Chapter 17: The Reading Seminar

Despite serving under the same High Priest Hume, the three Low Priests—Claudia, Skol, and Sera—could hardly be described as harmonious.

There was only one reason for this.

Hume possessed only a single dose of the advancement magic potion and the corresponding ritual materials.

Contrary to Luo Wei’s initial guess of a personal vendetta, the humiliation she had inflicted upon her colleagues was indeed infuriating, but not enough to make them risk an assassination attempt.

The Dream Sanctum emphasized the connection and coexistence of all through the Eternal Dream, and its members addressed each other as brothers and sisters—at least on the surface.

Even an eccentric like Hume only subjected wavering believers to “trials” rather than “punishments”… though there wasn’t much of a difference between the two in practice.

The act of killing one’s own kin was strictly forbidden within the Dream Sanctum.

The real reason these two priests had developed murderous intent was Hume’s sudden, preferential treatment of Claudia.

Skol and Sera had been locked in a bitter struggle for ages just for the chance at this advancement. They never expected Claudia, a woman who barely had any presence at all, to suddenly cut in line.

Because Hume had told them nothing—not even that Claudia had already advanced to Sequence 8—he had merely let it slip that she was exempt from participating in the upcoming gathering’s ritual.

Consequently, Skol and Sera naturally assumed that Claudia had already been pre-selected as the candidate for advancement.

They were unwilling to accept it. To see the immense time and effort they had invested simply vanish into thin air?

The two didn’t spend much time planning. They quickly decided to strike together and assassinate Claudia while Hume was occupied with the ritual preparations.

As long as Claudia was dead, the potion would return to the available pool.

It was true that the Dream Sanctum strictly prohibited internal slaughter, but that was primarily directed at the rank-and-file believers. The Sanctum was far more lenient toward those at the Priest level and above.

After all, magic potions were precious, even those for Sequence 9.

Furthermore… a dead person was of no use to anyone, while a living one could continue to slave away for the Sanctum.

Therefore, even if a Priest violated the precepts, they would receive a disciplinary lashing at most. It would never be severe enough to be life-threatening. Compared to regaining the right to the potion, such a risk was negligible.

However…

Skol and Sera never imagined that Claudia had already been replaced by a certain entity, much less that she had already reached Sequence 8: “Dormant Chrysalis.”

The illusory colors bleeding into the surroundings were the physical manifestation of the Dormant Chrysalis’s power.

「Chrysalis Curtain」: Between the folds of the sleeping bedcurtains, a spiderweb woven from starlight emerges. Every thread is spun from solidified moonlight and subconscious fragments; Her dream quietly descends.

Through Claudia’s senses, Luo Wei could perceive that everything within a ten-meter radius had “come alive,” bending to her manipulation.

She could extend the range of the 「Chrysalis Curtain」, but the further it spread, the heavier the spiritual pressure Claudia’s body had to endure.

…Luo Wei found it hard to imagine what kind of mental shock Claudia had suffered last time when she triggered a fifty-meter 「Chrysalis Curtain」, even if it was only for a split second.

By now, Skol and Sera were plunged into an unprecedented terror. Yet, they were veteran Priests who had navigated countless encounters with the Enforcement Guards. They were in a completely different league compared to the old Claudia, who could do nothing but flee for her life.

Realizing they were facing an entity they couldn’t possibly defeat, they immediately transformed into gray shadows, desperate to find a gap in the 「Chrysalis Curtain」 to escape.

“Shaping the dream, merging memories, applying suggestions, unveiling the subconscious…”

Luo Wei’s indecisiveness flared up again.

Which one should I use first?

Wait, none of those seem particularly effective for a chase…

The gap between Sequence 8 and Sequence 9 wasn’t actually that massive. Even though it could influence reality, it wasn’t yet a complete qualitative change in power.

What Skol and Sera truly feared was the unknown entity residing inside “Claudia.”

“Let’s try this.”

Luo Wei raised a hand. In an instant, the daggers in Skol and Sera’s hands were engulfed by the dream. Losing all control, the blades turned back and plunged toward their owners’ hearts.

“…….”

The daggers pierced their chests, yet strangely, no blood sprayed out.

“Hmm?”

Luo Wei was momentarily stunned, but she quickly found the answer in Claudia’s memories.

This was… a Technique.

A more efficient way of utilizing supernatural abilities.

A Sequence 9 “Dream-Walker” could influence the composition of their own dreams after falling asleep. The Technique Skol and Sera used allowed them to apply that influence to themselves in reality, manifesting as an 「Obscured State」 that granted a degree of immunity to physical damage.

This was a fundamental Technique that every Low Priest was required to master upon advancement.

Except… Claudia never learned it.

She was the only Low Priest who hadn’t mastered the 「Obscured State」 Technique.

“Was Claudia’s talent really that abysmal?” Luo Wei’s expression turned somewhat peculiar. “How on earth did she survive in the Dream Sanctum? Wait…”

Luo Wei found one skill that only Claudia had mastered, while the other Low Priests were completely clueless about it.

—The 「Nightmare」 Ritual.

By paying a certain price, one could graft the characteristics of a Nightmare Aberration onto themselves.

None of the other Priests could construct a 「Nightmare」 Ritual, yet Claudia had understood it instantly.

“…I’ve never heard of someone being so specialized that their only talent is a move that costs them their life.”

Luo Wei’s musings occurred in the span of a thought. In reality, only a moment had passed, but Skol and Sera were now on the verge of escaping the range of the 「Chrysalis Curtain」.

Once they merged with the night, their Techniques would be enough to evade Luo Wei’s pursuit.

“Well, no choice but to use this.”

Luo Wei sighed and pulled out the Grimoire of Forbidden Curses. She flipped to the third page and began to recite the text from Claudia’s memory, projecting the influence throughout the 「Chrysalis Curtain」.

Ordinary psychological suggestions and subconscious revelations wouldn’t do much against two Priests hell-bent on running, but the third page’s incantation—the one that had nearly knocked Claudia dead—was a different story.

Even if they didn’t witness it with their eyes or chant it themselves, the moment they were touched by the resonance carried through the 「Chrysalis Curtain」, their consciousnesses felt as though they had been struck by a massive sledgehammer.

Their vision went black, and they slipped into a semi-conscious stupor.

With two dull thuds, the two Priests collapsed.

They were less than a meter away from the edge of the 「Chrysalis Curtain」.

Everything was going according to plan.

“All done.”

Luo Wei clapped her hands, walked over, and stripped them of their sturdy outer clothes, using the fabric to tie them up securely.

She had no intention of killing these two Priests for a very simple reason.

“These aren’t people… these are walking piles of pure Candlelight…”

Luo Wei had just been worrying about how to get more resources, and now two volunteers had delivered themselves right to her doorstep. It would be rude not to accept.

She smiled thinly as she watched the two Priests slowly regain consciousness. She said softly,

“Alright, dear guests. Next… let’s have ourselves a little reading seminar!”