The sunlight was intense high in the sky, and the sea reflected gold. In addition to these, Klein could see countless illusory black lines.
They emerged from the mermaid not far away, from himself, and from different parts of the nearby sea, countless and numerous, corresponding to different parts of the body, and spreading to infinity, reaching the end of the void.
This bizarre scene, with its intense and beautiful density, was not unfamiliar to Klein. He had seen similar images several times when he borrowed the power of the " Eye of All-Black " and relied on it to create the "world" dummy.
This is the source of the " Marionettist '" extraordinary abilities!
The knowledge gained from the Potion told Klein that these illusory black threads were called " Spirit Body Threads," and that they could Manipulation to directly influence the target's Spirit Body, Astral Body, Mental Body, and Ether Body. Then, by using the " Ether Body " as a bridge, one could control the target's body.
Therefore, all of the extraordinary abilities of the " Marionettist " are based on the " Spirit Body Threads ".
This method utilizes the " Spirit Body Threads " present in every living being to locate hidden targets, making it the nemesis of the " Witch's " invisibility and the " Hermit's " ability to Shadow Concealment. Of course, Klein is unsure if there is a way to also conceal the " Spirit Body Threads ".
Secondly, it involves controlling the target like Puppet Manipulation, making their thinking sluggish, their body stiff, and their movements sluggish. This is a form of forced control, which is difficult to resist. The only way to break free is by relying on the strength of one's own spiritual body. For a " Marionettist " who is already at the Sequence 5 level, there is almost nothing to worry about below the level of Demigod.
Thirdly, as time goes by and control deepens, the " Marionettist " can completely turn the target into their puppet. From a certain distance, they can hide behind the scenes and Manipulation the target to fight. In this way, the puppet can use its original extraordinary abilities!
"This is truly bizarre, Mysteries, and terrifying. It's practically the domain of the mastermind. No wonder Rosago called the Manipulation of the ' Spirit Body Threads ' one of the most difficult abilities to deal with below the High-Sequence..."
"However, this takes time. Control cannot be achieved completely all at once; it must be deepened step by step until final completion. To achieve initial control, I currently need about 20 seconds, but as the Potion is gradually digested, the time will be significantly shortened. Once the ' Marionettist ' is fully digested, it may be within 5 seconds. Hmm, before the effect takes effect, the target will hardly be able to detect it. Those with certain predictive abilities might be able to..."
"Once the target's ' Spirit Body Threads ' are initially grasped, he will immediately experience slowed thinking, sluggish movements, and physical stiffness, and then gradually develop into Puppet or marionette. If the ' Marionettist ' has an accomplice, he can easily eliminate the forcibly controlled target during this process. Well, if the enemy's spirit strength is not too high, the ' Marionettist ' has some spare capacity and can even be distracted to draw a gun or use magical items to coordinate with himself."
"If the control process is not interrupted by external forces, the target will become my puppet in five minutes. In a sense, he will be truly dead, and the situation will be irreversible. Once the Potion is fully digested, the time required to transform the puppet will definitely be greatly reduced."
"I can currently Manipulation a maximum of 1 puppet. I can't predict what will happen next, but it will definitely increase. The maximum doesn't look like it will exceed 3."
"This not only requires time, but also has distance limitations. I can currently only see ' Spirit Body Threads ' within a 100-meter radius, and to Manipulation them, I must enter within 5 meters of the corresponding target..."
"When Manipulation a puppet, the distance between the user and the puppet cannot exceed 100 meters for the time being, but it will definitely increase later."
"Hey, besides retaining its own extraordinary abilities, the puppet can also use magical items and Sealed Artifact normally, and it consumes its Spirituality, not mine. Of course, the act of me Manipulation it itself consumes a lot of Spirituality."
"This ability suits me perfectly. When faced with extremely dangerous situations where I have to investigate, I can send the puppet. Although losing it will be painful, it's better than dying on the spot. Hehe, before that ' Marionettist ' Rosago came to deal with me, he must have had other plans, which is why he didn't have a puppet. Hmm, he probably didn't fully digest the ' Marionettist ' Potion either, so he couldn't initially control me while waiting for the door to Door Opening and could only proceed to a face-to-face conversation."
"Overall, it truly lives up to its reputation as Sequence 5 ability! Moreover, the abilities of the previous Sequence have also been enhanced by 50%, or even more..."
"I'm getting more and more excited. I wonder what kind of qualitative change Sequence 4, with its combination of so many strange abilities, will bring. Sigh, I don't even know what its name is..." Klein finished examining his own situation and sighed.
He then relied on his experience in setting up the on and off methods for " Spirit Vision " to restrict the ability to see " Spirit Body Threads " so as to prevent seeing things that should not be seen.
He pinched the first joint of his index finger twice with his left thumb to open it, then repeated the action to close it. He could do the same with his right hand... He snapped out of his reverie and looked ahead. He saw the remaining mermaids had turned around and were curiously looking at him with their Blue Eyes.
Considering that without their singing and that simple ritual, he would have already lost control and become Sealed Artifact like "2-049", Klein smiled kindly at them.
Influenced by the power of the talisman, the mermaids also parted their lips slightly, revealing a shy smile.
As their lips, some pale purple and others deep red, parted, Klein saw their teeth: sharp as wolf fangs, one after another, white and gleaming, dripping with a viscous liquid.
Klein was stunned for a moment, finding this even harder to accept than a real Monster.
He had mentally prepared himself, viewing mermaids as the kind found in sewers, so he thought he could handle whatever crazy or terrifying they might be. However, things took an unexpected turn. The mermaids were clearly beautiful and alluring women, with strangely beautiful tails, but their teeth were so grotesque and disgusting. The contrast was so stark that Klein couldn't bear to look at them and almost looked away.
With a wave of his hand, he swiftly pulled out the talisman from the " Sea God " domain, creating another strong wind to propel the small boat back towards the " Future ".
Along the way, Klein couldn't help but relive the feeling he had just experienced:
"It turns out that the mermaid's song is a kind of neutralization, a kind of balance. Otherwise, most ' Faceless ' would not be able to resist the corruption of their own ' Spirit Body Threads ' by the Marionettist ' Potion and would directly lose control. Ha, Bravehearts like the sea serpent Kavithua are not within the scope of discussion. Perhaps it is precisely because it does not have the assistance of a ritual that it is relatively weak."
"Theoretically speaking, any sound or extraordinary ability with a similar effect can replace the mermaid's song. However, those who haven't experienced it firsthand simply can't discern the subtle differences. Therefore, it's difficult for High-Sequence individuals who aren't ' Seer ' to offer effective advice."
Amidst a flurry of ideas, the small boat returned to the vicinity of the " Future," and Klein easily climbed onto the deck using a rope.
Anderson Hood on the edge of the ship's gunwale and chuckled:
"So you were looking for the mermaid because it was for a ritual, not to obtain the necessary materials."
"That's obvious," Klein replied briefly.
Anderson shrugged and said:
"No, it's not clear. A normal person would guess that mermaids are the material you need, because they're not worthy of Sequence 4 ritual. But who knew that the pirate general-level adventurer Gehrman Sparrow, only has Sequence 6?"
What does "only" mean? Klein resisted the urge to Manipulation Anderson's " Spirit Body Threads ".
Ignoring the Strongest Hunter exuded a provocative aura, he entered the cabin, preparing to return to his room.
Just as he approached the captain's cabin, a creaking sound came, and the door opened in front of him.
" Admiral of Stars," Cattleya said, without her heavy glasses, her deep purple eyes glancing at Gehrman Sparrow:
Congratulations on your promotion.
"Did I say something in my previous dream?"
"You know it very well yourself," Klein replied expressionlessly.
Cattleya paused for two seconds and then said:
"You asked me about my relationship with the ' Mystery Queen '?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but look around.
Did they guess that the " Mystery Queen " might have already boarded the " Future " because of my rather abrupt question? You really have to be careful when talking to smart people... Klein nodded, walked past him, and headed towards his room. The corridor was quiet.
Only after he opened the door and stepped inside did Cattleya's voice emerge from the captain's cabin, echoing throughout the entire ship:
"Return to base."
Inside the room, Klein waited a few minutes before re-entering the washroom to resume the ritual, throwing the increasingly frantic " Creeping Hunger " onto the Gray Fog.
After finishing this task, he didn't rush to leave. With a wave of his hand, he made the Distortion and deformed iron-black " Kindling " glove on the ground fly up and land in front of him.
After studying it for a moment, Klein put the " Kindling " into the iron cigarette case and threw it into the pile of junk.
Although the expensive gloves were now useless, Klein firmly believed that even waste could be put to good use.
Then, he slowly shed the now-quiet " Creeping Hunger " and placed it in the pile of junk as well.
Huff... Klein calmed himself for two seconds, then left the Giant- like palace and headed deeper into this mysterious space above the Gray Fog.
During his last exploration, he discovered a bright "stairway" leading to heaven, and suspected that the other party's level was related to his own Sequence, so he came to confirm it as soon as he advanced.
After walking for a while, Klein finally saw the sacred staircase made of pure light. Compared to before, it had one more layer out of thin air, making a total of five steps.
As expected... Klein sighed in unison.
Then he climbed the stairs that seemed to have been prepared for Giant and reached the top.
At this moment, he was not far from the Gray Fog floating in mid-air; it seemed that if he climbed one more step, he could reach it.
Klein subconsciously looked up and gazed in that direction, vaguely catching a glimpse of something.
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