[Ding! Main body dream modification complete! Dream Power adaptability increased. Main body absorbing residual Dream Energy. Constitution and Spirit increasing. Re-collecting data!]
The Chip's feedback came through.
Shortly after, Leilin saw his stat panel refreshed once again.
[Leilin Farell — Warlock Level 5 — Bloodline: Komodo Snake Emperor (Complete Form) — Strength: 76 — Agility: 62 — Constitution: 155.7 — Spirit: 1821.5 — Mana: 1821 (Mana determined by Spiritual Power synchronization) — Soul Force: 182 (Crescent)] "The Dream Power modification — who knew it would bring benefits like this!"
Leilin nodded, quite satisfied with the improvement.
But the most important aspect of this modification was that, through absorbing Dream Power, his body had begun adapting to this force — and that was a prerequisite for casting dream witchcraft.
Right now, Leilin could see that on his elemental affinity chart, a strange red bar had appeared below Darkness and Fire, even surpassing his Ice affinity.
"Dream Power affinity?"
Leilin murmured, already understanding what it represented.
Affinity for elements, or attraction toward a particular force, was a prerequisite for a
[Ding! Main body dream modification complete. Dream ability acquired — Phantom Dream! Illusion-type spell power boosted by 50%. Resistance to illusions increased by 35%. There is a certain probability of forming a Dream Field around the caster, bewildering intelligent beings!]
The Chip continued its report.
"This dream modification — it looks like the benefits are enormous. If Dream Power weren't so wildly unpredictable, it would make an excellent primary focus for cultivation..."
Leilin stroked his chin.
Dream Power was of an extremely high grade. If a Wizard focused their cultivation primarily on this force, their strength would increase rapidly. But Leilin wasn't even considering that option.
His existing affinity was one factor. More critically, the extreme unpredictability of Dream Power made him simply unwilling to gamble on it.
In Leilin's view, Dream Power was not only restricted by the world itself but also subject to terrifying fluctuations. If the normal fluctuation range of other energies was around 1,000 to 1,500, then Dream Power's range was from 1 to 10,000! That meant a Dream Being might be a weak, insignificant insect yesterday, yet grow into an Evil God by today.
And an Evil God yesterday might plummet today — to something even lesser than an insect — due to a decline in Dream Power.
What made it even worse was that these changes followed no pattern whatsoever. They might never happen, or they might happen repeatedly in succession. It was utterly unreliable.
Therefore, Leilin would only ever use Dream Power as a tool, never as his primary cultivation path.
"Still, now that I have Dream Power affinity, all the basic dream spells should be castable..."
Leilin walked to the center of the laboratory, where, behind thick insulated glass, a massive dark-red sphere floated — Dream Energy so concentrated it had been compressed to its utmost limit, all of it contained within.
This was the entirety of the Dream Energy Leilin had collected over this period.
[Gate One opening!] Following the Chip's voice, a channel in the glass wall cracked open.
Dark-red Dream Energy immediately slithered out like an earthworm, coiling around Leilin with lively, almost playful energy.
Once enough Dream Power had flowed out, the valve shut mercilessly, sealing the rest inside.
"First-level Dream Witchcraft — Eternal Light!" A complex and eerie Spell Model, its energy nodes shifting constantly, was transmitted directly by the Chip into Leilin's memory.
Accompanied by a few incantations and a push of Soul Force, an ethereal spell template materialized in Leilin's hands.
The Dream Energy swirling around him plunged entirely into the template.
Boom! The wave of a first-level spell pulsed outward, and brilliant white light flooded the laboratory.
[Ding! First-level Dream Witchcraft — Eternal Light successfully cast! Fluctuation data recorded. Logged into Spell Database — Dream Witchcraft — Level 1 Spell Database!]
The Chip reported back quickly.
[Eternal Light — First-level Spell. Creates a perpetual light source. Estimated duration: fifty years and eight months. Measured Power: 100 degrees — 300 degrees.]
Then, more detailed information began appearing on the Chip's display.
"A normal first-level spell should have a power rating between 20 and 80 degrees. The terrifying amplification from Dream Power has pushed it to this level..."
Leilin stroked his chin, gazing at the undying light on the surrounding walls.
"An ordinary light spell, even an Everburning Flame, would realistically last only a few years at most... yet the energy supplied by Dream Power is enough to sustain it for fifty years..."
He had to admit — the effectiveness of Dream Power had exceeded even his expectations.
"I'm confident that once I can develop an offensive fifth-level Dream Witchcraft spell, even a sixth-level Wizard would tremble before it!"
A fervent gleam flashed in Leilin's eyes.
The first-level Dream Witchcraft template he had just cast had originally come from animal hides found in the Dream World. An unknown Wizard had spent decades developing a magical system suited to Dream World natives, even creating a series of dream spells — only levels one through three, but still enough to leave Leilin awestruck.
Integrating Dream Power into the Wizard system and developing usable templates — the attainment in witchcraft demonstrated by that Wizard likely surpassed Leilin's own current abilities.
For Leilin, however, the data left behind by that Wizard had saved him countless detours and laid the groundwork directly, saving him enormous amounts of time.
With the foundation and system in hand, extrapolating fourth- and fifth-level content — which might have required years of work for that Wizard — was merely a matter of computational volume for the Chip.
"The level of sophistication of these spells, and the understanding of natural law... that Wizard who inadvertently drifted into the Dream World must have been at least sixth-level — possibly even a seventh-level Wizard who had grasped the Laws!"
Yearning flickered through Leilin's eyes before he threw himself back into intense experimentation.
His agreement with
No matter what kind of conspiracy was at play, in the end it was power that spoke. Once the gap in strength reached a critical threshold, no amount of clever scheming could turn the tide.
And whether it was对付 the Flame Throne or any other danger, Dream Witchcraft could serve as Leilin's most concealed trump card — one capable of deciding the outcome of a battle.
To that end, Leilin had devoted the vast majority of the Chip's computational power to this research.
...
"Dream Witchcraft requires Dream Power as its fuel. I stockpiled a fair amount before, but it probably won't support more than a handful of casts. After all, spells of fourth-level and above demand terrifying quantities of energy..."
Leilin stood in a white lab coat, a pair of semi-transparent goggles perched on his eyes, staring at the dark-red Dream Energy sphere behind the glass wall. A cascade of luminous data flickered in his gaze.
Dark-red Dream Energy drifted ceaselessly from the sphere, sweeping across the glass like scarlet pythons, only to be firmly repelled each time.
This was the optimal insulation material ratio Leilin had determined through multiple experiments — the best barrier against Dream Energy.
Without a powerful individual directing it, Dream Power could only attack on instinct, and it was utterly incapable of breaking through this layer of insulated tempered glass.
"By my estimates and the Chip's calculations, this amount of Dream Energy should be enough to cast a fourth-level spell six to ten times. For a fifth-level spell, however, there are fewer than three chances..."
Leilin's expression turned somewhat grim. Severing the connection with the Dream World had made Dream Energy collection a serious problem.
Furthermore, no matter how carefully it was stored, Dream Energy continued to dissipate — albeit extremely slowly. The Chip had detected this with its characteristic precision.
Developing reliable methods for storing and transporting Dream Energy was another project the Chip was actively working on.
"Besides, spells built on Dream Power are best suited to illusion-type magic. Dream Power shares a high degree of similarity and compatibility with a Wizard's illusions — it's the optimal choice!"
Following Leilin's design, the Spell Models running through the Chip's computations were continuously refined, gradually revealing their true form.
A dreamlike, shimmering Spell Model began to emerge from the Chip's simulations — riddled with illusory runes flickering back and forth, radiating a five-colored, hypnotic haze.
[Fifth-level Dream Witchcraft derivation remaining time: 3 hours 41 minutes 12 seconds!]
The Chip now gave its precise countdown.
"Three months and nine days of work — and the fifth-level spell derivation is finally about to finish?" Leilin's eyes burned with barely contained excitement.
He hadn't let the Chip sit idle even while he was healing and modifying his body. It had been running analyses and conducting research on this project the entire time.
And now, the dream trump card he had been eagerly anticipating was about to be completed at last.
In the waiting, time seemed to crawl. But Leilin held on until the Chip's notification finally sounded.
[Ding! Fifth-level Dream Witchcraft derivation complete! Spell Model construction progress: 100%!]
The Chip's usually mechanical voice was, to Leilin's ears, utterly sublime.
"Finally done!" Leilin clenched his fist hard, then turned to read the Chip's follow-up data.