Pinnacle (1/2)

Mark and Dona were by the river, and they were both drinking from the dark waters. It had a profound effect on their body and mind, and as it reached their bellies, their exhaustions began to vanish. It was such a nice and profound feeling.

Almost as if they had slept and woke up. Almost. It made their dried-up mental and physical stats full again.

But after they reached their limits, no matter how much they drank, nothing happened other than their thirst getting sated. It didn't increase their limits.

Mark spat out a globe of water and breathed out. It was no wonder Dona was so clean and good smelling—this river had a sort of cleaning effect that removed unwanted things from their bodies. He guessed that even poisons might be cleansed with this.

No wonder the woman was so clean.

"But this is ever-the-more eery now…" 

Such good things won't be allowed to be used by fodders like themselves. Strong creatures would settle here, and powerless creatures wouldn't even dare to approach these areas. But it was so empty in the morning. 

Why would that be?

It must be due to… that portal!

The one he had seen at night.

Mark washed away the last bit of blood from his face and stood up. Dona was still drinking by his side, even though she was not that exhausted. 

She rarely dared to come here, and since she had come, she wanted to be greedy.

"But all the snakes are gone, and now only that Demonic Yak remains for us to kill." All of the other demons were so strong that he couldn't read their stats or had gone into the portal yesterday night.

He didn't want to mess with the strong ones. A philosophy that he had decided to follow now was to bully the weak and ignore the strong.

With a thought, he sat up and relaxed. 

The violet screen popped before him.

***

[𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐮𝐢𝐥 𝐕é𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢ú𝐬 𝐍ó𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧â 𝐀ë𝐫𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐫]

[𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝟎—𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠]

[𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞: 0.4]

[Mind: 6.4]

[Resistances: Mental Resistance (Medium), Heart Resistance (High)]

[𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: Ephemeral Dungeon Heart Demonic Bloodline]

[Demonic Tricks: 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐫. Dungeon Heart Seed, Heart Input (Medium), Dream Shock (Medium)]

[𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬: 12]

***

When his Mind reached (3), his Mental Resistance became (Low). When his Mind reached (6), it became Medium. His Demonic Tricks were the same, too, but they started at (Low). They only turned (Medium) when his Mind stat reached (6).

Mark knew that all his demonic tricks were mostly based on his Mind stat. He had a feeling that if he had a Low-level demonic trick that worked using his physical body, then, to make it (Medium), he would need to increase his Physical Stat instead.

Smiling to himself, Mark contemplated. 

By now, he had quite an understanding of this interface. Increasing the 'Physique' made his body stronger and more flexible. Increased his stamina and his overall physical wellness. It even made his skin tougher.

The 'Mind' stat was more complex. Increasing it made controlling his own body easier. With his current strength, he could totally fight a bear barehanded. But all that strength was incredibly well controlled.

Mind stat was also the stat that surprisingly maintained his motor functions. Even his instinct and reaction speed were based on it. It was all easily noticeable with every increased point he gave to his Mind.

Then, there was also the fact that the 'Mind' was used as the fuel to perform demonic tricks related to the mind. 

Of course, he still didn't know if there were any physical type demonic tricks out there but the fact that Minotaurs existed made him expect that. 

Finally, improving the Mind stat also made his senses more vivid.

Now came the question. He had (12) points in his hand now. 

What should he improve?

It was the first time that Mark had so many unused Soul Spheres remaining to use on himself. And he contemplated where to use it. For one, he had a hunch that something would change if he reached (10) in Mind. 

Preparing himself mentally, he looked around for a second and, with a deep breath, used '2.6' on Mind. A copious amount of cold energy burst within his head, and it began to ruthlessly mesh into his every part. A vibrancy thrashed inside him.

He wanted to jump. Cry out loud in bliss. Jump in the meadows and laugh.

The attribute flickered and changed.

[Mind: 9]

[Mental Resistance (Tier 0): Medium —> High]

[Heart Resistance (Tier 0): High —> Pinnacle.]

Mark looked at Dona, who was about 2 meters away from him.

Water trickled down her forehead, bend around her pebent nose, slid below to her lips and then traced a, path down her jaws. And it fell down to the ground and splattered into small droplets before fusing with the dark ground. 

Exquisite.

His senses were… sharp. They were vivid. 

The smell of sulfur mingled with the smell of wet mud around the river and it all pierced into one's nose like a divine invader. It was even more exquisite.

"Indeed," he muttered contemplatively.

Indeed 3, 6, and 9 were checkpoints. 30%, 60%, and 90%.

With a thought, Mark added one more point to his Mind. It became 10.

He grew incredibly silent. 

Mark could hear his own heartbeat for a tiny second before his brain began to ignore it by itself.

It toned down the internal and focused on the externals.

…

Mark breathed out some trapped air from his mouth.

It was like a whole bunch of senses mixed and conflicted within him, and an acute pain sizzled in between his forehead. 

The forest around him was too crisp. The dull reflected light of the sun was flaring near-blinding brightness. Mark felt even the grainish texture of the mud beneath him. He could taste the remnants of the snake meat he had snacked on yesterday. 

Most importantly, he could feel his mind somehow chaotically projecting his surroundings into his mind like broken pictures.

Having reached (10) had indeed changed him somehow. Fundamentally so.

"Is this what happens to a living being if their mind becomes sharp to this degree?" he asked mutedly. More to himself than to any other.

He closed his golden eyes and let out a breath.