Chapter 19 - 16: Anchor Point and System

Chapter 19: Chapter 16: Anchor Point and System

Junior Sister Li’s expression was entirely innocent.

And she probably was. Back when they first met, Li Xixue likely wasn’t even a Dream Descender yet.

Professor Luo, however, was a different story.

Shi An seriously suspected there might be other hidden experts among the people he knew.

Oh, wait. He was hiding his identity too? Then never mind.

On the surface, Shi An was just an ordinary wage earner. In reality, he was an active employee of the Countermeasures Bureau. On an even deeper level, he was the Manager of the Safe Zone—a guiding light and provider of sanctuary for many lost Dream Descenders.

"Still, I didn’t sense the aura of a Dream Curse Object on Junior Sister Li, whereas I felt it on K before," Shi An mused.

"Is it because she isn’t a Dream Descender? Or... do higher-level Dream Descenders stop leaking aura because they’ve completely fused with their Dream Curse Objects?"

He leaned toward the latter.

After all, Professor Luo also seemed like an ordinary person in his eyes.

While there was a small chance Junior Sister Li was truly ordinary, it was downright impossible for the professor leading this class to be one.

RING!

The familiar class bell rang.

Professor Luo walked up to the podium and opened his presentation slides, just as he would for a regular public lecture. However, his opening words were vastly different.

"Today’s lecture will cover two main topics: how to stabilize your Anchor Point in reality, and the Cultivation of Dream Descenders.

"As everyone knows, people who are active in the Nightmare World year-round—namely, Dream Descenders—must constantly stabilize their Anchor Point in reality. Otherwise, they will easily lose themselves in the Nightmare World.

"For ordinary people, strengthening their Anchor Point in reality can also reduce the probability of being targeted by a Nightmare."

Professor Luo’s lecture was accessible and easy to understand, avoiding any overly profound or cryptic jargon.

However, was this really something "everyone knows"?

Shi An certainly didn’t know! This course didn’t cater to newcomers at all.

Well, it was normal for the class not to hold the hands of beginners. Based on context clues, Shi An could still follow along.

"So, how do we stabilize and strengthen our Anchor Point in the real world?" Professor Luo continued.

"It’s quite simple. You just have to live like an ordinary person and do what ordinary people do. Students should go to school; employees should go to work. Your identity—a student of a certain school, an employee of a certain company—will serve as your foundation for resisting Nightmares in the future.

"Your classmates, friends, and colleagues form a web of relationships. This web is the key to holding you firmly in place and preventing you from getting lost in the Nightmare World.

"As everyone knows, the time a Dream Descender spends plunged into a Fallen Dream will grow progressively longer. A single Nightmare can stretch from a brief hour or two to over ten hours, or even last for days or half a month.

"When that time extends indefinitely, we become lost in the Nightmare World. I’m sure I don’t need to explain the consequences of that.

"Of course, doing what you’re supposed to do is only the foundation. To strengthen your Anchor Point beyond that, you must pay attention to the following points..."

So that was what an Anchor Point meant. Shi An finally understood.

No wonder he had heard that caseworkers held a secondary, public identity as corporate employees in addition to being staff at the Countermeasures Bureau.

He previously thought it was merely a disguise, since the Countermeasures Bureau didn’t exist in the eyes of ordinary people. Now, it was clear that it also served to strengthen their Anchor Point in reality.

"Speaking of which, K goes to school and works a part-time job. Is she stabilizing her own Anchor Point?" Shi An wondered.

"And Junior Sister Li is a junior in college, works part-time as a teaching assistant, and is incredibly eager to intern and start a career. Could this also be...?"

Suddenly, everything made perfect sense.

According to Professor Luo’s theory, gloomy shut-ins were the most susceptible demographic to being targeted by Nightmares. They often disappeared without a trace, only to be discovered long after the fact.

Shi An found this highly logical, but a moment later, he paused. "Wait a minute. That sounds exactly like me!"

Although he had a job, he was too lazy to attend social events unless absolutely necessary. The only times he occasionally went out were when he was dragged along by Hajilu and Old He.

He was practically in the high-risk group.

Well, at least he wasn’t afraid of falling into a Nightmare anymore. Whenever he experienced a Fallen Dream, he could simply open a portal and return to the Safe Zone. For him, a Fallen Dream was no different from going home.

The content of this first class was deeply relevant to both Dream Descenders and the many staff members fighting on the periphery.

After all, the vast majority of people preferred to avoid getting tangled up in Nightmares.

As for the second class...

"It’s actually about the Cultivation of Dream Descenders?" Shi An thought.

"Most of the people in this room probably aren’t Dream Descenders. There are likely only a few newcomers here, just like K."

Ordinary people constantly tried to avoid being targeted by Nightmares. Listening to this material seemed utterly useless for them.

But then Shi An reconsidered. "That’s true. The caseworkers and logistics staff at the Countermeasures Bureau are frequently exposed to Nightmare-related information, so their chances of experiencing a Fallen Dream are already much higher than those of ordinary people. Given that, they might be called peripheral personnel, but aren’t they practically reserve Dream Descenders?"

Since they were reserves, learning this information in advance would greatly aid their future survival.

In fact, the bulk of the materials Old Song gave him yesterday focused on how to respond if one encountered an "initial Nightmare."

Shi An had skimmed through them and had to admit they were extremely useful.

If ordinary people knew these countermeasures in advance, their chances of surviving their first Nightmare would be quite high.

However, information about Nightmares couldn’t be spread—not even through subtle hints or reminders in movies and TV shows. Shi An still remembered complaining about how hard it was to find any suspenseful or gory shows in this world.

"The employees at the Countermeasures Bureau have several main categories of work. One of them seems to be... finding those prospective newcomers who have just been targeted by a Nightmare and guiding them through their initial dream."

The second class began.

"As everyone knows, as time passes, Dream Descenders sink deeper and deeper into the Sea of Nightmares, facing increasing dangers. At that stage, relying solely on wits is rarely enough to survive; we also need power.

"When facing certain Nightmares that invade reality, the strength of a Dream Descender becomes our most crucial asset."

Shi An’s gaze sharpened.

Yes, his guess had been right. The documents yesterday had briefly mentioned that dangers also existed in the real world.

Unfortunately, Professor Luo didn’t elaborate on the topic of "Nightmares invading reality." Perhaps such matters were still too far removed for rookies and peripheral caseworkers like them.

Professor Luo continued, "There are four stages to a Dream Descender mastering a Dream Curse Object: Borrowing, Fusion, Control, and Refinement.

"Borrowing, as the name implies, is simply using the Curse Object. But there are nuances. Ordinary people can, at best, forcefully activate it, whereas experienced Dream Descenders know how to trigger it at a smaller cost. When we use a certain Curse Object frequently enough that it feels as natural as an extension of our own body, we can then attempt Fusion.

"Fusion is the most dangerous stage.

"Historically, in order to fight Nightmares, the first generation of Dream Descenders often forcibly fused with Dream Curse Objects—a process with a staggeringly low survival rate. However, thanks to the countless sacrifices of the Dream Descenders who came before us, Great Xia has forged a safe path for fusing with Curse Objects. This includes a complete Cultivation system that spans from initial use all the way to Refinement.

"Of course, even so, using a Dream Curse Object inevitably comes with a price. This is unavoidable.

"The Fusion Stage is when one is most affected by the Curse Object. This price includes draining one’s own Life Force, as well as enduring the various bizarre influences of the Curse Object itself. Therefore, a Dream Descender shouldn’t linger in this stage. The faster you pass through it, the more of your own potential you can retain.

"Naturally, this stage is also the most critical. We call the fused Curse Object a ’Lifebound Curse Object.’ Its quality and traits will determine a Dream Descender’s future path.

"In the Control Stage, as the name suggests, the Dream Descender can wield their Curse Object relatively flawlessly. They can unleash its greater power while minimizing its side effects on themselves.

"As for the Refining Stage? It means grasping the Curse Object and Refining it in an instant. If you can reach this stage, you can truly be called a master among Dream Descenders."