Mind Eye, Mind Domain
[Mind Eye: See through falsehood and discover the truth. Resistance to illusions and mental attacks.]
"Seriously?"
Bruce was dumbfounded. He didn't expect to get a skill related to the mind domain again, and this time it was another defensive-type skill.
As expected, gifts or skills can manifest in various ways.
"I can't say I'm not surprised." He shook his head, wanting to laugh. "I was expecting a skill under the nature domain, preferably an offensive one. But hm, this is not too bad..."
Thanks to this brand new ability, he now had strong defensive measures for both his body and mind. It was definitely something to celebrate.
The first skill he had gotten, "Lower Regeneration", was an endurance-type ability that evolved to its more powerful variation "Lower Immunity" which can protect him against physical attacks.
Now, he acquired his fourth skill, which was "Mind Eye", a defensive-type ability that could protect his mind from psychic attacks and illusions. It was very useful for his current situation.
"With both of these skills, no one in the same realm can hurt me, much less defeat me."
He was a pre-evolutionary himself, so he was clear of the limits of his strength. Most evolvers in this realm usually just relied on their awakened abilities.
With "Lower Immunity" and "Mind Eye" he was safe from most of the attacks pre-evolutionaries would throw at him.
"Except for poison. I don't know if Lower Immunity will work against poison..."
Bruce was unsure, and he wasn't curious enough to try for himself. His current body had just died from poison, it was definitely impossible for him to experiment with poison.
He could only hope that no one would be insidious enough to use poison against him.
"It's getting late. I suppose its time to take a break and check these skills in the Cipher."
Bruce looked at the time on his watch. His original intention was to go to the Weapon Hall to see if he had any technique-related gifts.
Technique-related skills usually fall under the body domain, but it could be in any of the six domains.
He wanted to see if he could get an offensive skill for his fourth gift. The lack of offensive skills made him slightly unsatisfied.
Although Bruce liked to feel safe, nothing beats the feeling of having a skill that can just annihilate his opponents.
"Beggars can't be choosers, I guess. Besides... another defensive skill is always welcome!"
He rubbed his nose, comforting himself. Without wasting anymore time, he went down the Magic Tower.
***
The academy campus was nothing short of large. It had a lot of facilities and establishments outside of the main building to keep students satisfied.
He went to a lesser known facility in the campus and rented a private room for the entire day.
"Okay, doors locked. No cameras. Windows closed and everything safe and sound. It should be fine now."
To ensure his safety, Bruce went to extra lengths to make sure that nothing could endanger him while he was knocked out.
One can never be too careful.
Looking at the king-sized bed, he laid his body to rest and called out the system quietly.
A flickering blue screen appeared in front of him.
[The Infinite Cipher]
[Name: Bruce Ryker]
[Age: 16]
[Awakened Ability: Energy Extrasensitivity, Lower Immunity]
[Realm: Pre-evolutionary/Transcendent]
[Cipher Gifts: Time Dilation, Top-level Comprehension, Mind Eye, ???...]
"Enter the Cipher."
[...]
The screen flickered quietly.
Before he could react, an unstoppable force coming from within his body suddenly erupted and sucked his consciousness into the Cipher.
[Entering the Infinite Cipher...]
[Detected five gifts: Lower Immunity, Energy Extrasensitivity, Time Dilation, Top-level Comprehension, and Mind Eye.]
[Domains available to practice: Body Domain, Abstract Domain, Temporal Domain, and Mind Domain.]
Bruce opened his eyes and saw the large Rubik's cube. He looked at the system interface and chose which skill he wanted to practice.
[Choosing Top-level Comprehension...]
[Choosing Mind Domain...]
He didn't need to think twice about his choice. It was vital for him to master this skill as soon as possible to keep it.
For him, the most important skill among the four gifts he discovered was "Top-level comprehension" without a doubt.
He could not emphasize enough how important this skill was.
The Rubik's cube suddenly stopped rotating. The front side shone of a spotless, and pure white color with little white dots floating around like ashes.
If the green side was the Body Domain, then the white side was naturally the Mind Domain.
Like his previous attempt, the Rubik's cube didn't give him any warning and suddenly absorbed his consciousness.
Opening his eyes, Bruce was greeted by the sight of an endless white field. It stretched to an infinite distance, as though a world of oblivion.
The white floor and empty world made Bruce feel quite unnerved. Fortunately, he can exit whenever he wants to, unlike in the Body Domain.
At this moment, the Cipher transmitted the trial's information to him.
Bruce almost flinched from the sudden stream of information. He took a deep breath and reviewed the information of the trial in his mind.
... Thankfully, the trial wasn't as torturous as the previous one this time.
After a while, he got the gist of the rules and conditions for him to master the skill. The first stage was simple and straightforward.
[Stage 1 - Nothing, begets Everything].
He needed to create a technique from nothing. It can't be a technique from the outside, it must be made in the Mind Domain.
"This is simple enough."
Bruce nodded and closed his eyes. If he didn't have Top-level comprehension, he wouldn't have any confidence to pass the stage...
But fortunately, the Cipher didn't restrict the skills he chose to master. It meant he could use his top level comprehension to assist him in this stage.
The wind was calm, and no noise was made in the Mind Domain.
Bruce sat on the floor for what seemed like an eternity. He occasionally opened his eyes to observe the oblivion and closed it right after.
Gradually, a technique created from nothing was being formed in his mind...