"Run away? Ha! Why would I run? You guys are exactly the kind of talent I’ve been dreaming of!" The Magician spread his arms wide. "Let me invite you one more time: How about joining me?"
"Tch, boring." Jill Young scoffed. "Let me spell it out for you: I’m just here to beat up monsters, not play house with you."
"Don’t be so old-fashioned. You should know the world’s changed." The Magician’s voice was full of persuasion. "The White Night arrives, the Chosen Ones are born, and Earth’s about to get shaken up. Just look around: a Druid, a half-baked mage, and me—put us together and we can run wild. If it weren’t for you, I could rule this whole world. And you, you could easily rise to the top, grab power and money without breaking a sweat. If it weren’t for us, you could do whatever you want and take it all."
Jill Young frowned. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
The Magician’s voice was low and steady, almost convincing. "Don’t you get it? With all these Chosen Ones popping up, the old power groups are bound to take a hit. Earth’s about to get messy. Everyone’s scrambling for their place, everyone’s in the game. Whether you become a mercenary or side with the big shots, it’s all just self-preservation. But I’m saying we shouldn’t settle for just surviving. The Chosen Ones are superior to ordinary people—they’re the evolved, the pioneers. This near-future world proves it: the armies here can’t stop us, and neither can Earth’s. We’re born to be in charge!"
"Heh, you remind me of some guy who wanted to be master of the world and ended up as a doormat." Jill Young wasn’t impressed. "Don’t kid yourself. The only reason you can walk all over this world is because there are monsters running around. If it wasn’t for years of monster invasions wrecking the old system, if you guys hadn’t lucked out, if there were more Chosen Ones to keep you in check, do you really think you’d get anywhere?"
"Ha, monsters! Now you’re getting to the point!" The Magician laughed, then suddenly his voice turned sinister. "To this world, monsters are outsiders, invaders, conquerors. So people hate them, fear them, even worship them. But think about it—for Earth, aren’t we Chosen Ones kind of like ‘monsters’ too...?"
Hearing that, Jill Young’s smile vanished and she turned serious. If you really think about it from his angle, even though they look different, Chosen Ones and monsters might not be so different deep down.
Some people see Chosen Ones as just lucky humans, but others might see them as freaks. The Magician’s tone was annoying, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.
The Magician kept trying to persuade them. "Not many folks came to this world just for kicks. With so many here, there’s all sorts of interests and stances—and everyone’s picked their path. If you want to be a loyal dog, you’ll get cooked when the job’s done. If you want to play both sides, you’ll suffer on both. History proves it over and over: only those with guts and ambition win in the end! You two, in these coming chaotic times, climbing to the top with me is your best shot!"
Jill Young raised her eyebrows, nodded, then curled her lip and shook her head. "You’ve got a point—there are no outsiders among Chosen Ones. But that doesn’t mean I’m joining up with a jerk like you. Even if I need to find my place or my path, I’m not teaming up with someone who turns their buddies into puppets!" Jill whipped out her twin volcano pistols, eyes flashing dangerously. "No matter how pretty you make it sound, there’s only one outcome if you mess with me: death!"
"Is that so? What a shame." The Magician suddenly pulled back his hood. The guy in front of them was under forty, bald, had a tiny mustache, some complicated gadgets on the back of his head, and a weird symbol on his forehead. That mark was a boundary scar, glowing red, simple in shape—two lines and a bend—but pretty fancy.
That look was kind of familiar... Oh! Jill snapped her fingers—wasn’t this guy a famous video game character?
"I was hoping to save your minds, but looks like I’ll have to take control by force. Remember your master’s name: I am Yuri Alpha!" The bald guy’s forehead symbol flared, and he pointed at them. "Mind Maze!"
Jill’s eyes narrowed and she fired instantly. Some mysterious wave, invisible to normal people, wrapped around her in a split second. Bang! The scorching bullet tore through the air, heading straight for the Magician’s head. Whoosh! The sharp blast zipped past his ear, missing but still scaring the Magician half to death.
That was close! She managed to shoot while trapped in my Mind Maze, and with that kind of aim? Her reaction speed and mental strength are off the charts!
But now it’s fine. With my Mind Maze, you’ll be stuck wandering the border between consciousness and subconsciousness—I’ve got all the time in the world to work on you two. Lucky me, running into two top-tier specimens, and I just happen to have two slots for mind control. Come on, let this world be the first step in my rise!
"Well, I did underestimate you a little." Jill Young suddenly spoke up, standing in place and glancing around casually. "Didn’t expect your hypnosis to actually work."
From Jill’s perspective, she was standing in a paradise, birds singing, flowers blooming. Pine trees, snowy mountains, rivers, waterfalls, grasslands—this place was endless. If you tried to walk out, you’d probably spend your whole life looking for the exit.
"Too bad though. Before I met you, I ran into another hypnosis master and actually discussed how hypnosis works. Your stuff? I can break it in no time." Jill stood her ground, eyes growing sharper by the second.
The Magician shuddered. No one trapped in the Mind Maze had ever acted like this. Usually, it’s like they’re stuck in a never-ending dream—can’t wake up, can’t move. But Jill could talk like normal, like someone having a lucid dream and chatting outside the dream. It was unreal. Judging by her look, she might really break out of the Mind Maze any minute. He had to act fast!
Pick the low-hanging fruit first—the Magician dashed over to Teacher Yang. Compared to the struggling Jill Young, Teacher Yang was calm and showed no sign of resistance.
"Hmm? This guy... is already sleepwalking?" After a closer look, the Magician was over the moon. "Just one Mind Maze and he’s sleepwalking—so easy to hypnotize!" Total opposite of that woman, these two are extremes. This guy’s mental state is just right. The Magician held his hand above Teacher Yang’s crown, eyes locked, forehead mark glowing again. "Mind Control—Puppet Slave!"
Whoosh—a beam of light shot from the Magician’s forehead to Teacher Yang’s, like he was injecting something into Teacher Yang’s mind. "Perfect, so smooth! Never seen puppetization go so easy! Now, let’s see what you can do, what secrets you’re hiding!" The Magician cackled and cranked up the power, feeling his consciousness slip into another mental realm along the light beam.
"Ha ha ha, the most important step is done!" Next, all he had to do was brand his mark deep inside this guy’s mind, and he’d have a new battle puppet!
But the Magician’s expression changed in a flash—from ecstatic to serious, then to shock. "W-what the..."
Smack! Teacher Yang, face blank, suddenly grabbed the Magician by the throat. The Magician looked terrified, unable to struggle. The mark on his head glowed brighter and brighter, the light beam linking their foreheads burned hotter, but all the Magician felt was pain, not triumph.
"Aah!" With a scream, at the beam’s brightest, a shimmering mist shot out of the Magician’s forehead and into Teacher Yang’s. At the same time, the Magician’s face turned ashen, like his life force was being sucked away.