Chapter 3. Once Again (2)

'Status Window'

Nothing happened. Just as Ian was wondering what was going on, an unfriendly system message, which only provided a brief result, rang out.

'What is this?'

Out of curiosity, he also called up the regular skill window.

Unlike the unique skills automatically granted upon the first awakening, regular skills could be obtained through one's talent and effort.

Sure enough, the same reaction occurred as when he called up the status window.

In other words, the only active function was the unique skill.

'Can such a case even happen?'

Ian, who had been forcibly injected with various knowledge and information from the future, knew many examples and stories of dreamers.

Only some functions being unlocked while the rest remained locked—such a case had never been reported.

'Maybe it’s an incomplete awakening.'

Indeed, at this point, Ian had not gone through the essential rite of passage required to become a dreamer.

The Dream of Origin.

Commonly known as the first dream, it was a kind of test one had to pass to become a dreamer.

Failing the Dream of Origin meant one would wander in dreams forever, a tragic fate.

'...Thinking about it, the black fog had a similar kind of danger.'

The black fog indiscriminately sucked in living beings, but in essence, it was an unexplored dream fog.

'Will the Dream of Origin appear a month later?'

Dream fogs typically appeared around the same time as dreamers. If anything, the dream fog came first.

If everything started a month from now as history dictated, Ian needed to decide what to do in the meantime.

Rrrr. Rrrr.

His phone rang. Ian felt a strange, yet familiar sensation as he answered.

"Um, hello?"

- It's me, Inma.

Startled by the voice calling him, Ian checked the phone's screen. Park Jung-tae, a long-time friend from middle school to college.

Hearing the familiar voice, Ian was momentarily speechless. Jung-tae was the only one he could call a true friend.

- Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Yo!

"…Ah. I was just thinking. It's good to hear your voice."

- Damn, did you eat something wrong? Why are you being so creepy?

"No, it's just… What's up?"

Jung-tae, who rarely called unless there was something specific, spoke cautiously in response to Ian's question.

- Today, the older brother is buying. Come to our usual place.

"What, what's the sudden wind?"

- When you break up with a girl, you only have your friends, right?

"…How did you know?"

It had been less than two hours since he broke up with Kim Mi-yeong.

Surprised by the rapid spread of the breakup news, Ian asked, and Jung-tae replied calmly.

- Check Mi-yeong's KakaoTalk profile.

Ian immediately checked Mi-yeong's KakaoTalk profile and was speechless.

She had even taken a selfie at a great angle to decorate her profile.

"Wow."

Ian felt a mix of absurdity and amusement, realizing how young they both were.

Rather than feeling bad, he found it cute, like the actions of a child.

* * *

A small bar near the university. It was a regular spot for Ian and Park Jung-tae since their freshman year.

Ian sat opposite Jung-tae, who had already taken a seat.

"How long has it been?"

"Are you kidding? We met just yesterday."

"Haha, that's right."

The bar, frequented by poor students, wasn't well-equipped. However, the owner was kind, and the food was cheap despite the high prices. It was a nostalgic part of Ian's daily life.

Jung-tae, who had been looking at Ian strangely, tried to lighten the mood.

"Man, I thought you'd be moping after breaking up with Mi-yeong, but you seem fine. Actually, you look happy?"

"It's just that we broke up when it was time. What's the big deal?"

"…Are you really not affected? You seem off."

Jung-tae, who was a true friend, sensed Ian's change.

Until yesterday, Ian had been somewhat carefree and energetic, recently worrying about how to handle his girlfriend's potential breakup.

Now, he was extremely calm about the breakup and exuded a mature and composed aura.

"People say if you change suddenly, it means you're about to die…"

"Hey, I actually died once."

"Ha-ha, not funny."

Ian laughed and briefly told him about the future, excluding specific details about the dream fog and dreamers.

"…I had a dream."

"Man, what kind of SF fantasy dream do you have? The scale is insane."

It was impossible for Jung-tae to believe such a story. Ian could have made him believe by predicting future events, but he didn't want to.

It wasn't something he needed to know immediately, and it might be better if he didn't.

"Is it a manifestation of societal dissatisfaction in your dreams? Scary, scary. If I make you angry, I'll be killed in your dreams."

Jung-tae, taking Ian's story as a simple dream, raised his glass.

Then, he noticed Ian hadn't been drinking and looked puzzled.

"Why aren't you drinking? You usually drink like there's no tomorrow."

"I'm trying to cut back on alcohol."

For a dreamer, getting drunk was taboo. One never knew when a dream fog might appear, and getting drunk could cause one to miss it.

After ten years of being a dreamer, Ian had developed a habit of avoiding alcohol.

'I need to train my body to hone my senses. I also need to get used to using my unique skills…'

Realizing he hadn't used any skills yet, Ian decided to test them in reality.

Looking around the bar for something to bet on, he suggested to Jung-tae.

"Jung-tae, want to bet on the drinks?"

"A bet? Oh, what kind?"

Bored with drinking alone, Jung-tae showed immediate interest.

"It's simple. I'll guess if the number of corn kernels in this bowl is odd or even."

"Man, don't play with food. How about betting on whether I can get that girl's number over there?"

Jung-tae pointed to two young female customers. One was plain and simple, while the other was quite pretty.

Ian said firmly.

"Then I'll bet on 'no.' The bet won't work otherwise."

"You bastard!"

The purpose of the bet was to test his skills, but the outcome was obvious without using them, making it boring.

However, Jung-tae, seemingly determined, accepted the unfavorable bet.

"Fine. Let's bet on whether I can join their table or not. That's more likely than getting a number."

"Alright, if you really want to."

There was a chance the bet would succeed. Even if it didn't, Ian didn't mind, so he agreed and activated his skill.

'Preview.'

A strange floating sensation enveloped Ian, and time began to flow in a hazy, lucid-dream-like state.

Ian bet on rejection, while Jung-tae bet on acceptance.

Jung-tae stood up and approached the women, awkwardly proposing to join their table.

"Um… ladies? We'll buy the drinks, so can we join you…?"

Despite his confident words, he was quite clumsy.

The women smiled, seemingly pleased by the offer, and glanced at Ian.

They whispered to each other, nodded, and stood up.

'Really succeeded?'

At that moment, the future experience ended. The situation reset to 10 seconds earlier, as if waking from a dream.

The problem was the sudden fatigue that overwhelmed Ian. The skill was high in energy consumption, and with his stats still inactive, it was a heavy burden.

Jung-tae, noticing Ian's sudden exhaustion and cold sweat, asked worriedly.

"Are you sick? You look pale."

"Huff… huff… No, I'm fine."

It was a heavy price to pay for a few thousand won in drinks.

After checking Ian's condition, Jung-tae, reassured by his friend's response, asked to confirm.

"So you're betting on rejection, right?"

"No, acceptance."

"Why the sudden change!"

Ian, wanting to change his bet, made Jung-tae complain.

In fact, Jung-tae knew that the success rate of hunting increased when he was with Ian.

"Since the chance of failure is high, I'll bet on the riskier option. Go quickly."

Feeling tired, Ian wanted to confirm the result and leave. He needed to observe how things unfolded.

The events unfolded similarly to what Ian had seen in the future. With some time delay and variables, the basics were the same.

When Jung-tae returned with the women, Ian smirked.

"Thanks, I'll enjoy it."

"…Whatever. I was going to buy anyway."

Jung-tae, more pleased with the successful hunting than losing the bet, accepted the result calmly.

"Her last name is Lee, and her first name is Hae-ja. It's unique~ It has a foreign feel and sounds cool."

After a brief introduction and small talk, Ian, who had no interest in the women and no plans to meet anyone, stood up.

"Excuse me, I need to leave."

"Huh? Already?"

As soon as Ian stood up, the two women looked disappointed.

"I'm not feeling well."

"Oh…"

"Maybe we can meet again through Jung-tae."

He gave Jung-tae a look to do well and left the bar. Despite pretending to be fine, he was extremely tired.

'In this state, I can't use it often. Maybe once a day at most?'

Ian understood how the skill worked and decided to focus on improving his proficiency by using it as much as possible. As he headed home, he noticed a misty fog forming around him.

'This… Could it be a sign of the Dream of Origin?'

While most dream fogs appeared suddenly and engulfed the surroundings, the Dream of Origin was different.

It formed gradually over a few days and appeared only to those with the potential to become dreamers.

* * *

Sure enough, a few days later, Ian heard the familiar system message.