Chapter 50: New Arcane Art

Richard quickly received the book, glancing at the title written on its cover.

(Mind Attack Arcane Art!)

"What is this?" he asked spontaneously, surprised by the words.

"As its name suggests, it attacks the mind. At its best, it can control the opponent’s thoughts if they cannot resist it. And if they can, they’ll still be forced to split their power, weakening their combat ability. This is an Arcane Art that requires intellect to master and doesn’t rely on any elemental affinity—only one’s mind, and everyone possesses that," Lilith explained.

"Something that shouldn’t exist except in my own hands," Richard said while nodding, as he began to understand the Arcane Art.

"Mm..." Both Sister Lisa and Lilith gave him an unblinking stare.

"Ehmmm..." He cleared his throat quickly, realizing how wrong his words had sounded.

"I mean our hands," he corrected himself with a wry smile.

He had spoken that way by accident, since in his opinion this was an Arcane Art far too dangerous.

After all, even if an enemy resisted its attack, they would still weaken by splitting their focus between fighting and defending their mind.

"Richard, I’ve always thought my man would be someone who harbors a selfish streak, since being kind—like I’ve done—only leads to being taken advantage of. But I think you’re a little too early in developing that trait," Lilith commented.

But her words only earned Richard a strange look from Lisa, which he immediately answered with a thin smile.

"That doesn’t apply to you, Lisa. Besides, even though my help to you has always been invaluable, the times you’ve helped me far outweigh mine," he said with a chuckle.

"To be honest, I really did hope to make use of you. When you were still a nobody—I mean, when you were just a discarded princess with no detectable talent—I, who accidentally discovered your identity, deliberately helped you in the hope that you might miraculously change your fate, reveal the true talent of a princess, grow strong, and then I would benefit from your power. It was a gamble that I happened to win. If I had lost, perhaps I would have cursed you instead."

Richard, "..."

He gave Lilith a strange look.

Princess? Is she a princess of the kingdom?

Still, he couldn’t be bothered to think too much about it.

The two women seemed to talk without restraint, but their friendship was clearly deep.

He began flipping through the book.

The first page contained a description, much as Lilith had explained, with the addition that for every 1% mastery gained, one could target one more person simultaneously. In other words, dividing the attack into two without diminishing its strength.

If mastered to 100%, one could transform the Mind Attack into a vast domain that assailed everyone within it.

It was somewhat unimaginable, yet the requirements were far too high.

Although mastering an Arcane Art to 100% was easier than a Codex, it was still extremely difficult.

Richard wasn’t sure if the System would grant him higher mastery if both his Codex and Arcane Arts were already above 90%.

After studying the description for a while, Richard flipped to the second page, beginning to absorb the book’s contents.

DING!

(You have obtained the Mind Attack Arcane Art!)

(Your mastery of Mind Attack has increased from 0% to 3%!)

[Arcane Art:

100 Shadow Monster (11%)

Lighting of Darkness (11%)

Mind Attack (3%)]

"What do you think? Is there a chance you can master it?" Lilith asked after he finished reading and pondering for a moment.

Richard stared at her blankly, then replied, "I need time to reflect. I can’t say right now."

"That’s fine. Just let me know if you ever manage to master it," Lilith said.

"You’d better not put too much hope into it," Richard replied.

"It’s not that I’m obsessed with mastering this Arcane Art, but I need it to save someone."

"Who?" Sister Lisa asked spontaneously, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Though Richard had only just met Lilith, he was also somewhat curious.

By his own reasoning, this Arcane Art could indeed be used to save someone. Any power could serve that purpose—like fire, which could help someone escape the cold. And this Arcane Art might help free someone from madness.

"Evan Moonshadow, Lady Rebecca’s half-brother. Evan’s mother was a Werewolf. Unexpectedly, Evan inherited the Alpha bloodline. Several accidents caused him to fail in returning to human form.

"The Alpha Bloodline, even for pure Werewolves, requires careful control so it doesn’t awaken before they reach a certain level. If it awakens prematurely, their power will skyrocket, but they’ll become a bloodthirsty wolf, slaughtering everything until their energy is spent.

"Evan, having a human father, has even worse control over the Alpha Bloodline, and now he cannot return to his human form.

"Before long, he will eventually lose control. His power will surge to terrifying levels, but she will also descend into madness.

"At present, the Moonshadow Clan keeps him imprisoned in their dungeon. But when Evan loses control, he might dig his way out from below. When that happens, even this city could be massacred.

"Do not underestimate the power of an Alpha. In this city, I fear that aside from Lady Rebecca, no one could survive."

Hearing all of this, both Richard and Sister Lisa fell silent.

Who would have thought that this city, which seemed so prosperous and peaceful, was actually overshadowed by such a terrifying catastrophe?

’Ohh, isn’t he my uncle?’ Richard thought.

"Is that what brought you back home?" Lisa asked.

"Yeahhh... I returned after receiving the news. In the end, I can’t bear the thought of this city—the place where I was cast aside and grew up—being destroyed. If the worst comes to pass, I still have another trick to handle it, though at a steep price. Who else would take on this problem? People from other provinces certainly won’t help, not even the kingdom itself. They’d all rejoice if the Moonshadow Clan were in trouble."

"What about Lady Rebecca? Do you think she can’t deal with it?"

"Hahaha, her..." Lilith suddenly laughed.

"I respect her incredible talent, because even during my time outside the kingdom, I only met one person whose talent truly matched hers. She really did inherit her ancestor’s legendary gift," Lilith said, pausing for breath before continuing, "but who doesn’t know her personality? In my view, she’d be the first to flee—as if she cares whether this city or her clan is destroyed. She has nothing but boundless ambition, consumed by the desire to obtain the World Magic Aether."

"..."