Chapter 53: Life Will Never Be The Same.

The creation of my new minds marked a significant turning point in my journey, one that would forever alter the dynamics of life within the dojo. As I emerged from the depths of my core, I could feel the eyes of my fellow disciples upon me, their curiosity piqued by the transformation that had taken place.

Standing outside the dojo, my newfound confidence radiated like never before. I could sense a shift in the atmosphere, a subtle change in the way I carried myself. With my expanded mind, I felt a surge of creativity and clarity unlike anything I had ever experienced.

As I began to explore the depths of my new mind, I was amazed by the endless possibilities that lay before me. Ideas flowed freely, each one more vibrant and imaginative than the last. It was as if a dam had been unleashed, flooding my consciousness with a torrent of inspiration.

With my newfound mental faculties, I knew it was time to explore new avenues of magic. My Macabre Verdant Mane Brain, as I had named it, held untold potential waiting to be unleashed. It was a part of me that had been dormant for too long, and now, with my enhanced abilities, I was ready to tap into its power.

I could feel the energy coursing through me, a primal force waiting to be harnessed. With a sense of determination, I focused my mind on the task at hand, reaching out to the magical energies that surrounded me.

As I delved deeper into the mysteries of my Macabre Verdant Mane Brain, I began to unlock its secrets one by one. It was a journey of discovery unlike any other, a voyage into the unknown realms of magic that promised both danger and adventure.

But with my newfound allies by my side and my unwavering resolve guiding me forward, I knew that nothing could stand in my way. The dojo would never be the same again, for I had become something more than I ever thought possible.

With each passing moment, I felt myself growing stronger, more attuned to the rhythms of the magical world around me. And as I stood before my fellow disciples, I knew that my journey was only just beginning.

I started out small, using my mind to give thoughts to them. His Elegance was the only one to slightly catch on at first. There was a way to do it with just words and not magic, I could feel it. I knew with all my mind that I could bend their wills like a stonemason carving a sculpture. Not just out thinking them but causing them to lose all will to live, was well within the realm of possibility. No matter how much I thought about other things I couldn't stop this feeling of knowing how to turn their brains off, making them living vegetables. No amount of death magic would be necessary to do this. 

At first it would only need to start as small tweaks to their thoughts and eventually I would be in their subconsciousness. I could tell as my power grew I would be able to just skip hop and jump around their single tracted minds and close them off from their own brains. Unimaginable power that even fictional characters from my home world with mind abilities couldn't even contest with.

It was like looking at a map. I was fully aware of the location of every person in the dojo and many of the creatures looming in the area around the dojo. The mana in the air was telling on them, all. I could see it all almost with perfect clarity.

Out growing the dojo mentally I began to wander with my mind looking for somewhere to begin my journey to build my new home one where I could feel safest. No longer needing the protection of the dojo… My mind halted, was I getting too big for my own head. I know there are monsters out there much stronger than I am still.

I held out my hand making a mixture of metal magic and hyphae. I began to combine what I attempt to use as the walls for my labyrinth. Creating a small chunk of it within my hand I began to understand what ratio would work best to make my fantasy come true. Living walls fully controlled by me being the center of it all. Just moving it all organically would be enough to make it all come together. I could build some kind of conduit that I could control with my puppeteering skill. It was fully within the realm of my skills to do this.

With the small ball of metal and hyphae in my hand I began to move it, controlling it like it had string to its puppet body. I could feel within the skill there was a way to impart a mind/programmable thought within this mixture. One that could be controlled by me almost subconsciously.

I needed to know my limits, how much of this could I make. How strong was it, I began working on the two thoughts feeling around me with my mind and cleaning the magic spell. I remember the reason diamonds were tough from my old life and used it in my thoughts to make this metal stronger. I forced the architecture of the spell into place and began weaving a new spell, one where this metal would have the same properties as one of the hardest materials on my planet with the extraordinary properties of metal itself. Forcing the material to its limits I began to conjure up an idea for its size. I wall twenty feet thick with the hardness of something like diamonds. An impossible to break wall. I know that with my current mana pool I could construct something the size of a supermarket with my full potential. I could expand it day by day until it reached the edges of my receptors. It would probably take me about a month, maybe less to do.

Before I could finish my idea of building the labyrinth right here on the spot a voice caught me off guard. "Gravitas, are you okay?" The Captain said in a hushed mutter. His first time speaking anything out loud it almost embarrassed him to ask it at all.

"I was about to do something crazy." I said in return. With the next moment I pushed a lot of thought at him, almost overwhelming his cognitive abilities. That should be enough to explain everything.

(The Captain)You mean to tell me you built a whole brain and a half all on your own? 

(Main Body)There was a shared thought between the four of us, we could feel what the other was going to say without them thinking it through all the way. They didn't know what to do. It seemed they were having trouble thinking at all anymore because of it. Here guys use my Concurrent Thought Cortex to think, as I said that I moved all the mental channels from the old way of weaving them to a weird hub like connection(at least from their perspectives). They could tell instantly that there was more room to think.

(The Captain) You're telling me you think differently now too? (His Elegance) Not only that but it seems like he is having ten complete conversations right now. What is going on with you? Why did you do this to yourself?

(Main Body)The Captain's voice echoed in my mind, his thoughts tinged with a mixture of awe and concern. It was strange to hear their voices in this new way, as if we were connected on a deeper level than ever before.

"I did it because I wanted to push the boundaries of what I thought was possible," I replied, my thoughts flowing effortlessly both aloud and into their minds. "I wanted to see just how far I could go, how much I could achieve. And now, with my new minds, I feel like anything is possible."

His Elegance's thoughts echoed my sentiments, his curiosity piqued by the changes that had taken place within me. "But at what cost?" he asked, his thoughts filled with uncertainty. "Are you still the same person you were before, or have you become something else entirely?"

I paused, considering his words carefully. "I may be different now, but I'm still me," I replied, my thoughts tinged with determination. "I haven't lost sight of who I am, or what I stand for. If anything, I feel more alive than ever before, more connected to the world around me."

As the words echoed in their minds, I could sense a shift in their thoughts, a newfound understanding dawning within them. We may be different now, changed in ways we never thought possible, but we were still Gravitas, the one who has to get out of Euthryia and back home to his family.