Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Reward Check
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Hypnosis.
A wicked power capable of controlling another person's mind.
But thanks to that very wickedness, it enjoyed cult status—no, outright mainstream popularity—in the ya-game, doujinshi, and erotic fiction markets.
Think about it. Your hysterical old-maid boss from yesterday, on her knees at night, sucking your dick and calling you "Master"!
Or the childhood friend you had a crush on suddenly getting a boyfriend, your jealousy exploding as you hypnotize her, fuck her brains out, and bring "pure breeding" to life!
And finally, the top-caste girl who bullies you turning into your personal onahole, moaning and writhing!
Doesn't just imagining it make your heart race?
That's the power of hypnosis.
[Reward]
[Hypnosis]
And now, that power was being granted to me.
"Kuhh! Kuhhuhu!"
Naturally, an evil laugh burst from my lips. Honestly, anyone else in my position would have reacted the same way.
'With this, even I can have the top high school beauty!'
I indulged in such dark fantasies as I hit the reward confirmation button.
[Please face both palms toward the sky.]
Suddenly, a message like that appeared.
'Suddenly telling me to turn my palms skyward?'
What kind of nonsense was this?
But eager to get my hands on the hypnosis ASAP, I obediently followed the instruction.
Plop.
"Uwah!"
The moment I turned my palms upward, something dropped onto them.
What fell from the sky was a wooden box engraved with a massive eye symbol—one that felt familiar, like I'd seen it a million times before.
Seeing that trustworthy symbol on the box, I flashed a wicked grin, set it down, and rubbed my palms together briskly.
It's an unwritten rule of unboxing: give your hands a soft rub first.
After rubbing my hands, I placed them on what looked like the lock button.
"Alright, time to check it out. Tataran-tataran~"
Humoring myself with a familiar BGM tune, I opened the box. And right away...
"No way, you fucking... Sakura?"
I couldn't help but frown deeply.
Inside wasn't the hypnosis app or anything cool I'd hoped for.
[Too Easy Basic Hypnosis!]
[String-attached 5-yen coin]
I knew exactly what this was, but compared to my expectations, it was a pathetically shabby set.
If it had just been the book, I could've convinced myself it was finger-snap or keyword-activated hypnosis and been thrilled. But with the coin there, it was painfully obvious how to use it.
So I set the box on the floor and wailed.
"Nooooo! My click-clack hypnosis obsession with the top beauty is ruined!!"
After cursing the world once, I calmed my excitement.
Yeah, I knew this was coming.
In 2009, hypnosis meant finger snaps or pendulum coins like this.
I knew that rationally all too well, but...
'Couldn't they just give me a smartphone app...'
I grumbled internally like that, then figured since it was a reward anyway, I'd check the contents properly. Back to inspecting the kit.
The coin with the string...
'Just a plain old 5-yen coin and some string?'
The book...
'What, some random internet textbook? "Too Easy Basic Hypnosis"...'
I'd never been to college, so I wasn't sure, but I'd seen community posts explaining textbooks properly, so it wasn't too alien.
Of course, no other items besides these.
Damn, what stingy-ass rewards.
Tongue clicking, I decided to read this basic hypnosis book that didn't look basic at all.
Not like I had anything else.
'Well, it's basic, so it'll be easy, right?'
Flipping through it half-worried, half-expecting, the book was surprisingly packed with genuinely helpful content on hypnosis and related topics.
The problem? Strip out the hypnosis parts, and it was just a psychology textbook.
For example, this section...
[The human psyche divides into two main parts. One is the surface psyche—our everyday [actions or thoughts]. The other is the deep psyche, which corresponds to our known [instincts]...]
See? That's psychology, not hypnosis.
Well, what can you do? Gotta read it to learn hypnosis.
Wasn't even that thick. Totally readable.
About two hours after starting this bizarre hypnosis book...
"Hmm... actually kinda fun?"
I finished a surprisingly satisfying read.
For some reason, it was an informative dive into psychology.
The issue? Not a single practical hypnosis technique to acquire...
The book covered hypnosis cases, precautions, and such, but zilch on actually learning it.
'This can't be right?'
Not like a veggie bun with no filling...
This damn screen had crushed my pure dream of hypnotizing the top local beauty.
I was just about to predict a shitty future and flip off the world when...
[New skill acquired!]
[Skill slot will unlock from now on!]
Fortunately, I managed to obtain hypnosis in a way I hadn't anticipated.
'Whoa! Hypnosis acquired!'
The moment I registered that I'd learned hypnosis, the smile that had plummeted to rock bottom resurfaced triumphantly.
'Heh heh heh. Finally, the top local beauty is mine...'
With that in mind, I tapped the skill to see how it worked.
[Basic Hypnosis] [LV: 1]
[Tie a 5-yen or 50-yen coin with string and swing it left to right to activate.]
I knew this one all too well.
What I needed to know was how viable it was in practice and how long it lasted.
And that was explained in detail below.
[No daily limit for the user, but limits apply per hypnosis target.]
[Hypnosis Usage Limits]
Surface Hypnosis:3 times
Deep Hypnosis:0 times
[*Caution. Violating this may cause the target's mind to collapse.]
'Mind collapse, huh...'
That made me grimace involuntarily as memories of the past surfaced. I shook my head and kept reading.
Under that brutal warning was the all-important duration info.
[Surface Hypnosis]
[Duration determined by target's command compatibility.]
In simple terms, a perverted command on a pervert lasts longer.
[Low compatibility may result in forgetting the hypnosis entirely.]
Bonus: High compatibility means higher chance of retaining memories; low means likely erasure.
The last line at the end was a real doozy.
[Deep Hypnosis]
[Deep Hypnosis can alter the target's personality, traits, temperament, intelligence—everything. Thus, no fixed duration.]
Alter everything...
That single line sent my earlier excitement crashing down.
Deep Hypnosis could literally flip a person's entire life upside down.
In short, it was that dangerous—and terrifying—a power.
'Messing with someone's whole life.'
I'd done something similar before, so I knew just how immense this power was.
'A horrific experience.'
And its dangers, too.
Not mental stuff like this, but the life-altering aspect was similar enough.
'Gotta hold back on this one.'
Deep wasn't unlocked yet, but with "level" and "basic" mentioned, it might open up with upgrades.
Finishing my thoughts on hypnosis, I let out a deep sigh and glanced back at the book.
But why'd they give me this, anyway?
'If not a manual, then what?'
As I stared at the book, a strange screen popped up.
[Skill Book: Basic Hypnosis]
I froze in shock at those words.
'Holy shit. Skill books exist?'
One shock from the game having skill books.
And another...
'Wait, does that mean I can use fireball spells too?'
From the fantasy powers suddenly on the table.
Come to think of it, I'd seen a pile of weird books in Hana1ya before.
Probably all skill books.
'Magic that takes 30 years of virginity for me?'
Damn tempting.
Lost in skill book thoughts for a while, I snapped back and checked the remaining rewards.
Hypnosis had me distracted, but there were more besides it.
[Rewards]
[Stamina Recovery Potion × 5]
[Virility Booster × 5]
[Instant Perfect Hair Regrowth × 5]
[Elixir]
Nothing too important besides hypnosis... wait, hold up.
[Instant Perfect Hair Regrowth: Restores natural hair growth on even the baldest head.]
[Effect Duration: 2 years]
'Holy shit.'
Looked like I'd hit the jackpot again.
And not just because of the effect.
'From memory, these went for 100 million yen each in Hana1ya...'
That made each one worth a cool billion—or hell, two.
'How do you even get 2 billion for this stuff?' you ask. Easy—rich balding bastards would snap it up cheap.
Thinking that, I stashed the hair regrowth potion securely in my pocket.
Not gonna use it myself? Nah, this body's hair just gets cut short regularly—it grows fine.
'Now that I think about it, my hair's grown out a ton...'
Probably time for a trim soon, but I'll ask them to hold off this time.
Got a handsome face now—might as well style it right.
With that in mind, I cleared the reward screen.
In the process, I spotted one unconfirmed reward left.
The scenario excess clear bonus list.
And I hit another jackpot there.
Inside was none other than...
[Scenario Excess Achievement Reward]
🎁 Reward: [Subspace Fanny Pack]
Subspace fanny pack... or rather.
'A fanny pack?'
Because it was a Subspace Fanny Pack.
I tugged at my pants pocket idly as I thought.
'This thing?'
What the hell's a fanny pack? I read the Subspace Fanny Pack description.
[Subspace Fanny Pack: Creates a subspace in the pockets of any clothes you're wearing. Can hold any items—no living creatures allowed.]
I couldn't help but think...
This scenario might actually be pretty decent.