The Novel's Extra-Chapter ss14: Side Story 14 – Dream in a Dream (14)

The nightmare that Rachel painstakingly tried to bury resurfaced. She felt the prickly sensation of being stabbed all over her skin. This pain from her imagination spread like wildfire throughout her body.

She could only tighten her grip around Galatine.

“It seems you’ve forgotten about us as you enjoy your life,” the robed man said.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. Rachel never forgot what happened for even a second. She lived while suppressing those memories all this time. She had no intention of forgetting, but her body always became a mess whenever she recalled that event. The trauma from that day became etched on her heart and mind like any other mental illness.

“You are disgusting… really… disgusting…”

The man said while emitting obvious killing intent towards her.

The guild members readied their weapons, but Rachel couldn’t bring herself to cut down those people.

“We… because of you…”

The man couldn’t say any more than that.

These people didn’t have the luxury to chat and reminisce. They simply gathered their mana with their mouths shut. Then hundreds of flames and blades gathered in the air.

Some assailants cast their spells while others didn’t require such casting. They completed various magic circles and chants before flinging their spells at the targets.

Rachel swung Galatine and erected a sword barrier. She called her spirits to protect her guild members.

Boom!

The spells and sword collided with a blast. Remnants of mana scattered through the air and a ferocious shockwave shook the ground. Beautiful red and blue sparks danced in mid-air and captivated some of the guild members.

No one would win this neck-and-neck fight. Rachel wanted to ask if their anger would be alleviated if she offered her head. Would they let her guild members go and forgive England’s innocent citizens? She would gladly offer her life if it could appease their anger.

No, she just wanted to give up at this point. She wanted to finally be free from the overwhelming sadness and fatigue every day. Such weak thoughts penetrated her heart.

Guoooh…

A lump of mana gathered. The same lump without any intricate chants or magic circles that ambushed them a while back. It had no form or order and simply destroyed everything in its path.

“Everyone, stand back.”

Rachel calmly ordered her guild members. She knew that lump of mana would only chase after her.

“We can’t do that… Eugh!”

“Ack!”

The guild members refused to obey, but she already summoned Windy and pushed them far away.

Gwuooooooh!

The mana coming after her turned everything in its path to dust.

Rachel looked straight at the incoming mana and didn’t run from those who sought vengeance. She gathered her mana and spirits into Galatine.

However, someone suddenly intruded.

Dududududu!

A large object fell from the sky and slanted down in front of Rachel as if to protect her from the incoming attack.

“…?”

Rachel stared at the object that seemed made out of steel and initially thought the mana wave would instantly disintegrate it.

Shwaaaaa!

However, the object endured the attack. Not only that, it even deflected the mana away.

“What in the world is that?” Rachel muttered in disbelief.

The lump of mana shrank after the steel object blocked it. Soon, a person came down from the sky and landed on top of the steel object.

Rachel looked at the person’s face, but couldn’t make anything out because he wore a gas mask that covered his entire face. However, everyone else knew.

“Go, I’ll take care of this.”

The mercenary they hired, Xtra, finally appeared.

Rachel didn’t want to run away though and Xtra grumbled in frustration after seeing her hesitate.

“You know very well you can’t fight against them. Those guys will keep targeting England even if you offer your head today. What do you expect from those harboring grudges against you who never questioned their own methods? Do you really think they’ll stop just because you’re dead? You’ll only make it easier for them to destroy England without its protector.”

Rachel thought Xtra’s voice sounded familiar. He sounded different from when he spoke through the communication crystal. However, she didn’t have the luxury to recall where she heard this voice before as her guild members rushed over.

Xtra looked at Rachel.

“Steel your resolve. It’s not your fault that you survived, so…”

A blade suddenly flew towards him. Xtra twisted his body and avoided it, but the blade partly caught his gas mask.

Rachel could see his eyes through the small broken portion of his mask.

“Don’t get in my way and get lost.”

Xtra took out a small object that resembled a dog and extended it to them.

“Take it with you. It’ll lead the way.”

Fermin took the dog-like machine from him. The mercenary also took out a smoke grenade from his pocket.

Boom!

The smoke grenade exploded and formed a smokescreen. This thick smokescreen made out of black smoke instead of gray made it difficult to see anything.

The guild members grabbed Rachel while the smokescreen covered them.

“Vice Leader, you better be ready to deal with the mutiny if you do something like that again.”

“Wait, let me go—”

Rachel resisted.

“I am suppressing my urge to smack you right now.”

“What did you just say? Ack!”

One of the guild members flicked her forehead.

“You’re just a kid eight years younger than me, so don’t make me angry ma’am. Vice Leader was probably only eleven years old when I graduated from the academy, right?”

“Darren finally said something correct after a long time.”

The guild members Rachel betrayed just a while ago sternly warned her before dragging her away and chasing after Xtra’s mechanical dog.

***

I quickly realized the English Royal Court fell into a trap. This barrier separated space and the enemies created an entrance and an exit to trap Rachel. I couldn’t enter from above on my helicopter.

I immediately lowered my flying altitude and rushed towards the barrier’s entrance.

The situation already reached a boiling point when I infiltrated the barrier. The mana wave charged at Rachel and she planned on taking it head-on.

I didn’t have time to think and immediately threw my helicopter towards her. It came crashing down in front of her and blocked the mana wave.

“Who are you to meddle in our business?”

I managed to help them escape, but the enemies surrounded me now.

“Do you think you can handle us by yourself?” one of the assailants who looked like their leader asked.

I snickered in response. “Why? Are you upset an extra suddenly barged in and ruined your plans?”

I went ahead without thinking, but I wondered how I would fight against all of them too. Of course, I didn’t come here without any plans. I had at least one trick up my sleeve.

The system gave me a gift when Rachel finally awakened her attribute combination.

[Tower of Wish’s Bonus – You have received a trait inheritance!]

[You have inherited one item stored in the player’s storage!]

Inherited Item ? [Dark Ore Arrow]

[Dark Ore Arrow]

— A mysterious arrow crafted by a dwarf from the highest grade dark ore.

— List of effects:

1. [High Destructiveness]

2. [High Penetration]

3. [High Shadow Trajectory]

4. [High-Intermediate Magic Destruction]

5. [Intermediate Controlled Homing]

This arrow possessed an effect I never heard of called controlled homing.

I still struggled with the amazing [Black Lotus Bow] because I didn’t have a decent arrow for it, but now things had changed.

“You dare intrude upon us when you aren’t even related to this!” the man angrily shouted.

I found this quite amusing. The foreigner spoke in Korean and the fact that he said I wasn’t related to this amused me even more since I created this world. This world only existed thanks to me, so what did he mean that I wasn’t related?

“Is it affection? Did you fall for that princess in distress? Are you protecting her because of shallow emotions such as love?”

I didn’t bother replying since an extra didn’t have any lines in the first place.

“Your affection won’t be reciprocated. That woman can’t love anybody. She has to endure the guilt of a thousand vengeful spirits. Her heart is tainted with their wails and grudges. The only thing that awaits her is betrayal and ruin.”

I silently nocked the arrow.

His words held some truth. It only slightly surprised me. After all, I created the setting for Rachel’s cruel destiny.

“The princess will betray you in the end. That’s her destiny.”

“What kind of bullshit have you been spouting, retarded bastard?” I grumbled under my breath and immediately shot the arrow.

The arrow disappeared into the black fog without a sound. It pierced someone’s forehead before another person’s heart. Then it continued traveling until it snapped someone else’s spine and returned to me.

Three seemed to be my limit for now since I hadn’t grown accustomed to this arrow yet.

“Kill him!” the man shouted.

They managed to gather their mana and finished casting their spells while the man spoke.

Hundreds of spells flew towards me.

“Argh!”

A blade managed to pierce my shoulder and I felt an excruciating pain.

“Kuhahahaha!”

The bastard laughed after hearing me groan. His laughter sounded quite unpleasant.

“Ah, you pushed me too far…”

Finally, I would use all the SP I saved up until now.

***

The English Royal Court silently followed the mechanical dog until they left the maze.

They could somewhat make out the huge palace in the distance. It had four huge spires guarding the north, east, south, and west. It also had a huge dome for a ceiling. The general assembly would take place there.

Rachel didn’t utter a word and looked back at the maze.

“Vice Leader, we have to go…” Fermin told her.

Rachel nodded and began walking again.

The English Royal Court finally reached the gates after walking for two hours. They didn’t have to travel too far, but monsters like rekols, tigers, and wolves hampered them along the way.

“I’ll open it now,” Rachel said.

“Yes, Vice Leader.”

Rachel placed her hand on the huge door.

Creak…

It automatically opened when she touched it.

“What…”

“Wow…”

The guild members became speechless with wide-opened mouths. They looked around the place filled with jewels. Enchanting crystals covered the floor tiles to the ceiling.

Two people stood at the hall’s center waiting for them and their presence filled the vast hall. Anyone in the world would recognize Aileen and Jin Seyeon.

“Oh? Nice to meet you,” Aileen nonchalantly said.

The eleven guild members stared at Aileen. They had never seen her before in person. She looked so small and cute. They doubted if this was really the infamous Little Devil Aileen from the Temple of Justice.

“I guess all of you somehow managed to succeed despite your skills. Well, you can go over there.”

Aileen pointed at the northern corridor.

Rachel nodded and prepared to lead her guild members away when Aileen raised a brow and asked.

“Come to think of it, where’s that mercenary you hired?”

All the guild members couldn’t hide their surprise as they looked at Aileen.

How did Aileen know about Xtra? Was everything a test from the association? Was Lancaster a part of their test too?

Aileen shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing like that. There’s no test or anything. Look at your smartwatches. I think the general assembly should’ve sent you a message by now.”

The guild members all looked at their smartwatches.

[A miraculous field that will grant you any wish and desire!]

[Welcome to the General Assembly!]

[The general assembly will begin tomorrow now that twenty teams have gathered! Please look forward to entering the field!]

“What does this mean?” Rachel asked.

“What else? It’s the general assembly. The one that called you and the one that recruited me was none other than the General Assembly. This place is ruled by the General Assembly, which possesses intelligence equal to or surpassing that of a human.”

Aileen nonchalantly explained to them.

However, Rachel couldn’t understand.

“Then that means…” Rachel continued to mutter.

“Ah, shut up. Look for your own answers and don’t annoy me,” Aileen retorted quite rudely.

Actually, Aileen hated any woman ten centimeters taller than her. Also, Aileen self-reported her own height to be 157.1 cm.

“Ah… haha… Welcome, everyone from the English Royal Court.”

Jin Seyeon welcomed them in a completely different manner than Aileen.

“Thank you…”

However, the English Royal Court’s atmosphere seemed gloomy.

Aileen and Jin Seyeon might be famous celebrities, but the guild members didn’t have the energy to be starstruck or excited about meeting them.

“Ehem… I guess you had a tough time. Haha… Why don’t you follow me?”

Jin Seyeon awkwardly scratched her neck and politely guided them to their accommodations.

Their living place looked clean and favorable. It featured a spacious living room with six bedrooms. Most importantly, it had three bathrooms as well. The guild members snapped out of their sorrows after seeing the toilet and shower, which they didn’t have for an entire week.

“You may rest until you receive another message. We don’t know when it’ll arrive, so please keep your smartwatch alarms on. I’ll excuse myself for now and come back later once you’ve rested.”

Jin Seyeon left them at their lodging.

First, the guild members unpacked. Of course, silence ensued the entire time.

“…”

Rachel went to her room alone. She sat on the bed with the communication crystal in her hand, but it remained disconnected.

“Hoo…”

She let out a depressed sigh.

Rachel had caught a glimpse of Xtra through the crack on his gas mask. His eyes looked familiar. Not only that, his voice sounded familiar too.

Rachel believed in her ability to remember people she once met. She rarely made a mistake when it came to recognizing people. However, she couldn’t place her finger on where she met this person before. Not to mention, he didn’t seem related to her at all.

— I’m one of your fans.

She suddenly recalled him saying that and faintly remembered where she heard this before. However, she must be mistaken. That person wouldn’t continue watching over her from so far away. Also, a lot of people looked like that person since he had a fairly average face. Yes, she must’ve made a mistake. Besides, that person used a gun instead of a bow.

Rachel gripped the communication crystal with both hands while gritting her teeth and blaming herself. No matter what the situation might’ve been, she dragged someone innocent to their demise once again.

Creak…

Someone carefully opened the door and entered as Rachel blamed herself. Fermin slowly walked over and sat next to Rachel.

Rachel glanced at her, but didn’t say anything. Neither said a word for some time as they sat in silence.

“You’re aware of it, right?”

Fermin broke the silence first and spoke in a gentle tone. She fiddled with her thumbs before continuing.

“My mother passed away at that place too…”

“…”

Rachel raised her head and looked at Fermin. Of course, she had known.

Fermin bitterly smiled.

“I resented Vice Leader at the time. No, I despised the entire country and cried a lot because of it.”

Her smile disappeared as she shook her head. She honestly spoke like always.

“However, that’s no longer the case. It wasn’t your fault, Vice Leader. The nation was responsible, but… isn’t all that in the past?”

Fermin looked at Rachel, who quietly sat like a criminal atoning for her sin.

‘I’m surrounded by people who are too nice to me…’

Rachel thought to herself.

“This is what I think. I understand resenting someone, but it’s wrong to seek vengeance against that person. Vengeance begets vengeance. It’ll never end well. It’s impossible for one person to end such a cycle. Both parties must put an end to it.”

Fermin placed her hand on Rachel’s and Rachel could feel her warmth.

“Vice Leader remembered me and my mother. You didn’t forget my mother and I don’t resent you anymore.”

Rachel looked at Fermin with tearful eyes and Fermin continued in a trembling voice.

“So it’s time for Vice Leader to stop resenting yourself. Nothing will change just because you resent and blame yourself.”

“…”

“Do you understand?”

They stared at each other when Fermin suddenly squealed.

“Ughkyak!”

“Kyak! W-What is it?”

“The crystal! Look at the communication crystal!”

Fermin exclaimed while pointing at the crystal in Rachel’s hand.

It glowed bright blue again.