29. Promise in a Dream

“Huh?” The village chief blinked as Dallion let go of his hand.

That wasn’t the only change. The stone well had become completely transformed. Nearly double in size, it now had two separate sections as well as a fountain head pouring water directly without the need of a bucket.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The well challenge should have been the end of Dallion. Even with his second skill—a feat that Aspion had no idea how the boy had gained—improving the well had to be impossible. The chief had personally spent an entire day checking the state of structures in the village to find one suitable for the task. The well had been the perfect choice—on the surface it seemed in mostly okay condition, though it was on the brink of collapse. If it hadn’t been for Dallion, the chief would have mended part of it himself in another month or so. Dallion succeeding in the challenge had ruined all that.

“I’ve improved the well,” Dallion said loudly. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go through with this and help the inhabitants of this village.” The boy said, rubbing his success in the old man’s face. “The well should be good for decades to come.”

The boy expected cheers, clapping, or even some sort of excitement, if not for him, for the fact that the well had been improved. Instead, all he saw were tense smiles. What was more, the crowd wasn’t looking at him, but at the village chief.

“Good.” The chief’s smile didn’t drop, although Dallion could clearly see it was fake. “I expected nothing less from the grandson of Seene. You’ve done magnificently, bringing the well to its current state. It must have been quite a battle?”

“It was.”

In fact, that wasn’t exactly the truth. There was intense interaction between Dallion and the well guardian, but it wasn’t what the chief, or even the boy for that matter, expected. Ultimately, the only thing that mattered was the result, although Dallion now had a debt to pay.

The boy’s stomach growled.

“Err, sorry about that.” Dallion swallowed. Days of hunger had accumulated despite only a second passing in the real world.

“You’re hungry. To be expected after such a task. Come, this is a day of celebration! There will be a feast in your honor! I’ll make sure that—”

“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience the village chief,” Dallion interrupted, doing the exact opposite. “You’ve already shown me so much kindness. I just want to spend some time with my family and get some rest.”

Aspion’s smile thinned. Anywhere else Dallion would have been severely punished, but the presence of the crowd protected him. The old man had gone through too much trouble to make this a public event as a warning what would happen to anyone, awakened or not, who stood up to him. However, that relied on Dallion failing. Now that the boy succeeded despite being set up, the chief couldn’t just deny his victory. Doing so would only make him appear weak.

How do you like them apples, old man? Dallion smiled.

“As you wish,” Aspion said. “You are the hero of the day, after all. You have earned your rest. Go spend it with your family.” He then briskly turned around, heading to his mansion, hurriedly followed by the rest of his entourage.

About half a minute later, once the entire Luor family had left, the square erupted in cheers. Everyone wanted to be close to Dallion, wishing him the best, thanking him, and complimenting him on his success. It was as if the boy had become a superstar overnight. If only people knew what he had gone through to achieve this.

Among the thanks and shoulder pats, Dallion felt an arm grab him by the shoulders.

“I have you,” his grandfather whispered. “Just stay up for a while longer, I’ll take you home.”

“Thanks,” Dallion managed to say.

The next few minutes were a bit blurry. It was as if the end of the trial had removed a huge weight off his shoulders, signaling his whole body it could calmly pass out. Dallion watched as he was walked out of the square into a room with a bed. As the boy collapsed in it, he saw images of his old room: the desk, the posters, the shelves of books and comics, even the potato PC that was so old it had troubles running most games in the last three years.

“Wow.” Dallion blinked. “That was some trip.” But it seemed so real…

The awakening, the fights, even some of the villagers. He’d had long conversations with people, cracked jokes, even almost punched a few in the face. A pity that none of them were real. Some of them weren’t bad. His “family” had been nice, his “younger brother” was the epitome of joy and mischief. Even Gloria wasn’t that bad in her own unique way.

“I better cut down on the parties,” Dallion sat up. He didn’t want to get kicked out of college on his first day. Besides…

Dallion suddenly stopped. He wasn’t supposed to be in his old room… he was supposed to be in his college dorm. What was he doing here, then?

Uncertain, the boy went to the door and opened it. He could hear a faint sizzling sound along with the smell of grilled cheese. Someone was cooking in the kitchen.

“Mom?” Dallion went forward. “Mom?” He entered the kitchen. There was someone at the stove, but it definitely wasn’t his mother.

“Don’t forget about your promise, okay?” A water-stone golem said, then flipped a cheese pancake. “One must always keep a promise.”

“Okay.” Dallion nodded.

“Have you fully awakened?”

“I’m not sure.” Had he? It was difficult to say. He felt that he had, but he also felt there was something missing.

“Better hurry up, then. I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all day.”

“Sure. No problem. Can I have one of those?” He pointed at the pile of cheese pancakes on the kitchen table.

“No. They’re for after you awaken.”

“Okay, then I’ll—”

“Awaken!” The golem shouted.

Dallion jumped to his feet. His body was drenched in sweat. Breathing heavily, he looked around. He was in a simple room, one he hadn’t seen before. Through the window, he could see the sun set over the village chief’s mansion.

So, it was a dream. He was still in the village. Strange that he would think of his life on Earth. Or rather, strange that he was only thinking about it now.

“Glad you’re up,” a voice said behind him. It was his grandfather. “It’s time I told you a few things.”