Chapter 141: Nightmare Origin Tree and Clones

Night then spent some time roaming his Inner World, but returned after realizing it would take far too much time if he wished to explore it properly.

​Though [Dream] said the world was small, it was still bigger than the planet he lived on, so exploring it properly would have to wait.

​Besides, he could always drop the matter into System Girl’s lap and call it a day.

​First, though, he wanted to experiment with something before he began his training with [Dream].

​He also toyed with the idea of going to the academy, which would be starting in a week, but dropped the matter as well. Considering it was a waste of time, and with the ancient memories currently flooding his mind, he doubted he would get along with others his age.

​Though they hadn’t affected him negatively lately, he had been scanning every memory he possessed. So it was inevitable he was affected.

Levi’s memories were simple but mysterious, while Alze-beus’s memories were a treasure trove. The memories kept piling up as his core plant continuously devoured the Devil Monarch’s corpse.

​Now that I think about it, I should give it a name...

​After spending a grand total of two seconds on it, he shrugged and decided to call it the Nightmare Origin Tree.

​It was the reason his Main Body came into existence, so he decided to add ’Origin’ to it. It did nothing to break his trend of just slapping ’Nightmare’ in front of a name and calling it a day...

​Really...

​Then he thought about all the similar-sounding names he...

Nightmare Domain, Nightmare Fire, Nightmare Mist, and lastly, his own true name, [Nightmare]... He closed his eyes with a pained expression when he realized where this was going.

​I am terrible with names, aren’t I?

​He sighed.

...

​In the Training Hall.

​Night sat cross-legged on a mat. Nightmare Mist coiled around him like a dragon, but it didn’t damage a single thing in the room.

​He was in deep meditation right now.

​This time, instead of looking for deeper records, he was doing everything he could to scan his memories for a method that would save him time.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and smacked his forehead when he realized the solution to his problem was right in front of him all along.

​He had been looking through Alze-beus’s memories and the techniques transmitted by [Dream] for any way to clone himself or create extra bodies so that he could exist in multiple places at once.

​Alze-beus was capable of creating incarnations that he could control from Hell, so that was his first approach. But that hope was dashed quickly.

​Alze-beus knew how to create clones and incarnations, but for Night to be able to replicate it, he needed the full step-by-step method.

​From what little information he gleaned, the Devil Monarch did it using materials and resources that were only available in Hell.

So even if he had the full method, it was a tall order to bring it into reality.

​As for using the techniques he got from [Dream], none of them were something he could use with his current cultivation level of Peak Qi Awakening.

Though he could rush it, [Dream] had warned him that cultivation was not like leveling. It shouldn’t be rushed, especially when advancing to a new major realm.

​He took her guidance to heart.

As for Body Cultivation, he was at Rank 1 Perfect Mastery, which was the peak. He was waiting for his Soul Cultivation to reach the peak of Rank 1 as well. He wanted to advance at the exact same time for all three paths.

​In terms of Soul Cultivation, he was currently at Advanced Purity.

​Soul Cultivation followed a similar progression as Body Cultivation: Basic Purity, Advanced Purity, Master Purity, and Perfect Purity.

​I thought my soul was my greatest strength, but it turned out I was only broken in terms of soul size and capacity. The actual cultivation of the soul focuses heavily on purity.

​My Soul Purity is the same as others, so if I want to advance, I have to follow the exact same path.

​So basically, his dream of having an army of clones cultivating for him was crushed before it even became a possibility.

​But then he realized he had another way to pull it off. And in fact, this method was infinitely better.

​The answer to his dilemma was Zero...

​Her ability to clone herself was an Innate Skill she was born with. It was very similar to the Talent [Infinite Hunger] that Alze-beus had, but much more common.

​Innate Talents were rare, but many still had them. And if it was a skill his summon naturally possessed, he should be able to use it, even if it was innate.

​Night closed his eyes again and gently tugged at the soul bond connecting him to Zero.

​He was using this to formally request her permission to let him borrow her skill.

​Deep inside the Inner World, Zero, who was training her ice skills, paused. Sensing Night’s request, she happily granted him permission.

​As soon as she did, Night felt the information on how to use the skill flood his mind. It wasn’t just her Innate Skill; he felt like he could cast any skill Zero possessed.

​Night chuckled. "So much for eating my skills holding me back. I really am a walking cheat code at this point."

​He stood up, and the skill activated.

Nightmare Mist poured out of him and gathered in front of him like a small cyclone.

He felt his energy drain at a visible rate, but he had recently recovered a massive amount of energy from digesting Alze-beus’s corpse, so he was not worried in the slightest.

​The cloning process was simple. And to do it, he didn’t need to learn any complicated external techniques, nor did he have to forcefully rush his cultivation.

​The new body started forming. First the bones, then the muscles, tendons, blood, and lastly the skin. As it happened, a small portion of his mind and soul split from him and entered the body.

​The process was not ugly or grotesque; in fact, it felt strangely profound, almost like something holy.

​Soon, a naked clone of Night stood directly in front of him. As the process finished, he felt its mind, body, and energy sync perfectly with his own.

​As soon as the synchronization happened, he felt like he had a choice.

The choice was either to link their progress, like he had with his summons, meaning as he leveled up, so did the clone, but this path would significantly increase the total amount of EXP he needed as a whole.

​The other option was to keep it separate.

If he chose this, then his level and the clone’s level would be completely independent.

If he became Level 51 right now, the clone would still be Level 50; it would have to kill monsters to level up on its own. But the total EXP required for both of them individually would be a lot less.

​After some thought, he decided to go with the first option.

While the second option was objectively better, right now he was hard-stuck at Level 50 and couldn’t advance at all until he fully completed the System’s rank-up quests.

​As soon as he chose this, the clone opened its eyes.

Night felt like he suddenly possessed two completely different perspectives, and instantly, his senses exploded. He felt dizzy.

​It felt like someone had smashed his head in with a hammer. His nerves pounded furiously, as if they desperately wanted to escape from his skull.

​Thud. Thud.

​Both the main body and the clone fell onto the floor. The reason this happened was not because of senses, but because of the Nightmare Domain.

​As it turned out, it was an incredibly unpleasant experience to have two of his own Domains overlap. He felt like the fabric of the world was glitching around him, and it hurt like hell.

​The blinding pain only stopped after some time, when his Nightmare Domain finally managed to adjust itself to the interference.

​Clutching their heads, completely covered in cold sweat, Night and his clone stood up.

They both could clearly see the lingering fear in each other’s eyes. He didn’t think he would almost die to something so stupid.

​Die... Yes...

​For the very first time, he realized just how terrifyingly potent his Nightmare Domain actually was. He had almost died simply because the overlapping Domains had compounded and become twice as powerful.

​It seemed the Nightmare Domain was already working at its limit, which would perfectly explain the drastic reaction.

​After some time passed and he recovered, he started properly experimenting with his clone.

​He found out that operating it was not much different from intense multitasking, and his mind, which now possessed the records of the [Hive Mind] skill, was capable of handling something like this very easily.

​Realizing this, he excitedly tried it again.

​The same process repeated itself as Clone No.1 watched on.

​The body started forming. First the bones, then the muscles, tendons, blood, and lastly the skin. And, same as before, a portion of his mind and soul split from him and entered the new vessel.

​This time, he was prepared to endure the excruciating pain, but surprisingly, nothing happened.

​He guessed, his Nightmare Domain had already adapted to the feedback loop and adjusted itself before the same overlap could occur.

​"Hahaha, this is great!" all three Nights laughed in unison.

​Since he was already at it, he didn’t stop there. He created three more clones. Then he finally stopped.

​He realized six bodies in total were the maximum he could handle at once; any more, and he would not be able to control them effectively.

​But with five clones and one main body, he would not lose an ounce of efficiency, even if one, or all of them, were simultaneously engaged in a life-or-death battle.