Before gathering information about its versatility, Ash thought it was a good idea to know about the ability's limitations. And thus, his past hour was spent experimenting to collect the data.
In the end, he was quite satisfied with his findings.
'At this moment, I can only lift things that are within my physical capabilities... and I can feel that this is only going to grow as I train with my power more and more.'
'I can influence things that are more than twenty meters away from me.'
The distance was vague, and it wasn't like after twenty-five meters his telekinetic power would disappear; no, after the said distance, its effect would gradually diminish. Not long after, he wouldn't even be able to lift a feather.
'If I touch something, it doesn't leave any marks... well, that's great to maintain secrecy. I don't even have to do any physical movement to activate the power either... well, it helps with concentration, so I can use it when it fits.'
Having most of the restrictions noted down, Ash turned his attention back to see how versatile his power was.
The first thing that he did was obviously lift things.
There weren't many things to lift, so he focused on the giant's hand. As he concentrated on it, he felt something opposing his will.
'Hm! Is something resisting my will?'
Ash increased his will; in return, the resistance grew stronger. The veins in his head began to pop out after a few exchanges, but in the end, he managed to lift the giant's hand… barely, that is.
'Gasp! Phew! What is this resistance? Does he have some sort of passive defensive ability?'
Thinking, Ash turned his attention toward the cultists. Squinting his eyes, he tried lifting their hands ever so slightly, and it succeeded without any resistance.
Before the cultist noticed anything wrong with his hand, Ash stopped messing with their limbs.
'Hmm! It's likely there is a defensive ability that protects him…'
This little experiment of his made him conclude that it was indeed some sort of defensive ability that was opposing him previously.
As Ash was thinking about a defensive ability, an idea struck his mind. Concentrating his mind, he willed a small force field to appear in front of him.
Although it wasn't visible to the naked eye, he could feel where it was. Cracking his knuckles, he made a fist and punched toward the wall.
With a thump, his hand stopped in its tracks, numbing his fingers a bit.
Flailing his hand in pain, Ash regretted putting that much force behind his punch.
'At least now I know it won't be broken by some half-assed punch.'
Satisfied, he began thinking about some other ways to use this power, and after turning his gears for a minute, a new idea appeared.
'Hmm! Can I lift myself in the air...'
Technically, he should be able to lift himself as his body would hardly weigh more than seventy kilograms.
'Well, flying would be impossible, but I could at least levitate...'
Nodding, Ash focused his will on himself and was about to lift himself in the air when something interrupted him.
Levitating barely above the surface, he squinted his eyes and looked in a certain direction. There was nothing but darkness there; still, he could feel someone moving.
'Someone is coming? Are they done with the dancing? This quickly? But I'm only hearing a single footstep.'
Quickly, he deactivated his ability and tucked himself behind the giant. For some reason, he had begun treating this behemoth as his personal shield.
Tak! Tak!
Ash looked in that direction, but the person was still beyond the radiance shining from the candle.
For some reason, he could hear these light steps even when they were nowhere near him.
It wasn't just some basic hearing either; Ash could feel like a bat who had gotten enhanced hearing power.
'Has my hearing been enhanced as well?'
This thing was bugging him for quite some time.
After awakening the Nexus, he could feel that there had been some physical changes, an enhancement of sorts. His senses seemed to have gotten sharper, and his mind was clear as well.
If in a concentrated state, he could even hear the shallow breathing of those around him.
Tak! Tak!
The sound of the steps intensified, and the person appeared within his vision. He was a middle-aged man with tired eyes and broad shoulders, and he looked like someone who was dissatisfied with his job.
Stopping right before the prison cell, he opened his mouth.
"Hey, all four of you get ready… we are going for a ride."
Saying this, the guard didn't feel the need to explain further. His tone wasn't like the others', but it wasn't exactly friendly either.
While the other guard had called the prisoners in a mocking tone, he appeared disgusted with all four of them. It wasn't without a reason either.
'Four of them... which one of us is he excluding?'
Well, it didn't take long to figure out that that would be the giant sleeping right next to him.
'Now that I think about it... Why is he still sleeping? Did they drug him too hard?'
Thinking, Ash observed the other cultists. And to his surprise, they didn't show any resistance and stood up. Matching their pace, he also began moving toward the gate as well.
The guard opened the gate and let them out.
Binding them with rope, he deprived them of their senses by putting a blindfold over their eyes and covering their ears.
The guard took every measure to prevent them from memorizing the layout.
'Jokes on you... I've another method...'
Curling his lips up, Ash called the Imp and instructed him to take note of the route they took.
After going for who knows how many minutes, they finally reached the location.
As the guard removed his blindfold, Ash felt uncomfortable getting blinded by the sunlight. His eyes squinted, trying to adjust while he moved his head around.
'What is this place...'
Ash was surprised to find that he had reached a garden, and dazzling and beautiful flowers adorned every inch of the place. But that wasn't what had caught his attention.
Right in the middle, an old man was sitting on a swing, dangling gently in the light breeze.
Ash suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as the cultist behind him whispered in fear.
"Tiglath... the blood tyrant."