Chapter 161: Mental boost

"From what we have seen, the mechanical golems patrol only the corridors but not the rooms, meaning we are safe for now and we will have to open more doors to hide in case things get out of hand..." Blake said.

For now, the rooms were a safe haven for the trio, not because the golems were unable to enter the rooms unless an intruder was seen entering one or on special occasions, but because the facilities core was still in its booting process.

Having the mechanical golems patrol each and every room on all floors of the facility was counter-productive.

So the owner of the facility had made each room able to scan its occupants and if an intruder was found the golems will be immediately deployed.

(AN: If you have noticed as still mention the unknown owner of the facility, but remember the golem identified Zultra as master.

So let me know what you guys think about the 2 characters and their positions in the comment section.)

But due to the core's recent malfunction, the scanners, among other key functions of the facility were currently unavailable making their stay more pleasant than it was meant to be.

"The good news is that the golems won't attack me since I am with the Journal and since we have a map there is no need for us beat around the bush." From Blake's tone, they already knew the bad news was pretty bad.

"The bad news is that the golems are heavily armed and if you guys are spotted it won't be an easy fight." Blake said.

"Also, even if we finally make it to the center of the facility, we might not be able to make it into the warp array because that is where the golem charging stations are located." With the help of the holographic map, Blake perfectly showed them how fucked they were.

[You are forgetting something. Like the school warp arrays that let you access them using your badges, this warp array requires a key card that can be substituted for the master control.

But even then, you have to crack the array for whichever map you want to be warped to.] The system explained.

Everyone, including the system, saw the journal as just a remote control, but they had no clue that it was part of the facility's core which was a legend-grade artifact.

And because it was still bonded with the owner (yes Zultra is still alive), Blake was unable to gain complete control over the base leaving him with no other option than to crack the arrays protecting things he needed access to.

"Even if I am to crack the arrays protecting the maps, it doesn't take care of the golems attacking them." Blake said pointing at Castiel and Blake.

[Remember, the journal is a master control and although we can't control them at will, there is still info about their blueprint…]

"Meaning we can study them for weaknesses." Blake completed the system's sentence as he picked up the journal and immediately began cracking arrays.

(AN: Unless it's a serious type of array, I won't be explaining each and every detail so as to have more content in each chapter.)

The greatest problem they had was the golems, but because their blueprint was protected by more arrays, Blake decided to go for the beast floor map since it was one of the easiest.

"…" Having nothing else to do, Castiel and Brian decided to take their minds off their current situation by cultivating.

After close to 3 hours of working non-stop, Blake cleaned the sweat that had formed on his forehead and let out a sigh of relief.

He had successfully unlocked the 'pass' to the floor the beast floor, but the mental work had made him quite tired and hungry so he took a 2 hours break.

'I am not sure if it the mental boost from the upgrade or me filling up the 24th star, but that was quite… easy.' Blake said as he ate a roasted beef sandwich.

The arrays he just cracked possessed 70 nodes which were quite close to double the amount he had cracked last time, but the surprising thing was that he only broke a sweat.

[There you have your answers.] The system confirmed Blake's thoughts. [I don't know why but for the system to have undergone an upgrade at the 24th star there has to be a hidden reason.]

After his break was over, Blake returned to the journal which was still afloat and connected to the system's mana vision.

"How many nodes are we dealing with?" Blake asked the system.

[158 nodes.] The system replied

"What?!" Blake exclaimed as he had the system repeat what it just said because it seemed he had begun losing his hearing ability.

(AN: LOLLL...it's a mind link, you don't need your ears XD.)

[158 nodes.]

"Well I have been waiting to use the mental boost, so let's check it out." Blake rub his two hands and was about to activate mental boost, but that was when the system's warning popped up.

[Mental boost:

(Active): Once activated, the system converts the host's mana into electric charges that supercharge the brain, causing an increase in its efficiency to more than twice the original efficiency.

Note: This skill leaves the host's brain cells drained after use and the adverse effects are proportional to how long it is used.)]

[If you are to use the skill for a very long period, you will most likely turn brain dead when deactivated.] The system said [So, I suggest you start without it and when you are at your limit you activate the skill.]

"Alright." After imagining how his life would be when if he turned into a vegetable, Blake had no complaints.

After more than 3 hours of intense concentration, Blake had easily gone past the 70th node, but as he was nearing the 95th node so was his mental strength approaching its limit.

On conjuring the 95th mana needle, Blake had reached his limit and decided to use mind boost.

"Activate mental boost..."