"Wake up, what time is it? Skipping work today? If not, get up and eat, then come shopping with me."
"Huh? Where is this? Where am I?"
"Good grief, did that cheap booze fry your brain? You forget your own name? At least you made it home—guess you're not totally lost."
I slowly opened my eyes to a familiar scene and the nagging voice of a familiar woman.
"Am I back? Did I time-travel? Or did I just wake up? Was it all a dream? Such a short, chaotic, nonsensical dream," I muttered.
"What's all that mumbling? That bootleg liquor really did a number on you. You babbled all night in your sleep and now you're sleepwalking at dawn? Unbelievable."
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog.
"That dream felt so real, like it actually happened. But it was way too short. What's the point? Maybe I can pick up where I left off tonight. Gotta stop being a pushover—time to act like a king. Oh right, my game!"
I rushed to the living room and turned on the TV. The game was still running. When I loaded it, I found my character captured.
"Did you mess with my game yesterday?" I asked my wife.
"Who'd play your fancy games? I'm not into that. Maybe you drunkenly played it while sleepwalking. Or maybe your dream synced with the game? Whatever—figure it out yourself. But hurry up, we need to leave."
"Guess I need a strategy now. Can't keep leading a bunch of peasants around. Getting beaten by bandits? What a joke."
On the shopping trip, I let my wife drive while I hunched over my phone in the passenger seat, researching military unit advantages, rapid expansion tactics, and policies for declaring independence. I'd always cheated in the game before, never really learning the mechanics.
After dinner, I went to bed early, hoping to resume the dream. Tossing and turning, I checked the clock—only 9 PM. My body was wired for midnight. Back in the day, the night would've just begun.
As I struggled to fall asleep, my phone rang with the *Game of Thrones* theme song. "Weizi" flashed on the screen.
"Hey, I was just thinking about you! That bootleg liquor wrecked me."
"What bootleg liquor? What're you up to? Come out for drinks."
"Are you kidding? My head's still pounding. I'm trying to sleep."
"Sleep? It's early! This isn't 'old man' hours. Come on, everyone's waiting."
Against my better judgment, I caved. This time, I limited myself to half a bottle of baijiu and two beers. Back home at midnight, I found my wife asleep. Instead of joining her, I turned on the TV. *Who cares if the dream continues? I'll play anyway.* Tipsy, I fumbled with the PS4, shakily inserting the disc before slumping onto the couch. My eyelids drooped shut.
A cacophony of noise roused me. Sunlight stabbed my half-open eyes.
"Wife, close the curtains! It's too bright!"
"Captain—he's awake!"
A middle-aged man in a silver helmet and chainmail loomed over me.
"You've been unconscious two days. We thought you wouldn't make it."
"Who are you? Where am I?"
"I lead the Swadian merchant caravan of Samadel. We were returning to Sargot from Poros when we saw bandits looting a battlefield. We drove them off and found you breathing in the corpse pile. Since you're Swadian, we brought you along. We'll drop you home if it's on our route."
"My men? My horse?"
"Those Imperial recruits? Most died. The gravely wounded didn't survive. We found a horse in the woods—yours, maybe? And 500 denars, likely yours."
As I wolfed down bread, I said, "I can't go back. I have urgent business. Please bring my horse. I owe you one—I'll repay you in Swadia."
"Suit yourself. But be careful—bandits infest these roads. Avoid them."
"Thank you!" I mounted the horse and galloped away, shouting, "Hah! I'm back, baby!"
"Captain, is he insane? He could've safely ridden with us to Swadia. Now he's charging back into Empire territory alone. Doesn't even look like a mercenary—lost to a few bandits!"
"Let him be. His eyes burn with killing intent. That muscle? He'll rise far. Let's hope he doesn't turn against our kingdom."
The captain's prophetic words couldn't foresee the storm I'd unleash across Calradia—or how his kindness today would shape my nation's future diplomacy.