said, "I don't remember the exact words, but I think it's something about a haunted graveyard, locked away to keep the eerie creatures within out of sight. Something like that."
"Anyway, after that I killed a few corpses and scaled the wall to escape..."
"...reached the town and received another quest. Oh, the gates were crashed. Honestly, it was probably done by you guys but I could never confirm it..."
"...the quest was suddenly complete after I drank the water. Hey, hey, it's not funny. What are you laughing at?..."
"...I followed the BOSS to the underground cave, but there was no air, so I couldn't proceed..."
"...I saved you down there! I'm not lying, you were stuck with the BOSS. No matter, you'll be the ones embarrassed when this dream ends..."
"...we met as I was proceeding to the town again..."
Martha then paused and looked at Yun Jierou with inquiry in her eyes, "and then you sat me down and said some cryptic things like, 'Benefactor, I can't answer your questions,' 'Benefactor, I will repay you after we leave,' 'Benefactor, please stop deducing.' I said that you must have divined me, and you didn't deny it, but here you're saying that you can't see through me at all. Care to explain?"
Yun Jierou blinked, her eyes growing confused at being accused out of nowhere, "could you please clarify?"
Martha looked at her silently, "exactly that. Why would you trick a nobody like me?" She then shook her head, "forget it, you don't remember anyway. I just want a guarantee from you that if this dream ends, you're going to explain yourself. Do we have a deal?"
Yun Jierou thought for a moment as she raised her hand to stop Kexin from jumping in, then she said, "very well, if it is as you said and This Yun had indeed deceived you, then she will sincerely apologize to you."
Martha shook her head, "no, no, no, you need to explain to me why you did that. It's not the apology that I want."
Martha was done with vague words and promises. She needed explicit contracts.
Yun Jierou frowned at having her apology so carelessly dismissed, but she still nodded, "you have This Yun's word."
Martha nodded, clearly satisfied.
"Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, we exchanged names, and you gave me a pill bottle but told me, well, not told but more like suggested not to take the trial..."
"...I got another quest at the town, and the reward was a wish..."
"...You guys dropped the ceiling on the BOSS's head and started fighting..."
"...you then died, and I had to fight the BOSS alone..."
"...I used my wish to revive you. I did. I really did. No matter..."
"...we entered the dream, and you know what happened after that. You tried to control me; I escaped and then found out that I had a new quest..."
"...I looked for a way to reenter the dream and then managed to enter again by creating another account. An account? You can say it's like sending another body to this world..."
"...we got into another fight, and then I decided not to bother you anymore. So to pass the time I undertook my trial..."
"...I finished my trial and came to realize that this place must be your trial, and somehow I'm the perfect person to help you through it, don't you agree?"
Yun Jierou knitted her brows in confusion, "all that is indeed too coincidental to be shrugged off as mere happenstance."
"See? That's why I want you to explain why I am here. If you say it has nothing to do with you, I won't believe it. You clearly knew something but refused to elaborate," Martha said, a hint of exhaustion in her tone.
The repeated request brought a slight frown to Yun Jierou's brow, "This Yun understands your frustration, but she's powerless to do more. She has already given you her word. This Yun always keeps her word."
Martha remained quiet for a second, "my bad, sorry," she then continued.
"I then possessed the lake and found myself staring down at the town..."
"...and here we are. That is all I know. Can you think of something to deal with this thing? A way to break out of the dream?"
Everyone turned to Yun Jierou who had closed her eyes, waiting for her to finish her deductions.
After a minute or two, she opened her eyes and started to say, "This Yun has most of this trial figured out."
The group brightened visibly at her response before they heard her next words, "unfortunately, no matter how we approach it, it seems that we have reached a dead end."
A wave of depression descended on the group.
Kexin couldn't help but say, "Young Lady, is there truly no way?"
Yun Jierou then waved her hand, "This Yun is referring to our group. It's different with him."
Martha pointed to herself, "you're going to put all the work on me again? Are you so fond of gambles?"
Yun Jierou shook her head and spoke in a bitter tone, "If This Yun had another choice, she would not have chosen to gamble either."
She said self-deprecatingly after a small pause, "This Yun is starting to understand her past self."
Martha shrugged, "no matter; so what am I supposed to do?"
"You should leave the dream. This place is a dead end. This Yun does not know what you should do outside, but she can answer any questions you may have so that you can better understand the trial."
Martha looked at her speechlessly, feeling a sense of deja vu, "you're not going to say that and then refuse to answer my questions again, are you?"
Yun Jierou's eyes crinkled, the first time she had smiled since entering the dream, "worry not."
She then thought of something and added, "actually, it's better for This Yun to just give you her account first. You can ask your questions later."
"I'm all ears," Martha said.
Finally, some answers. She never got to fully understand the plot of this trial.
Not only her, but her group was also interested, and they were awaiting Yun Jierou's account.
Yun Jierou spoke in a dreamy tone, her eyes distant, as if she were witness to the ill fate that had befallen the town.
"The story begins with a wish. A wish begotten from a mortal's desire. A desire that lives equally amongst the living and the dead."
"The desire to live."