Chapter 10 — Proof
Royal Palace underground confinement cell. The air grew cold and damp as I descended the stairs. Torches hung at regular intervals along the stone walls, mingling the scent of moss with iron. A prison. A place to lock up criminals. Now repurposed to hold a summoned hero.
The two guard knights leading the way gripped their swords tightly. They were tense. And for good reason—the sounds echoing from the end of the corridor were anything but ordinary.
Bam.Bam-bam.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
Whoosh! Flames roared, shaking the walls.
One of the knights turned back. "He's in there. You can approach up to three meters, but any closer and you'll get scorched."
"Understood. I'll go in first."
"Alone?"
"One-on-one is standard for mental treatment. The presence of others heightens the patient's wariness."
That was only half true. The real reason? I didn't want anyone overhearing me use Mental Interference Lv.1 - Whisper. Magical waves weren't detectable by humans, but better safe than sorry.
The knights hesitated, then nodded. "If you're not back in three minutes, we'll force entry."
"That's plenty."
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
I opened the confinement cell door. No iron bars—just a stone chamber etched with magic circles. Blue runes glowed on the floor, and sealing spells adorned the walls.
Inside, a man crouched. Tae-hyun. Korean. Early twenties. Black hair.
...He'd been a sturdy young man upon summoning, but days of rampage and starvation had hollowed his cheeks and wasted his body. He looked like a completely different person. His eyes were bloodshot red, his hair standing on end. His nails had scraped the floor until they bled, and his lips were cracked dry.
Heat shimmered around him like a haze—mana leaking uncontrollably beneath his skin.
He muttered in this world's language, repeating the same words over and over.
"Send me back... send me back... send me home..."
Send me back. Send me home. Not in Korean, but the common tongue—yet the meaning was the same. He wanted to go back to his homeland.
I stopped three meters away and observed Tae-hyun. My clinical training kicked in automatically: mental status exam.
Appearance: Poor self-care. Poor hygiene. Malnutrition (sharp weight loss from original build, sunken cheeks).
Behavior: Repetitive speech (echo-like), self-harm (nail scraping), hyperarousal.
Affect: Dominated by fear. Anger secondary.
Cognition: Impaired reality testing. Disoriented grasp of "where he is."
PTSD with dissociative features. Fear of being summoned to this world, backlash from his combat skill (mana reacting to emotions and exploding), longing for home. The three combined to shatter his mind.
'Combat skill mana reacts to emotions.' That was the key.
Tae-hyun's Flame Sword converted mana to fire, but emotional surges broke his control, triggering indiscriminate activation. Physical seals (magic circles) blocked the flames, but not the emotional rampage. Stabilize the emotions, and mana control would recover. The rampage would stop.
And stabilizing emotions? That was my specialty.
"Tae-hyun."
Soft voice. Low volume. Warm tone. Basics of Ericksonian hypnotic induction. A frequency that didn't trigger defenses.
Tae-hyun lifted his head. Bloodshot eyes fixed on me. Pupils dilated. Sympathetic overdrive. Heart racing, no doubt.
"Who're you... another knight? Stay back! I'll burn you!"
Flames flickered in his hand. Orange fire danced on his palm. Hot. Even at three meters, the heat brushed my face.
"Not a knight."
Calm. Never step back. Retreating marks you as "threatened prey"—attack target. Instead, I slowly sat on the floor. Eye level with Tae-hyun. Horizontal gaze is counseling 101. Looking down intimidates; looking up signals submission. Level = equal = safe.
"I'm a summon too. Same day as you. Remember?"
"...Summon?"
Tae-hyun's flames dimmed slightly. For about 0.5 seconds. Something other than fear flashed—curiosity? Confusion? I didn't miss the opening.
"Yeah. Got a garbage skill. No clue how to survive here. You?"
Casual speech on purpose. Formal creates distance; casual signals "team." And self-deprecation first ("garbage skill"). Revealing weakness disarms fastest. Counseling technique: self-disclosure.
"...Garbage skill?"
Something flickered in Tae-hyun's eyes. Interest. Subtle. 'Someone worse off than me.' Unconscious relief. Human psychology 101.
"Yeah. Mental Interference or whatever. Useless in combat. You?"
"Me... Flame Sword... but it won't stop..."
His voice trembled. Flames flickered again, but weaker than before. Conversation started. Crucial. Dialogue in rampage mode meant reason hadn't fully vanished. Salvageable.
"Won't stop?"
"At first... using magic felt good. Flames released stress. But then they started reacting to emotions. Scared, fire comes out. Angry, boom..."
Classic abnormal reinforcement of emotion-behavior link. PTSD hyperarousal fused with combat skill. Case study material for a journal back on Earth.
"What're you scared of?"
Activated Whisper. Subtly. 'This person is safe. It's okay to talk.'
Shhh...
Tae-hyun's shoulders dropped a millimeter. Tension release signal.
"...Can't go home. Gonna die here. Die in the war. No one... sees me as human. Just a weapon."
Tears welled in his eyes on that last line. Flames wavered wildly. Emotional surge. But no explosion. Sadness differs from anger—it shakes flames, doesn't feed them.
"I get that feeling."
Sincere. Not Whisper. My real heart. I'd been called "garbage" too. Treated subhuman here too.
Difference between Tae-hyun and me? One. I channeled rage into plans. He into blasts.
Layered Whisper stronger. 'It's okay. No need to put out the fire here. Just let go.'
Shhh...
Flames shrank in his hand. Fist-sized to half-fist. Then fingertips.
"No need to breathe fire at me, Tae-hyun. No enemies here."
Whisper. Third layer. 'Safe. This place is safe. This person is not an enemy.'
Shhh...
Red faded from Tae-hyun's bloodshot eyes. Pupils contracted to normal. Shoulders dropped, fists unclenched, flames vanished completely.
And then.
"Waaahhh..."
He started sobbing. Twenty-something guy bawling face-down on the cell floor. Like a child. Pent-up terror bursting out. Not as fire, but tears. Healthy release.
I stood, approached—flames gone, confirmed—and placed a hand on his shoulder. Touch. Amplifies Whisper in this state. 'It's okay. You're not alone.'
Shhh...
Tae-hyun clutched my clothes, sobbing. About five minutes. Sobs faded, then he passed out. Mental energy depleted. Days of flame rampage and extreme anxiety had maxed his body.
Hand on sleeping Tae-hyun's forehead. Final Whisper. 'Deep sleep. No nightmares. Wake tomorrow morning feeling light.'
Shhh...
Brow smoothed. Mouth parted slightly—peaceful slumber. Flame aura gone. Mana stabilized.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Out of the cell. Guards gawked.
"The, the flames stopped...?"
"Tae-hyun's asleep now. He'll be stable when he wakes. Let him rest fully for days. Avoid repatriation talk if possible—stick to everyday chat."
"Y-yes, sir!"
They nodded vigorously. Eyes that saw "garbage skill summon" now saw "someone who accomplished the impossible." How fast human attitudes shift.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Queen's office. Back for report.
Elena waited behind her desk. Two ministers flanked her: bearded elder, lean middle-aged man. Both eyed me warily.
"Report the results."
"Tae-hyun is stabilized, Your Highness. Flame rampage stemmed not from mana overload, but mental terror."
Bearded elder interjected. "Mental terror? Meaning the combat skill reacts to emotions?"
"Precisely. Tae-hyun harbored extreme anxiety and fear from otherworld summoning. It shattered Flame Sword control. Stabilize emotions, mana control recovers naturally."
Kept it concise. Professional, accessible. Honed from conference presentations. More nerve-wracking than profs, though. Profs weren't D-cup MILFs.
Queen glanced at ministers. "Hear that? What the court mage couldn't fix in days, he resolved in under an hour."
Ministers shut up. No counterargument.
Queen's eyes met mine. Violet. But different now. Not "assessing"—'discovery.' Eyes of someone finding what they sought.
"This skill is useless in battle, but invaluable for handling hearts."
My prepared line, timed perfectly.
Queen's lips curved. Not subtle—genuine smile. Candlelight glossed her moist rose lips.
...Hot. Who knew a smiling queen hit like this. Violet eyes crescented softly, stripping the cold ruler's mask to reveal "woman." A 35-year-old MILF's real smile packing this punch.
"I'll summon you often."
That line. My otherworld life turning point. Name added to queen's "trust list." Not garbage skill summon—but "necessary asset."
Once necessary, next step: "indispensable." Indispensable man. Politically... and in bed.
"My thanks, Your Highness."
Bowed, exited. In the corridor, legs buckled. Long exhale. Tension. Face stayed composed.
Effort to not pop a boner before the queen? Immense. But success.
Mental Interference Lv.1 - Whisper EXP gauge... felt substantially filled. Hitting Tae-hyun's trauma depths gave a "thunk" of gain. Contact-state emotional exchange. Genuine empathy boosts EXP.
'Genuine empathy.' Key insight. Mechanical Whisper barely levels. True emotional sync grows the skill.
Like Erickson: "Healing isn't technique—it's relationship."
Max EXP? Deepest emotional exchange.
What’s that? ...Sex.
Sexual contact's emotional fusion is humanity's peak: trust, intimacy, pleasure, vulnerability, ego merge. Psychologically, sex is "total self-exposure."
Conclusion: Thrust deep into MILF pussy with empathy, EXP explodes.
MILF hunting = optimal level path. This world's balance dev nerfed me into it?
Thanks, otherworld creator god. Second thanks.
Heading to the annex. Corridor stained glass showered rainbow light. Red, blue, green, gold. Like the world blessing me.
Stepping forward, I thought:
'Tae-hyun was step one. Bait for queen's trust.'
Next? She'd summon often—some request incoming. Deliver results every time.
'Ultimate MILF hunt target: queen. But need stepping stones first.'
Marisa. Rosa's herb shop. Palace women in reach.
Step by step, stack Whisper EXP. Don't know Lv.2 unlocks, but stronger? Guaranteed.
What's under queen's dress. Her violet eyes glazing in ecstasy—what face? Her lips moaning "Do-hyun."
I'll confirm it all myself. Just time.
Steps toward annex. Click-clack. My footsteps echoed alone. Stained glass rainbow bloomed behind.
Otherworld MILF hunt.
Full throttle now.