Chapter 182: Chapter 181 – Frustration

Although Dream suggested doing some experiments, he and the girls took some time to settle down a bit more. It had been an emotionally and mentally taxing 5 days for all of them, and a bit of recovery was in order.

However, for these three, recovery usually involved them going out and fighting demons, allowing Iris to eat, gather energy, and send it to them. But doing this required them to activate their powers, and the girls were still skittish about the thought. They were worried that any sort of energy usage or fluctuations in their soul would cause imbalances in Dream's delicate mediation between their contracts.

So Dream decided to take a day or two to just relax. During this time, he inquired with the two about their new skills and whatnot.

Apparently during this advancement, Iris had gotten the least amount of changes. First, she got a new title called [Blessed of the Void]. And as per her [Spectral Annihilator] class, she got one skill called [Annihilation] and one called [Deprive]. She said that although the skills took on new names, her fighting style would be pretty much the same as before, just much more powerful and working a little different.

Instead of burning fire, her [Annihilation] skill would corrode and tear apart on a fundamental level, destroying absolutely everything. She would also be able to absorb much more energy from her targets using [Deprive], something that actually may have been the cause behind Dream's soul being permanently damaged. Other than that, one peculiar thing she noticed was that her [Cook] skill disappeared. And upon trying to cook, she found that she wasn't able to do so anymore. At least, not without destroying the food. The changes to her nature didn't allow the same methods to be used.

As for Luna, she got two new titles. One was [Blessed of the Greeks] and the other was [Blessed of the Moon]. It was clear she got one more blessing than Iris. As for her skills, the first was [Revive], assumed to be an upgrade to her restore, another was [Synergy], an upgrade to her bestow, and lastly [Guard], which she wasn't entirely sure about.

Other than those skills though, there were some that both girls got which were identical. One of these was [Nexus Familiar: Dream]. As Dream had written the contract to their souls, the girls assumed that this was it. Another skill was [Soul Sense]. Dream wasn't sure how it worked, but the girls told him that it was a better version of their [Ethereal Eyes], allowing them to sense souls much more clearly. 

Then there was [Body-Spirit Duality]. This skill basically allowed the girls to retract their physical form and become purely spectral, as per their classes. Although they wouldn't have the combat power that came from their physical bodies, they would still be able to use their skills and attack people. 

Basically, they now had three modes of being. One was purely spectral where their souls and illusory forms would remain in the 4th dimension. Like this, they would be able to avoid all physical attacks, but they also couldn't attack physically, only magically. Then there was a partial manifestation where they could bring their illusory forms into the 3rd dimension. This would let them appear in front of people like a ghost. Iris was not fond of this mode. And then there was total manifestation where they could bring out their bodies as normal.

As far as Dream could tell, their bodies had become somewhat like the heart. It was material, but could exist on the same dimension as the soul. It was weird, and he still wasn't sure what this material was. Either way, he was happy for them. 

One interesting perk this brought was how they could go basically anywhere they wanted in the 4th dimension. One of these places included within Dream's body. They could just turn illusory and Luna's synergize skill would allow her to safely reside right on top of her contract with Dream. Surprisingly, doing this didn't disturb the balance between hers and Iris's contracts. 

Iris could do the same thing as well. However, this was when they noticed something peculiar. Apparently, Luna's powers could be used on Iris. 

Dream noticed this when Iris went and planted herself on their contract. She had unconsciously tapped into Luna's skill as she always did so she could do the same thing as her. But by the time she caught herself, it was too late and the exchange created fluctuations in Dream's soul that he quickly noticed. He was still very sensitive to anything related to the barrier.

What Dream saw was gray mist. This gray mist had been accumulating within the capillaries and it acted as a separation between the girl's powers. But when Iris's intent came to communicate with Luna's, her intent was actually transformed across the gray mist, and Luna's intent was able to interact with it as normal. Then when Luna sent over the power of her skill, it was also converted across the mist into something Iris could use. 

When Dream saw this, he was baffled. Sophia was too. She had watched the whole thing very closely and was able to make speculations which helped Dream come to this conclusion. There was one problem though. The interaction and conversion actually consumed gray mist. While it wasn't a lot in this case, he could imagine the costs should Iris try to send huge amounts of energy over for Luna to recover from.

But Dream was happy. Very happy. This meant that they still had a chance to operate like they always did before. The girls wouldn't have to be separated and they could still work in synchronous. Of course, he would have to figure out how to get a lot more of that gray mist, but it was a price he was willing to pay. So he got to experimenting.

The gray mist accumulated in the center divide of the capillaries between the two opposing forces. Dream wasn't totally sure how it was created, but he knew it had something to do with his clear mana being a kind of mixer for their powers. So after inserting more of his mana, he went and created mana needles to help mix some more. 

These mana needles would gather up some of Luna's energy and shoot it over to Iris's, thus activating the conflict. When this happened, Dream could actually see some gray mist spring up out of the destruction. Though it wasn't a lot, if he did it across all the capillaries constantly, it would build up. So he did. He enchanted all the capillaries to carry out that function.

With that, he could clearly see the production of gray mist kickstart. When this happened though, yet another peculiarity popped up. 

The gray mist started spreading out. Not just within the capillaries, but into his skill strings that were attached to the capillaries. Those strings slowly started being turned gray. He didn't stop it though, because he actually found it to be incredibly nourishing, especially since his soul had been reduced to the state it was in.

This got him even more excited. All of the capillaries had a string from his nucleus attached to them. If that gray mist traveled up the strings into his nucleus and nourished it, he assumed that he would become even more powerful than before. 

...........

After going over the changes to their power, Dream had assumed that the girls would be excited. This was especially true when he told them about the gray mist and how they could all still cooperate. But they were still a bit depressed. The reason being because of Dream's own personal power.

Both girls had S Magic, Luna had S Stamina, and Iris had S Agility. The rest of their stats were S-. It was a huge difference from before, and they had obviously become incredibly powerful. But unlike them, Dream had regressed in power significantly. None of his stats were over B. He couldn't even liquify mana anymore. In fact, his bodily enchantments were already degraded some. They needed powerful influence to maintain, and he didn't have that anymore. 

When it came to stats, Dream already developed a general understanding of it. Each stat represented an area of functionality that was affected by the soul and its mana. Basically, the letters of the stats represented not only the boost in power but also the level of power given by Dream's mana and soul. Higher agility meant his mana and perception could move faster, higher stamina meant his soul could take more damage, and higher magic meant he could wield and store more mana. As for strength, he wasn't entirely sure what that affected. It wasn't simply bodily strength, but he couldn't define the rest of its effects clearly.

Either way, these stats and their boosts all ultimately stemmed from the soul. When Dream enchanted or upgraded his body, he was increasing the synergy between matter and magic, allowing the stats to better take effect. This was what increased other stats like strength, but at the core, the soul's power didn't actually change. This was why none of his stats were ever above his Magic stat. Magic was seemed to be the best gauge for the soul's overall power, and it represented Dream's upper limit in material and magical capabilities.

Knowing all this, with Dream's soul having been so thoroughly damaged by Iris's new annihilatory powers, he lost many of the magical boosts. And while he still had his supremely powerful body, the enchantments couldn't retain their original prowess since he didn't have the necessary soul power. Everything was rooted in the soul after all. 

So while he was a bit disappointed in the weakening, Dream had a good idea as to how to regain his power. He would just need to strengthen his soul again. While that would take a good deal of stress, pain, and time, he could do it. But just the fact that he had to do these things made the girls even more guilty than before. 

Because of this, they tried to find anything that could help. Luna decided to try her new Revive skill, but after using it, only a few defects in Dream's soul were fixed up. It obviously wouldn't bring him back to full strength. Although, there was a slight nourishment to it, something a bit deeper than just giving him energy. Seeing this, Luna decided that she would use the skill as much as she could. If she could help him in any way, she would. 

Unfortunately, that was the only thing they had. Everything else was up to Dream, and while they hated that fact, there was nothing they could do. 

Knowing that they could activate their skills safely though, the girls finally decided to go test out their powers in combat. Getting stronger was another way to support him. Dream also figured he could get out of the factory and exercise some, so he called over a ship and had it take the three of them to the planet.

'It's a good thing I made most of my bots mechanical, especially my mining teams. I won't be able to refresh enchantments much myself. Though Luna should actually be able to help with that... When I recover, I should make some safeguards for this type of thing.'

As he sighed inwardly, the ship arrived near an outpost. This outpost was very small, nothing more than a village the demons wiped out. In it was 6 class 3's, a few hundred class 2's, and a small army of class 1's. 

Stepping out of the ship, Dream hopped around on his toes for a bit as he overlooked the village. 

"Sheesh. My influence can't hardly reach past 50 meters. I'm not sure that I could fight a class 3, even with my awesome body."

"...Hey Dream, didn't you say that you were able to advance? Maybe that would help."

"Advancement? I'm not sure... No, go away, I didn't call you... out..."

When Dream said advancement, his message log popped out with the class advancement options. Annoyed, he was about the shoo it away when he saw something different.

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<You cannot level up before choosing a class>

<Your selection of classes will be based on your Profile and Experience thus far.>

<The choice you make cannot be taken back. Excess Experience will be accumulated and gained after the class selection has been made.>

<Select a class.>

1. [Shaper]
2. [Archon Legacy: Prophet]

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"Archon Legacy? Prophet?"

[Ironic how you became worthy not by becoming stronger, but by getting weaker.]

'Uh-huh. My life is a tragedy. Anyway, this class sounds interesting, but I'm thinking I should still wait. I don't want to do the advancement and then hardly attain any power at all. I can imagine that it would severely hinder my future growth. I should at least get back to my previous strength.'

[Sounds like a plan. But how long will that take?]

'You're in a better position to answer that than me. It shouldn't take more than several months. Although... I won't be able to level up. The only thing I could do is level my skills, but I was only able to get those levels with my previous strength. It'll be difficult to push them with my weak magic...'

[...I think this is going to take much longer than before. You're severely disadvantaged. Nothing will be able to give you strength besides the grueling process of stressing your soul. With the girls' help it'll go faster, but I'm not sure by how much.]

'...Let's just take it a day at a time. After fighting some demons we can go back to the factory and build some stuff, maybe help with the railgun construction.'

[Oh, speaking of building stuff, Arrina and Mara gave us their answer.]

'...Oh jeez.'

[They said that they want to continue to valiantly fight on the frontlines. Which means you technically owe them a few weapons according to your promise.]

'*sigh* Of all the times.'

[Well they actually gave their answer a few days ago, but we were trying to not die at that time so I didn't pay it attention. Either way, I haven't given them an answer. I'm not sure how you want to go about this.]

'Uhh... I don't know either. I'm not going to be able to give them the powerful weapons they're probably expecting. I mean, I could get them those guardian bots and ensure their safety, but personal weapons, not so much. Hell, I think I'm just about as powerful as they are now.'

[I'll task a pair of guardian bots then. As for their weapons, what do you want to tell them?]

'Nothing that reveals the fact that I'm weak. I guess... I don't know, tell them I'm on the moon or something and that I'm not exactly able to make them hand made weapons. If they want melee weapons though, we've got plenty. Just take them from a bot.'

[Alright.]

'*sigh* I feel bad, but there's really nothing I can do. Even if I used all my power, I wouldn't even be able to recreate Aegis's particles, let alone make weapons personalized to their skills. Anyway, let's go fight some demons now. Workout the muscle that is my soul.'

Shaking his head, Dream proceeded to dash towards the village with the girls. Well, it didn't really feel like dashing but jogging at a brisk pace. 

'...Oh my god I'm so slow!'

[Better get used to it.]

"Ugh... Ahh! Come at me demons!"

Yelling out in building frustration, Dream moved as fast as possible. After running like a child for a bit, he caught the attention of a few hundred class 1's. 

Of course, he wasn't so weak as to not be able to slaughter them like chickens. Taking out a few dozen blades, he sent them through the hordes and felled them one after the other. That went on for several minutes until the class 2's came out. When they fought him, he had to put in more effort to kill them. But it was still doable.

What wasn't as killable though were the class 3's. When he saw them though, he didn't really care how weak he was. After fighting for a while, his frustration started building. He was feeling more and more powerless, more annoyed. He was angry, and while he knew why, he wanted to suppress those feelings. He didn't want the girls to feel more guilty than they already were.

And he wasn't mad at them. He was mad at the situation. He tried looking at it from the bright side, but after fighting and truly feeling how weak he was, those feelings he didn't want to let out started surfacing. 

'I hate losing progress. I hate it when all my work goes to waste. I hate it when what's mine is taken away from me! That was my strength, not just some armor or weapon! It's my path to greater knowledge! Blessed of the Greeks? Blessed of the Void? Are those gods who gave the girls blessings? I appreciate you strengthening them, but if I find you when I get stronger, I'll make sure to kick your ass for setting me back so far!'

"Ahh!"

Yelling out in pent up anger, Dream threw out a fist toward a class 3 that was approaching him. 

*Boom!*

Fist landing, the demon was sent tumbling for over 50 meters before correcting itself. On its chest was a bloody indent. Dream looked down at his hand.

"...Huh. I guess doing those muscular upgrades were worth it despite the enchantment being weakened. That was almost pure bodily power. Heh, I can still hold my own against class 3's. Good."

Having alleviated some frustration, Dream smirked and got back into the fray. The girls made sure to take care of anything he couldn't handle from the sidelines.