Psychic Parasite

Chapter 316: They are Terrifying!
”I-I can become someone like that?” Her mind exploded with thoughts and emotions. Amplified by the surrounding—under the effect of Deific Inference—air, sparks appeared around her, even surpassing the youthful-looking man for an instant.

Seeing the scene, he smiled, ”Of course.”

A minute later, when Ahera had cooled down, he continued, ”But, there are two obstacles you must face. One, the requirements for your breakthrough will be the highest among humanity. So, unless your preparations break human records in all aspects, every single time, you won’t be able to survive.”

It was like a bucket of cold water was poured on her head as Ahera pouted, tears welling up in her eyes. The youthful-looking man continued before she could cry, reining her attention to his words, ”The second would be to counter a certain Frenzy Beast that has recently surfaced.”

”Counter a Frenzy Beast that has recently surfaced? Why would that hinder my growth?” She proceeded with his train of thought, soon forgetting her need to cry. The youthful-looking man gave her enough time to think, trying to bring her as close to the answer as possible before he would explain the remainder.

She looked at the war happening beyond the walls, linking the information she had absorbed to date as she thought in silence, finally opening her mouth to show her conjecture, ”It has something to do with the Mental Realm?”

”Yes, you are absolutely right.” He nodded, ”The Mental Realm is a plane overlapping reality. As we always breakthrough within Marble City, the experience fragments we leave in the Mental Realm will mostly become Cogent Phrenics that stay here. These Cogent Phrenics are superior to those formed in other areas, as our experience fragments are superior.”

Ahera clapped in excitement, stating her thoughts, ”This also means if a Frenzy Beast were to breakthrough here, it would profit more. The experience fragments will also allow it to know and guard against humans better.”

”Yes,” The youthful-looking man nodded, ”And, this Frenzy Beast race precisely is trying to do that. That’s why they will be your number one threat.”

”But,” Ahera frowned, ”Won’t every Frenzy Beast race be a threat in that way? But, considering their inferior experience fragments, the Cogent Phrenics in our area won’t be interested in them. So, they can’t threaten us.”

”You are wrong in one place,” The youthful-looking man displayed a mild expression of fear, ”This Frenzy Beast only surfaced recently. We thought it was a product of the evolution of some other Frenzy Beast race, just that they had evolved too much so we couldn’t figure out their roots so quickly. But, it seems we had been deceived all along.”

”Deceived?”

”Yes, deceived.” He sighed in helplessness, ”Not just the humans, even the Frenzy Beasts had been deceived all along. They had been hidden right beneath our noses, watching every war we fought, ever since the dark ages.”

”The dark ages? From then? But how did they remain hidden from that long ago? And why did they start appearing only now?” Ahera blurted out in shock, failing to conceal her shrill voice. The youthful-looking man erected a barrier around them to prevent any leakage of information.

”They are a long-lived race, their requirements to achieve Tier 4 is…” He looked at his daughter, speaking with a bit of pain, ”the same as you.”

”You mean?” Ahera staggered, doubtful of the claim, unwilling to understand it for the time being. The youthful-looking man consoled her, sighing as he spoke, ”They are incredibly frightening. They possess a danger sense that hasn’t failed them even once. Even when Ancestor Marble made a move, he was unable to capture them. They fled long before he could even reach their area. It is just like precognition.”

”Who are they?” Ahera spoke, gritting her teeth, ”What are they called?”

”Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beast,” The youthful-looking man uttered each syllable with a solemn tone.

”Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beast…” Ahera muttered, clenching her hand into a fist, her thoughts focused on the name as she iterated it over and over again.

”Thanks to the brilliance of Ravis Macht, we recently managed to raid one of their homes using a team of Sky Controllers. We failed to capture any Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beasts, but we managed to learn a lot about them. They had been in hiding all along, only attempting a breakthrough when they were fully confident.” He glanced at the state of the unconscious lady.

As the sparks increased steadily, he continued, ”Their entire race only possesses eight Tier 5 beings and a couple hundred Tier 4 beings. There are only Espers in their midst. For some reason, they cannot create any Warriors. They were patiently hiding and waiting till now, when the time is ripe before they started showing themselves.”

”Why is the time ripe?” Ahera failed to think of any reason, feeling confused.

”The Saturation Point in the Mental Realm. We are approaching it. After some more decades, the Mental Realm would become saturated by the Cogent Phrenics. By then, breakthroughs will no longer be possible. The moment we end up there, we would be gobbled up by the Cogent Phrenics without being able to mount any resistance.” His hands shook a little.

He quickly suppressed his anxiety, ”And, considering the number of breakthroughs that happen in Marble City daily, we are conducting a Cleansement manoeuvre once every 3 years. The duration is continuing to shorten. And, our rich experience points are a massive treasure trove the Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beasts wish to obtain.”

”Remember that the Cogent Phrenics are attracted by superior experience fragments.” His shaking finally stopped, suppressed by his psychic energy.

”But, how can their experience fragments be superior to us?” Ahera inquired.

”Experience fragments are a condensation of our life’s experiences. The greater and nourishing our experiences are, the higher the quality of the experience fragments.” He looked at his daughter, patting her head once, ”Between the two of us, who has more experience? Who possesses higher quality experience fragments?”

”It is you, father.” Ahera nodded.

”And, why is that?”

”Because you’re stronger, and you’ve lived and witnessed more than me.”

”Yes,” The youthful-looking man nodded, ”All the Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beasts at Tier 4 and Tier 5 have been alive since the dark ages. Imagine what all they must have experienced. Compare it with any Tier 5 human, who do you think will possess higher quality experience fragments?”

”They,” Ahera replied, downcast.

”So, the Cogent Phrenics in and around our city would rush to them crazily. And, the Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beasts would probably make a move when we are closer to the Saturation Point.” The youthful-looking man sighed, ”Moreover, the Ethereal-Tailed Frenzy Beasts have been able to phase through all matter. We thought it was their Tier 4 Skill, judging by how their ethereal tails shortened upon each use. But, reality is more shocking.”

The sparks had become numerous enough to outshine the ambient light as he noticed the unconscious lady’s condition before speaking, ”They were Espers, and all they were using against us were their Traits. And, based on the clues we found in their base, they can possess more than one Trait. One of their Traits allows them to possess tough bodies, equivalent to Shifters upon maturity.”

He looked at Ahera, reading her mind, ”No, the Traits are not like the ones we possess. You know Frenzy Beasts can’t possess them. What they possess is similar to the Trait of the Floating Spiders or Lava Turtles or Spindle Bees or River Whales. Traits possessed since birth and those that evolve with their Tier. And they possess more than one. We were unable to estimate their limit.”

”They are...” Ahera took a couple of seconds to orient her thoughts before finding the necessary word, ”terrifying.”

”Yes,” The youthful-looking man sighed, ”If they were to produce an Ancestor, it would become a terrifying figure.”

On seeing that the sparks had turned lively, he deactivated his Unranked Skill, ”That is why their threat level is the highest among all Frenzy Beasts. To become an Ancestor, you would have to experience better instances than them and overwhelm them in the Mental Realm.”

”Ankh Light,” A hoarse voice was transmitted from the lady who regained consciousness. ”Just because you wish for your daughter to become stronger doesn’t mean you should pressure her like that.”

”Aren’t I right though?” The youthful-looking man, Ankh Light looked at the lady that remained still like a statue, ”Or, do you have a differing opinion, Madam Marble?”

”Yes,” Mila Marble replied, ”Even if they produce an Ancestor, it would need decades worth of time to grow stronger and even longer to understand and develop its Unranked Skill, should it possess one already. If not, using the enlightenment obtained from its breakthrough to Tier 6, it would need to conceptualise and carry out decades and decades of research before creating an Unranked Skill. This is not to mention comprehending it and deepening its power after that. They all take a lot of time, time that would no longer matter once we hit the Saturation Point in the Mental Realm.”

”Once that happens, our foundation is what would allow us to last longer. Humanity has maintained a solid foothold in this world since the stone age. Our accumulations have spanned eons, and our accumulations through the dark ages to the Dawn era have grown to a tremendous extent. Artifacts, Relics, Esper Knowledge, Warrior Skill development, Unranked Skills, development in the field of aura, mind, and soul. These are all our accumulations.”

Mila Marble snorted, ”And, what accumulations do you think a race that spent its life hiding have? Experience fragments stored in the Mental Realm? They don’t possess one. Relics? Artifacts? They don’t have them either. Traits are their advantage. And they are proving to be tough opponents, but that’s all. What is their foundation? Eight Sky Controllers and a couple hundred Ground Controllers.”

”Even if all the Ground Controllers become Sky Controllers while a Sky Controller becomes an Ancestor. What about after that? They cannot grow any further because of the Saturation Point in the Mental Realm and are stuck with a pitiful number of powerhouses. At the end of the day, they are troublesome only when hiding.”

”The moment they come into the open, they will be annihilated.” Mila Marble sat up, beckoning for Ahera Light to come forward.

The moment she did, Mila Marble patted her head once, ”Wisdom has been and will always be humanity’s greatest strength. Be wise, and you will trump all troubles.”

Ahera Light fell into thought, gaining enlightenment as her aura subtly changed. Mila Marble was astonished for a moment before she shot a loot at Ankh Light, seeing him smile with content, as if everything he said had borne fruit.

Suddenly, her head ached as she remembered something, spiking her aura as she activated her Unranked Skill. Psychic Ancestor Marble immediately materialised before her as the magenta figure, ”Thank goodness, you’ve woken up, Mila.”

”Grandpa, it was Warlord. I saw it flying towards the territory of the Spindle Bees. I swiftly escaped but its attack grazed me and put me in an unconscious state. We have to hurriedly mobilise our forces. The Spindle Bees are up to something.”