Chapter 30: Evan vs. the Final Nightmare

No matter how much damage you took here, your life force wouldn’t decrease.

Evan realized this about halfway through.

‘The world of this Nightmare is definitely different from reality.’

Someone caught up in their trauma might not notice that.

‘Was it called the boss room?’

It could very well be a world the Nightmare created.

But just because the body doesn’t die, there’s no law saying the mind can’t.

Allowing attacks here results in mental damage.

‘If I keep taking hits in this place, I’ll end up a ruined shell.’

But knowing all of this is fake just makes it seem ridiculous.

No matter how big the level gap, these were just echoes drawn from his own Nightmares.

Even the Nightmare’s techniques were nullified by Conqueror’s Scorn, so status effects didn’t matter.

As long as he could move, he could fight.

“Kruruk!”

The Nightmare, who had taken the form of a Grizzly Bear, let out a confused, bewildered sound.

Then, runes on its body began to glow.

A black aura wrapped around its entire form.

[You have summoned Lee Han’s Second Nightmare.]

The scenery changed once more.

A small village, a bit removed from the city.

And the Nightmare’s body transformed into a massive monster.

GUOOOOOH!

With a powerful roar, it released an overwhelming pressure in all directions.

A boss monster from Lee Han’s memories.

‘Twinhead Ogre.’

At level 100, he’d been pushed to the brink of death by that thing.

He could never forget the tension of that moment.

At that instant, a familiar sensation ran through Evan’s body.

[Synchronization Rate increased by 0.05%.]

Evan looked at the message floating before him and thought, ‘Synchronization Rate… it started increasing after my body was reconstructed.’

He still didn’t know all the details, but the higher his Synchronization Rate, the more power he gained from his previous self.

‘And when the Synchronization Rate unlocked, I gained my first skill…’

Evan cloaked himself in aura once more.

Lee Han’s First Form.

The name was different, but it was basically the Mana Slash he used to wield.

Of course, unlike before, it was now a more polished, refined skill.

‘To think the techniques I used would return to me as skills.’

A faint smile appeared on Evan’s lips.

He approached the Twinhead Ogre standing before him.

“Damn it! What’s going on? Where did everyone go?”

Darwen gritted his teeth, unfolding a 5th Circle Absolute Shield.

When everyone else was swallowed by the black aura, he’d managed to stay unharmed thanks to his powerful shield.

All around him, black spheres floated in the air.

And from those spheres, monsters began to emerge one by one.

Goblin, Kobold—low-level creatures he could handle without worry.

But the real problem was the sphere where Evan was.

‘Grizzly Bear, Twinhead Ogre, Orc Warchief, Goblin Warrior… what’s next?’

KUOOOO!

Another monster burst out from Evan’s sphere.

A massive reptilian head, a dragon-type monster easily 8 meters long.

A Drake.

The lowest of the dragonkin, but still on a whole different level from ordinary monsters.

“That’s a creature you’d be lucky to see even once up north,” Darwen muttered, face twisted in a grimace as he prepared his magic.

‘At this rate, I’ll run out of mana completely…’

CRACKLE!

Lightning surged in Darwen’s hand, forming into the shape of a spear.

A 6th Circle high-tier spell—Lightning Spear.

Once the casting was complete, he hurled the Lightning Spear at the Drake.

BOOM!

Lightning crashed down, striking the Drake right between the eyes.

KRAAAAA!

With a roar, the creature died on the spot.

THUD!

The ground shook as it collapsed and faded into black aura.

“Damn it! At this rate, are we going to see an actual dragon next…?”

Darwen cursed, struggling to steady his breath.

‘How long could he keep holding out like this?’

‘Would those who vanished ever return?’

As he pondered his next move,

GOOOOOH!

A massive tremor resonated through the area.

“I…”

“…What’s that?”

A sudden, inexplicable sense of dread overtook Darwen.

A powerful energy spread from Evan’s sphere, rippling outward like a drop of water falling onto a calm lake.

With each passing moment, the pressure grew stronger,

pressing down on him so hard he could barely breathe.

“Kh…!”

Even Darwen could barely stand.

The Absolute Shield wavered.

After a moment, a gigantic head began to emerge from Evan’s sphere.

Black, gleaming scales.

Vertical, reptilian pupils.

But above all, that overwhelming size and presence.

“Ah, ah…”

Darwen’s body began to tremble.

A king who ruled at the top of the monster hierarchy—

A dragon had appeared within the gate.

***

[You have cleared the Fifth Nightmare.]

[You have cleared the Sixth Nightmare.]

Each time the Nightmare changed forms, Evan defeated it.

Nightmares became nothing to him.

But only for a moment.

[You have summoned Lee Han’s Final Nightmare.]

The tenth time now.

This time, the Nightmare’s body began to swell, growing far larger than ever before.

The pressure kept expanding.

“Guooooh! Why…?”

Even the Nightmare itself seemed to be in pain, groaning as cracks spread across its form.

“Something’s wrong…”

Evan watched its condition, his face turning grim.

If he had to choose the worst Nightmare he could imagine, it would have to be the Chaos Dragon.

Soon, the Nightmare’s head burst open, swelling like a balloon.

When it reached nearly five meters, the shape of a dragon’s head began to appear.

[The Nightmare has been consumed by a Nightmare it cannot endure.]

“What?”

Evan was dumbfounded.

It had tried to summon a Nightmare, only to be devoured by it instead.

It was almost laughable, but Evan didn’t have the luxury to care.

The Chaos Dragon, born from the Nightmare, swallowed even the Nightmare’s core.

‘No, this just means that no matter what form, the transcendent being called the Chaos Dragon can’t be contained.’

The Chaos Dragon itself was beyond all reason.

From the moment the Nightmare tried to summon it, its destruction was inevitable.

‘I have to stop it.’

If that thing really appeared, he couldn’t imagine what would happen to his mind.

If the Nightmare of the Chaos Dragon devoured everything the thought of who would control his body afterward was terrifying.

‘My very existence would become a catastrophe.’

Evan gripped his sword with both hands.

Right now, only the dragon’s gigantic head had formed above his small human body.

But soon, even his body would transform into a dragon.

He had to end this before the transformation was complete.

As Evan pondered, something caught his eye.

‘The rune is still glowing.’

Recalling the time with the Goblin experiment, Evan’s eyes flashed.

‘If I destroy the rune like before, it’ll disappear.’

He was certain.

Maybe it was the power of the Pioneer, but the Nightmare had drawn strength from the rune.

The Goblin experiment, suspected to be of the same kind, had been the same.

Evan’s body vanished in an instant.

Closing the distance in a single bound, he leapt with all his might.

He soared high, aiming straight for the glowing rune.

The space between the Chaos Dragon’s eyes.

He landed successfully atop the monster’s elongated snout.

At the same time, it let out a furious roar.

KRAAA!

The Chaos Dragon unleashes Dragon Fear.

A draconic aura enveloped his entire body.

“Kh…!”

Even if it was only a Nightmare, it felt as real as the genuine article.

His body froze, like it had turned to stone.

“Ugh!”

[Conqueror’s Scorn has activated.]

[Fighting Spirit has activated. (00:10:00)]

Conqueror’s Scorn and Fighting Spirit, both acquired by Evan, activated.

Thanks to that, all status effects were temporarily removed.

Evan regained his focus.

He charged at the rune and slashed at it with his sword.

Slash!

As he cut, the rune’s light began to fade.

[Pioneer’s Power has decreased by 30%.]

Without stopping, Evan kept stabbing his sword into the rune.

Until the light vanished completely.

[Pioneer’s Power has been destroyed.]

Once the rune lost its light, the Chaos Dragon began to revert to black aura.

KRAAAOO!

It howled and thrashed wildly.

Evan jumped from its head and landed on the ground.

[You have defeated the Great Nightmare Chaos Dragon.]

[Synchronization Rate increased by 1.95%.]

[You have inherited the legend of the ever-praised hero, Lee Han.]

[Synchronization Rate insufficient.]

[Mythic Power is locked.]

Evan’s Synchronization Rate soared, and he gained a new power.

“Mythic Power?”

He immediately tried to check this new Mythic Power.

[???]

[???]

But it seemed to be locked, so he couldn’t check the details.

“Guess I’ll have to raise the Synchronization Rate.”

[The Hidden Room has opened.]

The world of the Nightmare began to collapse.

And right in front of Evan, a doorway appeared.

‘Is this where the medium sustaining the gate is?’

Without hesitation, Evan stepped through the entrance.

Blinding light shimmered before his eyes.

He squinted against the glare.

As his vision returned, he took in his surroundings.

Walls covered in bricks and bizarre paintings, and floating in the center, a massive crystal, about two meters tall.

Inside the crystal, Evan saw a familiar emblem.

The Red Dragon Emblem.

The same emblem he’d seen inside the black crystal he obtained from the Goblin experiment.

‘…So this is what gave the Nightmare its power?’

Evan paused in thought, then raised his sword.

[Pioneer’s Control Core has been discovered.]

He didn’t have time to waste.

What stood before him was his target—something that had to be destroyed.

No need to hesitate.

‘If I destroy this, the gate should vanish, right?’

He didn’t know who had created it or for what purpose.

But he knew one thing for certain: this power was a grave threat.

Evan thrust his sword into the giant crystal.

Drawing out all his aura, he put everything he had into the strike.

Thunk!

Though it looked solid, the crystal was pierced more easily than expected.

CRACK!

From the point where his sword struck, cracks spread throughout the entire crystal.

KRASH!

SHATTER!

The crystal broke apart into pieces.

At the same time, a shockwave and black aura burst out in all directions.

Evan crossed his arms to shield himself.

[Pioneer’s Control Core has been destroyed.]

[You have cleared the Gate.]

[The Void Gate will disappear shortly.]

[Hidden Quest Omen of Disaster Omen of DisasterOmenofDisaster has been completed.]

[Seek out the Mediator of the World to receive your reward.]