Chapter 20 - 17: A Rudimentary Attempt at Curse Objects

Chapter 20: Chapter 17: A Rudimentary Attempt at Curse Objects

Shi An had already heard about the Tier system of Dream Descenders from Old Yao, but it was nowhere near as detailed as Professor Luo’s current explanation.

Shi An was now clear on the markers and prices of each Stage. Professor Luo had also roughly outlined how to advance through these Stages.

The Borrowing Stage required using the same Curse Object as many times as possible—frequent uses in small amounts—while carefully sensing the flow of the Dream Curse Object’s power during use. If one couldn’t feel the flow of power, they could instead focus on where their body felt discomfort. Starting with the side effects was also a viable way to experience a Dream Curse Object.

"Among them, Dream Crystal Dust is indeed a highly important Material."

When a Dream Descender used a Curse Object, it first consumed their physical stamina, followed by their Life Force. If their physical endurance was insufficient, they would consume more Life Force, and the side effects brought by the Curse Object would be more severe. Professor Luo had just mentioned the importance of physical training. A robust Physique couldn’t directly combat the bizarre, but it could support one in using Curse Objects more frequently.

However, even for a strong person, the side effects of frequent Curse Object use were still massive—enough to crush someone. At this point, they needed to rely on consuming Dream Crystal Dust to offset part of the price.

"The ratio of stamina to Dream Crystal Dust needs to be figured out on your own, usually ranging from one-to-nine to two-to-eight," Professor Luo explained. "However, official organizations like the Countermeasures Bureau seem to have equipment that can assist in this research.

"Another point is that while the Nightmare World is undoubtedly terrifying and makes many Dream Descenders pale at the mere mention of it, experiencing a Nightmare directly helps a Dream Descender master their Curse Objects. Even if you just Ordinarily survive a Nightmare, your Curse Object usage experience increases by one, giving you a more proficient feel for it. If you manage to conquer a Nightmare World, the benefit to yourself is absolutely immense."

Thinking of this, Shi An somewhat understood why the unremarkable newcomer K had become a rising star in the Countermeasures Bureau in the blink of an eye. Among the newcomers of the same batch, probably no one could compare to him now. Newcomers hadn’t fallen too deeply into Nightmares yet, so they usually wouldn’t encounter overly terrifying Nightmares. If one could quickly level up to the maximum during this time, wouldn’t entering the Nightmare World be an absolute slaughterfest?

Of course, K was still far from that level. Even if he stepped into the Fusion Stage, he was still just small fry in the Nightmare World. However, Shi An thought, "As long as they can come here to my Safe Zone, each and every one of them practically has a ticket to the Realm of the Strong."

As for the higher Control Stage and even Refining Stage, Professor Luo didn’t explain them in much detail. This course was, after all, meant for training newcomers; it was enough for the newcomers to have a general concept of High Tier Dream Descenders.

Shi An constantly took notes in his little notebook, listening entranced. With this information, he had a much clearer idea of where his Safe Zone’s advantages lay and what he could do when facing a Nightmare.

On the podium, Professor Luo continued, "When Dream Descenders develop Dream Curse Objects, there are different directions they can take. They can roughly be divided into the Extreme Path Stream and the Curse Magic Stream.

"The former relies on Curse Objects to unleash greater strength and faster speed. This type of Dream Descender can often rely on their Physique advantage to have stronger survivability in the Dreamfall World. But due to the limits of a mortal body, it is very difficult for them to directly contend against the bizarre.

"For the latter, the power unleashed by the Dream Curse Object is more peculiar. When facing the bizarre, they can sometimes trigger certain ’mechanic’ effects—like how common flames and light can drive away darkness. However, this type of Dream Descender is quite dependent on their environment. Also, because using Curse Objects comes with many inconveniences, their survivability tends to be somewhat weaker."

Shi An understood clearly. Old Yao was obviously an Extreme Path Stream Dream Descender, though currently, he wasn’t much stronger than an Ordinary person. Also a Phase Two Dream Descender, the Ability Xi Xue displayed was much more exaggerated—absolutely crushing against Ordinary people. She seemed to follow the Curse Magic Stream, but her survivability wasn’t weak at all. In fact, it was much stronger than Old Yao’s.

"Of course," Professor Luo said, "these streams are just rough classifications. A Dream Descender doesn’t necessarily have to stick rigidly to a specific stream. It’s just that when we develop and use a Curse Object, we should follow a stream that is compatible with it.

"If you complete a Fusion with a Curse Object that makes your eyes flash and then try to pursue the Extreme Path Stream, it obviously wouldn’t be suitable.

"Besides the two main streams, there are also some rarer ones. These streams have high requirements for Dream Curse Objects. Only a very few Curse Objects with matching Traits can be developed in these directions.

"For example: the Array Base Stream, the Sacrificial Stream, the Duo Bao Stream, the Yugui Stream, and so on."

Professor Luo only briefly mentioned these streams and didn’t elaborate further. Shi An was originally just listening as if to a story, but as he listened, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He thought, "The Yugui Stream? There’s actually a stream like this? The prerequisite for taking this path is that the Dream Curse Object possesses living Traits."

This was indeed very rare, but Shi An didn’t care. What he cared about was his realization, "Originally, after contracting Employee Number One, I worried about the problem of controlling the bizarre." The bizarre were enemies; they were disasters! Humans controlling the bizarre was simply too horrifying.

"But now, oh, since there are also Dream Descenders who can control the bizarre, then it’s fine," he reasoned to himself. "I can just pretend to be a Yugui Stream Dream Descender."

Though it seemed that Yugui Stream Dream Descenders couldn’t truly control the bizarre. They merely controlled their Curse Objects like puppets to carry out various tasks. The Curse Object wasn’t truly alive either; it only possessed active Traits and the Ability to act autonomously. It was like a single entity and resembled the bizarre, which was why it was called Yugui.

Even so, Yugui Stream Dream Descenders excelled in both reconnaissance and combat, and their survivability was equally impressive—making it a stream with a very high skill ceiling. Still, Shi An was different from them. Little Blood was a true bizarre entity, not a mere Curse Object or Ghost Object. But it didn’t matter, as long as he could fake it.

This class was full of practical knowledge. At this point, Professor Luo actually brought out several items with unique and weirdly bizarre shapes.

"It’s a Dream Curse Object!"

"What, it’s actually a Curse Object?!"

Many people exclaimed.

To them, Dream Curse Objects were still legendary Treasures. They had heard plenty about them, but hadn’t been able to see one with their own eyes. Not to mention several pieces at once. Shi An wasn’t as excited; he had already seen quite a few Dream Curse Objects. What’s more, he could tell at a glance that these were all Incomplete Level Curse Objects. However, what was Professor Luo doing bringing out these Curse Objects?

Professor Luo said, "For Dream Descenders, Curse Objects come with the concept of compatibility. Using a compatible Curse Object naturally makes the Fusion progress faster and lowers the price of usage.

"Right now, I have a few Curse Objects here. Anyone interested can come up and try them out to see which type suits you best."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the audience raised a hand. Shi An had an impression of this person. The faint aura of misfortune lingering around them made it obvious they were a newbie Dream Descender. The Dream Descender stepped forward to touch the Curse Objects one by one and, under Professor Luo’s guidance, attempted a superficial activation of them.

"The Curse Magic Stream is more suitable for you. Of course, if you get the chance, you might be able to go down the path of something like the Duo Bao Stream," Professor Luo advised.

Following that, the second, third, and fourth students went up to try in succession. They cherished this opportunity deeply. If they didn’t have the backing of a major faction and relied solely on themselves, they would likely never see so many Curse Objects in their lifetime, let alone be able to safely test them. And if they chose the wrong Curse Object, they would waste a massive amount of time. In a world where Nightmares were constantly chasing them, running just a little slower made it easy to fall into the danger zone, where they could be Slashed at any moment. Even though they felt some dread toward the Dream Curse Objects—fearing the side effects of using them—they each stepped forward bravely.

But after the four Dream Descenders finished their attempts, an awkward silence fell over the classroom. At this moment, there were still dozens of students attending the lecture. Yet, even those sitting in the front row merely looked at one another, simply not daring to go up. Curse Objects emanated an ominous aura that instinctively incited fear.

That would have been fine on its own. But the people present were even clearer on one point—touching a Curse Object would drastically increase the possibility of becoming entangled in a Nightmare! They were already a high-risk group; touching a Curse Object was equivalent to being struck with a countdown curse!

Professor Luo naturally understood this as well, but he was even more acutely aware of the Nightmare’s erosion of the entire world. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before everyone would have nowhere to hide and no way to retreat. Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to escape either. These students were people who had already been exposed to information about Nightmares; they might hide for a while, but they couldn’t hide forever. Only by forging bravely ahead could they secure a sliver of a chance to survive. Professor Luo wouldn’t force them, but he couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

While the crowd was hesitating, shrinking back, and resisting, Shi An stood up and strode toward the podium.

He thought, "I have no choice but to do it myself."