The mont Adam laid his hand on what remained of the Geist’s corpse, a familiar sensation rippled through his mind, as a translucent notification popped up before his eyes.
[Do you want to equip Mind Control E?]
Adam didn’t hesitate.
"Yes."
The confirmation barely left his lips before a sharp, fleeting burn flared in his chest and vanished almost as soon as it appeared, leaving behind a strange clarity, like a new sense settling into place.
Adam exhaled once.
Then he pulled up his panel.
╭───────────╮
〖Na: Adam〗
〖Rank: Profound Apprentice〗
〖Cultivation Talent: G〗
〖Special Talent: Equip ❖ Connect〗
〖Affinity: Wind ❖ Death〗
〖SLOT〗
↳ SOUL (5): Rapid E ❖ Poison F ❖
Cultivation D ❖ Freeze F ❖
Mind Control E
↳ BODY (6): Empty
╰───────────╯
Star Power: 18
Existence: 2
Adam’s eyes lingered on the new entry for a mont.
Mind Control E.
A slow smile crept onto his face.
"That’ll make a good addition."
Even without testing it, the applications flooded his mind. He could disrupt formations, force hesitation, or turn enemies against each other at the worst possible monts.
Used right, it wasn’t just a tool to win fights; it was a way to end them before they even started.
It would also be perfect for extracting information. The possibilities were endless, and Adam knew he would discover more the more he used it.
His gaze dropped to the bottom of the panel.
Star Power: 18 .
Adam nodded to himself.
Just earlier today, he’d been sitting at 14 .
But after equipping Freeze F, breaking into the apprentice rank and equipping mind Control E, he gained four full leaps in a single day, sothing that would take most martial artists years, if not decades to achieve.
The realization sent a sharp thrill through his chest, a quiet, dangerous satisfaction.
This is what progress feels like.
He dismissed the panel and made a ntal note.
I’ll have to test Mind Control later.
Right now, there were more pressing matters.
Adam’s eyes swept the cavern again, then settled on the spot where the Mind Geist had been fused to the walls.
With the monster gone, the pulsing flesh had receded, and there it was.
The generator.
Smaller than he’d expected. About the size of a portable cooler, its surface layered with compact modules, cables, and humming components that ant absolutely nothing to him.
It sat embedded beneath the stone, quietly radiating power.
Adam stared at it for a second.
"Yeah. Definitely not my field."
Without wasting another mont, he activated Rapid E.
The world blurred as he vanished from the cavern, leaving the generator untouched and intact, this was sothing the professionals needed to handle.
His job here was done.
Now, it was ti to make sure everyone else got the ssage.
Outside the arcade, the Acolytes were still moving with practiced efficiency, completely unaware that everything beneath their feet had nearly gone to hell.
That ignorance shattered the mont Adam burst out of the arcade entrance.
He was bloodied, torn up, his clothes slashed and stained, and in his arms was the unconscious body of the manager herself.
For half a heartbeat, the entire area froze.
Before anyone could even shout, Adam activated [Connect].
His vision shifted, soul flas blooming into view as he swept his gaze across everyone present. Fear. Confusion. Adrenaline. Relief. A few flas flickered with... unnecessary lust towards him, which he promptly ignored.
Aside from that, everything was clean.
No hijacked minds.
Good.
With that confird, Adam wasted no ti finding the second-in-command for the operation and updating him on the situation.
The more Adam spoke, the harder the story was to believe; however, once he finished, the officer got to work imdiately.
The area exploded into motion.
Specialist Acolytes rushed into the arcade without hesitation, equipnt humming to life as they vanished inside.
Others repositioned, setting up ergency protocols as if they’d been waiting their whole lives for this exact nightmare.
The second-in-command turned back to Adam, his expression a mix of disbelief and respect.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Adam."
Adam waved a hand dismissively.
"Just fulfilling my duty."
With that, he finally allowed himself to slow down.
His body ached. Cuts burned. Bruises throbbed in places he hadn’t noticed during the fight. The adrenaline was wearing off, and now reality was collecting its debt.
Adam turned and walked toward one of the dical tents without another word.
Behind him, the operation continued at full speed.
And above it all, the barrier still shimred faintly in the sky, waiting for the generator beneath the arcade to finally be silenced.
****
Vanessa’s eyes snapped open, as she sucked in a sharp breath and imdiately sat upright, her body moving on instinct before her mind had fully caught up.
Her veiled hat was gone, and as she lifted a hand to her forehead, her fingers brushed against bare skin and scar tissue.
Her burn mark was exposed now, running across her forehead and pushing her hairline back slightly. A reminder she never liked to show.
Her gaze swept around.
White fabric walls. dical equipnt. The faint hum of generators. Bed screens arranged in a semicircle, clearly ant to give her privacy.
"A tent?"
Confusion flickered across her face, then everything ca rushing back.
The report.
The arcade.
The hole.
The foul pressure gnawing at her thoughts.
She rembered being called in by an Acolyte after they’d confird the generator’s location...
And then...
Nothing.
Just a blank gap. Like soone had scooped the middle out of her mory.
Vanessa clenched her jaw.
"What the hell happened?"
At that mont, one of the bed screens folded back with a soft scrape.
Vanessa turned sharply, and froze at the sight of Adam.
He was shirtless, his upper body wrapped in layers of bandages that crossed his chest, shoulders, and ribs. Faint discolorations bled through the gauze in places, and his posture, while steady, carried the unmistakable weight of soone who had been pushed hard past their limits.
Even so, his eyes were clearly alert and very much awake.
Vanessa’s gaze lingered for a second too long before she finally spoke, her voice slower now.
"Adam?"
He gave her a small nod.
"You’re awake."
Up close, the damage was obvious. The dic work was thorough, but it hadn’t erased everything.
The tendrils that had lashed him inside the cavern had carried venom, that resisted ointnts, resisted potions, and resisted the usual fixes.
The dical staff had been baffled; he was even conscious.
Adam hadn’t explained much.
He’d simply told them it was talent-related.
Which, to be fair, it was.
With Poison F and his 18 star power, he’d managed to brute-force his way through effects that should have put him down for hours.
Vanessa exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.
"You look like hell."
Adam shrugged carefully.
"I’ve looked worse."
That earned him a brief, curious stare, before she caught herself.
"Can you please explain what happened?" Her tone reminded Adam of a shy wife questioning her charismatic husband about lipstick on his collar.
Adam smiled at the comparison as he briefed the manager on everything that had unfolded.
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