The Experiment

"Young master, are you sure about this?" asked Willhelm hesitantly.

"I'm pretty sure, don't worry, it's just a small experiment. Besides, my talent is only class F, it won't be too dangerous," replied Adam, trying to reassure the middle-aged man in front of him.

Mages were respected figures; most of them had substantial incomes and were very wealthy. Adam's family was no different. Alphonso owned a large plantation and several other assets. His family was one of the most influential in the city of Fiora.

The middle-aged man in front of him was Wilhelm, someone his father hired to manage their family's plantation. A while ago, Adam asked for his help to allow him to use permanent suggestions on some workers. His aim was to further research the effects of this ability.

"Alright, but young master, how many people do you need?"

"For the first phase, one person is enough. If the experiment goes well, we can increase the number," replied Adam.

Willhelm sighed in relief; if it was just one person, the risk wouldn't be too high. Although he didn't know what Adam wanted to do, he hoped the experiment would go smoothly.

"Alright then, I'll call someone to be the target of the experiment. Do you have any specific requirements?"

"Just choose the one who looks the laziest."

"Okay, please wait here."

Willhelm then stood up and walked out of the room, heading towards the plantation.

Upon arrival, the workers seemed busy, but they still took the time to greet Wilhelm, the manager of the plantation. Wilhelm greeted them back while continuing to look for someone.

"Freddy, have you seen Ernst?" Wilhelm asked one of the workers.

The called man, Freddy, pointed southward, "If I'm not mistaken, he's over there, in the coconut plantation."

"Thank you."

After saying that, he walked in the direction Freddy pointed. After a while, he found Ernst.

"Ernst! Come here!" Wilhelm called.

Ernst, who was picking coconuts, reluctantly climbed down from the coconut tree and walked towards Wilhelm, looking puzzled. He then asked, "Mr. Wilhelm, is there something I can do for you?"

"Come with me for a moment."

"U-uhm, alright."

Almost all the workers here were diligent, but Ernst was one of those who often came late and had a disorganized sense of time management. After considering a few options, Wilhelm decided to choose him.

Ernst and Wilhelm eventually returned to that room. There, Adam was already seated, waiting for both of them. He then looked at Ernst and gave a small smile.

"You may leave, Wilhelm. Leave the rest to me."

"Alright then, I'll take my leave."

Wilhelm left the room, leaving only Adam and Ernst. Ernst, still confused, asked again, "Is there something I need to do, young master?"

"You just need to cooperate with me. Don't worry; I just want to do a small experiment."

"Uh, okay, I'll cooperate with you."

"Sit there calmly," Adam pointed to a chair.

Ernst complied with his request. Without waiting long, Adam finally started his experiment. He activated his bond power and tried to connect it to Ernst.

"If you feel something in your mind, don't reject it, accept it calmly," instructed Adam.

Ernst felt something as if it was about to enter his mind, he feared, but he tried to follow Adam's instructions. He then accepted it until it entered his mind.

After feeling himself connected to Ernst, Adam began to implant permanent suggestions. The suggestions he implanted were 'work hard to improve life' and 'loyalty to young master Adam'. The first suggestion aimed to test whether a suggestion that could provide a positive effect on oneself would be rejected, while the second was to see if unconditional loyalty could be achieved.

Several hours passed.

"It's done. Have you felt any specific changes in your mind?" Adam asked curiously.

Ernst shook his head slowly; he didn't feel any changes. Nevertheless, Adam wasn't too surprised; his suggestion was planted in the subconscious, so Ernst might not be aware of it.

"Alright, you may go."

"U-uhm, I'll take my leave now, Young Master," Ernst slightly bowed and then left the room.

A while later, Wilhelm walked back into the room. He asked, "What's next, Young Master?"

"Nothing, you just need to have someone observe him, see if there are any specific changes in him."

"Alright, I'll do that."

The experiment would last for several days; Adam had plenty of time, so he wasn't in a hurry. Meanwhile, he also had something else to do.

Unbeknownst to him, five days had passed. Ernst had forgotten what Adam had done; he felt like nothing had changed. However, his parents' words this morning made him realize that there were indeed some changes in him.

"Ernst, you've changed lately, Mama is truly happy," his mother expressed.

"I... changed?" Ernst asked doubtfully; he didn't feel any changes.

His mother hugged him, patting his back, and then proudly explained, "Haven't you been waking up early nowadays? I also heard from your colleagues that you've been working hard lately. You also rarely stay out late at night like before."

"This... I just want to change our lives," Ernst replied, feeling that working hard was normal for him. At 27, he was the only one among his friends who hadn't married at this age. It was all because he needed to take care of his parents who could no longer work. He also used to gamble and squander his salary, leaving him no money to save.

Despite that, from his mother's perspective, he indeed had changed.

Ernst then went to work early as usual. He accidentally bumped into Freddy, one of his friends. He hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Freddy, do you think I've changed lately?"

"Yes, of course, you have. It's a good change. I'm sure if you continue this change, you'll be able to marry in a year," Freddy's answer made him realize, was this change a good thing? Ernst felt he needed to thank Adam.

Ernst's changes were observed by Wilhelm and later reported to Adam.

Upon hearing the report, Adam asked a few questions before drawing a conclusion.

"The second suggestion failed. Could it be that I need to include actions and goals to make it successful, like in the first suggestion? Generally, suggestions can bring positive changes to someone, but just working hard without understanding the situation and the opportunity won't drastically change someone's circumstances."

Adam then planned to gradually implement all these suggestions on his workers. Of course, such large-scale implementation required his father's approval. He hoped his father would agree.