I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 516

A massive island covered in dense jungle.

Two small doll-like figures ran swiftly as if cutting through the forest.

The two continued running while gasping for breath, and there was one reason they couldn't stop.

Because a monster was chasing them from behind.

"Keep running, don't stop!"

Seridan led Sedina by the hand.

It was a stroke of luck that the two people who fell into the dream world encountered each other in the upper middle layer of Dreamland.

They wouldn't have been able to endure if they had been left alone in a place with nothing.

However, the problem was that the moment the two met, an unidentifiable monster came along with them.

An unidentified monster approaches while destroying the forest trees.

Although they couldn't confirm its appearance, judging by the sound of trees breaking and rocks flipping over behind them, it was clearly no ordinary strong beast.

"I, I don't know either!"

"Tch. If only I had my bombs, something like that would..."

Seridan regretted that this was the dream world.

It was bad enough to have suddenly fallen here, but all her precious possessions that she valued as much as her life had disappeared.

The items she usually had dangling from her utility vest were explosives that, though small in size, were overflowing with firepower.

If she'd had those, even if she couldn't defeat that monster, she could at least have driven it far away.

"Can't you use magic? Didn't you get stronger recently?"

"Th-that's not working easily here."

Despite this being a lush forest, Sedina had to flee from the monster.

Although she had become a green mage who could handle plants at will that didn't work well in Dreamland.

This too was one of the effects of being in a dream.

Sedina, unfamiliar with Dreamland, couldn't properly use magic here.

In the end, Seridan and Sedina had no choice but to run away from the unidentifiable monster.

"Argh! Doesn't that thing ever get tired!"

"For now, I think we need to get to another island!"

"Another island? We're floating in the sky! Are you saying we should jump down there?"

"There's a waterfall. If we ride it down, we should fall into a pool on a nearby island."

"No choice then!"

If they don't escape from here, it's only a matter of time before they get caught by the monster chasing from behind.

Even though this was a dream world, they knew that being eaten by the monster meant death.

When the two emerged from the forest, an open landscape was revealed.

The vast sky and countless sky islands spread out below.

Sedina and Seridan immediately spotted the stream flowing at the edge of the island and ran towards it.

-Crack! Snap!

They could feel the monster approaching from far away.

They could see a huge shadow rapidly approaching from the darkness of the jungle as dense trees fell left and right.

"Jump!"

The moment they reached the end of the stream, the two jumped without looking back.

Right after jumping, they could feel the monster letting out a roar after losing its prey from behind.

-Wooooarrr!!

A high-pitched sound made the whole island rumble.

Looking back while falling, they could see the monster's silhouette at the edge of the cliff.

They couldn't see its appearance properly due to the backlight pouring from the sky, but they could tell its body was quite massive.

The two briefly felt relief at being alive, then took in the sight of another island approaching through the sensation of floating.

-Splash!

Sedina's judgment to jump down following the waterfall was correct.

Thanks to falling into a large pool of water, the two weren't injured.

Seridan and Sedina, who emerged from the water flailing their arms and legs, let out sighs of relief.

"Haa. Haa. We, we survived."

"Even that monster won't chase us this far, right?"

Seridan saw it in the middle of saying that.

A black shadow forming over the huge pool they had fallen into.

No way?

Seridan and Sedina looked up.

With the sky's light at its back, the massive shadow fell into the pool.

-Swoosh!

It was so huge that the water from the pool overflowed, creating a small tsunami.

Sedina and Seridan were pushed back, caught in it.

The black shadow rose from within a rising water column followed by falling rain streams.

Seridan and Sedina turned and ran without anyone needing to say anything.

That monster didn't seem to have any intention of letting them go.

* * *

"This is quite troublesome."

Alex scratched the back of his head while looking at the beautiful Milky Way spread across the sky.

If he had time, he would have been entranced by that sight's beauty, but now wasn't the situation for that.

"What do you all think?"

Alex turned around and asked.

Violetta, Bellaruna and Pantos only exchanged glances without offering any particular opinions.

The only one who offered an opinion there was Arpa.

"This seems to be Dreamland."

"Dreamland? So everyone recently falling into the sleeping sickness was because they all fell here?"

Arpa briefly explained about Dreamland within the knowledge he had.

"Dreamland is known to be a world created from people's dreams, unconsciousness, and spirits. And they say it's extremely rare for ordinary people to come here unless they're Dream Walkers belonging to the Dream School."

"But we came here, didn't we?"

"Yes. That's what's strange. I'm an automaton so it's impossible for me to fall asleep, yet to come to this dream world like this. It must be because of that golden powder that covered us in reality, right?"

"Whatever the case, it's certain we've fallen into Dreamland. Sigh. To think I'd see something I only heard about in fairy tales as a child at this age."

"So what should we do now?"

Violetta asked.

Originally their plan was to safely escape to Leathervelk but that golden powder ended up inviting all of Owens to Dreamland.

At this rate, they won't be able to face Rudger.

"It doesn't feel right to just stay quietly in this dream either."

Alex looked around.

Besides Owens, many people were gathered here and there in small groups.

The visible numbers alone were hard to count and those numbers were increasing in real time.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that probably everyone from Leathervelk had fallen here.

"Looks like Seridan and Hans fell here too. Our youngest seems to be here as well."

"From what I hear, it seems people have gone down to deeper places."

Arpa eavesdropped on people's conversations with her excellent hearing.

She heard that people including Theon teachers gathered and jumped into some lake.

"If it's Theon teachers, isn't the leader there too?"

"Probably so?"

"Alright. Then it's decided."

At Alex's words, Violetta frowned.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of going down?"

"What else can we do, just stay still here? When the leader is down below?"

"But we don't know what dangers might be lurking below, how can we move recklessly?"

"I understand the anxiety, but just sitting here doing nothing doesn't feel right either. What if right at this moment, they desperately need our help down there?"

"That's..."

"And as you know, if the leader isn't here, naturally I'm the next leader, right?"

It was Pantos who angrily responded to Alex's words.

"Who are you to claim leadership?"

"Well, because I'm the most talented, most handsome, and smartest?"

"I'm the strongest."

"Ca-calm down!"

When Pantos got angry, Bellaruna hurriedly tried to stop him but Alex didn't avoid Pantos' gaze.

"Me! Me! Include me in the leader competition too!"

Arpa cheerfully added fuel to the situation with a bright smile.

Seeing this scene, Violetta shook her head.

Men, really.

At this rate, Alex and Pantos looked about to fight, so Violetta stepped in to mediate.

"What are you all doing? Are we trying to establish a hierarchy among ourselves here?"

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Oh. Is that a challenge? I'll take it. You seem to have gotten quite strong after visiting the beastkin lands."

"Oh come on! Get your act together! Should I tell the owner about how you two tried to fight here when we meet him later?"

Violetta said with blazing eyes.

When Rudger was mentioned, Alex and Pantos withdrew their aggressive stance.

However, they still hadn't completely yielded their pride, as a subtle battle of nerves continued.

"First, let's find that lake they say we can go down through."

"There's no need for that."

Just then, someone other than Owens spoke up.

It was a person wearing a black hood.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who shares your purpose."

"What's our purpose then? Isn't speaking like that more suspicious?"

"You don't have to believe me. But aren't you trying to go to the deep layer? I can definitely help with that."

"..."

In place of Violetta who still seemed distrustful, Alex answered.

"Alright. Let's go."

"Wait a minute! Why are you deciding on your own!"

"They're offering to take us, right? So we should go."

Alex tapped his forehead with his finger.

"Besides, my intuition is telling me. That person will be helpful to us."

"Really?"

Alex had reached the level of master.

Moreover, his originally sharp senses had developed into another sense after becoming a master.

What you might call intuition.

With that intuition, Alex determined that the hooded person before them wasn't an enemy for now.

"Just this once, I agree."

Pantos also nodded solemnly while crossing his arms.

He too had read something from the hooded person with his sharp instincts.

When Pantos, who had seemed about to fight Alex just moments ago, instead supported Alex, Violetta had no choice but to surrender.

"Ah. Fine. Then let's see how this goes."

Her voice was full of half-resigned tones.

* * *

The last remaining nightmare subject was quickly subdued.

Not just any nightmare, but one that took the form of First Princess Eileen.

It was actually weaker than the ones that had taken monstrous forms.

Of course, since it was manifested from a nightmare it was quite strong, but it was no match for Rudger.

Instead, while defeating the nightmare subject, Rudger had to feel an indescribable uneasiness.

Even knowing it was fake, attacking an opponent that resembled First Princess Eileen wasn't a particularly good feeling.

'Well then.'

Just as he was thinking to forget about it since it was over, someone carefully approached Rudger.

Looking to see who it was, it was Third Princess Erendir.

When he gave her a look asking what was wrong, Erendir spoke in a voice only loud enough for Rudger to hear while checking their surroundings.

"Pl-please keep this a secret from my sister."

"..."

"If my sister finds out what happened here, I'm dead."

Really going to kill you?

Rudger thought that but quickly changed his mind.

Considering First Princess Eileen's personality, she wouldn't kill her but she would probably torment her to a degree almost equivalent to death.

'So this is why she's treated like a nightmare.'

Who would have thought that the Third Princess would fear her own sister more than imaginary monsters.

"You'll keep it secret, right? Please?"

"...I'm not the type to go around gossiping, so don't worry."

At those words, Erendir's expression brightened considerably.

Seeing this side of her, he could understand why Aileen tormented her "lacking" sister.

"For now, everyone gather around."

Rudger gathered everyone in one place.

Most were composed of students, and besides Rudger, Selina was the only teacher.

From what he heard, Julia and Selina had fallen on the same island.

Fortunately, there were students gathered nearby so they were able to join up quickly.

However, because many people had gathered, they were attacked by a group of nightmare subjects.

If Rudger hadn't come to help, it wouldn't have been strange if someone had died.

"Several people are missing."

Rudger checked the faces of the students.

Among the students who disappeared into the sinkhole in the upper layer, quite a few faces were missing.

Aidan and his friends, Flora Lumos and Sheryl Wagner.

It seems they were scattered separately.

"Wh-what should we do?"

Perhaps because students might be in danger somewhere else Selina couldn't hide her anxiety.

"For now, since there are many other people besides us, there's a high chance they've encountered others."

The students aren't stupid either.

They would know it's more dangerous to move carelessly in this place full of islands.

The problem was that because many people had gathered, creatures inhabiting the middle layer were responding.

"Julia. Are there other dangerous ones besides the nightmare subjects?"

"Not few."

"Sounds like we need to move as quickly as possible."

But there was one problem.

What to do with the students left behind when Rudger leaves.

They could just wait here quietly, but what if another nightmare subject attacks after Rudger leaves?

They couldn't take the children back up to the upper layer either because Rudger had to go down somehow but staying here, who knows when other rescue teams would come down.

They couldn't wait indefinitely during this emergency situation.

That's when it happened.

[Are you all having pleasant dreams?]

As if watching this moment, an old man's voice echoed throughout the sky islands.

The voice that seemed to echo simultaneously from all directions was clearly Nirva's.

"What? Where's that voice coming from?"

"Sc-scary."

The students trembled and shrunk back at the sudden voice.

[Many guests have gathered. But it's quite disappointing that you still seem to be having shallow dreams. Since this is a rare dreamland, wouldn't it be nice to sleep more deeply?]

"That guy..."

Nirva, the source of all this trouble.

His voice was full of dissatisfaction, as if he didn't like the current situation but even so, his face was surely smiling as if pleased.

[So, I'll help make it easier for you to come.]

With those words, Nirva's voice was no longer heard.

Woooong───!

Instead, a massive sound echoed between the sky islands.

"Wh-what?"

"What was that sound just now?"

It sounded like a horn, or perhaps like the cry of a beast.

The students fell into fear, realizing this was a harbinger of another calamity.

"L-look over there!"

Just then, a student raised their hand pointing at another island floating in the sky.

A rocky island made of huge strange rocks was being devoured by something black and disappearing.