"Ugh... it hurts..."
In a large hall on the top deck of the Silver Gull ship, that was fractured in various places due to the fierce fight just now, Ron woke up from the ground, grabbing his head.
As soon as he regained consciousness, he found that his head hurt like never before—far worse than the abdomen that had been pierced by Ian earlier.
"Ugh... what... what happened?"
He couldn’t help but ask deliriously while trying to calm himself down.
However, his struggles remained futile as he suddenly felt his headache once again, but this time from within, as if something was forcefully invading his consciousness, drilling into the depths of his mind like an unseen parasite burrowing into his very soul.
A sharp, drilling pain pulsed through his skull as if something was clawing at his mind, trying to tear it apart from the inside.
"Ahhh....."
The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced—gruesome and far more overwhelming than before.
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Unable to withstand it, Ron cried out loudly, clutching his head as if that would somehow soothe the torment. But no matter what he did, nothing seemed to work, as the gnawing agony invaded his mind, leaving him no chance to recover.
"This gift is indeed a precious one."
As he reeled in pain, he suddenly heard someone whisper softly nearby, causing him to look up—a little strained—hoping to ask for help.
But what Ron saw after looking up were only the pitch-black eyes, just like the Abyss inside that portal—deep, hollow, and utterly dreadful.
Those eyes were void of pupil, yet they felt so captivating, gazing at him with a condescending intensity as they took in his figure.
As Ron looked into those eyes, instead of asking for help as he had intended, he stood motionless, staring woodenly as if mesmerized by their presence.
Even his piercing screams stopped abruptly as if he had suddenly become immune to the invading force tormenting his mind.
"Hmm, your mental strength is really bad. Welp, I can’t blame you though."
Ian remarked as he watched Ron suddenly go blank, staring in his direction.
He wasn’t the least bit surprised by this reaction.
After all, what he had just used was one of the skills from the gift that entity had left him—Marionette Strings, a technique that conjured invisible abyssal threads to latch onto the target’s mind, overriding or more precisely controlling their will.
According to the instructions embedded in his mind, the best time to use this skill was when someone was under the Abyss’s influence or suffering from backlash—just like Ron, who was now continuously seeping dark energy from his body.
’It seems that entity thought I was using Nether Sight.’
Ian mused while manipulating the Abyssal threads in Ron’s mind, which flickered like faint shadows, attempting to control him.
He recalled how that entity had mentioned he was using Nether Sight and had left him a gift to enhance its usage.
However, after Ian fully absorbed the so-called gift into his mind, he realized that what he had been using wasn’t actually Nether Sight at all.
Otherwise, why would Ron could see him with pitch-black eyes just now, when he needed to be in Ethereal Form for his eyes to turn completely black?
’He seems mistaken.’
Ian smirked slightly, playfully.
The fact that such a strong presence from the Abyss could mistake his form spoke volumes in itself.
According to the knowledge imprinted in his mind, Nether Sight was an exceptionally rare vision-related skill, even among true Abyssal Creatures.
And the gift he had received was a method to perfectly utilize it.
In fact, the Marionette Strings he was currently using to control Ron was merely an application of Nether Sight, as it allowed him to manipulate Abyssal threads with just a glance.
It was merely a branching skill of this ability, with many other applications mentioned in the gift that he had yet to explore.
’But I don’t have any Nether Sight at all or even any vision-related skills.’
Ian’s smile grew slightly as excitement surged within him. The implications of this were far from simple.
He knew he didn’t possess Nether Sight or any similar ability in his arsenal, yet he could still use it after receiving the knowledge.
What did this mean?
He felt as if he had finally uncovered a use for his various Ethereal forms—one that could make him much stronger at an incredible speed if his suspicions were correct.
Learning various elemental spells faster like he thought before might not be its only use.
"Master!"
Just as Ian was lost in thought about his future potential, he saw Ron suddenly stand up and bow to him at a ninety-degree angle in absolute respect. It seemed he successfully managed to control this wizard.
"Yeah, right... that’s what I was asking for..."
Ian nodded repeatedly and let out a small chuckle, clearly pleased to see Ron being so respectful toward him.
He could already feel that the Marionette Strings embedded in Ron’s mind had completely placed him under his control.
Now, Ron still had his self-consciousness; he was still alive like before but was completely under him, like a puppet controlled by strings, unable to resist or break free.
"It would have been better if you had been honest—maybe you wouldn’t be like this. Get up and heal your wound first."
Ian sighed as he signaled the old man in front of him to rise.
He could feel that even after controlling Ron, the Sigil of Subjugation Pact was still active between them, although its influence seemed faint here.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to attack Ron earlier.
"Yes, Master."
Ron stood up from his bowing stance, nodded at Ian naturally, and began healing himself using spells and potions from his arsenal.
From the outside, he looked just as he had before, except for the glaring injuries in his abdomen that were slowly mending.
"Can this hall be repaired?"
Ian asked while pointing at the broken structure in front, damaged due to the portal’s appearance and the battle between him and Carl. If it couldn’t be restored, then it might cause some difficulties, as they were still at sea after all.
"Yes, Master. This ship is an Advanced Artifact equipped with all the necessary arrays. As long as the damage is within its limits, it can repair itself."
Ron answered respectfully, causing Ian’s mood to lighten.
"Okay, I understand," Ian nodded, feeling more at ease, and added,
"By the way, don’t call me ’Master.’ Just call me ’Sir’ when we’re alone, and treat me as you usually do when others are around."
Ian ordered, finding it unpleasant to be addressed as ’Master’ by an old man, even if he was a wizard.
Besides, he thought it best to keep Ron’s servitude a secret from others since he still needed his help to enter the Calvora continent.
’Though I don’t know if it will remain undiscovered. Given the rarity of Nether Sight, it probably will.’
Ian mused while looking at Ron, who didn’t look like someone who was being controlled. From the outside, he appeared no different, even to Ian himself.
"Yes, Sir."
Since Ron was now under Ian’s control, he could no longer hold any conflicting thoughts about his command. He immediately adjusted his response accordingly.
"Umm... so, where are the captain and the crew members now? And what about those apprentices of yours? Won’t they be affected by the Abyss?"
Ian asked, getting to what concerned him most while swiftly removing Nether Sight, which didn’t even require him to enter Ethereal Form.
"Captain Torren and his crew members are at the bottom deck. I asked for his help, but he refused to involve himself in this mess."
"As for the Abyss’s effect on the wizard apprentices, as long as they stay inside their rooms and within this ship, they should be fine. The mana shield of this Advanced Artifact can protect them from its influence to some extent."
Ron said while pointing at the shimmering mana barrier still covering the entire vessel.
"Figured!"
Ian nodded, having already suspected as much.
And perhaps due to the inexplicable appearance of that entity inside the hall, no foul creatures had manifested near their ship, leaving it safe and intact.
Though he had no idea how long that would last. So, he immediately issued another order to Ron.
"Then, use whatever method you have to repair this hall and set off immediately. Order the crew members to get ready and set sail at once."
"Yes, sir."
"IAN!"
Just as Ron acknowledged the command, Ian suddenly heard a loud call from someone at the door. Recognizing that it was Lyra, he signaled Ron to leave and turned toward the source, where he could already see Lyra and Aurora approaching him anxiously. Discover hidden content at freewebnovel
As for that blood-colored book, he had already pocketed it inside his mana ring before Ron awakened. After all, that book seemed to appear everywhere and contained some amazing records.
It had successfully piqued his interest this time.
"Thank god you are alright."