CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 143: THE FATE OF SUBSTITUTE DEATH_3

Even the icy sensation from the ring couldn’t cool his mind.

He could clearly feel that the sensation of an Illusion Body dying in reality was fundamentally different from dying in the Dream Realm. The repercussions were far greater than what he’d experienced with the pirates. And having mastered the Dream Catcher, his senses became even sharper.

After a short rest, he began conducting other experiments again.

Finally, after the sacrifice of four pirates coupled with his own firsthand experience, Alka understood the differences and consequences involved.

The Illusion Body could serve as a get-out-of-death-free card, provided one first used the Dream Realm’s Illusion Body to engage in battle and then die. Upon the death of the Illusion Body, the physical body in reality would instantly take over. It was like being refreshed, but this time, there were various aftereffects. Just like facing death firsthand, there were inevitable consequences. Even the Dream World itself would become exhausted and damaged. He realized he had to sleep well after the Illusion Body died, and specifically, he had to enter a Deep Sleep within the Dream Realm. He would need to sleep for a whole day to repair the damage sustained in the Dream Realm. This meant the opportunity to cheat death could only arise once every two days.

However, if the Illusion Body died within the Dream Realm, even if Alka was awake in the Dream Realm at the time, it would merely be like being startled awake, without any actual damage. The Dream Realm wouldn’t even shatter, leaving almost no repercussions.

However, after dying twice in reality using the Illusion Body, Alka set a strict rule for himself. Namely, he must never recklessly use the Illusion Body to perform suicide attacks in reality. He could trade injuries, but never trade life for life, treating death as something disposable.

After just two such ’suicides,’ Alka could distinctly sense a growing disregard for his own life. His mind kept warning him, but his body, thoughts, and even feelings wouldn’t easily comply. He could clearly perceive his spirit becoming unstable, and his resistance to the surrounding Dark Elements diminishing. Even with Spiritual Protection, it seemed impossible to avoid hearing the whispers.

Alka believed that if he died like this too often, it would likely trigger self-destructive emotions, possibly even leading to a mental breakdown. This was considering his soul was inherently stronger and his spirit more resilient than others. Others, with more fragile spirits, might break down after just two such deaths. For instance, those pirates who had awakened in the Dream Realm experienced mental breakdowns after dying four times. Not to mention Alka’s experience of dying in reality, which was far more jarring. Sufficient time had to be allotted after each death to mend the mental issues. The aftereffects manifested from multiple deaths were too bizarre. Recovery might not even be possible, so extreme caution was necessary.

Alka felt that if this continued, experiencing four or more deaths within a year would undoubtedly lead to self-destructive tendencies. Five or more times would inevitably lead to a mental breakdown. Each death compounded the damage from the last. Each instance was more agonizing and harder to recover from than the one before. Judging by how Alka felt after dying twice, he would need at least half a year of recovery to ensure that the next death felt like the first one. After his first death, Alka had felt he only needed a month of rest to eliminate the latent despair and self-destructive tendencies hidden within his spirit and soul. The death of the Illusion Body in reality felt so authentic, constantly stirring up buried memories.

Fortunately, it wasn’t unusable; it just demanded strict self-control. Death isn’t a game.

Regardless, this ability had become even more powerful. After sufficient rest, Alka essentially gained an extra life. What could be better than that? Moreover, as long as it wasn’t actual death, losing a limb could be easily repaired in the Dream Realm without any lasting problems. At most, he would have to endure the pain, but compared to truly losing a limb, this was a negligible price. Furthermore, in a crisis, he could overdraw even more ’lives.’ Once his spirit grew stronger in the future, such aftereffects might even diminish. Regardless, being prepared meant having one, or even several, extra lives. This truly showcased how potent the Treasure was. Of course, the premise was that Alka had to be using the Illusion Body at the moment of death.

"Are you really going to the appointment on Harvest Day?" Chadite suddenly asked, interrupting Alka’s thoughts.

During the experiments with the pirates, Alka had already informed everyone of the information he had extracted from their Dream Realms.

Alka turned to look at her and nodded. "Of course, we must go. Our main goal now is to find the Church’s ship and accompany them."

After all, the enemy had an excessive number of Touched Ones; there were definitely twelve Two Spirals among them, which was still quite intimidating. They had two Two Spirals and two Three Spirals on their side. Alka could sense that, with the help of the Dream Catcher, he would soon reach the Three Spirals stage. And Julia, relying on her experience and skill, could exhibit the power of a Three Spirals adept despite being at the Two Spirals stage. The number of enemy Touched Ones undoubtedly far exceeded their own. Not to mention Sifus, the old man beside his father. According to the intelligence gathered, that old man’s strength was no less than a Three Spirals. So, a conservative estimate suggested the enemy had at least two Three Spirals, one of whom also possessed a Treasure. Therefore, allying with the Church was essential. But before that, they needed to gather more intelligence. With the Dream Catcher, the rule of absolute secrecy within his father’s Pirate Gang had been rendered completely ineffective. This was their greatest advantage.