CHAPTER 51: MIND ATTACK

Richard and Sister Lisa stayed at Lilith’s house so they wouldn’t have to look for an inn.

When night came, they had dinner together, listening to Lilith’s stories about life outside the kingdom—tales far more interesting than hearing Olivia, who often only read books.

For Richard, who had just witnessed the grandeur of a provincial capital and had yet to even visit the royal capital, everything beyond the kingdom sounded unimaginable.

There were kingdoms far stronger, and even empires.

In this harsh world, it was impossible to establish a kingdom unless someone of that era obtained a World Magic Aether.

Yet even kingdoms were still a level below empires. For a kingdom to evolve into an empire, more than one member of the royal family had to obtain a World Magic Aether.

Aside from the many kingdoms and empires, there were also vast lands without lords—regions in complete chaos where crime was impossible not to encounter at every moment.

And all of this was still within the Land of Human.

That dinner became quite long, as Lilith’s stories captivated both Richard and Sister Lisa.

However, after dinner, Richard chose not to head to his bedroom. Instead, he decided to go outside.

How could he miss the chance to explore this city early?

As soon as he stepped out the door, a row of notifications from the System appeared.

DING!

(Your mastery over Codex of Moonshadow has increased from 11% to 14%!)

(Your mastery over 100 Shadow Monster has increased from 11% to 14%!)

(Your mastery over Lighting of Darkness has increased from 11% to 14%!)

[Codex:

Codex of Dragon Emperor (31%)

Codex of Moonshadow (14%)]

[Arcane Art:

100 Shadow Monster (14%)

Lighting of Darkness (14%)

Mind Attack (3%)]

’Too bad it’s not Mind Attack,’ he thought, a little disappointed but not too concerned.

At this point, he truly understood how to use the attack.

He walked on, leaving Lilith’s housing complex behind until he reached the city streets.

It should be around 10 at night, yet the city was still bustling.

Of course, most of those he saw looked like delinquents. They were just ordinary humans—likely because Magus were busy training at night. Richard did not spot a single Magus as far as his eyes could see.

Though it was said there were many Magus in the Aether Will Realm, their numbers were still minuscule compared to the countless ordinary humans.

Richard then noticed a bald young man who looked like he had just lost a gamble, scratching his hairless head over and over.

The young man wore fairly luxurious robes, yet had even lost his shoes.

He didn’t notice Richard at all, even as he walked right past him.

But Richard kept staring—more precisely, staring at his head.

Silently, his Aether transformed into something invisible within his mind, resembling the Wave Element, but even more mysterious. The Wave Element was invisible yet had a tangible sensation and effect.

This, however, was subtler than air itself.

It slid from Richard’s head, piercing directly into the bald man’s.

As an ordinary human, the man had no defensive power whatsoever.

It entered his brain without leaving a trace, immediately seizing control of his mind.

Through it, Richard could completely dominate his thoughts.

’So this is how it works...’ He chuckled.

What astonished him most was that after controlling the man’s mind, he felt as though the man had become a part of his own body, something he could move at will.

He could even freely decide the man’s condition—whether he remained conscious of it, or whether he would remember it or not.

’It seems I can attack from any distance as long as it’s within my line of sight,’ he thought.

The bald man then turned toward him, expressionless.

Richard simply waved his hand, signaling him to leave, before releasing the Mind Attack.

Its use needed further study, especially regarding its effects against Magus of comparable strength.

Richard kept walking, seeking a more worthy target to strike.

He wasn’t too worried, since this type of attack was completely undetectable.

Though it was a bit difficult to find Magus at night, he eventually spotted one—a man in his thirties riding a horse, seemingly just returning from outside the city.

Richard predicted that this man was fairly strong, most likely in the Aether Will Realm.

In terms of Aether count, he was probably already above five or six thousand.

His power was far greater than Richard’s, though Richard still had the advantage in quality.

Richard let the man pass by first.

When he was about ten meters ahead, Richard sent a Mind Attack at him.

Like lightning, it shot straight into the man’s brain, trying to seize control.

"Not good." The man’s eyes widened instantly, realizing something was attempting to take over his mind.

He channeled as much power as he could into his own head to resist.

His expression darkened. He managed to hold it back, but it required him to continuously devote a portion of his strength to keep his mind from being overtaken.

He leapt off his horse, scanning his surroundings—but at the same time, the strange attack trying to dominate his mind had already vanished.

"What was that? What exactly was it?" He calmed down, though curiosity still filled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Richard had already walked away with a smile.

Now it became clear what Lilith had said.

A person could still resist the attack if they had enough strength to hold it back. But this meant they had to split their power.

Even for that man, Richard thought he had to use more than half his strength.

Fighting effectively would be nearly impossible for him.

Richard couldn’t feel more satisfied.

As he continued walking, something caught him by surprise.

He actually saw the same girl from earlier—the one who had left Lilith’s house.

She was wearing a full black robe with a hood that covered her head, walking alone along the roadside.

If she hadn’t been right in front of him, and if he hadn’t accidentally glimpsed her face, Richard would never have recognized her.

The girl noticed him, and seemed to recall that he was the one she had seen at Lilith’s house.

She frowned slightly but kept walking, passing by him.

’What is she doing out at this hour?’ Richard wondered.