Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

After gathering some Nightmare Power, the dream rift reappeared soon, indicating that the unfortunate George had fallen asleep again. However, compared to the first time, this dream rift was smaller and appeared somewhat unstable.

"Caw, for ordinary intelligent creatures like him, you can collect Nightmare Power at most three times in one night. Each time you do, his dream becomes more fragile," Ulysses explained to Richard. "The dream can only withstand so much. Once it weakens, entering it becomes risky and could easily cause it to shatter. So I suggest you find another source."

Since this dream was no longer viable, Richard needed to find other people's dreams. However, observing the active Nightmare Spirits in the village sparked an idea in his mind.

"Ulysses, didn't you say that Nightmare Power can be harvested from these nightmare creatures? Aren't these little fellows the perfect targets for that?"

"Caw, these little ones have too little Nightmare Power, making it not very worthwhile to harvest from them. But if you want to try, feel free," Ulysses said with a peculiar tone, as if holding back some mischief.

Richard glanced at him, then casually used a magical hand to grab a Nightmare Spirit. This one looked like a toad but had seven or eight blood-red eyes on its head, making it quite intimidating.

"How do I harvest it?"

"Caw, eat it," Ulysses chuckled mischievously.

"Eat it?" Richard looked at Ulysses, his expression darkening. "Are you sure?"

Ulysses solemnly replied, "Caw, I swear by the God King, I'm not toying with you. Back in the day, I gained my first trace of Nightmare Power by consuming these nightmare creatures."

He then let out a few strange laughs.

He was eager to see Richard's reaction after consuming these little creatures.

For creatures from the material world, the taste of these nightmare beings is simply...

With an expressionless face, Richard crushed the Nightmare Spirit with his magical hand and absorbed it into his body. Since Richard's presence in the Nightmare Wizard World was purely as a soul, his body was merely an illusion, serving no practical function.

As the Nightmare Spirit entered his body, Richard was overwhelmed by an unimaginable feeling of disgust.

If he had to describe it, Richard would rather eat British cuisine for the rest of his life than take another bite of this.

Seeing Richard's odd expression, Ulysses couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Caw, caw, caw, Richard, how does the taste of these nightmare creatures suit you?"

Richard stiffly turned his neck. "Ulysses, I think asking the World Mushroom to adjust your taste was a mistake. Don't you agree?"

In an instant, the laughing black crow froze in place.

"Caw, my dear master, this is merely an attempt, a necessary step for survival in the Nightmare World. Once you have a body crafted from Nightmare Power, this situation will change significantly."

Richard glared at him before checking the Nightmare Power he gained from consuming the Nightmare Spirit.

Seeing the Nightmare Power in his magic flow, roughly equivalent to what he had expended in his previous refinement, Richard's face turned grim.

Enduring such discomfort for so little Nightmare Power, the method of quickly gaining Nightmare Power by consuming Nightmare Spirits was now off Richard's list of strategies.

However, Richard soon thought of another approach.

"Ulysses, what if I became the lord of these little ones? Have them pay tribute with Nightmare Power," Richard inquired.

"Caw, I don't know about that. I've never tried it," Ulysses replied.

"You've never tried it?" Richard asked, surprised. "Is there a drawback to this method?"

"Caw, no, it's just that I gained Nightmare Power by directly consuming high-level nightmare creatures and snatching their nightmare crystals. Being a lord can't compare to taking ready-made power."

Richard: "..."

Before attempting to lead the Nightmare Spirits, Richard conducted some research on them. As the lowest-level and most common nightmare creatures, their structure was fascinating. They lacked conventional flesh-and-blood bodies, with their lives sustained entirely by Nightmare Power.

Nightmare Power forms a simple energy cycle within them, with variations between different Nightmare Spirits. Breaking this cycle results in their death.

When wounded non-fatally, Nightmare Spirits secrete a foul-smelling black liquid, which is harmless but highly repulsive to otherworldly beings. However, when mortally wounded, they don't secrete this liquid but instead turn to dust, with the degree of dusting related to how much Nightmare Power dissipates from their bodies.

The less remaining Nightmare Power, the more they turn to dust. When Nightmare Power fully dissipates, their bodies become a pile of black dust.

An invisible force seems to guide this process.

These Nightmare Spirits aren't very strong; most can't even defeat a ten-year-old child. However, as their Nightmare Power increases, so does their strength. Despite this, their intelligence remains at the level of a ten-year-old and doesn't improve with more Nightmare Power.

This observation only applies to Nightmare Spirits. According to Ulysses, once a Nightmare Spirit collects enough Nightmare Power, it evolves into a higher-level nightmare creature. Most advanced nightmare creatures evolve from lower-level ones over time.

During his research, Richard discovered that his soul's energy vision still worked in the Nightmare World, allowing him to complete experiments smoothly and gather extensive data.

The entire research process took Richard a week, yielding significant insights. The most valuable was the energy cycle of Nightmare Spirits.

These energy cycles are extremely simple, yet Richard sensed their potential. When they carry enough Nightmare Power, they undergo changes, which is the secret to the evolution of nightmare creatures.

After completing his research, Richard returned to the village, holding a long purple vine. The vine was nothing special, just an ordinary plant altered by the Nightmare World, containing a trace of paralytic toxin.

Richard's purpose for the vine was simple.

With a flick of his hand, runes appeared, forming a simple alchemical array in his palm. Under its influence, Richard mentally manipulated the vine to transform.

The transformed vine resembled a carnivorous plant, snaking into houses, splitting into smaller tendrils to bind the Nightmare Spirits, and then dragging them outside.

Soon, all the Nightmare Spirits in the village gathered in the center, their buzzing like a swarm of flies.

"Quiet!"

A voice like thunder silenced the Nightmare Spirits, making them fall silent.

Emerging from the shadows, Richard addressed them with no complex words, shouting crudely:

"Listen up, you weaklings! I'm the boss of this village now, and you're all my underlings!"

Based on his research, Richard concluded that communication with these creatures must be direct, or they might not understand. Additionally, to subjugate them, he had to display enough strength and ferocity.

Now, he needed some dissenters to demonstrate his power and fierceness.

As soon as Richard finished speaking, a scarecrow-like Nightmare Spirit broke free of the vine and stood up.

"Who do you think you are to be my boss..."

Before it could finish, a black flame reduced it to ashes.

Richard withdrew his finger from the scarecrow's direction and asked with a sinister grin:

"Heh heh, anyone else not convinced?"

This time, Richard didn't wait for dissenters. He used his magical hand to grab a palm-shaped Nightmare Spirit from the group.

This Nightmare Spirit had the most substantial Nightmare Power among them, likely the leader of the Slap Gang. Without saying a word, Richard crushed it with his magical hand and swallowed it.

Though the Nightmare Spirit tasted awful, Richard maintained his fierce demeanor.

"This guy dared to move while I was speaking, clearly intending to defy me."

With those words, every Nightmare Spirit in the village center froze, even one resembling a heart stopped pulsing.

Richard, satisfied, nodded and declared, "Good, seems there are no objections.

Now, all of you must hand over a third of your Nightmare Power to me! Don't try any tricks or attempt to escape. I can see your every move!"

He then pointed to a Nightmare Spirit nearby and said, "Now, starting with you!"

...

Nightmare creatures have different ways of paying Nightmare Power, some by cutting off a piece of their flesh, others by forming it into objects. Though the amount wasn't much, with nearly five hundred Nightmare Spirits in the village, Richard still managed to collect a thousand units of Nightmare Power. Some particularly large Nightmare Spirits contributed a hundred units each.

These Nightmare Powers weren't abundant, even if a single Nightmare Spirit absorbed them all, it would only elevate them to the strength of an ordinary knight.

But for Richard, these Nightmare Powers were enough to craft a rudimentary body to conceal his identity as an otherworldly being.

When creating the body, Richard didn't merely mold it like clay. Instead, he designed it to incorporate the simple energy cycle observed in Nightmare Spirits, even foregoing enhanced physical strength.

"Caw, this body is too fragile. If you enter it, you might not even be able to use one-thousandth of your power," Ulysses remarked on Richard's creation.

Before him was a humanoid body exuding an ominous aura.

Richard glanced at him, gently caressing the body, and said:

"You don't understand. In this Nightmare Body, I see limitless potential."