Reshaping Dreams

Ke Meng's mind went hazy for a moment, as though another screen had opened in his head. He could watch both the sacrificial ceremony in the Kobold Mountain Village and an empty, gray space at the same time.

There was nothing in the empty, gray space. It was completely vacant.

This was a player's dream. The player had logged off long ago, leaving only a bundle of data here, with nothing in it. As Ke Meng considered this, it suddenly seemed quite reasonable.

His consciousness drifted through the gray space for several minutes. Nothing before his eyes changed, and he soon grew utterly bored.

Come to think of it, he had two other dream-related skills: Dream Distortion and Dream Propagation.

Ke Meng looked at "Dream Distortion." It was available for use.

Dream Distortion: Distorts the target's dream world through conscious intent.

Ke Meng tried activating Dream Distortion. The next instant, undercurrents surged through the gray space and thick fog churned. The original owner's character was undergoing tremendous changes in its bodily consciousness.

Ke Meng felt his control over this dream increase.

Previously, he could only view it. Now he could try distorting the things here.

There's hardly anything here. How about some water and air? Ke Meng thought.

The next second, moisture emerged from the gray fog, drifting out and floating in midair as it continually gathered.

Before long, an artificial blue ocean formed here, vast and boundless, as though it had no end.

Let's add a sun, Ke Meng thought.

At a thought, a blazing orb of light slowly rose into the sky. Fierce sunlight shone down, and soon heat began rising from the ocean's surface.

And some seafood.

Ke Meng thought about seafood, but his mind involuntarily turned to the crazed seafood in R'lyeh.

When Ke Meng wanted to make further alterations, the system informed him that the target's mental power could not support more intensive modifications.

That's all I can distort?

Great Cthulhu stood above the ocean and looked around. Apart from water, air, the sun, and strange seafood, there was nothing else.

Great Cthulhu was disappointed. He had never expected this skill to be so dull.

Then Great Cthulhu activated the third dream skill-Dream Propagation.

At first, nothing happened. A few seconds later, a song resembling a massed chorus echoed through the dream world, now distant, now close, now high, now low, its voices terribly hoarse.

Dream Propagation did not require Ke Meng to spread the dream himself. Instead, those afflicted by Dream Distortion would spread it.

People whose dreams had been distorted would frequently have nightmares. If they told someone about the contents of those nightmares, that person would begin having nightmares too.

Then, when that victim told another ordinary person about the nightmares, the next person would also begin having them, spreading them from one person to the next.

As Ke Meng explored how to use this propagation skill, he was astonished by the way it spread.

It spread like an infectious disease, passing from person to person.

To resist Dream Propagation, one needed sufficiently high mental resistance.

Otherwise, one had to struggle within the dream, striving to retain a sense of self and remain rational, or risk losing control.

What an awesome skill. But they're players, so what use is it to me? Once they log off, the game shouldn't affect them, right? Ke Meng muttered inwardly.

While Ke Meng was reshaping the player's dream, the sacrificial ceremony in the Kobold Mountain Village continued.

The Kobold Priest waited where he was for a while, then began stating his request.

"Great Cthulhu, we no longer wish for female adventurers to become extinct. We only beseech you to grant us the power to take revenge!"

After their discussion the day before, the Kobold Mountain Village had concluded that their demands were too great and their offerings insufficient. This time, they lowered their demands, hoping to receive Great Cthulhu's help.

Having spoken, the priest wriggled, pressing his head to the ground without daring to raise it. Both hands held up a small basin containing a new offering.

It was an old leather glove studded with round rivets, which slid out of the basin and fell into the pool.

Ke Meng's consciousness focused on the glove. He had no idea what it was.

The Kobold Priest lay prostrate on the ground, motionless.

Ke Meng blinked. His consciousness had not yet returned to reality, which meant it was not time for him to wake up.

Since he was not awake yet, he might as well see whether he could answer his followers' request.

After all, the things they sent were not dangerous. He should at least help them out a little and give his followers something to look forward to, so they would have the motivation to hold another sacrificial ceremony.

"I grant your request," Ke Meng said.

However, Great Cthulhu's mouth was sealed by the ancient gods, preventing him from opening it to speak.

Fortunately, accepting sacrifices was an act of consciousness. With a thought, Ke Meng transmitted his words.

But as Great Cthulhu's whisper traveled, the innate might of the evil god traveled with it.

Everyone in the Kobold Mountain Village heard a booming buzz, as though the sky were collapsing.

Their rank was too low and their abilities too limited to hear the evil god's words in full. All they could hear was what sounded like ten thousand bees buzzing in their ears, making their heads feel ready to burst.

Their bodies shuddered too, as though invisible tentacles were burrowing through every part of them, leaving them in utter agony.

Across space and time, Ke Meng saw the black-robed figures suffering, but Great Cthulhu himself had no idea what had happened.

Have they been scared senseless?

Never mind. Better get on with the actual task.

Ke Meng searched through his skill list. As an evil god, he possessed countless skills of all kinds, including countless ways to grant power to his followers.

A skill called "Random Buff Magic" caught Great Cthulhu's attention.

He opened it and read the following description:

Random Buff Magic: Use this skill on multiple targets to grant them random magical buffs. These may be negative or positive buffs. The results are entirely random.

That looks pretty good.

With that thought, Great Cthulhu used the skill on his followers.

Outside the well in the Kobold Mountain Village.

Countless black-robed kobolds trembled, their faces twisting behind their masks as they endured an invisible torment.

Just then, the buzzing filled with chaotic emotions vanished, and their minds stopped trembling.

The Kobold Priest breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he had not died.

But offering sacrifices to an evil god was far too dangerous.

He should not do it again. It was dangerous, and the losses outweighed the gains.

Just as the Kobold Priest began thinking of backing out, luminous ripples spread outward from the well, sweeping across the entire mountain village.

The Kobold Priest shuddered. His body swelled, and his muscles filled with strength.

What is this power? The priest was deeply shocked.

He had never expected Great Cthulhu to actually respond. He had gained a whole new power.

But he could sense that this power was not permanent. It would disappear after some time.

Behind him, cries of surprise rose from the villagers, along with agonized wails from some of them.

The priest's heart tightened, and he did not dare speak.

An evil god's gifts were never safe. Some could withstand them; others died because of them.

He was merely one of the lucky ones among the dozens of villagers.

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