After I had finished process of casting the chainmail in which I found out why it was so expensive. It was a pain to craft. From there I connected the chainmail torso to the plate part of the armour before finishing it off with strips of leather which would be used to adjust and tighten it to the Ogre puppets.

  With my work finished for now I made myself a bed at the side of my forge and frankly passed out on the hard stone with my silk blanket draped on me.

  ...

  Flashed of muddled memories and half staged plots flashed in my mind, and then I had moment of clarity.

  I was back at highschool, faces that I had seen not a few months ago. My dream muddled mind didn't quite connect the dots.

  "hey Jamie how are you my guy?" I said as me and my friends hands clapped together. His face smiled back at me yet his features were mudded slightly shifting.

  'bro we are doing pretty good, come on we got to get to home room, I heard rumors of a tardy sweep' he said as he turned and me and him walked towards the halls.

  'im pretty sure the teachers are the one who circulate those rumors I hear em every day it seems like' I replied. We talked for a moment mostly about how stupid some of the 'trends' that popped up.

  Then like a shift in a slideshow we where In my homeroom. I saw a lot of people who seemed to be in the background. I took my seat and then boom I was across from someone else.

  'Hey, Kien wazz up my man' Carlos said as he gave me a fist pump.

  'awe man we've got a English test today, I always hated math.' He said and it was like a stutter in my brain as a heavy warm blanket seemed to blanket my thoughts.

  'Wait why would you mention hating ma—' However I was cut off by a vaugely familiar but distorted voice.

  "Alright Class I've posted the assignment on classroom, remember it's posted on classroom and the rubric is on the roof" The teacher said pointing at the ceiling, looking up I have expected to find a gullible sign on it, but what what I saw was not a sign and was definitely not a rubric for a history assignment.

  "Look away, Kien don't look up, here let's see.... Oh yes how about your dad that should distract—" I didn't look away at the eldritch being attached to the ceiling with long root like tendrils weaving into the floor.

  "What the fuck are you!" I yelled as I battled the weird weight on my mind, then it snapped I was asleep. Almost immediately I calmed down, I looked around at the classroom and it shifted to a nearby restaurant.

  "Aw rats he became lucid, dammit" The eldritch looking being responded.

  "Now you mind telling me what the fuck you think are doing in my dream?" I said taking a seat at a chair and reaching out like a crack in reality a coke popped up In my hand.

  "Ugh, well I'm here to kill you, usurp your Divine power and sell it on the exchange for a shit ton of divine power" the creature stated simply sitting awkwardly on ab adjacent chair.

  "Well that's not nice" I replied simply relishing in my drink which was a bit weird cause if I thought about it to much It would change flavor but it was never a hundred percent accurate.

  "I mean yeah, but its a nice gig, I kill a few of my younger cousins like you especially the ones with rare domains and I can sell it to the highest bidder." he replied, as I took in a moment trying to lock down a set features, he had a face like a skull with two antlers junting out of it, with white bone running along the length of this whole body. Images carved into it showed scenes of horrifying but alien monstrosities.

  "So what are you the Daemon of besides Dreams I mean?" I asked raising a single eyebrow. The only reason I was being this confident was because their where really only two paths. One I was stronger than him and could easily get rid of him, or door two, he was overwhelmingly more powerful than me and could easily kill me.

  "Oh, Epiales the Black Dream, Daemon of Dreams and Fear and third servant of Fuyzaer the Dream-Breather, at your service" he extended a weird three pronged hand for me to shake. Taking it lightly I shaked Epiales's hand.

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  "So, basically nightmares?" I asked bluntly but the creature tilted its head in confusion.

  "What's a Nightmare?" The Daemon asked me as one of its long fingers tapped on the counters.

  "Like you know a bad dream, a nightmare its what we called them, a dream that terrorizes people typically figments of ones imagination or the insecurities of your subconscious" I replied as I explained dreams to a deity whose whole thing was well dreams and fear.

  "Hmm, typically dreams by themselves do not cause such afflictions, but by the sounds of it this is a common occurrence for the people of your world yes?" He asked me leaning forward.

  "Uh, yes wait nightmares do not exist naturally?" I asked him and he shook his nightmarish head.

  "No no, it is not anywhere natural, hmm let me see, ah here we are, hmm yes there's a taint here some sort of bastardization of Divinity and Eldritch and something else, it's faint but it would be more then enough for a non-integrated human" the being began tapping at what I assumed was a system screen.

  "What's the prognosis doc?" I asked him as I figured if I could get out of this without a fight that would be nice.

  "Hmm, oh, yes it appears at least from what I can glean, that something has been well influencing your worlds subconscious through dreams, quick question, how common is war and violence In your homeworld?" He asked me.

  "Well I lack an exact comparison but we've had two 'world wars', and well three if you count the seven years war." I responded and the saw as the Daemon looked completely still.

  "Well, I guess that makes sense, you humans are already a volatile race mix in some of this piece of work and it's the equivalent of throwing a Mana bomb into an artificers workshop" Epiales responded shaking his head.

  "What does that mean, what that something was making us violent for some reason?" I asked the creature.

  "Uh, well I don't know how to say this but someone has sorta been rasing your species for something for what purpose I don't know what but it's out of my pay grade, sheesh using dreams to torture humans into war is just cruel and I thought I was an asshole" the last part the creature muttered as he rubbed his chin.

  "Wait someone has been what cultivating Earth for some twisted reason, do you know how many millions died from those three wars alone!" I yelled, my cool deteriorating.

  "Understandable reaction, however I think it would be probably be important for you to alert the others of this Eaerth, and also after your tutorial you will probably have to fight something nefarious." He said as he rubbed the upper part of his head.

  "Okay any tips? Tricks? You know a seminar, anything?" I asked the Daemon.

  "Wait a sec..." The creature said as he stared at the ceiling with a finger extended.

  "Oh, humph, okay will do, sorry I was convening with my master Fuyzaer, and he was a proposition for you" the Daemon went from sounding like he was In a phone call to offering me something.

  "Okay I'll hear it, but quick question why do half of the Divine guys I meet gave hard to pronounce names?" I asked him.

  "Oh, simple my master was a born from a lizard species that love to sleep, infact my master ascended through sleepwalking, but others choose really hard to pronounce names to keep mortals from constantly calling upon them, trust me it gets annoying quickly" Epiales responded to me, as he essentially told me his boss slept his way to power but In a family friendly way.

  "Okay what's his proposal?" I asked not even going to mention how a person became a god through sleepwalking.

  "Well Fuyzaer is appalled but has happened to your people, he created the ability to dream to make sleeping more enjoyable! Not a way to influence a whole planet to commit world wars for funnies! Anyways he wants to help you free your people, free of charge." The Daemon tapped into a sleazy salesman tone.

  "He created dreams?" I asked him.

  "Yes, that's why he's the Dream-Breather" The Daemon responded simply.

  "Hmm, alright well how is he going to help, co.e descend on the mortal plains and smite some dudes?" I asked because having a god intervene would be great.

  "Ah, no he can't do that, but he can help you become more adept in mental combat In the realm of dreams!" The Daemon responded cheerfully.

  "Okay and how a crash course an AA meeting, what are we talking here? I asked him.

  "Oh you'll battle me!" The Daemon responded.

  "Fight, aren't you a bigwig or something how could I fight you?" I asked him as I didn't feel like fighting the Daemon of Dreams and Fear in a Dream would be fun.

  "Well this is a really small part of me, the only way I could boot scoot and buggy Into the Tutorial behind the systems protections." He explained as he stood up and began to stretch in a weird and unnatural way.

  "Oh so, I stand a chance?" I asked him as I began to do the same though I did summon my armor the familiar feeling of plate armor was steady and didn't shift like the sensations of my other senses.

  "It's the only way the system would allow this to go on." He responded.

  Nodding as that checked out I summoned my trusty club and dagger.

  "Let's began the lesson, first off your power is not absolute in your own my mind" a feeling of sickness hit me and the surroundings shifted to that of a forest. Almost Immediately I had to fend of the specter of creeping shadows.

  The fog like smoke evaded my attacks.

  "Second rule, the previous rule is only the case because of influence, the influence of others weakens your control over your own mind, taking this into account, the fear of the dark, what your fighting." Like a spark to a flame Epiales words revealed the nature. I summoned a plume of blue flame the light not the fire burned the shadowy creature.

  Then a sharp stab hit me, whirling around I saw a small humanoid aperpiration was their a cruel smile emblazoned upon its face. As I struck the creature it poofed and then I heard thousands of laughs. Each one somewhat rememberable. The feeling of uncertainty, of feebleness, and foolishness. They smacked into me.

  Then I saw it a glimpse of its nature as it struck me again, fear the fear of being made fun of, of being laughed at and mocked at. A childish holdover. So with a flash of anger and resilience it shattered like glass.