It wasn't that Freya's mental protection was weak, but rather that the power of this Mind Piercing was simply absurd. To attack so many people at once and still have such a powerful effect after breaking through the mental barrier was unprecedented.
“Sss—” Victor, Joan, and Freya couldn't help but gasp. Fortunately, thanks to the mental protection, they suffered nothing more than a slight headache.
Euphemia, the only one completely unaffected by the Mind Piercing, hesitated for a fraction of a second before decisively charging forward. While the sight of a Scholar actively rushing an enemy was bizarre, her current physical stats—equivalent to a Rank Four Warrior—made her an exception.
At the same time, the three pink-haired teammates who had been hiding in Joan's shadow suddenly emerged from various corners of the lounge, rushing Luna from three different directions.
Luna had been unaware of their presence, so he naturally hadn't targeted them with his initial attack.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Luna found himself surrounded. It was common knowledge that the direct combat capabilities of a Mind Pathway Mind Reader were incredibly weak. Normally, by the time a Mind Reader was forced into a direct confrontation, they were already on the brink of defeat.
But the current situation was anything but normal.
Crack, crack, crack—
A massive wave of frigid air erupted from Luna, instantly freezing the moisture in the room. However, this wasn't for defense—it was for offense!
Jagged ice spikes rapidly spread outward. Victor, being the closest to Luna, bore the brunt of the assault, especially since his splitting headache left him completely unable to react.
Seeing this, one of the pink-haired teammates immediately changed her tactics. She abandoned her attack, grabbed Victor by his collar, and yanked him out of the ice's path at extreme speed.
The other two pink-haired teammates pressed on, charging straight into the ice spikes. Even though their hands were empty, they posed as if gripping weapons, swinging their hands so rapidly that they left afterimages.
Without warning, several ice spikes in front of them shattered into a flurry of ice crystals with a loud bang. As for Euphemia, though she lacked their superb combat techniques, her Rank Four Warrior physical stats allowed her to easily rely on raw, overwhelming strength.
Facing the incoming ice spikes, she didn't dodge or flinch. She threw a straight punch right at them, shattering the ice spikes in front of her!
With the ice cleared, the three pressed forward. However, in that brief moment, the two pink-haired teammates realized Luna had abruptly vanished from their sight.
Euphemia shouted, “It's Psychological Invisibility! He's still here! Keep attacking!”
But this trick was useless against Euphemia. She stepped forward and punched the empty air. Seeing this, the two pink-haired teammates also began striking the empty space in front of Euphemia.
However, the slight delay meant the two teammates were a fraction of a second slower than Euphemia. Just as Euphemia's punch was about to connect, she saw Luna raise his right hand, revealing a blue bracelet on his wrist.
The bracelet flared with a brilliant blue light. Euphemia's punch felt as if it had struck slippery soap, sliding off Luna's body and redirecting toward one of her pink-haired teammates.
“The power of Law?!” This was undoubtedly an extraordinary item, and its effect was potent. Seeing this, the teammate immediately pulled back her own attack to avoid hurting Euphemia. However, Euphemia still suffered from her lack of combat experience. She had put her full strength into the punch, and the sudden deflection threw her completely off balance, making it impossible to pull back.
This resulted in her punch landing heavily on her pink-haired teammate.
Thud—
Accompanied by the sickening crack of breaking bone, the teammate was sent flying. In the next second, a second wave of ice erupted, far larger than the first. Sharp ice spikes slammed into the off-balance Euphemia, throwing her aside.
However, thanks to her physical protection buff and the incredible defense of a Warrior, the strike did little actual damage to Euphemia.
“Ugh—” Freya rubbed her temples, finally recovering. Though the brief clash had lasted only four or five seconds, by the time she looked at the battlefield again, almost half the lounge was covered in ice.
One pink-haired teammate was embedded in the wall, coughing up blood, while Euphemia's clothes were heavily torn. As for the neglected Ansel, his obese body had been pierced by several ice spikes, and he was clearly drawing his final breaths.
Joan slowly recovered from the Mind Piercing, her brow furrowed. “How is this possible? A Mind Piercing of this level definitely belongs to a Mind Reader, but Mind Readers don't have ice-related abilities. Is it an extraordinary item?”
Euphemia wore an apologetic expression. After glancing at the teammate she had accidentally sent flying, she said, “Not only that, he also has a Law Pathway extraordinary item. He forcibly redirected my attack just now.”
Right then, Luna slowly stepped out from amidst the blocks of ice. A deep, bone-revealing wound was visible on his shoulder, but the blood had been frozen solid, stopping the flow. Acting as if nothing had happened, he held the last pink-haired teammate in his other hand. “The Moon Pathway... truly absurd. If she hadn't missed slightly because she couldn't see me, I might have been dead just now.”
Luna said, “I'm quite curious. How on earth did you suspect me? I clearly haven't done anything out of the ordinary.”
In reality, the main reason Luna was suspected was that he had used his mind abilities on Euphemia in the previous simulation. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he would never be able to guess that.
Freya, Joan, and the newly recovered Victor had no intention of answering him, each bracing themselves for combat. Seeing this, Luna shook his head slightly and fixed his gaze on Euphemia. “A Scholar? A truly endearing yet annoying pathway. I was likely discovered because of you, wasn't I?”
As he spoke, solid ice began to spread across the body of the teammate he was holding, quickly covering half her frame. Just as Joan was about to lose her patience, Luna tossed the teammate toward them.
“I have no intention of making enemies of you. Why don't we chat? Perhaps we have more in common than you think. For instance, who told you I was a Mind Reader?”
It had to be said that his grasp of Freya and the others' psychology was incredibly precise. After the first clash, Luna had taken a hostage, preventing them from acting rashly.
As the ice spread, threatening the teammate's life, they would have been forced to attack regardless. Yet, Luna deliberately chose not to kill the hostage, instead tossing her back while throwing out an intriguing topic to stall them.
Freya immediately stepped forward to catch the teammate and began healing her. Euphemia, her brow furrowed, said, “Impossible. Based on the strength of that Mind Piercing, you must be at least a Rank Four, no, Rank Five Mind Reader, or perhaps even stronger.”
Luna said unhurriedly, “Before that, let me introduce myself. I am from the Society of Truth, and I am currently helping my boss conduct a little potion experiment.”
Joan grit her teeth. “The Society of Truth? Never heard of it, but you're telling me the cases of out-of-control extraordinaries causing a stir across the city are just your potion experiments? Do you have any idea how many people have died? You're a sick, heartless bastard!”
Luna smiled. “They are merely renewable consumables. Isn't it an honor for them to sacrifice themselves for our great research?”
“As for the results of this research, there's no harm in sharing a little with you. It concerns a secret of the Extraordinary Pathways.” As he spoke, Luna cast a meaningful glance at Freya. “And as it happens, the first to discover this secret was also an Earth Pathway extraordinary.”
“As we all know, the end of each pathway is not Rank Eight, but Rank Nine. That is where the so-called gods reside.”
At these words, Victor froze. “What? What do you mean 'as we all know'? And are you saying that if we keep progressing along the extraordinary path, we can become gods when we advance to Rank Nine?!”
However, as Victor looked around, he realized none of his teammates seemed surprised. Take Freya, for instance; as a transmigrator, her mind wasn't bound by the conventions of this world. When she first learned that the end of the extraordinary path was Rank Eight, she had wondered if there were Rank Nine or Rank Ten, and whether reaching the end meant becoming a god.
The information Luna shared was entirely within her expectations, so she naturally wasn't surprised.
Euphemia, who had been born into a noble family of the Scholar Pathway, said, “There have indeed been such speculations, though their authenticity remains unverified. Besides, if you want to become a god, you can just work hard to advance. What is the point of this potion experiment?”
Joan couldn't care less about any of that. She snarled, “I don't give a damn about becoming a god. Right now, I just want to rip your head off and shove it up your ass!”
Blocks of defensive ice began to grow in front of Luna, separating the two sides. He said, “Don't be so hasty. What comes next is the key. According to the deductions of our Society of Truth, those so-called gods are merely false gods!”
“In fact, all Extraordinary Pathways have been divided! The three-choice class advancement from Rank Three to Rank Four is not an advancement at all—it is a dismantling!”
Freya immediately realized something. When she had advanced to Rank Five and obtained the Lifeform Modification ability, she had felt as though something was missing. If Luna was right, then that sense of incompleteness made perfect sense!
A fanatical smile spread across Luna's face. He opened his arms as if embracing something. “Though we don't know why the original creator of the potions did this, it no longer matters. We have already discovered a way to recombine the dismantled potions!”
“I am honored to tell you all that I am a successful example. I am not a mere Mind Reader of the Mind Pathway, but a dual-class of both Memory Thief and Mind Reader. When the dismantled powers are reunited, they unleash a force far exceeding those of the same rank. I have even gained a brand-new 【fusion ability】 because of it.”
“And the experiment I am conducting right now is the final piece of the Mind Pathway: an experiment to merge the Dragon Warrior class.”
This explained why those out-of-control Mind Pathway extraordinaries possessed such terrifying close-combat capabilities.
Pausing, Luna said, “Well, looking at the time, it should be about ready. Before I make my departure, let's conduct this final experiment.”
Luna knew better than anyone that the Empire would never let him go once they knew he was the mastermind. Nothing he said would change that, so his long-winded speech had been nothing more than a stalling tactic.
As for the purpose of stalling...
Crash—
With a thunderous crash, the side wall of the lounge was shattered. A monster nearly three meters tall, covered in golden scales, burst into view. A thick tail trailed behind him, and his eyes were slit into golden, reptilian pupils.
Yet, looking closely at the monster's features, one could still discern a faint, familiar resemblance. Without a doubt, this beast was the out-of-control branch president of the Mind Research Association, Thorne!
Luna's Memory Thief and Mind Reader classes were both at Rank Five. Having stayed at the Association for so long, he had secretly planted various psychological suggestions within Thorne. While it wasn't as extreme as turning Thorne into a literal puppet, the end result was practically the same.
The moment Freya and her group burst into the lounge, Luna had sensed trouble and triggered the suggestion he had planted in Thorne long ago, prompting him to drink a special 【Dragon Warrior potion】.
Simultaneously, a massive wave of spirituality erupted from Luna, enveloping everyone present. This was the other preparation he had made while stalling. Luna smiled and said, “Come, fall into the past with me!”
Bang—
The world in everyone's vision suddenly collapsed. In the blink of an eye, they were transported from the Mind Research Association's lounge to the entrance of a dilapidated warehouse, and the time had shifted from morning to afternoon.
Rate on N.U.
