Dream Eater
[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.