An Even Odder Awakening

The first thing he noticed was the smell.

Iron, rust, decay even.

No…

Blood.

Thick as fog and practically suffocating his sense of smell.

It wasn't just invading his nose.

He could TASTE it.

Jacob attempted to open his eyes only to find it much more difficult than usual.

Like they were stuck shut.

It reminded him of when they froze in the basement of the mansion but without the piercing cold.

At least he wasn't inches away from death.

Well, he probably wasn't.

From what he could tell he was sitting down with his back and left side to something, probably a wall.

He was slumped over as his head lolled to the right, opposite of whatever he was leaning on.

He listened carefully, remaining still and doing his best to appear unconscious as he tried to gain as much information as possible before making his move.

He could hear… wind?

Faintly though, his best guess was that he was indoors, and the source of the noise was outside.

He confirmed this as he also heard the rustle of branches swaying slightly from the breeze and the faint chitter of insects.

After confirming that the place he was in at the very least had signs of life, he turned to analysis.

[Current realm: Lustrafane]

[Quest: Unknown. Gathering data]

Wait, what?

Current realm?

As in, different to the realm he had originally been in, where the mansion was?

He tried asking analysis, but it failed to give a proper answer.

All it revealed was that somehow, he had made his way to another realm. It said nothing about how to get back.

After realising this, Jacob made a decision.

He wanted to bail.

'I mean, I have no idea about this realm or anything in it, and it's not like I'm particularly prepared for it. How the hell was I supposed to know that opening one of those books would transport me to another dream realm!' He thought in annoyance as he engaged analysis.

[Connection to Origin Realm disrupted. Connection to Earth only available from Origin Realm]

'Of course, it's not that easy…' Jacob sighed mentally.

He then asked how he could fix the disruption so he could leave, the result was less than welcome.

[Default quest reward: Restored connection to Origin Realm]

This made life especially hard for Jacob.

From what he could tell the only way back to earth was to complete his quest.

The quest which even analysis didn't know about.

The same quest that on average took 3 months to complete.

To be fair that was by normal dreamer standards. He was unique enough as it was, so maybe he could complete it quicker.

The problem remained that he was most likely about to be trapped in a dream realm alone for up to 3 months, possibly longer if he was unlucky.

Jacob hadn't forgotten just how much danger had been involved in his first trip to the dream realm.

He suspected that this time wouldn't be any different.

He just hoped it was more of a slow-burn danger rather than constant intense encounters. If he was subjected to multiple experiences like the haunted mansion consecutively, he doubted he'd survive long.

It was almost like a second nightmare trial.

Where every other dreamer only had one, it seemed he had two. Possibly more based on the many books he had found on the shelf of broken fables.

He lay there for a minute as he contemplated what he would do before coming up with a basic course of action.

First, he would figure out where he was and if there was something about to kill him, then, provided he wasn't running away screaming, he'd search for a weapon.

Just because he had little combat knowledge didn't mean he'd last long against entities like the ones that haunted the mansion.

Even if they had corporeal bodies which he could damage he would rather have something that afforded him better reach.

That wasn't even mentioning his combat skills which were still at the beginner level, not exactly primed for fighting supernatural creatures.

He sent a quick prompt to analysis, asking it to check via his other senses if there was anything alive in the room with him.

It reported that there was nothing, although this did little to ease Jacob's fear.

The analysis only had access to the data he could provide after all. If there was something that couldn't be heard or smelt, then he was very likely to have missed it.

Still, he couldn't keep playing dead forever, so he slowly raised his left hand to his face.

It was… damp.

He rubbed the area around his eyes for a few moments, dislodging whatever was sticking them shut.

Afterwards, he opened his eyes, only for his pupils to dilate in shock.

A crimson texture coated a man's body, his finely made tunic drenched in it as the many stab wounds on his chest showcased how he had perished. His face was twisted in rage and indignation as his eyes bore into Jacobs, accusing him of a crime he didn't commit.

Jacob stumbled back, wishing to put some distance between him and the corpse.

As he did his right hand touched something, making it spin and hit the wall.

A soft metallic ring came from the object.

Jacob lowered his eyes further only to see a crimson-stained knife.

Right next to his bloodied hand.