Otherworld TRPG Game Master-Chapter 317: Hypnotic Detective Attack (3)

The Battle with the Hypnotist: A Battle with Oneself

Fighting a hypnotist is a battle against oneself. The key—and the entire crux of the battle—is to distinguish whether or not I am under hypnosis. If I include myself as an enemy in my desire to eliminate the enemy, the battle will end in self-destruction.

Even a minor shift in perception—like an inverted sense of direction or the belief that "using magic means overloading mana by 300%"—could spell disaster. I must meticulously analyze which mental locks and safeguards the hypnotist has manipulated. Every action demands caution.

It’s a similar concept to the Puppet Master technique that scar-faced senior used. It’s a deathly, binary choice. I have to keep questioning myself: Am I under hypnosis?

Yet, hesitating and contemplating gives the hypnotist more time to ensnare me. The net tightens, growing more intricate and resilient as time goes by.

So, what’s the solution...? Actually, there are plenty of options.

Selvia would have probably just blown the entire area to smithereens. Yuri would have ended it swiftly. As for Yuna, she would never have been affected in the first place, so the battle wouldn’t even happen. But as for me?

Today’s choice—head-on confrontation.

"Activate mental barrier; grant autonomy to modules."

I lower my mental guard, feigning vulnerability.

As I mentioned, fighting a hypnotist is a battle against oneself. And the simplest way to overcome oneself? Delegate the task.

Even if you can’t study alone, you’ll buckle down if someone’s there with a stick, won’t you? Hypnosis can be dismantled by adding a single principle:

An Outside Observer.

Even a single, sound-minded observer who notices, Something is wrong with this guy, is enough to break hypnosis. That’s why the Hypnotic Detective went through such lengths to isolate me.

But he wouldn’t have guessed I’d have an independent persona lurking within my own mind.

Calling upon a fragment of myself—a presence I once absorbed but left its personality intact—I hear the unpleasant, mocking laughter echo in my head.

Caw caw caw! It’s been a while, oh Source Self! I already understand the situation. I observed everything from the inside, as per our ‘agreement.’ I know what needs to be done. Let’s enjoy this together!

The Mad Crow.

But, going in with no guard—how wild! Using an ‘outside observer’ is fine, but must we willingly expose ourselves to his hypnosis? Hm?

"You already know the answer. Don’t ask."

Caw! So, you’re luring him in, aren’t you? If you crush him too overwhelmingly, he’ll flee. You’re staging a close call to bring him out in the open. I know, but asking is part of the fun!

A simmering sensation forms at my shoulder, and the black-feathered crow materializes, turning its head to survey the surroundings. Together, we’re a two-person team.

Battle begins.

The animals circling me, their spinning eyes, the strange cries, and the rustling leaves—all of it is part of a hypnotic assault. It’s dissonant yet rhythmic, a calculated cadence that plants malicious thoughts into my head.

And yet, I feel no sense of wrongness. Shadowy black hands crawl into my peripheral vision; the world flips upside down; spiders fall from the trees—all of it feels perfectly natural. Nothing seems out of place.

In this normal world, I made a sound and rational decision:

"In battle, it’s common sense to strip off all your clothes and hit yourself in the temple with your secret move, isn’t it?"

Caw caw caw! How does it feel? Having never been hypnotized myself, I can’t help but wonder!

Judging by the crow’s squawking, that wasn’t common sense. Even though I lowered my mental barrier, he managed to put me under nearly instantaneously—impressive skill.

Relinquishing full control over my body, I kept my mouth free to speak.

"I think I finally understand how hypnotized heroines feel in those games. You know, when you watch a bad player, you want to backseat them? It’s like that. You look like a Bronze player, Crow."

A dark enchantment that makes you want to backseat, huh? That’s quite nasty. Then again, an eye for an eye, so...shall we respond in kind?

As my skin tingled, grayish mucus formed, coiling into a spiral across my body. It’s the hypnotic pattern of the Great Beast.

The effect: reduced projectile accuracy and mental domination.

It’s not as potent as it would be within the session, but it’s more than enough to disrupt these hypnotized animals.

Eek, eek, eek! Some animals snapped out of hypnosis, growling and snarling. At the same time, those still under hypnosis lunged at me.

Neigh!

Apologies, but I must decline your un-anthropomorphized offer, madam. ‘Steal the Gaze!’

"Steal the Gaze!"

Whoosh—the charging mare swerved 45 degrees, skimming past me with a thundering gallop and dust cloud.

May your love be shared ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) with your neighbor. ‘Berserker’s Confusion!’

"Berserker’s Confusion...are you sure that’s right? Shouldn’t I strip and hit myself for an instant win?"

Caw caw, though it’s a brilliant suggestion, no one wants to see you disrobe, Source.

Whoosh.

A crimson mist rose around me, amplifying the animals’ aggression, prioritizing fury over hypnosis.

Bloodshot eyes layered over spinning pupils, and the animals launched frenzied attacks on anything nearby. Eagles clawed at dogs, and pigs rammed into rabbits—a chaotic scene.

The Mad Crow muttered in the midst of the carnage.

Excellent. Their attacks aren’t affecting us at all, and the hypnosis is stable. However...something feels off, Source.

"What’s wrong?"

There’s no sense of urgency.

Indeed.

A battle involves reading your opponent’s emotions. If they fend off my attacks well, I should change tactics, anticipate traps, and prepare counters. In a 1v1 magic duel, I’m almost invincible, reading my opponent’s psychology to stay one step ahead.

But for a fight to drag on this long...anxiety, frustration, anger, or arrogance should show up. Yet there’s nothing.

The Mad Crow clicked its tongue.

Isn’t this too mechanical? Let’s test it. Cast ‘Ascend to Heaven’ halfway, then cancel.

"A thousand doors, a thousand steps, nowhere to rest...or perhaps, somewhere."

As soon as I prepared Ascend to Heaven, the animals opened their mouths to scream...but they immediately closed them upon my cancellation.

"Huh?"

I repeated the cast-cancel sequence. The animals responded in a similar manner, stuttering as if they were malfunctioning. This is...algorithmic.

He wasn’t remotely controlling them from afar. He set a well-constructed hypnosis spell on these animals and let them loose—like a chess-playing AI. They act according to procedure, with no intent.

Of course, that’s why I couldn’t hold a conversation with him before the battle!

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It was all pre-recorded. I’d been talking to a recording file and fighting a bot this whole time.

"This bastard even hid his main body during battle. So, he’s going through this entire process automatically?"

It’s all been a pointless shadow-boxing match, Source. Our ambitious plan to draw out the Hypnotic Detective has failed.

"I even allowed hypnosis, dammit...Reactivating mental barrier!"

Caw caw! Still, it was quite entertaining, Source! Farewell until next time...

I broke through the hypnosis that had seeped into my mind and, ignoring the approaching animals, dashed out of the forest. Dragging this out any longer would gain me nothing.

Hypnotic Detective...he’s an extremely cautious guy. I’ve never seen anyone hide their identity this thoroughly. I’ll need another approach to track him down.

As I ran through the forest, thoughts raced through my mind.

Based on what I heard, the Hypnotic Detective was once a mage of the Purple Tower. He holds a grudge against a figure called "Goat," mistakenly assuming that person is me.

Whoever this "Goat" is, he must be quite something.

With that in mind, though, the hypnotized animals felt...a little weak, didn’t they?

Click.

"What."

I felt something trigger beneath my feet, like the click of a switch. A trap. Instinctively, I channeled my magic, bracing myself.

A powerful mental attack? An explosion? If it’s magic-based, I can counter—

Thunk-!

"Oof!"

A long, heavy object slammed into my side, sending me sprawling to the ground. I gasped for breath, clutching my throbbing ribs as I looked up.

It was unbelievable that a trap could escape my detection, but when I saw what hit me, I was stunned for another reason.

It was a log.

"......."

A log, tied to a rope. A purely physical trap with no magic at all.

Realizing this was more bewildering than painful.

"Are you serious?"

So much for a Hypnotic Detective.

Wasn’t he a mage from the Purple Tower? Shouldn’t he use magic?

Or maybe...this wasn’t even his doing. It could be a trap left behind by a professor or student for class purposes that I just happened to trigger.

Click.

As soon as I thought that, I stepped on another one.

"Are you kidding me!"

I ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding a sandbag that whooshed past my head. This activated another sensor at the base of a tree, setting off a magical trap.

I swiftly connected to the trap with magic, hacking the mana line to deactivate it. But then—

Bonk!

"Ouch!"

A coconut fell directly onto my head.

Tears welled up in my eyes as frustration surged within me.

I massaged my head and scanned my surroundings. Though it would waste mana, I spread a wave of energy to map the area.

Sparkle. Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.

Traps gleamed all around me, revealing themselves. I hadn’t noticed them before because of one reason.

They weren’t magic traps.

"So...he carved and etched these with mana stones."

The guy had created makeshift artifacts as traps.

And on top of that, there were primitive traps scattered around, completely undetectable by magic.

Finally, it dawned on me. He might call himself the "Hypnotic Detective," but he’s 70% enchanter. He inscribes spells on animals or objects, setting up an automatic operation.

Purely mechanical. Full-auto.

A chill ran down my spine, filling me with dread. This feeling...wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. Somewhere... I’d felt this before. The helplessness, the overwhelming terror...

Insane animals operating by algorithm, emotionless enchanted traps, and purely physical primitive snares.

A fight style completely impervious to my specialty: illusion magic.

"How..."

As I remembered the source of my fear, I could only cry out in horror.

"How can a mage from the Purple Tower wield the power of cleaning golems?!"

After another ten minutes of stumbling and crawling, bruised all over, I finally made it out of the forest.

Buzz.

Fire magic has a healing spell. Though not as effective or cost-efficient as holy magic, it’s like a soothing hot compress. Selvia held both hands over me, channeling warmth as she asked,

"What...what exactly were you fighting? Did a transcendent-level black mage attack you, Professor?"

Gathered around were Yuna, Yuri, Selvia, and the purple-haired kid—the center of this whole ordeal. I recounted the battle in the forest.

"And that’s how I lost him, kid. I really wanted to capture the one who hypnotized you, but no luck."

"Ah, uh-huh. That’s...quite a story."

"You’re wondering why I’m even telling you this, right?"

"...Yes. I don’t quite understand."

I raised a finger to explain.

"I learned something important from this. I’m incredibly vulnerable to anything not driven by human will. The Hypnotic Detective played me through pawns, leaving no clues behind—except one."

Despite his determination to hide his identity, his use of animals, impersonation of my absence, and respect for Academy students.

"Why did he specifically choose you?"

"......."

It doesn’t quite add up.

If he just needed a messenger, he could have used an Academy student or an animal. There was no reason to bring a child all the way from the Desert Kingdom.

I’d initially suspected him, but dismissed it because he had no magic power. After all, how could someone without internal magic wield any?

But...after this encounter, I realized that the Hypnotic Detective resembles an enchanter more than a hypnotist.

If every incident so far...

"...wasn’t a deliberate scheme to stay hidden or exploit my weaknesses, but something he had no other choice but to do?"

"......."

"It’s you, isn’t it, Hypnotic Detective?"

I looked closely. Beyond the purple-haired boy’s eyes, I caught a flicker of unmistakable recognition. He realized that I had figured it out.

Determination flashed. He moved.

"──Activate ‘Hypnosis Coin’!"

"Why do you think I gathered everyone? Restrain him!"

"It’s too late to escape. Binding of Fulfillment!"

"Subtract loaded. Move again, and I’ll fire."

Rattle, rattle, rattle—

The sound of chains. Before he could even pull out the coin tied with string from his pocket, he was tightly bound.

Gotcha, you little rat.