Placebo Effect

Kaede stood at the center of the island, surveying the situation and issuing commands.

Like a conductor to an orchestra, he divided his attention to observe every small battle occurring in the field.

The sound of ripping flesh and clanging metal became his music.

Battle cries became his songs.

Every tone was a piece of information that he used to assess the situation.

Such a feat was only possible because he had two minds inside of him.

Kaede's left pale green eye served as Mikael's view while his hazel brown right served as Deon's.

He was the sole intelligence unit, but his precise and timely instructions made him look like a group of people instead of an individual—which was not far from the truth.

"UNITS! STAY IN YOUR POSITIONS! I WILL HANDLE THE REST!"Kaede roared as he stretched out his arms.

The people looked back at him as if he had gone crazy.

'What the heck is this prince saying? Handle the rest? By himself?!'

By now, they had accepted that the kingdom's third prince was a strategical genius on par with Sir Finn. Not only that, but they were also in awe of his excellent leadership.

But his fighting abilities?

Even if someone was strong, he cannot possibly be in multiple places at once, can he?

So how could he say that he can handle the rest?

To the members, the prince had overestimated himself, deluded by the fact that everything seemed to be in his control.

That is… Until they saw the atmospheric mana collecting in his fingertips.

The mana danced in the air and settled on his body like little fireflies. The milky white light seeped into Kaede's skin, absorbed into his mana pool that was now as vast as the ocean.

The dense mana created a thin protective coating over Kaede, ruffling his dark brown hair in a warm and gentle breeze.

He looked like Moses-- Parting the sea of monsters with his blessed ability.

<Skill: Psychokinesis level 2 is activated.>

Suddenly five dead ants that littered the island jerked and floated.

"Wh-what's happening?! Why are dead ants moving?!"

The members closest to the reanimated corpses stumbled backward with eyes full of fear.

"Don't mind them! They're already dead." Kaede said as if it was obvious, "I'm just controlling them so focus on your tasks!"

The members gulped as they fearfully eyed Kaede.

'My whole life was a lie! How could someone dubbed as the useless prince be this amazing?'

'Are all royal family members this strong?'

'Is this a blessed ability?'

The more they knew about the least famous member of the monarchy, the more they feared their rulers.

'As I thought, they are a different breed from commoners like us.'

"Don't just stare at me. MOVE!" Kaede admonished, jolting the people out of their daze.

The combat Almagi continued to conjure their combo spells, zapping countless monsters in one move.

Those who survived battled it out with the melee fighters.

Kaede telekinetically ripped the mandibles off the dead ants as he would to a lobster claw.

In just a few seconds, he had acquired ten sharp weapons that moved freely according to his will.

"Aaaaah!! S-Someone save meee!!" a young swordsman pleaded as he was dragged to the pool by a minor worker whose mandibles clamped on his ankles.

With both hands, the young man tightened his grip on his sword and stabbed it on the ground.

His sword that should have been used to slice open an ant abdomen was now used to slice the ground.

The sound of grating metal was heard but it soon turned dull.

Due to the flooding, the ground near the edge had turned into mush and the poor young man along his prized sword was dragged helplessly to the bank.

"Please… save me…" he whimpered.

Finally, Kaede noticed his predicament and sent two of his organic weapons to the man's captor.

Fwooosh!

The mandibles flew like high-speed arrows!

Coming from the left and right, the mandibles intersected at a predetermined point—the monster's neck.

The weapons sliced the monster's head off with a snap, sending hot green blood splashing on the horrified swordman's visage.

Kaede's eyes quickly darted around the island, searching for areas that needed backup.

Whenever he saw people getting in trouble, he would send the weapons in their direction to discreetly aid them.

Minutes passed and the people noticed the change.

'Huh? Is it just me or is defending getting easier now?' one of them thought as he slashed at an ant's thorax.

Immediately, the ant fell like a ragdoll.

'Strange… I could barely fight them off before.' The person cocked his head, 'Perhaps… have I grown stronger?'

Just like how he did in the abandoned orphanage, Mikael thought to help people by attacking the enemies at the same instance that the people attacked.

This way, the members would pick up their confidence as they were under the illusion that they had become stronger.

Soon, the members' fear of the ant wave subsided which led to less hesitation in their attacks.

The more confidence and courage they gained, the less stiff their movements became.

In turn, Kaede would slowly withdraw and let them deal with the monsters themselves.

<Player 'Mikael Lee' has leveled up!>

<Co-Player 'Deon Hensworth has leveled up!>

Despite the long battle, they only leveled up once individually due to not finishing the monsters off personally.

But Mikael was still happy with the results.

"The placebo effect delivered great results!" Mikael merrily told Deon through Direct message.

"I-I can't believe it! How is this possible, Sir Mikael?" Deon asked in awe.

"Haah… This is why you should never be afraid, kid. When I was in high school, I saw lots of children shrink with anxiety. They could do well in the background, they practice their presentations like their lives depended on it… but when they're upstage, they blank out. They fail to deliver their presentations just because of fear." Mikael explained, reminiscing the good old days when his life didn't suck.

Although Deon had no idea about high schools and presentations, he at least understood Mikael's meaning.

"You know, 'fear' is such a scary thing." Mikael said, "Look at all of them. They practice their sword every day, they sweat for hours in training… I bet they could do well without us helping them. But their fear bogs them down. With just a little courage, they are capable of this much… maybe even more."

--Chapter end--