Chapter 32: The Nightmare Unicorn

Qin Yuan relayed the text he had seen to the Grimoire of Whispers and followed up with a question: "What does 'Legendary Creature' refer to? It sounds quite formidable."

The Grimoire of Whispers fell into a sudden silence after hearing this.

"What's wrong?" Qin Yuan noticed that the Grimoire’s mood was fluctuating violently.

"So that’s what it is..." After a long while, the Grimoire of Whispers regained its composure, its tone complex as it said, "You are quite lucky, to be honest."

At this point, the Grimoire changed its tone: "Let me answer your question first. Legendary Creatures are powerful living entities that usually only exist in myths and legends. They are mysterious and potent. According to current research, no adult Legendary Creature has ever been discovered with a level lower than 30."

"Do you understand what that means? The Mage Association, as one of the largest human organizations, has fewer than ten Legendary Mages in total. Even that old man back in the day was stuck at the threshold of level 29. Yet, a Legendary Creature, upon reaching adulthood, immediately possesses power exceeding level 30."

"It is only because they are so rare that human research into these creatures remains in its initial stages, which is why I didn't react right away."

"There are two known types of unicorns: the Nightmare Unicorn and the Sacred Unicorn. In limited records, only adults have been spotted; their juvenile forms have never been seen, which is why there are so many conflicting theories about their young."

"Although it sounds preposterous, looking at it this way, the fact that a Legendary Nightmare Unicorn could evolve from the most humble of slimes is a discovery so shocking it truly leaves me stunned."

"Tsk tsk, get it now?"

Hearing the Grimoire's explanation, Qin Yuan stared at the black slime before him, looking it over again and again. He truly could not associate it with the elegant and beautiful form of a unicorn.

However, he also knew that the Eye of Revelation had never provided incorrect information thus far.

"But if it is a Legendary Creature, why did it act so violently and abnormally based on what the village chief said earlier?" Qin Yuan voiced his inner doubt.

Just standing there, he could clearly feel the innate violence radiating from the slime. If not for the iron bars blocking it, he had no doubt the slime would have rushed over to devour his flesh and blood raw.

"The answer is actually quite simple. Nightmare Slimes do not require material food. Their true nourishment is 'nightmares,' which is where the name of their race comes from," the Grimoire of Whispers chuckled and explained. "Slimes are creatures that do not dream. Furthermore, this island is highly isolated and has no contact with the outside world. The only human here is that old man, but that is not enough—nowhere near enough. During its growth, it should have consumed massive amounts of nightmares."

"In other words, this Nightmare Slime has never truly eaten since it was born. Even though its resilient life force prevents it from starving to death, the pain caused by hunger still exists. If you have ever been truly starving, you would understand: it is something that can drive a person mad. So, its irritable temperament is inevitable..."

"Although there are a small number of highly intelligent creatures in the Land of Souls that also have nightmares, the best dining table for a Nightmare Slime is naturally a human town. Once night falls, there is an abundance of 'nightmares' there for it to feast upon. It is easy to understand why it was so agitated when it saw you."

"This is knowledge inscribed within its bloodline: human nightmares are the ultimate food!"

After the explanation, Qin Yuan finally had an epiphany.

Everything made sense now.

He immediately thought of a solution.

In the short term, he could take it to Ironstone Village to feed. With a permanent population of several hundred people, it was at least much better than the sky island.

In the long term, he could even store it in his inventory bag and bring it into reality.

Just the city of Jincheng where he lived had a population of tens of millions, something unimaginable and unattainable for people of this era.

After all, the player's backpack space could transport living creatures to the real world; he had already tested this with the Grimoire of Whispers.

However, there was a prerequisite: he would have to find a way to knock it unconscious first. If it thrashed about inside, it might directly cause the player's backpack to malfunction.

He had seen information about this in a post from a veteran on the forums. Although he didn't know the specifics, it was said that even though the system indicated it was repaired the next time one entered, everything inside had been lost...

The old man had seen Qin Yuan standing there in a daze since he entered. After waiting for a long time, he finally spoke cautiously:

"My lord, you should understand the situation by now."

This was actually a bit of a hidden motive on his part. After spending the last two days together, he knew that Qin Yuan had a gentle character and was not an unreasonable person.

If he could get a solution from this lord, that would be for the best.

He would have fulfilled the request his friend made on his deathbed.

"I have a way." Qin Yuan met the old man's searching gaze and nodded. "But it will take some time; I need to prepare first."

He had already thought it through. This trip to the Land of Souls would last until the morning of the day after tomorrow, meaning there would be two nights in between. He didn't have time tonight because he needed to enter the Twisted Forest, but tomorrow night, he could definitely take it to Ironstone Village.

As for whether or not to take it to the real world, he would have to see how things went.

And so, using the excuse of needing to brew some potions, Qin Yuan postponed the implementation until tomorrow night.

After reaching an agreement, he left the village.

His plan was clear: he had to reach level five before nightfall.

...

[Notification: Your spirit pet Feather has killed an Abyssal Spider (LV4)...]

[Notification: You have reached level five.]

[Notification: You have killed an Abyssal Spider (LV4)...]

[Notification: You have killed an Abyssal Spider (LV3)...]

[...]

For the remainder of the time, Qin Yuan threw himself entirely into grinding monsters.

His level naturally reached five as expected.

With it, he could clearly feel the mana flowing within his body becoming purer and more surging.

However, after each level up, the difficulty of filling the experience bar also increased significantly.

Moreover, as he continued to slaughter them, he found that the number of Abyssal Spiders in the regular areas began to gradually decrease, further affecting his efficiency.

As for the beast-taming collar he had obtained yesterday, he had also explored its specific usage.

He had originally thought the conditions for using this item would be quite simple.

But facts proved he was wrong...

This thing was only effective on creatures of certain specific races!

At the very least, he had tried it on Abyssal Spiders and slimes, and even the Nightmare Slime, but there was absolutely no reaction.

Of course, it might also be because there were too few species of creatures on the sky island.

Qin Yuan speculated that if he wanted to find a suitable target, going to the Calm Forest next to Ironstone Village would clearly be a better choice.

But he had been busy preparing for the so-called Twisted Forest dream, so he had temporarily set that matter aside.

He decided to clear up the tasks at hand first, and once he had time, he would spend it searching properly in the forest.

By evening, his level five experience bar was less than one-fifth full.

"I feel like I might need to go check out the Abyssal Pustule area another day."

Thinking of this, Qin Yuan felt a faint sense of anticipation.

According to the Grimoire of Whispers, that place had been polluted into a semi-shallow abyss environment. Although the monsters living inside were of higher levels, their requirements for the environment were also more stringent. Unlike low-level creatures like the Abyssal Spider, they could not leave the abyssal environment, or they would die within a short time.

He checked his interface and realized that the opening of the Twisted Forest was only a few hours away. It was time to make preparations.

With that in mind, Qin Yuan took out a teleportation crystal and returned to Ironstone Village.