Almost an hour passed before the shine in Marcus's eyes diminished.
A smile hooked at the corners of his lips before he let out a chuckle.
"I was thinking too much then?"
Only now did Marcus realize that his initial assumption wasn't wrong, the two Pulse points of his eyes were the true path.
But at the same time, they weren't.
Now, he seemed to have an idea of why the guide in the Mind's Eyes Art didn't specify where the Pulse of Seeing was.
Sight and seeing were one and the same thing. The latter came as a result of the first. However, at the same time, sight and seeing were distinct concepts.
Seeing, as Marcus had comprehended, could be described as how one processed the world.
More accurately, it should be a Pulse point connected to the Pulse of Thoughts. Even at this moment, he could tell that he hadn't opened the Pulse of Seeing.
If he had opened the two Pulse points on his eyes first, there would have been no issue with cultivating this technique.
But comprehending this concept of Seeing might have eluded him forever.
The creator of this art must have been a true sage. What an audacious way of thinking!
Marcus praised silently as he rubbed his nose, at the same time, he was excited.
Without wasting time, he proceeded to open the Pulse points in his eyes.
Like a bubble pierced by a needle, the Pulse points opened.
Apart from his gaze carrying a slight sheen in it, nothing much changed or happened.
At least that was how it appeared outwardly.
On the inside, the world around Marcus was continuously changing. Or rather, zooming in.
His eyesight had nearly reached the point where he could see things that were close to the size of nanometers.
"Argh!"
This change quickly came to an abrupt stop when his head ached.
Marcus grabbed his head and fell back into his work chair.
He was so excited that he wanted to laugh, but even that seemed to aggravate the ache in his head.
"This is the Entry level? No, I haven't even properly activated it. That should have been as a result of opening the eyes' Pulse points."
Before Marcus could think of anything else, he received more good tidings.
[+1200 Achievement Points.]
[+125 Days.]
His mouth hung open.
Do I get points for such types of things? Even my life span increased!
The answer was obvious, he had always known that he would receive achievement points when he managed to complete something he had purchased from the system.
But this wasn't complete yet… he had only made it to the Entry level of the mental path art and for that he received so many points. If he manages to reach mastery, how much would he receive?
Marcus wondered.
Wait, I used a hundred points to buy this art… this is the cheapest, if I had gotten something worth fifty thousand, would my achievement Points be even higher upon success?
To him, this was a good investment. Way more than he expected.
…
[Name: Marcus Sirdi.]
[Age: 24.]
[Level: 2 (Mage), (Sage).]
[Race: Human.]
[Mana: 700.]
[Titles: Lord With A Will (Lv2)]
[Pathfinder: Will 50/20. Strength 10/10. Dexterity 10/10.]
[Achievement Points: 1253]
[Arcane Knowledge Learned (Lv2). Advanced Technological Knowledge Learned (Lv2). Body Modification Knowledge Locked. Futuristic technological Knowledge Locked.]
[Redo: 3.]
[Days Left: 10 months (281 days)]
…
Upon checking his status window, he immediately noticed the new additions to his information.
I see… just like how my options on the Edge of Death, the information in privy to also depends on my capabilities too.
Marcus hadn't even made an effort to think of this, but it suddenly appeared in his mind.
This wasn't because the system had somehow informed him, no, it was as a result of reaching the Entry level of the Mind's Eyes technique.
His ability to comprehend had increased greatly.
He too recognized this
"But why is there an imbalance in my Will? Fifty over twenty… I have more than I'm capable of?"
Marcus pondered on this for a while but he couldn't come up with any reason why.
He pushed this to the side and brought up the list of techniques for Physical Path.
…
[Physical Path (Lv1):
*. Five Elements Art (0/1000).
*. Sword Cauldron Art (0/1500).
*. Demonic Dragon Art (0/2100).
*. Vajra Diamond Art (0/4000).]
…
Once again, the only thing he could afford was the first technique on the list.
But Marcus wasn't discouraged, if investing a hundred points could bring about a return on investment of more than a hundred percent, then wouldn't he be able to reap the same outcome with others?
"Five elemental arts it is." He rubbed his palms and the information quickly filled his mind.
…
[Five Elements Arts: An ancient art created during the times of war. When Humans fought against many from different Dimensions. With the help of Spirits, they created an art that cultivates elemental energy. At its peak, one can call upon rain, or quell the earth to quake.]
…
Marcus digested the information quickly. Due to his achievement in Mind's Eyes, his thought process had become stronger and faster.
His lips quivered.
"Who were these ancient humans? And what dimensional war?"
The latter question Marcus was quick to forget.
Who were these humans who were able to create such powerful techniques?
These techniques were completely different from Magic. Magic followed a set of rules, and formations.
Compared to these techniques… It was bizarre.
He continued to process the information.
"Doesn't this mean that I can teach this to my knights too?"
As if electricity just passed through him, the hairs on his arms stood.
The thought of having men under his rule as powerful as what the technique described was exhilarating.
Even though his Inspect skill had pointed out that his knights had the potential to be Void knights, Marcus didn't think that Void Knights were capable of said feats described in the Five Elements Arts.
He began laughing, all the hidden stress and anxiety in his mind slowly vanished with each exhale.
Should he even still be worried about this Faceless cult anymore?
Should power be something he lacks?
No.
All he needed now was time. Given enough time, with this Physical Path art, he would dominate.
Right when Marcus was about to delve some more into this art, a knock fell upon his door, snapping him out of his bubble.
"Huh?" It was at this point he noticed that the sun was up. How many hours have I been here?
He shook his head and responded merrily. "Come in."
Brown stepped in with a folded paper. "Word from Joshua, my lord."
The knight paused when his eyes fell upon Marcus. Brown's heart began having palpitations, as though he was standing before a wild beast.
When Marcus's soft gaze fell upon him, Brown felt as if the young lord's body had grown several meters.
He almost fell to the ground.
"Brown!" Marcus called out, dragging him out of the trance he had fallen into.
"Milord!" Brown managed to say as he tried to calm his heart.
"Is anything the problem?" Marcus asked.
"N-no, sir. The message from Joshua."
He placed the paper on the table and walked out of the room. Immediately the door closed, Brown fell to his buttocks.
Sweat rolled down his temples. "Who was that?" He whispered.