Chapter 57: The Perfect Test Subject

“Hey, Yalin! What a beautiful day!”

Totomia gave a thumbs-up, his furry paw waving before Yalin’s face.

‘This guy, I don’t know what got into him. Ever since I used him as a shield against Celeste last time, he’s become unusually enthusiastic.’

‘His change of demeanor was so swift, it was as if he’d been possessed, sending a shiver down my spine.’

“It is quite lovely. Is there something you needed?”

Despite his reluctance, Yalin could only look up and respond with a smile.

‘Although he wasn’t keen on engaging with this muscle-bound Cat-boy, with so many people in the classroom, he had to maintain his persona as an honest, unassuming individual to avoid drawing attention.’

“Haha, nothing in particular. Just wanted to chat, since we’re both… you know.”

Totomia winked and nudged closer to Yalin, making him break out in goosebumps.

‘Could he please stop saying such strange things? It would easily ruin my reputation, wouldn’t it?’

‘He simply didn’t understand, not even a little.’

“Haha, speaking of which, you’ve got quite the knack, kid! To earn Professor Fulin’s high regard like that! Tell your buddy, how exactly did you do it?”

Totomia chuckled slyly, nudging Yalin with his elbow as if they were the closest of brothers.

However, he didn’t seem to have much control over his strength, nearly dislocating Yalin’s slender frame with the force of his elbow.

“Ah, haha, you certainly do have a way with words…”

Yalin raised an eyebrow.

More than the ache in his arm from the elbow strike, he was concerned with Totomia’s choice of address.

‘Buddy? Who are you calling buddy?’

‘Do we look like we’re related by blood?’

Yet, he quickly recalled.

‘Back then, in a moment of desperation to escape that woman’s clutches, he had blurted out something like, ‘He’s my buddy.”

‘Wait a minute, he couldn’t actually have taken that seriously, could he?’

‘Did all your intelligence turn into muscle mass?!’

Yalin began to reconsider his earlier calculations, contemplating whether to find a desolate corner and discreetly dispose of this fellow.

But the thought of spending his hard-earned money on such a person again made him hesitate.

Seeing Yalin remain silent, looking preoccupied, Totomia’s mood also grew heavy.

‘So that’s it, Yalin. He still hasn’t moved on from that day?’

‘Damn it… no matter how strong he tries to be, he doesn’t have to bear it all silently by himself, does he?’

‘He knew that the feeling of unrequited love must be incredibly painful.’

‘But if Yalin continued to wallow in despair, even if an opportunity arose, he wouldn’t be able to seize it!’

‘Therefore, he had to pull him out of this quagmire of self-pity first!’

A warmth surged through Totomia’s heart, and he suddenly felt the weight of a thousand-pound responsibility on his shoulders.

He took a deep breath and clapped Yalin firmly on the shoulder.

“Cough, cough…”

Yalin nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

‘So this is what they call school bullying, is it? What an eye-opener.’

Completely oblivious to Yalin’s distressed expression, Totomia spoke with a serious tone.

“Yalin, listen closely. A man can fail, but he must never give up! Pull yourself together; in truth, you are far stronger than you imagine!”

“After all… you are the man Totomia acknowledges!”

Yalin blinked. ‘What on earth was this guy talking about?’

‘Though he didn’t grasp the full meaning of Totomia’s words, one thing was certain: he wouldn’t be rid of him anytime soon.’

‘What a pure liability!’

‘No, Yalin had never suffered such a disadvantage. When had he ever endured such a loss?’

‘Since things had come to this, he could only consider if there was any way to make use of the situation…’

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Yalin.

‘That’s right, he had just obtained power from the Evil God, and he hadn’t had a chance to test it yet.’

‘Though Cat-boy wasn’t the brightest, as a legendary athlete from the Magic Sword Department, his physical prowess was undeniable. He was, without a doubt, the perfect test subject.’

With this thought, Yalin’s smile deepened subtly.

“I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

“Hey, what are friends for?”

Totomia rubbed his nose, a surge of pride swelling in his chest.

“By the way, could you do me a favor and accompany me for a walk in the backyard?” Yalin asked.

‘Magic couldn’t be used inside the classroom, so Yalin decided to conduct his experiment outside.’

“Of course I can.”

Totomia readily agreed.

‘This was an invitation from a good brother; how could he possibly refuse?’

Thus, the two left the teaching building and walked together onto the small path behind it.

This was precisely where the three of them had met before.

The familiar scene made Totomia’s heart tremble.

‘He immediately understood: this was a case of being moved by the surroundings!’

‘Sure enough, he still couldn’t let go of that woman!’

“Yalin, you…”

Totomia lowered his head, about to speak, when he suddenly met Yalin’s gaze.

Deep within those dark pupils, something minute seemed to writhe.

“Uh…”

Totomia felt a strange sensation, yet for some reason, his gaze became fixated, as if drawn in and unable to move away.

Gradually, his eyes began to lose focus, and he stood rooted to the spot like a puppet.

Only then did Yalin avert his gaze.

“It seems it was a success.”

In line with his conjecture, although the Evil God’s true authority remained unknown for now, the portion of power she had bestowed seemed capable of interfering with others’ minds.

‘Come to think of it, that priest from the Abyssal Church seemed to possess a similar ability, having previously attempted to control Liyang.’

In his sight, he could discern the invisible yet undeniably real ‘threads’ encircling Totomia.

These threads represented spirit and emotion.

Yalin, in turn, could control the other person’s mind by manipulating these threads.

‘Simply put, it was akin to hypnosis, wasn’t it?’

‘While it sounded like an ability one might find in certain ‘books,’ using it on Totomia somehow felt… off.’

‘But he couldn’t concern himself with that now.’

‘After all, the mental strength of different individuals varied greatly, and with Yalin’s current abilities, he could only control simple-minded people like Totomia.’

‘Manipulating a mind was like slowly untangling a tangled skein of silk threads, then twisting them into the desired shape.’

‘Because Totomia was simple-minded and lacked complex thoughts, his ‘threads’ were remarkably few, making him quite easy to control.’

‘However, with someone else, say Professor Fulin, it would be entirely different.’

‘The countless ‘threads’ around her could no longer be called mere threads; they would be woven into an impenetrable giant net, leaving one utterly helpless to interfere.’

Totomia remained in the same posture, motionless, appearing to have lost consciousness.

Yalin tried giving him commands, such as ‘sit down’ or ‘reach out,’ but unfortunately, they had no effect.

‘At this stage, he could only make him lose consciousness at most. It seemed he would have to practice more on his good brother.’

Yalin suddenly felt that having a friend was indeed quite nice.