Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

Richard looked at the questioning Nightmare Spirit before him with a hint of curiosity.

"What language is this little creature speaking? I can actually understand it."

"Caw, this is a special language of the Nightmare World, understood by all nightmare creatures," Ulysses explained. "Once you have Nightmare Power, you'll be able to speak it too."

Richard's expression flashed with surprise at this revelation.

Having not traveled to many worlds, his experiences were still limited, and the peculiar rules of the Nightmare World intrigued him greatly.

Seeing Richard wasn't responding, the Nightmare Spirit got a bit angry, baring its teeth and claws:

"Hey, big guy, I'm talking to you! Don't you know this is the territory of the Slap Gang?"

"The Slap Gang?" Richard's interest was piqued, and with a magical hand, he lifted the uniquely shaped Nightmare Spirit to eye level.

"Little creature, is the Slap Gang your organization?"

Realizing it was being lifted, the Nightmare Spirit flailed wildly, its patchwork limbs writhing.

"Let me go, let me go! You bastard, when I get down, I'll slap you into a meat patty!"

Richard was curious. Despite being a first-ring wizard with a significant amount of mental power, this little creature showed no fear of him.

"Caw, these little things can only sense your Nightmare Power. Right now, you have none, so in their eyes, you're just a big Nightmare Spirit," Ulysses explained, seemingly reading Richard's thoughts.

"However, this only applies to these low-level creatures. Slightly stronger nightmare creatures can sense you're from another world. This is why I advise you to gather Nightmare Power first."

"For nightmare creatures, the soul of an otherworldly being is a delicacy. Soul Power is much more valuable than Nightmare Power. Consuming the same amount of Soul Power is a hundred times more beneficial than the same amount of Nightmare Power."

"So never reveal your identity to nightmare creatures."

"Once you have Nightmare Power, you can use it to shape a body and disguise yourself, just like I do in the material world. This way, unless a Nightmare Lord appears, your identity should remain safe."

Richard felt a wave of relief. Without Ulysses, the ruler of this world, guiding him, he might have quickly been hunted and devoured by nightmare creatures.

Simultaneously, Richard grew curious about Ulysses' experiences.

"You know so much in detail; did someone guide you back then?" Richard asked.

Ulysses shook his head, somewhat proudly, and said, "Caw, I never had such a privilege. When I stumbled into the Nightmare World back then, the only advantage I had over you was my strength."

"I entered the Nightmare World with the power of a third-level being and mastery of some incomplete rules. Even without Nightmare Power, most nightmare creatures below a Nightmare Lord weren't my match."

"...Impressive."

Such a straightforward answer.

Richard tossed the noisy Nightmare Spirit aside with his magic hand and waited quietly in the bedroom.

Soon, a pitch-black rift appeared above the bedroom bed.

This rift started as thin as a hair and the length of a thumb but quickly expanded to the size of a palm and a finger wide.

"Caw, this is a dream rift. Through it, you can enter the dream of an intelligent creature," Ulysses explained.

"Such a small rift," Richard muttered, probing it with his mental power.

Instantly, Richard felt as if he had entered a new world.

The dream was ordinary, covering an area the size of a village. This village seemed no different from the one Richard knew before becoming a wizard's apprentice, except the houses were better, and the roads smoother.

The world was very quiet, with few living creatures.

Thus, Richard quickly found the main character of the world—a plain-looking farmer.

This farmer was anxiously waiting in front of the village bakery, and Richard, as the "Nightmare," could clearly perceive his thoughts.

"White bread, hot white bread!"

Reading this thought, Richard pondered.

He was here to scare this person, to give him a nightmare. Since he was waiting for white bread, Richard knew he had to focus on that.

But before scaring him, he needed to determine what he could do.

Richard attempted to alter a blade of grass at the dream's edge, and with his imagination, the entire dream suddenly trembled.

Then, Richard felt he could effortlessly change every detail of the dream.

It seemed he had seized control of the dream.

"Is it because my mental power surpasses the dream's owner too much?" Richard speculated.

With control over the dream, his options expanded.

As a wizard, the things he casually discussed were unimaginably terrifying monsters to a farmer.

"White bread, white bread, let's start with the white bread."

With a thought, a voice came from the bakery.

"George, your white bread is ready!"

A fat baker, wearing thick oven mitts, carried a basket of bread out of the house.

The basket was filled with white bread.

"George, your bread!"

The dream's owner saw the bread, and a wave of joy and satisfaction welled up inside him. This emotion was also a form of power, but as a nightmare creature, Richard couldn't harness it.

In his happiness, George took a piece of white bread, tore off a large chunk, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"White bread, I've finally gotten to eat white bread!"

But at the height of his excitement, Richard smiled slightly.

Heh heh heh, now that you're happy, it's time to contribute some Nightmare Power.

With a thought, the white bread in George's hands and mouth transformed.

The once fragrant white bread became a rotting arm, and what George was eating turned into decaying, maggot-ridden flesh.

As George chewed, he realized something was wrong. Looking at the bread in his arms, he was so terrified he collapsed to the ground.

The entire dream shattered along with it.

In the Wizard World, a farmer named George awoke with a start, immediately reaching for his mouth.

But he quickly realized it was just a nightmare.

"So it was a dream, scared me to death."

George wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, breathed a sigh of relief, and lay back down.

Meanwhile, in the Nightmare Wizard World, Richard's mental power was ejected as the dream collapsed.

"I scared him awake, so there should be Nightmare Power now," Richard mused, rubbing his chin as he watched the closing rift.

No sooner had he spoken than a black energy flew out of the rift, merging into his body.

At the same time, a message appeared before Richard.

[Material: Nightmare Power]

[Refinable Substance: Soul Essence]

[Refinement Cost: 0.01 Mental Power]

Seeing the message, Richard was thrilled.

Nightmare Power could be refined into Soul Essence!

Richard felt like he was dreaming!

This isn't Nightmare Power; it's Dream Power.

Richard immediately checked his body with his mental power and found the black energy circulating with his magic like magic itself.

With a thought, the Nightmare Power emerged from his magic flow and landed in his palm.

"Refine," Richard mentally commanded.

In an instant, the Nightmare Power vanished, replaced by a barely visible thread of Soul Essence in Richard's hand.

This tiny bit of Soul Essence, once consumed, would likely enhance his mental power by only about 0.0001.

In other words, Richard would need about ten thousand of these Nightmare Powers to obtain enough Soul Essence to increase his mental power by one point.

"Caw, what's this?" Ulysses, limited in perception due to being merely a projection, didn't immediately recognize it as Soul Essence.

"Caw, it's a soul—wait, why am I cawing like you now?" Richard spat before continuing, "This is Soul Essence refined from Nightmare Power. If we collect about ten thousand of these, we'll have enough Soul Essence to improve my mental power by one point."

"Caw, Soul Essence! Wow, your refining ability is incredible," Ulysses marveled. "Though the yield is a bit disappointing."

"The amount of Nightmare Power you just gathered could elevate two Nightmare Spirits to their limits. A normal nightmare crystal contains about ten units of Nightmare Power."

Richard waved dismissively. "Being able to refine Soul Essence is remarkable enough; don't be picky. Do you realize how rare Soul Essence is?"

"Caw, well," Ulysses recalled something, "I once saw an entire inner sea made of Soul Essence in the Eternal God King's small world."

"...That's the God King!" Richard shouted. "Top-tier powerhouses like that exist in only a handful of civilizations. To them, what counts as rare?"

"Caw, your refining ability."

"...Ulysses, I think we need to discuss why, after you surveyed the geomagnetic field, I still ended up forced into the Nightmare World. Wouldn't you call that negligence?"

"Caw, my dear master, let's change the topic, shall we?"

Richard absorbed the bit of Soul Essence into his body. Though small, every little bit counted.

"Caw, Richard, since you can refine Soul Essence, maybe there's another way for you to leave here," Ulysses suddenly suggested.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "What way?"

"Caw, if you can gather enough Soul Essence to break through your mental power bottleneck, your soul will enter what you call the Soul's Dim Space and then descend into the Sea of Souls. When your soul leaves the Sea of Souls, it will find its way back to your body."

"Oh?" Richard was momentarily stunned, then a smile crept onto his face. "It seems this Nightmare World might just be a blessing for me after all."

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