Chapter 99 – How to Kill an Overmind
Sebastian saw everything that happened below, and he was shocked by Mia's resilience to bullets.
'This little girl is too strong! Well, that confirms her identity. She's 100% an otherworlder.'
'Still, what has just happened down there? That girl approached Carlos as if she was his subordinate, but why did Carlos suddenly scream?'
Since Mia and Carlos were enemies, Sebastian did not have to step in or interfere.
'That snake Carlos shouldn't be this weak! That cunning bastard is planning something again.'
Sebastian had seen how strong Carlos were in the past. He did not believe that this withered man would kick the bucket with Mia's power alone.
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"W-What game?"
Terrified by Tama's new skill, Carlos shivered as he looked back at Mia.
"The game is simple."
Mia pointed at the direction of the extraction site, the junkyard.
"I want you to walk to the junkyard beyond that field. It's only one kilometer long, so you shouldn't have a problem exercising a bit."
Carlos widened his eyes, "T-That area is the burrow scorpion zone! Do you want me to die!?"
"For your information, I strolled across that field when I arrived here. I'm still in one piece, no?"
"B-But, I'm already a senior! I can't walk a distance!"
"Are you sure? In my place, all overminds excel in all fields, including physical prowess. Even if you're already old and withered, you shouldn't have a problem walking."
"Impossible! I-I can't walk! Why do you think I've been sitting on a wheelchair!?"
"Well, you sound healthy to me. Just a minute ago, you had claimed that you can't hear very well. Now, I'm speaking in my usual voice, but you understood me."
Mia grabbed Carlos by his collar and dragged him like a puppy.
"Also, you've forgotten something. My words aren't a suggestion. It's an order."
Dragging the withered body for 200 meters, Mia stopped in front of the burrow scorpion zone.
"I also haven't told you about your rewards. If you make it through the other side, I'll return your conscience fragments, and I'll heal you."
Mia tossed Carlos forward.
"Go."
Carlos stumbled forward two steps before he regained his balance, standing still with his shaking legs. He looked back at Mia, who had already summoned a lightning ball above his head.
Mia was grinning from ear to ear. He coughed and mimicked the infamous Jigsaw's voices.
"This lightning ball is your timer. It will continue moving forward in a speed of one kilometer per hour for the first five minutes. Its speed will double after that. And for every five minutes interval onward, it will increase its speed by one km an hour. If it reaches you, it will destroy you."
Mia paused and snickered, continuing roleplaying Jigsaw.
"Live or die, make your choice. Let the games begin."
Mia released the thunder ball, and it floated toward Carlos as he had described.
Terrified and shocked, Carlos mustered his strength in his legs, moving forward. His speed was as slow as the lightning ball, which was even slower than an average adult's walking speed.
*Mrrr?* (Isn't this game too harsh for an old man?)
"Actually, it's very easy to solve. All games are designed in a way that players can win. A game that players can't win isn't a game but torture."
*Mew* (But you're torturing him.)
"Hardly, I gave him a good chance to win."
*Mrrr?* (How can he win? It's impossible for him.)
"Look at the ground. Aren't my footprints all over the place?"
On the ground before Carlos, several footprints, made by Mia when he crossed this field, were still there. If Carlos paid attention to those trails, he should not have a problem crossing this field with a few extra exercises.
*Mew* (I don't see the purpose of this game. What's the point?)
"Male overminds are as strong as dragonewts, Tama. I don't believe that this old man is actually weak."
Mia had seen the perks of the overmind race in this game through Shurka's character. He did not believe that Carlos was a feeble old man.
.
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[Overmind], A sage that governs consciences and human souls.
This is not the typical mutant race that you can find anywhere in the wasteland as you can only find them … in human societies!
Overminds are manipulators of organizations, gangs, and even governments in this world. They are cunning, elusive, wicked, and calculative. Also, they obtain strength by consuming people's consciences and souls.
This race can only be acquired by consuming a hydra core like the dragonewts. However, the candidate must be a human without any prior hydra virus infection or hosting a symbiosis hydra egg. Secondly, they have to overcome the residual soul of the consumed hydra core to obtain the evolution qualification.
Overmind is one of the few evolution paths available for the human race. They excel in psionic abilities, enhanced psychic powers, and all physical activities. In other words, they are good in all fields with not as many disadvantageous like the mutants.
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- Excel in all fields, an all-rounder.
- Fast growth in both status attribute and skills.
- Possess higher overall potentials than all mutants.
- Able to switch body if necessary.
- Increase the level caps of all classes from 100 to 200.
- Increase status attributes by reading the soul's memories.
- Increase status caps by absorbing soul fragments.
- All psychic and psionic skill caps are set at 300 by default.
- Possess unique psionic abilities.
- Evolution to a more advanced race is possible.
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- Jack of all trades, master of none.
- Switching body will reset all status attributes to the same value as the new host.
- Status caps cannot exceed 3,000 in all attributes.
- Skill caps cannot exceed 350 in all skills.
- No specialized attributes like the mutants.
- No extra hunger bar.
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From Mia's observation, these overmind traits are similar to the golden generations. If he had the same characteristics as Mia and his friends, Carlos should still be hiding his strength.
Mia could have terminated this old man's conscience on the spot, but the residual conscience in his body was the problem.
Since Mia experienced how deadly an automatic subconsciousness could do with an overmind's body when he killed all of his male friends, he chose not to destroy Carlos' soul right away.
Meanwhile, the trembling legs of Carlos stopped shaking, and his walking speed quickened. From a snail pace of a feeble old man, Carlos began striding across the burrow scorpion field, using the path that Mia had used.
The old man's eyes darted around as he had already found Mia's footprints, which he used as a guide to get away from here.
*MYA!* (That geezer can actually run! Mish, kill him before he escapes!)
"Not yet. Psychologically speaking, if someone has a long-range weapon while that person's enemy excels at close-range melee, what would that person do?"
*Mew?* (He would have kept his distance from his enemy?)
"Yes. That's what I want Carlos to do. I need to know the limit of his body and his subconsciousness."
*Meh* (Can't you just kill him now? You're wasting time here. Are you still a banana?)
Mia scoffed, "You know nothing, Tama."
Soon, Carlos turned around with a cold smile. He pointed his finger at Mia, then stones and soils gathered before him, transforming small rocks and soils into 50cal bullet heads.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHANCE, WENCH!"
Carlos fired over a hundred AP bullets at Mia.
"You broke the rules of the game. You should have run away when you have the chance."
The floating thunder ball, which was following Carlos, transited into a force field shield wall.
Reaching to the electric current wall, the barrage of bullets paused.
"NOT YET!"
Carlos slammed his hands on the ground, and two earth spikes appeared, extending from the earth below Mia's feet to skewer him.
With a light jump, Mia flew five meters above the ground, using his [Telekinesis: Flight] and Telekinesis: [Medium Object Control] to levitate himself in the air.
The earth spikes missed the target, but Carlos still pointed his fingers at Mia.
He created more earth bullets, preparing to shoot at him again.
"Repeated skill? Only two offensive skills then."
*Mew!?* (What are you wasting your times for!? Kill him!)
Mia harrumphed in an annoyance, "You will understand why I probed his skills soon. Well, I guess I'll have to show you why I didn't kill his soul."
Mia's cold eyes glared at Carlos as activated his psionic possession. Without wasting any more time, his conscience invaded Carlos' mind space, raising his hand and grabbing the old man's soul on his face.
*PLOP*
Carlos' inner conscience disintegrated to pieces. In an instant, Mia escaped from the white room, which reddened and distorted the moment the old man's soul died.
'It has begun.'
Mia's conscience returned to his body, and he levitated to 20 meters above the ground.
*SCREEEECH!*
The old man spasmed and screamed a monster's voice. His body convulsed and bulged as if his muscle masses increased. Within three breath, Carlos transformed into a 3-meter disfigured humanoid giant monster.
*MYA!* (WTF!?)
"Berserk Mode. It happens when an overmind's soul is dead while his body and his residual core are still alive."
*MYA MEW!* (THEN WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU KILL HIM EARLIER!!)
"An overmind can jump into a different body before death. He can permanently possess anyone and any living being, including small insects, bugs, and ants, including you."
*…*
"To kill an overmind, you can't kill his body before you kill his soul. Or else, he will always escape. The only way to kill him is to eliminate his soul first, but we also have to prepare for a fight against the overmind's berserk mode. If I don't know what kind of psychic element or attack patterns, do you think I can easily kill that monster?"
*…*