Nick practiced his newly created technique for several weeks.
Testing a new ability was necessary since there were often oversights.
Nick worked together with the Technician and used him as his testing subject for his ability.
The Technician didn't have any issues with being a guinea pig since he was also interested in Nick's new ability.
"Actually, the Barriers work very similarly," he said.
"I know," Nick answered. "I took inspiration from that function and built on it."
"Well, I wouldn't really call it 'built on it'. Your method is a bit too intrusive, and a Barrier can do the same thing without needing the other person to agree to something like that," the Technician said.
"You know, it's actually not that easy to relinquish control over my eyes," the Technician said. "I've quite some restraint, and I know you very well. Yet, allowing you to fill my vision with whatever you want me to see still feels dangerous. I don't think your ability is that useful."
Nick's ability worked by warping the light in front of somebody's eyes to create an image.
Since he couldn't transmit the location of a Specter within milliseconds via voice, he thought that he would go via sight.
Nick decided to look at how Barriers transmitted images and at his own ability to create illusions.
Sadly, it wasn't that easy.
Just bending the light to create an image wasn't difficult.
The issue was the other person's will, instincts, and mind.
The eyes automatically sensed the Zephyx that manipulated the light and refused to process it.
This was a self-protection mechanism.
The minds of powerful Extractors would just autocorrect the image while feeling a bit of pain in their eyes. The pain was just there as a signal that somebody was trying to mess with them.
Weak Extractors would just see the entire world as blurry since their minds weren't fast enough to correct the image.
Getting past that self-defense mechanism would be akin to creating a true illusion ability, and Nick already had that with the Nightmare.
Showing an illusion to the Champion of Light was impossible since Nick would run out of Zephyx immediately.
Additionally, the Champion wasn't allowed to sense him.
The Barriers didn't intrude on the eyes.
They just displayed images with natural light.
They were basically just painting something on a transparent surface.
Nick thought about the Technician's words.
'He's right,' he thought. 'While I can transmit information like this, I also need to keep in mind how difficult it will be for the other person.'
'If the Champion's mind instinctively dismisses my illusions during a tense moment before the battle, all of this will be for nothing.'
'It must be as easy as possible for him.'
'But I can't use signals like the Barriers. The Envious Researcher might be able to intercept them.'
'That means I can only use my Zephyx.'
"I'll rework it," Nick said after a while.
"Back to the drawing board," the Technician said with a laugh. "You have no idea how often I wasted weeks testing a useless product."
Nick went back to his new office and started to redesign the ability.
However, it was much more difficult now.
Audible signals didn't work since language was a horrible medium for transmitting information.
Barriers could transmit more information in a second than a person could transmit within years of talking.
Visual signals worked, but the eyes were much more protected than the ears.
Touch signals could work, but Nick would need to create an entire system of signals to transmit three-dimensional coordinates, and the Champion also needed to learn that system for it to work. ṝἁ𝐍оꞖЁ𝘴
It might also be inaccurate.
Smell and taste didn't work for obvious reasons.
Zephyx sense also didn't work since humans sensed Zephyx with their Zephyx Synchronizer,and that was probably the most protected place within the entire body.
And if Nick created an open signal of Zephyx in the air, the Envious Researcher would also be able to sense it, most likely.
Nick tried to find a solution to this issue for almost 30 minutes.
Then, he mindlessly wandered out of his office and looked at all the different devices in the research and development department.
Maybe he could find a solution there.
Oftentimes, one didn't need to invent something new.
Something very similar to the envisioned product was probably already on the market, and one just needed to make some adjustments.
Creating everything oneself was inefficient and unproductive.
There were plenty of intelligent people out there, and one should take advantage of their intellect.
After looking at the machines for a while, Nick's eyes fell on a pair of glasses sitting on a table.
Naturally, Extractors didn't need corrective lenses. The Zephyx corrected any vision issues a person might have had before becoming an Extractor.
Nick knew this pair of glasses.
The Technician designed them.
Just like Barriers, they acted as small computers with many functions.
'But they work with electronic signals,' Nick thought. 'Same issue as with the Barriers.'
Nick continued walking through the lab, and eventually, his eyes fell on something very familiar to him.
'A Greater Relay,' Nick thought.
Nick had created a Greater Relay and used it to talk with the Technician in the past.
However, they hadn't used it in quite a while since the Champion was paying more attention to them, and without Nick being physically present, he couldn't assure secrecy.
'They transmit Zephyx. That would work.'
'However, everyone can see what they display.'
At that moment, Nick looked back at the glasses.
'With some special glass, we can make the outside reflective, keeping any information the wearer sees hidden.'
Nick looked back and forth between the two.
Then,he started to scratch his chin.
'I'm pretty sure I can do something with this.'
'What if I make some kind of Greater Relay that displays an image in a way only the user could see?'
'The Envious Researcher might be able to intercept signals created by human technology, but it probably can't do the same thing with Specter Zephyx.'
'After all, Specters are its allies.'
'Yes, I think that might work.'
The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.
/user?u=27791050