Chapter Twenty-Three: I am the Master of Dreams, the King of Nightmares, the Sovereign of the World...

Louis ignored the narration and picked up a slice, beginning his second round of repairs.

This time, he was mending Stuart’s body.

“I see some damaged areas on you,” Louis said as he began to modify the erroneous spells etched into Stuart’s form. “How did this happen?”

[That was the Witch Queen’s doing.] Stuart’s voice carried a hint of anger and fear. [I once served as the ‘magic mirror’ for the previous Witch Queen, ‘Francesco.’ After Her Majesty Francesco passed away, I slumbered for a long time. Occasionally, the young Osicres and Helen would come to me with odd questions.]

Louis scratched his ear. This ‘Francesco’ sounded vaguely familiar.

If only there were a search engine—he could look it up! Louis had a feeling that Francesco must be a renowned figure. Maybe, if he checked, he’d learn exactly what world he’d arrived in.

Of course, it could just be a common name...

[Later, a new queen came to the Solendo Empire—Delphinia. Francesco was her foster mother and teacher. But I did not wish to pledge loyalty to her; I wanted to serve Princess Osicres. So I begged Delphinia for freedom—in her fury, she forcibly tore me from the magic mirror, destroying my body in the process...]

Hearing this, Louis scratched his cheek. The new Witch Queen hadn’t killed Stuart for his disloyalty, only punished him lightly. That was unexpected.

Shouldn’t it have been the classic, “If I can’t have you, no one will!”?

Louis continued his repairs, which required alchemy and necromancy. He recalled two books—“A Brief Treatise on Seraphic Colossus, Parts One, Two, and Three” by Morlia, and “A Short Discourse on the River of Death” by Rosegold...

Both authors seemed oddly familiar to him. Yet, according to the texts, their eras stretched back to the Jurassic.

Louis remembered, in the haze of memory, certain things—now the Sanctum had vanished into the river of history, and storybooks were all that remained of its legacy.

Within the books were illusions of many great sages, who, when Louis earned his doctorate, seemed to urge him to carry on their knowledge.

But he wasn’t here to teach schoolchildren—he was here to save the world...

That aside, thinking back, the previous Witch Queen once possessed such a book. He wondered what she learned from it, but she certainly never graduated from the Forbidden Sanctum.

Otherwise, her daughter wouldn’t be so inept...

An amateur teaching amateurs—naturally, they remain amateurs.

As for this generation’s Witch Queen... she seemed even less capable than the last.

A classroom full of children, indeed!

Stuart continued:

[She granted me freedom, but my body was damaged, and my magic mirror was stripped away... The magic mirror is as vital to a wizard as a wand, to a knight as a lance!]

[I became fragile, unable to freely wander the surface world, forced to dwell in the shadow realm. Once, I was akin to a god; I was Lord of Dreams, King of Nightmares, Master of the Mirror World...]

Stuart went on at length. Louis nodded; if the Witch Queen was the novice village boss, the magic mirror would be her lieutenant—the penultimate mini-boss of the beginner dungeon.

He repaired the final spell.

Suddenly, atop every slice of Stuart’s body, a powerful blue magical fire ignited. [Oh, sir, look—this dreamfire, I once could kindle it, but now I cannot... Wait? Huh?]

The ghostly flames flickered several times, then reignited.

Stuart stared blankly as the flames flared and died over and over, though he hadn’t done anything.

The fire burned beside Louis, yet he suffered no harm. With a thought, Louis could make the flames on Stuart’s body ignite or extinguish, as if playing with a lighter.

After a moment, Louis nodded with satisfaction.

“Almost done, Stuart. These spells allow every mirror to become your magic mirror. Naturally, your power will be greater in magical mirrors.” Louis shook his slightly sore hand.

Stuart was stunned. How could this wizard know him better than he knew himself?

“You mentioned a sealed magic mirror in an underground chamber of the academy? I’ll visit it soon. As for your wounds, just keep drawing power from dreams, and you’ll gradually recover.”

With that, Louis flipped his hand, turning the sliced Stuart back into a bewildered unicorn.

What happened?

I think I’ve gotten stronger?

Stuart realized that many abilities he couldn’t use before were now accessible.

The unicorn, missing one horn, was covered in mysterious and powerful spells; its legs were no longer deformed, and the broken horn on its forehead had begun to regrow.

Though not fully restored, the missing section was inscribed with dense runes, as if an invisible horn had sprouted there.

Louis glanced at his storybook and saw his character’s description now included ‘servant/mount/butler.’

And there was a new illustration—a depiction of Stuart’s original nightmare form.

It resembled a card, edged in purple and gold, inscribed: [Epic Nightmare ‘Stuart’, who may leave legends because of his master, Level 10 (MAX)].

‘Just level 10, talked up so much, but not even a mini-boss—just a low-level creature in the novice village.’

[Nightmare ‘Stuart’ Level 10 (MAX)]
[Marvelous Creature: Mirror Demon (SSR)]
[Attribute: High-tier Archdemon]
[Status: Severely weakened (recovering, needs feeding)]
[Power: 3.9(8.9) Agility: 18(27) Magic: 8(30)]
[Knowledge:
Demon lore, Dream Master, High-level Tailor; Master of Mind Reading;
Talents:
Spirit of the Magic Mirror (Repaired, missing the magic mirror):
1. Exists between any real, surface, and inner world. If anyone dreams your name, you can find them;
2. If anyone looks into a mirror and you see them, you can become them;
3. Immune to most magic below tier 5;
Description: The only way to deal with the magic mirror is to let its nightmare seed penetrate your heart, then continually cast spells on it—at this point, the magic mirror can no longer resist your spells (exorcism spells are especially effective)—use with caution!]
[Spellcraft:......]

In spellcraft, Stuart knew many spells, but ninety percent were level 1; the rest were level 2 or 3.

Level 3 counted as master-level, and Stuart seemed to know a few level 5 spells.

Among them was a level 6 spell!

Louis had seen this before—Stuart’s Magic Mirror, level 6 (MAX).

Some called it ‘Osicres’ Magic Mirror’—the spell created by the previous Witch Queen, Osicres’ mother, named after her daughter.

In essence, the spell was ‘return to sender.’

Louis had seen Stuart use this on Therys and Rufeild. Any spell cast on Stuart hit the attacker instead!

Stuart was unaffected by enemy spells, being the magic mirror.

Likewise, the previous Witch Queen, with Stuart as her mirror, could be struck by spells yet not suffer; the spell rebounded onto her foe.

Thus, the prior Witch Queen, with this single technique, was invincible.

The best part was, it couldn’t be defended against; no protective spell or artifact could stop it.

This was her signature move, and Osicres knew it too. Though she lacked the magic mirror, with a voodoo doll, she could still be immune to some low-level magic. And for spells she couldn’t resist, her enemy would still be struck by the ‘Osicres Magic Mirror’ spell simultaneously!

Therefore, Osicres was actually very powerful—like Sakura Bell, one of those witches you’d best not provoke.

Louis was quite interested in this spell.

He’d already learned it, but it wasn’t suitable for mischief, as it was too distinctive. Those who knew it were Osicres and her true disciples—Therys and Rufeild followed her to learn this spell, but Osicres never taught them, sensing their ulterior motives.

In Osicres’ heart, her true disciples were probably Helen and Louis—though the latter was rather slow.

Stuart’s mastery of advanced spells didn’t end there. Every nightmare was a spell master, but Stuart was the most adept among them, reaching master level in spellcraft.

[‘Repaired’ Forbidden. Brain Erosion, Level 5 (MAX): Devour the lifeforce of an enemy unit, healing yourself (requires their fear of you).]

[‘Repaired’ Forbidden. Weakening, Level 5 (MAX): Drain a person of strength until death (especially effective on the weak-willed).]

[‘Repaired’ Forbidden. Terror Nightmare Reincarnation, Level 5 (MAX): Awaken the nightmares in nearby minds; as you wander their dreams, you are omnipotent (limited by imagination—if an enemy surpasses your imagination, you cannot defeat them).]

[Note: Your mount is still very weak; you can feed it healthy dreams to restore and strengthen it.]

They all sounded impressive, but Louis thought that any ‘normal’ wizard who’d read a book, even one who only knew a level 1 spell, could easily defeat this illiterate—Stuart was full of weaknesses.

At his peak, Stuart had a magic score of 30, higher than the enforcer-level golems of the Forbidden Sanctum. But he seemed clueless about using his power, making him little better than someone with 3 points.

Still, if his magic and body were properly improved, he could be decent.

‘I’ll deal with it when I have time.’ Louis thought, and Stuart—still bewildered—turned, casting ‘Shatter’ at a nearby chair. The chair disintegrated like a dandelion in the wind, scattering into sawdust.

[That wasn’t my spell!] Stuart shouted.

“It was mine.” Louis pointed at Stuart, who felt his magic drain, his body growing weak, as if struck by the weakening spell. “That was you—Weakening.”

[???]
[!!!]

Thanks to the Devil’s Pardon, Louis could use all of Stuart’s powers.

There was no doubt—Stuart was now Louis’s magic mirror.