Do NPCs Dream?

Somewhere far away, a limitlessly vast battlefield brimmed with diverse warring beings. On one side was a limbless, hornless dragon with an army as large as an ocean. On the other was a winged, horned dragon with a legion of billions. The armies clashed for millennia on land, water, and sky. Countless deaths and unfettered destruction followed, but the war went on endlessly.

Why did it never end? Because there was a balance. The sides were evenly matched, and one could never trump the other.

A climax arrived when a powerful entity found access to their dimension. It was a hero summoned from afar and had no stakes in the eternal game. Nobody knew his origin and his purpose. Perhaps some had heard of him but chose not to reveal the truth.

The ageless massacre and timeless suffering melted the hero's heart. But mainly, he was annoyed by it. Regardless, he decided to intervene and join the battle.

"You shall upset the balance, hero! This is not your war!" thundered the hornless dragon.

"You hold too much power and should not be allowed to exist!" boomed the winged dragon.

The hero was silent. His unparalleled growth had rendered him impassive even to the dragon lords' taunts. Perhaps they were afraid of him? And why shouldn't they be? He was the embodiment of all legendary heroes born since the beginning of time.

'I will prove the prophecy false…' he decided. 'It's time to end this...'

The hero merely called forth his almighty weapon.

"HEAVEN PIERCER!" he summoned, striking fear into the hearts of the countless soldiers.

The skies parted, and reality bent and fractured like glass. The tip of a planet-sized weapon jutted out of the timeless fissure. Every being in existence watched in horror as Armageddon stared them in the eyes.

***

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Pete was awakened from sleep by a screeching rooster somewhere near his inn. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

Sunlight shone through the unglazed window of his medieval room. He looked around, trying to remember where he was.

"The Armadillo Inn!" He had passed out the previous night after having heavy food and drinks.

Pete had been dreaming. It was a weird but epic dream and had left a lingering effect on his ego. 'I wish I could be that powerful,' he thought, licking his lips. 'Did I dream of a video game cutscene or something? Perhaps what Morrigan told me yesterday still weighs heavy on my mind.'

The dream reminded him of meta-questions like: 'Do NPCs dream? Do gamers in a full-dive RPG have nightmares?'

Pete yawned loudly and drank from a pitcher of water by his bed. A terrible wave of nausea overcame him, and he spat the water back into the jug.

The memories of the previous night returned to him gradually. "Wait!"

The boy looked down at his body. He was still the same old, out-of-shape Pete. Where were his legendary hero attributes? Where was his Robinhood System?

"Did Morrigan lie to me?" he pondered.

"Give me the system!" Pete thought perhaps it was voice-activated.

"Switch on!"

"Power on!"

"Activate Robinhood!"

"Boot up!"

"Reset!"

"Restart!"

It was as if a switch was flicked right then-

Ding!

[ The Robinhood System is Online! ]

[ Initiating… ]

[ Loading Autosave… ] [ Successful! ]

[ Perfect Gene: Level 1 ]

[ Purifying… ] [ Enhancing… ] [ Eliminating Wastes ]

Pete felt his headache and nausea disappear as his body toned itself down. He got up and took to his feet, feeling his limbs harden and lengthen.

In a minute, he was as fit as an Olympic athlete.

"Wait, don't I have to pee or take a shit? Does the system take care of it? Damn!"

Pete walked around admiring his physique.

"I missed you so much!" he said aloud, hugging himself.

[ Perfect Attire: Level 1 ]

[ Cotton Cord Breeches x 1 ] [ Equipped ]

[ Cotton Cord Tunic x 1] [ Equipped ]

[ Leaf Hat x 1 ] [ Equipped ]

….

[ Robin Hood: Level 3 ]

[ HP 5000 ]

[ MP 2500 ]

[ Wealth: 60 💰 ]

He was back in form again!

This time Pete saw extra elements on his dashboard. A question mark popped up whenever he went over an option without clicking. The boy figured it was to provide details of the element.

He also found a blinking bar on the top right. It looked like a battery bar. On hovering over it, the question mark popped up. He selected it.

[ System Battery ] [ Status: Low ]

[ Recharge Now ]

Pete selected it.

[ Carry Out Virtuous Tasks to Recharge System Battery ]

The boy scratched his head. 'Is the system going to shut down mid-day if it runs out of battery?' He could not risk that. Pete had been getting virtue bonuses without even trying hard. But then, if he filled up on virtue, it might affect Morrigan's Dark Robinhood System.

'I'll burn that bridge when I arrive at it,' he decided and headed down to the innkeeper's counter.

"I'll come back in the evening. Can you reserve my room?" The innkeeper raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember giving you a room. Who are you?"

Pete winced. He had forgotten that he had arrived as a fat kid at the inn.

"Remember that rotund kid who came up last night? We are roommates."

The innkeeper wiped his hands on his napkin. "Well, mister, you will have to pay double then."

Pete shrugged. "Sure."

[ -1💰 ]

"Regardless of who stays in the room, I'll pay you two gold starting tonight. Deal?"

"Deal."

Pete walked out of the Armadillo Inn and found Bree waiting outside. She was in a purple, hooded lace-up dress. 'Adorable' would be an understatement.

"Master! I could not wait to show you my new clothes. What do you think?" the girl asked, twirling around with glee.

"They look fabulous!"

Bree grinned at him and interlocked her arm as they walked. "What are our plans today?" Pete was uncomfortable at first, but his confidence returned almost instantly. It was nice to have a pretty girl on your arm as you walked down the street.

"Well... The first stop is at the Adventurer's Guild. You'll have to guide me there."

The girl's smile faltered. "We can go there, master. But you need a reference from another upstanding adventurer to register. Who will recommend you?"

Pete smiled and winked at her. "I have that sorted already. There is a warrior named Marian who will help me out."

Bree scowled further. "Master, I know this adventurer. She is not to be trusted. Even men avoid her."

Pete wondered if her words were born out of jealousy or whether she was genuinely concerned.

"Don't worry," he replied, patting her head. "I don't trust anybody blindly anymore."

"Oh. What about me? I must also be registered to be in your party."

Pete shrugged. "Well… after I am registered, I will recommend you in turn."

That seemed to cheer her up.