Chapter 13: Searching for Rouge at 3000 Meters
“Skill: Brainwashing. Hugh Pnosis, your skill is the one necessary to pursue Rouge!”
……Nothing has changed. The words “Under Brainwashing” float above my head in the mirror, but there are no other changes, neither in appearance nor in sensation.
When I check my status, the skill remains as “Brainwashing.” …In other words, it seems that a nonsensical skill name won’t do. What are the conditions for rewriting a skill…?
I activate the “Brainwashing” skill once more.
“Your skill is ‘Tracking’… no, ‘Chaser’!”
I feel a click in my mind as something switches. Checking my status again, I see that my skill has now been rewritten to “Chaser Lv.Max.” So, it seems that a specific name is necessary for the skill rewrite…?
No, I’ll think about that later. First, I need to find and retrieve Rouge…!
“Skill: Chaser!”
As I activate the skill, a blue light appears in my field of vision. The light transforms into the silhouettes of three figures, two of whom are carrying another person from behind the mirror into the back exit.
Is this the scene of Rouge being abducted that the skill is showing me?
Just like my father’s “Hunter” skill illuminates animal tracks, the “Chaser” skill recreates the scene of Rouge being taken, guiding me forward. With this, I won’t lose track of them.
As soon as they exit through the back door, I kick off the wall right in front of me and leap onto the roof. Then, with a speed far beyond my usual, I dash in the direction indicated by the light.
Being a “Chaser” skill, it seems to encompass enhancements like “Physical Ability Boost” and “Swift Feet.”
After running through the back streets for a while, I emerge onto a large avenue where the light forms the shape of a carriage. The two silhouettes toss the person they were carrying into the carriage and climb in themselves. The carriage created by the light begins to move westward down the street.
If I were searching normally, I would have completely lost them by this point. But with the “Chaser” skill, there’s no problem at all. My enhanced speed makes it easy to keep up with a carriage.
I might stand out running on the rooftops, but no one walking the street seems to notice my presence. This is likely another benefit of the “Chaser” skill. Whether I’ve become invisible or just less noticeable, I’m grateful that it hasn’t caused a commotion.
I must have run about 3 kilometers. The carriage entered the port area at the edge of the Royal Capital.
The Royal Capital faces a large lake, and it has prospered through the transportation of goods to various cities in the kingdom and other countries via this lake and its rivers… or so Rouge had said before the written exam.
The human trafficking organization is probably using that lake transport route to sell off the abducted women and children.
The light carriage stops in front of a small warehouse in the port area, disappearing just as it overlaps with the actual carriage that was parked there.
At that moment, two men emerge from the real carriage, each carrying a burlap sack. They enter the warehouse while still holding the sacks.
“Did I make it in time…?”
I let out a sigh of relief while hiding on the roof of a nearby warehouse. If they had put her on a ship, physically chasing them would have been difficult. Even the “Chaser” skill might not have anticipated swimming after a ship. I’m thankful I didn’t have to test that.
That warehouse must be the hideout of the human trafficking organization. I need to check inside…
I drop down from the roof and hide in the shadows to think. The skill I need is something like x-ray vision to see inside the warehouse. It would be more useful to have a broader skill like “Chaser” rather than just plain “X-ray Vision.”
“Hugh Pnosis. Your skill is ‘Clairvoyance.'”
Once again, something switches in my mind, and the skill display is overwritten to “Clairvoyance Lv.Max.” The skill description states, “You can see everything you wish to see.”
“Skill: Clairvoyance.”
What I want to see is the situation inside the warehouse. How many people are inside, and where has Rouge been taken?
Suddenly, my vision shifts, and I see an aerial view of the warehouse. The building becomes semi-transparent, and the figures of the people inside glow orange, becoming visible.
There are twelve people inside. Three of them are collapsed and unmoving. They are likely the victims of the abduction. So, there are others besides Rouge.
I grasp the internal structure of the building, the positions of the victims, and the locations of the perpetrators. Now, all that’s left is to subdue the criminals and rescue Rouge and the other victims. That should be easy with the “Brainwashing” skill.
“Hugh Pnosis. Your skill is ‘Brainwashing.’ And the maximum number of targets for ‘Brainwashing’ is 12.”
The greatest weakness of my “Brainwashing” skill is that I can only select one target. By using the “Brainwashing” skill, I can increase the number of targets to twelve.
If I do that, I can easily overcome this situation with the “Brainwashing” skill—
“Guh!? Agh, aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!???”
A pain so intense it felt like my head was exploding left me unable to stand, writhing on the ground.
What the hell is this…!?
How long did the pain last? It might have been about ten seconds, but it felt much longer.
By the time the pain finally began to subside, I was drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath as if I had just exerted myself physically.
It took nearly three minutes of curling up until I could finally breathe steadily, and my thoughts began to clear.
…Damn it, I thought I was going to die!
The cause was almost certainly my attempt to increase the number of targets for the “Brainwashing” skill.
It seems that the gods won’t allow me to cheat. I’m not trying to use it for evil; can’t you cut me a little slack…!?