**Riiing ring ring—**
The alarm clock blared the next morning.
A small, pale hand reached out from under the blanket, lazily fumbling for the source of the noise. After a few clumsy swipes, it finally shut the alarm off.
> "Ugh... so sleepy… What time is it now…?"
A groggy female voice sighed from beneath the covers. The little hand dragged the clock under with her—and one minute later—
> "WAAAAAH!! I'm late!"
The blanket exploded upward.
> "Today is Mr. Ghost's class! I'm *so* dead! Uniform… where's my uniform—?!"
**Thump thump—**
A loud commotion filled the room as **Otilia Shelley** raced through her morning routine like a whirlwind. In record speed, she managed to tug on her school uniform, brush her teeth, and wash her face—all still half-asleep.
Otilia was none other than the first player to enter the Nightmare World the night before.
Now, standing in front of the mirror, she nodded to herself in approval.
> "Looking good~ As expected of the daughter of light and darkness."
She twirled her **twin ponytails** and examined her appearance.
> "Hmm? Something feels... different today. What is it...?"
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, until memories surfaced—fleeting images, flashes of something intense.
> "Ah! That game! Yes… that *game*."
Scenes from the **Nightmare World** flowed back into her mind. It was all vividly clear—unlike any dream she'd had before.
> "Was that really a dream...? It felt so real…"
Otilia murmured aloud.
Usually, she couldn't remember her dreams at all. At most, she'd retain vague impressions—fleeting shadows of stories long faded upon waking. But this... this was different. Every detail from last night felt as tangible and visceral as her everyday life. As though she'd experienced it all **for real**.
> "That ridiculous game developer made me die *three whole times*! Hmph!" she muttered with a scowl.
Then she glanced at her phone screen.
> "AH—now I'm even *more* late! That trash developer again—it's all their fault!"
She bolted from the room, snatching her bag on the way out.
She didn't notice the faint shimmer of mist trailing behind her—as the "ghost" she'd once feared within her curtained room silently followed after her.
## **Meanwhile...**
Back in the hidden realm between dreams and reality, **Evan Walker** was conversing spiritually with the **Nightmare Lord**.
> "So—how is she doing? Any side effects from yesterday?" Evan asked.
> "Nothing. I already said it—spiritually powerful humans can die in the Nightmare World a dozen times and still be fine. Tch. If she'd died a few *more* times, we'd have gotten more energy," the Nightmare Lord muttered.
> "Still..." Evan tapped his chin. "You said earlier that if a normal person dies more than five times, it affects them *the next day*, right?"
> "Just a little exhaustion, spiritual fatigue. They won't die."
> "Sure, once or twice doesn't matter. But when we're running an entire game world and the player base grows, repeated deaths could draw unwanted attention. If people start suffering mental fatigue in real life from 'some dream game,' we'll have a problem."
The Nightmare Lord grunted dismissively.
> "Hmph. What's the worst that happens? They collapse? Who cares?"
Evan raised an eyebrow.
> "In your original world, maybe that was acceptable… but in this world—a structured, modern, technological world—that *will* cause trouble. Emergency alerts. Media. Police. Probably scientists knocking on the door too."
The Nightmare Lord scowled, but said nothing.
He had once explained that if a person died too many times in the Nightmare Realm, their soul would suffer micro-damage—ultimately reflecting in the real world as mental fatigue, burnout, or emotional numbness.
And that... was **bad** for business.
Evan's vision wasn't about killing—but about building a dream-like virtual world. A world with **millions** of players. A place so immersive and thrilling that people wouldn't *have* to be dragged in—they'd sign up eagerly.
But such a world couldn't create long-term mental damage. If word spread that people were collapsing or losing energy after "playing," the project would collapse before it ever left the beta stage.
That's why Evan had followed Otilia closely—to confirm that extended exposure to the Nightmare World hadn't harmed her.
Thankfully, she was doing just fine.
In fact, **she had more energy than ever**.
> "Honestly, Otilia may be *too* energetic..." Evan muttered to himself.
But beyond monitoring Otilia, he had another reason for today's visit.
It was time to **recruit more players**.
After all, what kind of MMO only had *one* player?
Unfortunately, the Nightmare Lord's power was still extremely weak. At his peak, Evan was told, this being could cover *entire continents* in nightmares overnight.
Now?
They had to do it the old-fashioned way—with Evan manually approaching each target and using a Nightmare Mark to pull them in.
> "Come to think of it... I *still* haven't talked to anyone at school," Evan mused aloud, curiously observing Otilia's school life as she sprinted toward class.
> "I guess it's about time I visited formally…"
> *To be continued...*