Chapter 34 - 31: Micro-Light Level Will, Curse Power and Curse Art

Chapter 34: Chapter 31: Micro-Light Level Will, Curse Power and Curse Art

The atmosphere inside the small shop in the Safe Zone was very harmonious.

A few injured Dream Descenders took this opportunity to bandage their wounds. The rest of the Dream Descenders also seized this rare chance to recover their stamina and Spirit, as well as to heal from the side effects of their Curse Objects. Given enough time to rest, the combat effectiveness of the entire team would be fully restored to its peak.

Under normal circumstances, however, they wouldn’t have any chance to rest at all.

"Boss, boss, could you tell us the difference between the Control Stage and the Fusion Stage?" someone asked at this time.

Right now, not only did they have a rare chance to rest in the Nightmare World, but for most Dream Descenders, being able to communicate face-to-face with an expert at the Control Stage was equally rare. The Manager seemed too mysterious, so they didn’t dare to casually disturb him, but Profound Sword, an expert from a large organization, seemed quite approachable.

Profound Sword pondered for a moment. He truly wouldn’t refuse to share information. His master, the Master of Extreme Intent, was someone who loved to teach the younger generation. Although his master hadn’t taken in many True Disciples, the number of students he had taught numbered in the thousands. When he encountered someone with Talent, his master would generously impart all his knowledge without holding anything back.

As a disciple, Profound Sword always remembered his master’s words: Do not hoard your knowledge; humanity is, and always will be, a single community.

"Are you wondering how to break through from the Fusion Stage to the Control Stage? Or perhaps why some people, despite reaching Perfection in the Fusion Stage and even conquering Nightmares, still cannot break through to the Control Stage?"

His words resonated deeply with many people. Many Control Stage experts had broken through naturally, and the only advice they left behind was to work hard on developing their Curse Objects and conquering Nightmares.

Shi An also listened carefully. As the dividing line between "experts" and "Ordinary Dream Descenders," the Control Stage did indeed seem difficult to reach.

Profound Sword said, "Everyone should know that from borrowing to Fusion, and then to Control, it is essentially a continuous process of developing a Curse Object. However, many people might not be clear about the degree of development required at each stage.

"In the borrowing stage, we can usually only bring out 1% to 10% of a Curse Object’s power.

"In the Fusion Stage, we can exert 11% to 80% of its power.

"And in the Control Stage, it ranges from 81% to 100%."

At this point, Shi An noticed a Blind Spot. Did that mean the gap between the Peak of Fusion Stage and the Control Stage wasn’t that large? That didn’t seem right.

Duckbill Hat asked the very question on Shi An’s mind. "Boss, why does it seem like there isn’t much of a difference between the Fusion Stage and the Control Stage?"

"You can’t just look at the numbers on paper," Profound Sword replied. "In the Control Stage, the side effects of using a Curse Object are significantly reduced, and you can preliminarily utilize Curse Power... Most importantly, the vast majority of those at the Peak of Fusion Stage can actually only bring out 30% or 40% of their Curse Object’s power. Reaching 50% is already the absolute limit.

"Of course, there is a small number of geniuses who can truly exert a Curse Object’s power up to 80%."

After saying this, he glanced at Xi Xue. This fierce fighter possessed such formidable combat prowess simply because she was incredibly compatible with her Curse Object, allowing her to push its power to the absolute limit. It was no wonder she was a highly promoted rookie by the Wizard’s House.

"To enter the Control Stage, pushing the Curse Object to its limit isn’t strictly necessary. Even if the development level is only at 40% or 50%, you still have the qualifications," Profound Sword continued. "However, stepping into the Control Stage requires fulfilling another condition—a Micro-Light Level Will."

"A Micro-Light Level Will?" The crowd was astonished.

Even the other Control Stage expert, Hair Ghost, looked over. It seemed he didn’t understand this either.

"It sounds very profound, but it’s actually not that magical," Profound Sword explained. "I’m not sure if you all have experienced this: you plan to get busy with something, but suddenly you start scrolling through short videos on your phone, and half an hour passes in a flash. Often, time slips away inexplicably.

"That is a lack of Will. The so-called Micro-Light Level Will means igniting the light of your own Will. At this point, we can feel the existence of our Will, and we can use it to control ourselves as well as our Curse Objects.

"The Micro-Light Level Will isn’t all that mystical either; it’s nothing more than continuously tempering your Will. In fact, experiencing a Nightmare is a process of tempering the Will. Those who can survive it usually don’t have weak Wills. After going through twenty or thirty Nightmares, igniting the Glow of Will wouldn’t be too difficult."

Even so, many people still felt that tempering the Will was a difficult and abstract concept. But at the very least, they now had a clear direction forward. If they could step into the Control Stage, their survival rate in the Nightmare World would increase significantly.

"There is a saying that circulates in the Dream Descender community: only when you reach the Control Stage do you have the Ability to contend with ghosts. This statement is both right and wrong," Profound Sword said.

Hair Ghost felt it was wrong, because his only method of stalling a ghost was to command his own Ghost Object to tank and delay it, while he took the opportunity to flee. However, a Yugui practitioner’s Ghost Object wasn’t much stronger than papier-mâché in the face of a true ghost. If this was the case for a Control Stage expert of the Yugui Stream like him, what about other streams with even worse survival capabilities? Where was this so-called Ability to contend with ghosts?

"Even if someone at the Control Stage develops their Curse Object to 100%, it’s still very difficult to truly contend with a ghost, let alone injure one," Profound Sword continued. "But, if our Dream Curse Objects were clearly peeled off from ghosts, why is their power so much weaker?"

Everyone felt it was perfectly normal for it to be weaker. They were humans, not ghosts, and humans naturally couldn’t beat ghosts. But this time, no one asked any questions, because the big shot Profound Sword would definitely continue explaining.

"It’s exactly because of Ghost Power, or rather, Curse Power!

"We are all just ordinary people and don’t inherently possess Extraordinary Power. But in fact, the cold aura that surges into our bodies when we touch a Curse Object is precisely Curse Power! It acts as an interference and an erosion, but at the same time, it is a power we can utilize!

"By utilizing this power to form special circulation pathways within our bodies, we can condense the power of the Curse Object and unleash it in the form of a Curse Art. This... allows us to truly injure, or even kill, a ghost!"

Profound Sword had explained it very clearly. Even if they developed a Curse Object to 100%, its power would still be scattered when used, which resulted in a severe lack of lethality. Curse Arts made up for this flaw.

Shi An pondered, "Does that mean when I tried to use the Invisible Corridor earlier, I had actually already grasped the embryonic form of a Curse Art?"

After all, the Invisible Corridor had no switch. It could only be activated when the cold aura flowing inside his body formed a complete closed loop. Wasn’t this extremely close to the Curse Art Skill that Profound Sword had just described? To think that a newbie Dream Descender like himself had already touched the threshold!

As expected of me.

...

"However, even if you learn a Curse Art, you merely gain the Ability to contend with ghosts. If you want to kill one, you still have to rely on mechanics," Profound Sword continued to educate them. "After all, a casual strike from a ghost is equivalent to us using a Curse Art. And our margin for error as humans is far lower than theirs."

He went on to explain that Curse Arts were divided into two main categories: Universal Curse Arts and Exclusive Curse Arts.

The former was rare, and usually only large organizations possessed such secret inheritances. Furthermore, the power of Universal Curse Arts was relatively weak. Their advantage was that most Dream Descenders could learn them.

The latter consumed less energy and possessed greater power. They were incredibly compatible with the user, but there was nowhere to learn them. You had to comprehend and develop them on your own. Because the Curse Objects everyone possessed were completely different, even the powerhouses within large organizations could at most provide a few suggestions and advice.

"Moreover, the Control Stage is merely the minimum threshold for learning Curse Arts. In reality, most Dream Descenders can only truly learn a Curse Art once they reach the Refining Stage. Well, it’s also much easier to learn Curse Arts during the Refining Stage," Profound Sword added.

Hair Ghost, who was listening on the side, thoroughly agreed with this. He did indeed know about Curse Arts, but he had no channels to learn Universal Curse Arts. As for Exclusive Curse Arts? He didn’t understand them. He didn’t understand them at all! He had researched them for two months without finding a single clue.

But suddenly, Hair Ghost realized something—did Profound Sword saying this mean he had already learned a Curse Art?

"I have indeed learned a Curse Art, but..." Profound Sword shook his head slightly. "My Curse Art is only at the Entry Level. I’m not proficient enough, so it’s quite difficult for me to execute it during combat."

At this moment, Shi An opened his interface and carefully re-examined the information on the Blood Hand Seal.

[Blood Hand Brand] and [Blood Concealment Body]!

These didn’t seem to be shallow applications of Abilities, nor were they Curse Object Abilities developed to 100%. Instead, they were two Curse Arts! Curse Arts that could be freely executed in combat!