“Enemies?” Carmella repeated the word with shivering lips. “What… do you mean?”

  “Here’s the story; you and Henry found me, but we got suddenly attacked by a Dreadbeast. Henry managed to kill it with our help, but unfortunately, he lost his life before he could heal.” Somnu outlined, keeping his [Hollow Gaze] skill active just in case. “Do you understand, Carmella?”

  “But… why? And a Dreadbeast? Who’s going to believe that?” The blond woman instinctively took a step back, still in shock.

  “Tell me how everyone already knows what the next tier after Specter is.” Somnu crossed his arms, but left one hand to hold his chin. Mathros knew what they were called before we defeated the Thieving Slime.

  So far, Somnu had only learned about names and phobias after defeating Nightmare Creatures directly. He could never guess what the next rank after Dreadbeast would be for the monsters. Not until he faced and slayed one, at least.

  Which means everyone knew about the Dreadbeast name for one possible reason.

  “We heard it from the Fortmaster…” Carmella regained her composure and clenched a fist behind her back, not realizing a clone of Naga was watching her from nearby. “He threatens anyone who breaks his rules to be fed to it, but everyone knows it’s just a lie to keep everyone in check.”

  “...” Somnu narrowed his blind gaze slightly. “How would the Fortmaster know what they are called if, one, he hasn’t killed one before, and two, he doesn’t have a Sleeper System?”

  “Maybe the word itself is wrong then? Can we go back to what you were saying before-”

  “Hold on, I’m thinking.” Somnu cut her off, making Carmella purse her lips. She still doesn’t know that we actually did fight a Dreadbeast and got a confirmation of the name. Not to mention I already knew the name from fighting the Woodland Spirit in the Nirvia Castle.

  Somnu paced about for a few moments, each step making him feel more anxious to take off running again.

  “There isn’t much time to explain everything now, so don’t question anything I say.” Somnu spoke, making the hesitating woman in front of him nod her head in approval. “Dreadbeasts are showing up in this Layer, and you will use the story I outlined to make sure everyone in the fort is aware of the danger.”

  “!” Carmella’s pupils constricted for a moment, but she quickly composed herself again, swallowing her saliva and waiting for him to continue.

  “I will ask the Fortmaster directly about how he knew the name, maybe someone had told him in secret too.” The blind scarecrow rubbed his chin. “Keeping it from everyone reduces panic, but not telling them puts them in greater danger when they think only a mere Specter is the worst they can encounter on this Layer.”

  “And you want me to spread that information so everyone can head out in groups and be more prepared?”

  “Exactly.” Somnu affirmed. “After that, you’ll act like you blame me for Henry’s death. That way we can sniff out his allies, and bring me closer to finding John Doe.”

  “I-I see… so, I would only be acting as your enemy but at night-”

  “No, we can’t be seen talking to each other at all. We’re forbidden from even looking at the other person, unless you’re putting on a show of contempt towards me.” He shut down her hopes, like invisible arrows aimed directly at her heart and vital organs. “This will stay in effect until all the enemies are taken care of, we’re back outside the fort or we’re in the Second Layer.”

  “...” Carmella lowered her gaze, her two eyes quickly narrowing into a frown.

  I knew it, even with [Hollow Gaze], this isn’t enough to convince her. He thought to himself before making up his mind. I had hoped she would become less dependent on me, but I’ll have to push a little more for now.

  “Look at me.”

  “?”

  “I’m doing this to protect everyone.” The scarecrow took slow steps towards her. “You said I could lean on you, but you’re hesitating when I ask for help. I need to know if I can depend on you or not, because if I can’t-”

  “No! You can, you definitely can!” Carmella sprang forward and grabbed his right hand, bringing it closer to her ample chest. “I’ll do whatever you say, kill whoever you want!”

  “You don’t need to kill anyone, just follow the story.” Somnu retracted his arm and gestured for her to take the two meters she must keep from him at all times. “With this, we should be able to warn everyone and put my plans into motion.”

  “Does that mean I’m part of your plans…? One of your strengths?” She asked with big fluttering eyes.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “If you prove yourself useful, sure.” He let out a long sigh. This will never not be weird. I don’t want to use [Distorted Fallacy] on her anymore, but once I have the time, I should think of how to break this tendency of hers. I really wonder what made her like this…

  “Master! Master! I’m your strongest asset, right? Right?!” Naga finally jumped in after noticing the silence.

  “Silly serpent, that’s not possible.” Carmella quickly shifted her tone, crossing her arms and pushing her chest up as if to tease the familiar stuck in an animalistic body. “It’s clearly me, I’m a Savant with two Aspiration Classes of my own after all!”

  “What?! Maybe I should feed on this Savant! Hiss! Never tasted one before!”

  “Enough, you two.” Somnu hunched his back, but quickly fixed his posture as an idea came to him. “Naga, leave a clone on my shoulder and get on Carmella’s shoulders instead.”

  ““What?!”” The two blurted in unison.

  “Naga will be the only source of communication between us, so I’ll be leaving a clone with you.” Somnu turned around and started walking again. “Use the next few hours to get along. Otherwise, both of you are better left behind than to ruin my plans.”

  ““!””

  After glaring at each other for a moment, both of them gave in and did as he asked.

  One thing was still weighing heavily on Somnu’s mind, so he asked.

  “When are you due, Carmella?”

  “... You believe me now?” She raised an eyebrow, then smiled faintly. “It shouldn’t be much longer in the waking world now. Three months should have passed while I spent a month here.”

  Somehow, even Carmella had known about the First Layer’s slow time. However, Somnu now had a confirmation on how slow it actually was. The waking world was three times as fast.

  “...” He pursed his lips for a moment. “Is Henry… was he the father?”

  “Hmm? No, I met Henry here after nearly dying to a few Lurkers…” She looked in the distance. “But the father… He’s not much different, and he’s not in the picture.”

  “I see…”

  Somnu had worried he had killed an infant’s father, but he seemed to have touched on a sore subject instead. He needed to ensure Carmella would survive for that child, and eventually, help her become her own person.

  For that to happen, he needed his plans to work.

  Needless to say, Somnu had other reasons for his story. If everyone believed he was weak, and actually blind, then he could more easily see who was and wasn’t an enemy.

  For one, those who have been contacted by John Doe about Somnu’s powers, would act nicely around him, knowing full well he can see them.

  While those who will not hide their dissatisfaction from him could be ruled out for the most part, as they would likely be simpletons that don’t know anything.

  Naturally, he would need to judge every case on its own, especially if someone would try to trick him based on this line of thinking, but that was a good base line to start off on.

  Speaking of my eyes though…

  “Carmella, can I rip a piece of your dress?” He asked bluntly.

  “What? No! Cutie Leyna worked hard on it!” She didn’t even bat an eye as she outright refused him.

  “Wouldn’t she just fix it then?” Somnu paused for a moment, then lowered his tone. “Oh well, I guess I won’t have anything to remind me of you…”

  “!” Carmella’s feet came to a sudden halt, then ran after him. “I changed my mind!”

  “...”

  Even Naga’s serpent face seemed sick of the back and forth routine.

  Either way, Somnu received a gift. A piece of Carmella’s now slightly shorter dress. It covered his eyes like a blindfold, allowing him to stop constantly reminding himself to keep his eyelids closed. Now he could open them without worrying about sending shivers into everyone, especially his friends and siblings when they reunite.

  He had considered taking one of Grudgekeeper’s straps for that, but they were a bit thin to cover the entire eye socket. Not to mention his Dream Catcher was unpredictable and could spawn a row of teeth for his eyes. Thinking about that alone made him shudder in place.

  As they made their way to the fort, Carmella shared the details of her System and classes, entrusting him with using that information to best match his plans.

  In his mind’s eye, he could see the System looking something similar to this.

  [Name: Carmella Dior.]

  [Species: Human.]

  [Rank: Savant.]

  [Ego Core: Blue.]

  [Ego Core Level: Lvl 5.]

  [Dream Catcher: Fae’s Lure.]

  [Memento: All-In-One Trophy.]

  [Terror Cores Available: 51.]

  [Ego Particles: None.]

  [Personal Title: {Charm Magpie}, {Nemesis Of Envy}, {Symphony’s Voice}]

  [General Abilities: {Multilingual Comprehension}, {Enhanced Natural Prowess}.

  [Aspiration Classes: {Trophy Wife}, {Songstress}]

  [Skills {Trophy Wife}: {Dazzling Presence}, {Beauty's Blessing}, {Favor Of The Wealthy}, {Soul Devotion}, {Resplendent Escape}, {Shield of Adoration}]

  [Skills {Songstress}: {Siren’s Lullaby}, {Sonic Wave}, {Rejuvenating Note}, {Choral Echo}, {Inspiring Verse}, {Harmonic Beat}]

  [Additional Skills: {Deadly Kiss}, {Hexed Rouge}, {Rigged Contest}]

  [Current Active Fears: None.]

  She had skipped the actual descriptions, but he could more or less guess what they would entail.

  Some of these might come in handy depending on what we encounter inside this fort… The scarecrow thought as they finally came out of the dense swamp forest.

  “!”

  “There it is.”

  Not as far from them anymore, the towering structure of the Mirewalker Fort awaited.

  Leyna, Mo… I’m almost there!