Sia looked bewildered by the stream of questions. "Me and you? Childhood? The first time I saw you was in this world. But why did you ask?"
Rayen nodded and said, "It's nothing. I was just joking."
Sia's left eye twitched in annoyance, and she said in a loud tone, "Like a pig flying?"
Wang Huiyin from far away replied, "But a pig never flies."
"And he never jokes." Sia pointed at Rayen and said.
(Quite a strange way to state it)
Rayen thought to himself.
"And more importantly, I don't remember anything before this world. It's like I forgot everything." Sia stated with a tired expression, like she had already given up on it.
"You really don't remember anything?" he asked. He didn't remember his past before the orphanage, and she didn't remember anything at all. But the similarity between both of them was that they didn't remember.
"Yeah, the only starting I know is when I got summoned here. Before that, I don't know what I was."
"The truth is that I also do—"
Rayen was about to tell her, but suddenly they all felt a strong dream group's presence.
"What is this?" Thomas looked up at the sky. His eyes widened for a moment, then he turned his sharp gaze at Sia and said, "A herd of dreams is coming here. More specifically, toward us."
"But why would they suddenly attack us? And how? We have hidden our Presence," Victor asked.
"They are not after us, they are after Rayen. His Presence is overflowing, it is inviting them. And they are not land ones, they are Air-types," Thomas replied. In front of his eyes was a game-like window in which he could see and analyze the threats.
[Influence Skill 'Gamer's POV' is activated!]
"They all are Ephemera Class Dreams," Thomas added.
"Ephemera Class? Hah, Rayen will handle them alone!" She smacked Rayen's back with a laugh.
Thomas's eyes widened more as he read further. "Th-their count exceeds 300."
"..."
Sia went silent for a moment, then made a serious expression and said, "Let's run."
Rayen placed a hand on Sia's shoulder. "No, we are not going to run." Then he looked at Thomas and asked, "Can you tell us more about them, and also how much time is left for us to prepare?"
Thomas nodded and read more details. "They are named Petrosaurs. They are group-type dreams. They always stay in groups of hundreds to thousands. They are extremely aggressive and don't fear fighting greater class dreams. And killing each one of them gives 30 Exp. It will take 5-10 minutes for them to reach us."
Rayen acknowledged the details and stood silent for a moment, then said, "If we kill all of them, we will get more than 9000 Exp. With that, we can awaken Sia's Influence and also get some Exp in our hands."
"If you guys are going to fight, then be ready." Rayen's body started releasing more Presence.
"Hey, stop. Don't drag them into this. How are you going to defeat them? You don't have infinite stamina, and of course you can't fly like them," Sia yelled at Rayen.
Rayen held Sia's shoulders and said, "Sia, this is an opportunity for us to awaken your influence, otherwise you will die easily in future battles. And I need you. You are my key."
(Why are you being filmy? But.. he is right, I need to awaken my influence. I need Exp!)
Sia sighed and asked, "Do you have a plan?"
"Yes, I have," Rayen replied.
He pointed at the subway station entrance a bit far away. "It will help us. They are extremely aggressive, so no matter where we go, they will try to reach there. So we will drag them into the subway. In that small space, they can't fly too high, and because of their number, they will get each other killed in that congested area."
All the members nodded, and Victor said, "Sia, I think this is a good plan." Then he looked back over his shoulder and asked, "What do you think, Natalya?"
Natalya said with a smile, "We should do this. Otherwise Sia will never awaken her influence, because she is dum—." Victor covered her mouth before she could complete it.
"What were you about to say?" Sia extended her nails and glared at Natalya with an evil smile. But before she could charge at her, Wang Huiyin held her tight from behind. It almost looked like a girl holding an aggressive stray cat.
"B-big sis, fo-forgive her," Huiyin said, her face red from the effort of holding Sia.
"Okay, okay. I'm calm now. Stop holding me." Sia took deep breaths. Huiyin looked at her, then slowly freed her from the grip.
"You!" Sia charged again at Natalya, and Huiyin held her tight again. "Whom you call dumb? I'm the smartest!"
"No, don't do it!" Huiyin shouted while holding her tight.
Thomas, who was standing beside Rayen, muttered, "These women."
Sia slowly turned her head toward him. She looked like a cat ready to attack. Thomas coughed and said, "Nothing."
***
All of us were preparing. Sia was reloading her revolver. It was the same revolver I saw when I first met her. She looked very happy while holding it.
"You like that revolver?" I asked while looking at the sky and occasionally observing her.
"More like I'm attached to it. This was the thing that saved me from a dream," Sia replied with a smile.
"It saved you, how?" I asked.
"It is a long story," she said, then continued, "When I was summoned here, I got caught up in a fight against a dream. It was about to kill me, but I found this revolver dropped on the ground. It was fully reloaded. With this, I shot the dream, and in return for my first kill, I got this outfit." She glanced down at her grey trench coat.
(How bizarre. She got her outfit for her first kill, and I got mine because someone was feeling nausea toward my old ones.)
***
Suddenly they felt something coming toward them. Rayen jumped aside from where he was standing, and in that same place, a huge bird-like dream crashed. The crash was hard enough that it died on the spot.
Rayen walked toward it and stood there silent for a moment. He nodded to himself like he knew something. Sia carefully watched him without saying anything.
(Maybe he knows something)
Then Rayen broke the silence and said, "That's why we shouldn't give everyone the licence."
"Stop cracking jokes!" Sia yelled at Rayen, gritting her teeth.
"I'm not," Rayen replied.
Hearing the sound of the crash, the other members came there running and saw the dead dream.
"How did he die?" Thomas asked, staring at Rayen.
"Crash landing. Maybe he was low on fuel," Rayen replied innocently.
"I said stop making jokes!" Sia yelled again at Rayen. Though Rayen wasn't making jokes, it's just what it looked like to him. He had a very peculiar way of seeing things.
Victor suddenly felt something. He got in his stance and said, "Everyone, get on your guard. The Dreams are here."
Wang Huiyin looked far up at the sky and saw hundreds of dreams coming toward them. "They are... Will we win?" She looked at Rayen in hope.
"Depends. But if everything goes as planned, then we will destroy them," Rayen replied with a neutral expression.
"Everyone, go inside the subway. I will bring them there after provoking them for a bit. They won't go after you all, because they are here for me."
Rayen started walking ahead. All the members and Sia looked at him. They gulped in nervousness, but they all turned back and started walking toward the subway entrance.
"Rayen, don't do anything reckless. Just go as planned," Sia said with a serious expression. Then she put on a silly smile and said, "And don't kill them, or I will kill you."
Rayen nodded, and slowly the ground beneath him started vibrating. Two horns extended from his head. His hair and eyes turned white. His whole body was covered in void, and a moonlight-like scarf flowed freely from his neck.
[Your Influence — 'Void Body' — has been activated!]
Then he extended his claws and jumped high into the sky.
(Alone, I am better.)
Kyahh!
Petrosaurs let out a loud screech and charged at Rayen. Their huge wings flapped heavily, their thin bodies cut through the air, and they reached him.
But before they could bite him or hurt him with their claws, he tore the wings of several of them. They all went unbalanced and hit the ground.
(Alone, I am greater.)
Some heavy ones charged at him with their long beaks, but Rayen held two of them by their beaks and hit the others with their bodies.
(Alone, I am myself.)