Shadow Slave

Dreamscape was a place that was neither real nor a part of the Dream Realm, but instead existed somewhere in between. It was created and maintained by a combination of advanced modern technology and a very special Aspect Ability that a certain Master — now already a Saint — possessed. Their power had to do with illusions, and so, that was what Dreamscape was.

A massive illusion that countless people could share.

However, that illusion was not entirely malleable, and functioned according to a set of absolute rules. It reflected reality instead of being a complete replacement for it. As the result, a person entering it was bound by the same laws that existed in the real world.

And since one of those laws was the Nightmare Spell, a person's Aspect, Abilities, Memories, and Echoes would function in the illusion the same way they functioned outside of it, with one important difference. One couldn't be hurt, wounded, or killed in the Dreamscape. Neither Memories nor Echoes could be destroyed.

Which meant that Awakened were able to battle each other there without having to risk their lives and keep the destructive force of their duels out of the real world. This application was the primary use of the Dreamscape… well, in a sense.

At the dawn of it, the Dreamscape was mostly used by the Legacy Clans and the government to train elite Awakened that served them, but it was quickly deemed as only being marginally useful. While such training could facilitate safe duels between the human carriers of the Spell, its simulation of the Nightmare Creatures was not that close to reality. The illusory monsters lacked the will and mind of actual abominations, after all.

So, the Dreamscape had failed to become a successful training tool and was thus largely abandoned.

It had, however, unexpectedly found incredible success in the entertainment segment.

Those Awakened that were not part of elite strike forces deemed it to be very engaging, useful… and fun. The duels in the Dreamscape became very popular, and that popularity simply exploded once the company behind it came up with the idea to integrate a broadcast function into the simulation pods, thus making these duels available to a much broader audience — the mundane humans.

Today, Dreamscape was a whole industry with both amateur and professional leagues, famous celebrities, and passionate fan clubs. There was even a version of it for non-Awakened, with its own set of environments and adventures that allowed people to experience a facsimile of what it meant to travel across the Dream Realm while battling Nightmare Creatures.

Sunny, however, wasn't interested in the fame, glory, and money that becoming a renowned Dreamscape champion could bring him. No matter how lucrative, it was just a toy, at the end of the day.

He was, nevertheless, extremely interested in that toy for three very important reasons.

offered. It was all but impossible to track a person entering the illusion if they didn't wish

a multitude of opponents skilled in wielding different weapons and using various styles to sharpen his battle art and make it — as well as the Soul Serpent — stronger. In a sense, he needed to create a

of Awakened who were willing and ready to cross blades with him? All without having to

In fact, Sunny had stumbled upon

in battles against several Nightmare Creatures. The onyx armor had turned out to be even more remarkable than he had anticipated, so he easily hunted down several abominations. And yet, one creature had managed to escape from him after being thoroughly defeated, mostly because of the approaching

to the number of opponents its wielder defeated… and it did exactly that. The enchantment didn't care whether the opponent lived or died, all

Creature Sunny had beaten escaped, the counter of the

abomination, bringing it to the door of death and

in the Dreamscape — to both elevate his technique and satiate the requirements of the [Prince of the Underworld] with a

had finally bought his own home and gained access to a sufficiently secure simulation pod, the chance to do

he needed to send

to the ground floor. The short man looked around and asked with a somewhat forced

hope that everything was to your

how weird it was for him to be addressed as "sir", still, Sunny gave him a curt nod and

"Yes. It will do."

hesitated for a few moments, then

active security service? Many Awakened find it

to give him an obviously practiced sales pitch, but under Sunny's indifferent gaze, his voice

Sunny smiled slightly.

not, Lanard. Do you really presume to

then shook his

of course not. What I was thinking about,

away, then hurried to change the