Mind Demon's Path of Domination

Reol'ran brought Mark along to another part of the island. It was silent here, a cool breeze rustling Dona's hair. Other than the trio, there were also other creatures near them, silently looking towards Mark.

The Boss Demon and the Minotaur.

Reol'ran pointed at the Boss Demon.

"I want you to think of a fight. You, against the Boss. Who do you think will win?"

Mark frowned, thinking. The Boss was not your average Middle Demon. It was a Dungeon Demon, and it had five incredibly useful demonic tricks.

Dungeon Creation and Demon Summoning that all Dungeon Demons had aside—which was useful nonetheless—the Boss had three incredibly unique demonic tricks. Tricks that even Mark himself coveted.

One, Phantom Transformation. It could turn phantom-like; once it does, no ability would work on it—everything will just pass through it as if its body were just a figment of light.

Two, Phantom Ball of Dizziness. It could create a small ball of Dizziness that can turn anyone that the Ball touches dazed. But this ball attack was incredibly slow.

And third, Phantom Speed. This ability allowed the Boss to move like a phantom across the battlefield, it was incredibly quick to the point even Mark would be caught in a chase. It was faster than him on land by a very high margin.

Of course, a chase in the sky would be different since it didn't have wings and he did.

And then, it had its Ultimate Demonic Art.

Phantom Speed Ball of Dizziness.

The Phantom Ball of Dizziness which was slow and hard to hit would turn incredibly fast and would home in on its enemies, but that was not the scary part. Normal defensive abilities won't even be able to defend against it because the Ball was phantom too.

It will hit you, and if it does, you will become dazed.

The Boss was indeed strong.

"Think of yourself fighting against it at its full potential," Reol'ran said. "It is coming against you, ready to kill you in cold blood. Your instincts are running wild and both of you know: only one of you will leave the battlefield alive. Who will win?"

Mark smiled. "In a life or death battle, I'll win against it."

"Don't be cocky." Reol'ran leveled her amethyst gaze at him. "Why do you say that you will win?"

Mark shrugged. "I have a nearly inexhaustible source of Mindpower, I can just spam it with my Ultimate Demonic Art, and at some point, it will tire out and I will win. It is not sentient, and I am sentient; I can plan ahead. In the worst-case scenario, I can use Clown's Circus to pause it in time and I can then end it efficiently."

Reol'ran nodded. "I think you will win against it, too."

She brought her face close to him, her lips almost mere inches away. He knew she was urging him, testing his resolve to become stronger. Would he fall into his lust in this important teaching moment? Would he focus?

She wanted to know.

"Do you think Clown's Circus is invincible?" she asked.

A sweet scent drifted into his nose. The scent of this elegant woman's soul.

"I don't think anything I have is invincible," he said. "If it was, I wouldn't be so weak."

"True. You are not invincible, you are weak. You have the required humility to understand that you are weak, too." She nodded. "Yet, There is that bit of arrogance in you that I can see through easily."

Mark didn't hold himself back anymore and leaned down, trying to kiss her.

She teleported behind him and gave an elegant chop to his head.

"Indeed, as I expected, you are not the kind of man to hold his own heart back. You know what you want, and will go behind it without any remorse. But when it is time, you should also learn to restrain it. Restrain is an important skill."

Her chop didn't hurt, but he felt a sense of incredible precision. It was a precise chop, a chop he couldn't have dodged no matter how he moved. She was reading him like a book.

"So, back to my earlier question. Clown's Circus, yes, it is almost invincible in your case. While it is active, no Tier 2 creature will ever be able to fight back against you. And even Tier 3, if you know when to use it, rarely anyone could threaten you."

Mark nodded, thoughtful, then cupped his fist. "I've always wondered, Teacher. Why is it that defensive demonic tricks do not work against Clown's Circus? Even if they use all sorts of shields, when I turn on Clown's Circus, they just… stop."

Reol'ran smiled at the way of address. "A good question. Tell me, how many times can you use Clown's Circus a day?"

"Once. If I use it now, I can only use it 24 hours from now. And even now, it won't last forever, after 30 seconds, it will stop working."

"And why is it like that?"

Mark answered calmly. "Because that demonic trick doesn't use Mindpower to function but some other power. And to reacummulate the needed power to cast Clown's Circus once more, it takes exactly 24 hours."

Reol'ran nodded, satisfied. "Yes, it is a power related to time. So, it requires 24 hours to complete its recharge. Time is its energy. Now, back to your question. Tell me, why don't defensive demonic tricks work against Clown's Circus?"

Mark's face turned weird. It was simple once he thought of it.

"Is it because… Mindpower-based defensive demonic tricks are designed to defend against Mindpower attacks, and not this... Time power attacks?"

His teacher nodded.

"Indeed. There might be other defensive Tricks out there that can even defend against time but I don't think any Middle Demon you encounter will have it. Thus, against Middle Demons, Clown's Circus, when it is active, is indeed invincible. Even Upper Demons, well, no need to talk about that now."

Mark nodded. "So, then, am I not going to be winning all the matches in a Battle Royale as long as I only play one game a day?"

"Of course, then, people are going to see such a unique demonic trick, and I bet they will not grow greedy." Reol'ran smiled.

"Well, I don't plan to do it but I was thinking about it. You know?"

"Okay, that's enough." Reol'ran gave another chop on his head from nowhere. "Now, I will tell you something. No matter what, don't reveal Clown's Circus unless there is no other way out. Second, you can't show that you have inexhaustible Mindpower to the public either since World Cores are very, very valuable and a Middle Demon owning that will cause chaos."

Mark stayed silent this time. If he didn't use both of those, he wouldn't particularly stand out in a Battle Royale—his chance of victory was slim.

"Now, tell me, Mark. If you didn't use your inexhaustible Mindpower and Clown's Circus, will you win against the Boss Demon?"

Mark frowned.

Now, that was a question.

The only other Tricks he could put his trust in were: Heart Input, Dream Shock, Parasite, and Alchemic Shapeshifting. Can he win against the Boss with only that?

Since the Boss has a Mental Resistance to Pinnacle Tier 2, Heart Input and Dream Shock wouldn't work on it. Even if he had Parasite, he wouldn't become invincible against it. The only thing he had that could tip the scales was Alchemic Shapeshifting.

"You are not sure of your chances, are you?"

Mark cleared his throat. "My defenses suck. Without Clown's Circus, I don't have any good defense. Parasite is good but it's not a very convenient defensive mechanism once the Host dies. So, I say, if I fight the Boss without my inexhaustible Mindpower and Clown's Circus, the chances are fifty-fifty."

Reol'ran gave his head another chop.

"Now, think. Even revealing Alchemic Shapeshifting is risky, and if we let that be. If you enter some Battle Royale and only the last man survives—which is usually how it goes in the Demon World—will you survive?" Reol'ran asked. "Without revealing your inexhaustible Mindpower and Clown's CIrcus, can you fight more than three battles a day, what will you defend yourself with?"

"My defenses suck, I know that. So what can I do?"

Reol'ran smiled. "Indeed. Now, tell me. What can you do?"

She didn't give him straight answers but led him towards it. She had started talking in parables, but why? To make him use his brain?

"Do I have to find a way to gain a new defensive ability?"

Chop.

Reol'ran said, "You don't only suck in defense. What about your healing abilities? There will be demons out there who could heal, and you don't have any. What will you do?"

"Get two abilities? One healing and one defense?"

Chop.

"Aren't you quite clever, think of a way. There is a way you can remove most of your weaknesses without gaining any new abilities!"

Annoyed, Mark said, "Maybe by kiss…"

Chop.

Mark caught her hand. "I haven't said anything."

"I know what you were about to say. So, have you figured it out?"

"Yes. It is Alchemic Shapeshifting, isn't it?"

He had already thought of it long ago.

"I understand that Alchemic Shapeshifting can be used as a Healing Method," he muttered, not letting go of her hand.

He had healed Yuri's color blindness with Alchemic Shapeshifting.

So, can't he cure anything with it?

If his hand was blown away, touch himself and change his body shape to gain a new hand. He knew how his anatomy worked inside out, so can't he heal himself non-stop? No matter what wound he got: Touch, go back to normal shape, and heal.

If he lost his kidney and also lost his body mass due to that, no issue. Turn a stone into a kidney and use Alchemic Shapeshifting to transplant it back into him. As long as his system of life was complete, he wouldn't die.

He could heal himself as much as he wanted since even his Mindpower wouldn't end easily.

"I can understand how using Alchemy Shapeshifting as my Healing Ability and Attack Ability at the same time would work. But what about Defense? How can Alchemic Shapeshifting be used to defend myself?"

He couldn't turn the ground into a mudwall, that was too weak. Even putting a building between him wouldn't be enough.

Reol'ran said calmly, "If you can use Alchemic Shapeshifting to its full potential, you will be deadly. It is an ability that is truly mindblowing. Even if someone traded Clown's Circus for it, I wouldn't trade."

"..."

"Don't let it go to waste, Mark. You couldn't perfect your skill in the Hunter World in between all those schemes and turmoil, but here, you can become a sharp blade. And I will be your blacksmith."