Hey, Why Are My Skills so Weird!?

When I reached the back of the building, the scene of three girls bullying a lone girl fell into my eyes.

The girl on the ground was someone familiar. She had long black hair, dim black eyes, and an expressionless and disinterested look, as though nothing in the world mattered to her.

She was my classmate and fifth in this year’s entrance exam, Hela Luo.

Seeing her sitting on the ground with her clothes and hair filled with mud and blood was enough to understand what she had gone through just now.

My expression immediately became ice-cold.

“Stop.” My voice came out, accompanied by a surge of mana from my body.

At the same time, I activated [Confidence], turning my aura into a freezing chill full of killing intent.

The instant my aura spread, the three girls bullying Hela froze and turned pale. Even though the three of them were Tier Four Awakened, a tier above me, my killing intent forged by killing dozens of creatures and even a fifth tier Awakened was not something they could just shrug off.

Then, I walked slowly toward them.

“You should stop before I become angrier.”

The three girls became paler. With every step I took, they felt the pressure over them multiply. Even twitching their fingers seemed like a colossal task.

But they were not ordinary girls. The three of them were students of Sanctuary’s First, and their talent and mana were not something to scoff at.

After the initial panic, the girl in the middle snorted and circulated her mana around her body, barely releasing herself from my pressure.

Even so, her pale face showed that she had not erased the effects of my pressure completely.

“… Who are you? Did nobody teach you to not stick your nose in someone else’s affairs?”

I did not reply and just stared at her.  At the same time, I focused the effects of [Confidence] on her, doubling the pressure she was feeling.

The girl grunted in discomfort and took a step back, unable to hide her weakness.

“I’m just her classmate.” I finally replied while observing her. “However, I don’t feel very comfortable seeing three people bullying a lone girl.”

The girl clicked her tongue and glanced at Hela before snorting in disdain.

“She is not a girl, but a monster.” She spat out and looked at the other two girls. “Alisa, Lea, let’s go.”

She then walked away followed by the other two girls.

When she passed beside me, she stopped briefly and glanced at me from the corner of her eyes.

“… You should not get close to her. You will regret it.”

I ignored her completely.

When the three girls were gone, I looked at Hela with a concerned expression.

“Are you okay?”

Hela glanced at me and nodded.

“Thank you.”

She then forced herself to stand up while groaning in pain.

I took a step forward to help her, only to stop abruptly.

Hela has the ability to drain the life force of anything close to her, and she is unable to control it. If I get close to her thoughtlessly, I could be affected.

But then I berated myself inwardly.

‘What are you thinking about? Now is not the time to worry about that.’

“Let me help you,” I said and extended my hand.

But instead of grabbing it, Hela shrank her body and took a step back.

“… You should listen to her. Don’t get close to me, or you will regret it.”

I put on an awkward expression, hesitating about what to do.

The demon spoke in my mind at that moment.

[Just use the Lightning Body Refinement Technique. That should be enough to mitigate the effects of her skill.]

Startled, I followed the demon's instructions.

Almost immediately, I felt as though a burden was lifted from my body.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

‘Just now… was I already affected by her skill? When? I did not notice anything.’

[Don’t worry. You are an Awakened, so being close to her for a short while is not enough to cause any adverse effect, and as long as you use the Lightning Body Refinement Technique when you are around her, her skill won't be able to affect you easily.]

‘That is good.’ I sighed in relief subconsciously.

While I was talking with the demon, Hela stood up and walked away without caring for her wounds or the state of her body.

[Boy, don’t you need two more people on your team? Invite her.]

Huh?

[Believe me. You won't regret it.]

Although surprised, I acted quickly.

“Wait, Hela! Have you already found your teammates for teacher Javier’s assignment? Do you want to join my team?”

“… Not interested.”

“Is it because you are worried that you can’t control your skill?”

Her movements stopped abruptly.

“You know?” She asked with a hint of fear, suspicion, and curiosity.

I nodded with a hesitant expression.

“I know a girl with a situation similar to yours. She can’t control her powers either, so I noticed that you can’t control your powers when I saw you.”

“That person… Did she find a way to control her powers?”

“She didn’t.” I shook my head.

Hela’s face showed a tinge of disappointment.

“Is it so?” She then continued walking away.

“You should consider joining my team,” I told her again before she left. “I don’t know about the others, but I’m sure I won’t be affected by your skill. Plus, perhaps I could help you.”

Hela’s expressionless mask seemed to disappear briefly, showing a look of hesitance.

“… I’ll think about it.”