Chapter 20: Using the Healing Potion
Dreams are a unique realm entirely separate from the real world, completely isolated, where everything that happens within has no impact on reality.
Thus, once Su Ran entered the dream space, she quickly recovered from her weakened state.
“Where am I?” Su Ran looked around in confusion.
Within the dream, she could clearly see the scenes of the instance, yet those in the real world could not see her at all.
“Su... Su Ran?” Lin Qingqing’s voice was equally bewildered.
Hearing Lin Qingqing, Su Ran responded and instinctively moved forward.
But after taking a few steps, she found herself back where she started.
A trace of panic flickered across Su Ran’s face.
Without hesitation, she activated the assassin’s Phantom Dash, speeding toward Lin Qingqing, but the farther she ran, the greater the distance between them grew.
Through his connection with the Nightmare Sovereign, Gu Chen sensed the situation inside the dream.
“Forget it, you all come in as well,” he waved his hand. “Inside the dream, you won’t be affected by the Gray Mist Curse. Once the mist dissipates, I’ll release you.”
No sooner had he spoken than the void before them shattered violently, black cracks spreading toward Lin Yuan, Lin Qingqing, and Wu Ziyi.
From the break emerged a monstrous hand formed of black mist, its arm splitting into three, pulling the three of them forcibly into the dream.
Everything within the dream was identical to the instance’s scene, except that the four of them couldn’t interact with Gu Chen—after all, they existed in different dimensions.
“Has the weakness really disappeared?” Lin Qingqing exclaimed upon seeing Su Ran, both thrilled and astonished.
“Gu Chen said this is a dream? How did we get in?” Lin Yuan looked incredulously at the ghostly black figure.
“The Nightmare Sovereign is indeed a summoned beast. I didn’t expect Gu Chen to have contracted a second one so quickly, and not just any energy being, but a rare spatial-type!” Wu Ziyi instinctively tried to check its attributes but only saw question marks.
“So the dream is the Nightmare Sovereign’s skill? We’re inside a skill? What kind of skill can maintain this for so long?”
...
Although the Nightmare Sovereign could freely shift between dream and reality, sustaining the dream space for such an extended period was extremely draining.
Previously, it was impossible for the Nightmare Sovereign to do this.
However, after awakening its bloodline, its talent “Dreams Come True” reduced its energy consumption by 80%, greatly enhancing the skill’s endurance.
With Lin Yuan and the others settled, the Blood Clan Sovereign led the way, followed by Gu Chen and the Nightmare Sovereign.
The deeper they ventured, the stronger the weakening effect of the Gray Mist Curse became. By the time they reached the plaza, Gu Chen felt his overall attributes had dropped by 30%.
What did this mean?
Originally, his core stats were near a hundred; now they had fallen to just above seventy, noticeably slowing his movements.
The Blood Clan Sovereign suffered similarly—the weakness severely impacted combat power. Where one bullet could once instantly kill a level 5 guard, now two shots were necessary.
---
As Gu Chen entered the plaza, a flood of Fallen Guards spawned from all directions, appearing every few steps.
Among them, every few refreshes would bring forth an elite guard, differing only in level.
For example, the elite guard at the temple gate was level 7; earlier, the Blood Clan Sovereign had slain a level 8 elite guard.
Now, directly ahead of Gu Chen, a level 9 elite guard was approaching.
[Alien Race: Fallen Guard · Elite]
[Level: LV.9]
[Health: 16,000]
[Attributes: Strength 80, Agility 87, Constitution 122, Spirit 95]
[Skill I: Gray Mist Curse]
[Skill II: Iron Guard]
[Skill III: Giant Axe Slash]
[Skill IV: Spinning Blood Blade]
This level 9 elite guard resembled a small giant, clad in imposing black heavy armor, boasting a massive health pool of sixteen thousand and all core stats exceeding one hundred.
It was the most formidable alien Gu Chen had encountered since entering the instance.
As the elite guard approached, the surrounding gray mist thickened, blurring even the guard’s facial features.
In its hand was a blood-red giant axe, the handle’s end connected by a black iron chain, which wound tightly around its unusually thick arm.
Suddenly, a sharp whoosh pierced the air from the mist.
[Giant Axe Slash]
Without warning, the blood-red giant axe was hurled forward. The sharp blade tore through the air like a massive crimson lightning bolt, hurtling swiftly toward the Blood Clan Sovereign.
The level 9 elite guard’s Gray Mist Curse reduced the Blood Clan Sovereign’s overall attributes by 40%.
In an instant, its speed dropped drastically, and before it could even dodge, the razor-sharp axe struck its body.
Ssss!
A gruesome wound appeared, blood spraying out as though it had been cleaved in two at the waist.
Fortunately, this elite guard specialized in constitution, so its attack power wasn’t exceptionally high. Still, it dealt over 4,000 damage to the Blood Clan Sovereign in a single blow.
After reaching level 7, the Blood Clan Sovereign’s health had surpassed ten thousand.
In other words, one skill from the elite guard nearly halved its health.
---
“Roar!”
The Blood Clan Sovereign’s face twisted in pain as it let out a tortured roar.
“This is a level 9 elite guard—absolutely terrifying!” Wu Ziyi stared at the Blood Clan Sovereign’s nearly half-empty health bar, eyes wide with horror.
“This is the first time our summoned beast has taken such heavy damage. The hell-level instance is truly fearsome,” Lin Qingqing murmured in awe.
“The elite guard is so strong. How about letting the Nightmare Sovereign take it on?” Lin Yuan instinctively glanced at the ghostly black figure.
Within the dream space, the four watched the battle, their hearts nearly in their throats.
Yet in the plaza, Gu Chen stood calmly, expression composed and serene.
Although the Gray Mist Curse had weakened the Blood Clan Sovereign and it failed to dodge the elite guard’s attack...
It was still a Blood Clan member!
For the Blood Clan, as long as the wound wasn’t fatal, any injury could quickly be healed.
This was not a skill but instinct!
The Blood Clan Sovereign grunted and tore the giant axe embedded in its flesh from its body.
In the next moment, the bleeding ceased, and the gruesome wound visibly began to heal before their eyes.
In the blink of an eye, the once horrifying injury was restored to perfect condition.
If not for the dark red bloodstains still marking its suit, it would be hard to believe that just seconds ago, it had nearly been cleaved in two by the blood-stained giant axe.
Though the wound had healed, its health bar still hovered near half.
However, under the “Blood Clan Instinct” talent, its health quickly began to regenerate.
Seeing this, Gu Chen no longer wished to waste time and retrieved a healing potion from his spatial storage.
[Healing Potion: Upon absorption, grants resistance to the Gray Mist Curse for 10 minutes]
The Blood Clan Sovereign accepted the potion without hesitation, swallowing the glass vial whole.
The next second, a white energy aura blossomed across its body, and the weakness vanished instantly.
“Roar!”
The Blood Clan Sovereign let out a fierce roar, shaking off its former lethargy.
With the healing potion’s effect, its core stats surged, and its health bar rapidly climbed back to peak condition.