Hunter's Dream and the Doll

For some reason, despite being the child of a hunter, Fan En was exceptionally timid from birth.

When I was a child, I would cry loudly in fear even if you killed a fish.

But his father, a hunter named Fan Helsing, a man who seemed to be sculpted from marble, never gave up on him, tirelessly teaching him various hunting techniques.

So his childhood was spent learning about bloody hunting while crying loudly.

It's unclear when it started, but Fan En found himself in a different state—a serious state.

When he is cornered by his prey and overwhelmed by extreme fear, he becomes brave and skillfully uses all the hunting techniques his father taught him to deal with any prey. His father's hunting techniques are just that powerful.

However, the probability of this serious state occurring is very mysterious, and he has no way to actively control it.

When Switzerland was at peace, he thought that if things went wrong, he could just quit being a hunter and become a teacher instead.

However, now, as he was being chased by ferocious werewolves at the Yharnam Clinic, all he could think about was:

Hurry up and get serious!

If I don't unleash my full power soon, I'm really going to die!

"Roar--"

The werewolf roared, spraying saliva, still smeared with the blood and flesh of some unfortunate soul, all over the back of Fan En's head. He felt an irresistible force coming from behind and was instantly knocked to the ground.

Rolling, fighting, dodging.

Fan En's eyes widened as he desperately clung to the werewolf's two claws while dodging its gaping maw, his Spirit Power rapidly surging.

The increased strength was a good thing. In this life-or-death situation, he was able to hold onto the werewolf's claws tightly. Although if they continued to hold on for a while, he would definitely be the first to run out of strength, this change was still a cause for celebration.

But just as this feeling of joy arose in his heart, he looked down and saw that the werewolf's abdomen had been ripped open with a huge gash, as if it had been slashed by some weapon, and it was clear that it was seriously injured.

Oh, so I'm fighting a badly wounded werewolf.

Even though they were severely injured, they could still overpower me with their strength. No wonder they're demons.

He immediately stopped laughing.

The earnest state of inner prayer failed to materialize; instead, due to the prolonged stalemate and decreased reaction time, Fan En was bitten on the shoulder by the werewolf.

"Ah!"

Scalding hot blood gushed out along with torn flesh, and the werewolf, having tasted human flesh, let out a satisfied growl!

Such a terrifying scene is enough to terrify anyone, and it must have been even more so for the naturally timid Fan En.

However, his expression seemed a little strange.

His expression changed when he smelled the scent of his own blood.

The sharp pain in his shoulder, mixed with the aroma of blood, intensely stimulated his mind. Unbeknownst to him, a hint of ferocity crept into his brow!

The next moment, he did something he would never have done before.

He bit down on the werewolf's shoulder!

The werewolf's tough, fibrous flesh was impossible to bite off in one go, and the fur on its body was as hard as iron. But it quickly ground its teeth, as if it were using a rough, unusable Saw Cleaver to cut through the flesh!

This wasn't because he had entered a serious state, but rather because the blood that had been injected into his body earlier was affecting him!

Under the influence of that so-called Yharnam Blood, a thought suddenly occurred to him:

The blood of this monster smells very sweet.

Since the other party can eat him, he might as well choose to eat the other party in return!

An incredible thing happened: as Fan En tore a large chunk of flesh from the werewolf and the foul-smelling blood splattered all over his body, the wound on his shoulder slowly began to move, showing signs of self-healing.

Attacking enemies and absorbing their blood to heal oneself—this is not a talent that humans should possess!

The werewolf cried out in pain and bit down hard on Fan En's shoulder with its gaping maw. Van, not to be outdone, gnawed at the werewolf's wound again and again.

The two tumbled down the stairs and wrestled on the floor like two wild beasts fighting each other. The only sounds that echoed were the sounds of flesh tearing and blood being ripped apart. To a normal person, Fan En must have gone mad!

But he knew he wasn't going crazy; on the contrary, he was becoming increasingly lucid. He knew that continuing like this would lead to nothing, and he would be devoured by the werewolves. He had to take some other form of resistance.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to reach for the dagger at his waist, the werewolf's claws pierced his stomach first. The sharp claws churned his internal organs, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood and lose consciousness.

His stomach was cut open, and with such a huge wound, how many werewolves would he have to bite to heal?

The strength that surged through his body vanished rapidly with massive blood loss, and death was imminent.

The werewolf's gaping maw was getting closer and closer to his neck. Was this what it felt like to be about to die? The book seemed to say that before you die, your past life flashes before your eyes like a revolving lantern. I'll see it—

Before any flashbacks of past memories could even appear before Fan En's eyes, the werewolf bit off his neck and he lost consciousness.

What does death feel like?

If it were Fan En who were to answer, he would say it would be the fragrance of flowers.

Indeed, the faint floral fragrance, accompanied by the slightly damp air that seems to be shrouded in mist, gives people an indescribable sense of relaxation, as if they are in a beautiful dream.

A faint breeze whispered in his ear, a petal brushed against his face, tickling him and causing him to sneeze. He then abruptly opened his eyes.

What came into view was a ground covered with unidentified white flowers, and a detached building that looked very similar in style to the architecture of Yharnam.

Several tombstones lined the path leading to the building, creating a peculiar atmosphere.

Fan En propped himself up and sat up, staring blankly at the scene before him.

Hunter's Dream

These words appeared before my eyes, and even the music that accompanied them softened, as if suggesting that this was a place where I could relax.

It was only then that he realized what had happened. He quickly touched his body and found no wounds, no bloodstains, and not even any tears in his clothes!

"I... I'm still alive?"

I can't believe it, I absolutely can't believe it.

I have never felt so unreal about the fact that I am still alive.

He suddenly slapped himself, feeling the burning pain on his face, but he still managed to grin.

"Hahaha, I'm really still alive!"

Overwhelmed with joy, he wanted to say something in praise, but since he didn't usually believe in God, after much thought he finally cried out:

"Praise be to this dungeon whose name I don't know!"

It was the monsters in this dungeon that killed him just now, so it feels a bit strange to praise this place now.

"What did I just do?" Recalling his bloody fight with the werewolf, Fan En felt like he wasn't himself anymore.

However, the blood felt surprisingly good.

He immediately shook his head, trying to banish the terrible thought from his mind.

"I'm sure there's something wrong with his brain."

If he experienced such strange changes in himself under normal circumstances, he would have to sit down and carefully review the situation.

However, the unexpected situations he encountered today gave him a feeling that "everything is fine as long as it's not the end of the world."

He rose from the white sea of flowers, brushing the petals off his body; the scene appeared somewhat beautiful under the moonlight.

Just as he was about to explore the building not far away, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to something else.

Not far away, surrounded by flowers, a woman in a Western-style dress sat quietly.

Fan En paused for a moment, then cautiously called out, "Hello?"

The woman remained motionless.

Fan En became increasingly confused. He approached the other person with a wary posture. The closer he got, the more he could see that the other person's skin was as white as porcelain, almost inhuman. Her exquisite features surpassed those of any woman he had ever seen. She was so beautiful that she looked like Doll.

Wait, Doll?

He suddenly realized that it was just Doll! Not a real person.

"The craftsmanship is so exquisite."

Fan En clicked his tongue in amazement. He always felt that the Doll seemed like it might open its eyes and look at him at any moment. Although it was beautiful, it still gave him the creeps.

Not daring to lay a hand on it, he took a few steps back, and for some reason gave the Doll a gentlemanly bow before continuing toward the only building in the Hunter's Dream.

However, after taking only a few steps up the stairs, he suddenly felt something tugging at his trouser leg.

"What?"

When he looked down and saw what it was, Fan En's face suddenly froze.

Because what was grabbing his trouser leg was the same little white monster that had crawled all over him in the Yharnam Clinic earlier!

They emerged from the ripples in the ground, tugging at his trouser leg and waving their arms, looking almost like they were saying hello.

"How come there are some here too!"

Fan En almost kicked him—if those little monsters hadn't pulled out all sorts of weapons at him.

As the little monsters carrying three strangely shaped weapons approached him, Fan En blinked and froze in place.

He didn't seem to sense any hostility from the other person, and the other person's small arms and legs didn't seem threatening.

Does that mean we can communicate?

"You mean... you're going to give me these weapons?"

Fan En crouched down, about to reach out and take it, but the little monster shook its head and held up one finger, meaning that he could only choose one weapon?

"They really can communicate."

His fear instantly turned into curiosity, and he carefully examined the weapon the other person was holding.

He had already seen the Saw Cleaver before. The other two were a cane and a large axe. Could a cane be used for combat?

He thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any recommended weapons?"

The little monsters didn't move an inch. Fan En scratched his head and finally chose the Saw Cleaver based on his intuition.

As for why it was intuition, it was because he felt that if he was going to fight those wild monsters, he should also have a wild weapon, right?

And for some reason, he found the Saw Cleaver be really cool, which fit his aesthetic perfectly. It seemed like hunters should wield this kind of weapon!

"Thank you." He felt he needed to thank the little monsters, regardless of whether they could understand him or not.

It seemed the little monsters' mission was complete after delivering the weapons, and they were about to burrow into the ground to leave when Fan En suddenly asked:

"Um, how should we address you?"

He felt it was a bit impolite to keep calling the other person "little monster" or something like that.

The little monsters left, but they left behind a line of writing:

[Messengers]

"May I call them Messengers?"

The way he delivered the item did indeed make him look quite like Messengers.

He hadn't gone up a few steps when he encountered a new Messengers. This time, the messenger was carrying two guns, which, unsurprisingly, were more equipment for him.

Fan En was deeply moved and, imitating the figure of the Yharnam Hunter he had seen in his dream, chose the Hunter Pistol.

Actually, the Hunter Blunderbuss would be a better choice for a beginner, but since he had never used this weapon before, there's nothing wrong with making this choice.

Watching the Messengers wave goodbye, Fan En waved his finger in return, finding the little guys rather adorable.

However, he took another look at the other person's face.

Forget it, I guess I'll get used to it after watching it a few more times. It's about inner beauty, inner qualities.

As he climbed further up, to his surprise, the building above did not have a door open, so he tried pushing it.

The gate remained completely unmoved.

"What's this?"

This was the first time the Rhed had encountered such a situation, and unsurprisingly, he shared the same bewilderment as the people of the Arnor Kingdom.

He had no choice but to turn around and explore the Hunter's Dream. However, after going around in circles, he found nothing but a few more tombstones and unresponsive altars, let alone a portal to leave the area.

Am I going to be trapped here and die?

Just then, he felt his trouser leg being tugged again. Looking down, he saw it was the Messengers again.

The little Messengers stretched out his arm and pointed to a place—a tombstone.

Unlike before, the tombstone was now glowing.

Fan En carefully touched the tombstone, and suddenly an image of a lantern emitting a faint glow appeared in his mind.

The surroundings of the lantern were very familiar; it was the Yharnam Clinic!

He paused, a slight smile suddenly appearing on his lips. He Saw Cleaver and muttered to himself:

"This time it's my turn to fight back."