Before the magnificent palace, several spirit-like figures floated in the air.
They surrounded a person, repeating the same words in gentle voices.
"Join our big family."
"Join our big family."
"Join..."
Whoosh!
Lu Cheng suddenly opened his eyes and sat upright in bed.
He pressed a hand to his slightly damp forehead, breathing lightly.
"Again, that dream."
As the end of December approached and the rules were about to end, this dream had also begun appearing more and more frequently.
At first, it had only appeared once every two or three days. But since the day before yesterday, whenever he fell asleep, he saw the same scene and heard the same voice.
It was not even limited to sleeping. Even if he merely closed his eyes for a moment, those images and sounds would surface.
"...Should I seek help?"
Lu Cheng struggled inwardly.
By now, no matter how unwilling he was to admit it, he had no choice but to acknowledge that he had become addicted to spores.
The Official Department had long since announced the symptoms of the various stages of addiction—or rather, parasitism.
Cherishing one's life, craving gatherings, eating less... the symptoms of every stage had appeared in him.
A few days ago, the Official Department had announced the symptoms of a new stage—violent tendencies.
What Lu Cheng was thankful for was that he currently only felt irritated and disgusted by other people. He had not yet reached the point of resorting to violence.
But deep down, he harbored concerns.
If this continued unchecked, sooner or later, he would turn violent toward others as well.
By then, there would no longer be a place for him at the academy.
Lu Cheng could not accept the consequences of being expelled from the academy. For that reason, he decided to