Chapter 2: It’s a dream
by 000 000
“It’s a dream.”
That’s the conclusion I reached.
A translucent, holographic window appearing before my eyes…
This isn’t some game.
“Did I fall asleep while playing a game…?”
I glance down at my body.
The sky-blue cleaning outfit worn by the character from Superwash Simulator.
It’s not just the clothes—somehow, I’m even wearing the hat.
And the shoes are the exact same ones my character wears.
Looking at my arms, I see spotless, white rubber gloves fitted snugly on my hands.
[Cleaner’s Gloves (Lv. Max)]: Gloves designed to safely handle contaminants.
“Even item descriptions are popping up now.”
The message that appeared is identical to the ones in the game.
It’s the exact description of the max-level upgraded equipment I had.
Ignoring my outfit, I turn my attention to my surroundings.
A slightly dim corridor-like setting.
Ornate decorations in a style I’ve never seen before are placed intermittently along the corridor.
But, suspiciously, the corridor and its decorations are covered in some unidentified sticky liquid.
As a test, I rub the dirty corridor with my white gloves, and the grime sticks right to them.
When I lightly tap my hands, the dirt falls off instantly, leaving the gloves as good as new.
Well, the equipment and environment aside…
What was that window that appeared earlier?
[Main Quest]
Clean the “Demon God’s Ruins”!
Current Contamination Level: 100%
Reward: A Wish
“Main Quest? What’s that?”
The system message that appeared when I looked at my equipment was identical to the one in the cleaning game I was playing before bed.
But as far as I know, there’s no such thing as a “Main Quest” system in that cleaning game.
It’s not exactly like the game, then.
Well, it’s not like I’m actually playing a game—it’s just a dream, after all.
“By the way, ‘Demon God’s Ruins’? Isn’t that the map from the update?”
I played the game, read the update notes, and even saw leaked map images on the community site before falling asleep.
It seems like the scenes I saw before bed got jumbled up and turned into this dream.
Now that I look closely, the corridor’s scenery does kind of resemble the screenshots I saw on the community site…
“If I’m going to dream about a game, maybe I should’ve played an adult game instead…”
Anyway, this must be what they call a lucid dream, right?
It’s my first time experiencing one.
My consciousness feels so vivid!
Amazed by my first lucid dream, I decided to check something else and pick up the cleaning tool I was holding when I first opened my eyes.
[Pressure Cleaner (Lv. Max)]: A cleaning tool designed to remove dirt with high-pressure washing!
As soon as I grip the cleaning tool, a system message pops up, just like before.
It’s identical to the game’s message.
The basic equipment given to the game character: the pressure cleaner.
As the name suggests, it’s a device that sprays water or cleaning solution at high pressure to wash away dirt.
And it’s at max level, too.
It’s a dream, but… will it actually work?
Shwoooosh…
“Whoa!”
When I pull the lever on the handle, a powerful stream of water shoots out from the nozzle.
The pressure is incredible.
Kaboom!
As the high-pressure water hits the dirty grime, the black filth vanishes instantly, revealing the corridor’s original, glossy surface.
“Ha, this is it!”
Even though it’s a dream, maybe because I’m seeing it with my own eyes, it feels more thrilling than watching it through a monitor in the game.
It feels like I’m actually cleaning something with my own hands.
But since it’s a dream, there’s no recoil from the powerful water stream that should push my body back.
There’s something oddly addictive about this sensation.
Feeling excited for no reason, I start spraying water everywhere, wiping away the surrounding dirt.
Before long, the corridor is filled with puddles of dirty water mixed with all kinds of grime, turning it into a small flood.
“Is that here too?”
Staring at the flooded corridor, a sudden thought crosses my mind.
I head to the pile of stuff where I grabbed the cleaning tool earlier and find what I’m looking for.
[Dry Mop (Lv. Max)]: A dry mop suitable for wiping away moisture.
“This is here too.”
It’s another piece of equipment from the game.
Its effect is…
Swipe.
“Whoa…”
As I press the mop against the puddle, the water disappears completely.
It doesn’t evaporate or get absorbed by the mop—it’s as if the water was never there to begin with.
Yet the cleaned corridor remains pristine.
“This really feels like I’ve become a game character.”
[+10p]
“Oh!”
While I’m marveling at the mop’s performance, another system message appears, different from the ones before.
It’s the in-game currency awarded for cleaning or clearing specific maps.
That shows up too?
I could use it at the shop… but for now…
“This is fun!”
Feeling like I’ve truly stepped into the game, I enthusiastically pull the lever again, spraying water and running down the corridor.
I don’t know when I’ll wake up, but until I do, I’m going to enjoy this dream to the fullest.
***
Huff… huff!
In a mountainous valley in the southern region of the Holy Empire “Eukrasia,” the only empire on the Eukrasia continent, a red-haired girl with a disheveled appearance was running through the forest.
Sniff… sob…!
Tears welled up in her eyes, ready to spill at any moment.
Her snow-white skin was covered in scratches, with blood trickling from them bit by bit.
Huff… sob…
Had she reached her limit after running so hard?
The girl stopped in the middle of the forest, breathing heavily.
Swish!
Slash!
“Eek!”
As if waiting for that moment, a blade made of water shot out from the bushes, grazing the girl’s arm.
Another wound appeared on her delicate arm.
The girl looked toward the bushes with a terrified expression.
“Hmm… is the escape over?”
From the bushes, a woman with sky-blue hair holding a staff emerged, pretending to yawn.
“…!!!”
The girl, seeing the woman, froze in fear, then stumbled to her feet and started running again.
“I finally found them! Those filthy demon scum!”
“A human? How did a human get here?!”
Sob… sniff!
As she ran desperately, the red-haired girl, Rio, recalled the scene from earlier, tears streaming down her face.
The humans who suddenly appeared in her village, destroying it.
The village elders who had warmly cared for her after she lost her parents, dying in horrible ways.
Even in that chaos, her neighbor Laura, who tried to buy time so that she, the youngest in the village, could escape…
And then…
Slash!
Yawn…
“Red demons are just too easy to deal with.”
The cruel human mage who effortlessly extinguished Laura’s flames—the village’s best fire mage—and killed her with a blade of water.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Perhaps because she was haunted by that terrifying memory, her legs froze.
While running, Rio didn’t notice a tree root protruding from the ground and tripped over it.
Crash!
“Ow… it hurts…”
She wanted to cry out right then and there, but the terrifying human mage was still chasing her.
If she made a sound, she might give away her location, so she couldn’t even cry freely.
Enduring the stinging pain, Rio forced herself to stand.
Cough!
Cough!
Huff…
But no matter how physically capable demons were, Rio was still just a child, and she quickly reached her limit.
It had been over an hour since she started running to escape the woman chasing her from the village.
It was a miracle she had escaped this long.
As her body reached its limit and her vision blurred from blood loss, Rio’s eyes caught something.
“…A door…?”
For some reason, she spotted an ornate door in the middle of the forest, leading underground.
“Why is there a door here? And not even attached to a building, just a door leading underground…”
“Where are you?…”
“Eek!”
As Rio was startled by the out-of-place structure, the sinister voice of the human woman reached her ears.
She tried to force her heavy body to run, but…
“Ow!”
Perhaps because of her earlier fall, her ankle throbbed, making it impossible to run properly.
Her stamina was already at its limit, and her leg was in pain—an utterly hopeless situation.
“…Maybe there…!”
The human mage’s voice was getting closer.
With her body in tatters, Rio hesitated for a moment before deciding to take a chance and limped toward the ornate door.
Creak…
Contrary to her worries, the door opened easily, even for her small frame.
Whoosh!
“Ugh…! The smell…!”
As the door opened, a stench so foul it made a sewer seem pleasant filled the air.
The interior of the door revealed a filthy corridor covered in mysterious dirty liquid, dust, and cobwebs.
Cough!
Cough!
“…Still, if it’s here…!”
Rio felt like vomiting, but the human woman approaching from behind was far scarier than the filth.
So, she squeezed her eyes shut, covered her nose with her small hands, and ran into the filthy corridor.
And shortly after…
***
“What’s this door?”
Archna, the water mage who had deliberately let Rio escape to enjoy her “hunting” hobby, was startled to see the ornate door in the middle of the forest, where she had tracked the little red demon’s presence.
“Could it be… a dungeon?”
Squinting, she considered one possibility, but the horrific stench that assaulted her nose was even more immediate.
“Ugh…! What is this smell?!”
She quickly conjured a barrier of clean water around her nose to endure the stench.
Then, she noticed the filthy corridor inside the door.
“…Whatever this place is, it’s not a dungeon.”
There’s no way a dungeon controlled by demons would have such a foul environment.
Archna dismissed the possibility she had considered.
“Maybe some kind of ruins?”
Sometimes, ancient ruins from before the great war are found in remote areas like this…
Perhaps this is one of those places.
Not that it matters what kind of place it is.
The traces of the little demon she was chasing led inside.
“…Damn it. Do I really have to go in there?”
The corridor’s state made Archna hesitate, but she had let the little demon escape on purpose for her own amusement.
As the one who let her go, she had to either capture or kill the girl before returning.
“…Damn it. That little brat… making me go into a place like this…?”
Suppressing her nausea and wrapping herself in a protective barrier, Archna slowly followed Rio’s trail into the door.
Next Chapter
0 Comments