Awakening the Hypnosis System
How long had it been since I lost consciousness? At some point my mind had returned. When I opened my eyes on the hard, cold floor, the surroundings carried an unfamiliar, eerie atmosphere. Before me stood a solid iron door like those commonly seen in factories—not some oversized, eccentric design straight out of an anime or novel, but an ordinary door you might pass every day. A sign on it read:
“...What is this?”
In my dazed state I reached for the handle as if drawn by some invisible force. The moment the heavy door clanged open, a blinding surge of light exploded outward and I lost consciousness at once.
“What kind of insane dream was that?”
I lay on the bed, body heavy, eyes open and fixed on the ceiling. The uneasy thought that last night’s memories might have been nothing but a dream made me turn my head to examine the room. Nothing there could ease my nerves. The space was quiet, sunlight flooding in so brightly that it had to be close to lunchtime. Cool air from outside poured through the open window and filled the room. A strange weariness washed over me as I dragged my heavy body upright; only then did I notice my school uniform, drenched in sweat and hopelessly rumpled.
“No matter how out of it I was, I can’t believe I crawled into bed without changing.”
The moment I peeled off the clammy coat, cool air wrapped around me. I stood and scanned the room again. Fortunately, Evelyn’s grimoire—the one containing her ego that I had taken from the library’s underground archive last night—still rested on the desk.
“So it wasn’t a dream after all.”
I ran my fingers slowly across the black cover, then called her name with care. As she had warned, she must have vanished; no answer came. “Hmm. At least my body and head feel normal, so it seems nothing went wrong. What am I supposed to do now?”
I checked myself for any changes, but nothing looked different. I fiddled absently with the grimoire.
“Huh?”
While I turned it over in my hands, a slip of paper tucked between the pages fell out with a soft plop.
“Is this a letter?”
Thinking the vanished Evelyn might have left it for me, I unfolded it at once. Just as I suspected, the paper was a letter from her. The message was not long. In fact, it was strikingly simple.
The magic was completed successfully. I used a little extra power midway through, so don’t worry about the outcome. Even as I write this, my body is fading away—which means I am entering your mental world exactly as I predicted.
Take good care of things from now on. Even if we cannot see or speak to each other right away, we will meet again someday. It may seem as though I no longer exist, but since we are living together inside your head, if you lose your life I die as well. Understood?
Therefore, always wield your power with caution. And when you make promises or contracts with other mages, do not act on emotion the way you did with me. If I had truly intended to steal your body, it would have been disastrous. You?
Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough. You have many questions about the hypnosis ability, yes? Try shouting “Hypnosis System Open.” After that, you should be able to figure the rest out on your own. Let’s meet again when the chance comes.
— Evelyn
The elegant handwriting vanished the instant I finished reading. A small spark flared at the bottom of the page, and the letter burned from the edge inward until not even ash remained.
A strange feeling settled over me. Perhaps it was the excitement and anticipation of how life at the Academy might change. Last night I had definitely let emotion drive me. Would the usual me have made such a decision so quickly? Still, I had understood every word Evelyn told me. Far from a mere choice, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I could neither miss nor afford to lose. Yet now that I had come back to my senses, I wondered whether I should have been more cautious.
“Well… there wasn’t really anything else to think about.”
No matter what words had passed between us, as long as my life was on the line I would have accepted Evelyn’s offer. The proposal had been that tempting, and my current situation left me no room to refuse. The more coldly I examined it, the more it seemed the relationship benefited her far more than me.
“So… Hypnosis System Open?”
I spoke the words exactly as she had instructed, yet the phrase felt oddly embarrassing. It was like I had truly stepped into a game possession story. As if answering that thought, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
“No way. This is an actual status window.”
It was exactly the kind of status screen people always talked about.
When I first possessed this world in that adult game, I had been obsessed with the special perks usually granted to protagonists. Of course, in the end I received none. Still, in the early days I swallowed my embarrassment and shouted every typical command—status window, party window, inventory, anything a game-possession story might require. Yet no such perks existed for me.
Even though I called it a status window, the translucent panel that appeared did not display numbers like health or mana. Instead it showed this:
LV. 1
Hypnotizable Targets: 1 per day
Hypnosis per Person: 1
Condition: Physical Contact
Coercive Power: Weak
System updating in real time…
I scanned the floating window and let out a hollow laugh at how straightforward it was. The visual style and text were exactly like the adult games I used to play before possessing this world; I couldn’t help but smile. The daily limit of one person and the single hypnosis per target felt restrictive, but the existence of a level system was at least a relief.
“The fact that levels exist… means that raising the level will improve the effects or increase the number of people I can hypnotize, right?”
There was nothing else worth examining. The only thing that caught my eye was the “updating in real time” line. I poked at the translucent window with my finger several times, but it gave no response. In the end I waved my hand to dismiss it, stretched, and looked around the room.
My gaze fell on the bed stained with sweat from the ritual. It would be best to wash everything. I rolled up my sleeves, folded the sheets roughly, carried them to the washing machine, and stuffed them inside. After adding detergent, I stripped off my own sweat-soaked clothes, tossed them into the laundry basket, and headed for the bathroom.
I turned the shower dial and cold water cascaded down, rinsing the sweat away. Standing blankly beneath the stream, I organized my thoughts. The most urgent matter was Maila at the library. My heart wanted to start with my roommate Eloise, but I could not ignore Evelyn’s advice. It wasn’t that I doubted the measures Evelyn had taken, but past experience told me problems often began in the smallest details. This was the moment to set aside immediate desire and look further ahead.
“The only disappointing part is that I have no idea how many people I need to hypnotize before the level rises…”
Since no quest or experience gauge appeared in the window, it seemed I would simply have to keep using hypnosis until the level increased. Once I had my plans in order, I turned off the shower, draped a towel over my head, and shook off the water.
As I walked past the mirror I suddenly stopped, staring at my reflection. I couldn’t remember the last time I had truly looked at myself. After a certain point I had simply accepted that I was now a woman. In the beginning, gazing at this face had filled me with a strange sense of rejection. The feeling was so strong it could only be called cognitive dissonance. Eventually I stopped paying attention to my own appearance altogether. That was why the eyes and features in the mirror still felt unfamiliar.
I used my fingers to lift the corners of my habitually anxious, downcast eyes. The result somehow resembled the confident gaze Evelyn had once shown. After imitating her expression for a moment, I smiled. While the hot air of the hair dryer brushed over me, I made a firm resolution: I would not waste the opportunity Evelyn had given me.