Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

Chapter 59: I Want to Master the Art of Survival

The following afternoon.

At the suggestion of the maid, the idle Lynn made his way to the Augusta family's training grounds.

He decided to stretch his muscles after a long break and take the opportunity to organize his plans for future upgrades.

Though it was called a "training ground," it was essentially a vast sandy area built in a corner on the side of the estate.

Scarecrow-like training dummies were evenly spaced across the ground, and nearby racks were loaded with a variety of wooden weapons.

There were single-handed swords resembling Scottish claymores from his past life, sabers for cavalry combat, weighted replicas of spears and war hammers, and even long-handled axes painted in dark gray.

At the moment, a group of shirtless, muscular men were sweating it out joyfully in the training ground.

These were the Augusta family's personal guards, some of whom were even Extraordinaries.

Lynn didn’t bother greeting them. Instead, he found a secluded corner and began his own training.

First, he opened his system interface.

Currently, he possessed only one Divine Factor.

Typically, a first-rank Extraordinary could hold up to four Divine Factors in their body.

It wasn’t that having more would overwhelm the body.

In fact, almost all Extraordinaries, when advancing to the next rank, rarely felt they had reached the maximum limit for Divine Factors.

The real issue was that these things were extraordinarily valuable.

There was only one way to obtain Divine Factors: by completing God-Given Trials.

However, the problem was that even for Extraordinaries of the same faith and rank, the trials they received could vary greatly.

Some were fortunate enough to receive three or four trials, like his predecessor.

Others, whether due to bad luck or a lack of devout belief, received only one trial. They barely managed to ignite a single Divine Factor before being forced to ascend to the next rank.

This discrepancy led to a wide variation in the capabilities of Extraordinaries.

Within the same rank, someone with a high number of Divine Factors could easily outclass someone with fewer by over tenfold.

Even so, across the thousand-year history of the Saint Roland Empire, including the rarest Chosen of the End, there had never been anyone who could reach the maximum capacity for Divine Factors at any rank.

But today, Lynn might just become the exception.

Looking at his system points, which had reached a staggering 283, Lynn took a deep breath.

“System… level me up!”

[Spend 80 system points to ignite 8 Divine Factors?]

“Yes.”

The next moment, eight blazing red lights burst forth like tiny suns. Lynn’s previously barren and desolate inner world was suddenly illuminated with a vibrant glow.

Still, he wasn’t satisfied. He continued hammering at the "+" button.

[Current rank's capacity for Divine Factors has been reached.]

Fine.

Lynn sighed.

In his predecessor’s time, igniting four Divine Factors at the first rank had taken six whole months.

This included trials like “preaching to a thousand people,” “hunting down twenty cultists,” and “collecting ten rare meteorite fragments.”

It had been a grueling effort just to achieve that.

At this moment, Lynn had surpassed his predecessor’s six months of effort in just three seconds.

It seemed that nine Divine Factors was indeed the limit for a first-rank Extraordinary.

Lynn experimented with the newfound power coursing through his body, channeling it to his fingertip.

A faint red glow accompanied his movements as he gently pressed his index finger against a nearby wooden training post.

A moment later, a deep indentation appeared on the coarse bark surface.

Just as he had expected.

Lynn’s heart swelled with joy. This was precisely why he had chosen to believe in the Witch of the End.

While abilities like corrosion or brute force could achieve similar effects, the underlying mechanisms were worlds apart.

The latter merely altered physical properties through violence, adhering to the laws of physics.

The former, however, operated conceptually—it forcibly “deleted” part of the post.

This annihilation attribute was one of Yveste's innate, formidable talents.

In terms of destructive potential and sustainability, this attribute was among the best in the early stages.

And in higher ranks, it was utterly terrifying.

According to the original narrative, it could even erase abstract concepts and laws.

For instance, temperature.

Yveste had previously demonstrated the ability to lower temperatures. But this wasn’t due to any frost-based ability.

She had simply annihilated the concept of “heat” in the surrounding area.

Though Lynn was far from wielding such extraordinary feats, compared to other first-rank Extraordinaries, his abilities were already a dimension apart.

“If I can acquire a strength-based Extraordinary ability, I’ll be unstoppable,” Lynn mused to himself.

Speaking of abilities, he suddenly recalled something else.

It seemed he could upgrade those two skills as well.

[Spend 10 system points to upgrade Lie Eater to second rank?]

“Yes.”

[Upgrade successful!]

[Due to unknown factors, your original ability has evolved.]

Oh?

Lynn curiously opened the updated details.

[Name: Fraud Game]

[Rank: Second Rank]

[Effect: Building upon the original Lie Eater ability, every lie the host tells will initiate a game. If the lie is believed, the game is won, granting a chance to temporarily steal an Extraordinary ability from the target. The larger the rank difference, the lower the success rate and duration.]

[Activation Requirement: Possess 8 or more Divine Factors]

[Upgrade Cost: 90 system points]

This skill… seemed rather overpowered?

Lynn fell into contemplation.

Not only that, but it seemed he still retained the original Lie Eater ability.

In other words, these two could stack.

He could use Lie Eater to ensure his lie succeeded, then trigger Fraud Game to seal the deal.

Yes, that made sense.

But on closer thought, it wasn’t as absurd as it seemed.

After all, the success rate of Lie Eater diminished significantly when used against higher-ranked targets.

For ordinary people, the success rate of Lie Eater was nearly 100%. But against a higher-ranked Extraordinary, the probability plummeted to less than a third.

The higher the rank, the harder it was to make a lie believable.

Moreover, even if the lie succeeded, it didn’t guarantee that an Extraordinary ability would be stolen.

In strict terms, this ability still heavily depended on luck.

With this in mind, Lynn casually upgraded the Crown of Thorns next.

This time, the ability itself didn’t change, though its effects were slightly enhanced.

[Name: Crown of Thorns]

[Rank: Third Rank]

[Effect: Under this ability, you can accumulate the pain you experience and release it with a twofold amplification.]

[Activation Requirement: Possess 6 or more Divine Factors]

[Upgrade Cost: 150 points]

Not only did it gain a twofold amplification, but the previously required twofold pain experience was also removed.

Lynn was quite pleased with the current effects.

With 143 system points remaining, he had enough to draw another ability, but he decided to hold off for now.

After all, his luck was notoriously bad.

What if he ended up with another support-oriented or sinister trickster ability?

He resolved to wait until his current matters settled and then find an ancient artifact capable of boosting luck. Only then would he attempt to draw a new ability.

For now, there was no pressing need for him to contribute combat power to Yveste’s side. Staying low and developing his skills in secret was the way to go.

After all, just earlier today, he had publicly announced that he had successfully absorbed the Divine Factor of “Sacred Awareness” that Princess Evester had procured for him.

No one expected him to have any significant combat capabilities. He was regarded more as a strategist or think tank.

Unbeknownst to them, this was exactly what Lynn wanted.

He was determined to master the art of survival!

After spending about ten minutes sorting out the system upgrades, Lynn turned his attention back to the training post in front of him.

Crown of Thorns, activate!

He had expected to see a strange visual phenomenon, like the prison-like imagery he encountered the first time he used Lie Eater.

Unexpectedly, nothing happened.

Though puzzled, Lynn didn’t overthink it.

“Bang!”

He struck the straw-covered part of the post with a solid punch.

A sharp, dull pain shot through his hand.

Moments later, Lynn distinctly felt the pain transform into a kind of energy, which flowed into his body and was stored in a peculiar manner, ready to be released at will.

It seemed the Crown of Thorns was currently his only offensive ability.

Thus, he decided to use the pretense of training his body to secretly accumulate pain energy. It would serve as a reliable means of self-defense.

With that plan in mind, he began punching the post with forceful strikes.

His original body’s physical condition wasn’t weak. Having once served in the military, his muscles weren’t explosively large but contained strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

...

Time flew by.

Unnoticed by Lynn, the sun had gradually dipped toward the horizon, painting the sky with a glorious sunset.

His forehead and body were soaked in sweat.

He had been training here for the entire afternoon.

By now, Lynn's fists were swollen and bleeding, every slight touch causing a piercing pain.

But that was exactly the outcome he wanted.

Feeling the steadily growing pain energy within his body, Lynn was in an excellent mood.

Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a pre-prepared bottle of potion, uncorked it, and gently applied it to his injured fists.

A cooling sensation spread through his hands, and the wounds began healing at a visibly rapid pace.

"That’s enough for today," Lynn muttered to himself.

Tonight, he still had to attend the banquet hosted by Duke Tyrius with Yveste.

He needed a bath and some proper grooming before going.

Showing up in his current disheveled state would surely earn him a scolding—and perhaps worse—from that woman.

Chuckling at the thought, Lynn wiped the sweat from his forehead and prepared to head back to the estate.

But just as he turned around, he realized he was surrounded.

At some point, the estate's personal guards, who had been training on the sand earlier, had encircled him.

A quick glance revealed that most were ordinary people, but among them were several first- and second-rank Extraordinaries.

"Do you need something?" Lynn asked, glancing at them.

"You’re the outsider who made Young Master Rhine lose face twice, aren’t you?" The bald man at the front cracked his knuckles menacingly. "Training all afternoon, huh? How about we be your sparring partners?"

Noticing the malice in their eyes, Lynn smirked.

"Sure," he said casually.

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