132 Breaking the illusion

Cain flashed through the streets at an impressive speed, leaving residual arcs of lightning on his path. Although his figure was startling, it was not odd to see something like that in the main area of the Imperial Lightning Fort.

Many other soldiers ran through the streets incredibly fast, showing great control and not touching anyone else. The Imperial Lightning Fort was massive, being one of the greatest cities in the entire sector, so it would take days to reach from one end to the other just walking.

The higher-up incentivized soldiers to move throughout the city using their own power instead of vehicles. It was good training for the battlefield, as driving anything through it was practically suicide.

After roughly one hour of running, Cain reached a massive building with the words ‘Licence Bureau’ in the front. Many people were coming in and out, and the one thing they all had in common was that none was a cadet.

The moment Cain entered the building, many people focused on him. There was no reason for a cadet to be in this place, so the people working there did not understand what he was doing.

Cain looked around the building and saw two soldiers on the corners of the first floor. Their auras told him they were possible Level 4 Wave Warriors.

Less than half a year ago, that strength was something that Cain would have to push himself to the limit and risk his life to fight. Now, he could paralyze both guards with nothing more than his words.

Of course, Cain knew that they were just for show. The building itself was the true guarding, and it could surely display a crushing pressure that could shatter his body.

Despite his current background, possibly the highest of any cadet in the entire fort, Cain was not an egomaniac and walked calmly toward the reception before greeting the woman behind the table.

.....

“Hello, I came here to obtain a license. Could you show me the way?”

Like everybody else, the receptionist was surprised by the presence of a cadet in the building. However, since Cain was so courteous and had the demeanor of a scion, she did not make things harder for him.

“Sure. You just need to use that teleportation matrix and your A.I. Chip to determine the floor you want to reach. What type of license are you hoping to obtain?”

“I am not at liberty to say that information. Could you show me the information about all the floors?”

Cain wanted to hide the fact he was a Hypnosis Master for as much time as possible. Although the ones handling the license would know, Zarak assured him they would not reveal any information.

The woman’s interest rose when she heard those words, but she knew better than to ask questions about things unrelated to her. The building’s A.I. protected everybody in this place but also monitored the employees’ activity; if any of them were found lacking, they would be fired and replaced.

Although that work behavior could incite wrath in some people, the Imperial Military Force did not care about their feelings. The only thing that mattered to the higher-ups regarding logistic jobs was efficiency.

“Sure, I will send the information to your A.I. Chip immediately.”

A second after the woman said those words, Cain saw that a file reached his [A.I. Chip Module]. He opened it and saw a description of each license type and what floor he should go to apply for one of them.

“Thank you.” Cain thanked the woman for her assistance before walking toward the teleportation matrix and vanishing.

A blinding light hindered Cain’s vision before finding himself on a large white floor. There were paintings on the walls, all unleashing a strange aura, giving the illusion that the pictures would come out at any moment.

Cain had never liked things like paintings, but the ones here seemed capable of grabbing hold of his mind and even generating feelings of peace.

“What are you doing here?”

However, all that serenity shattered when Cain heard those words, and his eyes widened as shock assaulted his heart. The reason for his reaction was that the words came from behind him, but even now, he perceived no one.

Cain looked back, and his shock grew even stronger as no one was there.

“I will ask one last time, what are you doing here!?” The voice was even louder this time, and Cain felt it yell right next to his ear, making him frown.

Cain did not understand what was happening. Instead of acting rashly, he took a deep breath and analyzed everything that was happening.

After a few seconds, a flash of enlightenment crossed Cain’s eyes.

Just as the voice was about to appear again, Cain’s eyes burst with red light as he pushed his Ego Wave to the limit.

Cain felt how the world around him was changing. He was under an illusion and needed to act fast if he wanted to get out of it.

“AHHH!” Cain roared with all his strength when he practically made his Ego Wave explode.

“WHAT!?”

A voice full of shock echoed through the floor, accompanied by a cracking sound.

“Crack.”

The floor remained the same, but Cain could now see a middle-aged man five meters in front of him.

The black-haired man was small and with a bulky frame, similar to Razmun’s fantasy dwarf constitution. He gasped for air on the ground while blood leaked from his blue eyes.

Cain grabbed his head as he felt immense pain and was having difficulty focusing. The sudden burst of his Ego Wave had overloaded his Ego Eternal Matrix, but that was the only way in which he could break the illusion.

He stared at the middle-aged man who was having difficulty breathing and was sure this one must be in pure agony.

Hypnosis Masters can do more than simply make a target follow a command. They can put their minds into illusions, manipulating their senses. Those that specialize in that field are called Illusion Masters.

The original appearance of this chapter can be found at N0v3l.B1n.

While the power of Illusion Masters is amazing, they need to maintain a direct clash of wills at all times, and if the target were to break the illusion, they would suffer a severe backlash, just like the middle-aged man did.

“You... little bastard.” The middle-aged man was in great agony but was still able to utter those words while looking at Cain with eyes full of rage.

When Cain felt the rage in the middle-aged man’s face, his eyes grew cold. Not only had the man put him in an illusion without his consent which was severe abuse, this one dared to show anger at the fact he managed to break free.

Cain’s mind was still in disarray, and he was having a hard time just remembering where he was. So, when he felt the middle-aged man’s rage, his instincts kicked in. His current state was similar to the one he entered when Wink knocked him out.

Cain’s eyes glowed with red light as he used his Ego Wave again, making the pain and fogginess affecting his mind even stronger.

The middle-aged man’s rage transformed into confusion as he saw Cain’s using the Ego Wave. It did not take long for those emotions to become terror when he saw how the young man’s Astral Wave burst with great power before this one concentrated all in two fingers.

Cain felt his mind would break apart due to the immense pressure he faced. He clenched his teeth as he transformed all the Astral Wave loaded into his two fingers into lightning before attacking.

The middle-aged man saw those two fingers coming at him like a lightning spear. He was a Late Essence Wave Champion, but his mind was in such disarray that he could not summon his Wave Cloak to protect himself.

Even if the middle-aged man followed the Essence Evolution Path of Power, his body was still very strong since he was a Late Wave Champion. Cain’s full-power attack could only leave a deep wound on his body. However, the problem was that the lightning spear did not aim at the middle-aged man’s chest but at his right eye.

‘Am I going to die?’

That was the last thought that crossed the middle-aged man’s mind before a small, delicate hand grabbed Cain’s fingers centimeters away from his right eye.

A gorgeous woman with golden hair and a delicate frame appeared out of nowhere and stopped Cain’s attack. She was not using her Wave, but the lightning charged in those fingers could not harm her skin at all.

Cain’s eyes finally lose focus, becoming emotionless. He turned toward the woman who had stopped his attack and sent a kick toward her head using his body’s momentum.

The woman’s face showed nothing as she saw that kick approaching her face. Just as the attack was about to land, she let go of Cain’s fingers before gently tapping his chest.

Cain’s body trembled as he fell to the ground unconscious.