Chapter 75: Mind Force - VI

Desire.

That was what Aventine lacked.

Well, not exactly. What he needed was a purpose that could temper his will and forge it into something tangible.

Something that he wanted so badly that it could be the sole driving force for his existence.

Like Melia, who acquired the <Indomitable Human Spirit> and moved for the sake of others.

Like Bliekon, who pursued life so relentlessly, she mimicked until her mimicry became true.

Like the <Primordial Dragon Empress>, who only wished to protect what was hers forever.

Their wills were capable of feats beyond those of mere intentions and emotions. When they set their mind to do something, the world would always respond.

So, what did he desire?

When the devil asked him this question at a club in Los Angeles, the young criminal Aventine had only one answer.

Freedom.

But since then, he had attained it. He was, in a sense, truly untethered by the world. Roaming wherever he wished and partaking of delight and chaos.

With nothing to protect and everything to sacrifice, Aventine even abandoned his homeworld and wreaked havoc on this world.

He couldn’t help but reconsider.

What did he truly desire?

"...I cannot come up with an answer."

Aventine, who wielded [Absolute Awareness] and the various powers he gained through it, wanted nothing.

Always acting on whims and habits.

Truly, he was free.

"Huh..."

Blinking in surprise, Aventine fell into thought once more, paying only the minimum attention needed to support the Dragonkin’s pursuit of the Spindeiron.

And that was when he understood why desire could be said to be hindering him.

It was not the lack of it, but the way it behaved.

"Perhaps it is not passion that I need... but serenity first. Then, from that state, I could move into a great enough passion that it could burn."

Non-attachment and perfect control over himself and his emotions. As well as the sudden eruption of its extreme opposite.

"Heh,"

Somehow, he recalled a piece of fiction on Earth. Of sabres of light and hooded figures who could move things with a wave of their hands.

Aventine chuckled. A wry smile spread across his face.

"Was it my subconsciousness speaking to me, then? To name it the way I did?"

Thinking this, he made sure that the rest of his commission was performed without any mistakes.

The Empire’s Guards drove thousands of puppets to the edge of the Walvaskaz Empire, shattering more than half of them in the process. Suddenly, the vast collection of various races had dwindled until they were no threat whatsoever.

"Fall back. This is as far as we go."

Tejjan, whose clothes had been damaged throughout the pursuit, wiped the blood off a few of his wounds.

With a narrowed gaze, he cauterized the deeper injuries that pierced straight through some of his organs. The barely noticeable shrinking of his irises was the only sign that he felt any kind of pain at all.

"The sun is about to rise. Proceed with the cleanup and manage the damages incurred. Reimburse what must be reimbursed and report back to me within the week."

Thus, with Aventine’s help, they combed the Soulless City of Grakkis for the next few days and confirmed the absence of <Bliekon the Manipulator>.

Barely a dozen puppets had been discovered in the process, but it was truly a tedious job.

When it was finally done, Aventine passed out. Surrounded by the soft sheets of his bed, finally back in his own space—his personal Mage Tower.

There was nothing better than being able to sleep in the privacy of his own home.

When he awoke the next day after dreaming of that infinite wall once again, he went back to his research.

Breakfast? Maybe later.

For now, Aventine used his most recent epiphany and relentlessly patched up the final issues with his Psychic Technique.

[From an immovable stillness to the burst of a sudden supernova.]

[The mind must know no desires, no attachments, and no emotions.]

[Then, it must impose upon all these zeroes and rise to infinity.]

[An instantaneous acceleration of thoughts.]

Thus, it was aptly named:

<Mind Force>

***

[Name: Aventine Tidea]

[Level: 1]

[Health: 190/190]

[Mana: 630/630 » 670/670 (Mana Storage Capacity: 900/900 )]

[Gift: Absolute Awareness (???-Rank)]

[Physique: 19]

[Mind: 19]

[Spirit: 63 » 67]

[Traits: Perfect Estimate (B-Rank), Power of the Sky (A-Rank), Power of the Sea (A-Rank), Power of Death (A-Rank), (NEW!) Soulbound Anchor (S-Rank), Blessing of Light (SS-Rank)]

[Divine Branches Contributed: 5/42]

o=o=o=o

[Class: Mage (Third Circle)]

[Engraved Spells: Mana Core (300/300 (x3) | F-Rank), Mana Storage (3/3 | E-Rank), Manakinesis (Lv. 2 | EXP: 62% » 82%)]

[Memorized Spells: Water Bullet (Available | E-Rank), Fireball (Locked | D-Rank), Chill (Locked | E-Rank), Earthen Grasp (Locked | E-Rank), Mana Flash (Locked | F-Rank)...

...

...

...

...

999+ more currently locked...]

[NEW!]

[Psychic Techniques: Mind Force (F-Rank | Growth-Type | Blood-Imbuing Mastery: 23%)]

Looking at the new section created by the Gaea System to classify the existence of my new Psychic Technique, I could barely restrain a laugh.

Luckily, no one could hear me here.

I could laugh all I wanted.

What a delight to have created something I could consider my own. The ecstasy of finally consolidating everything I prepared, going into meditation, and successfully imbuing my blood with my will.

The training method for <Mind Force> was to push one’s thoughts, emotions, and will into one’s blood, bones, flesh, and so on.

To do this, I needed to empty my mind of all things before suddenly bursting with thoughts, emotions, and will, thus making it overflow from my mind and move into my blood.

Circulating one’s mana throughout the process greatly aided in the imbuing process.

Thus, I would spend about an hour trying hard to empty my mind before suddenly activating [Absolute Awareness] out of nowhere.

The rush of information would then bombard my thoughts, flooding my brain and overflowing into my blood.

Once the flood settled down with the dissipation of [Absolute Awareness], many of the thoughts and ideas would remain in my blood, imbuing it with my will.

Now, my normal mental faculties could be supplemented with the parts of my blood that bore my will.

"In a sense, my blood can somehow think..."

Which didn’t make sense.