SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will - Chapter 416 Layla The Witch

Although the first skill was nothing short of powerful, Moon was certain the second was even more powerful given its epic ranking.

[Curse] [Order: Second] [Rank: Epic] [Proficiency: 0%] [Details: Your curse makes others follow you without question, losing their goals, and gaining one only: satisfying the goal you set them. The Curse duration relies on the spiritual energy differential between yourself and the target. +100% Effectiveness. +100% Curse Duration.]

Moon’s blood ran cold for a fraction of a second. This was the real weapon she used to rise to power.

Once cursed, the victim didn’t just become obedient. They lost themselves, their ambitions and dreams, their identity, everything was overwritten by a single directive that Layla chose. The cursed person would pursue that directive with absolute devotion, believing it to be their own desire.

And the duration scaled with the strength gap. Against someone significantly weaker in spiritual energy than her, the curse could last indefinitely. Against someone closer to her level, it would fade quicker. But she could always place it once more.

The pills weren’t the curse itself. They were the delivery system. A way to administer it repeatedly, layering the effect over time until the victim’s original personality was buried so deep it couldn’t resurface on its own.

—

[Mark of Omen] [Order: Second] [Rank: Rare] [Proficiency: 0%] [Details: You brand a cursed subordinate with an omen, convincing them they have grown stronger. Though the power is illusory, their belief manifests as a temporary increase of power, granting them 5-10% increase of combat power.]

—

Moon nearly took a hit to the shoulder as the final piece of the puzzle landed into place. He twisted at the last second, the blade grazing his jacket, and struck back, his staff knocking the air out of the attackers stomach.

Now he understood everything.

Her illusion wasn’t simple, but had three layers, strengthening its grasp on those without any mental defense skills or items. Each one built on the last to create a system of control so complete that even the victims themselves couldn’t see its edges.

The First Star Evolvers. The ones close to Layla in strength. The curse’s duration against them would be shorter, its hold weaker. They might eventually shake it off, and some of them were probably aware enough to resist the charm on a conscious level.

So Layla gave them something the curse couldn’t. Power.

Or at least, the belief of power. The Mark convinced them they had grown stronger. The feeling was real to them, a tangible boost in combat ability that they could see in their own performance. 5-10% wasn’t enormous, but to a First Star Evolver fighting on the edge of their limits, it was the difference between life and death.

And because they believed Layla was the source of that power, they stayed. Not because they were cursed. Not because they were charmed. Because leaving meant losing the edge she gave them.

They were addicts of a different kind.

Moon activated [Curse] while deflecting a sword strike with his staff. He directed it toward the nearest First Star Evolver attacking him.

To his dismay, nothing of major significance happened, the man’s brain seemed to lag for a minor fraction of a second before returning back to normal.

It was apparent to Moon that his curse, in comparison to Layla — The Witch — was simply too weak. At zero proficiency with no experience wielding the skill, his output couldn’t compete with the layers Layla had already in her subordinates. It was like trying to overwrite a wall of text with a drop of ink.

On her throne, Layla’s brow creased. A subtle frown crossed her face. She had felt something. One of the invisible threads connecting her to her subordinates had trembled, as if someone had reached out and plucked it.

Her red eyes locked back onto Moon.

‘It must be him… But how?’ Layla had watched him fight, dodging and striking between the circle of her strongest Evolvers, yet never saw anything suspicious. ‘I’ve been staring at him for the past several minutes. He hasn’t used any items, any scrolls, any artifacts. Yet someone just tried to interfere with my curses.’

She wasn’t a fool, to bring such a large number of her previous subordinates with him, Moon had figured out her power somehow, and he had a counter of some kind. Although she had yet to figure that out, she wasn’t worried. Her curses weakened when away from her sight, but at this range, inside her own throne room, surrounded by her aura, they were at their strongest. She didn’t believe Moon could break them here.

And even if he did, she would simply cast them again.

Moon tried a second time. He pushed harder, targeting a different subordinate.

The thread trembled again but held firm.

Layla’s eyes narrowed. Her fingers tapped the armrest of her throne once as she felt the same tug as before.

Moon abandoned the attempt. The skill was useless to him at this stage. Zero proficiency against a caster who had been refining the same curse for months, possibly years. The gap was too wide.

He couldn’t use Mark of Omen either. Branding an enemy with a boost to their combat power was suicide. And Charm was passive, always active, which meant it was doing nothing for him in a fight where he needed direct offensive tools.

Three skills copied. None of them useful right now.

Moon blocked a spear thrust and countered with a lightning bolt that sent the attacker skidding backward.

‘Her skills are worthless to me in combat…’ As the thought arose, ‘Or…I could curse my own teammates, mark them with the mark of omen, and make them grow stronger…’

The thought was certainly not to his liking, he knew that these people hated it to their core, doing that right now, meant betraying their trust, these people had followed him to possible death, even if it wasn’t purely for loyalty, but for their own goals.

[Life Burn] [Description: Doubles all attributes and expands spiritual Acupoints for a duration of ten minutes. Upon activation, 90% of the user’s total Lives are consumed. Minimum Lives required to activate: Level × 2,000.] ‘I think it’s time…to use my second class skill.’