I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Shi An had heard about the ranking system of the Dreamers from Lao Yao before, but it was nowhere near as detailed as Professor Luo's explanation now.

Shi An is already clear about the milestones and costs of each stage.

Professor Luo also gave a general overview of how to proceed at each stage.

The borrowing period is to use the same spell object as many times as possible—use it frequently and in small amounts, and carefully feel the flow of the spell object's power when using it—if you can't feel the flow of power, you can also feel the areas where you feel uncomfortable.

Starting with the side effects is also a way to experience the power of cursed dreams.

"And among them, dream crystal dust is indeed a very important material."

When a dreamer uses a cursed object, the first thing they consume is their physical strength, followed by their life force. If their physical strength is insufficient, then the life force consumed will be even greater, and the side effects of the cursed object will be more severe.

Professor Luo just mentioned that physical training is very important. A strong physique cannot fight against the supernatural, but it can support one to use cursed objects more frequently.

However, even for strong individuals, the frequent use of cursed items still has significant side effects, enough to cripple a person. In such cases, consuming Dream Dust is necessary to offset some of the cost.

"The ratio of stamina to dream dust needs to be figured out by oneself, and it is usually between one to nine and two to eight. However, official organizations like the Countermeasures Bureau seem to have the equipment to conduct research."

"Another point is that while nightmare worlds are indeed terrifying, causing many dreamers to tremble at the mere mention of them, experiencing nightmares also directly helps dreamers master cursed artifacts. Even just surviving a nightmare normally grants +1 experience in using cursed artifacts, making them feel more adept at using them. If one were to conquer a nightmare world, the benefits would be enormous."

Thinking about this, Shi An understood why the seemingly ordinary newcomer, Xiao K, had suddenly become a rising star in the Countermeasures Bureau.

Among the newcomers of his generation, probably none can compare to him now.

New players haven't fallen too deeply into nightmares yet, and often won't encounter overly terrifying ones. If they could quickly level up to the maximum level at this point, wouldn't they be able to wreak havoc in the nightmare world?

Of course, Little K is still far from it. Even if he enters the fusion stage, he is still a nobody in the nightmare world.

but,

"As long as you can come to my safe zone, each of you will essentially have a ticket to the realm of the strong."

Professor Luo didn't go into too much detail about the control stage and even the refining stage.

This course is ultimately for training newcomers; it's enough for advanced Dream Fallers to have a basic understanding of it.

Shi An kept taking notes in his notebook, listening with complete absorption.

With this information, he had a better understanding of where his safe zone advantage lay and what he could do in the face of nightmares.

……

On the podium, Professor Luo continued, "Dreambreakers develop dream-cursing artifacts in different directions. Roughly speaking, they can be divided into 'Extreme Path Stream' and 'Curse Stream'."

"The former relies on cursed objects to unleash greater power and speed. This type of dream faller can often rely on their physical advantages to have a stronger ability to survive in the dream world, but due to the limitations of their mortal bodies, it is difficult for them to directly confront the supernatural."

"The latter, the power exerted by cursed dream objects is more peculiar. When facing the bizarre, they can sometimes produce some 'mechanical' effects. For example, the most common flames and lights can dispel darkness. However, this type of dream faller is more dependent on the environment. And because the use of cursed objects has many invariables, their survivability is often weaker."

Shi An understood.

Old Yao is clearly a Dreamer of the Extreme Path, but he's not much stronger than an ordinary person at the moment.

As a fellow second-stage Dream Fallen, Xi Xue's abilities are far more exaggerated, absolutely overwhelming ordinary people. She seems to follow a spellcasting style, but her survivability is also quite strong.

He's much better than Yao Ming.

"Of course..." Professor Luo said, "Schools are just general classifications. Those who fall into dreams don't necessarily have to stick to a certain school. It's just that when we develop and use cursed objects, we should follow a school that is compatible with the cursed objects."

"It's obviously inappropriate for you to fuse with a cursed artifact whose eyes can flash and then go down the path of extreme martial arts."

"Besides the two main schools, there are also some less common schools. These schools have higher requirements for the items used in the dream-cursing game, and only a very few items with the right characteristics can be developed in these directions."

"For example: the base formation strategy, the sacrifice strategy, the multi-treasure strategy, the anti-deception strategy, etc."

Professor Luo only briefly mentioned these schools of thought and didn't elaborate further.

Shi An had only been listening to the story, but as he listened, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"The Art of Deception?"

"There's actually such a school of thought? The prerequisite for going down this path is that the cursed dream object must possess the characteristic of being alive."

This is indeed very rare, but Shi An doesn't care.

What he cared about was, "After I signed the contract with Employee Number One, I was worried about the issue of controlling the supernatural."

The strange is the enemy, it is a disaster!

Humans controlling the bizarre is simply too terrifying.

"But now, oh, since there are also Dreamers who can manipulate the supernatural, then it's fine."

"Can I pretend to be a Dream Faller of the Yugui School?"

Although it seems that the Dreamers of the Ghostly Flow cannot truly control the supernatural, they merely manipulate their cursed objects like puppets to carry out various tasks.

This cursed object is not truly alive, but it possesses active characteristics and the ability to act autonomously, resembling a single individual. Yet, it also has a bizarre appearance, hence the name "the object that controls the bizarre."

Even so, the Dreamwalker class, which combines reconnaissance and combat abilities with good survivability, is a class with a very high potential.

Shi An is still different from them.

Little Blood is a true mystery, not just a mere cursed object or strange creature.

But it doesn't matter, as long as it can be installed.

……

This lesson was packed with useful information, and at this point, Professor Luo even brought out several uniquely shaped and strangely shaped items.

"It's a cursed object!"

"What?! It's a cursed object?!"

Many people exclaimed in surprise.

For them, the cursed dream object was still a "legendary treasure." They had heard about it many times, but they had never seen it with their own eyes.

What's more, it's several items at once.

Shi An wasn't too excited. He had seen quite a few cursed artifacts, and besides, he could tell at a glance that these were all incomplete cursed artifacts.

But why did Professor Luo bring out these cursed items?

Professor Luo explained, "There's a concept of compatibility between cursed objects and those who are trapped in dreams. Using a compatible cursed object naturally leads to a faster fusion process and lower costs."

"Now, I have a few enchanted items here. Anyone who is interested can come up and try them out to see which type suits you best."

After he finished speaking, someone in the audience raised their hand.

Shi An recognized this person; a faint ominous aura emanated from him, clearly indicating that he was a novice Dream Faller.

The dreamers stepped forward and touched the cursed objects one by one, and under Professor Luo's guidance, they attempted to rudimentarily activate the cursed objects.

"The spellcasting style suits you better. Of course, if you have the opportunity, you might be able to go down a path like the multi-treasure style."

Immediately afterwards, the second, third, and fourth students stepped forward to try.

They cherish this opportunity.

If it weren't for the powerful backing of a large organization, I might never have seen so many cursed objects in my entire life, let alone made a safe attempt at them.

However, if you choose the wrong cursed object, you will waste a lot of time.

In this world where nightmares relentlessly pursue you, running even a little slower can easily lead you into danger, where you could be killed at any moment.

Despite their fear of the cursed objects—fearing the side effects of using them—they bravely stepped forward one by one.

After the four dreamers finished their attempts, an awkward silence fell over the classroom.

At this time, there were still dozens of students in the classroom who came to listen to the lecture, but even those sitting in the front row looked at each other and dared not go up.

The cursed object exudes an ominous aura, instilling instinctive fear in people.

That's fine.

Those present understood one thing even better: "Contact with cursed objects will greatly increase the likelihood of being plagued by nightmares!"

These people are already a dangerous group; if they touch cursed objects, it's like being cursed with a countdown!

Professor Luo was certainly aware of this, but he was even more aware of how nightmares were eroding the entire world.

Perhaps before long, everyone will have nowhere to hide and nowhere to retreat.

It's not something ordinary people can escape.

These people are those who have already been exposed to nightmare messages. They can hide for a while, but not forever. Only by forging ahead can they find a glimmer of hope.

Professor Luo wouldn't force them, but he couldn't help but sigh.

While everyone hesitated, cowered, and resisted, Shi An stood up and strode towards the podium.

There's really no other way, I'll just have to do it myself ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌.