The date...
[December 21, 2029]
[7:34 AM]
December 21st—it seemed there was still some time before the original story began.
Instinctively, I turned on my smartphone and checked the alarm. It appeared the winter break ceremony had been yesterday. Thank goodness I don't have to drag myself to school.
I panicked thinking I'd have to vacate the dorms, but Raon Academy's system of having graduating seniors vacate their spots for incoming freshmen is actually quite novel. As long as I don't get expelled, I can stay in the same dorm for all three years. That's pretty good.
Single rooms were typically reserved for students with exceptional talent.
Raon Academy, with a freshman class of around 120 students, assigns dorm rooms based on academic rank, determined by performance in the tutorial phase.
The lowest-tier dorms house six students in rooms with only three double beds. From there, rooms progress to four-person, two-person, and finally, the single room I occupy.
Only twenty students get single rooms?
If that's the case, Yun Se-a's Academy rank must be at least within the top twenty. Since the protagonist maintained the top spot as the youngest student council president by the time I enrolled, it's safe to assume my rank is first place.
Status Window—I didn't get a good look at it earlier.
Muttering "Status Window" in a low voice, a shimmering blue window flashed into existence before me.
INFORMATION
Name: Yun Se-a
Age: 18
Alignment: Good, Lawful
Skill List
Psychokinesis (A)
You can manipulate telekinesis with complete mastery.
Recovery (S)
You can perfectly heal any injury, though the pain remains.
Blunted Senses (B)
Due to prolonged experimentation, you have a diminished sense of pain.
Stats
Strength: C+
Defense: D
Magic Power: A+
Stamina: F
Agility: B+
Luck: A+
'The Demonic Eye of Suggestion... is it missing?'
From my hazy memories, I distinctly recalled Yun Seong-ho forcibly implanting a monster's eye into me.
"I wonder if I have something like an inventory... Ah, there it is."
Inventory
A shimmering "Inventory" window glowed beneath the Status Window. I quickly tapped it, and as expected, detailed information about the monster's eye Yun Seong-ho had inserted appeared.
Demonic Eye of Suggestion
When activated, staring at the sigil in the user's eye can induce a state of suggestion in the target. Targets with higher magic power can resist this state. Once under suggestion, the target's senses are completely dominated, trapping them in a user-created illusory world under a state of perfect hypnosis.
Additional Effect: Magic Power Rank +1
...Isn't this completely overpowered?
This ability was even more versatile than the powers wielded by the villains in a certain manga, known for their iconic lines like, "I will stand in the heavens," "Since when did you think I wasn't using Kyōka Suigetsu?" and "Don't use such grandiose words; it makes you look weak."
While that manga's powers couldn't conjure illusions of nonexistent things, the Demonic Eye of Suggestion could.
Although it couldn't permanently hypnotize opponents with high magical power, the bonus effect of increasing magical power by one rank meant it could effortlessly subdue early- to mid-game villains.
Yun Se-a had this incredible power, yet she lost to the protagonist... No, she resisted even in that moment, weakening its effect.
Whether Yun Se-a's abilities were innate or acquired through forced experimentation remained unclear. Assuming she possessed both Psychokinesis (A) and Recovery (S), the second-year protagonist's chances of defeating her were virtually zero.
I have the Natural Recovery (A) skill, but... how many experiments did that bastard Yun Seong-ho conduct to evolve Natural Recovery (A) into Recovery (S) just to survive?
Skills typically evolve through enhancement, either by consuming mystical elixirs or by using them so frequently that one's understanding deepens to the point of advancement.
Naturally, higher-ranked skills have greater limitations. But look at Recovery (S), which evolved into an S-Rank Skill as if such limitations were insignificant.
Perhaps... the vast quantities of spiritual elixirs and monster corpses I consumed, along with Yun Se-a's desperate will to live through constant cutting and regeneration, reflected in my understanding of the ability, causing it to rapidly improve.
The thought left me feeling uneasy.
Speaking of which... with the semester ending, should I return to my family's estate for the break?
Students at Raon Academy had two options for the vacation:
First, return to their family estates to rest during the break and return on the reopening day.
Second, remain in the dorms, attending special lectures by faculty working over the break or simply relax until classes resume.
"...Honestly, if we let the original story play out as it's supposed to, there will be massive casualties."
The protagonist and his companions would naturally survive unscathed, but countless others would be sacrificed to prove just how powerful the enemy they defeated truly was.
From the chairman of Raon Academy to the S-Rank Heroes who had been the protagonist's allies, all would be slaughtered to demonstrate the enemy's overwhelming strength.
"What should I do...?"
As he sighed in deep thought, a blue window began to flash as if it had been waiting for this very moment.
Main Quest
Assist the protagonist in defeating Demon King Mephisto and saving the world.
Reward: Private Audience with God, 1 Wish Voucher
"...A private audience with God? What's a Wish Voucher?"
If I use this Wish Voucher, can I return to my original world?
"...I didn't want to do anything anymore, but suddenly having something to do has reignited my motivation."
First, defeating the Final Boss would unlock a way to return home.
If I use the knowledge and resources I've gained throughout the game...
I might be able to return home even faster than in the original story.
"To do that, I'll need to... return home first, after all."
Just as I was about to contact home, a notification popped up from the text app, which was linked to the phone app: a large number of blocked messages had arrived.
Blocked Messages
[ Lee Seol-hwa ] 999+
Blocked Calls
[ Lee Seol-hwa ] 99+
Is this a cumulative record?
I checked the block list to see if Yun Seong-ho's number was there, but to my surprise, there were an unexpectedly large number of records from Lee Seol-hwa.
Lee Seol-hwa
Se-a, it's dangerous there. You need to get out of there immediately...
Lee Seol-hwa
Se-a, I'm truly sorry about what happened back then. I probably don't deserve to say this, but...
Lee Seol-hwa
Se-a, please answer my calls. It's really dangerous there. You're being deceived by that man. If you see this message, contact the Healer who's a close friend of mine...
...That's quite a lot.
Her warnings against being manipulated suggest she knows I've been brainwashed by Yun Seong-ho.
"At least when it comes to brainwashing and hypnosis, nothing can overcome the Demonic Eye of Suggestion."
By the time Yun Se-a realizes this herself, it will be far too late. But I'm different; I know the original story.
Ever since I possessed this body, it's as if my soul was swapped out. I've never been affected by brainwashing at all.
When someone falls under Yun Se-a's hypnosis, a red status ailment marker labeled "[Hypnosis]" appears next to their character. But earlier, when I checked my Status Window through the system, there was no such marker.
Still, just in case...
Just like Yun Se-a did in the game, I gazed into the mirror.
"[Demonic Eye of Suggestion], activate."
- Paaah!
From one of my eyes, an octagonal magical formation-like pattern materialized.
"If there's any brainwashing on me, ignore it completely. To achieve your goals—to return home—use any means necessary. You must ensure this story has a happy ending."
Good. I'm starting to feel things fall into place in my mind.
Now, let's continue.
"Become the shield that protects the protagonists of the Academy Swordmaster, and the blade that tears apart anything threatening them. Yun Se-a."
Then, the reflection in the mirror nodded and reached into its chest, pulling something out.
That... as I suspected, there was still a trace of Hypnosis at work.
What she pulled from her chest was a purple orb, identical to the one I had destroyed in the elephant statue earlier.
It hasn't been activated even once yet.
It must have been her final trump card, hidden away for the most desperate of emergencies.
Then, the Yun Se-a in the mirror began mouthing something:
- Take good care of this world from now on.
......!
Before I could even say anything, Yun Se-a in the mirror instantly shattered into a purple amethyst. Behind the shattered Yun Se-a, my own reflection appeared perfectly intact, my dazed face reaching out to grasp the shattered image.
...Yes, I've received your request, Yun Se-a.
Thanks to you, I've steeled my resolve.
"I swear, no matter what it takes, for the sake of this story's happy ending, Yun Se-a—no, I—will stop at nothing."
With that, the self-hypnosis is complete.
Before returning to the main house, I'll need to acquire a sharp knife.