C63: Chain Breaker

There was something strange about all this. But I wasn't going to try and solve whatever mystery surrounded the village. That was the kind of thing Agon would do and be able to crack this mystery.

Instead, I followed what the village head said and walked out. A dense mist surrounded me as soon as I stepped foot out of the door. I couldn't even see my own hands.

"Remember! Don't look back!" Said the village head's daughter, her voice growing raspy like an elderly woman. "Just think of a place you want to be and keep walking!"

A chill went down my spine.

I just realized I never asked her name. But now wasn't the time to think about that. Instead, I signaled Carpy not to look back, either.

It was probably dumb luck that I stumbled on something like this. I thanked all my lucky stars out there and prayed. Because I didn't get stuck on something for eternity until the end of times, that would be worse than death!

Expecting some kind of battle or test, I was surprised that when I came out of the mist, I was in a green field between two mountains.

Oh, so I got transported here. These mountains looked like I hadn't traveled far from where I was.

In the middle of the field was a small hut, and a woman was sleeping on a wooden rocking chair.

She had long blonde hair and pale skin and wore a green dress. There was an aura of otherworldly beauty about her that would make any man fall in love too easily.

No, I must concentrate! Think of the cool magic stuff!

Women are temporary! Cool magic shit is forever!

Getting closer to her, I felt the charm overwhelm me. Even my brain was slower. Was this how the isekai protagonists felt when close to women or traps?

Shit! I didn't think the lust aura alone would be so strong!

No, no. I'm a man who can control his urges! I won't make a fool of myself!

"Excuse me, are you Ellen D Fork?" I tried to play it calm and put on a practiced smile. The raging emotions inside me were about to burst out. But I tried to keep them under a tight leash.

The young woman opened her eyes. They were sky blue. She looked me up and down and then smirked. "Nice, you look healthy. I bet your organs will go for quite the price in the market."

What?! What the hell did she say?!!

Wasn't she supposed to be the woman who would train Sei and then train Agon later on? She was one of the best Ord teachers out there.

She should be a good person. Hopefully, I wasn't before some transitioning period where she was a bloodthirsty killer before becoming a good teacher. "Hahaha, I bet my organs wouldn't sell for a lot. I have a trashy diet."

Her eyes sharpened as soon as I said that. "I don't like liars."

"I'm here to train with you. Well, more like to have you teach me." I told her the truth. At this point, lying was no longer a viable option.

Any other time, I would have been calm. But my heart was beating like a drum.

"How did you know my location?" She inquired. Though she didn't release any Ord or make any threatening gestures, there was a dangerous feeling about her.

"I read it in a manga," I declared.

She narrowed her eyes at that and then chuckled. "Well, you're something. That's for sure. You're telling the truth, technically. Did your informer write the location on a manga paper?"

"..." Yeah, there was no way I would ever answer that.

"Whatever, keep your secrets," she shrugged.

We stared at each other for a couple of seconds. It was awkward, at least for her. I didn't mind the silence; it gave me time to clear my mind.

"So, do you think I'm beautiful," she was the first to break the stillness.

How should I answer that? If I said no, she would think I was being rude. If yes, I would be just another man drawn to her due to the charm released by her special ability's drawback.

That would be a big dilemma for any average boy my physical age. "Depends on your definition of beautiful. Some might consider you beautiful, while others, not so much."

"What a sly bastard you are," she smirked. "I like sly bastards. Tell me about your ability and show me something interesting about it. Something you have never done before."

***

The kid was strange but interesting, Ellen realized. He was attracted by her charms but was able to resist. A hormonal teenager resisting her charm? That would require a stronger will than the average exorcist.

Still, Ellen wasn't careless and sent a mental wave for one of the demons she worked with to come here.

'His Ord feels restless, like he's being chased by something. What's all the rush for?'

She carefully analyzed every small detail about the kid. But she would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that having another human presence around here did feel nice.

Her special ability was something many strived for, and releasing a charming aura made her unable to stay in public places. It was a devastating side effect of her powers. She would never be able to live a normal life.

That was why she went through so much hassle to avoid humans—even going as far as living next to haunted mountains.

"So essentially, my special ability is just self-control taken to the extreme…" he went into some details. But his ability wasn't something complicated.

Using the demon she had below where the young man was standing. She could tell he wasn't lying.

It was an interesting ability. Ellen never thought she would one day find someone crazy enough to try something like this. What if the ability manifested wrong, and he was stuck in an emotionless state? His ability could have sucked up his emotions as payment.

He didn't look like it, but the kid was reckless. Making abilities with such urgency as a Master was asking to be mentally tortured.

Not like she could criticize others about their abilities. Ellen was embarrassed just thinking about her own. She always told others she accidentally manifested her special ability when she was seven.

Actually, she did when she was twelve. But her ability was too embarrassing to reveal that fact!

Kids having Ord was a disaster waiting to happen. But some awakened early, which was usually an accident due to the affinity testing mosquitoes. Others were just too talented and in tune with their inner energy.

On average, kids' abilities were stronger than the ones created as an adult. They barely had any conditions to them. But that was like rolling the dice because you sometimes got a silly special power.

"A special ability can say a lot about their user," Ellen smirked. She was trying to look a bit mysterious. She had experience fighting many ability users, so she had an instinct for it. "For example, Perfect Me is an ability created by someone unconfident."

"Unconfident?"

"Not in the exact literal sense. Or you would have developed an ability that removes your fear or makes you better looking."

"Did you just call me ugly?"

"I'm talking about insecurity in your actions. That's why you developed an ability that can always make the theoretically best move with the knowledge you have." An ability sometimes tells more about its maker than they themselves might know.

In this case, Perfect Me showed what Kon saw as the perfect version of himself—an emotionless fighting machine.

Without a doubt, such an ability like Perfect Me could only be created by a kind person. Its user was someone who wanted to be cold but couldn't.

Ellen wanted to see if the youngster had creativity. He had a good ability, but did he know how to use it? "Just use your ability in a way you've never used before. Show me that you're a gem worth polishing."

"You're quite the demanding lady," he shrugged. Not seeming even a bit nervous about the prospect of using a new side of his ability he had never used before. "Make sure to heal me after this, okay?"

"Don't worry about it," she had one of the best healing abilities out there. Though it was a bit weird how confident he seemed in her healing ability. Why was he trusting her to heal him? This was the first time they had met.

"Okay."

As soon as he said that, veins crawled under his skin. His eyes turned bloodshot. The way his skin started flushing red, it looked like his blood was trying to escape his body.

'His blood is circulating and spreading through his body at enormous speed.'

"{Perfect Me: Limit Remover}"