Probe
[Beep!] [Beep!] The value rose continuously, very soon reaching 100%.
*Bang! Bang!* The totems and primitive statues lost their lustre, and hairline cracks began to appear on their bodies.
'These were all primitive gods. Did I just kill over a dozen deities?' Leylin chuckled inwardly at the thought of it, and very soon he tossed this matter to the back of his mind.
Although these primitive totems hadn't gained divinity, it was worth mentioning that the power of faith was extremely strong. The problem was that one god's faith was another's poison, and this faith was heterogeneous. Only someone like Leylin, who'd mastered the law of devouring, could easily expel the thoughts and conscients within them, turning them into the purest of energy that he could use.
After the reserves had reached 100%, the A.I. Chip's voice sounded out. [Beep! Divine force reserves completed. Beginning to transfer energy to the main body, simulating divine grace!]
Leylin's reserves depleted quickly, and soon he'd expended it all. Compared to the previous times when he had absorbed the energy, this time round it was much more powerful!
[Beep! The host has undergone a divine baptism. Spirit +1]
[Beep! The host's arcanist rank has increased to 18! Arcane Energy +10!]
[Beep! Obtained one rank 8 arcane spell slot, one rank 7 arcane spell slot, and one rank 6 arcane spell slot!]
Very soon, Leylin's stats had undergone changes too.
[Leylin Faulen, Age: 22. Race: Human, Rank 18 Arcanist. Strength: 15. Agility: 15. Vitality: 15. Spirit: 18. Arcane Energy: 180. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Intermediate Perfect Body. Specialties: Arcane Energy Detection, Arcane Amplification.]
[Progress of Weave Analysis: Level 0 100%, Level 1 100%, Level 2 100%, Level 3 100%, Level 4 100%, Level 5 100%, Level 6 76.88%, Level 7 51.30%, Level 8 19.60%.]
[Spell Slots: Rank 8(2), Rank 7(4), Rank 6(7), Rank 5(???), Rank 4(???), Rank 3(???), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???).]
"This is the power… of divine grace?" A surge of power swelled through Leylin's body, intoxicating him. It was only now that he learnt how powerful the gods here were.
"So all that matters is divine grace. If I ignore the divine force requirement, I can also turn a pig into a legendary?" Leylin's improvement in strength right was akin to having received divine grace from a god, except that he obtain it through other means.
"It seems like Alustriel isn't just a Chosen, she also has some of Mystra's divinity. She is at least rank 25, and coming face to face with a legendary would not faze her one bit…" The situation in the north was still in a mess, especially the borders between the orc empire and the humans. That had turned into a place of unrest where darkness and chaos were prevalent.
"It seems like that queen has been devastated and is planning to live in seclusion?" Leylin rubbed his chin. He still held a hidden card in the north; Tiff was living there in territory he owned. It was possible for him to intervene in the battles and tip the balance of the scale.
'However this is also a blessing in disguise. The north has attracted the attention of the central continent and the gods, which makes it easier for me to carry out my plans in Dambrath…' Leylin pondered before leaving the secret room, without casting another glance at these sacrificial items which were much too mundane to him now.
...
Night fell, and the full moon appeared. A thin red fog had spread around Nightmare Forest starting at dusk.
A group of pirates and human slaves had retreated Immediately, as if the fog was their nemesis. Some of the human slaves even knelt in the direction of Nightmare Forest, praying loudly despite the whips of the foremen.
"Damn it! How many brothers has this cursed forest taken from us already?" Calon wiped the cold sweat off his body as he looked in apprehension at the forest enshrouded in the mist, his knees buckling weakly. His only thought now was to run away if something was off in the slightest.
Having served Leylin for the past year, he had seen the workings of this sinister forest. Despite repeated warnings, there were still foolhardy pirates who approached the forest on a full moon, and they never appeared before him again.
The numerous events had etched the memories of this forest deep in Calon's mind. His fear of it had long surpassed what he held for those monsters lurking in the deep seas, and equalled what he felt for demons and devils.
'Good heavens! Our Lord is actually conducting his research in this place, he really doesn't fear death! Almighty Goddess of the Ocean, I seek your blessing in leaving this cursed area at the next available chance…' Looking at the maroon-coloured moon and the mist enshrouding the forest, Calon prayed towards the gods piously for the first time…
...
"No matter how many times I've seen this, it still moves me…" Leylin stood at the edge of Nightmare Forest, fully armed. He stretched out his hand and grabbed a trace of the dark red mist, his eyes filled with emotion.
'The dreamforce from another world seems to have reached an accord with the laws of the World of Gods, developing a mutual tolerance…' Dreamforce was common in other worlds as well, and it underwent a necessary mutation to adapt to the laws of the World of Gods. If other beings who had comprehended laws learnt of this they would go insane over the discovery.
'Without a doubt, this could be the reason why the Overgod's conscient fell into slumber. Otherwise, it absolutely would not allow this sort of malignant tumour to smoothly grow…' Leylin stroked his chin, watching the dark red dreamforce in his hand twist into a variety of forms.
"A.I. Chip, establish mission: Investigate the feasibility of transmuting external powers into the World of Gods!"
[Beep! Mission established, added to secondary investigation list!] The A.I. Chip loyally reported.
"Nightmare Island… What surprises will you bring me?" Leylin's lips curved into a smile as he slowly melded into the forest, his figure swallowed by the dark red mist.
"The dreamforce in this forest completely explodes outwards during the night of a full moon, but normally even ordinary creatures can pass through the forest." A milky white flame lit the path ahead of him, and all Leylin could see on either side were trees.
At this moment, the forest seemed to take on a life on its own and all the trees became ents. They hugged their shoulders, shying away from the bright light of the everlasting flame. They even spared to the time to whisper to each other, "Hurry! Look! That human came again…"
"Hey! Ouch! You stepped on me, it hurts! Don't you know that it's very rude to step on an old person's head?" An aged voice came from beneath Leylin's feet. Leylin soon discovered that the green rock that had originally been there had grown tiny little hands and feet, and was now uprooting itself from the soil. An elderly face even appeared on the surface of the rock.
'Is this a Life Activation technique? It seems to have been corrupted.'
Under the influence of the World of Gods' transmuted dreamforce, the entire forest seemed to have come to life. Various unimaginable things were running to and fro.
"Oh, human! You have returned. Are you looking for Zelos?" A squirrel greeted Leylin, perching onto the shoulder of a giant ent.
'Zelos? Is it that giant centipede? Is it his turn to come out?' Leylin nodded, "No, but could you tell me where it is?" He withdrew a pine nut from his pocket and tossed it to the squirrel as he spoke.
"Mm, my favourite!" The little squirrel immediately stuffed the pine nut into its cheeks, its teeth quickly gnawing through the thing. Its words were rendered rather unintelligible as it ate.
"Zelos has been looking for you all this time! It's in the east… No! It's already here, run!" The little squirrel immediately took the pine nut and left, the nearby ents following it in succession. The area quickly emptied, leaving Leylin standing there alone.
'How lucky! Every night of the full moon, a different creature becomes the strongest one each time. I've seen a Nightmare and a walking piano before. Compared to them, unravelling the mystery behind a giant centipede is much easier…' Leylin had a relaxed smile on his face.
*Bang! Bang!* An enormous black shadow suddenly erupted through the soil. It had innumerable feet, and a humanoid face rose out of its shell. The face, that of a youth, turned its crimson eyes to gaze coldly at Leylin.
"We meet again, giant centipede!" The Red Dragon Staff in Leylin's hands suddenly shout out a red light.
"No, I am Zelos the Third. What you met before was my father. You should not have trespassed here, intruder!" A droning voice came out of the youthful mask.
"Very well, this damnable dreamscape period has complicated everything significantly…" Leylin looked at this giant centipede with a serious expression. "Are you going to obediently get out of my way, or do I have to slaughter you?"
"Vile human!" It was clear that his attitude had infuriated the centipede. The giant monster roared loudly, bearing down quickly on Leylin with its entire body.
Memory
*Bang!* Rocks and soil were sent flying everywhere, and the place where Leylin had just stood immediately turned into a giant pit in the ground.
'Extremely fast, with great strength. As expected of a defensive creature that was contaminated by dreamforce…' Leylin assessed the centipede indifferently from the very edge of the pit.
"Human, you have provoked me! I, Zelos the Third, will make you pay the price!" The giant centipede shouted. Face after face separated from its body, each transforming into a strange, humanoid figure.
"I'll be honest. You're much easier to deal with than a Nightmare that can use dreamforce skillfully or a walking piano that can't be dealt with via normal magic." Finishing this earnest declaration, Leylin pointed the Red Dragon Staff at the centipede.
"Soul Burn!"
*Roar!* A powerful draconic aura erupted from the staff. The red dragon's soul seemed to endure some torturous force on the staff's tip. It shrunk as its spirit withered considerably.
A surging red energy glowed at the end of the staff, transforming into the upper body of a mature red dragon.
*Roar!* This monster which had appeared so abruptly had reached legendary strength, and a swipe from its enormous dragon claws sent the centipede flying. Afterwards, this legendary dragon spat out its dragon breath!
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* The ground trembled continuously, and even the dark red mist in the air was dispersed considerably. The enormous red dragon phantom dissipated, only leaving behind a giant imprint of a centipede monster on the ground.
The monster looked very miserable and the summoned mask creatures had been completely exterminated. Even the armour it wore seemed to be rather damaged.
"Ow… How could the power of the normal world harm Zelos the Third?" The centipede monster had been torn in half, its breastplate shattered to pieces. Its fiery red energy core was even exposed, but the mask on its skull did not show the slightest hint of suffering. It continued to absorb traces of dark red mist that repaired the damaged shell.
"Of course the power of the ordinary world cannot harm dreamscape creatures, but what if dreamforce was used as well?" Although he saw that the creature was being rapidly restored, a smile of success still flashed across Leylin's eyes.
"Arcane dreamforce spell— Void Blade!" Some unknown force caused the dark red fog to condense, transforming it into an arc of light.
"If one wants to break through the first layer of the Nightmare Forest, you need to make a sacrifice to Sibyl!" After two years of slow and fumbling analysis, Leylin had developed an exceptional understanding of the Nightmare Forest's surface layer.
"Giant centipede, become my sacrifice!" The dark red blade of light flew from his hands and streaked cleanly through the centipede creature's exposed red core.
Enormous cracks appeared on the surface of the core. A crisp sound rang out as it exploded loudly, shattering like glass.
The whimpers and howls of many aggrieved spirits lingered in Leylin's ear as confused souls poured out from the centipede monster's wounds. These souls took the form of the natives of the forest, and there were a few familiar-looking pirates mixed in with them.
"Open the path with souls, Sibyl's sacrifice!" Leylin's hands sketched out numerous runes at lightning speed as he chanted ancient words out loud.
*Bzzt!* A layer of suffocating energy swept across the forest. Many souls were gathered together and became a gorgeously lit passageway.
"The blood of a witch, a dark raven's wing, and the dark matter from Manter's sacrificial rites… The conditions have all been fulfilled!"
A sound of muffled thunder came from above as Leylin's actions seemed to have given rise to some chain reaction. Violet lightning blanketed the sky!
*Ka-cha! Bang!* The passageway of souls rushed forward in a flash, and an enormous tunnel seemed to appear in the ground. The floor began to rumble as if an 8-point earthquake had been triggered.
"Was it a success?" Leylin's figure emerged from the smoke and dust. He waved a hand, and a dark red hurricane immediately swept away the dust to expose a devastated landscape.
The giant centipede monster and the spell array from before had vanished without a trace. The very earth seemed to have cracked apart, revealing a crevice that was unfathomably deep.
"The power of the lock has been broken, revealing the entrance to the lower layers," Leylin jumped into the crevice without the slightest hesitation. The turbulent darkness below gobbled him up as if he had leapt into the mouth of some giant monster.
The air whistled past his ears loudly, and spots of fluorescence constantly flashed in the darkness like fireflies.
"My research indicates that the Nightmare Wizard's inheritance has three locks total. The higher locks are closer to the World of Gods…'
The creatures in Nightmare Forest were bigger than those of the normal world. The deeper inside the forest one went, the greater the contamination of dreamforce. Even laws began to distort at a point.
Leylin had deduced that the third level of the lock would not have such constructs as time and space, instead being a mere assembly of thoughts and concepts. After all, it wasn't difficult for dreamforce to contort spacetime at its strongest.
"No matter what, I have to at least see the remnants of this ancient Nightmare Wizard…"
*Thud! Thud!* Leylin suddenly felt a strange sensation from the solid ground. He stood rooted in place.
"Not granite… but mahogany planks?" Leylin raised his head, and sunlight shone gently into the room he was in. Motes of dust could be seen floating in the air, making the place look hazy.
"Little Ardin! The great wizard Poffert is here to recruit an apprentice; you must succeed this time!" A lady with a kind and gentle expression stood before Leylin, and her husband sipped on coffee as he read the newspaper. She gave a red haired boy a poached egg as she instructed him.
'What's happening?' Leylin's brows furrowed and he felt a chill down his spine. He tried to react, but found that he had completely lost all energy. He was now only a spectral observer, forced to just stare at the scene.
'Dreamscape! I'm in dreamscape! This is the second floor of the lock, countless fantasy dream worlds!' Leylin was suddenly enlightened.
'This must be the Nightmare Wizard's memories of his youth…' Leylin now looked at the little boy tucking in on a high seated chair and hastily wolfing down a meal. His legs were dangling off the ground as they shook, giving off a comical vibe.
"I know, mother!" The red haired boy promised and began to quickly finish eating his food.
"When I send you to the wizard later, you must remember to be polite at all times! Honey, why don't you say a few things to him too?" The wife glared at her husband.
It was only then that the dead husband raised his head from the newspaper, revealing a perplexed expression, "Yea, you can do this!"
"Ah, the grace of gods! Someone save me, I can't stand this any longer. Don't you know how important today is for little Ardin?" The wife seemed to turn estranged.
"I know, I know! It's just Poffert isn't it? I once…" The middle aged man reminisced the past.
"Stop boasting of those adventures you claim to have had. No matter what, you're just an inspector on the roads of the city…" It was apparent that the wife did not believe a word that her husband said.
"I'm done eating!" Ardin pushed his plate away as he stood up.
"Oh! Wait… Milk! Your milk!" The woman called out behind him.
Ardin ran very quickly, soon leaving his mother in the distance as he left the simple house.
*Boom!* A fiery explosion suddenly occurred, and blazing flames filled the scene. Shrapnel grazed past Ardin's face, leaving behind a cross shaped wound on it.
Leylin felt like he was watching a movie, unable to help in a time of tragedy.
'No! If I go all out, I might be able to…' The flames engulfed Leylin whole, but could not affect his body in any way. A phantom Targaryen appeared as terrifying devouring power took form in Leylin's right palm. He grabbed a broken glass.
*Boom!* He felt an immense force immediately, as if he was clutching onto the claw of a dragon. The whole world began to shake as if rejecting his existence.
'Even if it's dreamscape, I cannot tamper with this… The memory is just too vivid…' Leylin began to deliberate over the situation.
...
Soon after, the trembling of the world stopped and the void swirled.
"Hey kiddo! Are you awake now?" The scene changed as little Ardin opened his eyes and rubbed his face. The sharp pain from the touch caused him to inhale a deep breath.
"Don't look anymore, you're disfigured now… Hehe… Not bad, you're to my liking…" An ancient voice spoke with a tinge of mockery, as if it contained all the evil in the world. It would cause one to cower in fear.
Little Ardin raised his head, and only saw darkness in front of him, just having taken on human form.
"Huehuehue… I'll give you a chance because of your father. As long as you manage to survive, you will become the disciple of the Nightmare Wizard…" The darkness disappeared after the black figure spoke, revealing a pack of hungry grey wolves which eyed the little boy ravenously.
Leylin had learnt his lesson this time, and only watched on coldly at the struggle between little Ardin and the wolves. His gaze was indifferent, only with the occasional flickering of light from the A.I. Chip.
"This should be a small world close to Dreamscape. Also, the way this Magus chooses his students is rather savage…" Leylin knew that back when he was still a human, he had no chance of dealing with these creatures.
Transformation
The second layer of Nightmare Island was constructed of numerous dreams. Leylin now wandered through many dreams, looking for an opportunity to break through.
He felt weightless again, and found his surroundings changed once more. Ardin had now grown into a young man, but the scar on his cheek had not disappeared. He'd activated some sort of talent in that life or death fight to successfully survive the attack, and was now an apprentice of the Nightmare Wizard.
The Nightmare Wizard's method of teaching his apprentices was very crude, and he had several apprentices like Ardin who were treated almost inhumanely. Many died, and only Ardin's desire for revenge allowed him to persevere and strengthen himself rapidly.
Many of these dreams involved him with a female junior, creating some of his most tender memories.
"Next is a great darkness… That must be the reason he transformed…" Leylin muttered to himself, both hands waving to create strange runes as he broke through this dream, entering deeper levels.
What appeared in front of him was darkness was so dense that it could not dissipate. Endless malicious intent converged to its limit, attacking his senses and almost turning him insane.
'Nothing can hold me back!' Leylin looked indifferent as he took a step forward.
*Bzzt! Bzzt!* The darkness separated, revealing orange dots of candlelight. There were many fragmented and incoherent scenes here.
"Keke… dear apprentices, your last test is to kill each other in this pocket dimension. Only one can survive, and that person will absorb all of your life forces and ingenuity, becoming my most outstanding disciple…" The Nightmare Wizard laughed wildly, sending all of his apprentices to a bloody pocket dimension.
Ardin clenched his fists, glancing at the female apprentice who was like a white lotus next to him. She now looked slightly pale, and while she at most could be considered graceful, she still had a unique aura that captured his heart.
'No! There has to be another way! There has to!' Ardin bit his lips till blood was spilt.
...
'The next dream should be in a bloody pocket dimension…' This level of darkness was nothing to Leylin. With a slight caress with his right hand, he seemed to push a curtain aside.
However, the next scene surprised him. Torrential rain fell, and terrifying dreamforce spread everywhere. The area looked to be full of debris, and there had evidently been a great battle here.
"Haha… Ardin, my dearest disciple, are you going to betray me?" The Nightmare Wizard formed of numerous shadows watched the young Magus in front of him. This was obviously Ardin, who now only wished for his master's' death. He'd lost one of his eyes, and the other had turned purple.
"Do you not know that my nightmare clones have spread across the whole world? Without the determination to destroy the world, don't you know you can't kill me?" The Nightmare Wizard laughed madly, a dreamforce spell forming a three-headed helldog. Hellfire blazed as it ruthlessly pushed Ardin to the ground.
"I was the one who taught you all your magic, so what are you going to use against me?" He continued to snicker wildly as the bloody eyes of the figure stared at him, "Speak… how do you want to die?"
"I want you to die!" Ardin yelled, his arms surrounding the three-headed dog.
*Awoo!* Terrifying hurricanes formed at his forehead as a red eye opened up. Streaks of green veins protruded from it, shooting out rays that dissipated the fog and absorbed the dispelled dreamforce.
"Ah… Ah…" Ardin's clothes burst bit by bit, and he turned into a monstrous giant of five metres, with a horn, red scales, and a third eye between his brows.
"This is… the physique to absorb nightmares! How is it possible? I've already checked it before, you can't have this bloodline…"
"Nothing is impossible, old man. Die!" Ardin, who had turned into a giant, grabbed forward in the air. Dark phantoms were pulled out of the dreams of numerous intellectual beings, and then exterminated.
"So your true body was hidden in Dreamscape. I found you!" Ardin exclaimed, and then seemed to open a channel straight to Dreamscape. Powerful dreamforce forced the old Magus out.
After seeing the old man, the black figures from before pounced forth, the injuries they had transferring over to him. The old man's expression quickly changed as he coughed up black blood.
"Hehe… as expected of the Nightmare Absorbing Physique, the rumoured favourite of Dreamscape! Cough cough… He actually managed to link with Dreamscape and expel my true body… cough cough…"
Mouthfuls of black blood spurted out from his mouth, but his gaze as he watched Ardin was like he was seeing treasure.
"Cough cough… The Nightmare Absorbing Physique has the natural ability to link with Dreamscape and absorb its origin. What I've been pursuing all my life has finally appeared before me…" The old man's eyes were filled with fervour, like a devout follower finally meeting his god.
"Are you done yet?" The giant walked over to him, the scar from the knife wound now seeming more jagged and obvious.
"I ensure you that even your truesoul will be crushed, and I won't give you the chance to enter the astral plane!" Tremendous Dreamscape origin force poured into Ardin, to the point that he could even somewhat sense laws.
*Rumble!* After the powerful tremors, Ardin returned to his original state. Traces of black blood still flowed from his right fist.
"Henceforth… I am the Nightmare King!"
...
Light flashed, and the scene changed.
"Little Ardin! The great wizard Poffert is here to recruit an apprentice; you must succeed this time!"
Ardin's mother urged him repeatedly…
...
'As expected, the dreams are repeating themselves. Is this a maze formed of the life experiences of that Nightmare King? If I can't break the seal and find the entrance to the third level, I might be trapped to death here…'
Leylin watched the scenes a second time, feeling like a movie was being replayed.
'But…the Nightmare Absorbing Physique! I never thought it actually existed! Ancient records say that those with such a physique are the darlings of Dreamscape, and can even have Dreamscape origin force poured into their bodies. They are treated even better than the children of planes… This physique can absorb a large amount of dreamforce and compensate for its weak phase, the Nightmare King must be incomparably close to rank 9…'
"But… How do I get out of this dream maze?" The A.I. Chip's light shone in Leylin's eyes,
"Based on the A.I. Chip's observations and calculations, there were 38 key points in the dreams just now that could have changed his fate. There are 34198 chances to indirectly change it… but most important is probably the lost memory of the battle in the pocket dimension… I'll try them one by one first…"
"Plan 1…" Leylin pushed at the milk on the table, causing a large cup of milk to splatter onto Ardin's clothes.
"Ah! What's going on, Ardin? Your clothes!" The housewife cried, "Are you going to meet that esteemed wizard in this state?"
"I'm sorry, Mama! I'm going to change now!" Little Ardin ran into the next room and began to change his clothes.
As expected, his efforts had led to Ardin staying inside the house. Immediately after, a huge explosion burst out and enveloped the building…
Lights flashed, and the scene changed again.
"Little Ardin! The great wizard Poffert is here to recruit an apprentice; you must succeed this time!" Ardin's mother urged him repeatedly…
"Alright! Looks like killing Ardin won't work. I need to try something else…" Leylin had no choice but to watch this scene unfold again, and he began more tests…
...
'Getting him to escape and then study under the Nightmare Wizard… fail!'
'Saving his parents and having the whole family move to another city… fail!'
'Accident during experiment, finding a new strength system… fail!'
"It's already the 17,862nd time… My spiritual energy can't hold on much longer… But I've already found the key to proceed to the key memory region!" Leylin now looked resolute. The scene had changed to the time when the Nightmare Wizard had wanted the apprentices to kill each other.
"After so many experiments, I finally found the key point. Dreamforce, stop!" The scene froze with Leylin's will. Be it the crazy laughter of the Nightmare Wizard or the worried apprentices and Ardin biting his lips, everything stopped like a statue.
The world lost all its colour in that instant, turning monochrome like a photograph.
Leylin headed to the female apprentice that Ardin had feelings for, staring at the jade pendant on her chest. It had a white lotus on it.
"Break!" Concentrated dreamforce passed through the pendant like a needle, and the entire scene seemed to shatter like porcelain. The dream no longer repeated, and everything descended into darkness.
Two paths flickering with dark red light appeared in front of Leylin, and there were even strange eyes on him from the back of the paths.
"One of these two should lead to the third layer, and the other should be the sealed memories…" Leylin stroked his chin, "If I were the Nightmare King, finding out that an outsider dared peep on my sealed memories would make me…"
Present
Leylin had a critical decision to make. At one end was heaven, and the other hell. He could enter the third layer of the island to find the legacy of the Nightmare King. On the other hand, the consequences could be dire for entering the hidden memories.
Of course, Leylin was unsure of the way this king thought. Perhaps he wanted to share his memories with other Magi, and wanted to slaughter those who wanted to get the legacy.
'Most importantly… all detection methods are useless. I have no idea what's at the end of the paths…' Leylin's scalp began to tingle.
He was a fairly conservative person. While he'd braved many dangers, he only did things when he had a 70-80% assurance of success. This half and half situation caused him to hesitate.
"I hate things that are so difficult to grasp like luck. It kills me…" Leylin complained. His luck was average, but he hated having to do things like following the will of the heavens.
Right now, however, the choice wasn't in his hands. The surrounding dreams began to shatter and would soon affect him. They wouldn't pull him into another cycle, but rather, twist and crush him into powder without leaving even his truesoul behind.
"What do I do? Do I choose one at random? With this probability, it's too…" Leylin began to get nervous. This was a rather new feeling, and he was somewhat savouring it.
"Left… I sense large amounts of chaotic concepts and coordinates on the left. This should be the third layer!" After a lot of analysis, Leylin gritted his teeth and made his decision.
*Whoosh!* At this moment, however, something sounded in his body, causing his expression to change. He looked down abruptly to find that it was from his bag of holding.
'It's that thing!' Silver light flashed, and an ancient animal-hide scroll appeared in front of Leylin. Fresh blood still dripped from stains on it, and sound, light, and even the shattered time and space began to distort in front of the scroll.
"This is… the power of distortion! The might of Distorted Shadow!" Leylin muttered, "As ancient Magi or even allies, Distorted Shadow's remains alarmed the Nightmare King?"
Boundless distorting power took shape, and the two dark red paths were affected as they twisted and fused under this energy.
*Bzzt! Bzzt!* After the light dissipated, the two paths had become one, forming an even larger spatial gate. Blood red dreamforce runes flickered on it.
'What a sly Nightmare King. He even had this planned!' Now, Leylin didn't even have a choice. He rubbed his nose and turned grim, glancing at the scroll before stowing it away.
The surface of the scroll was now very soft. It squeezed under pressure from Leylin's fingers, no longer having the power it once did. It was like an ordinary magic scroll. However, he did not dare underestimate this thing.
'This scroll has Distorted Shadow's strength and even conscient sealed inside?' Seeing that this item was adamant on following him, Leylin could only roll his shoulders back and accept it.
This body was a mere clone after all. At worst, he could abandon it even if it caused grievous injuries to his main body. With enough strength to protect himself, he naturally feared nothing and had the guts to try everything!
"No matter what it is you want me to do, you have to give me benefits first!" Leylin's eyes glinted with intelligence as he placed the scroll away, streaking into the spatial gate.
The third layer of Nightmare Island.
"As expected… The extent of dreamforce contamination here is even worse. This place has only the purest intent…" Leylin now found himself unable to sense his own body, only able to exist as the most fundamental form of his soul and conscient.
He was surrounded by a boundless universe, filled with the feeling of weightlessness. Leylin seemed to be a lonesome boat in the turbulent seas.
There was no concept of another existence around, and only nothingness. Leylin had no qualms in believing that he would stay like this until the world was destroyed if he did not make the first move.
Having lost his body, his sense of time began to slow. He had no idea whether seconds had passed or tens of millennia. All he felt was that the sense of self he had was gradually vanishing.
'No, this won't do! I have to persevere. Once my sense of self disappears, my truesoul will also disappear…' Leylin abruptly burst forth with strength, and his willpower took control all his thoughts. His body suddenly condensed and became distinct.
"Hah… How is this third layer of defence constructed? Even the essence of Magus concepts are dissipating…" Having reinforced his sense of self, Leylin glanced fearfully at his arms that had formed once more.
"This is the lost land… And also the place where the Nightmare King lost his self…" A few black feathers fell, and Leylin found a black crow was 'flying' towards him.
In this void with only concepts and no matter, a crow was something very strange. What caused Leylin even more astonishment was that it could move about freely in this void.
"We meet again, Mister!" The black crow combed its feathers and greeted him happily.
"Have we met before?" Leylin asked, confused.
"Hm. To me it's in the future but for you it's in your past. My future form is a single-eyed owl." The crow was a chatterbox.
'Single-eyed owl!' Leylin immediately recalled the time after he'd advanced to rank 5, when he'd been afflicted with a Dreamscape curse. He'd obtained a present from the owl within a dream then, allowing him to come into contact with dreamforce.
"My apologies, but may I know who you are?" Leylin asked the question he wanted to.
"Me? I'm just a mass of concepts. I shall exist as long as Dreamscape survives…" Leylin had a feeling that this crow or owl or whatever it was wasn't speaking the truth, but he did not fixate himself on that.
"You're saying this is the place the Nightmare King lost his sense of self? What does that mean? Has he fallen? Who did it?"
"As long as the Nightmare King did not want to die, nobody could make it happen. Here, however, he abandoned his sense of self. This means he's completely dead, without even a fragment of his truesoul left behind…" The crow seemed to know about matters of ancient times very well.
'If he's abandoned his sense of self, doesn't that mean he's committed suicide? So when the Nightmare King invaded the World of Gods, he was already determined to die?' Leylin had a feeling that perhaps the Nightmare King Ardin had died long before. After the bloody battle in the pocket dimension, the Ardin that still existed had only been a walking piece of flesh.
However, he was far too powerful, to the point that he could not even kill himself. Was that why he needed help from the gods?
'As expected… High-ranked Magi mostly have mental issues. It's too serious with the Nightmare King. I can't become like him in the future…' The example this senior set gave Leylin a good warning.
A real peak rank 8 Magus would never be able to fall if they did not want to die. This was the case with Distorted Shadow. He had already died for tens of thousands of years, and yet could still create trouble. The Nightmare King was bent on dying, which is why he had truly died…
"Well then… Magus, tell me your intent in coming here!" The crow opened its beak, its two black beady eyes looking mischievous.
"I…" Leylin gritted his teeth and spoke anyway, "I hope to obtain the legacy of the Nightmare King. At the very least, I want to find a method to evade the weakening of dreamforce!"
"Grasping dreamforce? Caw caw… that's not very easy. Are you sure you want to do that?" The crow asked.
"I'm very sure." Leylin answered seriously, eyes filled with resolution from his pursuit of truth. There was no fear of death.
"Caw caw, good! I see Ardin's shadow on you…" The crow cawed, and its body started changing.
*Whoosh!* It suddenly swelled, turning from the size of a dove to that of a large evil dragon, jet-black neck showing dense black scales. Its beak widened to reveal sharp teeth like those of sharks.
*Ka-cha!* A strike of blood-red lightning fell right on the forehead of the strange black dragon, turning into a bloody third eye!
"This… this…" Such a tremendous change had Leylin stunned.
"Accept it! This is a gift from Dreamscape!" The strange black dragon howled, the bloody third eye turning into a ray of light and disappearing into Leylin's forehead.
Agony! Leylin felt everything go black as he felt himself being torn into, collapsing into a dead faint. Large amounts of dreamforce flooded into him like a tsunami, enveloping his body completely in a huge crimson cocoon.
When the tide of Dreamscape weakened, the crimson cocoon had disappeared. Only the black crow was still around.
"Old friend… After helping you this time, I've repaid all my debts to you…" The crow murmured to the air, its body becoming less corporeal as it disappeared into the vast nothingness.
Rank 19
*Rumble!* The pirates witnessed a marvellous scene outside the forest. The thick red fog that shrouded the forest transformed continuously, dissipating to reveal the original lay of the land.
The earth trembled as numerous small cracks and even pits appeared in the ground. At the very center of the island, the bare mountain peaks issued a wrathful roar. Fiery lava shone faintly as it flowed over with agitation.
"This is bad. Earthquake! The island is about to erupt… My Lord! Where is the lord?" Calon didn't care at all about those worried native slaves and pirates. He rushed to the border of the forest in search of Leylin's figure. This wasn't due to loyalty; he knew that if he dared to abandon Leylin and flee in secret, the enrage Scarlet Witch would flay him alive!
The island was flooded with an aura of death and despair. Many creatures fled from the thickets, the small cracks in the rocks, and through underground caves to escape. It became an exodus, and even the little ants had bored out from their tunnels beneath the ground.
"Damn… Damn! How could these natives have settled their tribe on a volcanic island? Why weren't there any signs before?" Large droplets of sweat beaded on Calon's forehead.
However, the gods above seemed to hear his prayers. Just when Calon was prepared to abandon everything and flee, he finally spotted Leylin's silhouette near the forest border.
"Oh, thanks to the Ocean Goddess! My lord, you've finally appeared, let's quickly leave this place!"
Leylin seemed rather distracted however, and he caressed his forehead as if he didn't hear a single word that Calon said. Just when Calon was considering carrying this lord's body away, Leylin's eyes finally regained their vigour, "This place is now useless, let's go!"
"Yes Sir!" Calon's eyes were overflowing with hot tears. He felt as if he had just heard the most pleasant words he would ever experience in his life.
The pirates were masters of handling ships. Although they had wasted quite a bit of time, they still managed to leave Nightmare Island before the volcano fully erupted.
*Rumble!* Strong black flames rose into the skies, covering the bright white moon. Only in the skies of Nightmare Island would the moonlight become purple on the light of the full moon, and now it would never happen again.
The fiery red lava flowed in streams resembling human arteries as they snaked across the entire volcano. It even spread relentlessly to the area outside of it.
'I never thought that the island was on a fire ley line. Once the dreamforce suppressing it was gone, the volcano immediately erupted… Perhaps this eruption was even more berserk because of the long suppression. This entire Nightmare Island probably won't exist any longer…' Leylin looked expressionlessly at the distant island, which was now engulfed in lava. Right now, all his attention was captured by the A.I. Chip's information records.
[Beep! Sustained unknown influence, scanning has suffered interference. Effect has been temporarily lost!]
[Beep! Intense interference… Currently…]
'The third level of the lock relates to memory. It made the A.I. Chip unstable for a while too… Really terrifying…'
However Leylin shifted his attention to the densely packed prompts below it:
[Beep! Host's truesoul has suffered unknown interference, probability of radiation to the body in the Magus World is 98.77%! Initiating separation! Experiencing interference… Separation has failed, unable to complete the task!]
'Ah…' Leylin breathed in a lungful of cold air, 'So even my main body's truesoul was affected. Dreamforce is truly nefarious and frightening.' After displaying this record, the A.I. Chip's information seemed to flow even more smoothly. It seemed as if the earlier interference had completely disappeared.
[Beep! Host has absorbed a great amount of energy essence! Determined to be mutated dreamforce! Initiating absorption!]
[Beep! Host has absorbed mutated dreamforce! Spirit+1!] [Beep! Host's arcanist ranking has increased, currently rank 19. Arcane Energy+10. Obtained Feat: Dreamscape View, Obtained Specialty: Illusions] [Beep! Host's soul has advanced. Level 6 Weave fully analysed. Host has obtained all rank 6 spell models and is immune to forgetting them. No materials are required to cast rank 6 spells.] [Beep! Host has advanced to rank 19. Spell slots obtained: rank 9: 1, rank 8: 1, rank 7: 1.]
Below these messages were introductions to the two feats.
[Dreamscape View: Host possesses the ability to see through Dreamscape, can now look straight at the souls of other people. Any concealment will be rendered immaterial, and nothing can hide from the host's eyes.] [Illusions: Host automatically grasps illusions, granting an additional 20% to the power of illusory spells.]
The A.I. Chip once again refreshed Leylin's stat window:
[Leylin Faulen, Age: 24. Race: Human, Rank 19 Arcanist. Strength: 15. Agility: 15. Vitality: 15. Spirit: 19. Arcane Energy: 190. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Intermediate Perfect Body, Dreamscape View. Specialties: Arcane Energy Detection, Arcane Amplification, Illusions] [Progress of Weave Analysis: Level 0 100%, Level 1 100%, Level 2 100%, Level 3 100%, Level 4 100%, Level 5 100%, Level 6 100%, Level 7 77.99%, Level 8 38.21%, Level 9 0.11%.] [Spell Slots: Rank 9(1), Rank 8(3), Rank 7(5), Rank 6(???), Rank 5(???), Rank 4(???), Rank 3(???), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)]
'I've finally reached rank 9 of the Weave. Is this the limit of the Weave's casting ability?' Leylin shut his eyes and sensed the Weave's network across the entire World of Gods. After the first 10 levels of the Weave, after rank 0 to rank 9, there seemed to be an even more vast world out there. However their souls were tightly shackled, unable to continue connecting to the Weave.
"It looks like the forbidden domain of the gods exists past rank 9," Leylin muttered to himself.
He had his own hypotheses on what came after the ninth level of the Weave. It could very well be the gods' divine spell network, the 'personal' network that the gods had made for themselves.
'Using the Weave to transmit divine spells? It could very well reduce the consumption of the gods considerably, and make it easier for them to cultivate followers. Ha, these gods have calculated it all very well, however…' Leylin controlled himself from speaking any further, as it was not something he could deal with at his current level.
'I'm close to becoming legendary now. Being rank 19, I'm only half a step away. I should refine my own power as quickly as possible, stepping into the domain of legendaries. Only true legendaries have a say in the continent.'
A rank 20 only had a few extra spell slots, not much different from a rank 19. The difference came in the refinement of their power, something that allowed them to perfect their theory.
Leylin thought of records chronicling the advancement of wizards. Although every legendary could still advance further, they had all walked to the peak of their own paths. Their theoretical knowledge was extremely rich.
'It's even more complicated to become a legendary arcanist. I need to condense my theories into a skill tree or a circulating energy loop. However, this won't be a problem for me. All that's left is the work on refining energy…' Leylin touched his forehead, a puzzled expression on his face.
The previous situation with the third level of the dreamscape lock surfaced before his eyes once again. Only now, his forehead gleamed pure white, as if there were no abnormalities.
'The final gift, what on earth did it mean?' His visit to the nightmare world had allowed him to absorb a great deal of dreamforce, and pushed his ranking to rank 19. However, Leylin was not granted his greatest wish of obtaining the Nightmare King's inheritance, and the method to avoid the exhaustion of dreamforce.
'Was this created by Dreamscape?' Leylin looked at his hands. The white palms contained unyielding power, but Leylin felt that his corporeal body had already been perfected to its limits. However, at every day and in every moment, he still tirelessly absorbed the nearby light and electromagnetic waves to refine his power. This was all to break through his bottleneck.
'After walking out of Nightmare Island, I keep feeling that I have changed greatly. Yet I can't place my finger on how exactly I've changed…' Leylin's eyes held a trace of suspicion.
"Where are we headed, milord?"
"Mm, let's go to Pirates' Cove first!" Leylin replied. When he turned his head however, all he saw was Calon who had fallen to his knees in shock, his complexion deathly pale.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing! There's nothing wrong! Your humble servant has bad eyesight!" Calon had a flattering smile on his face. He left at lightning speed while murmuring to himself, 'I must have drunk too much rum, how can Lord Leylin have three eyes? And those blood-coloured patterns on his face, ha… Haha…'
Calon shook his head with all his strength, as if trying to shake the memory of Leylin out from his head. However, he discovered that no matter what he did, his arms and legs still involuntarily trembled. He could only crawl his way back to his bedroom with the support of the wall.
"Three eyes and blood-coloured runes?" What Calon did not know was that his mutterings in the ship's hold had all been heard by Leylin. After he left, Leylin conjured up a water mirror with a wave of his hand.
What appeared in the mirror was the appearance of a young noble. His complexion was a little wan, with sky blue eyes as deep as the ocean. His golden curls fit with his thin lips, and he was handsome, without any abnormalities whatsoever.
Nightmare Form
What Leylin saw in his reflection did not put him at ease. He instead grew even more grim, "Is this an evolution of the truesoul?"
He touched his forehead, and all of a sudden he felt an intense pain that caused him to close his eyes. The next time he opened them, he found a red streak at the middle of it.
*Whoosh!* Water droplets dispersed to reveal Leylin's serious expression.
"The physique to absorb the energy from nightmares… from a bloodline?" Leylin rubbed at his forehead, now at a loss…
...
"A.I. Chip, check my bloodline!"
All sorts of scanning runes were activated within the wizard tower, and scanning light immediately gathered upon Leylin's body. He was back on Faulen Island.
He'd met up with Isabel for a bit at Pirates' Cove. He'd decided on the next path for the Scarlet Tigers, and was then at ease to solve his own issues.
He'd already given control of the tower to the A.I. Chip. He was using its power to check the abnormalities on his body.
[Beep! Mission established. Scanning… Host's blood is 99.99999% pure-blooded human.]
"So nothing can be found? Use the atomic microscope, and level 2 antimatter observation. Continue scan." Leylin sounded grim.
[Beep! Obtained host's blood. Magnifying specimen…]
The A.I. Chip immediately showed a screen with Leylin's blood sample. 100,000x, 1,000,000x… The image was magnified ten million times.
Leylin had to reach the smallest unit of his previous world, the limits of the sub-atomic level, to find the problem.
"This…" Leylin's eyes widened. He saw a few strange black dots amongst wandering photons.
"Lock on to that. Enlarge it!" The black dot moved extremely quickly, but at the end, it was still successfully caught by the A.I. Chip. Slowly, the appearance of the dark shadow appeared in front of Leylin. This was a hexagonal structure with strange patterns on it.
The patterns were rather complicated, in the shape of dark red flowers that gradually evolved into a scaly giant with three eyes. The bloody third eye at the middle seemed to have a will of its own as it stared at Leylin indifferently.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!* Leylin took several steps backwards, the surprise on his face more evident.
"As expected… my body was implanted with a portion of the Nightmare Absorbing Body's bloodline abilities at the third level…" With his main body imbued with the power nearly equal to a rank 7 Warlock, Leylin was definitely no stranger to bloodline power.
"I just wanted some information. What are you giving me bloodline strength for?" Leylin now felt himself growing dizzy. It was like a beggar asking for some humble pie being given a mountain of gold.
What kind of physique was this Nightmare Absorbing Body? It was one of the most powerful bloodline abilities, something that allowed the Nightmare King to immediately start a massacre the moment he activated it. With the origin force of Dreamscape, he'd shot up to become a peak Magus of the ancient world in one go!
Leylin was very vigilant of such good luck.
'It's too impractical. There has to be something off about a strange event like this. Even if Distorted Shadow was giving me benefits in exchange for making use of me, this is a little too much!'
Leylin was never afraid to expect the worst of his enemies. These sudden benefits implied a huge danger was to come!
'But… I never thought this Nightmare Absorbing Body wasn't a physical thing. It can even affect the truesoul, including my main soul in the Magus World…' As an outstanding bloodline Warlock, Leylin knew that sort of bloodline ability would fuse inseparably with his soul. It would also radiate into his main body in the Magus World through strange channels.
'The power of Dreamscape can bypass the crystal sphere? Just a temporary energy transmission path alone would be terrifying… I must definitely grasp this strength!' The ability of dreamforce to pass through two large worlds caused determination to rise in Leylin's heart.
'I'm going to take the bait and toss the hook back. How's that?' Leylin stroked his chin, a slight smile appearing on his lips. Even Distorted Shadow could not guess that he had the A.I. Chip, and could find any issues.
This would be the greatest misstep in the plan Distorted Shadow had in store for him! Of course, he might have been thinking too much. All this could be a opportunity for him, but he had always liked to be prepared for the worst.
'A.I. Chip! Begin task: study this bloodline force!' Leylin looked ruthless. Even if this would interfere with his analysis of the Weave, he would not find it a pity!
...
Months passed in the blink of an eye.
Leylin was sitting cross-legged within the wizard tower, the doors and windows tightly closed as isolation runes flickered inside. If an outsider saw him as he was now, they would be scared stupid or treat him like a monster.
Leylin was now nearly a giant at almost three metres tall. His body had red scales and strange patterns on it, his face so sinister that it could drive children to tears. There was a slight crack on his forehead, shining blood red.
Formless power was attracted to this lustre, transforming into a dark red fog as it seeped into Leylin's skin and became something more powerful.
"This strength is…" Leylin's mind followed the path of the undulations and found the source, followed by scenes:
–The old butler Leon looked proud in Port Venus, "Our young master Leylin is…"
–In Pirate's Cove, an old pirate was teaching a few new pirates a lesson, "When you come out here, foresight is the most important. There's someone more frightening than the Scarlet Witch in our crew…"
There were even more, though they were all scenes within the north and Dambrath Kingdom. The large batch of devil worshippers that Leylin had gathered as Kukulkan were now transmitting an unending amount of fear.
'This isn't faith, but some emotional force one level lower than faith… What's going on? Why can I take this power in now?' One could only absorb faith after becoming legendary, much less this sort of low-level emotional force.
However, Leylin soon found that he could easily absorb this emotional force in nightmare form, boosting his strength.
"Could it be that…" Leylin muttered to himself, closing the third eye between his brows. The numerous scenes disappeared, and the channel for emotional force closed.
"As expected… The power of the Nightmare Absorbing Body can take in all emotional forces aimed at me. The effectiveness and rate of conversion is even better than gods, and most importantly… I'm not even half a god yet…" At this moment, Leylin realised the terror of this ancient physique.
'A.I. Chip, has anything been found?'
[Beep! Statistical model of host's bloodline force has been established, running with no abnormalities. Found no remnant spiritual brands.] The A.I. Chip answered loyally.
"There's still no problem? There's nothing left in my bloodline? Is this a real gift?" Leylin shook his head, dispelling the nightmare form. He shrunk once more, returning to his original appearance.
With the A.I. Chip's help, his grasp of bloodline force far exceeded the expectations of everyone else. Now, he could basically switch between the two forms smoothly.
"The Nightmare Absorbing Body is a special physique from Dreamscape. Seems like I'll have to head over to that world a few times in the future…" Leylin muttered to himself, "In addition, with the rate the physique absorbs emotional force, I might be able to raise my arcanist ranking very soon…"
At this moment, the tower genie's clear voice interrupted his thoughts, "Master! Gold Priest Xena has come to pay a visit!"
"Xena? Get her to wait for me at the drawing room!" Leylin shook his head, draping a white bathrobe around himself.
"But my form after the second transformation might lead to some associations. It's best to use it as little as possible in the World of Gods…" A moment later, Leylin had tidied everything up and met the priestess of the Goddess of Wealth in the drawing room.
"Wizard Leylin truly is great at making me wait. It's already been two years since the last time…" Xena glared at him, looking annoyed.
"Ahaha… my apologies! I've been immersed in an experiment. Anyway, hasn't Master Ernest continued the trade of the devil and demon detectors?" Leylin laughed and then changed the topic, "May I know what you're here for today?"
"You're in great trouble!" Xena took a deep breath and spoke cautiously.
"Oh! Have the people from the God of Murder's church made their move?" Leylin got it right in one go, since there were few large organisations he had offended.
"Yes! One of their legendaries, Cadaver Collector Soros, has completed his experiments and is about to come to the outer seas…" No matter where it was, a legendary was a big shot. Xena was worried that this genius wizard would not be able to pass this hurdle.
"But… from how he's been acting, we know he's inclined towards attacking devils and demons. Our church has dealt with him, and the intel we got is proof of that. Unfortunately, we don't know what he'll do…"
Actually, Xena did not think well of Leylin's future. After all, that person was a legendary! There wasn't even a half-step legendary in the outer seas, so a true legendary would be able to suppress everything.
The existence of a legendary was an important standard for the prime material plane to judge the size of an organisation!
Soros
"Legendary?" Unexpectedly, Leylin did not panic at all after hearing the news. He instead asked with interest, "Please tell me what you know. We have our deal on sharing information."
Xena rolled her eyes at him. "Cadaver Collector Soros is the honorary executioner of Cyric's church. He likes to torture his target's mind, causing them to crumble and commit suicide before he takes their body. He shot to fame 281 years ago…"
She spoke as if she was making a report, expressionlessly introducing this person generally. Still, she couldn't keep up the facade and ended up staring at Leylin.
"Lord Leylin! You're still young and possess such astounding talent. It isn't a mere dream to become a legendary, but you need to accept reality. Pledge to join Goddess Waukeen's church and hide in the mainland. Our goddess will shield you…"
Xena was sure Leylin would understand, even though he would have to abandon the outer seas, including Port Venus and all other industries.
After all, the church of wealth was more conducive to Leylin's potential than all the organisations in the outer seas. With the value he was showing and how he was steadily raising his strength, he seemed to have more than a 50% chance to become a legendary. This was definitely an investment worth making for the church of wealth.
However, Leylin's answer did not match up to her expectations. "Thank you very much for your kind intentions, but I won't give up my work here…"
She frowned slightly, watching Leylin discontentedly, "Do you know what a legendary is? Cadaver Collector Soros is an infamous assassin. Even if we sent out a legendary to protect you ourselves, you could still be killed, much less…"
"I know all that!" Leylin interrupted her, looking apologetic, "I saw Her Highness Alustriel at Silverymoon. I read and studied about legendary wizards, and I know that numbers are nothing to a legendary…"
Leylin knew the terror of a legendary better than anyone else. They grasped the power of domains, similar to what a dragon's aura cast. No matter how many low-ranked Professionals were pit against one, it was useless.
In addition, legendaries had refined their life essence, and could absorb and control divine force, walking the path of godhood.
However, the path that Leylin had chosen was entirely different from Xena, which was why he reacted differently.
"Are you trying to face off against a legendary head-on? Just with a wizard tower? You'd probably be destroyed within seconds…" Xena felt insulted by Leylin's arrogant tone, and especially by that resolute gaze that said he didn't need charity.
"You…" She felt humiliated and discontent, but all that soon faded away into shock. "The– The spell rays on your body…"
"My rank rose a little during these past two years of experiments." Leylin sounded calm, as if he were describing something insignificant, yet Xena almost choked in surprise.
While they were both high-ranked wizards, rank 15s were nowhere close to rank 19s. One had just entered this grade, while the other had reached the peak of wizardry, beginning to step into the domain of legendaries.
'Two years! In less than two years, he's already become a rank 19 wizard!' Xena froze as she watched the spell rays that Leylin intentionally leaked.
'A genius. A genius of the World of Gods! No, this is more than just a genius, he's probably a monster! Outside of Chosen, he's even faster than close combat Professionals as a wizard!' Xena zoned out slightly. With his aptitude, she was now sure that he would definitely become a legendary if he didn't die this time!
"Apologies! I was too harsh with my words…" Now treating Leylin as a to-be legendary, Xena's tone became more respectful.
"Actually, Mister Leylin, I still stand by my previous suggestion. With your talent, there really is no need to tackle your enemies head-on in the outer sea. The church of wealth shall forever be your shield…" Leylin naturally showed his gratitude towards Xena's kindness, but he did not relent on his decision not to dodge this, leaving Xena helpless.
After sending her away, Leylin returned to the training room alone, looking deep in thought.
'Cyric's counterattack is later than I expected…' The presence of a legendary meant nothing to Leylin. After all, Tiff had become a legendary long ago, and he'd personally led a team to kill a legendary dragon. Normal legendaries did not terrify him at all.
"However, I can't disclose Tiff's identity or transfer him here. This makes things complicated…" Leylin stroked his chin, eyes brightening, "I should use this opportunity and try that…"
"Tower genie!"
"Master!" The female form of the tower genie emerged, bright eyes full of anticipation.
"Seal the place off. Nobody is to bother me for now, not even Ernest. Is that understood?"
"Yes!" The tower genie's primary objective was to carry out Leylin's orders. She obviously had no objections to this. With Leylin's will, the apprentices and even Ernest were moved out of the tower, emptying it out.
"Sigh… I don't know if this kid can do it…" Ernest naturally knew something only higher-ups did here. While things were calm in Port Venus, he could tell that this was the calm before a storm.
The pressure that a legendary could cause was far too immense. Leylin's operation was thus misunderstood to be a dangerous action to raise his strength quickly. Ernest was naturally worried.
He definitely knew how intelligent his student was. There were a few materials to raise strength quickly in the research of ancient wizards. However, there was a steep price to pay.
"I hope he doesn't go too far…" Ernest had a helpless smile on his lips. Ever since Leylin reached adulthood, he could no longer persuade Leylin even as his master.
While he was still Leylin's teacher in name, Ernest knew that there was nothing he had taught Leylin other than foundational skills. Yet, he had obtained even more than he'd given.
"I believe in him. Sometimes, he's someone who can create miracles!" Ernest kept encouraging himself, "It'll be fine! It'll definitely be fine…"
Meanwhile, the wizard who Ernest was worried about was not conducting any taboo experiments within the tower. However, in some sense the method Leylin was using to gain strength was more dangerous than the methods of ancient wizards.
"There aren't any living beings in the tower any more. I don't have to worry about my secret being discovered or leaked… begin!"
*Whoosh!* A layer of dark red patterns appeared on Leylin's skin. He swelled strangely, and broke through his casual clothes in an instant. His forehead also split vertically to reveal the third eye.
Nightmare form! Leylin was now demonstrating the Nightmare King's Nightmare Absorbing Body.
"Absorb the wandering emotional force…" The vertical eye on Leylin's forehead opened slightly, emitting red light that broke through space to connect to all emotions related to him. It was like a spider web.
Reverence, fear, love, hatred…
Dense emotional force was originally formless and therefore useless. However, the vertical eye turned it into a dark red fog that was then devoured by the Nightmare Absorbing Body. This force was intensified, and the blood-red runes on his body grew more dazzling.
"In essence, faith is just extremely dense emotion. It contains energy dispelled from soul undulations. The Nightmare Absorbing Body is terrifying. As long as it has to do with the host body, any emotional force, no matter how meagre, can be used…"
Leylin's eyes were now completely blood red, and a large serpent appeared behind him. This was the Targaryen, big as the world, with black scales, devilish wings, terrifying claws, and a single horn at the top of its head.
"Hss!" The Targaryen had now transformed slightly. Traces of dark red fog shrouded its body, causing its scales to begin turning dark red.
A strange vertical eye appeared between the two snake eyes, splitting open.
"Ahh… Devouring power, erupt!" With Leylin's control, the power of devouring and dreamforce worked together flawlessly. The Nightmare Absorbing Body took in the vast jumble of emotional force, and Devour transformed it into the purest energy.
After who knew how long, the A.I. Chip's robotic voice sounded, like the sweetest melody he had ever heard. [Beep! Energy reserves at 100%, sending to main body…]
A warm surge spread throughout his body, extending to his very soul. The sound of a crystal shattering sounded, and Leylin sensed his soul go through another evolution. His very essence was baptised.
[Beep! Spirit+1.] The A.I. Chip sent another prompt as many stats began to change.
[Beep! Host's arcanist ranking has advanced. Host is now a rank 20 arcanist! Arcane Energy +10.]
[Beep! Host has advanced to rank 20. Spell slots obtained: Rank 9(1), Rank 8(1), Rank 7(1).] [Beep! Host's stats have changed.] [Leylin Faulen, Age: 24. Race: Human, Rank 20 Arcanist. Strength: 15. Agility: 15. Vitality: 15. Spirit: 20. Arcane Value: 200. Status: Healthy. Feats: Sturdy, Erudite, Intermediate Perfect Body, Dreamscape View. Specialties: Arcane Detection, Arcane Amplification, Illusions] [Progress of Weave Analysis: Level 0 100%, Level 1 100%, Level 2 100%, Level 3 100%, Level 4 100%, Level 5 100%, Level 6 100%, Level 7 81.23%, Level 8 38.86%, Level 9 11.29%.] [Spell slots: Rank 9(2), Rank 8(4), Rank 7(6), Rank 6(???), Rank 5(???), Rank 4(???), Rank 3(???), Rank 2(???), Rank 1(???), Rank 0(???)]
'I'm finally rank 20. All that's left is becoming legendary.' Leylin shut his eyes. He felt an enormous wall blocking him at this moment, the boundary of the legendary realm.
As a non-religious Professional, he would enter the legendary realm at rank 21. This was the greatest power in the central continent, giving one the ability to determine the state of any region and absorb divinity itself.
'I still have one rank left to become a legendary… If I wasn't worried about the contamination from the power of emotions, I could use the law of devouring to absorb most of the energy. Perhaps it would've been possible to become a legendary directly…'
Although he thought this, Leylin did not have the slightest regret. The foundation was the most important thing. A lot of emphasis was placed on one's foundation in the legendary realm, and Leylin did not want to advance without caution. It could lead to detours in his future path.
[Beep! Nightmare Absorption abilities have been activated! Host has obtained a bloodline ability— Dream Eater!] The A.I. Chip sent yet another prompt.
"Is this the bloodline magic ability by any chance? With Nightmare Absorption's power, the power of this magic technique should be incredibly terrifying, shouldn't it?" Leylin muttered to himself irresolutely. He could be said to be an expert in exploring bloodline magic and putting it to use.
Once the abilities of a Warlock were combined with the power of this ancient bloodline, the results would be sure to surprise him.
"Bloodline ability— Dream Eater!" Leylin looked at the A.I. Chip's window on the skill, and discovered nothing besides the name.
'Even the A.I. Chip has no records of it in the database. Seems like it's an entirely new magic ability. I can only rely on myself to explore it and perfect it…'
...
Soros the Cadaver Collector was an expert wanted by the church of justice. His extensive criminal record was difficult to chronicle; he'd even massacred an entire town before. However, the man himself was someone who'd always been shrouded in a dark robe.
Nobody knew that under this cloak, the church of murder's legendary 'honorary executioner' was a boy with a warm and sunny aura.
"Many thanks, Uncle Newman!" Soros slid down from an ox cart piled high with foraged grass, thanking the old man in front of him.
"Ah, it's nothing much. No one would reject a polite and obedient child like you a ride. Is this your destination, young fellow?" The driver of the cart was a wizened old man. His arms were lean muscle, beaten by the weather. His face was wreathed in a carefree smile, revealing his sparse teeth. He had a scattered beard that looked like iron wool.
"Mm! I want to go to Port Venus, I heard it is the most prosperous port in the outer seas," The tall youth's expression was a little bashful, but his eyes were filled with determination, "I want to earn money there, and then I can… Oh! This is my gift for letting me take your cart."
Looking at the pretty little shell in the youth's hand, the old man's smile bloomed even more happily, "Haha! Well work hard, youngster. I wish you the best!"
'The spiritual influence of despair held within that shell, I wonder how long it'll take to kill him off?' After leaving the cart, Soros lowered his head. His eyes held a trace of darkness as he laughed demonically.
If that old man saw how he looked now, he definitely wouldn't have let Soros hitchhike on his cart.
"I still need to keep this identity a secret… Such a pity," Soros licked his lips. When he lifted his head again, his expression had already changed into that docile and harmless smile he had shown before. His youthful appearance easily gave others a favourable impression.
"Big Sis, could you please give me…" Soros chose a random inn to stay in. His words caused the middle-aged woman who was the proprietor of the inn to light up brightly. The village woman gave him a room for half the price.
Soros' face only darkened after he entered the room and made sure he was alone. "Damn it, that disgusting hog had actually dared to provoke me… If not for this mission… Oh right!"
The tall boy clasped his hands, "After this mission ends, I'll give this town a bloodbath. It seems that our revered god likes sacrificial rites like this anyway… Hehe…"
As a legendary, and a criminal wanted by many of the good churches, Soros knew how much his identity weighed on their minds. Powerful beings definitely had their own set of perverse fetishes, and Soros' was to put on an innocent image and wait for the very last moment to reveal his true self. He would watch as his target broke down.
He felt more twisted joy from this sorrow than any divine grace could give him. Of course, Soros himself would not explicitly admit this point.
...
Soros moved towards Port Venus the next day, having gotten ample rest. He headed for Leylin's wizard tower.
'This defense system is well thought out. The detection spell formations are activated constantly… Something like this is pretty good for a place like the outer seas.'
A look of pity flashed across Soros' face. 'Leylin is extremely wary, he'd see through any disguise straight away. Well, it isn't a big deal. I have many other skills, and this will be a good time to test them out.'
Sudden Strike! Soros' body floated up into the sky, and an illusory gold claw struck the wizard tower. Red alarms flashed immediately.
"Warning! Detected energy waves with legendary power. Tower has taken 35.99% damage!"
"Found it! So it was here all along?" Soros' pupils contracted as he merged into the shadows.
He followed the energy pathways of the tower, and arrived at a laboratory before he emerged once more. This place was likely where the core of the tower resided, and he looked at the frightened noble wizard in front of him.
"Le… Legendary! You are waging a holy war…" The young wizard seemed to be frighted silly, and his teeth clacked when he spoke.
"Only a legendary-ranked wizard tower could hold me back!" Soros' face was full of mockery, the same way a golden lion would look at a rabbit. As if in accompaniment to Soros' voice, the tower genie gave off a high pitched tone, "Intruder alert! Current location: Core Laboratory. Deploying magic gargoyles… bzzt!"
Soros made a slicing motion with his finger, cutting the image of the tower genie into pieces.
"You don't have to take out these toy gargoyles…"
*Bang!* He immediately turned into countless black figures, and the gargoyles that surged from the defense mechanism were all destroyed, with no life left in them.
"Tower core 87.99% destroyed, operations ceased!" At this point, the tower genie could not even muster a hologram of itself. Only its voice rang out, as if coming from an old gramophone.
"How… how is this possible?" The young wizard's legs buckled as he sat on the floor, staring listlessly at the ceiling, "But I'd spent…"
"This place is just like a backyard for someone in the legendary realm."
Soros enjoyed the process of toying with his prey. The young wizard cried out, his eyes bloodshot as if he was a gambler who had lost everything. "No! I still have…"
*Roar!* The young wizard's robes tore apart into pieces, releasing a mighty draconic aura. He'd become half-dragon, and his skin was topped by scales. He spewed flames from his mouth, destroying all the glass apparatus in the laboratory.
"A half-dragon? The bloodline of a dragon species? This is your trump card?" Soros' brows furrowed, before he released his own aura. The air in the vicinity was blasted away, giving rise to a vacuum. "What a pity, everything you do is in vain. The only thing left for you is death…"
...
"Rumble!" The mighty tower collapsed, sending smoke and dust billowed high up into the sky. Soros walked out of the rubble, carrying a freshly severed head that still had blood trickling down it.
The draconic scales faded, revealing the pale visage of the late wizard. His eyes no longer had any trace of life, glazed like that of a dead fish.
Death
"Something seems off…" Soros raised his right hand as he stared into the aggrieved eyes of the incapacitated young wizard. Still, his sense of touch and various detection techniques confirmed that he was already dead.
However, even Soros had to admit that this wizard was extremely talented. He'd become a near-legendary at such a young age, possessing a powerful dragon bloodline. His battle might was already greater than that of some rank 20s.
"You were a genius… It's a pity, mortals should never provoke god…" Soros seemed to lament in pity as he gently closed the eyes of the wizard.
At this moment, multiple figures from Port Venus had already discovered that something was amiss. They ran over, while some high-ranking priests chose to fly there directly.
"The Goddess of Wealth's church huh…" Soros shook his head in disdain, but did not choose to engage. He disappeared without a trace.
...
Within the God of Murder's church, the bishop looked at Soros with a pleased smile, "Well done, my child. Now, let us offer this sinner's head to our revered god…"
*Buzz!* Cyric's statue let out a loud rumble once it received the sacrifice, golden divine force rippling out into the air. The sculpture soon seemed to come to life, taking the shape of a man with a wicked face.
"Worshipper Soros, you've done well. You shall get the rewards you deserve!" The voice of his god's incarnation was extremely deep and magnetic. Soros felt an immense amount of divine force descend on his head as it sounded.
"This…This is divine grace! And of the highest grade!" The bishop cried out hoarsely from the side. Seeing the traces of dark gold light falling on Soros' head, he couldn't maintain a neutral expression any more. The ancient scripture detailing the sacrificial rite fell to the ground.
"And divinity too?"
"Are you questioning our revered Lord's decision?" Accepting copious amounts of divine force and divinity, Soros now looked like a golden statue. Lightning occasionally streaked within his eyes. The benefits he had observed this time was extremely huge. The God of Murder had actually raised him by a rank and even granted him divinity!
"No, I wouldn't dare. Our god has chosen you, and you shall be his emissary on the continent!" A trace of fear arose in the bishop's eyes, but his reply was still clear and distinct.
The foremost authority in any church was the god themselves. Directly under them would be the Bishop or Chosen, and from one standpoint Soros' status was now equal to that of the the bishop. The difference between the two was merely the amount of divine grace they had!
"Haha…" Being able to look at his former superior squarely in the face, Soros laughed in a carefree manner, forgetting the uneasiness that he had felt despite finishing the mission.
He disappeared into the void without a trace, and a single vertical eye appeared.
...
30 years later, Soros slammed an old wizard into the ground as he laughed, "Haha, Madrid, you have never believed that you would land in my hands one day huh!"
"No…This is not possible. Why are you this strong? Your progression is too fast!" Madrid's body was littered with injuries, and his voice was barely audible.
"This is all the grace of the god!" Soros grabbed the collar of this wizard, "Back then you were stronger than me in every way, and even managed to become a legendary and steal Vanessa's heart. But now, you're as weak as a dog…"
"Kill me… Kill me…" The helpless wizard mumbled.
"I won't you off this easily! You'll be repaid the suffering and anguish I felt all these years…" Soros carried the wizard away. The vertical eye appeared once more, forming a crack in the void to reveal crimson light…
...
200 year later, in the church of the God of Murder.
"Cough cough…" The lord bishop looked at the dagger lodged in his chest, and the high ranking officials across him. He turned his head around in disbelief, and saw the sinister look on Soros' face.
"You…you actually…"
"Old fool, the cardinals and the honour guard have chosen to abandon and betray you. You're past your time now!" Soros' smile was even more malevolent than before.
"Our god… Will never forgive…" The bishop clenched these last words out of his teeth before his body combusted.
An immense conscient descended to the planet, "Soros!"
"My Lord, you are the emissary of death, the supreme amongst the stars…" Soros knelt onto the ground.
"You have successfully conspired to kill the previous bishop. Well done! I hereby appoint you the next bishop of my church!"
"I will dedicate my life to walking the path you've chosen. I shall throw the entire continent into chaos and conduct many massacres…" Soros affirmed, his eyes turning slightly bloodshot.
The vertical eye behind him was now more than half open, yet nobody could discover its presence.
...
Time trickled by, and the church of murder grew under Soros' charge, spreading across the World of Gods. Soros himself had managed to ascent to godhood, becoming a lesser god under Cyric.
Several thousand years later, he grew increasingly dissatisfied with Cyric. He waged a holy war, managing to defeat and absorb his former master, becoming the Greater God of Murder, Massacre, and Death.
Soros continued these wars after, building a system of faith where he was the one and only deity. Finally, he usurped the Overgod's throne. He now sat on the highest pedestal of the World of Gods' divine hall, his gaze passing across the rivers of time and into eternity.
At this moment, the vertical eye behind him fully opened its eyes!
"Hmm? Who is it?" Soros felt an immediate threat to his life. It was a warning that came from the depths of his soul, a feeling that this attacker could consign him to eternal damnation.
"Why is there someone else in the highest of realms, is there something that can transcend the entire world?"The throne split into half as Soros turned around with a look of disbelief.
At this moment, the giant vertical eye was omnipotent, its gaze crystal clear, as if nothing in the world could escape its eyes. A trace of crimson mist appeared, gnawing at the corners of the World of Gods.
Soros felt his hair stand on end once he saw this vertical eye. It was like this eye had been observing his every moment in life.
"What are you? A devil?" This feeling of being pried on caused immense fury to arise in this sovereign.
"Hah!" Divine force gathered in Soros' hands, turning into a purple lightning that could split the world in half. This lightning formed a spear that landed in his grasp.
The spear was thrown, and it tore the void apart as it moved, carrying the various blessings of the gods.
*Boom!* An attack which could annihilate gods struck the vertical eye, yet not a single sound was produced. It was as if a speck of dust had come into contact with a rock, dissipating just like that.
"How…is this possible? I am the sovereign! The world origin force is at my fingertips!" Soros staggered backwards, the fear in his heart growing stronger.
"I've seen the creation and annihilation of the world, the rise and fall of many tribes. Only the foolishness of mortals is eternal in the rivers of time!" The information struck Soros at the deepest part of his soul, and he understood the underlying meaning within.
"A mortal? How can I be a mortal…" Soros let out a hollow laughter, before his face contorted. He discovered that he had turned a mortal, mere flesh and blood. This feeling of falling from heaven caused him to suffer a mental breakdown.
However, the vertical eye did not give him any chances for a mental recovery. It opened up and gazed at Soros.
*Rumble!* The whole world was devoured by the red vertical pupil, and Soros was but a struggling speck of dust, screaming in anguish before finally disappearing into the pupil of the eye.
...
In the room of an inn, Soros' sleeping head was sharply twisted to one side. He was dead.
Leylin rubbed his temples outside the inn, seemingly exhausted. "The power of this Dream Eater spell is really terrifying. To construct a complex world, even if it's fake, is just too difficult for me right now…
"But it was all worth it…" Leylin's face could not help but change at the pleasure of devouring Soros' entire dream. This ability to devour dreams also allowed him to absorb the target's memories, experiences, and even more. It caused him to feel full from the essence of his very soul, and Leylin knew that he had fulfilled all conditions to become legendary. He only needed to digest what he'd absorbed.
"If not for using Dreamscape Vision and entering Soros' dream, I might not have had it this easy… It seems that the best way to use this Dream Eater skill is to first lure the enemy into a dream and combine with a spell. Distrait Dream could do it…"
Having acquired what he wanted, Leylin disappeared from the inn without a trace. The outer seas basically belonged to the Faulens right now, and although it wasn't easy to conquer the entire territory, the pirate forces would pave the way for them to expand their territory.
Leylin had sorted the information to identify suspicious activity and targets. He would personally confirm it all with his eyes.
Soros had just been unlucky this time, like a beautiful butterfly having flown into an intricate spider web. Caught by Leylin's Dreamscape Vision, all attempts to conceal himself were to no avail.
Spear Crusader
The tranquility of dawn was broken by an ear-piercing scream. With two buckets by her side, the innkeeper looked at a lifeless youth on the bed. This boy, who'd made her heart flutter yesterday, had now lost all traces of life.
"No external injuries nor any traces of spells. His identity certificate is forged…" The public security officer felt a headache coming on as he hurried over to inspect the scene. His many years of experience had told him that this case was going to be very troublesome.
"Can it be some acute illness?" The public security officer spoke in an imposing manner to mask the nervousness that he felt.
"Find a priest to come and pray over him, then send the corpse to the burial mound…" Seeing this officer unwilling to let things get out of hand, the plump lady didn't hesitate to agree.
They downplayed this death through various procedures, and finally invited someone to bless the burial. However, this person wasn't an official priest. It was an acolyte handling the menial tasks of a church.
The acolyte did not even have the cultivation to cast a rank 1 holy spell, let alone find out what was wrong with Soros' corpse. After a quick blessing, he let the the men in charge of burying the corpse carry it away.
The one in charge of burying the legendary-ranked Soros' corpse was a filthy, skinny, middle-aged white man who reeked of alcohol. His blackened teeth carried a putrid odour, and he thoroughly searched through the corpse once he was outside the city. He was looking for little valuables that the corrupt official hadn't discovered.
"Hehehe… What a fair skinned boy. A pity that the officer already squirreled away his purse and other things…" Soros' corpse had been stripped even of its shoes. Every inch of his body that could have contained gold was looked at by this man.
Soros was a legendary however, and his priceless bag of holding, spatial ring, magic artifacts, and other items had been taken away by Leylin. The officer had grabbed the gold that was left, leaving nothing for this man to take.
However, just the set of clothes and shoes alone was enough to satisfy him.
"Hehe… This kiddo is rather rich. All these clothes are worth at least 30 bronze pieces. I can visit Mary once or go to the pub and drink all night…" The man looked at the stark naked corpse, nodding his head in satisfaction.
"Since you've given me this much, I'll dig your grave bigger than the rest."
"This is the outcome of a legendary like Soros, huh? What a sorrowful scene!" A sinister voice mocked throughout the surroundings, scaring the man away. "Who, who is there?"
*Zip!* An icy blade flashed, and the man dropped to the floor with blood gushing from his body.
"A legendary who was among the top ten experts of the church couldn't even escape death…" The void warped as a the figure of a high-ranked thief appeared. He masterfully picked up Soros' corpse, and the expression on his face grew darker.
"No… this isn't right! How can his body only be as resilient as a regular human's? He was a legendary!" The high-ranked thief cried out, "If not for the top secret information I received from our bishop, I would have treated him as a regular human as well!"
"What's more… The most important thing is that the soul has disappeared completely… Such ruthless measures…" The pupils of the thief narrowed, and he felt that a terrifying presence was in the vicinity. He did not dare tarry longer, and immediately vanished with Soros' corpse.
He was only a high-ranked thief in the church, nowhere close to being legendary. If even Soros had died here, wiping him off the face of the earth wouldn't be a major issue either. The thief knew this clearly, and there was no way he would stay another moment.
...
Church of Cyric, within the gloomy valley.
The bishop had received this news as well.
"I have already contacted our god. It seems like Soros' soul did not enter his divine realm, instead vanishing mysteriously."
"Was it some sort of confinement spell?" A high ranked thief chimed in from the side.
"No, not confinement. It's completely missing! Even… Even our god's imprint had completely vanished…" The bishop grew extremely solemn. Legendaries were the foundation of a church, yet one of theirs had died just like that. It was an enormous blow even to an organisation like theirs.
Furthermore, the ability to wipe out a legendary without a trace left the others extremely uneasy. The bishop closed his eyes and pondered before speaking in an icy tone, "Find out everything for me! Everything!"
"Yes!" The thief bowed respectfully and left to pass on the orders.
Although there was no evidence, he was very clear in his heart that all of this was linked to Soros' primary target, the noble wizard of Faulen Island.
'An expert who managed to kill a legendary! Having me investigate this monster… Aren't you asking me to go and die?' The high-ranked thief lamented to himself, 'Luckily this is just an investigation mission. It looks like even the Lord Bishop himself won't carelessly go against this person…'
"Faulen Island's Leylin?" The high-ranked thief had a premonition that this wizard was the man of the moment in the World of Gods. No! Having showcased this power, this wizard was now a powerful player who could shake the entire continent!
...
Leylin did not pay the slightest attention to these conjectures and the dark clouds looming in his future. After he quietly murdered Soros, he peacefully returned to the wizard tower without alerting a single person.
What was truly terrifying was the unknown. If he revealed his ability to kill legendaries, it could lead to excessive fear of him. He needed to slowly digest the power he had devoured.
"The Dream Eater ability is truly the most terrifying bloodline power. The bloodline abilities it gives are also extremely demonic and powerful…" Leylin sighed.
He was a rank 20 wizard, while Soros was a legendary expert. Using an analogy in the Magus World, it was like a Crystal Phase Magus squaring off against a Morning Star. The gap between the two was as wide as that between heaven and earth.
And still, the Dream Eater ability acquired through his bloodline had allowed Leylin to kill Soros easily. Nothing as insane as this had ever happened even in the ancient times.
The barrier between ranks 3 and 4 was one of a qualitative change from spiritual force to soul force. Even an army of rank 3s would be slaughtered by a Morning Star, yet Leylin had managed to win across this gap!
"A.I. Chip!" Leylin commanded. The A.I. Chip had already collated all the previously collected data, and it displayed the information on this bloodline ability.
[Nightmare Absorption bloodline ability: Dream Eater: Allows host to infiltrate the target's dream world, constructing an illusion and causing their truesoul to degenerate. The host can then devour the target's dream world and absorb everything. Warning: If the target's soul force is too powerful, or they see through the dream world, it may injure the host in an unpredictable manner! As the host's bloodline concentration is limited, it can only be used once every 10 days.]
"So it's a battle between souls using an illusory technique. However, with my main body's experiences perhaps nobody except a god coming in person can best me in that regard…" Leylin had a premonition that this bloodline ability would be his most important hidden killer move.
"Besides, using Dream Eater to devour energy seems to be even more effective than before. I can gain everything that belonged to my opponent, and even walk down their path to power once for myself. The benefits from that will be immeasurable…" Leylin felt that he seemed to have found the reason why that Nightmare King was incomparably powerful.
The legendary body of Soros the Cadaver Collector comprised of all his experiences as an honorary executioner. Leylin had effortlessly obtained all of this, and all that had been left was a decaying corpse.
After devouring the soul of a legendary and obtaining all his experiences, Leylin had reached the threshold of the legendary realm.
"Ascending to become a legendary! Refining my power is the first step, and the next is to cultivate my spiritual conscient and construct an inner circulatory system… I have already fulfilled all of these criteria." Leylin's eyes flashed brightly. His aura began to dampen as he entered deep meditation.
Just at this moment, a visitor had arrived at Faulen Island.
"Lord Jeffries!" Xena, the Gold Priest of Waukeen's church, bowed deeply with respect at a middle-aged man.
"My lord has travelled a long way. I have already prepared accommodations and everything else, I entreat my lord to…" Xena's voice was humble as she spoke. This person was Jeffries, the Spear Crusader! He was a legendary expert of the church of wealth, and his status and reputation was far above that of a Gold Priest like her.
"There is no need of that for now. I didn't come here to seek pleasure. You had better hurry and take me to see that wizard. It's difficult to protect a person being targeted by the Cadaver Collector…" Jeffries the Spear Crusader had a head of long silver hair, an aquiline nose, and thick lips. He gave off a resilient and ascetic aura, and his eagle-like eyes revealed the endless turmoil within him.
Although he did not intentionally release his aura, the elemental energy particles in the surroundings continuously swirled around him. This was a legendary, the goal of all Professionals in the prime material plane!