Chapter 134 - Three Options

"Hm, so what I felt back there was him... no doubt mages have rather peculiar spells." Said Jay, who was walking back towards Kai, carrying on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes none other than Nico, whom he had met just less than a minute ago.

While he was busy testing the power and capacity of his [Mental Network], just as he had been about make an important choice, he, along with his little ones, could feel a certain cluster of energy coming closer and closer to them.

At first it was just a vague sensation that didn't really seem to be able to cause them any problems, so he had decided to ignore it.

However, for some reason, said cluster of energy suddenly approached them at great speed and without care, making Jay unable to ignore it any longer.

As a result, he had no choice but to stop what he was doing and take care of this situation first, which was going to be a problem since despite being connected to the [Mental Network] with his parasites, either due to lack of practice or that he simply couldn't do it, he wasn't able to identify the source of the energy cluster.

Fortunately, the moment he thought of it, his little ones responded with a surprise for him, which was, they expanded his vitality radar by a lot.

As if that wasn't enough, this expansion even went a bit farther than the distance his little ones normally reached on their own.

Anyway, thanks to this, it didn't take him long to find a certain person hiding in some bushes, Nico.

He had thought he would have it a bit tricky if Nico started running right away, but as if today was his lucky day, the mage's physical state was much worse than normal, almost as if he had run a marathon carrying weights, only requiring Jay to use a simple head-lock to knock him unconscious.

All of this had only taken him at most a minute or two, but even then, with a slight tone of urgency, a system notification jumped in front of Jay.

_____________________

[Warning: Due to the distance, the connection to the individual [Kai Sorge] now consumes a greater amount of energy for lesser performance, if the distance remains the same for a prolonged amount of time, the connection will be terminated.

Recommendation: Return to the vicinity of the individual as soon as possible].

_____________________

'...Wow, I'm not even that far away and there are penalties already  ? Looks like it's more fragile than I thought...' Jay thought as he closed the system notification.

Because this was the first time he was trying to use the [Mental Network] on other people, Jay made sure to remember this information especially, so he wouldn't make a mistake in the future.

He then decided to increase his pace, making it clear that he didn't want the connection the system was talking about to be cut off.

Since it really wasn't that far away, he arrived in no time.

At the site, Kai was still in the same sitting position that Jay had left him in, although there were a few changes on him to mention.

Firstly there would be the fact he had deactivated his ability, so he was no longer releasing any kind of glow.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, was the expression on his face, which was completely expressionless, with a blank stare that seemed to be looking off into nothingness.

'Oh, you kept him in that state, good job. Give me a second and I'll be with you.' Jay thought into the [Mental Network] as he bent down to set Nico on the ground before sitting down himself, in the same position as before, facing Kai.

Though of course, not before leaving one of his little ones in Nico's body, so he could know exactly when he would wake up... to put him back to sleep.

He was in a bit of a hurry, but that was understandable, after all, the main issue tonight, now that he had already rescued Vilda, wasn't to teach any of those responsible a lesson.

In fact, that had already been buried in the bottom of Jay's concerns for the time being.

Instead, Jay's priority right now was to fully test all the things he could do with his new system ability.

"Now then... let's continue..." Jay whispered.

Without wasting any more time, the esper then placed his hands on both sides of Kai's head again, his [Mental Network] strengthening again.

Although he had not deactivated the ability due to not wanting to sever the connection, it had remained in an incredibly weakened state, and only at this moment did it regain its original strength.

Immediately, a wealth of information began to fill Jay's head.

From emotions, memories of today and the past, among so many other things pertaining to Kai, each and every one of them momentarily flashed through his head, causing chaos.

However, after a pair of seconds passed, everything calmed down.

It was the same as the first time he entered Kai's mind, that is, just a few minutes ago, where Jay had great difficulty making sense of all the information he was receiving.

The reason for this was because there was simply too much information, which was represented in the form of an innumerable amount of sensations and memories.

Worst of all was both the amount and the rate at which they were going through Jay's head, causing Jay to even begin to doubt his identity.

If things had gone on like this, Jay would have undoubtedly deactivated the ability or at the very least severed all connection with Kai, as he really didn't want to have to deal with identity issues.

However, both the system and his little ones jumped to his aid before he gave up.

First, his little ones, sensing the problems Jay was having in their [Mental Network], immediately moved to block all the information that was coming in, giving Jay a break but leaving him blind.

Although he was grateful, the problem was not solved by this.

Fortunately, by this point, the system had a solution that it didn't take long to offer Jay.

_____________________

Notice: It has been noted that the [Carrier] is having problems trying to establish a mental connection with the individual [Kai Sorge], proceeding to display the list of solutions.

_____________________

After that message appeared in front of him, Jay patiently waited for the list that mentioned the system, all under the protection of his little ones, of course.

In a matter of seconds, the list then appeared, highlighting the options Jay had in this situation.

_____________________

Taking into account the physical condition, energy levels, and authority level of the [Carrier], the most recommended options are as follows:

A) - Mental Organization: the system, using the energy of the [Carrier], will organize all the information available in the mind of the individual [Kai Sorge] into a more user-friendly and understandable interface. This option will double the energy consumption of the [Mental Network] skill.

B) - Parasite Distribution: Using all available parasites, the information available in the mind of the individual [Kai Sorge] will be divided and delivered to the [Carrier] in controlled quantities. This option will place a great burden on the parasites, risk damaging the information in the process.

C) - Parasitic Possession: For a brief period of time, by making use of the [Mental Network] the [Carrier] will be able to possess one of the available parasites, obtaining all of its innate abilities. This option will place a huge burden on the selected parasite as well as on the [Carrier], there is a possibility of permanent brain  damage.

_____________________

For a brief moment, Jay was silent, not knowing whether to be surprised by what the system offered him, or whether he should stop wasting time and analyze the best option.

Either way, he could do neither, as at that precise moment, a cluster of energy better known as Nico interrupted him.

Luckily, Nico was more of a minor interruption than a serious problem, it could even be considered a good thing if one took into account that he had  helped Jay to realize the fragility of the [Mental Network] with distances.

Now with that out of the way, Jay then resumed his task of analyzing each option one by one, he would have time later to express, again, his surprise at the system.

Starting from the top, the organization option was simple and concise, explaining that this time the system would do the work in exchange for using Jay's energy.

A simple and less complicated option without any lasting consequences, but it was also for that very reason that Jay thought there was something else that the description did not show.

Though of course, figuring out what it was, was something Jay really didn't know how to do.

If it had something to do with his little ones, he could at least get an idea thanks to the [Mental Network], but he had the impression that this option had more to do with the system and himself, rather than his little ones.

The second option was more understandable for the same reason the first lacked information, the involvement of the parasites.

Thanks to the network, Jay knew that his little ones had wanted to do something moments after they blocked all the information coming from Kai, being incredibly proactive in helping in any way as they always were.

He couldn't quite understand what it was they had planned, but whether it was from the boost of the [Mental Network] or from the description of the system, perhaps something to do with the two of them, Jay now understood exactly what his little ones were referring to.

Apparently, they were fully aware that they could act as information carriers for Jay, and were happy to do so even though it would leave them drained and weakened.

But unlike the system, they didn't simply do it without asking, preferring instead to wait for Jay to give them the order.

'Hm, they're certainly good kids.' Jay thought, feeling strangely proud for some reason.

However, he really didn't like the idea of his little ones being the most affected, so while this option was perfectly viable, he preferred to consider the others first.

Finally the third option, and the one that most caught his attention, "Parasitic Possession", which as its name and description indicated, would allow him to possess the body of one of the parasites inside him.

This option followed the same direction as the previous one, in that it required the parasites more than Jay himself.

But it was also for that reason that this was the option with the most benefits for Jay, who was extremely familiar with the abilities of his little ones.

From being innate masters of energy control, to being able to greatly influence other people, this was only the tip of the iceberg that was their repertoire of abilities.

If he chose this option, in fact, it was even possible that his understanding of them would be greatly increased, adding yet another benefit to this option.

However, just as the benefits were enormous, the description of the system was clear as to what the price to pay would be.

'Permanent brain damage... I guess that's to be expected...' Jay thought.

That was the main deterrent feature of this option, not knowing exactly what the damage would be or how it would manifest, but there was also a certain detail that caught Jay's attention.

With the first option, he could understand the parasites not knowing about this as it seemed to be something completely in the system and not requiring them for the process.

With the second, the parasites knew about it and wanted to implement it.

But with the third, even though the parasites were also absolutely necessary, no matter how much he immersed himself in the [Mind Network], Jay could find no indication that his little ones knew that possession was possible.

This made him suspect that perhaps these options had to do with something bigger in the system, but because it wasn't an appropriate time to get into theories, Jay again had to leave yet another thing for the future.

'At this rate I'll have so many things coming together that I won't be able to do anything...' Jay thought, already even having a bit of trouble remembering his to-do list.

The next moment then, after considering the pros and cons of each of the options, Jay made his choice.