I Am Nightmare

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That night.

Duen sat in his room, studying the Nightmare Fruit.

Two transparent crimson streaks of light emerged from his palm. Even in the darkness, they did not shine very brightly; instead, they were much dimmer than White's had been.

Was it because White had exhausted its energy after using them...?

At Duen's command, the two crimson streaks spiraled and danced through the room. Looking closely, their heads were broad and thick, seeming to bear extremely simple faces—like smiling faces randomly scribbled by a three-year-old with a pen—while their tails were thin, like tadpole tails.

Duen opened his right hand again, and the two crimson streaks flew back, coiling in his palm. He could now confirm that these two crimson lights were Nightmares...

And he could only activate the Fruit's ability through these two Nightmares.

The Nightmare Fruit should be classified as a Paramecia. However, it did not possess the power to alter the user's body. Instead, it was the same type as Silver Fox Foxy's Slow Slow Beam, granting a special ability after being eaten.

Recalling every detail of when White had used "Phantom Mirror" on Sea Owl, Duen roughly understood how this ability worked.

[Phantom Mirror] amplified the intimidation and force within one's heart, forming a terrifying nightmare. It was then attached to a tangible object such as a sword, invading the opponent's mind in an instant and making them feel fear. Once the opponent became afraid, they would temporarily lose control over their bodily functions until they broke free from the Nightmare.

All living creatures would be affected. The only difference was how long they remained under its control.

Duen felt that this ability was somewhat like a simplified version of Tsukuyomi from Naruto...

However, just like the system indicated, this ability was probably only one part of the Devil Fruit's power... What kind of power could the remaining Devil Fruit fragments bring him?

Though he was looking forward to it... whether he could draw one was another major question.

Afterward, Duen entered the system again.

Nothing had changed in the system. He opened [Income Records] and saw that he had more than 3,600 points in total.

Seeing that number made Duen feel amazing. It seemed he could get eighteen more "Thank You for Participating" results.

Pah, pah, what was he thinking?!

He hurriedly drove that thought from his mind and continued fiddling with the system.

Huh?

Duen suddenly noticed an upward arrow beside [Swordsmanship] under [Abilities and Enhancements].

"Can it be upgraded?"

Nervously, he tapped the upward arrow.

[Would you like to enhance it? Requires 000 Negative Emotion Points.]

"Yes."

Then, [Main Skill] changed. Swordsmanship LV1 became Swordsmanship LV, and the upward arrow disappeared.

Crack, crack...

Duen could faintly hear soft crackling sounds from within his body, like beans being fried. The moment he looked around, his vision became far clearer. It seemed that threads of power flowed and circulated through his body like water, starting from his heart.

Only then did Duen understand what [Main Skill] meant. The swordsmanship he had practiced for seventeen years was apparently bound to him in a relationship where one prospered and suffered alongside the other. Improving his swordsmanship had also brought obvious changes to his body.

The changes were straightforward. His strength, agility, speed, and other attributes had all improved to a certain degree.

Seeing the more than six hundred points left in the income records, Duen happily exited the system. He originally wanted to test how much his body had grown after [Swordsmanship] leveled up, but he feared he might fail to control his strength and disturb Koushirou and the others while they slept.

So, he temporarily suppressed the restlessness in his heart. After taking several deep breaths, he gradually fell asleep.

The next morning.

The first thing Duen did after waking was summon the two crimson Nightmares. Perhaps after recovering overnight, their glow was noticeably richer and brighter than it had been the previous night. Their energy should have returned.

He left his room, washed up, and began exercising.

The disciples had already arrived at the dojo early as usual and began training under Senior Brother Andrew.

After only one night, Roronoa Zoro's injuries had recovered considerably. He was tirelessly learning techniques for controlling his strength from Koushirou in the courtyard.

When Duen returned to the courtyard after his run, Koushirou had just finished guiding Roronoa Zoro. Duen looked at him and said, "Roronoa Zoro, let's spar."

"You?"

Roronoa Zoro tilted his head in surprise, then unconsciously took two steps back. In just a few short days, his impression of Duen had begun to reverse. He always felt that the current Duen was hiding some sort of scheme.

Koushirou also looked at Duen with slight surprise. He did not know whether it was an illusion, but ever since Duen had returned yesterday, his bearing had become somewhat different—like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, a young eagle spreading its wings, escaping its restraints.

"Roronoa Zoro, spar with Duen using the method I taught you." On one hand, Koushirou wanted to see exactly how much Duen had changed. On the other, he hoped Roronoa Zoro could practice controlling his strength through actual combat.

Roronoa Zoro glanced sideways at Duen. "Then I'll do as you wish."

At that moment, Andrew's loud and stern voice rang out from inside the dojo. "Ten-minute break!"

Thud, thud, thud...

The sound of footsteps pounding on wooden boards echoed out. The disciples poured out one after another, piling up at the entrance as though forming a human pyramid, their heads stacked one over another as they excitedly discussed what they had heard.

"I heard it! Senior Brother Roronoa Zoro is going to spar with Senior Brother Duen?"

"But Senior Brother Duen... probably isn't a match for Senior Brother Roronoa Zoro, right?"

"Senior Brother Roronoa Zoro is super strong, okay!"

"Yeah, yeah! Senior Brother Roronoa Zoro looks so cool when he swings his swords! Three-Sword Style... Tiger Hunt!"

"Hehe, you don't look anything like him!"

Still, the crowd was almost entirely on Roronoa Zoro's side. To children, the difference between strength and weakness was often the most direct and obvious thing.

Roronoa Zoro went hunting in the forest every few days, and every time, the beasts he brought back were measured in tons. Duen, meanwhile, was usually responsible for buying groceries and handling logistics. Who was stronger and who was weaker was obvious at a glance.

"How about this?"

Koushirou walked toward the dojo. "The two of you can spar inside. It will also let them observe and learn."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" The children were delighted.

What could feel better than slacking off during class?

Roronoa Zoro and Duen entered the dojo together. The still-childish children hurriedly claimed their spots, kneeling around the edges by the walls, their eyes filled with eager anticipation.

At Koushirou's word, Andrew took two wooden swords from the rack and handed one each to Roronoa Zoro and Duen. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "A hit to the head, neck, or heart means defeat. Three hits to any other part of the body also mean defeat. Dropping your wooden sword means defeat."

Roronoa Zoro weighed the wooden sword in his hand and swung it through the air, getting used to its weight as he said, "Duen, it looks like you want to use that strange move from yesterday against me, right?"

"No." Duen's friendly smile somehow made people uneasy. "Swordsmanship only."

"Oh?" The corner of Roronoa Zoro's mouth curled slightly. "Interesting."

Andrew brought his hands together heavily before his chest, fingers pressed together. "Begin!"

The instant he spoke, Roronoa Zoro attacked without hesitation. Yesterday's injuries did not affect his movements in the slightest as his wooden sword shot straight toward Duen's heart like a dragon piercing through the middle!

Duen shifted his left foot slightly backward, yet in that instant, he evaded in a circular arc as if drawing a circle. He seemed to have calculated Roronoa Zoro's forward momentum, and the wooden sword in his hand slashed downward at a point in midair as though predicting something.

His movements flowed like clouds and water without the slightest delay. Roronoa Zoro's expression changed immediately. He altered his rhythm, lowered his body, shifted the weight in his stance to the right, and quickly raised his sword to block toward the upper left.

Bang!

Roronoa Zoro's wooden sword appeared just before Duen's swing landed, blocking the attack. The two wooden swords collided, then bounced slightly apart due to the resilience of the wood.

But Duen's offensive did not stop at all. His thumb pressed against the hilt as, with an unbelievable technique, he shifted his entire palm from an overhand grip to an underhand grip capable of unleashing maximum force. In an instant, he slashed diagonally down at astonishing speed, skimming along Roronoa Zoro's wooden sword.

Not good!

The thought had barely surfaced in Roronoa Zoro's mind when his body instinctively dropped to its lowest point. His short, bristly hair barely brushed past Duen's incoming wooden sword. He swiftly twisted around, drew back the raised sword in front of him, and thrust toward Duen above him, turning defense into offense and targeting a vital point!

Duen's wooden sword pressed against the incoming thrust as his body leaned several degrees backward. When the latter's force was spent, his thumb slid against the hilt, switching from an underhand grip back to an overhand one. Taking advantage of his higher position, he instead pinned down Roronoa Zoro's wooden sword and struck fiercely downward along its blade!

Dropping a wooden sword meant defeat. Precisely because of that, after Duen used his wooden sword to pin Roronoa Zoro's down, Roronoa Zoro could not release it. And because his lower stance was at a disadvantage, he could not borrow force from his body.

Under complete suppression, Duen's wooden sword struck him on the neck!

All of this had happened in only a few breaths.

"I won." Duen slowly withdrew his wooden sword.

Roronoa Zoro lay on the floor as though all his strength had left him. At a loss, he covered his eyes with one arm... He had lost?

"I-Is it over?"

"What... just happened?"

"How did Senior Brother Duen win...?"

The disciples' eyes widened, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.