Bzz!
Riding Little Dream Dragon, Russell saw the dreamscape before him undergo enormous changes in an instant.
The dark Linework Castle remained the same, but beams of light rose from every corner of it.
Russell was no longer surprised by this.
After several nights of exploration, he had gained a general understanding of the dreamscape. He called it the Dark Dreamscape.
In his understanding, the Dark Dreamscape overlapped with the real world, or rather, it was like another side of reality. Through some sort of "lens," all interference was filtered away, leaving only the pure magical characteristics of the real world.
And the key to activating that lens was the Little Dream Dragon beneath him, glowing with golden light.
The lights shining from every corner of the castle were emitted by different sources of magic.
The most conspicuous was the enormous torch-like glow atop a tower outlined in dim lines. Its flame-patterned outline formed the shape of a Wyvern, which was currently crouched there like a gargoyle, asleep.
Without question, this was Clay Dragon Ross's appearance in the Dark Dreamscape.
"Let's go take a look." Russell waved his tiny hands in the Dark Dreamscape. They were chubby, yet quite nimble. It was a strange sensation, all in all.
"Quack!"
Little Dream Dragon cried out, flapped his wings, and flew toward Clay Dragon Ross at roughly an adult's walking pace.
It took quite a while to get there.
Hovering directly in front of Ross, Russell could clearly see the outline formed by the magic on Ross's body through the flame-like patterns.
Ferocious, mysterious, profound.
"What a beautiful Wyvern. Its magic is so abundant it's overflowing. What a pity—it's deeply hostile toward a transmigrator like me, so I can't ride it!" Russell sighed.
All extraordinary power could collectively be called magic.
Whether it was a knight's Battle Aura, a Phantom Beast's primal force, a Wyvern's Dragon Breath, or even the dragonfire breathed by true dragons.
These powers were all different forms of magic.
The most basic magic existed within the magical herbs cultivated by sprites: Earth Power drawn from and refined out of the land beneath their feet.
"Quack!"
Apparently displeased by Russell praising Clay Dragon Ross, Little Dream Dragon swung his bull-sized head around one hundred and eighty degrees and let out a crisp, babyish cry at Russell in the posture of a roaring evil dragon. At first listen, it sounded rather like a duck.
"Haha, you're quite jealous." Russell reached out with his tiny hand and rubbed Little Dream Dragon's big head. "It's a pity I can only ride you in my dreams... I want to ride a dragon in the real world even more!"
Little Dream Dragon did not understand, but he was still unhappy. "Quack!"
"Let's go, let's go."
Man and dragon flew about the silent Dark Dreamscape, inspecting every place where magic glowed.
Most of it came from the knights in the castle. Their lights varied in intensity, but most were murky gray glows. Russell himself emitted the same murky gray light, indicating that his Battle Aura was weak.
Only three knights were exceptions.
One slept in the largest bedroom of the castle. It was Baron Gloomlight Roman Fluorite Mushroom. The light he emitted was bright and steady, clearly outlining a human figure.
Beside the baron was an extremely dim little point of light.
"Hmm, that must be Mother's Battle Qi Seed?" Russell thought. Due to women's physiology, cultivating Battle Aura was difficult, so his mother, Meryl, had only nurtured one Battle Qi Seed, which had failed to bloom into Battle Aura.
The Battle Qi Seed curled up around the lower abdomen, so it could not outline a human form and appeared only as a solitary little point of light.
Russell turned to look around. The room's outline was very blurry, but there were fairly bright clusters of light on the walls.
Those were the Gem Lamp Fixtures embedded in the walls.
Wyverns could produce metals, and they could also produce gemstones. Therefore, most creations made of metal or gemstones possessed the power of Dragon Breath and could shine in the Dark Dreamscape. Their brightness varied according to the density of their magic.
Only a small number of creations rich in Dragon Breath could emit light that was easily noticeable.
"Nothing has changed. Looks like the baron hasn't acquired any new treasures these past few days." Russell chuckled and rode Little Dream Dragon away.
Ever since awakening the Dark Dreamscape as his cheat ability, he had inspected Fluorite Castle every day and had basically figured out the baron's entire household fortune.
How many sprites he had, how many Phantom Beasts, how many treasures, and where those treasures were hidden—Russell knew it all clearly.
Of course.
He had no intention of stealing anything. A thief in the family was still a thief, and he did not want to be one.
It was simply that if anything happened at the castle, he felt obligated to protect the family property. That was all.
"Little Dream Dragon, let's fly outside for a bit."
"Quack!"
Man and dragon slowly flew to the edge of the castle, to the outer wall. Once they passed beyond it, they soon encountered an invisible barrier.
"Hmm, still no good... It seems the Dark Dreamscape has a limited range. It appears to be a circular area centered on where I sleep..." Russell pondered. "As for whether that's true, I'll naturally find out once I move into Wuyou Snake Manor."
"Quack!"
"You're tired?"
"Quack!"
"All right, then let's call it a night." Russell flipped down and waved goodbye to Little Dream Dragon.
"Quack, quack!" Little Dream Dragon was a little silly, but after several nights together, he had still learned a bit of human communication.
He waved his short, thin right forelimb.
Then he turned around and slowly vanished around a corner of the line-drawn castle. Soon after, the entire Dark Dreamscape sank into complete darkness.
All consciousness fell into chaos.
Knock, knock, knock! A knock sounded from outside the room. It was Butler Carter. "Young Master Russell, good morning. It's time to get up."
"Thanks, Mr. Carter." Russell rolled over in his large bed, struggled for a few seconds, then reluctantly sat up.
Then he blanked out for a moment and laughed at himself. "I didn't expect that even after transmigrating, I'd still have to get up early every day!"
The baron's family was strict in its upbringing and never allowed its children to sleep in. Even though Russell had already undergone his coming-of-age ceremony, he was still not exempt.
"Thankfully, once I go to Wuyou Snake Manor, I'll be able to sleep until I wake naturally every day!"
At that thought, Russell wished he could immediately gather a full retinue of attendants and servants and rush to his own fief. Even if life there was far inferior to that at Fluorite Castle.
Still, it would be a home that belonged solely to him.
A home without a mortgage, with lifetime ownership—hmm, and covering twenty thousand hectares, or two hundred square kilometers.
The only regret was that knighthoods were lifetime noble titles and could not be inherited. Once Russell died, both his title and fief would be reclaimed by his lord and could not be passed down to his descendants.
Of course.
Russell did not even have a romantic partner yet, so there was no need to think about such a distant future.
Knock, knock, knock. The knocking sounded again. Several maids stood outside holding washbasins, toothbrushes, towels, and a full set of clean clothes. "Good morning, Young Master Russell."
"Come in." Russell was already out of bed, wearing only a close-fitting undershirt.
The maids pushed open the door and entered, each attending to her own task. One began making the bed, another tidied the clutter on the table, while another took the washbasin, toothbrush, and towel to the washroom and laid out fresh underwear.
"Young Master Russell, you may begin washing up now," said the lead maid with a smile.
"Mm, all right." Russell let the maids busy themselves.
Inwardly, he condemned the "damnable nobles" once, then went into the washroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and change into fresh underwear.
When he emerged from the washroom, the room had already been completely refreshed.
"Young Master Russell, the room has been cleaned."
"Thank you."
The maids carried away the dirty clothes, bed sheets, and other items they had changed out, leaving the bedroom one after another. At almost the same moment, a male servant stood at the door and gave it a light knock.
"Young Master Russell."
"Come in."
After entering, the male servant immediately picked up the clean clothes the maids had brought in and helped Russell put them on. He carefully tied Russell's belt and cravat as well.
Male and female servants had clearly defined duties. In noble households, they absolutely could not overstep their boundaries—male servants could not help the mistress change, nor could female servants help the master change.
"You're becoming more handsome by the day. In you, I can see the bearing of the old count," the male servant flattered him.
Russell raised an eyebrow. "You've met my grandfather?"
"Of course. I once accompanied the master to Bluebird Castle and met the old count." The servant was clearly not merely flattering him. "Young Master Russell, my mother has fallen ill. When Butler Carter recruited servants, I desperately wanted to serve you, but..."
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