I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

"There's this benefit to conquering Nightmare mode?"

Shi An felt that the safe zone and the nightmare seemed to be opposites.

Nightmares are eroding and devouring the real world, while the safe zone seems to be able to bite off a piece of flesh from the nightmares.

"This is indeed a good thing, but it also warrants caution."

"after all……"

The safe zone is still far too small compared to the infinitely vast nightmare world.

The safe zone's defense and protection capabilities are extremely reliable, but they are only effective against the supernatural.

What if the enemy is the nightmare itself?

The malicious stare that Shi An had been worried about was exactly what it was.

Although this malice may not be able to break through the barrier of the safe zone, if the malice has "intelligence"—if Shi An himself were on the opposite side, he could target the Dreamers entering and leaving the safe zone.

If targeted like this, the safe zone is at best a turtle shell, with few means of countermeasures.

That won't do.

Although this situation may not necessarily occur, Shi An must take precautions.

How to prevent it?

"We need to have the ability to counterattack, and we need to be able to find the source of the malice!"

Shi An drew the map with this purpose in mind.

And the most crucial point is...

It still comes down to strength!

Shi An envisions that if the safe zone is blocked, then he must possess the power to repel and kill the strange beings blocking the entrance.

"While conquering nightmares does rely more on wisdom and intelligence most of the time, strength is the ultimate guarantee."

"Having the ability to break through impasses with brute force, and having a safety net to compensate for mistakes—only with these can we..."

"Break through with sheer force!"

"Similarly, if we can find the source of the malice, we will need a more powerful strategy team to conquer it."

When Xuanjian, Fagui, and Xixue tackled the large nightmare, they faced a near-death experience.

Without the Blood Handprint, the strategy will inevitably fail.

If even a simple major nightmare is this difficult to conquer, then what about even more advanced nightmares?

Even if he finds the source of the gaze, it will be meaningless if his safe zone does not have sufficient power.

We still need to become stronger.

Rather than simply relying on the safe zone to survive.

……

"Hint: Belief value -100."

"Hint: Dream Dust -3000."

"hint:……"

Having obtained an extra building slot, Shi An immediately used the only remaining blueprint, 'Training Ground', to build it.

But he will only be able to see the specific function of the training ground after it is built.

Just like the alchemy workshop, its functions exceeded expectations after it was built.

Shi An hopes the training ground can also give him some surprises.

...

While waiting, Shi An checked the loot options that had just popped up.

Since it's a regular nightmare, the loot is naturally quite ordinary.

Yesterday, while Fa Gui and his team were conquering the nightmare of the ghost marriage, two other groups of dream sufferers also managed to take down the nightmare without any major incidents, thanks to the advantage of their magical telepathic abilities.

Including today's, there are a total of four spoils.

Membership Card x2

"Cursed Dream Item Template: Tranquility Headband (Complete)"

Membership Card x1

"Cursed Dream Object: Steel Bone (Complete)"

A template for a cursed object.

Templates can be used to create cursed items in batches.

Shi An chose the Tranquility Headband because he valued the power of this cursed object.

"It can resist corrosion and mental interference, but the side effect is that wearing it for a long time will cause your head to hurt more and more, until it will completely crush your head."

But you don't need to wear it for that long.

If Shi An takes it in for his own use, he won't have to worry about strange mental intrusions in reality.

However, the cost of crafting a cursed item with 50 faith points is still too expensive.

If the price can be driven down in the future, the Anning Headband could also be sold to those who have fallen into dreaming. It's quite practical.

Steel bars and ribs are also included.

Shi An chose to contain it, strengthening his bones and physique. As for the negative effects, such as turning him into steel until death, Shi An ignored them.

"With these two protective magical items, my safety will increase a little bit more."

……

Several hours later, after the anxious wait of Store Manager Shi, the training ground was finally completed.

When the notification sounded, a new passageway was opened up on one side of the store's aisle.

At its end lies an even larger space.

The entrance gate to the training ground is silver-white and made of alloy.

Compared to the wizard workshops that resembled handcrafted black workshops, this training ground actually had a high-tech feel.

As Shi An approached, the door opened with a click.

"Beep~ Store Manager Card"

Upon entering, there is a circular corridor with a circle of chairs on the inner ring and pure white, bright walls on the outer ring.

A total of five doors were embedded in the wall.

"Five training rooms, that's quite a lot."

"Training Ground"

"Effect ①: When using cursed items in the training ground, the side effects suffered by the user are reduced by 95%."

"Effect 2: Trainees can concentrate more easily and feel the flow of the cursed object's power in this place."

Shi An gasped.

The effect is of little use to me, but for other dream sufferers, it is a miracle!

The reason why dreamers have difficulty developing spells and learning spells is that the cost of using spells is too high. They have to use them carefully, slowly, and at long intervals.

If used daily and frequently, a Dreamer can progress from a novice to the peak of the Fusion stage in just a few hours.

Even experts can improve rapidly.

"Let me experience effect two."

Shi An walked into Training Room No. 1.

The training room is about half the size of a basketball court, which is big enough, considering that the entire safe zone itself is only about that size.

It's sufficient for a space used solely for practicing spells.

In the future, the size of the training room should also be able to be expanded.

"We can try out the power of the Surplice now."

Shi An lightly touched the red silk ribbon tied to her wrist, and the next moment, the red silk ribbon came to life.

The knot was untied, and the red silk flew up.

It transformed in mid-air into a bright red wedding dress.

Employee number two, in his ghost suit, makes his debut!

This is its third skill, "Crimson Silk of the Forest". It can change size, and at its smallest, it is just a thin red ribbon.

But when they were in the rented house, Shi An didn't dare to try too much, for fear of making a scene.

While in the alchemy workshop, I was also afraid of accidentally damaging this seemingly simple workshop.

Now, I can finally give it a try with peace of mind.

"Go, Surplice, unleash your full power."

"Eek~!"

Wow!

It flashed and instantly appeared twenty meters away.

Before the red mist had even disappeared, it reappeared in another place twenty meters away.

Several afterimages existed simultaneously, and it took several seconds for them to slowly fade away.

It waved its sleeve.

He extended his sleeve and rolled it up towards a pile of timber that Shi An had moved over not far away.

The next moment, the wood vanished into thin air.

It's a storage ability!

However, the Surplice's storage function is not true storage; it only temporarily holds items. Storing items consumes its magical power.

"So, what about Naren?"

Shi An conveyed his intention to try.

The next moment, his vision went dark.

She was draped in a red dress.

Like a cloak, it enveloped Shi An completely!

Shi An took flight.

"Wait, so this is the Na'vi?"

Although he already knew that there was nothing under the bright red wedding dress of the Underworld Robe, was it too hasty to just put it on like equipment?

But, as hasty as it may be, it can still fly!

Shi An felt as if he were inside a mecha. Powerful energy surged around his body, giving him the illusion that he was invulnerable.

It might not be an illusion.

The one in red is an eerie creature, and eerie creatures are much tougher than human warriors; blocking swords and bullets shouldn't be a problem for them.

It seems there's more to it than that.

Shi An's vision blurred, and in the next instant he appeared more than twenty meters away.

Enveloped in crimson silk, he not only possessed powerful defensive capabilities but could also teleport multiple times!

Even if a terrible disaster or crisis occurs in reality, he can still save his life with ease.

If needed, one can even pretend to be a mysterious and powerful figure in real life.

This skill is anything but careless.

It smells so good!

"As expected of you, Mei, you're amazing!"

(Bloody handprint: What about me?)