Mind Powers, I'll Be My Own Backer

Ever since that Dwarf Blacksmith Shop in Diagon Alley opened, nothing strange had happened again.

The blacksmith shop usually had little business, and there was none of the clanging noise one would expect from a forge.

After all, this was the Magical World. There were plenty of soundproofing spells. Of course, it might also have been because they had no business.

And so, Ted spent another dozen or so days peacefully grinding experience. Counting the 100 experience rewarded by the Working Man (Green) quest, he finally scraped together 400 experience—enough to exchange for Otherworldly Knowledge!

Over those twenty-odd days, Ted worked four part-time jobs a day to mooch experience, finally gathering 300 experience.

If not for the Restore Energy (Green) card, which he used five or six times a day, he would never have lasted more than a few days.

Ted: I'm still an eleven-year-old kid! By noon, he had gathered enough experience, but through sheer willpower, Ted forced himself to hold out until he got off work that evening. He returned to his little storage room without anything unusual happening.

Leveling up was still a distant prospect. Besides, leveling up would only give him one skill point and one free attribute point, which would be of limited help.

This Otherworldly Knowledge, on the other hand, had a time limit for exchange and would be immensely useful to him—if it was the ability he imagined it to be.

"System?" Ted lowered his voice. "Exchange for Otherworldly Knowledge: Mind Power Manual · Fragment Pages (Blue)!"

As the experience in Ted's Experience Pool dropped to single digits, a vast amount of information and knowledge suddenly appeared in his mind.

A spark of "Spiritual Light" ignited in his mind, and an indescribable power filled his heart! This was Mind Power!

Powerful fists and feet, gleaming sword light—all of it paled into insignificance at a Mind Mage's thought.

Mind Mages continuously studied their own Mind Consciousness to uncover broader and more powerful mental strength.

Mind Power originated from the cultivation of one's mental abilities through long-term, rigorous self-examination and mental training.

It was a supernatural power close to magic, born from a manifester's consciousness. It was an internal energy derived from one's own life and spirit, a power shaped by the mind.

Mind Power used the manifester's own life and spirit as its source of energy. This meant that it required no external medium such as "spellcasting materials," nor did it require chanting incantations or making hand gestures to coordinate Magic Power.

Mind Power was more convenient than magic, but it also placed an enormous burden on the manifester's body and mind.

If Mind Power consumption became excessive, the manifester would feel utterly exhausted in body and mind, perhaps even unable to concentrate. They would need sufficient rest to recover their health and replenish their psionic energy.

After all, Mind Power came from a manifester's vitality and willpower. Every use was equivalent to burning one's own life, and excessively draining one's vitality and mental strength was no different from suicide.

Mind Power also had many branches, each with different focuses and characteristics.

The six major systems were the Mind Prophecy System, Mind Creation System, Mind Transformation System, Mind Self-Shaping System, Mind Teleportation System, and Mind Enchantment System.

Mind Prophecy System: Mind Mages who chose the Mind Prophecy System were called Insight Seekers. Mind Prophecy System powers allowed you to learn long-forgotten secrets, glimpse the next moment or foresee the distant future, find hidden things, and know information that was normally impossible to obtain.

It was probably related to Divination?! Mind Mages who specialized in the Mind Creation System were called Shape Creators.

Mind Creation System powers used Mind Power to create objects, creatures, or some form of matter.

Mind Transformation System: Mind Mages who specialized in the Mind Transformation System were called Energy Manipulators. They were masters of controlling energy and transforming matter and energy.

Many powers of this system could produce far more spectacular effects than ordinary psionic energy, such as moving, melting, transforming, or exploding a target. They could also directly transform psionic energy into certain types of energy, such as Mind Lightning, Mind Flame, Mind Force Fields, and so on.

Mind Self-Shaping System: Mind Mages who specialized in the Mind Self-Shaping System were called Shapeshifters.

Mind Self-Shaping System powers could alter the physical properties and physiological traits of certain creatures, objects, or environments.

This was rather like Transfiguration in the magical world.

Mind Teleportation System: Mind Mages who relied on Mind Teleportation System powers were called Spirit Travelers.

Spirit Travelers could advance or move themselves, an object, or another creature through time or space.

Mind Enchantment System: Mind Mages who chose the Mind Enchantment System were called Telepaths. They specialized in powers used for mental contact and controlling other conscious creatures.

Telepaths could easily detect and influence the minds of others, alter or dominate their behavior, and deceive or destroy their enemies' will.

This was one of Mind Power's more fundamental abilities—manipulating the minds of conscious creatures! Abilities like Legilimency, which directly probed another person's memories and thoughts, were classic examples.

There was also the Confundus Charm, and then—the Imperius Curse!

Mind Power could be said to be a miraculous ability no less impressive than magic. Unfortunately, the Otherworldly Knowledge Ted had obtained was only Blue, merely a few fragment pages of the "Mind Power Manual."

So, he had gained only three very limited abilities.

Appraisal Technique, Memory Palace, and Spirit Crystal Servant.

Appraisal Technique could obtain information about people or objects, along with their uses and so on. This belonged to the abilities of Mind Prophecy System Insight Seekers.

Memory Palace was a universal ability for Mind Mages.

A Mind Mage used psionic energy to construct a memory space within their mind, capable of storing scenes they had seen, heard, and experienced. When needed, they could quickly search for keywords and review memory fragments.

It was basically a portable Pensieve.

For Ted, the greatest use of Memory Palace was that it allowed him to skim through books and perfectly "photocopy" them into his mind. He could study them carefully when he had time.

Lastly, Spirit Crystal Servant was an ability unique to psionic practitioners.

Psionic practitioners used Mind Power to replicate fragments of their own mind and infuse them into a crystal, thereby creating a crystal servant with intelligence.

A Spirit Crystal Servant looked like a crystal structure the size of a human hand.

A Spirit Crystal Servant was as intelligent as a person. Since it was an extension of its master's personality, in a sense, a character's Spirit Crystal Servant was also part of them.

A Spirit Crystal Servant could speak any language its master knew.

Having a Spirit Crystal Servant nearby made its master's senses sharper.

Every Spirit Crystal Servant possessed its own personality.

A Spirit Crystal Servant could grow insect-like crystal legs to move on its own, share some of its master's powers, possess blindsight despite having no eyes, form a mental link with its master—allowing the two to communicate telepathically—and even help its master process mental calculations and the like.

It could be said to be a tremendous aid!

But Ted currently lacked a fist-sized crystal of superior quality.

The crystal would affect the Spirit Crystal Servant's abilities and potential, so he could not be careless. He would probably have to set it aside for now and wait until he became stronger and had more money.

Though he had only three Mind Powers, Memory Palace and Spirit Crystal Servant complemented each other quite well.

Memory Palace could comprehensively record all the information and books Ted had seen, while Spirit Crystal Servant could help him think and calculate.

If Memory Palace was a hard drive, then Spirit Crystal Servant was an external CPU and RAM stick! Though he had only three abilities, now that he had mastered this power, he could slowly develop and explore it in the future. Sooner or later, he would discover more ways to use it.

At that moment, the system notified Ted that his character panel had changed.

Ted opened it and saw:

Ted Epiphany
Level: Level 1 Wizard / Level 1 Mind Mage

Experience Pool: 8
Attributes: (The average attribute value of an ordinary adult Muggle is 5)

Strength 3
Constitution 3
Dexterity 4
Intelligence 6
Perception 7
Spirit 9
Charisma 7
Luck ?? (Ordinary people have 0. It fluctuates between positive and negative depending on their state.)

Talent: Otherworldly Knowledge (Gold)

Skills: Magic Power Lv1, Magical Resistance Lv1, Spell Lv1, Mind Power Lv1, Mental Resistance Lv2, Prophecy Lv1
Magic: Lumos Lv1, Scouring Charm Lv1, Cutting Charm Lv1, Mending Charm Lv1
Psionic Powers: Appraisal Technique, Memory Palace, Spirit Crystal Servant (Inactive)
Cards: Restore Energy (Green)

Quests: Magical World! (Green), Once Is Fine, Twice Is Better—Go for It! (Green), Explore Diagon Alley (Green).

Because he had activated Mind Power, he had become a Mind Mage!

Because he had become a Mind Mage, his attributes had been enhanced: +1 Perception, +2 Spirit, +1 Charisma.

He had also gained +Lv2 Mental Resistance and +Lv1 Prophecy among his skills.

Mind Power drew upon spirit and willpower, so his Spirit attribute had increased by two points. A Mind Mage's sharpness and unique mental allure had also given Ted one point each in Perception and Charisma.

As for Mental Resistance, that was even simpler. Mind Mages were experts at manipulating minds, so naturally, they were also experts at mental defense.

Just as masters of Legilimency all possessed powerful Occlumency.

As for the extra Level 1 Prophecy, Ted guessed it might be because his Appraisal Technique belonged to the Mind Prophecy System Insight Seeker's abilities?

He had currently taught himself four spells, all still at Level 1.

Mind Power, meanwhile, had no level restrictions. Perhaps that was because psionic energy had no levels at all, unlike magic, which depended on the caster's proficiency.

The effect of psionic energy depended entirely on the strength of one's own psionic energy.

After looking over his attributes, Ted clenched his fists and let out a suppressed laugh.

The pressure that had lingered ever since he entered the magical world—especially the invisible pressure he had felt after learning of the Celestial Conjunctions and the savior Neville—had finally dissipated! Come on! Come on! Did he think he was afraid of change? As long as he was strong enough, he would not fear any change! Being strong yourself was true strength. Who needed to cling to the protagonist's thigh to lie back and win?

From now on, I'll be the thigh! Please call me Brother Thigh~

Thanks to readers "Star Book Star Friend Lights the Lamp" and "Surname Nobi, Given Name Nobita" for the 100 rewards!

Thank you~