Aude's eyes narrowed with the strain of suppressed dread, her lips twisting into a forced smile that barely masked the tremor in her voice. "You may tell Saint Hidetada that his will is done, Sir."

Angar's brows creased, his cybernetic gaze piercing her. "I rule the north, then?"

Instead of answering, Aude knelt before him. With lowered head, she recited with ceremonial gravity, "I, Lady Aude Heddle, do swear my faith and fealty to you, Sir Lord Angar Mecia. From this hour forward, I shall be your loyal and true vassal. I will keep you safe, guard your defenses and secrets, uphold your justice and honor, protect your lands and possessions, and strive to make good counsel and action easy and possible for you, my liege.

"I shall do no harm, but will offer faithful counsel and aid, in person or through a duly appointed steward acting in my stead. All this I pledge truly and without deceit, before God, in the light of the Holy Trinity, upon my immortal soul."

She rose, her smile now as brittle as her eyes. "Forgive me. It was the best I could forge on such short notice, and under such circumstances, as they refused to yield directly to you. Believe me, without the Baroness title, I want done with this world that has bled me of so much time and wealth. Minor Gentry is meaningless."

Angar studied her with cold scrutiny for a long moment. "Then why not full investiture? Sever your ties to this world entirely."

Aude looked down, her gaze averting from his stare as if from Divine judgment, her fingers tracing the Trey pendant at her neck. "That would be unwise at this time, Sir. I've come to know many within this city."

Angar nodded, a grim satisfaction stirring within him. The ruler of these lands wanted to keep its people safe. That was good, as he harbored no such desire. "I'd like for you to appoint an off-world steward, a capable and obedient one, not a monk…local."

The northerners were his people now, bound by oath. He was determined to rule them sternly but fairly, chaining his seething disdain for them, at least in spoken words, masking his contempt behind iron discipline, vowing to never call them monkeys aloud again.

"I intended to, Sir Lord," Aude replied, her demeanor steadying like a soldier rallying after a shelling. "Or is it Baron now? You hold the only populated fief of the south as well, do you not?"

Angar checked his Annals, revealing Minor Gentry still his rank, and his fief and the seven sworn to him listed after, with a note, of course, stating they were all trash, and the income a negative.

"Not yet," he said. "But I'm a breath away. By tonight, or tomorrow noon at the latest. Address me as Angar or Sir Angar. Titles mean little to me, and noble titles nothing at all. Sit, Aude. I must select some Feats. After, I'll reveal my vision for this world. Your bid here will pay off. Your title will one day surpass that of Baroness."

A flicker of genuine hope crossed Aude's face, replacing the forced smile. She stood and moved toward the stands. "I struggle to see that future, Sir Angar, but a girl can dream. Or a Lady can. This fief is listed as having a negative income already, and I'm not even paying a steward's stipend. Truly, I'm just honored to serve Saint Hidetada. Ensure he knows that, please, on my behalf, and that of Auronix Solutions."

Angar's lips twitched. Aude knew little of Hidetada if she thought Angar needed to tell him anything.

He activated his screens, pulling up his notes with a mental flick, the interface painting the walls in strange shadows no one but him would see.

He had noted names known to grant psychic boons, and the powers related to each, but the specific wording would be critical, as it'd be easy to assume wrong. He needed to be exact with his three selections.

Astral Projection - Gautama, Maudgalyayana, Mi, Nanak, Vishwamitra.

Clairvoyant Perception - Gautama, Gabriel, Maudgalyayana, Mi, Michael, Muhammad, Nanak.

Emotional Manipulation - Gautama, Jesus, Krishna, Mi, Red Tara.

Gravitational Control - Hanuman, Vishnu.

Mental Breakdown - Krishna, Shiva.

Mind Assault - NA.

Mind Influence - Gautama, Gabriel, Jesus, Krishna, Mi, Muhammad, Nanak.

Precognitive Sight - Abraham, Arjan, Gautama, Jesus, Mi, Moses, Muhammad, Nanak, Noah.

Tech Disruption - Mi.

Telekinetic Force - Gautama, Hanuman, Krishna, Maudgalyayana, Moses, Nanak, Vishnu.

Telekinetic Restraint - Gautama, Hanuman, Krishna, Maudgalyayana, Vishnu.

Telepathic Insight - Arjan, Gautama, Jesus, Krishna, Maudgalyayana, Mi.

Vitality Drain - NA.

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Mind Link - Gray and Pleiadean only.

Projection Field - Gray and Reptiloid only.

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Biopsychic Manipulation - Gray only.

Cryokineticism - Gray only.

Electrosynapticism - Gray only.

Psychic Veil - Gray only.

Pyrokineticism - Gray only.

Accessing the Feats tab, he searched for the sacred names. Nothing. No trace. None at all related to psychic ability, when there had been the three basic psionic Feats listed before, the ones all Psychics or those with psychic potential were always offered.

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He growled a curse, and scoured the list again, combing through more carefully.

He finally spotted one, but the name was listed incorrectly. Sacred figures with multiple names and titles used different ones for their sacred rite, regular Feats, and psychic Feats.

The sacred rite used Siddhartha, regular Feats the First Buddha, and the psychic Feat should have invoked Gautama, but it didn't.

BODHI OF SIDDHARTHA: Beyond the Dibba-Cakkhu, your whole mind partially awakens, granting some clarity and awareness, enhancing general psychic ability and control, allowing deeper insight, extended range, and reduced mental strain in use.

It was unknown to him, absent from his list of possibilities, but its power resonated through the description. He'd prefer it assisted with manifesting another power, but he wanted it regardless.

It had to be one of the newly created Feats. He marked it but held off final selection, combing the list further.

Another caught his eye.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD: And because he needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man.

It was the other newly created Feat, and strange, quoting scripture directly. Feats never did that. And it was without explanation on its function.

The passage itself was the only clue, hinting at Telepathic Insight, a power that began with Feel Thoughts, evolving to Catch Thoughts, Read Thoughts, and finally, Sow Thoughts, the ability Azgoth had wielded to try bending Angar to Hell's unholy darkness.

Angar had no desire for such a gift. The powerful Heretics, those burrowed deep within the Holy Empire's ranks, would not be so easily unmasked, the sole reason why he'd want to know the thoughts of others.

But did that matter? He planned on being far more powerful than anyone else. Who was to say he wouldn't be able to do what others couldn't and discern powerful Heretics with Telepathic Insight?

Minutes later, he finished, finding no other psychic Feats. The meticulously crafted list, born of hours of toil and research, proved utterly useless.

It was infuriating that the general psionic Feats assisting with the basic manipulation weren't even on his list now.

With three Feat Options, he had planned to dedicate them all to his new gift, but that path was now barred.

He turned to the rest, wishing another Feat increased Adroitness. None did, but one stood out.

GRACE OF THE BLESSED MOTHER: Your bond with blessed Mother Mi Alcyone infuses you with a spark of her Divine purity, increasing your Spirit by 1 point and granting resistance to dark whispers and corruption beyond what is reflected in the Resilience Stat.

Angar's will was iron, proven many times over. As he was superior to all others, so, too, was his titanic willpower. This was a useful Feat offered to most, and most took it. The Spirit increase was valuable, as were the other effects, but he craved it for another reason.

He believed the blessed Mother watched him. Selecting this would signal he always thought of her, his unwavering devotion, perhaps summoning her to appear once more. Another brick laid, paving the path to her full return, leading him into glorious battle after glorious battle once again.

He could show her his new heraldry, her image emblazoned upon it, a testament to how much he cared for and honored her. He imagined her excitement and approval upon seeing it, knowing she'd love it.

For Psychics, the Mind Attribute governed strength, while Resilience covered a few things, reflecting not just general willpower, but also functioned as a well of endurance, somewhat like Energy Points.

More Mind would be nice, but no one picked Feats for raw Attributes and Stats. They were chosen for their effects.

There was a Feat he wanted as much as Grace of the Blessed Mother.

PROWESS OF BHIMA: Your might echoes with unyielding power, enhancing Physique by 2 points, while also increasing by 1 point each minute a foe is felled in battle, stacking against overwhelming odds. The effect enhances strength, not size.

His Feat options brimmed with names of sacred figures enhancing strength in some form – Ali ibn Abi Talib, David, Goliath, Hanuman, Krishna, Mahakala, Michael, Nalwa, Nimrod, Og, Samson, Shamgar, Vali, Vajrapani, Yamantaka.

Since no one ever took strength-related Feats, he had to guess if they'd be useful or not.

Only Prowess of Bhima offered stacking Physique in combat, potentially amplifying Resilience and Power Level to gloried heights in massed battles.

If it functioned as he hoped, against a horde, it would render the Olcinator ring a cheap trinket.

He yearned for dozens of other Feats, like Hope of Esther and Strength of Ali ibn Abi Talib, but his three choices were finite.

His Glory Points were reserved for Adroitness, leaving only four more Feat Options after this, those granted during his ascent through the third Tier. Correct choices, exact precision, was paramount.

His mind churned, thinking through all options. Minutes later, reluctantly, he selected the two psychic Feats and Grace of the Blessed Mother.

He'd rather have any power other than Telepathic Insight, but it was on offer. And life was filled with all sorts of disappointments, a new psychic ability the least among them.

And he'd rather signal Spirit now and wait for level 71 to get Prowess of Bhima.

He waited for a surge of power, a whisper from the beyond, a new vision, something. Nothing came.

Disappointment bloomed in his chest as he navigated to the Skills tab, and new disappointment flared alongside the old.

He should have an Electrosynapticism Skill. He did not. Not only that, he didn't have the Telepathic Insight Skill. He only had Psychic Defenses and Psionic Energy Manipulation, the two basic Skills.

And if he was manifesting powers wrong, as Eeshek'tik clearly told him he was, he was wary of taking these Skills, the hundreds of hours of training consolidating incorrect methods.

He needed to put more thought into this. The most famous Gray had offered Angar three lessons for merely returning to the Mindscape, a deed Angar had first accomplished without even trying. It couldn't be that hard. He'd ask Aude her opinion.

He navigated tabs to his Annals.

FEATS

ALACRITY OF ANGULIMALA: Your exceptional agility and swiftness grant you an almost preternatural awareness of impending danger, enhancing Adroitness by 1 point.

BLESSING OF AL-KHIDR: Your intuition blurs the line between the apparent and the hidden, allowing you to discern deeper esoteric truths beyond what is immediately visible, guided by your faithful gut instincts.

BODHI OF SIDDHARTHA: Beyond the Dibba-Cakkhu, your whole mind partially awakens, granting some clarity and awareness, enhancing general psychic ability and control, allowing deeper insight, extended range, and reduced mental strain in use.

GRACE OF THE BLESSED MOTHER: Your bond with blessed Mother Mi Alcyone infuses you with a spark of her Divine purity, increasing your Spirit by 1 point and granting resistance to dark whispers and corruption beyond what is reflected in the Resilience Stat.

LIGHT OF THE WORLD: And because he needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man.

MIND OF SHALOTH'ESHK: Unlocks psychic potential.

RAVANA'S BOON: Your ability to slowly regenerate applies to all injuries that do not immediately kill you. This minor regeneration effect cumulatively enhances (stacks with) most other sources of regeneration.

RIGHTEOUS REBUKER: Your resistance to temptation, reflecting Jesus' obedience to God's will, fortifies against the corrupting whispers, temptations, and influences from creatures of Hell, effectively elevating your Tier by 1 for the exclusive purpose of resisting these influences.

Angar strode to Aude and sat beside her, attempting to sense her thoughts the whole time. Her mind remained silent.

She glanced at him, her voice softening with the gentle chide of a nursemaid coaxing a wayward child. "I hope you're not planning to mine this world, Sir Angar. Any reputable company will cost more than it yields in profit."

"I am," he replied. "I won't be contracting a company though, reputable or otherwise. The labor will be free, save for depreciable tools."

Aude's face twisted in confusion. He understood why. Free labor meant slaves, and slavery was very illegal, bordering on the Heretical.

"Let me unveil my vision for this world," Angar added, his voice carrying the weight of inevitability.

Upon finishing, Aude's expression had curdled into horror. A nervous laugh escaped her. "You jest, surely?" she stated more than asked. "Right? You jest, right?"

Angar exhaled, purging his frustration into the stale air laden with the stench of seared monkey.

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