Corruption...
For this endless dream, corruption means only one thing.
Losing control over your body.
If we completely lose control, then we are corrupted.
It can happen by using a strong skill continuously, coming into contact with a skill that can control a human body, or...
Being surrounded by multiple strong souls.
That's all.
The sun was rising.
I was looking at it from the top of a 120-meter-high building.
[ TOTAL SOULS COLLECTED - 36/100 ]
Being corrupted sucks the most... I can't control my body at all.
Even if someone finds me, they won't be able to notice that I'm corrupted since there's no visible effect on my body.
Everything is happening inside me... in my inner mind.
I need to get control over my body... in order to survive Quest 2. I can survive in my current state... but I'm not sure about it.
Or...
I will do what these souls want... that'd be the worst.
As I analyzed before... I need to strengthen my mental health because it collapsed the moment these souls invaded my body...
My mental health can't handle the pressure of these souls.
Their tragic backstories destroyed it within a minute.
I need to become stronger.
Go... down...
The souls commanded.
My body jumped from the building.
FWOOOOSH!!!
What the fuck...
For real?!
What do you expect will happen to a human body when it falls from a giant building?
Of course, the bones will break.
Blood will burst from the broken body.
You'll die.
Is it the same in my case?
Of course not.
SPLAT!!!
I fell headfirst.
My face was the first thing that touched the ground... My nose broke... My eyeballs popped out of their sockets, still attached by the nerves...
SQUELCH!
They burst.
SPLURT!
Blood started streaming from my nostrils and empty eye sockets.
Especially from my mouth.
My joints dislocated... More things broke that I can't even describe...
Overall, I was dead.
Is this the end? Huh?
[ 1 SOUL SACRIFICED ]
[ TOTAL SOULS REMAINING - 35/100 ]
My eyes opened from the shock... a very deep shock.
I was feeling pain... The pain of falling headfirst from a building hit me all at once.
I wanted to scream... I wanted to scream until I couldn't speak anymore.
But I was unable to scream.
I could only stay silent and scream in my mind.
ARGHHHHH!!!! FUCK!!! IT FUCKING HURTS!!! I WANNA DIE!! RIGHT NOW!!! KILL ME!!! DON'T LET ME LIVE ANYMORE!!! THIS IS TOO MUCH... Have some... Mercy on me.
I stood up, the pain engraving itself deeper and deeper into my body.
I understood... I understood how I was still alive.
I understood everything.
All of this started when I killed those creeps in that destroyed building.
The number of souls I had collected increased when I killed them.
As far as I remember, it reached seven.
After that, I started hearing the voices of seven different souls. And each time I killed more...
The number of voices increased.
Which means... this soul-collecting thing is related to Skill Plagiarist.
My eye color was changing too... Was it my right eye or left...? I don't remember.
Is all of this connected to Skill Plagiarist...?
Is this all just a test to see if I'm worthy of holding this skill...?
This is way too complicated.
...
I think I understand now.
I started walking forward.
My mental barrier was weak, which resulted in me losing my body and becoming corrupted.
The souls of the people I killed... got attached to me and invaded my mind with their tragic backstories.
I was able to handle one, but handling seven was too much. I lost my body.
That's the whole thing.
Which means, in order to retrieve my body, I need to strengthen my mental barrier.
But... how do I do that...?
I don't know.
Wait.
If I remember correctly...
[ TO UNLOCK ??? YOU NEED TO COLLECT 100 SOULS ]
Maybe... Would I be freed from corruption if I collected 100 souls...?
[QUEST 2 IS STARTING FOR YOU IN 20 SECONDS ]
Collecting souls... huh...?
I am the author of an endless dream... I know this dream better than anyone...
Which means... I know how this system works too.
The system knows what kind of situation I'm in right now, so it will generate a quest accordingly.
[ TIME REMAINING - 00:12 ]
I started running.
It should work like this.
[ TIME REMAINING - 00:08 ]
I'll be able to break free from corruption if I complete this quest.
[ TIME REMAINING - 00:04 ]
The next quest is definitely...
[TIME REMAINING - 00:00 ]
Killing 100 people!! Yayy!!
[ QUEST 2 - MONSTER HUNTER ]
[ DIFFICULTY - C ]
[ KILL 100 MONSTER SPECIES IN A DAY ]
...
Fuck.
〆 In this endless dream, words carry different meanings.
— Coffee Shirone