Chapter VII: Scamming Combat Techniques IV

City 19 Arena

The Mind Net

The Great Plateau

Month of the Pangolin 2, 172 ,328 DE

When any being connects to the Mind Net, it has to analyze the being in depth to understand how create the being avatar within itself. That includes determining any and all affinities. According to the Mind Net, I have no affinities other than Blood, which does not make any sense. As a Great Wolf, I should have some degree of affinity with nature. Whether there something wrong with Mind Net's analysis or something is off about me, I have yet to determine, but for now I do not have the leisure to worry about it.

I did not have more than a hundred Arena Points before my team battle scam, but now, I have enough Arena Points to acquire several basic techniques from the Arena Shop. Out of the tens of millions of techniques available from the Arena Shop, which can be learned by someone with no Coalescence, only six are for the blood affinity, but as a Great Wolf, I do not find any of them suitable. All the techniques are tailored for Beat Blood Cultivators like Vorn. They need neither Mana nor Trinity to work, but instead draw out the properties of the Beast Blood in the Cultivators Body. There are a number of generic, non-affinity techniques that are usable with or without weapons, but they to not appeal to me.

I focus my search one techniques related to the Mind and Soul. Previously, I used my general points for the Mind Net to acquire a Mind technique called Group Link and hybrid Mind and Soul technique called Psychometry . However, either the amount of Trinity I can channel is too little, or my Mind and Soul are too weak to use either technique. I also acquired combat styles for both the Mind and Soul, but I need enemies with strong enough Minds and Souls to be worth fighting. Both styles are also the equivalent of unarmed melee combat. What I really need are Mind and Soul techniques to exercise my Mind and Soul, which will can be used at will or nearly so. I need subtle techniques that the majority of the retarded Cultivators will not be able to notice.

After a few minutes of searching, I find Telepathy and Empathy . Based on their descriptions, two techniques, or as the descriptions call them, systems, are exactly what I am looking for. At least, the version I choose are what I am looking for. Between the two, the Arena Shop has over a dozen variants of techniques and systems that provide the same types of ability.

Telepathy : While Telepathy can be used to attack the Mind in an indirect manner, this cannot be considered a combat system. This is a utility system structured for communication from Mind to Mind over theoretically unlimited distances. The only limitation is the amount of Psi or Trinity at the users disposal.

The Eidos threads created through Telepathy can be used as a medium to probe the Minds of a targeted being, but without a significant disparity between the strengths of the Minds of the user and the target, the threads are not suitable for causing damage to a targeted Mind.

This system is the base for a number of other more specialized Mind systems and techniques that can be found in the system and technique repositories. Creativity and non-linear reasoning is highly recommended to anyone, who seeks to engage in the use of this system.

When I select the option to learn Telepathy , a flood of information pours into my Mind. It feels like the contents of dozens of tomes has suddenly become a part of my memories. Pain rips through my Mind. It seems to last for an eternity, but when it fades, and I check the time through the Mind Net control tome, less than an hour has passed.

Still standing in his cubicle, Vorn seems engrossed in the list that only he can see. Following the method of the Telepathy system, I spin a thread of Trinity. Finer than spider silk and as ephemeral as a dawn mist, the thread spans the distance between us and brushes against him. From the feel of the thread, I do not believe that the Mind Net is exerting any direct effects upon it. This is outside the scope and structure of the Mind Net as I understand it.

An image of Vorn's technique list blur over the top of my own, but other than the one image, I do not pick anything from his Mind. In less than a second, my thread of Trinity breaks apart and the image disappears. The Trinity that comprised the thread fades from the Mind Net. Despite having access to Old Man Jones' books, I do not think even a fraction of my information on the Mind Net is complete, and at least, some of it may be dead wrong. If that shitty old man was around, I could, at least, ask him about what I do not understand. He might be able to answer or give me a book or two that could shed light on what I do not understand.

I switch my attention Empathy .

Empathy : This system for Empathy , created by I, War Master Veras Moran, is the most complete and efficient method for the practice of empathic perception and communication. It is the bases for a number of my Soul-based combat techniques, and while those techniques can be learned and used without being conversant with my Empathy system, I highly recommend at least reaching the standard of Basic Competence before pursuing my Soul-based techniques.

Contrary to the beliefs of most lesser civilizations, emotions are born from the Soul. Without a Soul, it is impossible to experience emotions. Many, many civilizations have tried to create artificial intelligences that were capable of experiencing emotions, and all have failed. Only living beings and Spirits, beings comprised only of Mind and Soul, are capable of experiencing emotions.

While the effects of emotions manifest in the Body and Mind, to properly understand, one must read the Soul. The basis of my Empathy system centers around using a web of Trinity to read the emotional state of any and all Souls within the web. For those who lack the strength to create a full web, my system starts from using a single thread of Trinity to read the Soul of a single target. For those who cannot use Trinity, I have included a method to build threads from Ki, Mana, and Psi, but Ki or Psi will be more effective than Mana.

From the way he wrote the introduction to his Empathy system Veras Moran sounds like he or she was an arrogant being. The information I have access to give no indication if the species of sex of Veras Moran, but the most common species and gender combination for the War Masters was human males. There were other species among them, but the College of the War Master's originally a human institution. Since among humans, males possess significant advantages over females in the pursuit of war, there were few female human War Masters.

While still frowning at the arrogant demeanor of Veras Moran, I select to learn the Empathy system. Pain pierces my Mind another vast flood of information pours into it. It takes longer to absorb the Empathy system than it did to absorb the Telepathy system, and as the pain fades, I find myself somewhat lost in the sea of information filling my Mind.

After more than an hour, I sort our the process for forming the threads needed to probe another Soul and for the web that is the ultimate goal of the system. With my eyes still closed, I create a hair-thin thread of Trinity and stretch it out to Vorn, but I cannot find his Soul. Where I expect to find his Soul, I find nothing but a void of sorts. Examining him through my awareness, I determine that was I perceive as his 'Body' is nothing more than an artificial construct of the Mind Net, and there is not even so much as an artificial construct where his Soul should be.

Letting the thread of Trinity dissipate, I open my eyes and examine Vorn. In my sight, he appears to be as solid and physically present as the world of the Mind Net, but if I focus my awareness to perceive deeply into his existence, he is nothing but a disembodied Mind.

"Are you done shopping?"

Vorn turns to look at me. "I've been done. I was just waiting for you, while being amazed at how many amazing techniques are sitting under everyone's noses."

I do not bother to hide my frown. "I though you used the Mind Net in the Jewel Kingdoms."

Vorn snorts. "We do. For the training dummies Isn't that what everyone does. I've never heard of anyone earning Arena Points."

I shrug. "The Life and Death battle mode is not exactly obvious. There probably aren't may people on the Great Plateau that know how to use it. But forcing a few hundred suckers into a Life and Death battle is a great way to farm a lot of Arena Points fast."

Vorn frowns. "I feel like I've been a tool in one of your plots."

"You have. I'm logging out of the Mind Net." As I finish speaking, the Arena Shop disappears from my vision.