Chapter 37: Chapter 37: New Skill And New Items
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"It’s... mostly because we Nightmare Entities inherit memories from the Nightmare Dimension," explained Dryad. "Ugh! Why am I even answering this question?!"
Mongrel laughed loudly. "Hah! You’re finally growing some proper demon claws! Good, good. Now you don’t look so much like a spoiled dragon princess. Perhaps you might have the potential to eventually evolve into a Nightmare Dragon. What do you think, huh? Join the dark side."
"No thank you," I sighed, shaking my head. "I’m happy with what I have for now... though, Nightmare Dragons do sound cool."
I ignored both of them and moved on to the next item, the [Nightmare Affinity Skill Scroll (A Grade)].
I unfurled it without hesitation. Thick, thorny black vines made of pure nightmare energy erupted from the scroll and wrapped around my arms before sinking into my skin. "Whoa?! What the...?" A cold, creeping sensation spread through my body, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt... natural. Just when I said I didn’t want to become a Nightmare Dragon, I was already learning Nightmare Skills.
Ding!
[You have used the [Nightmare Affinity Skill Scroll (A Grade)] x1!]
[You have learned the Nightmare Skill: [Nightmare Thorn Domain – Tier 1: Level 1/10]!]
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[Nightmare Thorn Domain – Tier 1: Level 1/10]
Description: You can now spread a domain of living nightmare thorns that feed on fear, pain, life force, and soul essence.
Effects: Create an area filled with moving thorns that deal continuous piercing + nightmare damage. Thorns drain Spirit and apply fear effects. Drained energy can be converted into your own Soul or Fantasium.
Synergy: Strong synergy with Dryad (as your familiar) and any plant-based abilities. Can be merged with your Sorrowful Ice Garden for horrifying ice-thorn combinations.
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Huh, this was not a bad skill at all. I really liked the new "Synergy" tab that now appeared inside skills. It greatly expanded what they could do and what they could combine with—my existing abilities or even my familiars. Apparently, Dryad could merge with this skill? That sounded cool as hell. It might give me the edge I needed for the battles ahead.
"W-What is that skill?!" Dryad made a horrified squeaking sound. "You’re going to use me as fertilizer for nightmare thorns, aren’t you?!"
I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What are you even talking about?" I laughed. "What exactly made you think this would turn you into fertilizer? It does have a symbiotic relationship with you. If I combine you with this skill, the results might be impressive. And since you’re just a tiny seedling right now, that’s probably as far as your usefulness goes, little one." I said with an innocent smile.
She looked like she wanted to bite me. "I don’t trust you... And I don’t like this! Free me at once!"
"Would you rather die then?" I wondered. "Or...?"
"D-Die?! Come on now... you’re taking things too far!" she muttered, her whole tone shifting.
I giggled and finally reached for the two pieces of equipment.
The first was the [Nightmare Plant Sovereign Bracelet (A Grade)], a beautiful living vine bracelet with pulsing purple flowers and black thorns. The moment I slipped it onto my left wrist, it tightened gently and fused with my scales, becoming part of me.
"Wow, this is stylish."
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[Nightmare Plant Sovereign Bracelet (A Grade)]
[Item Type]: [Bracelet] [Nightmare Relic]
[Item Requirements]: [1,000,000 Fantasium]
[Item Parameters]: [Physical Defense]: [10%] [Magic Defense]: [30%] [Durability]: [10,000]
[Item Bonuses]: [+20% Spirit] [+20% Soul] [+20% Fantasium] [+30% Vitality] [+30% Power to all Plant, Nature, and Nightmare-type Skills.]
[Item Skill]: {Sovereign’s Garden}: Plant-type attacks and familiars gain +200% intelligence, range, power, and loyalty. By infusing Fantasium, grants the ability to conjure [Nightmare Blooming Vine Wall] to defend against attacks and unleash vine attacks everywhere once a hit is taken that can drain Lifeforce and Fantasium from a foe.
[Item Description]: A mysterious bracelet forged from the leftover plant nightmare energy of the Plant Sovereign. It is a special bracelet capable of creating a domain of nightmare plants and summoning deadly vampiric vines to drain foes’ energies and bind them with ease.
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Pretty good. No wonder I felt stronger and more energetic the moment I equipped it—this bracelet offered a 30% bonus to Vitality. With it, I finally felt like I had far more energy, which was wonderful. The skills themselves seemed excellent; I was sure Dryad would benefit greatly from their effects.
The last item was the [Abyssal Nightmare Vine Whip (A Grade)]. A long, elegant whip that looked as if it had been braided from nightmare thorns and living shadows. When I grabbed the handle, it happily coiled around my arm like an affectionate snake. Well, that was weird.
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[Abyssal Nightmare Vine Whip (A Grade)]
[Item Type]: [Whip Weapon] [Nightmare Relic]
[Item Requirements]: [1,000,000 Fantasium]
[Item Parameters]: [Physical Attack]: [400%] [Magic Attack]: [400%] [Durability]: [10,000]
[Item Bonuses]: [+20% Spirit] [+20% Soul] [+20% Fantasium] [+30% Dexterity] [+30 Agility]
[Item Skill]: {Devouring Lash}: This whip latches onto a target and drains their life force while pulling them toward you, temporarily binding them. Deals +500% hybrid Physical + Nightmare damage. Can extend up to 50 meters and split into multiple vine whips for extended range. Strong synergy with Nightmare Thorn Domain.
[Item Description]: A mysterious whip forged from the leftover plant nightmare energy of the Plant Sovereign. It is a special whip made of deadly thorns that are hungry for the blood and souls of your enemies. A powerful and bizarre whip that will even protect its master.
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I had never fought with whips before. I still had my shapeshifting weapon too, but this one didn’t seem bad at all. I could always feed it to my shapeshifting weapon later, but for now I would keep it and combine their effects. The more allies I had, the better. This whip seemed alive somehow, and it clearly favored me, so I decided to keep it for the time being.
"Now let’s see..."
I gave the whip an experimental crack. The sound echoed like a thousand screaming whispers. Dryad fell off from the shockwave and foam bubbled from her little mouth. Oops. But yeah, this was perfect. It should be excellent for controlling the battlefield.
"Um, Dryad, are you okay?" I asked, walking toward her.
I was met only with her furious glare. She clearly wanted to bite me but couldn’t because of her new obedience.
"Grrrr! Are you testing me?!" she hissed. "I am an almighty being that almost killed you! Show me some respect, child!"
"Sorry," I laughed. "Here, eat this." I offered her a Nightmare Core, which she reluctantly accepted.
With everything checked and equipped, I felt ready to depart. I had rested well, and I didn’t think I should wait any longer. The commotion from our battles might have already awakened the boss—if there even was one.
The Nightmare Corruption, however, had slowed to a crawl, and the nightmare miasma in the air had grown incredibly thin.
"Alright everyone," I said, stretching my arms as my new cloak fluttered behind me. "Let’s keep moving. There’s still at least one more Nightmare Beast King and... Wait, Dryad, can you tell me who they are?"
"...I don’t know," Dryad responded angrily. "I was born here and had barely gained the knowledge to expand my garden before you came and killed me."
"Wait, so you and that bat guy... you didn’t know each other?" I asked.
"We did," she said. "We’ve interacted for some time. Our personalities formed as we grew, feeding on the Nightmare Essence and the rich Soul Essence of this realm. Thanks to all the Soul Beasts the Nest has devoured and assimilated, our growth was greatly accelerated. We Nightmare Beast Kings are superior, advanced, evolved beings born directly from the Nightmare Nest—Ugh! Why am I telling you this?!"
"I see. So the Nightmare Nest is like a living being..." I said. "Mongrel, you mentioned a core. Is this what you were talking about?"
"Yeah," Mongrel nodded. "Nightmare Nests are like living beings. The Core is their heart. These three Nightmare Beast Kings were probably created to guard it and raise giant armies of Nightmare Beasts to conquer the rest of this realm. Luckily, we got here before they could launch their invasion. With only one left underground, they’ve been permanently crippled. All that’s left is to deal with the last one and we’re done here. Your aunt should already be feeling much better by now."
"Really?!" I gasped. "Astraea! How’s my aunt doing?"
[She’s been sleeping for a while, but I’ve been constantly monitoring her life signals. You’re not wrong—she has improved dramatically. Her breathing is no longer ragged, and the miasma in her body has begun to fade away naturally as black ashes carried off by the wind. She’s far more stable now!]
"Ah, that’s a huge relief!" I sighed. "But she’s still not free, right?"
[No... the curse lingers. It has been severely weakened, but it might threaten her life again if it regrows. Mongrel wasn’t wrong—the curse was indeed connected to the Nightmare Nest, especially its Kings.]
"But why is that the case? Is there a curse that would even work this way?" I wondered. "It’s almost like... a living being."
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