Chapter 484 - Mindblender City (Patreon)

We all sit in a half circle, Sophie standing in front of us, near that single half-dead tree.

She looks at the chairs I made for everyone for a moment. "Did you improve the monobloc plastic chair design?"

"Yes," I confirm. "I modified them to be more comfortable while keeping a similar design, and the mana base is… enhanced."

“You should try it, they are surprisingly comfy,” Min-Jae calls.

"Maybe later," Sophie waves it off. "It’s about time we head to the city, so I want to give you a few warnings before we go. First, it doesn’t have a name—most people just call it the mind mages’ city or throw insults at it, avoiding it as much as possible. Typically, when you go there, you're either staying only a few days at most or you'll end up forced to join one of the groups. If you're particularly useful, one of the mind mages might even mind-control you."

“Nothing against you, Sophie, but if it were on Earth, I’m sure people would’ve nuked the city already.”

“It’s fine, Maya, no offense taken, and I agree with you. They tried; just in the past ten years, there were three large-scale attacks on the city, but as you can see, it still stands there. Unfortunately. Before you even get close to it, I will make sure your minds are protected and leave marks on you so everyone here will know you belong with me.”

“You make it sound like you’re some kind of big shot in there, Soph.” Maya lazily crosses her legs while others also seem to have similar questions.

Sophie doesn’t act too shy about it. “You could say I’m around the top 5 of the city. Given a bit more time, possibly number two and the next Archon.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh. There aren’t as many mind mages as you would expect. Over the past few hundred years, most of the ones that appeared on Astral Prison headed to the city and either made their own group or got controlled by a more powerful mind mage. As weird as it sounds, it seems to be fairly normal. As for all of you, you would be considered a great asset, and everyone would try to make you submit to them before another mind mage does so.”

“How many of them are in the city?” I ask.

"Fewer than 50, and most are controlled by someone else, forming three powerful groups: Archon, the oldest of them all; Beatrice, his daughter with her own faction; and Namior, who got lucky and gained control over a few powerful prisoners and monsters. My group is the fourth. There was a strong, independent mind mage who noticed me the moment we arrived in the city and tried to take over, but it didn’t go well for him, so I replaced him as the head of his group."

“No complaints from others?”

“None at all. It’s the place where they look at ability only, and no one cares for losers.”

Sophie then gestures at me and the twins to stand up. “I will need your help with my web and to connect it to all of you. We will use that to make it much more difficult for all of you to get controlled, marked, tracked, or otherwise manipulated. It will also tie you to me, so I will know when someone tries to control you, and I can defend you. I did the same for Izzy.”

“I will sit here and look pretty.”

“Please, do so, Maya.” Sophie shakes her head to Maya’s amusement, but in the end, she also smiles a bit. “Before we start, there is one thing called Framework. It’s a mental construct placed over the palace in the center of the city that allows combining the calculative abilities of all the mind mages and people under their control into one with a single common goal.”

She looks a bit more serious now. “It’s to decipher the spatial locks over the Astral Prison and destroy them.”

***

The lesson about Mindblender City continues even as we walk closer to it.

(You might ask why all mind mages go there when there is a high chance for some more powerful one to control them. It’s fairly simple: the mind mages are killed on sight everywhere else. The moment you reveal such an ability or even a hint of it, the clock starts ticking, and rumors spread. Sooner or later, people group against you to kill you off. So here, at least, you are treated somewhat nicely. Like a tool to be used and thrown away, but you have a nice palace to stay in, food to eat, and only have to worry about other mind mages mostly as they defend their kind.)

(How does Framework work?)

(I told you already, Nat, I’m not sure. I will know more in a few days after I join maintenance, and yes, I will tell you as much as I can.)

(City is weird.)

(So you have noticed already?)

(Yup.)

(As you suspect, the entire city functions as a colossal inscription array. Each building is a meticulously placed node within this structure, crafted from materials tailored to the array’s needs—some highly conductive to channel mana flow efficiently, while others serve as dampeners. Streets are lined with specialized alloys that cooperate with the entire mana network, creating pathways that facilitate the controlled flow of energy across districts. Throughout the city there are also a mana battery stations strategically positioned to provide sustained power and to ensure stability, even under strain. Additionally, frequency amplification stations are set up at key intersections to regulate resonance, enhancing mana output and refining flow to prevent disruptions.)

(Don’t do that, Sophie; he gets annoyed when people talk smartly like that, using all these fancy words,) the warning comes from Dennis.

(Yes, he always hated it.) Min-Jae giggles but quickly shuts up when seeing I’m looking at him.

Aaron also joins in, nodding seriously, (Most of the time, he understands all that mana science blabber; he just gets annoyed by it and says something like: If you truly understand something, you can tell it simply so even a 5-year-old would understand.)

Ignoring them all, I ask Sophie, (With my passive and construct and skill, how much of a threat will these mindblenders be to me?)

(I think you are safe, but at the start, you might want to weaken your defenses a bit—not for their manipulation to pierce, but to show it’s possible. They have people trying to probe newbies, and if you come off too strong, they might send their bodyguards after you.)

(Bodyguards being powerful non–mind mages they manipulate?)

(Yes.)

(I don’t think they would cause me trouble.)

(There are three that could, and trust me, I take all your capabilities into consideration, Nat.) Sophie says seriously.

To that Dennis laughs under his nose.

To stop the conversation from turning in an unwanted direction, Tess reminds, (As we said before. We will enter the city and stay in Sophie’s tower with Izzy and wait. Nat and sometimes Maya will act as her bodyguards, as the one with the highest resistance, and Sophie will go ahead with her plan. We will do our own preparation, and then… we will see.)

Multiple confirmations come through the link, and now, closer to the city, everyone stops talking, their mental defenses activating all at similar times as we get closer.

On the other side, I slightly weaken my mantle and stop using [Focus] to counter these attempts. Instead, I decide to test [Ley Line]. A thread still leads toward the secondary hideout, where some of the golden chains and a good amount of split materials remain.

As we pass over the small bridge and the wide white gate opens up to us, I feel defensive arrays running checks, but there seems to be some special mark on Sophie, and they stop.

[Ley Line] seems to remain unnoticed by automatic measures, but I’m sure someone skilled will notice it sooner or later. The question is if they will be able to mess with it. Sophie noticed it but wasn’t able to disrupt it or otherwise manipulate it, to her annoyance and my pleasant surprise.

Inside, Mindblender City looks unlike any we saw on the 6th floor. It fits more into the style of the second, I would say. Nearly as if we aren’t on a barren moon that serves as a prison. Nice cobbled streets, clean buildings with eye-catching architecture, and towers upon towers everywhere offering a stunning view of all these styles even from the streets.

There aren’t as many people as I thought, but everyone seems busy, and no one just stands around talking to someone else. I guess there’s no trust for that. How can you become friends with someone if the mind mage controlling them can give orders at any time to turn against you, and that person doesn’t have free will?

Once again, I’m reminded of how disgusting that ability is, more so than the ability to turn invisible or having "Phantom" in a class or item description.

With Sophie, I already got somewhat used to it, and there is trust between us, but that hasn’t stopped me from constantly developing my mental abilities—her presence and skill only a constant reminder of what could happen.

As we walk through the streets, multiple probes touch us. Some sense Sophie’s mark and stop right away, while some seem only more interested because of that mark and try to guess our “power level,” checking each of our members.

That check often stops for a longer time at Lily, who is just terrible at hiding her abilities, and a bit on Min-Jae, who also isn’t that good.

Deploying a modified version of Sneaky Mode, I and the twins probably get the least amount of interest, the check going through us but not considering us interesting enough. Even Fracture is well hidden by me.

The place where Sophie is staying is a beautiful tall tower; even the yard is nice, filled with decorative columns, a small pond, and trees. It’s so unfitting for this floor, I check my status just to be sure we didn't change it.

There are checks upon checks. As we enter, as we walk by trees, as we meet guards. Every person seems to have some proximity-based scans that run the moment they pass by a human, looking for a certain mark—the one Sophie gave us so we can even enter this place.

But I guess it all makes sense. Mind mages don’t seem to prefer direct combat; rather, they play with things like these. Spying, controlling, trying to one up each other. It all sounds so tiring.

A young woman greets Sophie, someone who is the second in rank and was the second in rank before Sophie killed the original owner of this place. Mind mage Mila is now controlled by Sophie.

From their interaction, it’s hard to say. Mila is smiling and is very helpful to her new “master.”

[Will Breaker - lvl 255]

“Mila, everyone here will have the same access I do and should be treated just as you would treat me. If they give an order, consider it as if it came from me.” Sophie’s demeanor has shifted noticeably from just minutes ago. She’s colder and far more confident, like someone accustomed to giving orders and having them followed.

“As you order. Should I order to have dinner prepared?”

“Yes, for all of us. Also, prepare rooms for them on the same floor as my sister. Starting tomorrow, only I, my guests, and my sister are permitted on that floor.”

“I will follow your orders. I should also inform you that Lady Beatrice left an invitation for a dinner at her place in three days. I’ve learned that only a select few were invited, mostly members of the Circle or those with significant influence.”

“Confirm my attendance; I’ll be bringing one of my guests as bodyguard. Arrange for a tailor tomorrow, as they’ll need new clothes promptly.”

A few more sentences are exchanged, and throughout the conversation, a subtle mind battle seems to play out between Sophie and Mila—perhaps Mila’s attempt to free herself from influence or even take control of Sophie.

Sophie appears accustomed to it, showing little difficulty and unable to gain control, Mila departs with the same friendly smile as before, greeting us with a slight bow.

***

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