Episode 28: The Training of Dream Limits

Astride my horse, I gallop through the Kreving family’s domain. My steed is Noctis, a magnificent beast with glossy jet-black fur.

“Hmph, as expected… it’s slow.”

Noctis is a fine horse, but its speed doesn’t come close to my full sprint.

In other words, I could catch up to Evan far faster by running myself rather than using a horse… but that choice has one flaw.

“As I thought, riding a horse makes me look more like a villain.”

Galloping through the darkness on a black steed—now that paints the perfect picture of a villain.

“Which is why… it’s time to test this power.”

As I channel magic into my right palm, blood seeps from it. The blood morphs into a thin, razor-sharp needle. I thrust the blood needle into Noctis’s neck, and it’s instantly absorbed into the horse’s body.

Noctis twitches slightly. The needle is so fine that it likely feels no more pain than a mosquito bite. Unfazed, Noctis continues to run.

But the change is immediate. Noctis’s mane lengthens, and its speed gradually increases. Before I know it, Noctis is tearing through the night’s darkness at the speed of a sports car.

“Success.”

I mutter, glancing at the scenery whipping by at incredible speed. Yes, I’ve succeeded in turning Noctis into a vampire.

Of course, I only injected a tiny amount of blood. If my or Celestina’s vampirization is considered 100%, Noctis’s is about 10%. Even so, its power is worlds apart from before.

“There’s much to test regarding the scope and limits of vampirization… but for now, everything’s going according to plan.”

I had two reasons for reviving Celestina. The first was that I wanted a subordinate like her.

A vampire princess who hates humans yet cannot fully hate them, sealed away—a being perfectly suited to serve as a villain’s subordinate.

The second reason was to gain the abilities of a vampire.

Regeneration, blood manipulation, bloodsucking… Vampires possess many abilities, but the one I value most is the ability to turn others into vampires.

Those bitten by a vampire or who take a vampire’s blood into their body transform into a vampire themselves.

And I intend to use this power to strengthen my subordinates.

“Heh… an army of vampirized villains—sounds rather entertaining, doesn’t it?”

I ride Noctis and continue galloping. After leaving the Kreving family’s domain and riding for about a day, I catch up to the Kreving family’s carriage.

Drawing alongside the carriage, I leap from Noctis onto the driver’s seat.

“L-Lord Siegfried…!?”

The coachman manipulating the reins looks at me, startled.

“Noctis will accompany us to the capital. During breaks, ensure Noctis is fed.”

“Uh, er… y-yes, understood…”

Leaving the stunned coachman behind, I enter the carriage.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Evan.”

“Lord Siegfried… you arrived rather quickly.”

Unlike the coachman, Evan greets me with calm composure.

“Have you completed the conquest of the labyrinth dungeon?”

“Yes. I conquered the labyrinth dungeon and revived Celestina van Volfenstein, one of the ‘Seven Calamities.’”

“Pardon…?”

“And I’ve become a vampire myself.”

“Pardon…?”

Evan freezes for a moment. Then, as if forcing the words out, he speaks.

“My apologies. I’ve been telling myself not to be shaken no matter what you do, Lord Siegfried… but this caught me off guard.”

“Is that so? I’d like to say it’s understandable, but if my butler, the servant of a villainous ruler, gets rattled by something like this, it’s a bit troublesome.”

“My deepest apologies.”

“No need to apologize. I’m going to rest for a bit. Don’t feel pressured to stay up just because I’m here—rest as you please.”

“Understood…”

I close my eyes. My consciousness quickly slips into sleep.

◇

My consciousness, having fallen into sleep, arrives in… an empty, pure white space.

“Now then, shall we train today as well?”

As I murmur, what appears before me is… a shadowy illusion of myself, cloaked in black mist. The illusion silently raises its sword.

“Let’s begin.”

This is a battle against myself.

Just before falling asleep, I stimulate my brain with magic to dream as I desire. Combining the meditation technique ‘Shikan’ from my previous life with magic, I developed this unique training method.

Every night, in my dreams, I hone my combat skills by engaging in endless battles against an illusion of myself.

“Gah…!”

The illusion’s sword pierces my abdomen. Even in a dream, the sensation is real. The pain of my organs being torn and my spine shattering assaults my body.

“…That move wasn’t the optimal solution, was it?”

Muttering as I spit blood, my wounds heal. I face my illusion once more.

In the next battle, I manage to sever the illusion’s left arm, but this time, my heart is pierced.

“Better than before…”

I’m being overwhelmed by the illusion because I’m experimenting with new tactics.

This illusion is ‘yesterday’s me.’ In other words, it attacks me with the best possible moves I was capable of up until yesterday.

To surpass it, I try new tactics. Most of them fail, as I’ve already developed the best tactics for myself.

But through endless trial and error… I aim to create a new optimal solution that surpasses the previous one. That’s the purpose of this exercise.

“I’d like to test my vampirization abilities as well… but first, I need to surpass yesterday’s me.”

I continue swinging my sword in the dream.

Spitting blood, heart pierced, eyes crushed, lungs shattered, neck severed… yet bit by bit, I draw closer to today’s optimal solution, surpassing yesterday’s me.

But as if interrupting my training, a voice from the real world reaches me in the dream.