Chapter 100: Shadow Servant Advancement

Chapter 100: Shadow Servant's Advancement

The dream of Cold Sand City teetered on the brink of collapse. Nightmares danced wildly, reveling in their final frenzy.

Zzzzt! Crack! Pop!

The city blazed beneath the dragon’s hellfire, consumed by roaring flames.

Suddenly, a glaring orange fireball streaked toward the arrogant nightmare dragon.

Boom!

In an instant, a miniature sun flared to life in the darkened sky.

When the light faded, the nightmare dragon had vanished.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seven or eight nightmares, heedless of danger, charged toward the still-scorching epicenter of the explosion—each desperate to claim the core left behind by the fallen second-tier nightmare.

Then, from the sky, more than ten small fireballs descended.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out in rapid succession.

When silence returned, every nightmare had been erased.

Through the drifting smoke, several clusters of blue light flickered awake.

Each nightmare core floated upward, wrapped in shimmering azure energy, flying straight into Livi’s grasp.

This was the first time Livi had attempted telekinesis on multiple objects at once.

And it had gone rather smoothly.

The shadow servant returned, gazing longingly at the eight nightmare cores clutched in Livi’s hand.

Livi tossed him the first-tier cores and pocketed the second-tier ones himself.

"Take it slow. Eat too much, and you won’t be able to digest it."

The shadow servant gulped down all the cores and began absorbing them immediately.

Seeing his insatiable greed, Livi shook his head.

After that, Livi and the shadow servant split up to hunt nightmares.

Whenever the shadow servant encountered a foe too strong, he lured it back to Livi.

One fireball spell, and the enemy fell effortlessly.

With his current strength, Livi now roamed freely across the dream of Cold Sand City.

Unless a third-tier nightmare appeared, there were no true rivals.

Even if ambushed or surrounded, his nine-layered invisible armor offered near invincible defense.

Fearing the dream would end before they could gather more cores, Livi spent the entire night hunting.

Only when dawn broke did he finally cease.

By morning, Livi had collected nine second-tier nightmare cores and forty-six first-tier ones.

Even the shadow servant was stuffed.

During the day, Livi refrained from summoning him, allowing him time to peacefully absorb the power.

Two days later, the shadow servant finished digesting all the cores, his level rising to the peak of first tier.

Livi continued feeding him more nightmare cores.

Five days passed. The shadow servant absorbed every last first-tier core—and finally broke through to the second tier.

Upon advancement, great changes came over him.

He gained a new ability—Shadow Claw.

Thanks to Livi’s long practice of exposing him to shadow elements, upon evolution, the shadow servant awakened innate shadow-based powers.

Now, he could absorb shadow essence on his own.

He could color himself now.

No longer would he need Livi to recast his hue each time he was summoned.

A welcome relief.

Much more convenient.

With Shadow Claw, the servant finally possessed real offensive power—able to truly demonstrate his strength.

The fear Livi once harbored—that controlling a second-tier nightmare might lead to the servant’s rebellion—never materialized.

He exhaled in relief.

Feeling the unwavering loyalty still pulsing within the creature, he didn’t hesitate.

He gave the remaining second-tier cores to the shadow servant without reserve.

Pushing his companion’s strength to the limit.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of June had slipped away.

Still no word from Starfire Literary Society about the promised payment.

In the past, Livi would have already stormed in demanding answers.

But now, after selling the rock beast’s core, his pockets were full.

His hunger for money had dulled.

Still, he pondered how best to spend his newfound wealth.

After much thought, he decided to save it—for now—until the Mage Exchange. Wouldn’t do to see something priceless and find his purse empty.

Livi emerged from meditation, eyes opening slowly.

Words shimmered into view before him:

[Crystal Meditation Technique (First Tier)] 2311/10000

Since using mid-grade magical potions, his cultivation speed had surged.

At this rate, he estimated he’d break into the second tier in about three months.

Besides the potions, soul crystals played a crucial role.

They strengthened the soul, enhanced mental power, extended meditation duration.

After some time practicing, Livi discovered one soul crystal sustained its effect for roughly seven days.

He had already used his second.

Only one remained.

Soul crystals were running dangerously low.

The only way to obtain a soul crystal was to hunt down soulless ones within dreams.

Be ruthless—other dreamwalkers could be turned into soul crystals as well.

The dream world was vast. Aside from encountering Tanya and one soulless being on the first day,

in over ten days, Livi had not met a second soulless creature.

He had seen a few dreamwalkers during the Dreamwalking Church’s shared visions,

but along the River of Dreams, he’d encountered no one.

Mainly because his field of vision was too narrow.

Now, Livi’s projected mental range had reached fifteen meters—

an improvement compared to before.

Yet, against the immensity of the dream realm, fifteen meters remained insignificant.

Someone might pass by twenty meters away, and he would never know.

"One soul crystal remains. No need to rush."

"Even without soul crystals, with intermediate magic potions, my cultivation speed won’t slow much."

Livi wasn’t particularly anxious.

Vvvrrr!

The magical badge trembled.

Livi took it out.

Magical Steward: “Mage Levithan invites you to meet on the third floor of the Mage Tower.”

Livi showed surprise. “Who is Levithan?”

After a moment’s thought, he decided to go.

At least the message came through the Magical Steward, and the meeting place was the third floor of the Mage Tower.

No need to fear a trap.

Livi arrived at the third floor of the Mage Tower.

He saw Mage Levithan.

Levithan looked at him and said, “Apprentice Livi, you’ve been an apprentice mage for three months now.”

Livi, puzzled, asked, “Yes, is something wrong?”

A faint twitch crossed Levithan’s lips. “I see you don’t recognize me.”

“Let me introduce myself. I am Levithan-Rhinester, Director of Instruction at the Mage Tower, responsible for overseeing the education of mage apprentices.”

Livi’s expression shifted slightly.

Rhinester family?

That name stood equal to the Bieber Shield family—both among the most powerful noble houses in Maple City.

With such a background, no wonder he held this position.

Livi said, “Greetings, Mage Levithan.”

Levithan gazed at him. “After becoming an apprentice mage and enjoying the privileges of the Mage Tower, you must also contribute to it.”

“You are required to take up the responsibility of educating mage apprentices.”

Livi was speechless. Make him teach others? Wouldn’t that be misleading students?

He himself knew almost nothing.

At best, he was slightly more familiar with a few spells.

As for theoretical knowledge of other spells, he barely grasped half of it.

He was a battle-oriented mage, not a scholar.

“I’m sorry,” Livi said hesitantly, “but I haven’t even completed the apprentice curriculum myself. I’m afraid I can’t teach others.”

Levithan replied, “No matter. You may teach apprentice-level novices.”

“As a prodigy of the Mage Tower, surely sharing your cultivation experience and guiding younger peers isn’t too much to ask?”

Hearing this, Livi felt annoyed. Wasn’t this just wasting his precious cultivation time?

Two chapters today—I’ll be out visiting for the New Year.

(End of Chapter)