Last Night...

Just after the wild sex with Yuki, Shin received an A-Rank Skill Card.

[DING!]

[You have obtained a Skill Card: Rank A]

Shin's breath hadn't even steadied yet after his intense romp with Yuki when the card flickered into view, glowing with an ominous red hue. He tapped it open with a smirk.

[New Skill Acquired: Slave Leash]

Type: Control Skill

[Description: Bind a female target with ethereal Slave Chains. The bound subject becomes fully obedient, carrying out any command issued by the Host, regardless of her will.]

[Target Restriction: Female only]

[Activation Command: "Obey"]

[Trigger Conditions (any one must be met):

If any of these conditions are met, the skill can trigger.

◇Public humiliation of the Host by the target.

◇Intentional deception against the Host by the target(Host must be aware of it)

◇Intense hatred from the target toward the Host

WARNING: If a third party catches you using the skill for your sexual satisfaction, the ability will deactivate immediately. You'll suffer a random penalty, and the third party will lose the memory of the scene.

Cooldown: 10 minutes after deactivation.

[You've walked the path of dominance. Tread wisely, or not at all.]

Shin laughed to himself. "Perfect."

****

Present...

She had slapped him. Publicly. Loudly. And with eyes watching.

Exactly what he wanted.

Shin barely reacted when the sting hit his cheek—he smiled instead, the corners of his mouth twitching with dark delight. The moment her hand struck him, he whispered:

"Obey."

Chains invisible to the naked eye wrapped themselves around her soul.

Shin grinned as he dragged her by the leash, heading toward Yuki's room. Yuki had left him the keys, and everything else.

The woman struggled while kicking, spitting, and unleashing verbal explosions, but Shin didn't care. The crowd, who moments ago laughed at the "punk getting humiliated," now watched in stunned silence.

But two men, one black, the other with facial scars stepped forward. From the look of it, they were close to the woman.

"Yo! Let Britt go, punk!" barked the muscular black guy.

"This little bastard wants to die!" sneered the one with the facial scars. "Let's drag him out the gate and carve him up."

Shin halted and slowly turned his head, his eyes narrow and cold as death. "Come any closer, and I'll make you my lapdogs."

The men flinched, taking a step back. The killing intent that laced his words wasn't an act—they felt it like knives scraping bone.

"Dude hacked the system," someone from the crowd muttered. "That's how he's controlling them. First Yuki and the NPCs, now Britt. He's not normal."

Shin heard it all and welcomed it.

Uncertainty, he mused. It spreads faster than blood.

He dragged the woman inside and shut the door behind him. She'd be his lab rat now—his first test subject for Slave Leash.

"Sit down," he ordered.

Like a puppet on strings, she sat on the bed.

"On the floor," he added coldly.

Her body trembled as she obeyed, lowering herself to the ground.

But her glare burned with rage. She bit her lower lip and stared daggers at him.

"You think this makes you powerful, you little shit? Unhack me and maybe—just maybe—I won't gut you when this is over!"

Shin didn't flinch. "Raise your left hand."

Up it went smoothly as he watched the invisible chains lifting it.

"Tell me the last time you got fucked."

"What the—?! You sick freak! You've crossed the line now!!" she screamed. "I'll gut you alive! I swear it!!"

Shin tilted his head, amused. "Hmm. Looks like the skill doesn't override the mind. Just the body. How disappointing." He thought inwardly.

Outside, the crowd still lingered. Curious eyes peeked through the window.

Some were fascinated. Some were horrified.

Some wished they could hack people like Shin did.

Little did they know—he didn't know a damn thing about hacking.

But he loved the confusion. He thrived in it.

He stood and circled the woman, eyes scanning her like a predator sizing up prey.

If it wasn't for the warning that the skill deactivates and guves him a random penalty when there's a third-party detection during sexual acts, he might've gone further. But there were other ways to explore this skill.

He crouched and grabbed her chin harshly, tilting her face toward his. She spat at him, the saliva smacking his cheek. He didn't even blink. He smiled wider.

"Choke yourself. With your left hand."

Her expression crumpled in horror as her hand began to move against her will.

"No! What the hell?! This isn't funny anymore—stop this—bef—tf—fghkkk..."

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Her own fingers crushed her windpipe.

She wheezed, eyes wide and watering, veins bulging as she thrashed soundlessly, her body writhing under the pressure of her own strength turned against her.

Shin watched with eerie calm.

No red warnings from the system.

No alerts about killing other players in the safezone.

If she died, it would just look like suicide.

Still... he wouldn't let her die.

Not yet.

He hadn't reaped her skills.

"Stop choking yourself."

"Stop choking yourself."

Her hand fell away. She gasped, coughing violently, each breath like fire in her lungs. Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed, trembling, the room spinning around her.

Fear had finally rooted itself in her.

Was it death that terrified her?

Or was it the boy who made her taste it?

She didn't know.

But what she did know—what her body screamed at her to remember—was that this boy was not someone to cross.

Shin stood above her, savoring the shift in her demeanor. Gone was the arrogant woman who'd slapped him earlier. In her place was a shivering creature afraid to blink, eyes wide with terror.

Then came the system's sweet whisper.

[DING!]

[Slave Collection Now Available]

Capacity: 2 Active Slots

Targets placed in Collection can be re-enslaved without fulfilling trigger conditions.

[Add Target: Britt?]

▷ [Confirm]

□ [Decline]

He didn't hesitate.

[Confirm Selected.]

This was the best part of the skill. He could have his own collection of slaves.

Though there were only 2 slots, he didn't really care.

He could always discard the old toys once he's used them enough.

And find new ones to leash.

TBC