Chapter 13: Embodiment
No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't make her budge.
[Physical Resistance (Low)]
Just as Mark's mental abilities became useless against her after she gained Mental Resistance, so did physical attacks below (3) points become useless to her. From 1 to 3, it was the territory below (Low), and when it reached (3), it was the point of (Low) in all categories.
If his Physique reached (3), then that would mean he gains a (Low) physical resistance, and the same goes for mental. At the same time, his Demonic Tricks were also the same.
If Mark's guess was on point when someone reached 6 points, it should be the territory of (Medium) from then onwards.
Then the reason for him having Heart Resistance of Medium level when he was not 6 points must mean that having his Bloodline boosted that attribute by a small tier.
Just how having Flame Bloodline gave Dona a Fire Resistance of the (Medium) level. Her Mental and Physical Resistance was still just (Low), after all.
Dona seemed intuitively aware of that fact and about her invincibility against this snake, too. That made him wonder if he lacked some of these demonic instincts.
"Hiss!"
When the snake tried to run away in horror, she slammed it on the ground, and Mark quickly moved to kill it with a stone. Dona growled curiously and just watched as the snake flailed about and died.
[Killed a Red Flower Demonic Snake—Soul Sphere has been collected to the host's Soul Space.]
[+2]
[Total Number of Souls: 2]
With a thought, Mark used all of the soul spheres to improve his Mind.
He closed his eyes.
A cool sensation flowered up in his head, and his senses became even crisper than they had been. He could smell Dona all the way from a meter away, as intense as if he was smelling her from up close; he could hear the distant echoes of the flowing water of the river.
The stench of the corpse, as faint as it was now, was vivid in his senses.
He opened his eyes.
Every dark grass that swayed on the ground, the patterns on the snake's corpse, Dona's gleaming light red eyes. They were all so vivid; it almost felt as if he had taken a macro picture of it with an 8k camera.
The way the corpse slowly became like an ancient corpse from a fresh one just as the soul was absorbed looked even eerier than ever. An audible gulp went down his mind.
_
[Mind: 4.1/6.4]
[Resistances (Tier 0)]
[Mental Resistance (Low ➨ Medium)]
[Heart Resistance (Medium ➨High)]
_
Indeed, from one to three, it was below (Low). From six, it was (Medium). If it went by the same trend, when he reached 9, it would be (High).
After that, he should… evolve.
It was all guesswork, but it seemed simple enough.
After he reaches (10), he should be able to Evolve [Tier 0—Demonling] to something else. To Tier One. It was not that hard to understand.
But for now, he was not yet near 10 points. Yet, still, his powers had grown again.
A much more rigid barrier had appeared around his natural mind, and he could feel it. Like a glass dome, it surrounded him, and any and all Mental abilities would have to first break it before they found him.
"It feels so satisfying…"
Mark felt his own mind, too, becoming increasingly clear of distractions. Somehow, he had a feeling that something would fundamentally change when his Mind became (10) points.
With a deep breath, he nodded at Dona and went around to bait the next snake. She walked behind him with a yawn.
She was relaxing. That was not good.
"Don't be too relaxed. We will have to be careful of the strong ones. They can still easily destroy us—we are frogs in a well."
She smiled harmlessly at him.
"You really are careless…"
…
There was a snake flower nearby.
The next snake was even easier. They baited it, and the foolish thing walked right into the trap. Mark wanted to check something else about his Heart Input this time.
He gave the snake an input to 'stay in place and don't move,' then waited without attacking, still in hiding.
[Mind: 2.1/6.4]
How long would you obey him?
Mark mentally counted and kept Dona to his side. Her hands were tight around his own.
1 second.
10 second.
30 second.
The snake hissed and immediately sprang up.
Mark had a complicated feeling in his mind as he let go of Dona. She immediately moved to attack the snake. After gaining her resistance, she really had become a predator, and these snakes were the prey. It was too easy.
He stole the kill in the very end.
[Killed a Red Flower Demonic Snake—Soul Sphere has been collected to the host's Soul Space.]
[+2]
[Total Number of Souls: 2]
Feeling the warm blood trickling down his hand, Mark contemplated.
Thirty seconds.
That was the amount of time that his mental power worked on his enemies to add a thought. His gaze turned towards Dona.
He couldn't help but be mad at himself.
Dona, too, should have been disenchanted with the Heart Input after merely 30 seconds. Thankfully, she still didn't remove the thought from her mind and saw him as a mate, or he would have died.
Thankfully, the thought he planted in her was very in tune with her nature. If not, she would have killed him—he had been reckless, but it did good.
But that was a life lost if he was unlucky.
Mark didn't think he would reincarnate a second time. This one reincarnation alone smelled of a huge cosmic coincidence. But now, he had a way better understanding of his abilities, especially Heart Input.
If he used a radical Heart Input, like making a loving father kill his child, the father would break the Input immediately, even after 30 seconds. It would just be a thought that occurred to them.
In contrast, if he used a thought that was more in line with the personality of the father, it would be as if it were the father's own thought instead of a demon's whisper in his mind.
It might branch out into different thought sets and slowly become a tree that would take root in the father's mind when he finally took action on the thought.
For example, if Mark were to give input to make the father buy ice cream for their child, it wouldn't even be noticeable to the father. It would be as if it were the father himself who thought of ice creams.
He would do that action without any resistance, and that thought would take root.
That meant that when he said for Dona to consider him as a potential mate, it wasn't against her nature to think of that. Otherwise, the thought would have been thwarted real quick—after 30 seconds, she wouldn't even remember the thought.
From now on, he had to be wary of this 30-second rule and the nature of the person he was influencing.
Then, he thought of the Domination that would happen if he used Heart Input on one person repeatedly.
That must mean that if he used Input repeatedly to make someone think something they usually wouldn't, they would fundamentally change their nature, and that thought would forcefully plant its roots in them—that thought would become natural to them.
If he made the father think constantly about killing their child, again and again, 24/7, they were bound to change!
That might make them even go against their nature!
It was somehow like… intrusive thoughts.
He was the embodiment of intrusive thoughts.
"Embodiment of Intrusive Thoughts. I like the ring of it."
A devious chuckle left his lips.
For now, he had more points to boost his stats.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone