[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 158 (Patreon)

Astrid took a while to heal her injuries from the use of potions. From the gaping hole in her shoulder, to the internal damage she suffered from the attacks.

With her matter control, Astrid was able to stop the bleeding from the wound–no matter how serious it was. But she still couldn’t heal it yet. She didn’t know when she would gain an ability to heal, or if she ever would, but it would really come in handy right now.

But from altering the pain tolerance within her mind, she was able to handle the wounds as they slowly healed from the healing efficacy of a Rare potion.

Astrid kicked a rock as she headed back to the psycho tribe. She was constantly thinking about what she could have done differently. However, nothing was popping up within her head.

Losing sucked. It felt just like the attack at the auction house, but this time it was worse. She could swear that she was close to defeating it, so the feeling of a near victory was like a sour patch on her taste buds.

No amount of scraping her tongue could rid her of the sourness, so all that was left was to kill the lava moth.

That just means I need to get stronger. Astrid clenched her fist. She needed something to improve her strength quickly and that meant equipment. She needed the boost in Stats. If she just had more Intelligence, her [Crashes] wouldn’t just crack its skin, but obliterate it instead.

She reached the psycho tribe. The sounds of metal clanging and excited screaming put a smile on her face despite her loss.

Heading into the village, everyone bowed, and sung her praises, but it all felt so hollow. Not until she earned her victory would she be deserving of being named alongside the Eye-Queen. The last thing she wanted was to enter those trials and for her to be mocked by that damned audience.

Astrid scowled, causing one of the psychos to fall to his knees.

Astrid stopped and changed her frown into a forced smile. “Ah no, it’s not–ah nevermind.” Shaking her head, she immediately headed into the main hall where the Great No-Eyed One was waiting. Upon seeing her current situation, his brows widened–which looked strange without any eyes.

“Disciple, you won–” He said with excitement, but then he noticed the droop in her shoulders. He cleared his throat. “Just from even attempting to defeat the Avemoth and surviving is a great feat of strength–”

“Don’t–just tell me if there's a place where I can find equipment,” Astrid interrupted. “I was close to defeating the dumb moth.”

The Great No-Eyed One broke out into laughter. “Good, I knew the Eye-Queen’s disciple wouldn’t falter so easily.”

Happy at the fierce nature of the disciple, he walked back and to frantically within the hall. “Where did I put it?” His head ducked behind a table at the far corner of the hall and snatched up a dirty piece of paper from the floor. “Aha! Here it is.” Walking back, he straightened it on the table and motioned for Astrid to come over.

Approaching, Astrid glanced at the piece of paper. Then she looked around, confused. “Where are the others?”

“They wanted to go out and adventure around Eyamos and the surrounding area.”

“Okay.” Astrid nodded then returned her attention to the paper.

Although smaller than the map of Eyamos, it was a map all the same. But this time, it wasn’t of land, rather, it was a picture of a sprawling underground labyrinth.

“What is it? I wanted equipment, not building plans.” Astrid picked it up and tilted it this way and that.

“It’s a mage’s inheritance vault.”

“A mage’s inheritance?” Astrid asked in surprise. An inheritance sounded promising.

the Great No-Eyed One nodded. “Those who follow the path of a magus, whatever their route may be, will always languish at the aspect of time. Time, it’s a slow and insidious killer–especially for a magus who dedicate their life to learning how spells work. A warrior can simply learn by training, but for a mage, it is quite different.”

“Like learning different spells, or Skills.”

“Skills?” The Great No-Eyed One asked, confused.

“Wait, you don’t have Skills? Then what did you use back on the battlefield to attack?”

“You mean my Arts?”

“Wait, wait, wait… Are you not with the System?”

The Great No-Eyed One scratched his head. “No, what’s a System?”

Astrid fell back and caught herself with Levitate. That changed things, or did it? She just assumed that everyone here would be integrated into the System, just like her.

“Then what about the War of the Evolution Seed, how did you know about it?”

“You mean apart from the pillar of light in the sky?” The Great No-Eyed One said.

“Right,” Astrid struck her forehead with her palm. “Okay, so how do you grow stronger then?”

“I don’t know what it is like for you, but for the people of this world, we cultivate an energy within us called Aer. For every race it is different here. For us, we self-induce a state of psychosis–as you have seen from the drugs we consume. It enables us to see our true selves, to open the bloodlines inside us, and to grow stronger.”

The Great No-Eyed One tapped his chest with his finger and continued. “We gather Aer by completing tasks befitting our bloodline, for us psychos it is acting according to our race. Killing, being free, acting wild. All these things enable us to gather Aer. And with Aer, it strengthens our body, and mana.”

“Sounds complicated.” Astrid tilted her head, but there was one thing she was curious about–opening a bloodline. She had heard about it back home. People always said that she acted the way she did because she had the Sinwen bloodline within her. From taking a life, killing monsters, to her need for fighting. Although Astrid was certain it wasn’t the same sort of bloodline no eyes were describing, it needed exploring.

“So how do I unlock my bloodline?” Astrid asked.

“That’s an impossible question, disciple. But if you do have one, then I can only make a guess as to where you would be able to find such an answer.”

“The Eye-Queen's diary,” Astrid mumbled. Great, well, it gave her a plan of action. Do a little inheritance pilfering, defeat the stupid moth, then complete the Eye-Queen’s trial. Easy. “Where is this inheritance? Who does it belong to? And will they be okay with me taking it?”

At the rapid fire questions, the Great No-Eyed One took hold of the map, turned it upside down, and placed it within her hands. “Far west into the depths of Eyamos, there are ancient ruins named after the mage; Zephyrion. There are many inheritances to be found here, most are ancient, and require… various methods to obtain them, but–” the Great No-Eyed One chuckled. “I have picked this one specifically for you.”

“For me?” Astrid asked, curious as to what he meant.

The Great No-Eyed One thought for a moment, as if he was picking his mind. Taking a deep breath, he recited, “Zephyrion the Seer was born into a family of mages known for their potent psychic powers. From a young age, he displayed an exceptional aptitude for telekinesis and psychokinesis, the ability to manipulate physical objects with his mind.”

“Oh, Psychokinesis!” Astrid clenched her hands into a fist in excitement.

Nodding, the Great No-Eyed One continued, “Growing up, Zephyrion was often bullied and ostracised by other children who feared his powers. But he refused to let their cruelty break him and instead dedicated himself to mastering his abilities.

As he grew older, Zephyrion's powers became even more potent, and he began to focus on using his psychic abilities for offence rather than defence. He developed an arsenal of devastating psychic attacks, including bolts of psychic energy, psychic blasts, and telekinetic waves capable of knocking back entire armies.

Despite his incredible power, Zephyrion remained humble and focused on honing his craft. He travelled the world, seeking out other mages who could teach him new techniques and help him push the boundaries of what was possible with psychic magic. And of course to increase his lifespan.

Over time, Zephyrion became known as one of the greatest psychic warriors in the land, feared and respected by all who knew him. But in the end, time caught up to him. With no way of increasing his life, he turned to other methods to prolong his life’s work–he prepared an Inheritance.”

Astrid looked at no eyes and squinted her own. “All that history is within your brain?”

“Stored, yes.” the Great No-Eyed One chuckled. “Having no eyes has an unusual effect on the mind’s senses.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Astrid shook her head. “So what is the Inheritance, and how has no-one taken it yet?”

“I’m afraid no-one knows that. But once you are there, you will quickly understand why none have taken it." The Great No-Eyed One refused to give any more details. A sly smile crept up on his lips–as if he had first-hand experience with the place.

“Well, I do like surprises.” Astrid grinned. Now that she had a goal, her mood that was soured had rekindled. Motivation was brought back, and that meant she had to immediately make her move.

She hated waiting with a passion. If there was an Inheritance, and if it made her stronger, she would get it.

Maybe it will teach me how to use more creative attacks. Although he won’t have my current Class, the man lived his life using psychic attacks. Hopefully there is something in the Zephyrion ruins to teach me. Astrid thought, hope itched at the back of her mind.

After all, she didn’t want just Stats, but having her attacks improved would be even more beneficial for the future. She had wanted a teacher for a while now, was this the chance?

There was only one way to find out.

Astrid thanked the Great No-Eyed One and shot out of the hall. As she flew through the air, she hunted various monsters that were above a certain threshold. If she wanted to get stronger, then she had to passively gain experience, and take every opportunity she could.

She sent out her clones, and as they killed, she continued on her way. There was a range limit before her clones vanished, but it was surprisingly high with her current Intelligence.

Gaining only one level from her travels, she reached a hill behind a valley. Continuing within the enormous valley, a strange feeling prickled at her mind.

It was a feeling that she was well aware of–she had entered an illusionary field.