Chương 52: Mind Reading?

As I had predicted, Grasiva was a small and quiet town. And as I had also suspected, given the difficult transportation, the food supply here was almost entirely self-sufficient. Along the way, I saw fields of barley and potatoes. There were also orchards growing fruits, most notably grapes and apples. The carriages rolled into a cluster of houses and eventually came to a halt at a small town square. The townspeople gathered around us. A politely dressed man hurried forward to offer his greetings.

"Oh, you've finally arrived. Allow me to introduce myself; I am the Mayor of Grasiva, Lucil Markalus. Please, just call me Lucil." Iris naturally stepped forward, acting as the spokesperson for the entire group. She performed a graceful curtsy.

"Greetings, sir. I am Iris Malisa, the Hero Candidate assigned to care for those afflicted by the illness in this town. Please, everyone, do not worry. We will certainly do our utmost to help the patients and prevent the disease from spreading further." Hearing this, the surrounding people looked immensely relieved. I activated the Halunar' Eye and noticed Iris's Reputation stat ticking up by a few decimal points just from that introduction.

I desperately wanted to nudge Lealia so she would introduce herself to the townsfolk as well, but I knew she wasn't the type to seek the limelight. The other two male Candidates didn't react either. Just like that, Iris was suddenly the default group leader of the four-person team. The Mayor led us to our lodgings for the coming days. It was a row of three rental houses facing a small courtyard. I took a quick tour of all three and found they had identical structures: two floors with five rooms each.

Conveniently, everyone would have their own private room. I carried my luggage and Lealia's up to the second floor. The three rooms on the ground floor were reserved for the Church guards. The furnishings in each room were basic and identical: a bed, a small cabinet, and a clothes rack. Only one room had a desk, so naturally, that became Lealia's. Once we finished unpacking, we ate lunch in the small courtyard. Meals would be prepared by a local chef in an outdoor kitchen twice a day, at noon and in the evening.

Today's lunch was fish soup and bread. Apologies to the chef, but this fish soup sucked. It was simply overboiled, mangled fish with a bit of salt and some unidentified seeds. The fishy odor was still incredibly pungent. Despite having fasted since morning, I couldn't even manage half a bowl. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The bread was slightly better; it had a strange but pleasant aroma, though it was still quite hard.

As everyone gathered for lunch, I seized the opportunity to check the stats of the only Hero Candidate I had no information on yet - Nathan. Name Nathan Roger Race Human Health 78/90 Mana 56/90 Strength 115 Intelligence 217 Reputation 11 Rank 28/28 Skill Empathy (Lv. 22) Mind Controlling (Lv. 10) Telepathy (Lv. 8) Mind Reading (Lv. 3) Archery (Lv. 5) I nearly spat out the mouthful of water I was drinking. This Nathan guy... has the ability to read minds?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Nathan - who was sitting half a table away from me - seemed to sense something and looked directly in my direction. My heart skipped a beat. I quickly shifted my gaze to the others, pretending to casually observe everyone in the group. Nathan's eyes only lingered on me for about three seconds, but that alone was enough to make my heart thud against my ribs with pure anxiety. Was he reading my thoughts?

Could he read my old memories and discover that I was a soul inhabiting a borrowed body? No, no, no. I can't think about that! If I think it, he'll read it! Thoughts raced through my mind, spiraling out of control. Calculating people like me fear nothing more than having our minds laid bare. More accurately, there wasn't a soul on this earth who wouldn't be terrified of someone reading their innermost thoughts.

If I were a villain harboring some grand conspiracy that needed to be executed in secret, the first people I'd eliminate would undoubtedly be those with mind-reading abilities. Even those wearing the mask of a "good person" had even more reason to be afraid. Take that "Saintess" Iris, for example; if she knew the person sitting next to her could read her mind, she wouldn't be able to keep up that cheerful, friendly act for a second longer.

"Asher? What's wrong?" Lealia's question startled me. Had I been so tense that it was showing on my face?

"It's nothing. I'm just a bit worn out from the jog earlier." I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax. Calm down. This Nathan's mind-reading ability is only at Level 3. At such a low level, it's barely better than a sharp intuition. There is no way he could pick a specific thought out of a crowd from over two meters away. With a collection of skills that most people would find stigmatizing and suspicious, it's no wonder he keeps such a low profile.

His other skills also lean toward reading people and mind control, but they are all at low levels. Telepathy could be quite useful in group activities, but only if its range was wide enough. Mind Control was more suited for fighting humans than magic beasts. Overall, these skills weren't particularly essential for a conquest. It was understandable why he ranked dead last among the 28 candidates. However, if the person wielding these skills had ambition, it would be an entirely different story.

Once Nathan reached his full potential, Iris's efforts to win people over would became a joke. He could easily gain the public's favor or manipulate their minds to suit his will. At that point, his Reputation points would skyrocket without limit. I just didn't know what kind of person Nathan actually was. How did constantly sensing the emotions and thoughts of others impact a person's character? I was quite curious about that. Well, if those skills were in my hands, I would definitely end up being a total bastard.