Psychokinetic Eyeball Pulling

Chapter 80: Trial 1/6

Astrid almost reached the top. Using precaution, she created a major image of a real person. It was Tennyson.

She created a smile from her memory as a warmth bubbled up within her.

Check if it’s safe for me, brother. Astrid said within her mind.

She controlled the image to move forward and over the mountain top. Although Astrid couldn’t see what the illusion could see, if that monster threw another boulder, it would be the illusion and not her.

The back of Tennyson disappeared. Astrid patiently waited for the illusion to break, but it didn’t happen. She controlled it to the edge of Psych Domain’s range, but even then it wandered freely. The monster either knew it was an illusion, or it still refused to attack.

She had the thought of luring an army of monsters here, but she doubted many would make it past the minefield. There was also a risk that the monster wouldn’t be able to distinguish her from the voidlings. If she ended up dying because of the pets that she brought, she wouldn’t be overly happy. She decided against gambling with her life.

There’s no other choice, is there? Astrid grinned and walked over to the edge of the mountain.

Astrid’s eyes widened. Large pillars surrounded a vast courtyard made of black tiles. In the middle of the courtyard stood a hulking giant made of rock. Massive boulders surrounded the monster.

Its head was shrouded in a black hood, although it was far too big to be called that. It was more like a blanket that covered a ballroom floor. The giant’s eyes that peered from behind the cloth reminded her of the void jewels that she had picked up from the cave before. Black cracks sprawled over the monster like thick pulsating veins. It remained unmoving.

Taking a deep breath, she bit down on her teeth and walked down the spiralling path. The countless number of bones on either side of the path made her shoulders tighten. That wasn’t even counting the thousands of remains still hidden underneath.

She stopped in front of the courtyard. With another breath, she stepped onto the raised platform.

Trial of the Void Progenitor has begun.

You can not escape, nor back out.

The trial ends when you have won or have died.

Astrid felt a raw force take hold of her body and lift her forward until her entire body was standing within the courtyard.

The giant’s slumped shoulders trembled, and its back straightened. Its eyes glowed an iridescent light as they peered at Astrid.

Level ?? - Void Golem: ???

She felt a sudden explosive energy pervade into her mind as she gazed into those colourful eyes. Then, the mana within her mind swirled and pushed back the invading energy. It was strange, but it felt like something had attached her eyes to a string, and that string was coming from the giant’s head.

Astrid followed that energy along the string and shot inside the monster’s head. She never used even a fraction of her mana, instead she counteracted the invading energy and used it to counterattack.

Mental Redirection had activated. It felt like her mind had calculated the weakness within the giant’s skill within a fraction of a second and ordered a counter-attack. This was the greatness that Goddess Iara or, well, the black blob had granted.

If humans had to rely on their own learning comprehension to understand and learn the skills, they would have long been wiped out. No matter the intellect, they needed a guide. But, the system wasn’t the be all and end all of skills. People had to put in work to improve upon the skills and achieve the milestone to evolve them.

The system was the guide, but the user was the hand that pushed it. Without a talented and hardworking user, the system would rot in misuse and weakness.

Astrid was expecting to enter the Mind Domain, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the giant’s head shook from side to side. It rumbled, then black liquid almost the consistency of jelly seeped from its eye sockets.

If it held the intelligence to use a mind attack, then that meant…

Astrid immediately took advantage of the giant’s rattled mind and with Mind Domain in her thoughts, her psychic mana latched onto the Golem’s brain. Instantly, she could sense the monster’s intelligence. It fought back against her mana with every inch of its mind’s power.

But this was Astrid’s specialty. With the added strength bonus of her newly evolved stage 2 Mind Domination. She attacked the cracks that were smashed into the giant’s mind from Mind Redirection.

The Golem attempted to resist. Astrid felt a weight bore down on her mind, but she wiggled her mana within the cracks. It was like a tributary river breaking off from the main source. Once some mana entered, the rest followed it like a dam.

The world changed. The previous courtyard vanished, replacing it with a never ending white.

How about I destroy you in your own home? Astrid recreated the courtyard with impeccable detail. Not a stone was left unturned. But something was there that she had no part of.

Further beyond the courtyard, an expansive palace exuded an aura that made her heart tremble. It had many intricate details engraved into the very foundations, and thick stone walls that comprised the palace. Just looking at the building, she could tell that it was ancient–almost primal. It made her blood boil, and the psychic mana within her head toiled like a tempest storm ready to breach the sky.

The entire building was a pitch black that eerily resembled the very void that comprised the world outside the Domain.

Astrid broke out of her reverie as the giant made its move. She snapped her hand forward and controlled the Giant’s matter. She commanded it to stop, but even with the bonuses of her skills, the Golem shrugged itself free.

Astrid screamed. Blood seeped from her nose as the giant hurtled towards her. Without waiting, she created a wide illusion surrounding her. Wayfarers, Seafarers, and the Humanity Corps all flashed into existence. They moved around, and so did Astrid.

But the Giant moved straight for her, it crushed all the illusions. Its lips turned upward, as if mocking her feeble attempt.

Damn you. Astrid scowled.

She gathered enormous clusters of matter and [Crashed] them. It rocked the Golem side-to-side as it barely maintained its balance.

It was in front of her. A hammer, made of energy, grew from the inhuman constructs hands and smashed it down towards the Sinwen.

Astrid [Crashed] the matter next to her, shooting her body to the side and dodging the mighty hammer. It slammed against the stone tiles. The sheer force exploded the tiles as stone and dirt shot outward like shrapnel.

Astrid connected to the many boulders around the battlefield and threw them at the Golem with no remorse. Thankfully, unlike trying to control the Golem, it was easy. The weight wasn’t an issue as they fired through the air like ballistic missiles.

They collided against the Golem, and finally fell the enormous stone statue. Astrid immediately connected to hundreds of the boulders. As they landed on the Golem, more formed from her imagination. They were all made of Voidbent metal as they bore down on the giant.

Astrid wanted to create a graveyard, with the Golem as the corpse.

A sudden surge of chaotic mana rampaged through the air. An iridescent light shone within her Domain as the Golem was its source. Two beams of multi-coloured light shot into the sky.

She watched as the dual beam of light crashed against her Mind Domain, and threatened to destroy it completely.

An intense pain throttled her mind. It felt like a hot brand was being pressed against her brain. Astrid gritted her teeth so hard they creaked under the pressure. Spittle ejected from her mouth as she fought against the beams of light.

They destroyed the Domain piece-by-piece, but Astrid resisted. Every second she repaired the Domain, funnelling more and more mana into her skill.

Her resistance weakened, and the beam of raw psychic mana stripped through her Domain. Piercing it like a piece of paper.

Astrid screamed. Using Psychokinesis, she gathered all the mana potions and began devouring them. Just like a voidling at the sight of a potential meal. Her eyes, marred in desperation, guzzled down the mana potions as if they were water.

She controlled the mana from her container and shot it into her mind like an overpowering stimulant. Blue liquid dripped from the corners of her mouth and her eyes turned bloodshot.

Astrid repaired her Mind Domain as the light from the Golem’s eyes dwindled. The once vibrant colours turned muted and dull until they receded back into its skull.

She wanted nothing more than to rip the Golem into pieces. Astrid connected to a mass of boulders and hurtled them high into the air. Blasting the matter behind her, she launched herself into the air. She levitated above the monster as it looked back at her with emotionless eyes.

Astrid opened her palm and thrusted it forward. The boulders followed and slammed into the Golem, one after the other. Then, the last one crushed its skull.

An explosion from where its head used to be sent the boulders scattering. With the notification of the Golem’s demise, she was about to return into the dungeon, but her eyes remained on the palace. It wasn’t her that created it, so then what was it?

A strange connection was pulling her forward. It was a sense of familiarity. It was just like whenever she returned from her Wayfaring missions and gazed up at the Sinwen manor.

She walked forward, but quickly quelled her curiosity. With the current mana in her container threatening to break it open, it was actually helping her to keep the Mind Domain open. And thanks to the Golem, there wasn’t an enemy in sight within this place.

You have defeated a Void Golem - level 99

You have defeated a Voidling Goblin - level 64

You have defeated a Voidling Insect - level 54

…

You have levelled up!