Chapter 287: A Scheme to Transfer Luck Within a Dream
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 287: A Scheme to Transfer Luck Within a Dream
"Xiao Han? What brings you here?"
In Office 8405 of the teaching building, Ji Niang looked up at the figure appearing in the doorway and spoke.
She had been intent on her research into the Great Spellbook. Even though she knew her foundation was shallow and her chances of success were slim, the Academy Dean’s recent success had given her a massive boost in confidence.
After all, this was the first time she had witnessed the birth of a Great Spellbook from such a close distance!
Consequently, she had spent the last few days organizing various related materials. One could never be too prepared for the preliminary stages of such an endeavor. Without proper preparation, searching for data while in the middle of research would be a colossal waste of time.
"Teacher Ji Niang, that dream device you placed in Room 8401... can I borrow it for a bit?"
"Just use it. Why even ask? Didn't I bring it over specifically for you?"
"Uh... right. Also, Teacher, do you usually not use dream devices?" I nodded quickly but couldn't help asking out of curiosity. Ever since Teacher Ji Niang brought that device over, she had used it at the very beginning, but it had been gathering dust ever since. Since these things weren't widespread in the academy, they had to be quite precious.
"I use the dreamscape, but not that clunky thing. It’s too much trouble."
"There’s something more convenient?"
"Mhm. Remember when the Academy Dean told you that the Soul Truth Witch found the connection between souls and dreams? In the beginning, dreams required external devices to access, but now it’s been simplified into a spell. Once you promote to a Transcendent Witch, you can learn it at the Great Library of the Witch World or just buy a ready-made spellbook. The Primal Witches have never been stingy about promoting the dreamscape, but that's only for Transcendent Witches."
"So I..."
"Don't even think about it. Just stick to that dream device. Isn't it better to have a comfortable place to lie down anyway?" Ji Niang said irritably, waving her hand to shoo me out of her office.
"Alright then..."
I shrugged at the closed door. I had wanted to ask more, but she didn't give me the chance. Ever since returning from the Dean's office, Teacher Ji Niang had become visibly busier, rarely even speaking in the class group chat.
It seemed she was gearing up for her own Great Spellbook. I wondered how long her passion would last; hearing the Dean talk about time spans of hundreds or thousands of years was truly terrifying.
* * *
Back in the laboratory.
I followed the previous procedure to activate the dream pod. Although the model was different from the one I used before, the operation was essentially the same.
The Dean had told me to use a dream device to log into the Primal Dream, but she hadn't specified what to do next. Was I supposed to wait for her to add me as a friend?
I closed my eyes and waited to enter the dream.
When I felt a strange sensation, I slowly opened my eyes. It was different from the first time Ji Niang had brought me in, and different from the pure white public space of the exchange competition. This was a massive, open arena. A metallic scent of blood saturated my nostrils in a most unpleasant way.
I instinctively tried to steady myself, only to realize I was lying on the ground. Looking around, the place resembled an ancient colosseum, with high stone walls and tiers of stacked seating.
I was in the center on a patch of relatively level yellow earth. Bloodstains were everywhere, soaked deep into the ground, giving the entire arena a dark, reddish hue. No wonder the smell of blood was so thick.
"Where... where is this?"
Though I was a bit dazed, I knew for certain I was in a dream. Had I been randomly teleported to some strange scenario?
I instinctively checked my spellbooks and Mana Source. Even in a dream, these should be accessible, just like they were during the exchange competition.
But upon checking, I discovered that this dream body possessed no trace of a spellbook, nor a Mana Source!
At this moment, all I had was a physical fitness that felt slightly stronger than usual. Nothing else.
Just as I was considering logging out, a voice suddenly dispelled the thought. That voice... it sounded exactly like the Academy Dean.
"The Outsider has awakened! Let us cheer for her with the utmost passion! This shall be the most primitive and bloody gauntlet, continuing until the Outsider exhausts her very last shred of strength—and then, we shall devour what remains of her!"
"What?"
I looked up at the figure on the high platform, confused by what was happening. But before I could react, a roar like something from the abyss erupted. It carried "intense" emotions, echoing through the spectator stands like a violent release.
Only then did I realize the stands were packed. No... they couldn't even be called people. They were merely twisted, dark shadows.
The Dean on the high platform gave me no time for explanations.
"It seems our sacrifice still needs a moment to realize her situation. Then, let us put her in shackles to help her cool down!"
As she spoke with the weight of a command, I felt a sudden heaviness around my neck. A cold, hard sensation made me realize a metal collar had been locked around my throat.
The moment it locked, I felt something "restless" within me. With a flash of golden light, the Luck I had absorbed into my body could no longer maintain its unified form. It began to unravel, splitting apart like silk being pulled from a cocoon.
"This..."
Seeing the strange movement of the Luck, I reacted quickly, looking toward the Dean. Was this the so-called "Luck transfer" starting without even a word of warning?
I instinctively touched the cold metal collar. It seemed to carry a strange ritual—one that interfered with Luck, causing the current situation.
"Look! The Outsider's power has manifested! Let our brave warriors seize her strength!" The Dean's words seemed laced with magic, and the shapeless spectators in the stands let out their most high-pitched roars.
At that moment, the golden threads of Luck began to gather around me, orderly weaving themselves into a golden war-skirt and a weapon.
I instinctively reached out and gripped a golden greatsword. It felt contradictory; it had immense weight, yet I could lift it with one hand and even swing it without issue.
Just as I was marveling at the fact that Luck could be used this way, the sound of cold metal grinding echoed from a tunnel opposite me. The gate was opening.
A tall figure stepped out with heavy, deliberate strides.
It was a pitch-black silhouette. Although it had a defined shape, I could tell what it was from the aura radiating off it: a Nightmare!
So, we were getting straight to the point?
Or was this the ritual the Dean had arranged for the Nightmares to plunder my Luck?
Regardless, the first Nightmare to enter the fray immediately dealt me a violent blow, sending both me and my weapon flying backward.
Having not yet adapted to this style of combat, I took a heavy hit. The golden war-skirt formed from my Luck dimmed slightly.
I scrambled up, looking somewhat disheveled. Luckily, my reflexes had been fast enough to block with the greatsword, but the impact had left my hands numb.
Moreover, I felt a sharp pain in my internal organs, as if they had been displaced. Deprived of spells and protection shields, I found that while this wasn't my first time experiencing such pain, it still hurt just as much.
In this moment, I gained a clear understanding of my body's fragility.
"Sss... damn, that hurts..."
But combat instinct told me I had no time to wail or complain. Even though I knew this was a dream and I wouldn't truly die.
After several solid collisions, I roughly adapted to the combat, though the price was a body covered in injuries.
Yet, the more I fought, the more energized I became.
I realized that every time I was injured, a sliver of my Luck would fall away and enter the opponent's body. I finally understood the "correct" way to handle my presence here. So this was how Luck was transferred?
What was this? A ritual to forcibly seize Luck through the form of a duel?
This seemed to perfectly match the method of plundering Luck that Teacher Ji Niang had mentioned: spectators, Luck, a duel, a competition. The only difference was... neither side fighting for the Luck was the actual owner of a Luck Seed.
I didn't know how the Dean had fooled Luck and the Script, but with just these means, she was achieving her goal in a dreamscape with almost zero cost.
The only price was my current injuries and pain.
In the midst of the fight, my eyes met the Dean's. She cast a satisfied look my way but said nothing more. She seemed to be simply playing the role of... the Host.
This pure struggle of strength and technique allowed me to rapidly identify the flaws in my own combat ability. My mistakes were offset by the Luck protecting me, with the only cost being that the Luck flowed toward my opponent.
It felt as if the Luck was merely an accessory equipped to my body, something that could be snatched away at will.
After several exchanges, I finally managed to kill the Nightmare, though I was heavily wounded. Its massive body crashed to the ground, turning into an incorporeal Nightmare that was dragged back while letting out a terrified shriek.
As the Nightmare dissipated, the Luck it had plundered from me surged back...
"Wait..."
I watched in shock as the Luck rushed toward me like a bird returning to its nest. I realized my previous injuries had been for nothing.
"It seems our sacrifice is a bit troublesome. In that case, I shall let even more warriors take the stage!"
With three Nightmares appearing at once, the scene became intense, absurd, and eerie.
Having figured out the situation, I no longer hesitated. If it was just about dying...
Though, even in dreams, I hadn't experienced death very often.
After unhesitatingly seeking death, I reappeared in the center of the arena, as if resurrected.
But my expression was grim. It wasn't the pain of death that bothered me, but the fact that actively seeking death didn't trigger the transfer of Luck.
So... did everything really have to be built, bit by bit, upon my suffering?
"Not enough! These few aren't nearly enough! I want to fight them all!" I looked up and shouted toward the Dean.
"Oh, look at how she overestimates herself! She can't even handle the three before her, yet she dares to challenge them all? Let us ask the audience if they agree!" Though the stands erupted in a cacophony of monstrous roars, to my ears, it sounded like a chorus of boos.
"Fine..."
I let out a soft sigh and charged toward the three Nightmares again. Without spells or other means, the only things I could rely on were myself and the Luck.
But that was enough. Through a grueling battle of attrition and several resurrections, I defeated the three Nightmares as if I were using a cheat code. The lost Luck returned once more, but I didn't care.
"Now, I'll say it again! I want to fight them all! To be honest, your 'warriors' are just a bunch of trash in my eyes. You call me a sacrifice? You want to devour me? In your dreams!"
"Since that is the case, we shall grant your wish. I hope your spirit remains as stubborn then as your tongue is now!"
* * *
"You've worked hard."
Facing the figure now lying motionless on the ground like a corpse, the Dean finally removed her mask.
Endless slaughter, death, and resurrection—this was an extreme drain on one's mental energy.
It made me think of Tan Han's situation when she fought me in the dreamscape. Had she already possessed this kind of resolve back then?
And I had only managed to reach this point by passively enduring it all.
"It's nothing... at least... I haven't... fainted yet..."
Even though this body had plenty of strength after resurrecting, I was so numb that I couldn't even find the will to push myself up.
"You haven't fainted? I'm starting to get curious about what supports you to this extent. I didn't originally plan to disperse all the Luck on you in one go. After all, the Luck you carry was born from an exchange competition involving dozens of Transcendent Academies. You performed very well."
"Thanks... but... why? If Luck is so easy to transfer... why did the academy go to such great lengths..."
"You think it's easy? It isn't." Mei Lind knelt down, her hand resting on the iron collar around my neck. With a click, she removed it. "It's not simple at all. First, there's this. As you've likely realized, it carries a ritual—one that can interfere with Luck. Only by manifesting the dormant Luck within you in another form can the next stage of the plan proceed."
"Furthermore... you don't have a Luck Seed. While your Luck belongs to you and others can't directly steal it, without a Luck Seed, those threads of Luck are like rootless duckweed on your body. There will always be ways to scoop them up and transfer them to others. The Script doesn't care much about the transfer of Luck; it only cares about those who possess a Luck Seed."
"And besides... do you think setting up such a massive display, even in a dream, is easy?"
"You didn't think the spectators in the stands were just fake entities created by the dream, did you? Those were the actual sleeping consciousnesses of real people. I pulled them in to become part of this Luck transfer ritual."
"Those... those were all real people?!"
Hearing the Dean's words, I was struck with horror. Recalling my disheveled, hysterical, and borderline insane state during the fight... it was too embarrassing...
"What? Don't worry about it. When those people wake up, they won't remember the specific details of the dream, only vague images. You can rest easy on that front."
"Is that so? Thank goodness..." I breathed a sigh of relief, but before I could finish, I was stunned by her next sentence.
"And they will carry those Nightmares and that Luck back with them, forced into the Script. Next, the next event in the Script will occur: the Nightmare Incident. Not just in the Witch Academy, but in other academies as well. The Children of Destiny will discover the anomaly, investigate the truth, solve the trouble, and obtain the Luck. With that, the Nightmare Incident will conclude, the Luck will be distributed, and the Script will enter its next phase. What do you think?"
"This... there are other academies involved?"
"One must give them a little sweetness, no? It's merely an exchange of interests. I will sell that Luck for a very good price. After their complete failure in this exchange competition, they are like ants on a hot griddle. No matter how much we demand, they will agree."
"I... I see." I nodded and said nothing more. As expected, in the Dean's eyes, Luck was just another exchangeable resource.
"Mhm. Alright, it's time to go back. You've worked hard today. Oh, right—if you don't want to make things complicated again, just don't get involved in the upcoming Nightmare Incident."