Chapter 259: Undetected
"Wait," I ordered Kanon to stop as we found a relatively safe spot at the back of the building.
I could tell that outside this door was an open space. I did not see any danger through my crows, but just to be safe, I decided to allocate my points.
Initially, my game plan involved leveling up and gearing up for a major upgrade before I rescue my mother.
However, this recent incident has thrown a curveball into the mix, forcing me to a reconsider my strategy. Up until now, I\'ve ignored some skills on the store, neglecting them as I favored a safer, long-range tactical approach in battles.
But the recent blunder acted as a wake-up call, a painful reminder that I\'ve underestimated the power of the gifteds.
Going easy on them was a luxury I can no longer afford. It\'s time to tap into those untapped skills and go full beast mode from now.
Thinking about my burn marks first, I decided to allocate 10 points to endurance, hoping to gain a random skill that could help me deal with the burns.
[Congratulations, Host, for reaching 30 Points in Endurance.]
[Random Skill]
[Random Skill]
[Random Skill]
[Serenity Surge: This skill taps into the body\'s natural serotonin reserves, inducing a wave to calm mind and promoting accelerated healing. As Serenity Surge activates, a soothing energy envelops the host, enhancing both mental well-being and physical recovery. ]
[+1% healing in an hour]
"Good," realizing it was a very useful skill, I immediately upgraded it.
[Serenity Surge: Level 1 —> Level 50] [50%]
I activated the skill and felt a soothing sensation inside my body.
With my high endurance already aiding me, adding Serenity Surge seemed to kickstart the repair process in my tissues. It wasn\'t as fast as regeneration, but given some time, I should be back to full health.
The burned scars on my face were another issue I would have to address later, though.
[Purchased Sensory Enhancement]
I hadn\'t bothered with this skill before because, honestly, my senses were already pretty sharp.
[ Sensory Enhancement Level 1 —> level 20]
Next, I bought another skill, Mental Time Dilation.
[Purchased Mental Time Dilation Level 1]
There was no need to increase the level of Time Dilation because the upgrade only reduced the cool-down time.
But for my purposes, this was enough. Mental Time Dilation would be perfect for the combo I\'m thinking of.
[Combine Skill: Mental Time Dilation + Quick Phase]
[Combine Success: Quick Time Phase]
[Quick Time Phase: The host\'s mind operates at warp speed, creating the illusion of time slowing down by a factor of 10 in a mere three seconds. It\'s as if their brain hits turbo mode, processing information at an extraordinary rate. In those brief moments, the world outside appears to move in slow motion and host movement speed doubles]
[Cool-down Time 1 hour]
[-10 seconds cool down per upgrade]
Three seconds felt too short but slowing down time by a factor of 10 was good for now. It provided enough time for me to react to almost anything, except lightning-fast attacks.
After that, I rushed to upgrade Complex Cognitive Instinct. If only I hadn\'t been stingy with this skill , I might have perceived the danger more clearly back then.
[Complex Cognitive Instinct Level 20 —> Level 50]
Lastly, I invested all my attribute points in my Mind Power. The stronger my Mind Power, the more powerful my Telekinesis and overall capacity became.
[Mind Power 10.1 —> 15.1 ]
\'I\'m ready,\' I muttered to myself. Though I still have plenty of skill points, I\'ve decided to save them for now. At this point, I believe I\'m well-equipped enough to handle an ambush.
"Let\'s go," .net
The door was heavily sealed, indicating that this part of the place was not meant to be access However, with my Telekinesis, it was not an issue at all.
I broke down the metal door, revealing the Alleyway where several old trucks were parked. It appeared this area served as an old storage space for the building.
"Stay behind me!" I ordered Kanon as I quickly summoned my Aegis Projection after sensing danger. A blue aura enveloped me, and a 3-meters semi-transparent exo-skeleton formed around us.
"Interesting power," a woman\'s voice echoed in the air.
With my heightened sensory senses, I immediately pinpointed her location. She stood on a wall 40 meters away from me. But for some reason, I feel odd looking at her.
I couldn\'t see her face clearly due to the umbrella she was holding, but I could tell she was quite young judging from the shape of her body. She wore a white and black school uniform, which was really amusing to see at a time like this.
\'Weird, I\'m pretty sure my crow did not see her before,\' I thought to myself. There was no way she could appear in that place without me knowing.
My crows were looking from the sky.
\'Wait, my crow?\' I quickly shifted my sight to my crows and discovered something shocking. They could not see her at all.
\'Is this some kind of invisibility?\' I wondered to myself. Then, I used my Mind Eye to see her status. Another surprise left me shocked. Even Mind Eye couldn\'t register her; it was as if she did not exist at all.
"Who are you?" My voice turned cold as I focused my attention on her.
"You can see me?" She sounded shocked.
"Obviously, I can see you. Did you cause all this mess?" I sneered, as if the fact that my Mind Eye couldn\'t spot her was beneath my concern. Regardless, I\'ll crush her if she was the one who caused me to suffer like this.
"You\'re powerful, huh? My boyfriend struggles just to catch a glimpse of me. But you spot me so easily. Interesting, really interesting. I dig it!" She started giggling, like she stumbled upon a cool toy.
"Sorry, but I already have too many girls. You have to join the queue if you want a shot," I shot back with a dismissive tone.
"Oh, I hate arrogant guys, you know," her expression suddenly turned cold.
"I don\'t give a shit about your feelings. I\'m fucking pissed off right now. You better answer my question, or you will regret coming here. Are you the one responsible for all this mess?" I asked through gritted teeth, my pent-up frustration slowly getting ready to erupt.