Chapter 56: HBA – Chapter 56 – Arc 4 – Huh, you are that serious about it? Are you? Then prove it?

“Out of all my travels in the Central Continent, the Badg’Er species surprised me the most.”

 

“As the newest species that has come forward into the rank of Civilisations, they progressed the fastest out of all. Because of that fact, it is easy to guess that somebody or something is helping them along.”

 

“Still, the true surprise actually came in the form of Dreams.”

 

“There were a few requirements to be able to experience their Dreams, but if you provide proper cough… gifts…cough here and there, to their Shamans, you will experience something very few ever did except the Badg’Er.”

 

“Trust me on this, my fellow Adventurers.”

 

# Notes from a Random Traveler - Date Unknown

 

*

 

Joint Dream - Mir

If there is one thing that I must admit in this Life, it is the fact that Alexander likes to send curved balls at my expectations.

 

Maybe, I should have kept my mouth shut about the Chakral Ascensions System, designed mainly with him at the center of the reason. Then the results would have been more in line with my thinking, probably. 

 

Either way, what's done is done and now I have a literal Rebel to deal with.

 

“Even after I warned you of the danger, you couldn't contain your curiosity?” I asked the Humanoid Honey Badger, who looked like my little brother, or at least family.

 

“Hng” Was all I got as a reply, as Alexander’s expression showed some guilt over everything that occurred. “You can stop making that face. I know you're not feeling as guilty as you want me to think you are. Sigh, at least, it's not the worst-case scenario.” 

 

“To be honest with you, my worst imagined scenario was of you going Berserk or something.”

 

“Not, Bad?” Alexander inquired of me.

 

“I said, it's not bad. It's not good either.” I replied to my companion. “At least, it's not good, if you remain as you are right now. The Title should have ingrained a feel of what a Rebel is, right?”

 

“Hngh” Nodded Alexander, but I stayed silent for a moment while my eyes grilled him for answers. “Umm, Me, Angry, Get Strong?”

 

Sigh, I guess he's not wrong on that part. “Close. Getting Angry is the action, but not the cause.” Yet, before I actually said anything more, a thought struck my mind. 

 

Pondering on it for a few moments, I realize the potential of my explanations being misunderstood. 

 

That had to change, asap.

 

Standing up from the chairs made for us, I made my way outside the Dream representation of the Tribal Clearing. Alexander followed a step behind me. 

 

Once we were far enough from it, I exerted my control of the Joint Dream. 

 

In moments, the ground before us shrunk down. Almost as if a sinkhole appeared to suck in all the Earth. Only this one was far more ergonomic as it sank down in a square formation. When it was done, a giant 10x10 meters wide and tall Pit appeared in the ground. 

 

Turning away from it, I saw Alexander’s face gain some recognition. Maybe he understood what it was for, but it did not matter at this moment. 

 

“Alexander, come take a look at what is inside.” Alexander's expression became somewhat suspicious, but he did inch forward beside me to see inside. 

 

When he stood by my side and looked inside, nothing reached his eyes. His bewildered facial expression told me of that, but a good and quick slap on his back sent him flying inside.

 

“Waaaaa” Echoed from him, but I didn't care. He'd be fine anyway.

 

THUD

Once the sound of his successful landing reached me, a few meters shy of his landing zone, I created a translucent Giant Bubble. Without waiting for Alexander to stand up, turn my way and express his Righteousness to me, I gave the Giant Bubble a scenario. 

 

A scenario that had been in the planning zone of my mind, ever since the Joint Dream became a focal point of the Digital Mind’s Dream Tutor, and Cirsy’s expressed interest in Virtual Reality. 

 

With that done, I turned my back on everything and made my way to the Totem in the center of the Tribe. 

 

There, I placed my hand on it and communicated with the Digital Mind inside it. Or at least the part of the Digital Mind connected to this Dream version of its Totem. 

 

With the connection established, I give it my instructions. 

 

Taking a few steps back, another Giant Bubble manifested before the Totem. It too was translucent from my side, but when it popped as all bubbles do eventually, a Badg’Er replaced the bubble.

 

I had no idea if it was Goldy or Cirsy that decided on them Badg’Er, but whoever of the two it was that decided on the name would receive a pat on the head from me. As it made a good distinction between Humanoid vs Primal forms.

 

Anyway, my inner musings aside, the individual before me was called for a reason.

“Scar, my old friend. I must say that your new form suits you.” I say to center his attention on me. 

 

For a moment he was surprised, but then everything returned to normal.

 

“Maker of Tribal Spirit” He inquired immediately, and I nodded. 

 

Still, I did not expect him to go on the floor and prostrate himself to me. “Greetings, Maker.”

 

“Hmm, greetings to you, Scar. Next time, you don't have to prostrate yourself to me.” I replied. 

 

I hoped to prevent further worship, but if it developed, as part of their culture, who am I to stop them? Nevertheless, it did tick a tiny fancy inside me, which was easily shunted aside.

 

“Yes, Maker.” Scar acknowledged, and stood up. 

 

His stance was still a bit more hunched than when he first appeared.

 

“Good, Do you have an idea of where you currently are?” Immediately, I noticed his cloudy confused expression. His eyes glittered here and there. The recognition was apparent, but unlike my imagination, he did not immediately state the obvious.

 

“Dream?” He stated, and I nodded.

 

“Yes, you are in a Dream.” Nodding, I embellished the circumstance a bit more, but a bit more mysticism wouldn't hurt. “But it's not an ordinary Dream. Specifically, you're inside a Dream made by your Tribal Spirit.”

 

Eyes wide open, Scar urgently turned around and faced the Dream version of the Totem. Once more he prostrated himself on the ground before giving the same greeting. 

 

“Greetings to Sur’Vi’Val” 

 

That done, he stood up and faced me again. However, his face did have a fervent expression.

 

His feelings aside, I pondered on the name for a moment but left it behind in favor of my continued speech. “From now on, you will be able to enter this Dream whenever you want. The same will happen to your fellow Tribal Members. However, their appearance will have to wait for a bit. First, let me tell you why I called for you.”

 

“Yes, Maker.”

With a nod, and a slight shake of my right hand for him to follow me, we found ourselves beside the pit I'd made just moments ago. Only now, it was much noisier because Alexander fought with what looked to be a Giant Black Centipede.

 

With interest, I watched them go at each other. Moments later, Alexander skilfully decimated it, by exploiting its weakness and instincts. After his teeth cracked the chitin protecting its brain matter, it was over for it. 

 

Yet, the moment it was dead, it dissolved into thousands of tiny bubbles. Those bubbles gathered once again on one side of the Pit and coalesced into another Giant Bubble. 

 

With a popping sound, another centipede appeared, and the scenario repeated itself.

 

Alexander showed me the diminishing returns, as he took down this one even faster. Once more the centipede dissolved, and another centipede appeared. Moments later, this one vanished, as well, and another bubble reconstituted itself. 

 

Only this time there was a slight shift in the scenario. This time it was two Giant Black Centipedes that came out. 

 

Glancing at Alexander, I saw his expression flicker for a moment, before it focused. 

The ensuing battle turned into a dodge fest as Alexander jumped, and rolled as much as he could. A few times he'd tried to repeat the rolling/jumping/grabbing/tearing tactic only to be interrupted by the other centipede.

 

A few cries down the line, Alexander managed to cripple one. But the other had given him a big old hug around his upper body, all while biting down on his neck to administer poison/venom or whatever else it used to paralyze its prey.

 

Staring down in the pit as Alexander was fighting for his life, well… a Dream Life, I sensed Scar, who remained silent all this time, fidget around. 

 

Not taking my eyes off Alexander, I raised my right hand in front of Scar.

 

“Hell, be fine.” To ease his nerves, I stated a knowing Truth, and it worked. 

 

Alexander would be alright, there was no doubt about that, this was a Dream after all.

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There was more to this Pit that I made, and there was more to the Giant Bubble than just a simple monster spawning. In truth, I'd planned on making this later, but current circumstances forced my hand.

 

Anyway, I was used to those when Alexander was involved. 

 

The Pit and the Giant Bubble are two parts of the Nightmare Pit. 

 

There were quite a few planned functions that needed implementing. However, being freshly made, it only possessed the basics of the basics. To sweep the Dreamer's unconscious mind, and draw forth any traumas and such things they possessed. 

 

In the future, it would be possible to customize the scenarios even more, but for now, this was enough.

 

The current scenario probably reflected a recent event in Alexander's history. The fresher something was the easier it was to call it forth. On the other hand the older it was the harder it was to call it, but at the same time, it would have a greater impact on even the newest experiences. 

 

Hence, old traumas would set the Theme, while the new ones would provide the content of the scenario. After each round, The Nightmare Pit would dig deeper and deeper in search of those hidden traumas before eventually finding those deep-seated horrors and manifesting them.

 

Aside from the obvious way of defeating the horrors plaguing one’s mind, it would also function as an excellent Combat training ground. Because the Nightmare pit was just made, it is only able to summon forth what Alexander knows.

 

 For that reason, Scar was called.  

 

With Scar’s help, the arsenal and behavioral pattern of the creatures summoned by the Nightmare Pit would expand by quite a lot. As I doubted any Honey Badger, humanoid or otherwise, would have anything more complex than predatory nightmares of other creatures.

The Nightmare Pit and its functions aside, I studied Alexander’s struggle for freedom. Even now, at this moment, I could see he'd tapped into his ingrained Inner Rebel. And he showed it with his eyes projecting forth a reddish hue. 

 

With every moment that passed in his apparent captivity, their shine only increased.

 

For a moment, I wondered if the shine manifested because we were currently in a Dream, or if it would manifest in Reality as well. 

 

It did not really matter, but right now, it proved an excellent examination tool.

 

Alexander struggled and struggled to free himself with both arms and legs. As the red hue on his eyes strengthened, the grip of the coiled Giant Black Centipede lost its strength. In fact, his legs had the most freedom, so when flopped around like a fish on land, by accident he knocked himself forward chest first on the ground. 

 

Once he was in position, and with all his strength, Alexander flexed his left arm. Totally ignoring the cuts from the numerous legs of the centipede, he slipped it through the gap present between two chitin segments and touched the ground beneath it. 

 

Then with plenty of experience under his belt, Alexander used that arm and its acquired strength to pull himself up slightly. I had no idea how much a centipede of such size weighed in Reality, but to the current Alexander, that mattered not. 

 

He successfully put his left knee on the ground. Then came the right one and moments later Alexander was standing.

 

At the same moment, I realized Alexander’s plan.

 

With Rage fueled by Rebelliousness, Alexander sprinted a few meters at the walls of the Nightmare Pit.

 

THUD

 

The screeches of both Alexander and the Centipede only made the show that much more interesting, but the slight tremor surprised me a bit. 

 

Then Alexander took a few steps back and charged once more.

 

THUD

 

And then again and again. Until finally the centipede let go of him, 

 

However, Alexander was not done with his show. Once he was free, he grabbed the lower chitin part of the Giant Black Centipede. Then he slammed it into the wall with a pose that resembled a golf player, only more brutal in its execution.

 

SLAM

 

The first slam probably surprised him as his grip lost strength. The second grip was much better placed, and this time he faced the centipede’s softer underside towards the wall.

 

With all his might Alexander slammed it multiple times.

 

SLAM SLAM SLAM

 

And if that was not enough to vent his Rage, the ground found a companion. He slammed it from one position to the other. 

 

The way he did it, reminded me of a big green hulking monster doing the same to a certain Puny God. Even the emotions were the same, only one could smolder a World, if enraged enough, and here one Humanoid Honey Badger, barely smoldered a Giant Black Centipede.

 

Either way, the creature was disposed of moments later, and dissolved into thousands of bubbles before reforming back into a Giant Bubble. Only to once more pop in favor of more enemies appearing. 

 

This time it was three. If Alexander won this round, it would be four. After that, it would be five before the scene changed to something else.

Ignoring the enraged Alexander, I turned to face Scar, whose attention focused on everything going on in the Nightmare Pit. 

 

“Scar,” I called. 

 

His eyes instantly focused on me. “The Nightmare Pit is not yet completed, but it will be soon. And when it is, you will become its Master. If you don't want to be its Master, you can give that position to somebody else.” 

 

“However, if you do pick somebody else, they must be very skilled in the Hunt. At the same time, he or she must possess intimate knowledge regarding the behavior of the creatures he or she hunts. Understood?”

 

“Yes, Maker.”

 

“Good, I am sure you've noticed this place will become an excellent training ground for your Trine members. Even if they are not Hunters it would help them. So make good use of it.”

 

“Yes, Maker.”

 

“With that said, let's enjoy watching Alexander struggling.” And that we did. 

In his full Rebellious Phase, Alexander's stats increased by 50%. However, I was pretty sure he was not in Full mode right now. Even if he was,  just that would not have resulted in his victory over the three Giant Black Centipedes. 

 

Because of the Rage, fueling him right now, Alexander was far less intimidated even if their numbers had increased. At the same time, he was far more brutal in his fight. Especially, when he used one of them as a giant stick to slam against the other two. 

 

However, the true marker for his win was the conceptual understanding made when he overcame his past trauma. 

 

While the stats of the centipede were not properly calibrated right now, because Alexander had not fought enough of them in Reality. The fact was, the depth of one's trauma increased the difficulty rating for the fight.

 

Aside from the method Alexander used, I was pretty sure right now, to him at least, three centipedes counted almost the same as two centipedes in difficulty. 

 

In the future, somebody would notice the differences and catalog them as such. 

 

For now, though, it would remain a secret.

 

“Well… he's huffing and puffing while barely standing. What do you think, Scar? Will he be able to win against four opponents?”

 

“No” Came the reply to my inquiry. 

 

“Oh, so little faith in your own son?” I teased slightly, but then an Idea came to me.

 

Facing Alexander as he focused on the Giant Bubble forming. Still, with a thought of mine, I delayed the next scenario for a few moments.

 

“Alexander, look who is watching your fight.” Instantly his gaze settled on us outside the pit. 

 

When he did he saw his Father, and despite the Rebelliousness fueling his current actions, I saw slight hesitation and that was all that I needed.

 

“He just told me he'd be very disappointed if his Son could not fight and kill five Giant Black Centipede at the same time. Especially after all that muscle training that you did.”

 

“I, No…” 

 

“Shush, don't say anything.” I urgently interrupted Scar before he broke the momentum.

 

“What do you think? Will you prove him wrong?” The moment I said it out loud, I saw and felt it. 

 

The red hue from his eyes magnified by a lot and it was not just that. The red hue took on a physical quality as it began to dye the white fur on his head, back, and tail with a reddish undertone.

 

“Huh, you are that serious about it? Are you? Then prove it.” I declared and pointed at the Giant Bubble, which in turn popped immediately, and out of it emerged not four but five Giant Black Centipedes.

 

An instant later, Dream Alexander and the Nightmares clashed. 

 

Providing plenty of entertainment to be remembered for me. 

 

Especially now that my time is running out.

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