"You came at just the right time. I've also given
"We're going back? What about you?"
Isabelle asked in surprise.
"It's quite interesting here. I plan to stay and study for a while longer! The Pirate's Port can't be left without someone in charge for too long..."
There was a feverish gleam in Leylin's eyes. Wizards in general enjoyed studying all sorts of strange and peculiar things, so Isabelle didn't find the slightest bit suspicious about this.
"But it's far too dangerous here..."
The danger they had experienced previously left her quite worried.
"Don't worry, Wizards always make preparations for situations like this. I'll also need you to regularly send me some spell-casting materials and daily necessities!"
Perhaps it was the confidence in Leylin's tone, or perhaps the experience of being successfully rescued by him the day before that moved Isabelle, but she finally agreed.
"Fine... But you absolutely must be careful. Maybe I could stay?"
"No! Apart from you, no one else in the Crimson Tiger Pirate
Leylin said to Isabelle with great seriousness.
After a lengthy stretch of persuasion, Leylin finally managed to get his cousin to leave with the majority of the pirates. Watching the sails recede into the distance, he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Next, this Nightmare Island will be entirely mine..."
He nodded and made his way to the edge of what had been named the Nightmare Forest, where several pirates were already waiting.
"My lord! Please, give us any orders you see fit!"
Although these pirates looked incredibly fierce, before Leylin they had no choice but to rein in every trace of their ferocity. Their faces even bore obsequious smiles, making them look more harmless than little white rabbits.
There was nothing to be done about it. Leylin's fearsome reputation had long since scared these pirates witless, and besides, he was their de facto leader — how could they dare show any negligence?
"Good! Build me a house here. I intend to stay for quite some time!"
Leylin casually pointed to a patch of open ground.
"No problem, you'll see your villa here in no time! Iron Hook Colon is honored to serve you!"
The lead pirate bowed respectfully, and the moment he received Leylin's signal, he whipped the lash from his belt: "Did you hear that? The Master wants a villa built here! Get to work immediately!"
Crack! Crack!
It had to be said — these pirates made surprisingly capable foremen. Under their fierce intimidation, the remaining native slaves quickly understood what was expected of them and began clearing the foundation and felling timber.
"Mm! Very good!" Leylin nodded in approval. After receiving Leylin's praise, Colon lifted his head even more proudly, as if he had been granted the highest honor.
"According to that native chieftain's memories, the nightmare phenomenon here only occurs on the full moon night each month — the rest of the time it's just an ordinary forest..."
Leylin then looked toward the forest. The dark red mist had long since dissipated, and the surface of the green canopy was covered in a layer of white water vapor — nothing special at all could be discerned.
"Only a dozen or so hours each month for research — that's far too short. It looks like I'll have to stay here for quite a long time..."
Leylin thought with a sigh.
In truth, if any other beings of law in the
The chance to study the power of dreams, or even directly obtain the inheritance of a Nightmare Wizard — even if it cost them tens of thousands of years, they would leap at the opportunity.
But Leylin only felt a brief twinge of regret before plunging into intensive research.
Compared to the mage ruins of the World of the
"Even the outermost layer of dream contamination has spawned monsters at the Legendary level — deeper layers will certainly be even more dangerous... Fortunately, I already obtained firsthand data last time, so at least I'm not without direction for my research..."
Leylin gazed at the vast Nightmare Forest, a feverish gleam burning in his eyes.
......
Spring gave way to autumn. Without anyone realizing it, more than a year had passed.
The island Leylin had named 'Nightmare Island' had completely transformed. The original native tribe had long since vanished — its members either killed or reduced to slavery and relocated elsewhere.
Next to what had once been the Nightmare Forest now stood a two-story villa. In the garden before it, golden tulips bloomed and purple wisteria vines clung to the fence, their faint fragrance lingering in the air.
In the garden, Leylin held a white watering can as he tended to the plants with unhurried ease.
The soil at the base of the flowers greedily soaked up the moisture, turning damp before long. Droplets of crystal-clear water clung to the calyxes, stems, and leaves — translucent and bright, like liquid crystal.
"
Once he had finished the task at hand, Leylin picked up a white towel and dried his hands, then settled into the wicker chair at the center of the garden to admire the fruits of his labor.
Yet at the bottom of his eyes, the blue glow of the Chip never dimmed even for a moment — it was clearly running continuous precision simulations and calculations.
"After all these years of research… I finally have results…"
Leylin gazed at the map projected by the Chip. In the translucent overlay, Nightmare Island was now divided into three layers, with the surface Nightmare Forest merely the outermost one.
"The remains of an ancient Nightmare Wizard have already broken through the surface and descended deep underground, while this forest outside is merely a lock-like structure formed by a wisp of power leaking from the dreamscape?"
Leylin's expression grew solemn.
A remnant of such a terrifying rule-defying existence — even his main body would need to exercise extreme caution. With the strength of this split soul, he had to be careful with every single step, or he would die without ever knowing what killed him.
"Fortunately, I still have the data from my earlier research on the dream world, and the power of dreams in the
"Still, right now the most important thing is to increase my strength…"
Leylin walked into the villa and entered a secret chamber. His eyes swept over the many bizarre stone sculptures, totems, and other objects, a contemplative look surfacing in his gaze.
These reliefs and carvings all shared a crude, rough style — absurd and grotesque, brimming with the primitive civilization's fantastical notions of supernatural power. But what they all had in common was the glow of faith power saturating them, golden light flooding the entire chamber.
"Immature faith power?"
Leylin pondered. These were all spoils of war the Scarlet Tiger had seized from various native tribes — objects of worship from primitive peoples, saturated with crude faith energy. Some even contained heroic spirits and certain nature spirits, all of which had now been completely sealed.
"Even though I've avoided the native tribes guarded by legendary-level nature spirits and the factions that worship the Ocean Goddess, the outer seas are vast beyond measure. These spoils really aren't that many…"
Leylin strolled over to a blood-red animal-hide banner. On its dark brown surface, vivid pigments depicted the totem of a two-headed wolf, laced throughout with dense, chaotic faith power. The wolf on the banner looked as though it might leap out at any moment, yet it was firmly held back by an unyielding seal.
"An entity between a specter and a nature spirit! It hasn't even developed divinity — how could it possibly stand against Isabelle, that dragon-blood sorceress?"
Leylin sensed the heroic spirit within the banner. The entity had already grown sharp fangs and pointed ears, with a fleshy growth bulging beside its neck. Clearly, what had once been a native ancestor spirit was now well on its way to transforming into the two-headed wolf.
"Poor thing, tossed about by the forces of faith..."
Leylin gazed at the dim-witted heroic spirit, and not a shred of pity showed in his eyes.
This heroic spirit must have been a heroic figure in its original tribe, receiving widespread worship only after death and merging with the tribe's collective faith.
If the transformation of its form were ever completed, that would likely have been the day of its apotheosis.
Unfortunately, its path conflicted with his own. So what was there left to say?
"Thankfully, none of these faith totems have converted their power into true divinity. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare absorb them..."
Leylin extended his right hand, and within his eyes the spectral shadow of the Targaryen Wyvern faintly surfaced. A terrifying devouring force swept over the animal-hide banner.
"Talent — Devour!"
Whoosh! Wisps of golden radiance, like a great dragon drawing up water, were pulled from the banner by an invisible force, only to vanish into the void's black hole.
Vast quantities of impure faith power, mingled with soul fragments and thick with emotion, were swallowed by the invisible black hole and refined into the purest origin energy.
In just a few breaths, the dark-gold glow on the animal-hide banner dissipated entirely, and the monstrous wolf totem lost all its vitality, as though it had become a lifeless object.
『Beep! Divine power converted to energy reserves: 3.8%! Overall progress: 89.77%!』The Chip promptly displayed a notification box.
"Just as expected of a minor tribe's sacrificial offerings — far too little energy!"
Leylin shook his head with clear dissatisfaction. With a wave of his hand, the remaining statues and totems rose into the air as well.
The enormous black hole devoured these lesser sacrifices in an instant, converting them into the purest source energy. Afterward, Leylin watched as the data displayed on the Chip's interface began to climb steadily higher.