Chapter 13: Mental Influence

While Kyrell doesn't know the full extent of Melissa's power, he is sure that she is not weak. She definitely would not be any weaker than the Serpent Death Guards protecting him from the dark.

She was one of Kyrell's source of confidence. Even if in the off chance, an evil cultivator decided to target him, with the strong Melissa at her side, he would definitely still be safe.

"I am just a weak woman, please don't put pressure on me" Melissa joked and Kyrell just shook his head in reply.

"Sir, here is your blueberry cheesecake"

Aside from the iced tea, Kyrell also ordered a slice of blueberry cheesecake to pass time. He turned his head to the waitress and he gave her a smile. With his charming and youthful face, it was certainly more than enough to make women wet.

"Thank you" he said gently and the cheeks of the waitress blushed. She even stared at him for a few seconds as if she wanted to burn his image into her mind.

The long stare put Kyrell in an awkward position. He is aware of his handsome looks but isn't it still too much to be stared at in broad daylight?

"E-ehem... miss, I think the other customers are waiting for you" Kyrell said while scratching his cheeks and that seemed to have brought the waitress back to reality

"A-ah, y-yes! T-thank you, s-sir! E-enjoy your m-meal!" The waitress said before hurriedly running away as if she was embarrassed by what she did.

—-

"Young Master, 'they' have purchased the ingredients as requested but they are too bulky. We should wait here and have just one of 'them' get back to the clan to have some servants bring the goods back and 'they' can continue protecting you" Melissa reported.

Kyrell doesn't know how but it seems like Melissa and the Serpent Death Guard has a way to secretly send messages to each other but he didn't bother asking.

"No need, have them take the ingredients back to the clan. Let's go, I can't wait to try making a potion"

As he said that, Kyrell stood up from his seat and Melissa could only follow him. They soon arrived outside of the mall.

"Young Master, did you forget that we brought a car?"

"I didn't. I just want to take the city view and walk back to the clan"

"You are being contradicting, Young Master, I thought you couldn't wait to get back?"

"You talk too much"

With a helpless sigh, Melissa followed the youth and it didn't take that long before a frown appeared on her face.

"Young Master, this doesn't seem to be the path back to the clan" she said while surveying their surroundings.

The two of them are entering a rather secluded alley and Melissa has a bad feeling about this. Why would her Young Master suddenly enter such a remote alley?

"I am the Young Master, just listen to me" Kyrell said with a sharp tone as his footsteps quicken. If at this time, Melissa still didn't realize that something was wrong, she would be too incompetent.

"Guards!" She called out and two men clothed in black cloaks that hid their features suddenly appeared in front of Kyrell.

[Ding! Detecting abnormal brainwaves due to external factors. Does the host want the nanobots to release electric current and stimulate the host's nerves to regain normal brain activity?]

[Detecting no response from the host. The nanobots will automatically interfere if there is no response in 60 seconds]

[Count down starting; 60... 50... 30... 10... 5... 3... 1]

[No response from the host in the given timeframe. The nanobots will now shock the host's nervous system in an attempt to regain normal brain activity]

Zap!!

Suddenly, Kyrell's body shook as he was electrocuted by the nanobots living inside his body. The electric shock targeted his nervous system, especially the ones in his brain.

With Zero, the precision of the electrical shock was just enough for him to regain control and free himself from the influence of whatever sorcery was used on him without leaving any harmful side effects.

"When? Since when was I under a mental control influence?" Kyrell thought with a shudder before hurriedly surveying his surroundings and his pupils dilated.

Around him, forming a triangular formation were Melissa and two Serpent Death Guards. They were currently in a battle with over seven evil cultivators, clearly outnumbered.

"Damn it! I was actually targeted by these evil cultivators. Why?!"

Kyrell wiped the sweat on his forehead. Fear sprouting in his heart. He thought that he already had a great understanding of the dangers of the cultivation world but this experience told him how ignorant he was.

Being cautious alone is not enough to guarantee safety. What more if he was careless enough to send his Serpent Death Guards away?

"But... since when? When did I fall victim to mental manipulation? Even if cultivators in this world are strong, if the enemy is just a Genetic Awakener Realm or even a Genetic Strenghtener Realm, their abilities are not enough to influence anyone without direct contact"

"If a Spirit Nourisher cultivator decided to target me, I'm afraid, I wouldn't be alive now. So how... how did I fall victim?"

While Kyrell was thinking, he also retrieved daggers from his pouch, ready to defend himself when needed.

"I don't recall having contact with many people today... wait, that waitress! That waitress stared at me for a few seconds. One of the easiest ways to use a skill that influences the mind is through eye contact! Damn it!"

Kyrell can't help but curse. Who would have expected that a seemingly random waitress would actually turn out to be a terrifying cultivator?

Melissa and the two Serpent Death Guards were still guarding him back then but they failed to detect that the waitress was already planting a mental influence on him.

That woman is definitely at least a Genetic Strengthener Cultivator and quite a strong one at that!

"Young Master?" Melissa called out, seemingly on guard against Kyrell which was to be expected.

They are already outnumbered, if Kyrell decided to attack them too, the situation would become even more dangerous. It's not that Kyrell was strong enough to even leave a scratch on them.

It is because Kyrell is the person they must protect at all costs. They cannot afford to harm him.

"Don't worry, I am alright now, focus on the battle!" Kyrell said since right now, he can only rely on them to protect him.

Hearing his reply, Melissa was relieved and she continued to face the assailants.

"Kekeke, you should just be a cute little lamb and come with us. Our boss is quite interested with the Young Master" one of the evil cultivators said while licking his knife.

"Don't even think of harming my Young Master!" Melissa said coldly and she threw the thin needles placed in the gaps of her fingers at the enemy.

These needles were subtly glowing with a blue color, clearly coated with mana. Even a steel plate would be fully penetrated by it.

"Hehe, that is not up to you to decide" yet another evil cultivator said while stepping out.

He placed his hands in front of him as he gathered mana at his palms before slamming them on the ground.

"[Martial Skill: Mana Wall!]"

A wall of transparent blue mana was erected and they were able to effectively block the needles before shattering into pieces.

"Heh... it seems you are quite a powerful Genetic Strengthener Cultivator" the evil cultivator commented after his mana wall shattered.

In this world, there are also Martial Skills that do not require a Martial Technique to be learned. Martial Techniques in a sense are for sword skills, dagger skills, palm skills, etc.

They are techniques to use certain weapons or body parts to bring out great power that is even comparable to weaker Martial Skills even though they are just 'basic attacks'.

If for example, a normal sword slash deals 1 point of damage then a normal sword slash using a Martial Technique can deal 1.5 points of damage.

The [Mana Wall] is a basic defensive Martial Skill in the world and they are widely used by many. Even a great cultivator in the Spirit Nourisher realm also uses it.

After all, in this world, just because something is basic and widespread does not always mean that they are weak. It might be that they are just too practical to use.

"Protect the Young Master!" Melissa said seriously as her figure seemingly suddenly vanished. She moved so fast that in no time, she was already in front of one of the evil cultivators.

"Die!" She shouted fiercely while throwing out a punch. Her punch was so powerful that it threw the evil cultivator in the air while coughing out blood.

"This woman! Be careful!" An evil cultivator warned as he placed his hands in front of him with his fingers forming a triangular position while gathering mana to launch an attack