Reborn as a side character with a system

The Map of Forgotten Dreams

Chapter 23:

Six days had passed since the conversation between Nolan, Issabella, Ralph, and Hilda.

During that time, Nolan had locked himself in his room, emerging only for meals that he barely touched. No one knew what he was doing behind that closed door. Issabella and the others kept checking from time to time, pressing their ears to the wood, knocking softly, but no one knew what was happening inside. The silence from within was deeper than sleep.

Now they stood in the main hall, the four of them, and Nolan was finally speaking.

"So... You want to venture into the deep cave of forgotten dreams, with only four of us...?" Hilda asked, her voice tight with disbelief.

"That's correct." He replied with a nod, calm as a stone in a river.

"In a week's time... And you believe by then you would have already reached the level you desire to be in?" She said, her eyes searching his face for any crack, any doubt.

"That's correct." He nodded again, arms crossed, a wall of certainty.

"Are you insane!? You are basically asking for death itself...!" She lashed out, her voice echoing off the stone walls. Her hands shook at her sides, the fear she had been swallowing for six days finally spilling over.

"I know what you think... That the cave is suicide itself. But it's only that way when you hold no plan of winning at all." He said with a smirk, the kind of smirk that made Hilda want to slap him and hug him at the same time.

Yeah, I know... I'm asking for the impossible. The cave of forgotten dreams is dangerous in many ways. Every beast in there is seventy times stronger than any ordinary beast. But with the knowledge of the main novel, it'd be impossible to win. But not with the kind of knowledge I hold. I spent four years reading all volumes of the novel. The main, volume two, three, and even the ones claimed to be boring.

The novel planned to release a game, an open world one, but before that they felt the need to release the game walkthrough with a novel. And for me, who had read all released walkthroughs if you may call them that, I know each beast and its weakness, including the real main character's name and weakness... And with that knowledge I plan to save him, my father. He thought, looking at the three of them, his heart burning with a secret fire.

"You still have a right to refuse if you feel like it would be suicide to go in there."

"I will join you." Ralph said, getting up from the couch. His chair scraped against the floor, the sound loud in the quiet room. "I'm entitled to join you as your right hand." His voice was steady, the voice of a man who had already buried his doubts.

"I will follow you as well... You and I are a team after all." Issabella said with a smile, soft and sad, the smile of someone who had already lost too much to lose again.

They turned to face Hilda, who still seemed doubtful of everything. Her eyes scanned each person, her chest beating fast, a bird trapped in a cage of ribs. Then just like that, her memory of the past six days flashed.

"Hilda... The reason I truly stopped you that day was for truly one thing." He raised a hand forward, palm up, an offering and a command. "Join me in the adventure I plan ahead."

With that, she snapped back to reality. "I agreed to join you... And with that I shall follow you no matter the danger that lies ahead." Her voice was quiet, but it held the weight of a promise made in blood.

Nolan let out a small grin, his eyes closing, looking down. "Well, that's what I wanted to hear."

He then walked toward the table, taking out a large paper filled with all kinds of places the land had to offer. Mountains, rivers, forests, cities, each marked in his own hand. He then handed it over to Ralph.

He then sat down. "Take a look at that."

"This is... The full map of the land itself... But how... This land... It has been years since the creator of maps have been working to build this map... How?" Ralph's voice trailed off, his fingers tracing the ink, feeling the weight of impossible knowledge.

"I personally crafted it. But that's not the important factor right now... What you should all be paying attention to right now is that inhabited land..." He pointed at the map's forest drawing. "The number of beasts there are growing fast. They need to be reduced..."

"If I may ask... How is this linked to the cave of forgotten dreams?" Issabella asked, her brow furrowed.

If I were to tell them that all the materials needed for preparing for the final battle were needed there and that forest will serve as our gate way, it would require a lot of explanation. He thought, the words heavy in his mind.

"It's simple... Reducing a lot of those beasts would lead us into growing stronger. Better yet, our land will grow even more." He said, getting up, his shadow stretching long across the floor. "For this mission, we will require a lot of weapons. For the rest of the days, we will be working on killing those beasts."

He walked toward his table again. "Oh, and for one more important detail." He threw another rolled paper, it unfurled in the air before Ralph caught it. "This one is up to three of you to decide what you're gonna do with it." He said with a smirk, the smirk of a man who had already seen the ending.

Ralph caught the paper, looked at it for a moment, then at Nolan, who leaned by the desk with a large grin of confidence.

"What has truly become of the young master..." Ralph thought, a small sweat forming on his forehead.