Mind Demon's Path of Domination

The storm raged as Mark flew and landed on a large boulder, facing the turbulent skies with calm poise.

What should he do?

This was the preparation stage, the battle before the fight, and Mark was already in a bind. Trapped in an elaborate scheme, prepared specifically for him.

This was his most advantageous period in the whole Suffering, but now, it was all ruined. He had three choices now—go to the Demon World, remain in the Savage World, or use the Portal Key in his hand to enter the World of Star Fever.

"Star Fever," Mark said, musing. "What a weird name for a world. Seems like some weird disease that might even have us in a pinch."

Reol’ran nodded. "...Indeed."

"The River of Destiny seems capable of truly elaborate plans, I didn’t even notice as it led me to a perfectly cramped situation. That means it is no fool," he said, indecisive for a moment. "No matter what I choose, all of the paths ahead feel as if it is laid out for me by my enemy."

Mark hated that sense of predetermined doom. With his bad luck, neither the Demon World nor the World of Star Fever was safe, unlike the Savage World. But even the Savage World was just as dangerous, just not in the short term.

His enemy—the unknown assassin—was going to be a superbly lucky person and he must be growing stronger at an immense pace. Staying here in the Savage World, he would remain stagnant while his enemy grew like a rising star.

So it was also a bad choice.

What... should he do?

Walk into the World of Star Fever, a world about to reach the Tier 3 limit, knowing all too well that it was a trap?

Return to the Demon World, knowing that his bad luck might get him killed in the weirdest of ways, and try to get into that Tier 2 tournament to earn more Seals of Destiny?

Or stay in the Savage World and hope his enemy isn’t too strong while enjoying his illusory peace?

"What do you think, Reol’ran?"

"I..." she hesitated. "If you decide to remain in this World, you can train your current talents to the best of your capabilities. You have a lot of untapped potential, so it is not like you will be truly stagnant. Waiting, making traps, and preparing for the enemy sounds like a decent plan."

Mark closed his eyes. The rainwater slid down his body.

"What if my enemy is so absolutely strong, he can butcher all my traps?"

Against true strength, petty traps barely mattered. And another fact was that—since the River of Destiny could trap him so easily, it meant that behemoth could sense him. It meant that all his traps were already under its observation.

If Mark himself was the River of Destiny, he would tell the details of the trap to his enemy and make killing the target easier.

Fwoosh.

His eyes snapped open.

"No, I won’t remain in the Savage World. That’s the most passive option of all!"

Reol’ran bit her neatly trimmed nails. "Going to the Demon World is too dangerous. If our thoughts are correct, you will end up in trouble the moment you enter back.

"Even if you are in a Demon City upon teleportation, there are ways the people there could kill you. And you might even be dropped outside the City, which will be even more dangerous."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, trees tilted, wind screamed.

Reol’ran fluttered around his World Space and said, frowning, "Then, our only option is to enter the World of Star Fever. But if the mission you get upon entering that World is too time-consuming, it means you will have to face the Suffering of Man in that World."

But that means their enemy could be a Tier 3 person instead of a Tier 2. Currently, Mark was a force to be reckoned with for any Tier 2 creature, but for Tier 3, the stage would change.

"Lil Ran," he said, a strange twinkle in his eyes. "I don’t want that, either. It is a path laid out for us by the enemy, it has read our actions like a book. We need to do something unexpected and completely ruin its flow.

"We need to do something we wouldn’t have done normally and only then can we shift our downward spiral. Something completely out of the blue."

Reol’ran paused in her movement.

Usually, the River of Destiny could read any creature’s destiny. It would know when a mortal would die before that mortal was even born. It knew the future of almost all living beings—it was the river that brought balance to chaos, as her family said.

It was a sacred power.

But Mark had left his own predetermined destiny behind due to the influence of his Violet Mirror. He was a free man with infinite possibilities ahead. He was like a Tier 5 being.

Yet, even his future could be more or less read by the River by speculating and predicting his actions in comparison to his past actions. She herself hadn’t noticed how the River might have been scheming against Mark, but Mark had noticed!

The River was predicting his actions and setting up traps ahead. Then, he should do something completely unexpected and out of the box. Something other than the three options he had.

"Turning the Savage World into a Mega Dungeon and absorbing its World Core..." He said. "That would take a lot of time and I have a feeling that War Slayer would become my enemy if I chose to do that."

Was that also in the River’s plan?

"You need something more unexpected," she said. "Yes, we should think about both the enemy creature and the River of Destiny. If it has everything planned for you, you should destroy that plan with something completely unpredictable."

Mark looked up into the sky. Above the storm clouds, above the atmosphere, what was out there?

Was the Savage World a planet?

What would happen if he flew out of the atmosphere and close to the sun and moon?

Can he then move to a different World without a Portal Key?

Was that a stupid idea?

"What’s in the skies, Ran?" he asked.

Reol’ran was taken aback, then said seriously, "Each world’s Space is a different scene. But there is nothing to be gained by heading out there—other Worlds are too far. Only if you can move faster than light can you travel between Worlds. You can only do that with a Portal."

"I see, then what if I cloned some thousands of people to look like me with Alchemic Shapeshifting? Will the River of Destiny mistake those clones with me?"

"No, the River can’t be fooled that easily. It’s almost omniscient since all Worlds let its power flow through them."

Mark grew silent.

"You have an idea?"

"There are other Demons in this World, they might have more Portal Keys. If not, we can help them complete their mission, then steal the Key..."

They might get a better World to travel into. But since Mark got a bad Key last time, it was probably going to be based on his luck, or it might be based on the River of Destiny’s relationship with the Demon World.

What if all the Keys he got were bad Worlds?

How much does the River of Destiny know about me, he thought. Does it know about the Violet Mirror?

If it doesn’t, that means the River wouldn’t know he knew its plans.

Suddenly, lightning zoomed across the area and Mark froze. His whole body was suddenly crackling as the intense thunder rang in his ears—but he could hardly notice, everything felt white in his sight.

His hearing was gone, his sight was gone, and his whole body felt searing pain.

Mark’s defensive magic aura was destroyed like thin paper facing a knife.

He screamed and instinctively touched his own chest, shapeshifting his body back to health repeatedly before everything suddenly calmed down. The boulder he was standing on was half destroyed, there was a dark patch around him.

Lightning!

He had been hit by lightning!

If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have died!

Mark coughed as he walked forward, his whole body felt prickly. Even his hair was standing—his heart rate, on the other hand, was faster than ever. He felt sick and hyped at the same time, but his head kept seeing stars.

"That..." Reol’ran said seriously. "This shouldn’t be due to your bad luck, your bad luck shouldn’t be life-threatening at the moment. This was just a coincidence..."

"Bad luck, my ass, but damn hell that lightning was fast!"

He jumped up and flew through the storm till he rose above the clouds to enter calmer skies. Now, he could watch the thunder and lightning below him while flying around above. Indeed, he decided what to do.

He just had to be very unexpected. Do something that went against his own common action.

Mark knew just what to do.