Wizard: I Have a Nightmare World

Lynn discovered that, perhaps because he had come to the Totem World, he could perceive the surging energy in this world more clearly. It was a turbid and violent power, somewhat similar to the totem power of the Totem World, but more ancient and darker.

He took a deep breath and walked toward a dark basin in the distance.

His footsteps sizzled on the sticky ground.

The sulfurous smell in the air grew stronger and stronger, forcing him to mobilize his mental energy to form a thin protective barrier around his body.

After walking about three kilometers, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A vast expanse of ruins appeared before him.

The scale of the ruins was astonishing. Broken stone pillars reached tens of meters high, and the collapsed walls were covered with densely packed runes. The ground was covered with shattered black stone slabs, and dark red light seeped from the cracks in the slabs, as if foreshadowing something ominous buried beneath this land.

Lynn's pupils contracted slightly. He recognized the style of these runes. It was an extremely ancient totem rune, strikingly similar to the rune structures he had seen when dissecting middle-aged totemists in the totem world, but more complex and more primitive.

"Could this be... the ruins of a totem civilization from a nightmare world?"

A bold guess came to Lynn's mind.

He cautiously stepped into the ruins, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.

He simultaneously extended his mental energy outwards to perceive all energy fluctuations within the surrounding area.

Just then, he sensed a strong energy fluctuation coming from deep within the ruins.

It wasn't the aura of a living being; it was more like some dormant entity being awakened by his arrival.

Lynn stopped in his tracks, gripping his short sword tightly in his right hand, while a wind blade had already materialized in his left, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

Deep within the ruins, a gigantic figure slowly rose to its feet.

It was a humanoid creature wearing tattered armor, no more than three meters tall, covered in jet-black armor, with a pair of curved horns on its helmet, more like the horns of some kind of demon.

He held a giant sword burning with red flames in his hand. The flames danced on the blade but did not emit any heat.

Most notably, this creature had no eyes beneath its helmet visor; instead, two dark red flames burned beneath.

"Nightmare creatures?!"

Lynn's mind raced as he recalled the information he had seen in the academy's encyclopedia.

"These types of nightmare creatures are collectively known as 'Ember Knights,' common monsters in the nightmare world. They possess combat strength equivalent to a wizard apprentice, with extremely powerful physical attack capabilities and fire resistance..."

However, this Ember Knight was very different from the one he had seen inside the barrier.

The Ember Knight seemed to sense Lynn's presence, slowly raising its head, the two dark red flames beneath its helmet locking onto Lynn's direction.

It let out a low growl and then strode towards Lynn.

It was extremely fast, and its three-meter-tall body made heavy footsteps on the ground, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The greatsword, burning with dark red flames, trailed behind him, leaving a burning trail on the ground.

Seeing this, Lynn took the initiative to go to meet him.

He had to test his combat effectiveness in the nightmare world without the protection of the barrier.

When the Ember Knight was about ten meters away from him, he suddenly swung his greatsword and swept it horizontally.

The giant sword, carrying a terrifying aura, drew a burning arc in the air, as if it were about to cleave everything in two.

Lynn didn't fight head-on. Instead, he used his agility to dodge to the side. The greatsword swept past him, and the heat wave brushed against his cheek, bringing a stinging sensation.

As he turned to the side, he swung his left hand out suddenly, and the wind blade that had been condensed beforehand roared out, heading straight for the Ember Knight's neck.

Whoosh!

The wind blade hit its target with pinpoint accuracy!

But to Lynn's surprise, the wind blade only left a faint white mark on the Ember Knight's neck armor before disappearing.

"Such strong defense?"

Lynn felt a chill and immediately changed his tactics.

He knew that ordinary wind blade spells would hardly be able to inflict effective damage on the Ember Knight, and he had to use stronger attack methods.

He quickly retreated to create distance, while simultaneously mobilizing the magic within his body, preparing to unleash an even more powerful spell.

But the Ember Knight gave him no chance to catch his breath, catching up again and slashing down with his greatsword once more!

Lynn immediately activated his magic model, and a curtain of water formed in front of him.

Water Curtain Technique!

The giant sword struck the water curtain, causing it to tremble immediately. At the same time, the flames on the giant sword were extinguished and deflected by the rebound force within the water curtain.

Taking advantage of this brief respite, Lynn immediately activated other sorcery models.

Wind Binding Technique!

Several cyan wind chains appeared out of thin air, coiling around the Ember Knight's legs and arms like venomous snakes.

The Ember Knight roared, trying to break free of its restraints, but the wind chains were exceptionally strong, holding it firmly in place.

Although the chains cracked with every struggle, they could at least hold it in place for a few seconds.

Lynn seized the opportunity, took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and condensed an even more refined wind blade.

This time, he compressed his mental energy to the extreme, and the size of the wind blade was reduced by half compared to before, but its condensation level increased several times, and its edges shimmered with dazzling light.

This is an advanced use of the Wind Blade technique, called "Gathering Wind Slash". Although it consumes a lot of resources, its cutting power far exceeds that of ordinary wind blades.

"go!!"

Lynn gave a low shout, and the Wind Slash burst forth.

This time, the wind blade struck the Ember Knight precisely on the neck, right where the wind blade had left a white mark.

puff!

With a muffled thud, the condensed wind pierced into the armor!

The Ember Knight let out a painful roar as dark red blood gushed from its wound.

He struggled frantically, finally breaking free of the wind-binding chains, and swung his greatsword fiercely at Lynn.

Lynn, however, was prepared. He moved like a ghost, and with a flick of his right hand at his waist, he took out a glass bottle the size of a thumb.

That was a paralyzing drug he concocted in the real world using plant toxins extracted from amber.

He immediately materialized in the Nightmare World, then threw the glass bottle at the Ember Knight's face. At the same time, he manipulated the model, and three wind blades shattered the glass bottle in mid-air, while simultaneously flying towards the Ember Knight.

The potion fell like rain onto the Ember Knight's cheeks, seeping into the eye sockets where the two dark red flames were located.

The Ember Knight's body stiffened abruptly, his movements slowing. Although the paralysis effect couldn't last long, it was enough for Lynn to create a fatal opening.

Without hesitation, Lynn flashed forward, cutting in from the side of the Ember Knight, his short sword aimed straight at the wound he had just inflicted!

The short sword pierced the wound, and the poison on the blade spread through the bloodstream.

The Ember Knight let out a final wail, his body trembled violently, and then he collapsed with a thud. The dark red flames inside his armor quickly went out, leaving only a black shell.

Lynn, panting heavily, took a few steps back and looked warily at the empty shell.

A few seconds later, the Ember Knight's body began to disintegrate, turning into wisps of black mist that dissipated into the air, leaving only a fist-sized black fragment in place, its surface shimmering with a faint light.

Lynn stepped forward, picked up the black fragment, and held it in his palm.

The moment he touched the shard, a strange power surged into his body.

The feeling was like a stream of warm water flowing down my arm and rushing straight to my mind.

His mental energy suddenly surged at that moment, as if something had been activated.

Lynn could feel a slight increase in his mental strength!

"This is?"

Lynn stared wide-eyed at the black fragment in his hand in disbelief.

Could it be that defeating monsters in the Nightmare World can directly boost one's mental strength?

Just then, he sensed an even more terrifying aura coming from behind him.

Lynn turned around abruptly and saw a figure about two meters tall standing at the other end of the ruins, staring at him with icy eyes.

It was a figure wearing a tattered cloak, with blue totem patterns painted on his face, and gray hair standing upright on his head.

A fist-sized black crystal core was embedded in his chest, its surface shimmering with an eerie light.

This guy held a spear made of black energy, with a ghostly blue flame burning at its tip.