Chapter 111 - Odorosity

It was a skill he had never tried before. One that causes hallucination.

Mikael recalled Odorosity's skill description.

< Odorosity Lvl.1>

Description: (Active skill) Turn mana within a 5-meter radius into particles with a strong odor.

Current Limit: Low-grade Halgen

Skill cost: 20MP per min.>

'Low-grade Halgen must mean it won't permanently damage the mind.' Mikael grinned as he stared at Cail, 'Good. Let's turn you into a Guinea pig.'

<Skill: Odorosity Lvl. 1 is activated.>

The area around Kaede soon had the subtle smell of rotten eggs, reminding him of his time in the Midden where he was surrounded by thousands of decomposing monster carcasses.

Then, he felt the mana around him submit to his will. 

When he thought he wanted a particular object to appear at a certain position, it immediately materialized.

Mikael thought Odorosity created a space similar to the White World where anything he imagined would pop into existence.

'No. it's different. In the White World, the objects really materialize… but here… they are just illusions.'

Kaede moved to touch an imagined rock, but his hand went right through it.

'Rather than a hallucination-inducing skill, isn't this more like a virtual reality?'

Apparently, Odorosity does not only affect the target but also the user. Since Kaede stood at the center of the skill range, he could also see whatever the intended target sees.

'That's good too. At least I won't have to imagine much.' Kaede confidently walked toward Cail.

Ping!

<System Notification: The individual 'Cail Hensworth' has entered the Skill Domain.>

Ping!

<Target's Intelligence stat is within skill limit.>

< Attempting to induce hallucination…>

<…>

Ping!

<System Notification: Target is convinced of the illusions. Hallucination is successful>

Kaede read the notifications and thought, 'Aha! So this skill is just like Bluff!'

Indeed, Deon's Bluff skill only worked when the targets have a lower courage stat than the limit. Otherwise, the skill could not induce the 'fear' state. While in Odorosity, the skill worked only when the target's intelligence is within the low-grade Halgen's limit. This meant that the lower the intelligence stat, the more easily the targets would be influenced by Odorosity.

However, it was not an all-powerful skill.

With its high MP consumption of 20MP per minute, 5-meter skill range, and immunization side effect, The Odorosity skill is painfully tricky to use.

Unlike Deon's bluff that worked on anyone who sees the crimson aura, the Odorosity only applied to people within the range. In addition, long and repeated exposure to Halgen makes the victims build up resistance—as with long-time Magusteen Loggers with heightened mental barriers. 

The first dose may be lethal, but once overcome, Halgen can also strengthen the target's mental fortitude.

"Wha?! Where did those things come from?!" Cail guffawed at the numerous spears floating around Kaede.

Luckily for them, Cail Hensworth was a muscle-brained freak.

"Oh, these?" Kaede smirked at Cail's dumbfounded expression, "It's a secret."

Then he sent the illusions toward Cail.

Ten spears moved according to his will. They flew around Cail at dizzying speeds, sending the poor prince into a frenzy.

But the spears never landed on him. They couldn't harm him for they were nothing but visual hallucinations.

As Cail busily defended against nonexistent spears, Kaede teleported behind him.

Then he whispered behind his brother's ear, "Who is predictable now?"

"WIMP!!!" Cail roared as he swung his whip-like arm in the direction of Kaede's voice.

But Kaede already teleported away.

"Kid, let's up this game a notch."

"A-alright, sir."

"How about clones this time?"

Mikael thoroughly enjoyed his new skill. He left clones in his wake whenever Kaede teleported.

Soon the 5- meter domain contained 10 Kaedes, each holding a spear of their own, and a confused Cail.

"What is this?! Am I dreaming? Why are there ten wimps?!" 

The ten Kaedes surrounded Cail. They had identical expressions on their faces. They moved in a similar pattern, and they didn't do any damage.

If Cail just managed to overcome his confusion, he would realize that there was one Kaede who moved differently than the rest.

This one Kaede moved slower than others since it took Mikael and Deon a considerable amount of concentration to coordinate the clones' movements.

For a first-time Odorosity user, Kaede was doing very well.

However, he was still far from tapping into the skill's potential.

The diversity of the clones' movements was close to null, but it was still enough to mess with Cail's perception.

Bam!

The clones rushed at Cail from all directions, their weapons aimed at the poor prince.

"F*ck it!" Cail's brain reached its limit. He gave up trying to understand the situation and just surrendered his body to his instincts.

He swung his spear around.

He stabbed the clone on his right.

Diagonally slashed the one on his left.

Kicked the one in front and punched the one at his back.

What frustrated him the most was that his attacks were rendered completely useless. From his perspective, it looked like his opponents were evading him by a hair's breadth. 

"DON'T HIDE, WIMP!"

The Kaede in front, the one beside the kicked clone, spoke with a grin, "I'm here, brother."

Ping!

<Alert! Combined Mana Pool is dangerously low.>

Ping!

<Alert! System detected multiple active skills.>

<Skills with the highest MP consumption is sequentially canceled.>

<Skill: Odorosity Lvl. 1 is forcefully canceled.>

The clones vanished with the skill, leaving a lone Kaede in front of the vicious Cail.

But it didn't matter to him at all.

This duel is finished.

Kaede's victory has been set in stone.

"Since you annoyed the sh*t out of me, I'll hit where it hurts the most."

Mikael was not a fan of revenge, but for his royal partner, he was more than willing to exact one. He gave up control over Kaede's left hand and exchanged it with the host's left leg.

'I'm also a man, so I know where to hit you, prince.'

He lifted the leg up.

Then he kicked. With all his might.

"Oooff!"

The second prince rolled on the ground in pain, holding his aching family jewels.

With his brown eyes watering, Cail glared at his younger brother.

Kaede loomed over him and said "There are lots of ways to win a fight, brother. Don't think that strength trumps all."

Despite his dirty tactics, Kaede was proud of this victory.

The youngest prince turned around and walked out of the Hellebore Maze with his head held high.

--Chapter end—

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*Low-grade Halgen only affects vision and auditory perception (e.g. if Mikael shows something burning then the target would see it, and hear it burning.)

The more concentrated and the higher the grade of Halgen, the more realistic the hallucination becomes (to the point of affecting tactile perception.)

However, no real damage is dealt with the targets since everything is just an illusion.