92: Perfecting spiritual mysticism

Brian stood before the observation window of the laboratory, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the window frame.

After repeated deliberation, he finally selected Gude as the first deep-testing subject.

There were three considerations for choosing Gude:

Firstly, checking his memories could confirm his loyalty.

Secondly, it would test human reactions to memory modification.

Thirdly, as a Second-level Mage, Gude's mental strength was not weak, which was perfect for testing the arcane art's effect on those with stronger mental power.

"After all, he's one of us," Brian muttered to himself, "Even if it gets messed up, it'll be easy to clean up."

After summoning Gude from the territory, Brian deliberately did not explain the experiment's content.

If informed beforehand, those who trusted him would relax their guard, while those who didn't would strengthen their resistance.

Only when the other party was completely unprepared could the most genuine reaction be tested.

In the laboratory, Brian asked Gude to sit at the desk.

Once he was seated, Brian quietly activated the newly created mental arcane art.

He transformed his mental power into countless fine probes, gently infiltrating Gude's mental world.

This process required extreme precision, like walking on a spiderweb, needing to gather information without alerting the owner.

Mental power slowly permeated like a thin mist, establishing a subtle connection with Gude's mental world.

Gude first felt a slight dizziness, then his eyes gradually glazed over, falling into a semi-conscious state.

While exploring Gude's mental world, Brian discovered that Gude's loyalty to him was indeed very high.

Upon reviewing a certain memory, he couldn't help but exclaim, "I didn't expect Gude to admire me so much in private."

Brian chuckled inwardly, "He even wrote down every casual word I said in a small notebook."

He began to attempt to modify a memory: he deleted the previous instruction for Gude to find more maids, keeping other arrangements unchanged, wanting to see if Gude would still remember this matter after waking up.

At the same time, he deepened the belief in loyalty within Gude's mind.

The entire process was exceptionally smooth, and Gude's mental world showed no rejection of the newly implanted information.

Brian satisfactorily recorded this phenomenon: the mental arcane art's stealth and stability in modifying memories far exceeded expectations.

The experiment concluded, and Gude shook his head, completely unaware of what had just happened.

Brian carefully observed his words and actions, trying to find any abnormalities.

Gude behaved as usual, as if nothing had happened.

"Gude," Brian asked deliberately, "How are things going with finding more maids, as I asked last time?"

"Maids?" Gude looked bewildered. "When did you say that, my lord? My memory is really getting worse and worse..."

He paused, then continued, "My lord, perhaps I forgot to note it down? Do you need me to arrange it now?"

"Maybe I misremembered," Brian feigned sudden realization. "No need, Alice and the other two are enough."

This test convinced Brian that his mental arcane art had achieved initial success.

Gude, as a Second-level Mage, had his memory modified without his awareness and without triggering any backlash.

Of course, this might be related to not implanting a Mental Seed.

If a Mental Seed were implanted in a mage in the main world, it would likely be detected.

From this, it could be inferred that a Third-level Mage in this world was also insufficient to test the backlash limit of the spell.

The truly suitable test subjects should be beings of Fourth-rank or above, preferably mages.

Brian quickly thought of a candidate—Commander Adrian.

Although this Fourth-rank Mage came from this world, his mental strength should be comparable to a Third-level Mage from the main world, making him an excellent test subject.

However, out of caution, Brian decided to practice on another target first.

"Gude, how is the territory lately? I haven't been back to see it in over a month," Brian asked casually.

"My lord, everything in the territory is well, and the madam, young masters, and young ladies are all healthy."

"That's good. I'll go back in a few days; I miss them."

After sending Gude away, Brian decided to make an appearance in Military City and, while he was there, use junior officers for the next stage of testing.

In the command post office, Brian summoned his assigned assistant from the Allied Forces—Foco, a Third-level Warrior.

"My lord, you called for me?" Foco bowed respectfully.

Brian smiled slightly: "Sit down first. I want to understand the progress of human-machine collaboration."

As Foco sat down, Brian quietly cast his mental arcane art.

This time, he specifically started by testing with a trace of mental power, gradually increasing its intensity.

This would both hone his control over mental power and explore the limits of backlash.

A trace of mental power divided into countless strands, permeating Foco's mental world like a mist.

Brian could feel a faint connection had been established, but Foco was completely unaware, still quietly awaiting questions.

As the output of mental power increased, the connection became tighter.

Foco momentarily seemed dazed, thinking he had simply spaced out.

Even so, he still did not develop a strong sense of resistance.

While probing Foco's deeper memories, Brian made an unexpected discovery—it turned out that Foco had been secretly collecting information on him under Desai's orders.

"Perfect," Brian thought to himself, "A test subject for the Mental Seed has delivered himself."

He manipulated his mental power, implanting a tiny Mental Seed deep within Foco's mental world.

This seed, like an invisible tendril, quietly took root, awaiting the opportune moment to sprout.

As long as the Mental Seed was activated, he could completely control the other party.

Even when not activated, he could connect to the Mental Seed at any time for monitoring, and at the same time, subtly influence the other party, eventually making him utterly obedient to Brian!

As for absorbing the other party's mental power to break through a bottleneck? Impossible, the mental quality difference was too great.

Forcibly absorbing it would only pollute his own mental power. There was no need!

After the implantation was complete, Foco was only briefly dazed, then returned to normal, completely unaware of any abnormality.

This indicated that the Mental Seed also possessed extremely high stealth.

Over the next few days, Brian guided Foco through the Mental Seed.

Foco unknowingly began to act according to his wishes, even showing hesitation and wavering when faced with Desai's commands.

As time passed, Foco's loyalty to Desai gradually decreased, while his dependence and trust in Brian grew daily.

This convinced him that the application of mental arcane art combined with the Mental Seed could indeed achieve the goal of controlling and influencing others without being detected.

Of course, Brian was well aware that this method was not foolproof.

The effectiveness of the Mental Seed was influenced by various factors, including the target's mental strength, willpower, and the surrounding environment.

In practical application, adjustments would still need to be made flexibly according to specific circumstances.

However, being able to initially master the mental arcane art and its combination with the Mental Seed was already a significant breakthrough for Brian.

"Adrian, it's your turn!" Brian, in the lounge, held a glass of red wine, toasting the distance.