130 Shady Dealings Part 3

The time Desmond spent bonding with Robert passed rather quickly for Desmond. Before he knew it 4 days passed, Robert on the other hand didn't feel the the same way. Minutes felt like hours to Robert he had long ago lost track of time. Robert was only sure about what happened in the present. He didn't have the the luxury about worrying about the future because he knew his future was uncertain.

Ever since Robert fell into Desmond's hands he had known only pain. Pain is beauty, it is a form of art. As Desmond's blade continuously danced across Robert's body his inexperience showed, but Zane's will was always there to steady his hand. Resulting in the wounds becoming deeper snd shallower where they should be. Ensuring Robert stayed alive while the most pain was inflicted.

Rest was not really required for Desmond he can push his body past its breaking point whenever he wanted. Desmond only temporarily stopped tormenting Robert when he was worried Robert would actually die. Desmond absolutely didn't want that, death was an escape ultimately it ment it was a show of mercy. After all Desmond was put through he didn't have a single thought about showing mercy. Desmond had full intention to always keep Robert alive and health because he will for a very long time be Desmond's most prized guinea pig.

"That is enough it should be safe to use the technique on him now".

Zane's will had been watching Desmond torture Robert closely to make sure he didn't accidentally go overboard and ruin a perfectly good test training dummy. Once Desmond heared those words he was happy to stop. Torturing someone was mentally and physically taxing it brought Desmond no pleasure only magic did that. After all the time Desmond spent inflicting pain on Robert his arms were sore and he was sick of the various smells a single human could produce when you've tormented them to such an extreme as Desmond had.

"Alright I'll start now then".

Desmond had the technique [emperor's challenge] engraved in his mind all of its strengths and weakness were clear as day to Desmond. In his free time when he wasn't tormenting Robert he practiced the activation of the technique. Since it was a new technique Desmond wasn't particularly good at it, but he was good enough to succeed in activating it once out of every three attempts. Which was simply amazing for something that your unfamiliar with.

Desmond placed his hands around Robert's bloody skull and focused his mind. Desmond's mind wasn't particularly outstanding it was on the level of a normal humans, the things that Desmond experienced has considerably strengthened his mental fortitude far beyond what a average human typically has. Desmond's mind is at the level of a battle harden soldier that you could find on earth making it nothing in the eyes of a true mage, but at least it meant Desmond wouldn't go down without a fight.

For 2 hours Desmond stood completely still the technique puts a great strain on the mind, but that didn't discourage Desmond he continued to focuse until it finally happen. Desmond's pupils expanded till they were as wide as an owl's and once again radiated a beautiful rainbow glow. While Desmond's eyes were marvelous to look at they lacked a certain awareness. Thats because apart of his mind had left his body and entered Robert's.

Inside Robert's sea of consciousness his mind was just like Desmond's it was in the state of a gas cloud. Not a single drop of water representing a persons mental strength could be seen. There where only 2 eye catching things inside Robert's sea of consciousness which were its outer walls which had large cracks on them which allowed a strange gas to easily invade Robert mind.

That foreign gas was Desmond's consciousness invading Robert's mind. The moment Desmond's consciousness entered Robert's mind Robert's unconsciously lashed out. It was an instinctive measure that everyone possesses. As Robert's mind clashed with Desmond's sparks were formed they shot out in every direction dispersing large sections of the gas cloud that formed both Robert and Desmond.

Robert had the upper hand over Desmond since they were inside his mind. The amount of force he could generate was significantly stronger then Desmond but all that torture Desmond put Robert through wasn't for nothing. It disoriented him making it hard for him to focuse his senses it often made him pay more attention to what was happening outside of his body thin in his mind.

Robert had a strained expression of pain plastered on his face and so did Desmond. Neither of them were doing well. Desmond may have significantly reduced the danger for himself by torturing Robert but it didn't make what he was doing any less dangerous. Every spark that was generated when Robert and Desmond's minds clashed where their neurons flairing. Every large and small burst could potentially lead to a neuron dying or a blood vessel in their brain bursting which is exactly what happened to both of them.

Desmond couldn't handle the pain of blood vessels bursting like popcorn inside of his head it forced him to let go and kneel on the floor to hold his head. Blood dripped from Desmond's nose onto the floor his ears rand loudly as he cradled his head in his hands. The pain was so excruciating Desmond didn't even have the energy to get mad at Robert for puking on him. As soon as Desmond had regained some of his composure he asked Zane's will.

"How long did I last?"

Desmond wasn't yet able to tell time when he was inside of someones mind because time is perseved differently inside of someones mind so he had to ask Zane's will.

Zane's will emotionlessly replied, "7 minutes and 4 seconds".

Desmond was shocked by that number. "7 minutes, all that time I wasted on that piece of shit and yet all It brought me was 7 minutes".

"You should be happy about that number I expected you to last 3. Besides its not like what your doing is some kind of game were you get everything you want. On average for someone's mind to reach even the most bottom tear amongst mages and cultivators using the conventional method takes about 10-15 years. My method is a bit less conventional and will allow your mind to reach a satisfactory level in about 7-10 years. If you had some kind of natural born talent in this field then that would be shorten again to around 5+ years.

Strengthening a persons sea of consciousness is considered by many more difficult then strengthening a persons soul. Since there are a lot of ways to strengthen the soul when compared to the mind. This is why many people lag behind in this aspect when compared to their other abilities but it is not something anyone has ever given up on cultivating. The benefits given from having a strong mind is simply to numerous for that".

The road of magic is truly a long one Desmond just had yet to realize how stupidly long it actually was. Desmond seeing that there was clearly no work around gave up any thought about mastering something in a weak and taking his reveng because now he knew he was in for a long ride.

"I'm going to take a quick nap then go find that shop I told you about. Magic training is obviously going to take a while so I'm going to take care of other things real quick. That stupid war is around the corner yet I have far to little things to protect myself with. Not to mention that I haven't been to the training camp for about a month".

Desmond released a long sigh because the future for him was filled with nothing but work.

Zane's will looked at Desmond and said to him, "thats fine but while your away I need you to acquire a few things".

"Like what?"

"Weapons every kind you can get a hold of, but more specifically a morning star. That absolutely can not be missing from the pile. You must be trained in every kind of weapon, you don't need to master them but you should know the basics. Also you will need to acquire an alchemy set even if you don't plan on becoming an alchemist you must know the basics such knowledge may save your life".

"I understand the alchemy and why I must gather a bunch of different weapons but why specifically a morning star?".

"That's because it is one of the weapons I am most proficient in and the one you will master".

Desmond didn't know how to feel about having his weapons chosen for him. He kind of liked daggers the most and always assumed he would master that if he wanted to truly master using a cold weapon.

"Do I get a choice?".

"What do you think?"

"I'll get your stupid morning star then?".