Chapter 97: Dreams

Eventually, the group returned to the camp. A lot happened today, and everyone sorely needed a rest. Eren especially.

He had his own hovel, made out of wood with giant leaves as his awning. Around him, other hovels were constructed. That was where Sierra and the others slept.

Unlike them though, Eren took an early night off. They were still in the campfire, discussing things, cooking up slices of beef steak they bought from the market for 10 sunspores.

The warmth of the campfire combated the cold of the Subterranean Burrows.

Eren closed his eyes and stayed perfectly still. He resisted all kinds of instincts to move and acted like he was already unconscious.

It was a technique used to induce sleep. And within a few minutes, Eren felt himself falling into the world of dreams.

But before he completely lost consciousness, Eren visited his Mind Palace.

The Immortan Library of Ræzoň arrived in front of him, in all of its glory. Here, his mind was as active as ever. Not even exhaustion could take away the sanctity and serenity of this library.

In the real world, his physical body was sleeping and recovering. But his mind was present here in his Mind Palace.

It had taken the place of his dreams. Instead of his subconscious conjuring up images and scenarios in his mind, Eren had trained to make it so that his mind visited the Mind Palace instead.

Very much like a lucid dream, Eren could do whatever he wanted here. Including training with the Battle Record he had with Ormann.

He looked at the door of the Battle Record and opened the door.

Beyond it was an entirely white space. As soon as he stepped foot into it, the scenery changed to take the form of the Stalactite Island of the Quicksand Burrow.

Right in front of him was Ormann. He had his hands fiery with Ræzoň, eyes burning with hatred for Eren.

With a single thought, Ormann moved and lunged at Eren with his knife.

Eren moved back a step and took distance.

I need to train my Primal Strike up to the Middle Proficiency, he told himself. He found a clue when he used the Primal Step last time. Focus on my foot. Reinforce it with Ræzoň.

He created a vacuum in his soles, anchoring his feet to the ground. Ormann charged at him. He tried to take a step back subconsciously, before remembering that his feet was stuck to the ground.

Ormann’s knife grazed Eren’s shoulder. Eren quickly removed his Negative Reinforcement before moving away. But Ormann’s chains extended and reached out to him before he could escape.

It grabbed at his wrists before Ormann pulled him in. Then, Ormann finished it up with a Palm Strike. It hit Eren squarely in his chest, dealing a near fatal blow.

The whole scenery changed into a white space. Eren lost the battle. He would have died if that happened in real life.

Again, he told himself.

The Battle Record became painted back onto the white space. Ormann returned to his original position, ready to strike at him at any second.

Eren allowed his feet to become anchored to the floor with his Primal Step. Ormann then charged at him with his knife.

Once again, he was unused to using both his Primal Step and his Primal Strike simultaneously and at the same time.

It led to awkward postures from him. Even his instinct from the [Masochist’s Dream] couldn’t help him. His whole body was out of synch when he tried to dodge out of the way.

Again.

Eren didn’t stop. He continued to practice, neverminding if he experienced virtual death tens if not hundreds of times.

One of the good things about the Mind Palace was that in here, he could experience no exhaustion. Despite fighting Ormann multiple times, Eren didn’t feel tired at all.

It allowed him to keep practicing. This was not sparring. His opponent was aiming to kill him the best way that he could. Eren had to use all of his strength to avoid dying 8 out of 10 fights with Ormann.

Time passed, and eventually, Eren found himself more comfortable with the Primal Step and the Primal Strike.

But he still hadn’t reached the Middle Proficiency Mastery for the Primal Strike. It frustrated him. It felt like he was at the gist of obtaining it.

The Middle Proficiency requires me to produce a powerful punch regardless of my position.

Previously, he found this difficult because he needed to posture correctly to draw power for his punches.

But the Primal Step allows me to basically turn every wall as a ground. Even when scaling walls, I can now unleash a perfect Primal Strike.

Ormann came at him with his knife. Eren dodged out of the way, but found himself leaning out way too far.

Heishtå. I’m going to have to retreat before I can make a counter-attack.

Ormann was vulnerable. It would have been the perfect opportunity. But Eren was out of position.

It was at this point that Eren’s eyes turned wide as an idea formed in his head.

Leaning to the side, one of his feet was off the ground, and one was leaning outside. No proper anchoring to the ground.

But with this new idea, Eren empowered his own feet with his Primal Step.

Negative Reinforcement created a vacuum underneath in his feet.

This vacuum did not have anything to seal itself. The ground was a few inches away from his foot.

But surprisingly, Eren felt resistance underneath his soles. It was only for a brief instance, but his feet felt like it was standing on something.

It felt like he was standing on air.

That sensation quickly subsided, and he fell backwards, allowing Ormann to cut his throat and end the simulation completely.

Eren held his throat as the world turned white around him.

His face turned from one of horror, to one of shock and surprise.

He figured it out!