Chapter 12: Mastery
"Damned deceptive shit! This cursed bullshit!" Sam nearly cursed her directly upon realizing that he could die due to a breach of such a ridiculous contract. He was boiling with anger over the matter.
Angela noticed and let out a suppressed laugh. She said, "Don't worry, the situation isn't as dire as you think. As long as you work diligently, nothing will happen to you. And besides, if you carefully consider it, this is a fantastic deal for you too."
Angela looked at Sam carefully before continuing, "I'm committed to this contract as well. I can't betray you, harm you, or put you in danger... in other words, I'll be a good leader whether I desire it or not."
Sam glared at her with prominent veins bulging from all over his body and retorted, "You'll be a good leader in making me your pitiful slave, isn't that what you're planning?"
Angela lightly smiled and took a sip of her coffee that was about to get cold. She said, "Oh, how I wish, but if you paid a little more attention to the contract, you would know that there's a limit of seven missions per month for a member. Emergency and exceptional cases are, of course, excluded."
"And I suppose the 'emergency' cases involve feeling a little hungry or horny?" Sam retorted with sharp sarcasm.
Angela laughed with a similar sarcasm and said, "Perhaps? Who knows."
She continued while sipping her coffee, "And now, let me fulfill my part of the deal instead of talking about a contract that's already signed, or do you want to cry a little? There's enough space in the bathroom for... well, you know, a good cry."
Sam gave her a complicated look, feeling a bit cheated, but after his emotions calmed down, he realized that the deal wasn't actually that bad. He could go along with the organization's nonsense and forget about everything else, living comfortably with the money he'd earn.
"Of course, I suppose you won't be hiding anything from me now, will you, Angela?"
"Of course not." Angela answered with a perfect smile. "After all, the stronger the members of my organization become, the better its prospects."
Sam continued to gaze at her, especially at her red dress. However, he quickly averted his gaze and took a sip of his coffee.
Angela placed her coffee cup on the table and said, "Alright, you can say that the origin of these abilities is mysterious. No one knows exactly where they come from. Maybe it's a benevolent god who bestowed them upon us, maybe extraterrestrial beings experimenting with us, or perhaps those who manage the simulation are seeking some excitement. The point is, no one has a clue about the exact origin of these 'abilities.'"
"But that doesn't really matter, does it? What matters is that we possess them now."
Sam looked at her and thought for a moment. Indeed, it was almost impossible to determine their source. He was simply placed in an unremarkable situation. He wasn't a part of anything that could be 'abnormal situation'
"Perhaps it's a abnormal evolution of the brain?" Sam speculated out loud.
"Impossible." Angela immediately and definitively replied. "The reason is that there are abilities that don't relate to enhancing any of our instincts or senses. In my case, for example, or in your case, both of us possess abilities related to our senses and our perception of the world. But not all abilities are like that. There are some abilities that can't be explained by anything brain-related in any way."
Sam looked at her with bewilderment. 'Does she actually know what my ability is and wasn't just spouting shit before?'
Sam couldn't provide an answer in any form and remained puzzled amidst his thoughts.
"Give me an example of such an ability," Sam asked, still doubting the existence of such powerful abilities.
Angela looked at him blankly before saying, "There's an ability for someone who can teleport between places. Or can exchange places with something else. Hell, maybe he can create a pocket dimension and put whatever nonsense they want into it, then compress it into a ring size to access whenever he pleases."
"Damned shit! This is absurd!" Sam exclaimed. He couldn't fathom the existence of such an ability at all.
"Damned shit? I agree. But it's an absolute reality. There's an ability like that, indeed."
"Alright then, tell me more about the abilities and their limitations," Sam replied, trying to grasp the existence of such a insane ability.
Angela smiled and continued, "Activating the ability can be done in three ways."
'There's a third way!' Sam's heart raced with excitement, and his light brown eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Angela noticed that and smiled. She continued without showing any attention to it, "The first way is to put a certain part of your body in danger of severe or fatal injury. Often it's the head, but it can be other places too, like the hands. For those who have a high mastery of the ability, they can even make their entire body sensitive to injury, allowing them to activate their ability in case of any threat to their body."
Angela looked into Sam's eyes with her green ones and continued, "The second way to activate it is to be in a state of 'fusion' with a certain feeling. It must be a strong feeling with strong connection. I don't know if you've experienced it yet because most cases of activating the ability for the first time happen when some part of the body is in danger. But if you tried immersing yourself in a powerful feeling, you'd feel like it's consuming you entirely. It's like an itch you can't scratch, a desire that engulfs your entire being without any compromise or relenting. It's a terrible feeling, but it's also incredibly beautiful at the same time."
"I've actually tried that, but I used to call it immersion rather than fusion." Sam responded, trying to extract more information from her.
"Then you must understand the feeling very well. This is simply the best way to train and enhance your mastery of the ability. There are a few exercises that will allow you to easily enter a fusion state and then use your ability more effectively."
"What are these incredibly fascinating exercises?" Sam asked with curiosity and sarcasm simultaneously, as he calmly sipped his coffee.
"Sex or intimate connection with someone," Angela stated expressionlessly and with a mechanical tone.
Sam spat out some of his coffee. He looked at her in shock. The damn shit! Was this the reason she wore the seductive red dress and cracked dirty jokes? All of that just for her to train and enhance her ability!
Angela continued her explanation without paying any attention to the spilled coffee in front of her. "Engaging in intense sex with someone you feel an intimate connection with makes you enter a state of intense and prolonged fusion... Well, that depends on your capability of course, but you get my point. Sex and intimacy, whether together or individually, they truly are a significant cheats that enhance your control over your ability."
Sam didn't dare to look at her and instead stared intensely at his coffee. It seemed like he was trying to decipher the secrets of existence from that coffee.
'But her words... They're not completely devoid of truth.' Sam remembered what happened with Christina when he felt immersed in her warm breath and intense kisses, and how at that moment the ability activated not once, but twice.
"So, the best way to train the ability is to sleep with anything that moves?" he quipped.
Angela looked at him and then laughed, saying, "More or less. There are, of course, other ways. Like watching your favorite team win or putting yourself in a life-or-death situation. But it won't guarantee that your team wins every time or that you'll come out alive every time after a dangerous situation. So yes, it's the most effective way to train your ability."
Angela continued directly, saying, "Once you master the second method, you'll notice that you can summon your ability with even the slightest ignition of emotions in your heart. With more proficiency, you'll be able to stop your ability from running automatically, and also..."
Angela paused and looked directly into Sam's eyes. Sam looked back at her, and then he heard her say, "Your eye color will change as well. They'll become lighter."
Sam continued to gaze into her eyes and asked, "So, that's exactly how you knew I used the ability?"
Angela chuckled and took a sip of her coffee before saying, "Almost. There were a few other signs that helped me figure it out. I don't know if you noticed them or not. But when I first met you, your eyes were completely black. Now? They're a lighter brown."
"Nonsense..." Sam muttered those words and quickly rushed to the nearest mirror that happened to be in the living room before the door to see his face. He had a pale white complexion. His hair was untamed and long down his neck. His straight nose, large but suited lips with a growing mustache and beard, untrimmed. And most importantly, his eyes, sharp and with light brown irises...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone