"Is this your class ability?" Fumiya Jin asked, looking at her.
"It is," Yuki Suou nodded, her cheeks blushing slightly, but she maintained a calm expression.
"Direct mental control?"
"Not exactly," Yuki Suou shook her head. "This skill is called 'Command by Finger'. When activated, I can issue a command to any target I can see within ten meters and who can hear my voice."
However, the command isn't guaranteed to be carried out. It depends on the target's mental resistance—or willpower—and their degree of aversion to the command... The former determines how long it takes for them to break free from the control, while the latter determines whether they'll be unable to resist acting on my words during that struggle.
For example, if I ordered someone to slit their own throat, even if their mental resistance is very low, they would at most just struggle in place for a while. It's highly unlikely they'd actually go through with it because their inner aversion to the command is too strong.
Conversely, if it's someone with strong mental resistance, but the command I issue is for them to blink twice in a row, they would very likely comply."
Yuki Suou clearly already considered Fumiya Jin a definite choice for a teammate. She was now explaining her skill to him in great detail, holding nothing back. In fact, her sudden use of the skill on Fumiya Jin was not just out of competitiveness; a large part of it was to directly demonstrate her ability to him, letting him experience its effects firsthand.
After listening, Fumiya Jin pondered for a moment and felt that this skill was quite powerful.
Although its control effect wasn't absolute, the activation requirement was extremely low, making it almost impossible to defend against on the first encounter.
In battle, a moment's hesitation could lead to defeat, let alone several seconds of mental confusion.
Its only drawback was the immense mental toll and the need for concentration, making it difficult to launch an attack while maintaining control.
In other words, it's like Bane in DOTA or Malzahar in LoL; while controlling the enemy, you're also, to some extent, controlling yourself. But even so, this sudden and hard-to-defend-against control effect was definitely powerful enough.
After all, this thing didn't just control; it could also compel a target to act to a certain degree.
"Hah... Hah..."
After finishing her explanation, Yuki Suou was also panting slightly. Clearly, using the skill on Fumiya Jin just now had not been easy for her.
She looked at Fumiya Jin and remarked, "Your mental resistance is frighteningly high. Just two or three seconds and my head was already starting to spin... But it's also obvious that your subconscious didn't have a high aversion to my command, which is why you executed it so quickly. In other words—you're actually quite susceptible to falling for me, hehe. The proof is irrefutable; it's useless for you to deny it."
Fumiya Jin looked at the girl's cunning smile and fell silent for a moment.
After a few seconds, he spoke: "Fine, I agree to be your teammate."
This was certainly not because of the bet the girl had just proposed about "having to be her teammate if he lost"—Fumiya Jin hadn't agreed to any bet with her in the first place, so naturally, he didn't need to bear any consequences.
Fumiya Jin agreed mainly because he saw her potential.
To have obtained such a powerful skill after just the trial instance, her future was indeed promising.
Besides, the fact that she could bring a kendo master here in such a short time already proved her sincerity towards him.
So, there was no harm in agreeing for now.
"Yay!" Yuki Suou laughed, also letting out a sigh of relief. "With a reliable teammate like you, the next instance should be in the bag."
"Wait, have you forgotten something?" Fumiya Jin said.
"Oh?" Yuki Suou paused, looking at him. "What do you mean?"
"The last time we met, I told you I'm not someone who likes to be on the losing end, right?" Fumiya Jin said, gazing at the girl's exquisite face, which was just inches away.
Yuki Suou sensed a hint of trouble. "I remember that, but... were you on the losing end?"
"Of course. You used a mental control skill on me," Fumiya Jin said with a straight face.
"Wasn't I just taking the opportunity to show you my ability?" Yuki Suou pouted slightly. "And... I didn't hurt you, did I? Come on, you're the one pinning me against a pillar right now... You even took a bite out of me, and I haven't even called you out for being fresh!"
"But that was your command in the first place. You ordered me to do it, so that was you..."
"Ngh... Th-Then what are you planning to do?" Yuki Suou started to panic a little.
"I'm not planning to do anything," Fumiya Jin shook his head slightly. "I just feel like, oh dear, your control effect doesn't seem to have ended yet. What's going on."
As he spoke, he lowered his head.
"What?" Yuki Suou froze for a second, then immediately understood. "How could it not be over! The maximum duration of my control is ten seconds at most, and your willpower is so strong, I was about to pass out after just three seconds of controlling you. How could it possibly not be over... Don't you dare slander my good name!! Hey... what are you doing, don't do this..."
"I... am... being... con... trolled..."
"Controlled my ass... Ah... S-Stop, stop, stop, I was wrong, bro... Fumiya-san, I was wrong... Don't... I'll never use it on you again, really... S-Stop..."
[Trait activated, Sharpness +1]
[+1]
[+1]
...
Twenty minutes later.
"Click, clack, click, clack..."
In the long corridor, a maid with long, straight black hair led the way.
Fumiya Jin and Yuki Suou followed behind.
Yuki Suou had changed her clothes, her small face flushed red.
Although she walked beside Fumiya Jin out of courtesy, she carefully maintained a distance of one meter.
Fumiya Jin, however, wasn't paying any attention to Yuki Suou at all. Instead, he was watching the slight sway of the maid's perky rear as she walked ahead.
It's worth mentioning—this was definitely not because he was being horny.
He was simply contemplating a very serious problem.
In his mind, he could see that his Freedom Sharpness gauge had reached over ninety percent.
In other words, he was on the verge of the next Sharpness upgrade.
Even the lowest-level Red Blade was so powerful; if it were upgraded again, its might was certainly something to look forward to. It would also be a significant boost for the next instance.
But how could he raise this last little bit of Sharpness?
He had already grinded enough on Yuki Suou, pushing it to the limit. Now he had to consider other sources.
Did he have no choice but to make a move on this maid?
Just as he was thinking... the maid stopped.
It turned out the three of them had arrived at the entrance to the living room.
Fumiya Jin looked inside and saw an old man with grizzled hair and a sturdy build, exuding an extraordinary aura, sitting by a coffee table and drinking tea.
A bold idea came to mind.
______
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