I activated [Mind Control] and wasn't sure what to expect.
At first, I observed the look in her eyes, trying to see if there was any dilation or overall reaction, but I saw nothing. Her body as a whole didn't seem to react much, which made me think that it didn't have any effect on Iris.
Maybe there was something I needed to do for it to fully activate. I honestly had no idea.
Still, I had one hour to figure it out, and I was determined to do so.
"Shall we begin?" I called out, preparing to face her.
Iris yawned while nodding her head.
"Sure, and since I'm so much stronger than you, I'll let you attack me first."
I simply nodded, not showing much appreciation for her gesture. After all, if she hadn't done that, the fight would have ended in the blink of an eye, which was the last thing she wanted.
Iris wanted to spend time with me, and that was the weakness I needed to exploit.
I closed my eyes and began channeling my inner mana.
"Ah. You still can't use Telekinesis smoothly. That's… disappointing. I thought you would have figured it out by now."
Without saying another word, I saw a torch floating before me, which was Iris demonstrating just how much better she was compared to me.
I gritted my teeth internally. 'Just you wait. I'll catch up to you in record time.'
I focused [Telekinesis] on her entire body, applying my mana all around her, and luckily, she wasn't resisting, allowing me to do as I wished.
Then, once my preparations were complete, I activated it all at once, pushing my palm outward as Iris began floating above the ground.
I was trying my best to exert as much pressure as possible. However, there was no point; her physical abilities were far too superior for me to accomplish anything. I couldn't even make her show an expression of pain.
"Mhm. You can actually lift me up. That's better than I expected," she said, taking note of my abilities before falling silent. "However… that's the extent of your abilities. You're still far too weak to ever dream of defeating me."
-Crack.
My [Telekinesis] spell broke in an instant as she continued to float in the air of her own volition, and I began feeling my right hand being completely crushed from a distance.
"Let me show you how to use [Telekinesis] correctly."
-Crack.
At first, practically nothing could be heard. Maybe a single bone had been broken.
But then…
-CRACK.
"ARGHHH!"
I felt my entire hand being crushed, all of its bones ground down into powder.
"W-What are you doing?"
Her voice was cold and devoid of any emotion. "Showing you the potential of your skill."
'Fuck. T-This is too much.'
I had never actually expected her to go this far. I had listened to her thoughts; I knew what she really thought about me. However, there she was, still trying to hurt me as much as possible.
"I-I get it… can you stop now?"
It hurt too much.
I could only beg for her mercy.
"No. I'll show you what true despair looks like."
'Fuck, fuck, fuck.'
I cursed internally, over and over again, trying to think of a way out of this hellish situation, and I knew there was only one skill I could currently rely on.
[Mind Control]
I bit my lower lip and looked at her once again.
'Please work this time!' I screamed internally.
I met her icy gaze and took a deep breath, trying my best to regain my composure.
"Stop," I said, devoid of any emotion.
[Mind Control has taken effect.]
[Your order is struggling to get through.]
[The effectiveness will be significantly reduced.]
The pressure on my right hand stopped at once after those messages appeared.
Iris seemed confused about what was happening. However, she didn't seem to realize that I had ordered her around as she began approaching me at a very high speed, frowning heavily.
"You're lucky that I…" She stopped herself, putting her own hand over her mouth, shaking her head. "That I… don't want to kill you. Otherwise, I would have tortured you, slowly breaking every single bone of your puny body."
I could feel it. She truly meant it.
'Now I remember why I didn't marry her. She's fucking crazy.'
I gulped.
"I-I know. Thank you for sparing me."
However, while I said that, my thoughts were vastly different.
'Just you wait until I gain enough Augments. I'll make you feel what despair really is.'
Still, this whole duel hadn't been completely a loss. I had been able to briefly understand what [Mind Control] felt like. It wasn't much, but it was already better than I had expected.
From the looks of it, Iris hadn't realized that I had affected her mind and her own decisions. On top of that, the effects had been instant, the moment my order had gone through.
[Your comprehension of Mind Control has increased from E- to F-.]
My eyes widened.
'A whole Rank?!'
Such growth was practically unheard of.
'Did I really understand this much in such little time?'
However, I didn't know that it was only the beginning.
[Your comprehension of Telekinesis has increased from D- to D+.]
Seeing Iris crush my right hand seemed to have awakened something in me. But even then, the rate at which I was comprehending things was simply absurd.
It had been 18 years since I was born, and I had only gone from G-Rank to E+, and in the span of a day, I had reached D-Rank in my innate skill.
If I kept this growth, it wouldn't be long until I reached S-Rank in terms of comprehension, making me one of the best users of Telekinesis not only in the Academy but in the whole nation!
"Actually, I have an offer for you," Iris suddenly said. "Every day, instead of just torturing you, let's change things up." She flashed a smirk. "I will personally teach you everything I know about Telekinesis for around 45 minutes, and then we will fight against each other. What do you say?"
I laughed internally.
'Was a Top 10 Student proposing to become my personal tutor?'