"It's a dream."
I came to that conclusion. A translucent hologram-like window popping up right in front of me... not like any game or anything.
"Maybe because I fell asleep while playing..."
I glanced down at my body.
The sky-blue janitor uniform my character wore in Super Wash Simulator. Not just the clothes—even the hat had appeared on my head at some point, and my shoes were identical to the ones my character had equipped.
Looking at my arms, pristine white gloves made of some rubbery material fit snugly over them, without a speck of grime.
-[Janitor's Gloves (Lv. Max)]: Gloves designed to safely grasp contaminants.
'Even the item descriptions are showing up now.'
The message that appeared was identical to the ones in the game. Exactly the description for that gear I'd upgraded all the way to max level.
I ignored my outfit and surveyed the surroundings next.
A dimly lit corridor-like space. Ornate decorations in a style I'd never seen before were placed at intervals along it, but the corridor and decorations alike were covered in some unidentified sticky liquid that clashed horribly with the elegant style.
As a test, I rubbed the filthy floor with my white glove. The grimy filth stuck right to it. When I just tapped it off with my hand, the dirt fell away easily, and the glove returned to its brand-new state.
Whatever, the gear and environment aside... What was that window from earlier?
📜 MAIN QUEST 📜
Clean the Demon God's Ruins!
📍 Current Contamination: 100%
🎁 Reward: One Wish
'Main Quest? What's this?'
The system message that popped up when I looked at the gear was identical to the one from the cleaning game I'd been playing before bed. But as far as I knew, there was no 'Main Quest' system in that cleaning game.
It's not exactly the same as the game. Well, it's just a dream anyway, not like I'm actually playing.
'By the way, Demon God's Ruins? Isn't that the map from the update notes?'
I'd played the game, read the update details, even checked the leaked map screenshots on the community site before falling asleep. Looks like all those scenes got jumbled together into this dream.
Now that I looked closer, the corridor even resembled that screenshot from the community...
'If I'm gonna dream about a game, I should've played an adult game before bed...'
Anyway, this must be what they call a lucid dream, right? First time actually experiencing one. The awareness feels so sharp.
Amazed by my first lucid dream, I figured I might as well test something else. I picked up the cleaning tool I'd been holding when I first opened my eyes.
-[High-Pressure Cleaner (Lv. Max)]: A cleaning tool made to remove filth with high-pressure washing!
As soon as I gripped the cleaning tool, the system message appeared just like before. Identical to the game's.
Standard gear given to the game character: the high-pressure cleaner. True to its name, it blasts water or detergent at high pressure to wash away filth. Max level, too.
It's a dream, but... will it actually work?
-Shwooooosh...
'Oh.'
I pulled the lever on the handle, and a refreshing jet of water burst from the tip with tremendous pressure.
-Kwah-gagagak...
The powerful water stream hit the filthy grime dead-on, obliterating the black muck and revealing the corridor's original glossy, polished surface underneath.
'Nice. This is it.'
Dream or not, maybe because I was witnessing it with my own eyes? It felt way more exhilarating than watching through a monitor while playing. Like I was really cleaning something with my own hands.
Though it's a dream through and through. With water blasting out at this intensity, my body should be getting pushed back, but there's zero recoil.
Addicted to that oddly compelling sensation, I got hyped up and sprayed water everywhere, scrubbing away the surrounding filth. Before long, the corridor was flooded with dirty water mixed with all sorts of grime, turning into a watery mess.
'I wonder if that is here too?'
Staring at the flooded corridor, a sudden thought struck me. I went back to the pile where I'd grabbed the cleaning tool earlier and found what I was looking for.
-[Dry Mop (Lv. Max)]: A dry mop suited for wiping up moisture.
'This one's here too.'
Another piece of gear from the game. Effect...
-Swipe.
"Ooh..."
I brought the mop straight to the puddle, and it vanished instantly. Not evaporating or getting soaked into the mop—just gone, as if the water had never been there.
The now-clean corridor remained pristine.
'Feels like I really turned into the game character.'
-[+10p]
'Oh.'
While marveling at the mop's performance, a different system message appeared—one unlike the previous ones. In-game currency awarded for cleaning or clearing specific maps. Even this shows up?
You can use that at the shop too... but right now, more importantly...
'This is fun.'
Feeling like I'd truly entered the game world, I got even more pumped and charged down the corridor, yanking the lever hard and blasting water everywhere.
I didn't know when I'd wake up, but until then, I was going to enjoy this dream to the fullest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...Hah... hah!"
In a remote mountain valley in the southern region of the Holy Empire Yukram—the sole empire on the Eukrasia continent—a red-haired girl in filthy rags was sprinting through the forest.
"Sob... hic...!"
Tears welled up in her eyes, as if she might burst into sobs at any moment. Scratches marred her snow-white skin here and there, with blood trickling slowly from them.
"Hah... sob..."
Perhaps reaching her limit after running so hard, the girl stopped in the middle of the forest, gasping for breath.
-Shrieeeek!
-Slash!
"Kyaaah!"
As if seizing the opening, a blade of water shot out from the underbrush, grazing the girl's arm.
Another wound joined the pretty arm, and the girl stared at the bushes in terror.
"Hmm... Is the chase over?"
From the bushes emerged a sky-blue-haired woman holding a staff, pretending to yawn.
"Uuuuh...!!!"
The girl froze in fear at the sight of the woman, then scrambled to her feet and bolted again.
'Finally found her! This filthy Red Demon Tribe brat!'
'A... a human? How did a human get here?!'
"Hic... sob!"
As she ran desperately, the red-haired girl—Rio—recalled the horrors she'd witnessed earlier, tears streaming down her face.
Humans suddenly appearing in the village, destroying everything. The village elders who had warmly cared for her after she lost her parents, dying in gruesome agony.
Even in that hellish scene, her neighbor Laura had bought her time to escape—the youngest in the village—...
And...
'Slash!'
"Yawn... Dealing with Red Demon Tribe is too easy."
The figure of that cruel human mage who effortlessly snuffed out Laura's flames—the village's top fire sorceress—and sliced her to pieces with a water blade...
-Crack!
"Ugh!"
Perhaps because those terrifying memories made her legs stiffen. Rio, running frantically, failed to spot a protruding tree root and tripped.
-Thud!
"Ow... it hurts..."
She wanted to burst into tears right then, but that scary human mage was still chasing her. Afraid her sobs might give away her position, Rio endured the sharp pain and forced herself up without crying properly.
"Cough! Cough! Hah..."
But even for a demon with superior physical abilities, Rio was still just a child. She quickly hit her limit.
It had already been over an hour since she'd started fleeing that woman pursuing her from the village. The fact that she'd escaped this long was a miracle.
As her body reached its breaking point and her vision blurred from blood loss...
"...A... door...?"
For some reason, in the heart of the forest, she spotted an ornate door leading underground.
'...Why's there a door here? And just an underground entrance, no building or anything...'
"Are you in here...?"
"Eek!"
Stunned by the structure that didn't fit the forest at all, Rio heard the wicked human woman's voice in her ear. She tried to stand on her leaden legs and flee, but...
"Ow!"
Maybe from the fall earlier—her ankle throbbed, and she couldn't run properly. With her stamina maxed out and her leg hurting, it was a hopeless situation.
'...In there...!'
The human mage's voice drawing closer. Her own battered body.
Rio hesitated briefly, then decided it was do or die. Limping on her injured leg, she headed for the ornate door.
-Creeeak...
Contrary to her fears, the door opened easily even for Rio's small frame.
-Whoosh!
"Ugh...! The smell...!"
As the door swung open, a horrific stench spread out—bad enough to make a sewer seem pleasant. Peering inside, a filthy corridor coated in unidentifiable grime, dust, and cobwebs stretched out.
"Cough! Cough!... S-still, if it's in here...!"
Rio felt like vomiting immediately, but the approaching human woman terrified her more than the filth.
So Rio squeezed her eyes shut, pinched her cute little nose, and dashed into the dirty corridor.
And a moment later...
"What is this door?"
Arcna—the water mage who had deliberately let Rio escape to enjoy her hobby of 'hunting'—was stunned to find the ornate door in the middle of the forest while tracking the little Red Demon Tribe girl.
"A dungeon...?"
She squinted, a possibility flashing in her mind, but an even worse stench assaulted her nose first.
"Urk...! What is this smell?!"
Only after hastily conjuring a barrier of clean water around her nose could she endure it. Then her eyes fell on the filthy corridor inside—the source of the stench.
'...Whatever it is, not a dungeon.'
No dungeon ruled by demons would reek like this.
Arcna dismissed the possibility from her mind.
'Some kind of ruin?'
Ruins from before the God-Demon War sometimes turned up in remote areas untouched by people... This might be one. Not that she cared what it was. The trail of the brat she was hunting led inside.
"...Fuck. Do I really have to go in there?"
The sight of the dirty corridor gave Arcna pause, but she'd let the brat go on purpose for her hobby. Having released her quarry herself, she had to return either with the girl captured alive or dead.
"...Fuck. That little brat... making me go into a dump like this...?"
Gagging heavily, Arcna shrouded herself in protective barriers as much as possible and slowly followed Rio's trail into the door.