Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

"Nightmare Beasts? These creatures seem quite formidable," Richard noted as he observed the transforming Nightmare Beast before him, the wand in his hand gradually taking shape.

Nightmare Power can create realistic illusions; Richard could craft a body, and naturally, he could craft a wand.

However, crafting isn't without its limits.

When creating artificial objects, Richard must have a thorough understanding of the item, its materials, and its construction methods. For some materials, he needs to know their physical properties.

Additionally, there's a condition: Richard must have seen the item before.

Richard couldn't hypnotize himself into using Nightmare Power to create an illusory material or an artifact.

"Caw, the problem with these creatures isn't their power but that their appearance heralds a beast tide," Ulysses said, eyeing the Nightmare Beast with disdain. Their taste was even worse than that of the Nightmare Spirits.

Back in the day, Ulysses consumed many of these creatures to gather Nightmare Power, which left him thoroughly disgusted.

"The beast tides range in size. Small ones might have a few demigods, while large ones could include Nightmare Lords or even Nightmare King-level Nightmare Beasts."

Richard examined the energy pathways on the ground, deeply buried but visible through the thick earth.

This beast tide likely wouldn't be small.

As Richard contemplated, the Nightmare Beast in the forest took form, letting out a deep roar.

This beast was humanoid, standing about two meters tall, with a robust physique resembling a black tower amidst the forest.

Its body was clad in black armor, with vein-like ridges. The helmet completely covered its face, revealing only blood-red eyes and a drooling, sharp-toothed scarlet mouth.

After roaring, it charged at Richard, Nightmare Power flowing from its loins to form a nightmare steed, and a black lance appeared in its hand.

"A knight, is it? Let's call you Nightmare Knight for now."

As the Nightmare Knight charged, Richard flicked his wand, and the ground before it turned to mud. The steed stumbled, bringing the knight down.

With another flick, Richard transformed the mud into solid stone, trapping the Nightmare Knight.

Wizards have many ways to deal with brainless foes.

The stone clung tightly to the Nightmare Knight, limiting its ability to struggle despite its first-tier strength.

Richard approached, tiny runes forming in his palm. His mental power flowed through the alchemical array into the stone, which seemed to come alive, rapidly encasing the Nightmare Knight like a second skin.

In no time, the knight was fully encased.

Richard then used Nightmare Power to conjure a quill, engraving runes on the stone.

These runes served a simple purpose: reinforcing the stone prison.

The stone groaned under the knight's strain, fine cracks appearing, but as more runes were added, the cracks ceased growing and began healing under Richard's control.

The Nightmare Knight's struggles were futile against the runes.

"Caw, planning to dissect that thing?" Ulysses asked, curious about the stone-bound Nightmare Knight.

The wizard's methods were the most diverse of any race Ulysses had encountered; it was hard to imagine a single species wielding such varied abilities.

"Of course, this thing needs studying," Richard replied matter-of-factly.

For a wizard, any opportunity to gain knowledge is invaluable.

"Caw, and what about those?" Ulysses pointed to the forest, where more black figures were forming.

"Naturally, I'll kill them all," Richard said calmly.

...

Boom!

A black fireball exploded in the forest, flames scattering to obliterate two Nightmare Knights into black fragments.

Lacking mana stones for replenishment, Richard cast spells with careful precision rather than abandon.

One fireball sufficed; two were unnecessary.

A black crow darted through the forest, ferrying Nightmare Knight fragments to Richard for consumption.

Ulysses' aversion to these creatures was justified.

Nightmare Knights tasted ten times worse than Nightmare Spirits. As Richard consumed the fragments, it felt like drinking swill, a soul-deep nausea tormenting him.

But for Nightmare Power, Richard endured.

After all, he wasn't a nightmare creature.

Nightmare creature?

Richard paused mid-spell, his fireball dissipating.

He realized his folly.

Sensing an opening, a Nightmare Knight leaped, delivering a downward slash. The black sword whistled through the air, but Richard merely glanced at it, transforming his wand into a mithril spear.

Sidestepping, Richard thrust the spear upward, impaling the Nightmare Knight.

After dispatching the last Nightmare Knight, Richard exited the Nightmare Body, directing it to consume the fragments.

Then, a miracle occurred.

The nauseating sensation vanished, replaced by tastelessness and a satisfying fullness.

Those feelings made Richard, who had consumed so many fragments, feel foolish.

He should have realized sooner, sparing himself needless suffering.

But better late than never; plenty of fragments remained unturned to dust in the forest.

An hour later, Richard had consumed all the forest's Nightmare Knight fragments.

Despite much Nightmare Power dissipating during battle, the remaining power totaled nearly forty thousand units.

When this power was fully integrated into the Nightmare Body's energy cycle—

A mutation occurred!

The influx of Nightmare Power exceeded the cycle's capacity, threatening collapse.

At that moment, the energy cycle branched, forming a new pathway that absorbed the excess Nightmare Power, expanding into a broad thoroughfare.

With this new pathway, the entire energy cycle underwent a dramatic transformation.

The cycle, once as crude as a child's doodle, now resembled an art student's masterpiece.

Simultaneously, the Nightmare Core transformed, as a force from the Nightmare World's rules invaded Richard's core, imprinting a rule mark.

Under this mark, the Nightmare Core rapidly grew, producing a steady stream of mental power.

This mental power would typically strengthen the Nightmare Core's consciousness, but now it was entirely dominated by Richard's soul seed.

Once the core's growth completed, the rule mark disintegrated, merging with the Nightmare Body as a force of the Nightmare World's rules.

The mark seemed like a permit, necessary for the Nightmare Core's growth.

With everything complete, Richard's soul seed felt a tingling sensation, and the Nightmare Body's illusion of reality vanished. The humanoid form began to morph.

A black cloak emerged, enveloping the Nightmare Body in darkness, its interior inscrutable even to Richard's mental probing.

"Caw, seems this is your nightmare talent," Ulysses noted, surprised by the cloak. "A cloak that defies scrutiny—suits you."

"What does that mean?" Richard frowned. "What's a nightmare talent?"

"Caw, when nightmare creatures become Little Nightmares, they gain a nightmare talent. These talents vary wildly, covering all sorts of abilities. Typically, the talent aligns with the creature's personality.

A fiery temperament might yield an offensive talent, while a cautious one might be supportive. Eccentric minds produce talents as unpredictable as their owners. What was that word you used for strange behaviors?"

"Abstract, you mean."

"Caw, that's it. I once ate a nightmare creature whose talent made others trip where dung lay. Useless except for annoyance."

"So you tripped?"

"Caw, of course not. I swooped down from above to eat it."

With the cloak complete, the Nightmare Body's evolution seemed finished.

After waiting several minutes, Richard re-entered the Nightmare Body. The evolved body possessed the strength of a first-tier being, with its physique likely between 51 and 53, just entering the first-tier range.

But the gap between a first-ring wizard and an advanced wizard apprentice was vast.

Previously, controlling the Nightmare Body felt like an adult wearing a child's clothes, fearing they'd tear.

Now, Richard had a perfectly fitting suit.

"This body feels much better," Richard said, satisfied as he moved.

"Caw, don't get too comfortable. Nightmare Beasts have their detection methods. In a few days, a nearby Nightmare Lord will send someone. What then?"

"What then?" Richard smiled, a glint of coldness in his eyes. "Why, 'recruit' them, of course."