I took a deep breath, trying to keep my hand still—or more precisely, the illusion of my hand.
At first, only a blue quill appeared. Then, with difficulty and still somewhat unstable, a figure identical to me took shape.
I celebrated internally, but the moment was brief. I couldn't afford to lose focus.
With all my willpower, I concentrated on my illusion, and following my command, it began to write.
~~~
Dear magical diary of my secrets,
Writing like this is… very complicated.
I don't just have to create something that looks real.
I have to create every detail and every movement: the pressure of the fingers on the pen, the angle of the wrist, the head moving to follow the hand.
I can only imagine…
~~~
I stopped.
That was my current limit.
I could maintain an illusion of my figure for about 30 seconds, and only while sitting and in perfect conditions.
I rubbed my forehead, a bit tired.
The level of mental focus required to create illusions was really high.
Maybe having suppressed my breakthrough for so many days had been a blessing in disguise.
That trial I had imposed on myself had greatly improved my concentration.
For a moment, I let a faint current of air flow around me.
Three meters.
Nothing unusual.
Just silence.
After recovering enough, I created another illusion—this time only my pen and an arm.
As I watched the scene, I felt a bit uneasy.
Watching a pen write on its own was already a bit unsettling, but watching a disembodied arm writing was far worse.
If I ever got out of here, I could run a haunted house for a living.
I was sure of it.
~~~
Where were we?
Right, I'm a genius.
Maybe not that… I might have forgotten.
Whatever.
I've improved a lot in these six months, so much that I've surprised even myself.
Now I'm able to create small gusts of wind to explore the space around me.
It still has a limited range,just three meters, but it's very useful, especially for checking if there's a guard nearby.
Sometimes I let it pass under the door.
It doesn't always work, but it's better than nothing.
The wind element is also very useful for eavesdropping.
After all, voices are nothing more than vibrations in the air, and who can control that air?
Exactly. Me.
Many of those conversations were… quite indecent, but some were actually useful, so I won't complain about the sexual tastes of the guard named Richard…
I honestly would've preferred not to hear that.
Speaking of not hearing.
Besides eavesdropping, I can also isolate the sounds produced by my own body, like footsteps or my voice.
It's a strange feeling to walk and not hear your own steps.
…
Is it just me, or are all my abilities suited for jobs like an assassin or a spy?
…
No… it's just a coincidence.
I also use the wind element to increase the speed of my arrows… and make them silent so the enemy won't notice the attack…
No, no.
I'm also trying to develop a way to use the wind on my body to make it faster… to strike my opponent by surprise with my daggers…
…
I'm an assassin!!!!
And if I think about my illusions, it's even worse!
First of all, I can create visual illusions.
I'm not yet able to use clones in battle, but the end goal is to deceive my opponent during combat.
I've also discovered that illusions are easier to create with objects I'm familiar with or can clearly visualize.
What else?
Oh right, perception distortion.
Now I'm able to go unnoticed for a few seconds even by one-star guards in the base.
The duration depends a lot on their level of focus and attention toward me.
For example, three days ago I tested it on the guard who comes in the morning to wake us up.
He looked around in confusion for two seconds before spotting me.
On the other hand, I can fool distracted guards for about eleven seconds.
Finally, my last idea is truly wicked.
Let's start from the beginning.
The process of storing something in long-term memory is divided into three stages: sensory perception, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Exactly, I can influence people's memories…
Of course, there are limits for now.
If a memory is too vivid or impactful, I have no chance of interfering with it.
I can influence perception, so I can affect new memories, but I can't do anything about old ones.
To sum up, my abilities are: eavesdropping, silence, visual illusions, sensory manipulation, and memory manipulation…
Am I a bad person?
My last "manifestation"...
Oh right, I didn't tell you, diary.
Apparently in this world they don't use the term "spell."
The use of one's element through mana to create a change in the world is called "manifestation."
Anyway, I'm using my latest manifestation of the illusion element to do something very simple: make people forget my face.
What I'm doing is making everyone forget my face ever since I came up with this idea.
Right now it may seem useless, but what if I keep this up for weeks? Months?
They won't remember anything about my face.
It's fairly easy since many people don't even pay attention to me, like the guards or most of the other kids.
It's harder with Victor, who has a vivid memory of me.
For now, I've completely avoided using it on the instructors.
If they found out I was hiding another element, it would be a disaster I want to avoid.
Alright, now it's time for discoveries about the base and the organization!
The agents who joined the organization voluntarily seem quite irritated.
Apparently, for about a year now, even before our arrival, the number of authorized missions has drastically decreased for some reason.
At the moment, I'm on the second level of the underground base.
This is where our rooms are, the training field, and unfortunately, Marcus's disciplinary hall.
I know almost the entire level.
On the first level, there seems to be some kind of barracks where all one- and two-star agents live.
This is where they spend their time when they're not on duty in the lower levels or out on missions.
Below, on the third level, there are laboratories and the personal rooms of the scientists.
On this floor, there's also a small prison, which currently seems empty due to the lack of missions, and more importantly, an emergency exit used by scientists in case of an attack.
Unfortunately, the exit is constantly guarded by an elite.
Finally, there's a fourth level.
I know almost nothing about, it's where the elites and the director reside.
They refer to the latter as "Shadow."
It's probably his position within the organization, the level just above the elites.
The base I'm in is apparently just one of many bases belonging to the organization.
This is one of the reasons why I'm trying to make everyone forget my face before escaping.
Escape would be pointless if it triggered a large-scale manhunt.
It's all so complicated!
Couldn't they just leave a door open and let me escape?
But no, let's make this secret base secure!
Does that even make sense?
In most stories I've read, protagonists escape just a few hours after being captured, destroying walls, guards, and security systems as if they didn't exist.
SO WHY AM I STILL HERE AFTER 6 MONTHS????
WHY HASN'T ANY HERO COME TO SAVE—
~~~
Knock
Just as I reached the peak of my emotional outburst, I heard a knock at the door that made me freeze.
I exhaled slowly.
I hadn't noticed anything because I was distracted.
"You need to come out, number 33."
The illusion trembled before disappearing completely.
I sighed and got off the bed, ready to begin another painful and monotonous day.