Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

Seeing Ulysses suddenly appear, Bones wasn't particularly surprised.

In his view, the raven that perched on Richard's shoulder was likely a manifestation of Richard's abilities, or perhaps even a twin of Richard himself.

Nightmare creatures took on countless forms, so it wasn't unusual for Bones to see such an entity.

Ulysses looked around briefly, flew a few more circles around the ruins, then returned to Richard's shoulder, whispering in his ear:

"Ga, something's watching us. Based on your earlier explanation, the Nightmare Lord dragged the entire territory into the Nightmare Realm.

This is unusual.

I suspect that the Nightmare Lord may not be dead. He might still be living in this territory in some form."

"Hmm!?" Richard's face hardened, his pupils involuntarily contracting. Ulysses' words were indeed terrifying—if a living Nightmare Lord still resided in this territory, didn't that mean the Nightmare creatures that had entered were already his prey?

"Ga, don't panic. Nightmare creatures are different from us. Without Nightmare energy, they lose their strength. If the Nightmare Lord has lost his territory and followers, his consumption of Nightmare energy would have been immense, unless he's sleeping. After all these years, even if he's still alive, his Nightmare energy is probably nearly depleted."

Ulysses glanced around the environment, then continued:

"Ga, but this place is a bit dangerous. Your 'true body' isn't here, and if something happens to this avatar, it could be troublesome."

Richard nodded. He agreed with Ulysses' assessment.

While the Nightmare Artifact was tempting, given their current strength, it was better not to take unnecessary risks.

"You scout ahead, we'll leave this place."

"Ga, understood."

Ulysses flew toward the outskirts of the territory, while Richard motioned for Bones to follow him. They prepared to leave the cursed place.

"Boss, you're not going to check out the Nightmare Artifact?" Bones asked in confusion.

He had seen Richard and Ulysses whispering for a while and thought they were planning how to obtain the artifact. He didn't expect that after their discussion, they were preparing to leave instead.

Richard gave him a sideways glance and spoke seriously:

"Bones, what did I tell you? Staying alive is the priority.

Can we even handle the Nightmare Artifact? If we force our way in, not only is it incredibly dangerous, but even if you manage to get it, can you keep it once we're out?

The one who gave you the information never intended for you to live. Even if we make it out now, we'll likely be hunted."

Hearing Richard's words, Bones nodded obediently.

Richard sighed, watching him.

When he first gave Bones a name, it was because he seemed clever and might be able to help in the future.

But now, it seemed that Bones' cleverness was driven by survival instincts. Once that danger was removed, his brain seemed to shut down.

But then again, dumb creatures were often more loyal.

Following Ulysses, Richard and Bones made their way down the street Bones had previously traveled.

It was here that the cleric had been dragged into a house by a group of shadows, his fate unknown.

Before entering the street, Ulysses suddenly stopped.

"Ga, there's a lot of residual Nightmare rules in here." Ulysses warned. "I think we should find another path."

But Bones spoke up:

"It's the same everywhere. We've checked the entire perimeter of the inner city. The entire inner district has traces of Nightmare rules, but this street is actually a bit better. At least we know where the trigger points are.

In other parts, we don't even know what the special rules are."

Seeing that Bones had a point, Ulysses didn't argue further, landing on Richard's shoulder. The three of them entered the street together.

The street was eerily quiet. The buildings on either side had windows that, when peered into, looked like gaping maws of some monstrous creature.

Aware of the rules, they kept silent as they moved swiftly, soon reaching the edge of the inner city.

Once they stepped forward, Richard suddenly realized he wasn't moving at all. Thinking it was a mistake, he stepped again but remained in place.

He looked to Bones, and saw that he was also stuck.

Ulysses took off from Richard's shoulder, attempting to fly out of the area from above, but he was similarly halted.

Ulysses gave Richard a signal before flying backward.

Moving backward didn't seem to pose any issues.

Richard and Bones followed Ulysses and walked out of the street. Once they had passed through, Ulysses spoke:

"Ga, it's a spatial loop. Someone doesn't want us to leave."

Richard's face darkened, and he muttered, "That Nightmare Lord?"

"Ga, not sure, but one thing's certain: with our current strength, we can't force our way out."

This was troublesome.

Bones, overhearing their conversation, felt a deep sense of regret.

If only he had been more cautious, and less arrogant about his strength, perhaps things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

After a moment of silence, Richard spoke quietly:

"Looks like we'll have to deal with the Nightmare Artifact after all."

Even though this was just an avatar, and Bones was his only subordinate, if both were lost, Richard's plans in the Nightmare Realm would be entirely ruined.

Though at the moment it seemed like a minor loss, in the long term, Richard would lose the progress he had made in the Nightmare Realm and the potential Nightmare energy he could have earned. This energy would have turned into soul essence when Richard was able to enter the Nightmare Realm with his soul.

The longer they waited to find a way into the Nightmare Realm, the greater the loss would be.

It was like failing to catch a giant fish while fishing—over time, the fish would grow heavier.

"Ga, might as well take a look," Ulysses said casually. "It doesn't affect me. I won't benefit from Richard's gains in the Nightmare Realm, and even if Richard finds a way in, it won't have an effect on me as the World Ruler."

"Perhaps we really can subdue the artifact after all."

---

Bones led the way toward the plaza, while Richard and Ulysses continued to investigate the territory.

Richard, with his energy vision, was able to detect any traps or ambushes in the area before they triggered. Ulysses, being a soul projection, had no qualms about entering areas infected by Nightmare rules, even if they were filled with unknown horrors.

It was during one of Ulysses' explorations that Richard discovered something useful.

"Ga, this is at least something a Nightmare Lord could create. After all these years, it still exists, and it's still functional."

Ulysses was holding a palm-sized carriage, resembling the one Billy, the magic automaton, had used to take Richard to Amade City.

However, when Bones saw the carriage, he exclaimed:

"Boss! This isn't a Nightmare creation. It's from the Mist Coachman! His Nightmare energy has been drained!"

"Oh?" Richard was surprised and took the carriage from Ulysses. Inside, a small figure, about five or six centimeters tall, emerged from the carriage. The figure wore a straw hat, held a whip, and was a skeleton.

It was a miniature version of the Mist Coachman.

As soon as the figure appeared, it knelt before Richard and cried out:

"Master, spare me! I'm just a bit of Nightmare energy now. Even if you consume me, it won't do much."

Richard watched the little Mist Coachman with curiosity. He hadn't yet studied the degraded Nightmare creatures.

But given his current situation, researching them would be costly.

Richard held the Mist Coachman and turned to Bones:

"How about having this little one assist you? You mentioned his knowledge and experience were quite vast."

Bones blinked, not understanding Richard's meaning. But Richard was right, the Mist Coachman's knowledge and experience could be useful.

"…Alright." After a brief pause, Bones agreed.

Having an experienced assistant would certainly help him survive.

Richard looked at the Mist Coachman: "Little one, how about I give you a name?"

As Richard's power grew, the naming mechanism became more useful to him. He could now name beings and even extract Nightmare energy from them if their level was lower than his own.

When the Mist Coachman heard Richard was going to name him, he eagerly nodded:

"Thank you, Master, for the name!"

Naming was a mutual agreement, and since the Mist Coachman agreed, Richard gave him the name "Coachman."

As soon as the name was given, a connection formed between Richard and the Mist Coachman.

Once the naming was completed, Richard turned to the Mist Coachman and asked about his experiences.

The Coachman, along with Bones, had been transported by space. However, while Bones had Richard's support, the Coachman had a much tougher time.

He had been transported to an area filled with rules, where he was ambushed by several Nightmare creatures. Despite his best efforts, he eventually triggered a rule that caused a group of shadows to drain his Nightmare energy.

"Hmm? This area has rules?" Richard asked, observing the nearby buildings. He realized that even the tainted land of the Nightmare Realm had powerful rules capable of manipulating Greater Nightmares.

"Yes, Master. This area has restrictions on sound. I triggered a rule because of the whip's sound."

Richard nodded and used Nightmare energy to create a magical pocket, storing the Coachman inside.

With Ulysses' presence, the Coachman's experiences weren't much help yet. They would only prove useful once they got out of this situation.

Soon, Richard's group reached the edge of the plaza, where a black pyramid floated in front of the Nightmare Lord's statue.

"Ga, something's off about this." Ulysses suddenly spoke. "This doesn't feel like a Nightmare Artifact. It seems more like…"

A voice suddenly emanated from the pyramid:

"Wizard, I would like to make a deal with you."

Richard furrowed his brows and asked Ulysses:

"Is this thing alive

, has it gained a spirit?"

Ulysses shook his head, staring at the pyramid and replying with a serious tone:

"Ga, no. It's the heart of the former lord of this territory!"

(End of Chapter)