While Kyle was thinking, he heard Eleanor's voice drifted upstairs, warm and melodic. "Kyle! Dinner's ready!"
His stomach growled in response. He had been staring at system screen, choosing a class for several hours. It was only natural he'd be starving by now.
`Testing the skill can wait.. I'm fucking starving right now!` He forced the screen away and descended the creaking steps.
The room was bathed in warm firelight. Alden at the head of an oak table, Eleanor placing a steaming pot of stew beside a loaf of crusty bread. Her hips swayed as she turned, the fabric of her dress tightening over her plump ass.
"There you are!" Alden gestured to a chair. "Eleanor's rabbit stew could bring the dead back to life."
Kyle slid into the seat opposite Eleanor. Her big breasts sagged downward as she leaned over to fill his bowl, giving a clear view of her cleavage.
`Fuck!` Kyle's cock stiffened as he forced his eyes away. `Calm down big boy.`
"So," he said, spooning the stew. "where exactly am I? I mean, what's this kingdom called? What's beyond the forest?"
Alden tore a chunk of bread. "You're in Valdor Kingdom.. well, the end of it. Our village is Oakhaven. Nearest city is one day west, Stonehelm."
"Valdor rules all these lands?" Kyle asked.
"Mostly." Eleanor smiled as she said. "To the south, behind Blackroot Mountains, you've got the elf forests."
"Elves?" Kyle feigned ignorance.
"Arrogant tree-huggers," Alden grunted. "They'll put an arrow through your eye before asking questions."
"Elves aren't our only neighbors. To the east, there are Hazard Kingdom." Eleanor continued. "The second largest kingdom after Valdor. The desert covers most of the kingdom."
"There are other kingdoms adjacent to Valdor." Alden chuckled. "Although they are very small."
Kyle nodded, then said. "What about north?"
"North.." Eleanor's smile faded. "There are the Demon lands. They usually attack the kingdom."
"Especially after the hero's prophecy announced by the church a year ago" Alden chuckled darkly.
"The hero's prophecy?" Kyle asked.
"When a demons king appears, a prophecy comes to the church about the hero who will defeat the demons king and save the world." Eleanor replied. "The current hero is the son of the previous hero and the former saintess."
`Hero? I bet he has a harem already` Kyle's mind raced. "Thank you two. Now I have a good view of the world."
"No problem. If you have any other questions, you can ask us at any time." Eleanor chuckled lightly.
Kyle glanced at Eleanor, a sudden thought piercing his mind. `Can I… see her stats? Like my stats screen?`
He focused on Eleanor, imagining his stats system screen. Suddenly, a translucent screen flickered over Eleanor's face:
[Name: Eleanor]
[Strength: 4 | Intelligence: 9 | Endurance: 5 | Agility: 6 | Magic: 0]
[Affection: 9%]
`Holy shit.` Kyle nearly choked on his soup. `It works!`
He shifted his gaze to Alden, pulse quickening. A screen shimmered in front of Alden's head:
[Name: Alden]
[Strength: 6 | Intelligence: 8 | Endurance: 9 | Agility: 4 | Magic: 0]
[Affection: 5%]
Kyle began examining the window and trying to understand it. `Affection… that's the key. The higher it is, the less INT matters for "Mind Control".`
He looked back at Eleanor. `Eleanor has higher affection.. I need to test it.`
As Eleanor raised her spoon, he unleashed [Mind Control] skill, connecting to her mind. Suddenly, Kyle's pupil glowed weakly crimson.
The command slithered from his mind to her: `Drop the spoon.`
Her fingers twitched. The spoon clattered onto her bowl, loud in the sudden quiet. "Oh!" She blinked. "Clumsy me."
Kyle hid his grin behind a bread crust. `It works! She didn't even know what happend!` His eyes returned to their natural color without him knowing.
Alden noticed that Kyle's eyes had just turned crimson. "Your eyes.. their color.. did they just turn red?" He asked hesitantly, unsure of what he had seen.
`Red? Did that happen when I used the skill?` Kyle wondered in surprise.
Suddenly, the system screen appeared in front of him: [Activating the "Mind Control" skill turns the user's pupils into crimson temporarily as a side effect.]
`And you're telling me this now? Damn system!` Kyle cursed in his mind.
"Red?" Eleanor frowned, leaning closer. The candlelight flickered in Kyle's dark irises, which had become ordinary now. "What are you saying, dear... Clearly, his eyes are black.
"Yeah." Alden's shoulders loosened. "I must be tired from today's work."
"You scared me.. I thought I had caught some kind of disease from the forest." Kyle forced a chuckle, every muscle taut. `Too close!`
---
After dinner, Kyle returned to his room and closed the door quietly behind him.
He walked to the window. Moonlight spilled across the floor. After a moment, he turned to the mirror beside the wardrobe.
He studied his reflection in silence.
Messy black hair, yet neat. Deep black eyes. Sharp features—above average. One could say… handsome. His build was ordinary, not thin, not muscular. Just a normal young man.
Kyle stepped closer to the mirror, staring into his own eyes. Then, without hesitation, he activated the skill [Mind Control].
In the next instant, his pupils turned crimson with a faint glow that stood out in the dim room.
Kyle sucked in a quiet breath. `So… it's not an illusion.. It has really turned crimson.`
He kept staring at himself. `The real question isn't whether it works on others.. but whether it works on me.`
Kyle already knew how ridiculous that sounded.
Mind control was meant to override someone else's will, not your own. But if the skill didn't treat "self" as an exception. Then this isn't just control. It's optimization.
`If I can really do it… then this isn't just a skill anymore.`
If he could issue commands to himself, things like fear, hesitation and pain would no longer be obstacles. He will be able to remember anything and even focus on more than one thing at the same time.
His gaze shifted away from the mirror. On the small desk beside his bed lay a thin sewing needle. Kyle remembered Eleanor leaving it there earlier after fixing a loose seam.
He picked it up between his fingers. Returning to the mirror, he raised his hand and watched his reflection closely.
Then, calmly, he gave the command. "Do not feel pain."
Kyle brought the needle closer to his fingertip. The sharp tip hovered just short of touching his skin.
Then, with a single movement, he pricked the needle at the tip of his finger.