Chapter 136 - Gathered In One Place

After a few minutes, the whole process had been completed, and now the library was filled with colorful books of various sizes.

From those containing dozens and dozens of pages, to those like the first book that had appeared, with just a couple of pages.

However, if one had to mention which part of this library was the most striking, it would undoubtedly be the painting in the middle.

Now completed, the painting showed a Kai with a smile on his face, with the shades of color used to create the painting being vibrant colors, radiating a feeling of happiness towards the people who saw it.

"Really interesting... I wonder if it has something to do with his personality...?" Jay wondered, not exactly understanding how this painting worked.

That was one of the many questions Jay had, hardly even knowing where to start with so much information present.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that this was a whole new world for him, but before rejoicing, the first thing he needed to do was clear.

'Now... I should probably cut the connection, right..?' Jay thought, entering into a doubt about what he should do now.

There was no doubt that [Mental Network]'s potential coupled with the system's oragnization gave rise to an enormous amount of possibilities for him, as had just been demonstrated, presenting all the information available in Kai's mind ready for Jay to examine.

However, while this had all started with Jay trying to influence Kai and becoming a little too curious as he failed, he was hesitant with moving too many things around here.

The mind had always been a tricky and complicated subject, both for people without powers and supers, making it so that among the branches of magic and the countless esper abilities, the ones that provoked the most fear in people were those that could affect, in one way or another, the human mind.

There had been more than a few cases in which an inexperienced magician or even a child esper with little control of his ability would have caused an enormous amount of trouble by the simple fact of being able to damage the psyche of another person.

Most of the time, this did not end well even for the powerful supers who resolved these issues, leaving them with after-effects that only time could heal, and sometimes, even that did not help.

With this, one could see why the subject of the mind was usually treated as something sensitive, because in reality it was.

It was for this reason that Jay had to be extra careful with this, as now, with his [Mind Network] ability, he had entered the category of people who could affect the mind of others.

'Just as the system said, the only variable here would be me, so if I'm not careful, I could cause irreversible damage...' Jay thought, pondering seriously and considering the option of leaving things here.

The next moment, he let out a sigh and looked around, noting the massive amount of books filling the shelves, their colorful covers immediately catching his attention.

'...Although, I'd better do a couple of tests before I leave, to get used to this... besides, I haven't really reached the limit yet...'

Thus convinced, Jay then temporarily discarded the idea of just looking around and  then began to ask the system several questions, all concerning things he could do here without damaging Kai's mind.

To his surprise, the system assured him, over and over again, that unless he actively started breaking things here, there would be no harm done even if he opened every single book.

Now without worries, Jay lost his care and began to read through a few books trying to figure out the way they were organized, whether they were laid out randomly or if they were divided into categories.

Unfortunately, the latter did not turn out to be true.

The way it was organized was strange, as it seemed to be completely random but at the same time it gave the feeling that there was a reason for this.

'Hm, It looks like it will take me a long time to assimilate all the information here...' Jay thought, coming to that conclusion judging by the time it had taken him to read only a few books.

While he really would like to spend more time here, not only was there the risk of someone else finding him just as Nico had done, but because he was also starting to feel slightly exhausted.

Therefore, although reluctantly, Jay knew that it was time to wrap things up.

At once, Jay put down the book he was reading and moved to the center of the library, right in front of the column containing the Kai's painting and sat down on the floor with his eyes closed.

The [Mind Network] then received a clear command to all who could hear it, that is, all his little ones, and the content was simple, "Help me with this."

Although it might seem like a vague message, to the parasites, it was a message they understood perfectly.

After saying that, a wealth of information began to pour into Jay's head, all being related to how the parasites influenced someone.

Of course, this wasn't an instruction manual or anything like that, but simply an amalgamation of instincts and sensations that his little ones were kindly transferring to him over the network.

Jay's face changed to that of a grimace of pain, a product of trying to understand something that was beyond his capabilities.

After all, parasites could do this so naturally that it was as if they were breathing, and the effect they managed to have on people was exceptional.

Jay, on the other hand, no matter how much his body had changed, was still, for the most part, human.

"...Ouch..."

After a short time, this exchange of information reached the point where Jay couldn't take it anymore, however, he didn't want to do something like ignoring or blocking the information, not when he felt like he was about to achieve a breakthrough.

It was a fleeting feeling that vanished as quickly as it came, but the most important thing was that it was there.

*THUMP!*

A loud sound that even seemed to move the entire library for a second suddenly rang out in the surroundings.

However, as loud as it was, Jay, either because he was concentrating to the extreme or for some other unknown reason, apparently hadn't heard it.

By this point, Jay's mind was in chaos, with unfamiliar sensations popping up one after another and instincts coming from organs he didn't have numbering in the dozens.

The more time passed, the worse his condition became, but despite this, Jay didn't seem to want to sever the connection, at least not yet.

*THUMP!*

Again, the sound returned, with the same force as before but with noticeable differences, as now it seemed somewhat softer.

At the same time, earlier this rumbling had only managed to shake the library, but now it had actually caused small cracks in several columns and shelves, a sign of the power it contained.

Even then, Jay didn't really seem to notice this, no matter how loud it sounded or how much damage it caused all around.

Thus, with Jay suffering from trying to do something his body was not designed to do, the rumbling simply continued, getting louder and louder.

Until finally...

*TU-THUMP!*

With that peculiar rhythm of twice in a row strangely similar to a heartbeat, the sound echoed every so many seconds, and the library now had huge cracks all over the columns and bookshelves.

As for Jay, he no longer seemed to be in pain, but truly, he had been able to comprehend some of the information his little ones shared with him!

Slowly opening his eyes for fear that perhaps his comprehension was slipping his mind, Jay's vision was filled with the library...or at least that was what he expected.

"..."

In front of him, several pairs of eyes were staring at him, belonging to no one but all the long  parasites that had helped organize the library.

The looks on each of their faces were filled with curiosity and another emotion that he didn't know exactly how to describe, but at least he knew it wasn't a negative thing.

It was a curious sight for sure, but it wasn't the most striking thing Jay could observe, as at this moment, the library had changed tremendously.

From the floor, to each of the bookshelves, everything was filled with huge cracks, leaving a disastrous scene where even books adorned the floor.

And from each of these cracks, what appeared to be a red-colored mass was slightly peeking out from each of them.

*TU-THUMP!*

"!"

This time Jay did hear it, and not only that, but he could also see how the red mass trembled at the same time the heartbeat sounded.

Instead of being scared or anything like that, however, curiosity filled Jay, who immediately got up and approached the cracks.

The next moment, he touched this mass.

"Ah... I see."

Almost instantly, perhaps because of the familiarity he had with parasites or because he was the [Carrier] of the Parasyte System, Jay was able to identify what this was.

But before he could say anything, a notification from the system appeared before his eyes.

_____________________

[Hidden Achievement Unlocked: "Early Discovery"]

Description: The [Carrier] has managed to do something that is above their current capabilities, as to whether this is bad or good, this will depend on the [Carrier].

Effect: Percentage of species (Human) has been adjusted to 50%.

_____________________

However, this notification was only the first to come, because as soon as he finished reading it, two other notifications appeared, one was congratulatory and the other... was a request.

_____________________

[Congratulations to the [Carrier] for successfully awakening a new type of parasite!]

Description: What lay sleeping in the library, hidden in plain sight, has been unexpectedly awakened prematurely, now, the [Parasite: Mental Dominator] searches for the one responsible!

Reward: 1 [Parasite: Mental Dominator]

Remark: Maybe... it's a little early...?.

_____________________

Reading this as fast as he could, Jay suddenly felt a shiver come from behind his back, which forced him to quickly turn around.

And it was at that moment that he saw the new parasite, which was nothing more than a large eyeball whose green pupil was not conspicuous enough to ignore the fact that the bottom of this eye was attached to the ground.

With the base of this eyeball being connected to the ground with the same red mass coming out of the cracks, it was clear that this was the one causing the cracks in the library, as well as the one controlling the longer parasites.

Despite the parasite being completely indifferent, Jay couldn't help but be surprised, especially by the latest notification from the system.

_____________________

The [Parasite: Mental Dominator] is requesting access to the [Mental Network].

Grant permission for the parasite to enter?

[Y/N]

_____________________

Faced with this, Jay was in trouble, as he really didn't know how to respond to this, especially considering the name of this parasite.

*BOOM!*

At that moment, an incredibly loud noise echoed in the surroundings, but this time it wasn't coming from the library or anything like that, it was coming from outside.

"...Something's coming!" Jay exclaimed as he rushed to return his consciousness to his body.

Even though most of his attention was focused on other things, he hadn't forgotten for a moment that he wasn't alone in the forest.

Therefore, it was no surprise that his response was quick, especially if he could sense with his vitality radar how something unfamiliar was approaching at high speed.

Having returned to his body, Jay then pinned his gaze in the direction of the forest where he felt the vitality signal coming from, a great current of wind beginning to surround his body.

*SWOOSH!*

"!"

Suddenly, a large object shot out of the forest, forcing him to move to avoid being hit by it.

*BAM!*

A loud sound rang out after this object hit a tree, before falling to the ground and becoming motionless.

"..."

With this action alone, Jay had been completely dumbfounded, a shiver bigger than the one he felt with the [Parasite: Mental Dominator] came to his body.

The reason for this, or rather, reasons, were easy to answer.

First, the 'object' thrown at him had been no one other than a girl Jay was already familiar with, Faith, who was enveloped by a cloak of glitter that was what appeared to be an attempt to defend herself.

Second, there was the fact that just dodging, an action he was good at thanks to his physique and martial technique, had still required so much concentration on his part that he even had to cut the connection with Kai.

And finally...

*Crash!*

With trees being broken, a tall, slender figure appeared from within the forest, dragging two different people with each of their hands, this people being Vilda and Tom.

Jay's pupils then dilated at the sight of this figure, his vitality radar giving him an accurate measurement of the energy it possessed.

"...(B) rank..." Jay said as each of his senses sharpened to the maximum.

Thus, all the people present in the forest finally gathered in one place.