I'm a Villain, So I'll Take Over The World!

Chapter 5 Artificial Bonds

?["Total Recover."]

The healing spell cascaded through the hall, allowing a verdant light to graze through its narrow width before enveloping the injured, closing their wounds and cleaning the spilled blood in the process.

Emily was in shock, looking around, "...What is this? What're you…?"

An aura of mystical force was visible around Noah as his shirt fluttered along with his hair as he commanded the benevolent magecraft. It was something of a greater power; stunning those that witnessed as it seemed far too far-fetched to be real.

"What the hell…?"

"Is this some sort of prank?"

"I-I saw Jacob Harrow bleeding out just a second ago!"

Talk from the shocked students flooded the halls as Noah simply concentrated on the spell before wrapping it up.

"Are they…?" Emily began to ask.

"They're fine," Noah answered bluntly.

Silence momentarily filled the premises of the school before Emily stood up with tears in her eyes, unable to process what happened as she looked at the young man, unknowing of what it truly was her eyes laid on.

"Who are you?..."

Noah didn't answer the question he found meaningless in the face of what was coming as his grimoire fluttered to a new page, bearing the next spell he intended to bring forth into reality.

As some students raced to find staff, and some even blurted out their intentions to get the authorities, that all came to a halt as Noah raised his hand, holding a swirling, violet mana.

["Absolute Hypnosis."]

A flash of violet light filled the premises of the school, flowing through every corridor, room, and the outskirts alike as hieroglyphics spun in the air around the caster, allowing him to freely manipulate the memories and intentions of those caught in the scope of his magic.

It emitted a perpetual hum of vast energy, emitting particles of varying shapes that held a kaleidoscope of varying colors inlaid in a mist around him.

"...Let's see…Who should 'Noah Grays' become?" He questioned with a smile.

It was an opportunity to completely alter the way each person viewed him; in the palm of his hand, he had complete control over their experiences, memories, and perceptions, allowing him to even add false memories.

As he fiddled with the mystically manifested consciousnesses of those around, he waved his hand, causing the threads of experiences and memories to spiral around as he reconfigured them to his whim.

'I think this'll do…Let's start from square one: this will be Noah Grays' new debut,' he decided.

Finalizing the [Absolute Hypnosis], he squeezed his fist, causing the hum to momentarily blare out before a flash of violet light swept through the premises, running along each surface as every mind in the vicinity was altered to Noah's desire.

As it finished, the affected people came to, blinking as they stood like deer in headlights for a moment.

"Urgh…my head," a freshman held his head.

"Same here…why do I have a headache all of a sudden?" Another groaned.

Jacob and his underlings came to as well, slowly getting up from the ground with the same side-effects of a headache as some of the others.

"The hell?...Why was I laying on the floor?" Jacob asked.

Providing an answer for everybody was Noah, who held a smile of false charisma, "I just woke up, too. I think there might be a gas leak. We should tell the staff as soon as possible."

"Oh, is that what happened?"

"Man, my neck hurts."

"That sounds dangerous."

As the students chattered, the quarterback approached Noah, still rubbing the back of his aching head as he stopped in front of the gray-eyed system-wielder.

Noah looked up at him with a smile still held, studying him as if checking for sure of the [Absolute Hypnosis] was a success.

"Damn, my head hurts…You good, Noah?" Jacob asked sincerely.

'Looks like it worked," Noah thought.

Answering the question, he nodded with brittle joy, "I'm fine. You should go to the nurse though if you're not feeling well–just to be safe."

"Right. Good idea…thanks, man," Jacob patted him on the shoulder before moving along with his two goons following close behind.

After an interaction that couldn't be farther from what was reality just minutes prior, Noah turned around to face Emily, who was still sitting on her knees and wincing from the headache.

He extended his hand down to her, "You alright, 'Em'?"

Despite using a nickname that spoke of unestablished closeness between the two that he never once uttered before, the blue-eyed member of the track team looked up at him with a smile before accepting his hand.

"I'm alright…How weird though," Emily said, fixing her hair as she was helped to her feet, "I wonder if they'll cancel classes for today?"

"Maybe," he replied.

Emily smiled brightly, planting a kiss on the young man's cheek, "Anyway, let's head to first period! Even if school gets canceled, I don't want to test my luck."

"Sure thing," he smiled.

As he walked to class beside the girl who displayed unusual affection towards him, he was happily greeted by each student he passed by, sharing specific handshakes with them and memories that shouldn't exist.

This was the new reality forged by Noah's [Absolute Hypnosis]: from the absolute bottom, he had risen to a local star.

A few students had already gone to inform the staff of the supposed 'gas leak'; what began as a lie was forged in reality as Noah left sprinkles of hazardous gas in the hall for the staff to find.

What proceeded were classes that did nothing to stimulate his enhanced mind, though he did find joy in the newfound interactions he had with other students.

"Hey, did you watch the new episode of The Stargazer, Noah?" A student named Tyler asked, a somewhat geeky, but well-liked individual.

"Yeah."

Planting a seat by his desk, a member of the college basketball team, a tall, tan-skinned student, Miguel leaned against his desk, "Yo, Noah! Coming to my game tomorrow night?"

He already knew that there was a basketball game upcoming against the school's rival, Spring Forward High, by looking through the collective memories of the students earlier.

"Maybe. I'll have to check my schedule," he answered, "Are you sure you're up for it though? Hard to believe you're staying in tip-top shape when you were playing Steel Cog Online all night."

"Hey! I was only on because you needed a full squad!" Miguel defended himself.

Of course, none of that had actually transpired the previous night, but Noah made it believed as such.

A laugh was shared between them from the fabricated experiences, though to Noah, he had little issue with the thinly-veiled falsities he forged. Even if it wasn't genuine, he was satisfied just to be experiencing the life he'd been missing out on.