Chapter 39: Nightmare

Chapter 39 Nightmare

Li Wei returned to his room, picked up his staff, and walked out toward the mage tower.

He arrived on a street in the western part of the city.

The moment he stepped in, he spotted several familiar faces.

"Magister Allen, why are you here?" Li Wei asked, surprised.

Allen turned at the sound of his voice. "Lyle went with the Adventurer's Guild yesterday to hunt down the Black Cultists—and hasn't returned since."

"Lyle went too?" Li Wei was taken aback.

"The tower sent three apprentice mages, plus Lyle and a full squad from the guild. Even against a second-tier magical beast, they should have been more than capable. Are the Black Cultists truly that formidable?" Li Wei frowned.

Allen shook his head. "Not necessarily. The Black Cultists of the Yubis faith specialize in dream magic. Even a full-fledged mage could fall victim to their spells."

"They're likely unharmed—just trapped somewhere beneath the sewers."

Li Wei studied him. "Are you planning to intervene, Magister Allen?"

Allen shook his head again. "I won't go. Vince, you retrieve Lyle."

He handed Vince a white stone covered in runes.

Allen offered no explanation for the stone’s purpose.

Vince tucked it away and nodded. "Understood."

Seeing this, Li Wei quickly stepped forward. "Magister Vince, I’ll go with you."

Vince glanced at him, then cautioned, "You’re too weak. Don’t risk your life down there."

"I can help you find Lyle," Li Wei insisted.

Allen spoke up. "Vince, take him with you. Stay cautious."

Vince said nothing more. He turned and strode toward the open sewer entrance.

Li Wei followed as they descended into the tunnels. Sunlight filtered through the opening above, illuminating only a few meters around them. Beyond lay utter darkness.

"Do you know Light?" Vince asked.

Li Wei shook his head. He raised his staff—the tip flared with a tiny fireball.

"Will this do?"

The staff transformed into a torch.

With Li Wei’s mastery, the spell could sustain the flame for over ten minutes.

Vince stared, momentarily stunned. As a circle mage, he could only cast spells in fixed forms—he couldn’t modulate their intensity like Li Wei had just done. He couldn’t repurpose a fireball into a torch.

Moreover, limited by his spell slots, he carried only four cantrips and three first-level spells. He hadn’t stored the seemingly useless Light spell—which was why he’d asked.

Though Li Wei didn’t know Light, using Firebolt as illumination would suffice—for now.

Vince raised his hand and cast Mage Armor.

He enveloped himself, then Li Wei, in shimmering protective shields.

"Let’s go."

They followed footprints along the damp ground, stepping deeper into the dark.

Whoosh!

Li Wei launched his fireball ahead, soaring over ten meters before bursting midair, briefly illuminating a branching tunnel.

A new fireball instantly reignited at his staff’s tip.

Vince glanced at him, noting the speed of his casting.

"They went right," Li Wei said, studying the tracks.

"Hmm."

They pressed onward. After a while, Li Wei suddenly paused, turning his head left.

He had sensed the invisible armor spell clinging to Guze.

That armor was woven from his own mana, imbued with the unique resonance of his spirit. So long as they weren’t too far apart, he could feel it.

"There! They’re over there!"

Vince tensed immediately.

They advanced in the direction Li Wei indicated.

After a short walk, rounding a corner, they saw a figure collapsed on the ground, half-submerged in water.

"Someone’s here!"

Vince whispered sharply.

Li Wei understood. He raised his staff—the fireball shot forward, streaking through the tunnel ahead.

Flame pierced the dark.

Everywhere on the ground lay unconscious adventurers. Li Wei spotted Guze slumped against the wall, his staff fallen beside him. The other two apprentice mages lay nearby.

"Lyle!"

Vince called out upon seeing Lyle sprawled on the floor.

His voice echoed through the tunnels. Lyle did not stir.

Vince stared grimly down the passage. "They’ve been trapped in a dream by the Black Cultist. We need to get them out—now."

He waved his staff. Vines sprouted at his side.

"Entangle!"

Under his command, the vines surged forward, coiling around Lyle and dragging him back.

One by one, the unconscious figures were pulled toward them.

Sssss!

An eerie sound rippled through the air.

Li Wei saw a translucent blue figure rise from the water.

It dove into the body of an unconscious warrior.

Whoosh!

The warrior stood abruptly, swinging his sword at the vines—severing the one wrapped around Lyle.

"What in the world is that?" Li Wei gasped.

Vince’s eyes narrowed. “It’s a nightmare—a spectral beast summoned by the dark cultist.”

“The nightmare has no physical form. It can only possess unconscious living bodies to launch attacks.”

“I’ll restrain this creature. You find the cultist. If his controlled nightmare is here, he must be nearby!”

Vince slammed his staff into the ground.

“Entangling Vines!”

Moments later, the charging warrior was seized by thick vines erupting from the earth, immobilized instantly.

The nightmare abandoned the warrior’s body and plunged into a knight.

The knight rose and charged at Vince.

Vince pointed at the ground—vines burst forth, wrapping around the knight’s legs. After snapping one or two, the knight’s charge faltered.

The nightmare leapt again, entering an assassin.

The assassin activated stealth, vanishing into the shadows.

Vince scanned the darkness warily.

Li Wei whispered urgently, “Can’t find the cultist. Can magic kill the nightmare directly?”

“Yes,” Vince replied, “but can you do it without harming the others?”

In dire circumstances, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill.

But this wasn’t that desperate yet.

A mere low-level nightmare wasn’t worth sacrificing a fellow practitioner.

Li Wei murmured, “You trap the host when the nightmare possesses them. I’ll strike it down as it tries to flee!”

Vince, recalling Li Wei’s astonishing spellcasting speed, whispered, “You’re certain?”

“Certain.”

A glint of cold steel flashed beside Vince—the hidden assassin had crept close without notice.

Boom!

The dagger struck a magical barrier. Vince released the spell already prepared in his hand.

“Entangling Vines!”

The ground shattered. Thick vines surged upward, coiling around the assassin, suspending him midair, helpless.

The nightmare burst free, hurling itself at Vince’s shield—repelled.

Failing, it darted toward Li Wei.

Before Li Wei, the small fireball had already swelled to triple its size.

“Explode!”

Boom!

The fireball detonated between Li Wei, the nightmare, and Vince.

Flames swallowed the nightmare’s form in an instant.

Both Li Wei and Vince staggered backward under the blast’s force.

Vince turned, glancing behind. The pale blue specter had dissipated into thin air.

He looked at Li Wei, lips twitching. He’d never seen a mage throw a fireball directly in front of himself like that.

Was this some kind of self-destructive mage style?

Li Wei grinned. “Done.”

(End of Chapter)