That night, Jimmy intentionally flubbed a low-stakes alchemy exam, something uncharacteristic for a prodigy. It prompted Elira to summon him to her office.
"You're better than this," she scolded, pacing in her robes. "This is beneath your talent."
Jimmy didn't speak. He simply stood, watching her pace, waiting. Then, at the perfect moment:
> [Skill Activated: Lucid Delirium]
For just a few seconds, her vision shimmered. Her surroundings bled away, and she saw herself naked, chained, and moaning his name.
Elira gasped, stumbling. "Wh-What—?"
Jimmy caught her hand, steadying her. "You're stressed. It's written all over you. Let me help."
Her pride warred with desire. "You—this is highly improper—"
But her body swayed toward him.
> [Dream Parasite Seed Planted – Elira: 9%]
"You're lonely," Jimmy whispered. "Let me remind you what it means to feel."
And he kissed her—soft at first, then rough, her lips devoured as her moans turned to whimpers of submission.
She bent over the desk willingly moments later, skirt hiked up, her dignity stripped away one gasp at a time.
> [Target Elira: Corruption Progress - 24%]
---
Over the next three nights, the dormitory buzzed with rumors. Mira stopped socializing. Elira looked flushed and jumpy. Other female students complained of vivid, erotic dreams involving a man with silver eyes.
Jimmy? He simply walked the halls like a predator in his garden.
Each day, he attended lectures and trained in combat class. Each night, he visited new beds. Nobles, commoners, even the wife of an academy groundskeeper.
> [Dream Parasite Targets: 48 (Latent)]
> [Dream Parasite - Subjugated: 3 (Lana, Mira, Elira)]
> [Trait Gained: Whispering Aura – Slight contact creates brief flashes of fantasy in targets with weak mental defense.]
Even Lana, who had once been stoic and professional, now crawled to his bed uninvited. She clung to him during sleep, nuzzling his chest, whispering for more dreams.
> [Dream Throne Evolution: 12%]
---
And then came the banquet.
Held in the Great Hall to celebrate the mid-term mark, it brought nobles from the capital, visiting instructors, and elite students. Jimmy entered clad in a black and silver suit, hair slicked back, aura glowing with subtle manipulation magic.
Half the girls turned to look.
Elira dropped her wine glass.
Mira sat frozen.
A noble princess from the House of Verdan—Lady Yelena—approached him.
"You... are the Sleepless Novice?" she asked.
He bowed. "And you are a vision from a dream."
She blushed. "Care to dance?"
He took her hand.
As they spun under floating candles, Jimmy whispered into her ear:
"You'll be mine too."
> [New Target: Lady Yelena Verdan – Affection Level: 12% | Weakness Detected: Public Humiliation Fetish]