Where Was the Dark Magic We Were Promised?!

Learning Nightmare Magic was even more difficult than Li Weide had imagined.

It was only after he had persisted for more than two hours and slept four or five times that he understood the helplessness felt by generations of the Somlunno Family.

The requirements for practicing this magic were simply too harsh.

The very first step alone was enough to make most people give up.

Because to practice Nightmare Magic, the first step was to achieve Lucid Dreaming...

What was Lucid Dreaming? It was realizing that you were dreaming while in a dream, then trying to control and master your own dreamscape while remaining conscious! Anyone who had dreamed knew that it was difficult to realize you were dreaming while asleep.

Those who could realize they were dreaming were already fewer than one in a hundred.

Not to mention that after becoming aware of it, they still had to stay conscious and control their dreamscape.

Even if they realized they were dreaming, the moment they remained conscious in the dream, they would wake up...

So, the requirement that practicing Nightmare Magic demanded powerful soul strength was no empty claim.

"Toby, what time is it?" Li Weide asked, rubbing his eyes.

He had already slept several times. Every time, he had only just realized he was dreaming before waking up, all his efforts wasted...

"Young Master Weide, it is now four twenty-one in the afternoon," Toby's voice came from the second floor.

He was making afternoon tea and preparing snacks for Li Weide in the kitchen upstairs.

"Almost four-thirty... I can still sleep once more!"

As he spoke, Li Weide picked up the old wand beside him and pointed it at his head again.

"Soundly Asleep!"

White mist streamed from the wand, and Li Weide rolled his eyes back before falling asleep once more...

Fortunately, with the spell's assistance, this kind of sleep was guaranteed to include dreams.

Otherwise, if he merely fell asleep without dreaming, this magic would be even harder to practice.

The moment Li Weide fell asleep, he began to dream.

Within the dreamscape, Li Weide sat leisurely in a beautiful garden, sipping afternoon tea as he read a book, in an exceptionally pleasant mood.

Thanks to his understanding of magical principles from his previous research into Occlumency, as well as his repeated practice of this spell,

Li Weide once again quickly noticed his true state.

Li Weide sighed and reluctantly set down his teacup and book.

Compared to his previous dreams, this one could at least be called a Sweet Dream...

After Li Weide realized he was dreaming, the fragrant tea lost all flavor, while the interesting book turned completely blank.

Just like the endings of his previous dreams, as he became conscious, the entire dreamscape began to collapse...

The once-beautiful garden seemed to have been covered by a black-and-white filter, losing every trace of color.

Suddenly, the collapse of the surroundings came to a halt.

At the same time, countless wisps of white mist abruptly appeared beyond the garden walls, slowly climbing over them and spreading into the garden...

The instant Li Weide saw the mist, he hurriedly backed away.

He had seen this scene in several of his previous dreams.

The moment he touched that mist, he would immediately wake up.

By Li Weide's understanding, the mist should have been a tangible warning provided by his magic.

Otherwise, while trapped in the dreamscape, he would have had no way of knowing exactly when he would wake up.

By now, Li Weide had retreated from the table in the middle of the garden all the way to the wall.

The white mist had spread over and was now less than a meter away from him.

Li Weide could not help sighing. Getting started with this magic was far too difficult.

From becoming conscious, to the dreamscape beginning to collapse, to the white mist encroaching upon him, there were only a little over ten seconds.

In such an emergency, Li Weide felt that he had no time to do anything at all!

As the white mist closed in again, Li Weide felt his body press against an icy wall.

It was the garden wall. At this point, he had nowhere left to retreat.

"This wall is really sturdy... If only I could use a wand in my dream, then I could just blast the wall open..."

Li Weide froze before he could finish muttering to himself.

That was because he discovered that, at some point, a wand had appeared in his hand! "Why do I have a wand? Aren't I dreaming? How did the wand get into my dream?"

The mist was already about to touch his toes.

Li Weide had no time to think. He turned and pointed his wand at the wall.

"Reducto!"

"Boom!"

The sturdy wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, as if it had been struck by a cannonball!

Li Weide was overjoyed and wanted to rush out, but the moment he exerted himself, he stopped again.

Because he discovered that there was nothing at all beyond the wall! All around was a vast expanse of white void! The entire garden was suspended in that boundless emptiness! If he had noticed even a second later, he would have fallen into the void!

Li Weide was deeply frustrated. He had nearly escaped the white mist, only to find there was no path ahead.

"Tch, if only there were a road..."

The words had barely left his mouth when a small white path appeared, winding away into the distance without end!

Li Weide's eyes widened at the sight.

"This is... controlling the dreamscape? Right! After staying conscious, I was supposed to control the dreamscape! What was I doing just now?! Why did I do nothing but stand there in a daze?"

Li Weide understood in an instant. He had thought he was already conscious within the dream, but in reality, he had not been.

He had merely been half-awake! Although he had realized he was dreaming, he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to try controlling the dreamscape!

It was only after he had unconsciously made a wish and received a wand that he became wary.

Then, when his wish for a path was granted as well, he finally became completely conscious!

He remembered what he had come into the dreamscape to do!

The moment Li Weide remembered everything, the white mist instantly froze in place, then slowly dispersed into the air, as though it had completed some mission...

Li Weide took a deep breath.

"Change for me!"

The instant he spoke, the entire dream world underwent a dramatic transformation! Before long, Li Weide found himself standing on a street in London.

Traffic flowed through the streets, and crowds surged past.

Yet the farther the street stretched from Li Weide, the more illusory the scenery became, until it vanished into the void...

Li Weide had not truly arrived in London. The London scenery before him had been conjured by his control over the dreamscape.

For now, he could only simulate a small section of street. Anything more was beyond him...

Beyond this stretch of street, there was still endless void.

But this still proved one thing: Li Weide had successfully changed his dreamscape! Just as he was preparing to alter it again and switch to another scene, a stabbing pain suddenly pulsed through his head.

Then heaven and earth spun...

Li Weide abruptly opened his eyes and looked blankly around him.

He had already awakened from the dream.

At this moment, having just woken up, Li Weide felt a tidal wave of drowsiness and could not muster any energy at all...

Li Weide forced himself to take another Cheering Potion from his robe and gulped it down! Only after resting for quite a while did he finally recover.

Controlling the dreamscape and conjuring a London street scene had consumed a great deal of his soul strength and mental energy, leaving him utterly exhausted.

However, as he gradually recovered, Li Weide discovered with delight that his soul strength had actually grown a little!

In other words... although this Nightmare Magic could not yet be sustained for long, it could train his soul strength and enhance his mental power?

A Dark Magic that did not inflict negative effects on its caster, but instead gave him a buff? Was that reasonable?

"Where was the Dark Magic we were promised?!"