Mark sat atop a cliff in the lotus position, a hamster sitting on his lap. On his body, bathed in the ethereal moonlight, sat many butterflies, too.
His consciousness was currently inside his World Space, conversing with Yuri.
"So what is your plan?" he asked.
Yuri rubbed her nose. "Now that we know why humansyoucreate with Alchemic Shapeshifting can't beco Golden Savages, I have many ideas that might help beco a Golden Savage successfully."
Mark was intrigued.
"What's the plan with the highest chance of success?" he asked.
"One way I see that could work is—you using Alchemic Shapeshifting on to transform into a human that resembles a Savage World human in the molecular level."
Mark closed his eyes.
When he uses Mask of the Savage, everything regarding him gets boosted to the level of Tier 3. That also included his Soul Sense.
If he used that Soul Sense, he could sense even the molecules. But Mark wasn't really a fan of that level of sensation. It made no sense to him.
Everything felt chaotic. As if he was trying to see into the very depths of reality.
If he had to transform Yuri into a Savage World human, he would have to study the humans of this world extensively. Rember their cellular structure.
That was too ti consuming.
Yuri sighed. "I know that's gonna take too much ti. Well, I do wish you had a ntal acuity boosting demonic trick. It would have been easy for you to study such matters then."
"Mm…" Mark grew thoughtful, eyes shining. "This might work," he mumbled.
"Don't worry, I have another idea to make it work," Yuri added. "It might be a bit more dangerous, though."
"Wait a mont," Mark said.
He had a feeling this might take more than a mont, though.
In a flourish of movent, he vanished and appeared in the Savage Island. He used his soul sense to wrap it around a random human. Then, he began to study the woman's cellular structure.
It was none other than Yasna and she was currently sleeping.
It was too complicated a task to study sothing at this deep of a level. The normal mind couldn't keep up.
If you don't have a ntal power boosting ability, growing stronger wouldn't make you smarter or more ntally capable.
But Markdidhave a ntal influencing ability. In fact, he had many.
But there was an issue.
In theory, he could use Heart Input to whisper thoughts into his own mind. He could manipulate himself to learn things he didn't know.
But he had a Resistance to Heart-type demonic tricks. So that wouldn't do.
Mark was an anomaly in that departnt. When he activates the Mask of the Savage trait, he would beco a Tier 3 level creature.
The Pinnacle Tier 2 demonic tricks he had in hand would beco Low-level Tier 3 demonic tricks.
When it ca to Demonic Tricks, they didn't have the Below-Low level, so they always rose from Pinnacle to Low!
But as the demonic trick is elevated to that level, so would his Resistance to his own Trick also elevate.
So, using Heart Input on himself to learn was an impossibility. But, Resistances didn't work against Ultimate Demonic Arts.
Can he use that weakness as a benefit?
Can he do sothing with his Ultimate Demonic Arts?
Can he mind manipulate himself to make his brain learn things quicker?
Reol'ran watched from a distance, filled with satisfaction. She had been wanting him to notice it himself, and now, hehadnoticed the hidden potential.
Mark focused and clearly examined the cellular structures of Yasna using his Soul Sense, and as he saw the chaotic patterns, he tried to morize it. But it was obviously too much information.
With a blink, he began to combine demonic tricks and create another Ultimate Demonic Art.
At the mont, he only had four Ultimate Demonic Arts.
Parasitic Dream Shock. An Art made using the combination of the demonic tricks, Parasite and Dream Shock. It could shock an enemy into their own dreams, from which even they wouldn't want to wake up from.
Heart Parasite. An Art made using the combination of the demonic tricks, Heart Input and Parasite. It could show Mark a target's emotional state at a given mont. If used on a target while he/she is dreaming, Mark can enter the dream, too.
Parasite of Heart and Dreams. An Art made using the demonic tricks, Heart Input, Parasite, and Dream Shock. It could be used to enter a target's dream like Heart Parasite. andalsocorrupt the dream with his own beliefs and logical refutations.
Then, he had Dream Input. An art made using the combination of Heart Input and Dream Shock.
Now, he was trying to do sothing he had never tried. He was going to use one of his demonic arts on himself.
It was a sudden impulse when he heard Yuri talk about ntal ability boosting powers. He had never tasted his own dicine.
He closed his eyes and used the Ultimate Demonic Art—Dream Input, on himself. He was going to enter his own dreams.
It was going to be a short adventure but he had a feeling he might gain sothing insightful.
He entered a dream.
***
Warning:Never touch this box. It will make you experience the utmost of all powers.
"What even is that warning supposed to an?" Little Mark laughed boyishly as he ran his fingers across the dark box. He said: "Isn't experiencing utmost power a good thing? My dad is always trying to climb the power ladder—at least, my mom says so."
"We are gonna be in big trouble if your mother or the maids catch wind of this," another young boy said, looking around nervously. "The last ti soone entered this treasury, they were executed. Like, you know, a big blade fell on their neck, and they died."
Mark shrugged. "They might kill you, but not . My mother can't sleep without being near."
"Are you going to open this box?" the boy asked, "it sounds ominous with that warning and all..."
"What did we sneak into this place for if we cower at the first thing?" Mark huffed softly, looking at the box with interest. Just whatwaspower?
What would happen if he opened the box and attained great power?
Taking the box into his hand, Mark licked his lips and tried to open it.
It didn't open.
"So tight!"
He used more effort but the frustrating thing still didn't open.
The other boy, who was a bit more muscular, grabbed it from Mark's hand and tried to open it himself. His face turned red in effort but the box never opened. His nails broke instead and started bleeding.
Mark snatched the box back. "I don't need muscles to open this."
"Maybe it's locked." The other boy's eyes darted around, he could ignore the pain in his hands due to the adrenaline of the break-in. "Look around, there is gold and so other expensive stuff around, let's take them and leave, Mark. I don't want to die. You also just want to run away from your helicopter parents, don't you?"
"Shut up beggar." Mark glared at the other boy. "I told you I would give you gold if you picked the lock for , and you did. As I promised, I will give you the gold, and we will be over. Don't pry into anything else. And don't worry, my parents are busy, nobody will catch you."
Dummass. So cowardly, Mark sneered inwardly.
He took the box into his hand and took a deep breath. He looked at it for a second and then opened his mouth, biting into the small slit in the box. He could feel the cover open ever so slightly. His tooth ached but he bit harder still.
"You are bleeding!" The other boy paled. "Your maids are obsessed with your health, your mother will find and kill !!"
The box snapped open.
Mark felt a hazy sense of blurriness.
He stared at the boy beside him calmly, and rubbed the blood off of his lips. Without even looking into the box's contents, he barked: "You are so irritating, I wish I didn't bring you here and brought your brother instead, he was calr than you."
Suddenly, the boy before him changed into a more mature version of himself.
Mark's eyes widened.
That cowardly lockpick's brother!
"Did you say sothing, young master?" The older boy looked around, much more nervous-looking than his younger brother had been. "Take what you want fast, let's run away. I don't want your mother catching us."
"I…" Mark gulped.
He was smart, he could guess what was going on.
I wish I had wings, he thought.
Two wings made of light appeared behind his back. He felt his heart tighten.
I can fly if I flap my wings.
"I—I wish my dead grandma wasn't dead, and ca in front of as young again!"
A stooped woman walked into the room out of nowhere, her eyes scanning the place. She appeared blank, dazed.
"Who are you?" Mark asked with feigned calm.
"Little Mark?" the woman asked weirdly.
"Grandma, you are… alive?"
"..." The woman stared at him with wide eyes.
Little Mark walked out of the room with spinning vision.
"I wish I was beside my mother."
Little Mark appeared beside his mother. She was drawing a painting of his own image on a plain canvas, but weirdly, it was ghostly and very uncanny. It weirded him out a lot. Not caring about it, he moved towards her and hugged her.
"Mom, what do I do?" he asked, tears pouring down his cheeks.
The mom turned to look at him with—not worried, but to his dismay, horrified eyes.
A second passed.
Little Mark looked away, frightened of the woman before him. "I wish I wasn't here but sowhere else without anybody else!"
The boy appeared amidst stars.
In outer space!
He could see his own planet shimring in the distance. It apparently didn't look like it did in drawn paintings that his mother drew, it was spinning too fast.
Before he could enjoy the show though, he felt breathlessness creep upon him, his skin festered, and all sorts of wild changes began going on within him.
A human wasn't ant to stand in outer space.
"I wish I didn't have any pain. I wish I get every issue healed inside ."
He beca painless. No pain, and even many of his little issues like the pain in his toes—which he had gained by hitting it against the table—vanished.
For a while, the boy stood silent, floating in outer space with wings that glimred.
He decided to test his omnipotence again.
"I wish that maid, who died protecting from kidnappers when I was littler, to be back with , alive," the boy said, and an unconscious woman appeared beside him, clad in a maid outfit.
He made her immune to issues like breathlessness with a command. She was unconscious, so he didn't try to wake her up. Instead, he wondered about his power. He was omnipotent, and he could do anything. This was…power.
"I wish I was immortal!" He said with a curious tone.
His body grew thinner, his eyes grew sharper, and for so reason, a black—nasty-slling—thing oozed out of him.
Mark frowned.
He didn't know if he had beco immortal.Had he?
"I wish I knew if I was an immortal or not," he said.
He suddenly knew. Yes, he was immortal. He couldn't be killed and he wouldn't die. And he was omnipotent.
He decided to give it another test.
"I wish I was invincible, with a lot of superpowers. Uh, that sounds boring."
But it still happened. He was invincible now.
"I wish I beca fiercely intelligent…"
"I wish…"
"I wish…"
Suddenly, the boy snapped his eyes open in the treasury with a deep breath. There was a dark box in his hand, and there was the young, lock-picker boy beside him.
Mark struggled to maintain his calm.
"You-you are bleeding!" The boy exclaid.
"Vanish," Mark shouted.
The boy stared at him weirdly.
"Die. Vanish. Go away!"
With worry etched on his face, the boy ran away and Mark slumped against the wall.
After a long ti, he muttered, "Nothing matters."
He simply opened the box in his hand and looked inside.
It was empty.
***
Mark's eyes snapped open in the real world, shimring like a golden ocean—full of uncalm waves.
It was a dream of a life he never lived. It was all imaginary. Just fiction.
But it shook him.
A dream.
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