Chapter 41: Twisted Mana

"True Dragon Excellency, I must admit, your innate talent for Psychic Ability is the most outstanding I have ever seen; in such a short time you can wield creative abilities with such mastery."

Inside the Psionic Tower, Gode said admiringly to Naimi Xisi.

These past days, he personally witnessed this dragon materialize from nothing, effortlessly mastering all of its creative abilities, as if it were an embodiment of Mana.

Realizing his heretical thoughts, Gode quickly closed his eyes and prayed to the deities for forgiveness of his sins.

There is only one embodiment of Mana: Yi Er Wa Shi, the God of Mind Flayer, the God of Mana, the final refuge of myriad Mana beings.

"In the distant realm…" Gode's prayer was interrupted as the silver dragon bade him farewell.

"Thank you for your selfless sharing, but I must leave; I have already wasted too much time here."

Naimi Xisi felt his evolution approaching; he needed to return to his nest to devour a great number of magical gems and Cold Iron, accelerating the process.

In fact, the black dragon had left long before him, without even a greeting.

But Gode stopped him again.

"Oh, right. Look at my mind—once I enter an academic exchange, I become completely absent‑minded."

Gode patted his own head, speaking a bit embarrassed.

He then looked at Naimi Xisi, a strange glint in his eyes, and said, "Before you go, why not come with me to the top floor of the Psionic Tower for a look?"

"There lies the most precious treasure of the Mind Flayer clan there," Gode said, his face mysterious.

Naimi Xisi was curious; a treasure cherished by the Mind Flayer must be a powerful Mana item—why hadn't the opponent used it on the battlefield? Could it be a support‑type artifact? True Dragon found it odd, but he instinctively heightened his vigilance, even when facing the Gray Dwarf he had grown very familiar with over the past days.

Spell glimmers flickered continuously—Bear's Tenacity, Ox's Strength, Cat's Grace—six major enhancement spells of the Second Circle Transformation system temporarily raised each of his six dimensional attributes by four points.

If the duration of this spell series weren't limited to ten minutes, his first act upon waking each day would be to cast the entire series on himself.

Gode walked to the center of the hall, where many strange mysterious runes were etched on the floor; he twisted a switch, and instantly five teleportation portals appeared around the floor.

Each bore the Mind Flayer language labeling: Second Level, Third Level, Fourth Level, Fifth Level, Sixth Level.

Gode entered the portal marked Sixth Level, and Naimi Xisi followed closely behind.

What met their eyes was a vast, open space; at the center of the hall stood a bronze‑colored obelisk.

Naimi Xisi surveyed the surroundings and found the interior seemed at least three times larger than it appeared from outside.

"It must be a powerful creative ability that has expanded the space here."

The empty hall contained nothing but the odd obelisk; True Dragon turned his gaze toward the sole object of presence.

A bizarre brain and tentacle‑like reliefs crowded the base of the obelisk; its front bore a nearly one‑foot hollow in which a red energy sphere floated.

A hint of dread flashed in Naimi Xisi's eyes; that evil Mana sensation resurfaced, emanating from the obelisk.

"This Mana… feels a bit off," Naimi Xisi said.

Gode smiled and replied, "What seems off?"

"This is genuine Mana, derived from Yi Er Wa Shi's great power, a distant gift."

Naimi Xisi's hair stood on end; just now he was shocked to see Gode's mouth vanish as he spoke the latter half, leaving only a vague attempt at speech he could not discern.

"What is this place a gift of?" Naimi Xisi took a slight step back, feeling something amiss.

This eerie sensation differed from immediate danger; it was an unknown feeling that made his skin crawl. Gode raised an eyebrow, seemingly puzzled why the other repeated himself, yet he answered.

"It is a distant gift."

Naimi Xisi widened his eyes again; he could not perceive any mysterious force intervening, as the other's mouth turned blank and vanished the moment that word was spoken.

Gode, seeing his odd reaction, suddenly understood and patted his own head.

"Look at my memory—I forgot, you have not yet received the blessing of our great lord, Yi Er Wa Shi, so how could you know of the distant existence?"

"What on earth are you saying? Do you realize that when you utter that word, your mouth disappears?"

Naimi Xisi was now completely bewildered; he babbled nonsense to distract Gode while retreating toward the rear portal.

But after a few steps back, he did not return to the hall; he turned oddly and found the portal he had entered through had vanished.

He inhaled deeply, stared coldly at Gode, and his entire body's magical power began to surge.

"Gray Dwarf, stop playing these pretentious tricks on me; I have no interest in worshipping your damn god. In fact, if I were interested, I would follow the god of knowledge, Omega."

"Open! the! teleport! portal! Otherwise I'll tear this tower down and grind you into mush to feed my subordinates."

Naimi Xisi threatened word for word.

The voice of the mind suddenly rang out: "Master, that Mana's density is extremely high, not the same tier as ordinary Mana; you must be careful, I can sense it can affect your intellect."

Naimi Xisi's heart tightened; protected by Mind Power, he had always influenced others' minds, and no one could control his own spirit.

But according to the mind's meaning, that Mana could break through Mind Power's protection—so bizarre it could affect him? "What does that mean? Can that Mana control me?" Naimi Xisi asked.

"No, no Mana can breach the guard of Mind Power, but the force behind that Mana is very strange."

At this point, the mind itself hesitated a bit.

"Twisted, absurd, mad—that Mana cannot control you, but it will affect you, driving you to the same kind of mental breakdown as that power."

Hearing this, his dragon claw, already charged with massive Mana, swung fiercely at the wall.

Flames and lightning, wrapped in huge energy, slammed into the wall, producing a massive explosion and billowing thick smoke.

But the seemingly fragile wall was unaffected.

Gode, with a strange smile, said, "Don't waste your effort; the Sixth Level wall, floor, even ceiling are built with materials meeting the Mage Tower demolition‑room standards."

"What do you intend to do?"

Naimi Xisi, while questioning, covertly activated his teleportation ability, only to discover the surrounding space was also sealed.

"Let you witness the greatness of Mana, become a servant of my lord, mighty True Dragon; you shall obtain power far beyond mortal beings!"

Gode, with a fanatical expression, said, "I see your potential; your talent for Mana is so rare, you have no concept—only you could wield a power that fools like me cannot grasp."

He gazed at the obelisk, his eyes hazy: "What a wonderful power, yet unattainable, but I sense the great lord's yearning for you; you won't be like that useless black dragon, you will endure the baptism!"

The next moment, a massive adolescent black dragon suddenly teleported into the hall; her eyes turned a maddening crimson, and upon seeing Naimi Xisi, she let out a thunderous roar.

"I! am the Corrosion Tide! The heavenly disaster of all things—Sgena!!"

(End of chapter)