"Hi, it's nice to meet you, ma'am," I nodded politely.
"Er, yes, likewise," She responded, looking a bit bemused as she glanced at Charlotte inquiringly.
Evidently, Charlotte hasn't told her anything about me.
I can't use Appraisal on someone through a screen, which sucks because I'm curious to see her abilities and stats.
She had longish, light graying blonde hair that was tied in a low ponytail, light blue eyes and a fair complexion, with slight wrinkles under her eyes.
"I suppose I should get straight to the point, but before that...Frida, this young man's abilities are being kept confidential at the moment, so I'll need to ask you to keep everything we discuss to yourself."
"Huh? Well, that's a bit unusual, but sure, I can do that," She nodded, starting to look a bit impatient.
Hm, my passive lie detection doesn't work through a video call, so I can't say for certain that she's being honest, but it doesn't seem like she's lying, at last.
"Alright, then, let's get right into it, shall we? Kai here possesses an ability that works similarly to your own Berserk Magic, and he's been having a lot of trouble controlling it, so I thought to contact you to give him some advice. You figured out how to stay in control while using your Magic before you retired, after all."
"Hm? Then, he's an Arcane Mage? Sorry, Arcane Hunter. I haven't heard of any Arcane Hunters appearing recently," She responded, as she glanced at me curiously.
"Like I said, his abilities are being kept confidential at the moment, so not a lot of people know about him."
"I see, that sounds a bit legally iffy, but knowing you, you probably know what you're doing. Alright, let's see...you said his ability is similar to my Berserk Magic, right?
Is it the exact same? Because that would make this the first case of the same Arcane Magic appearing in two Hunters."
"No, he isn't exactly the same as you. That particular ability might be the same as your Magic, or at least very similar, but it's not the extent of what he can do.
While I can't divulge specifics, he has a wide range of varied abilities, the one we're discussing is just one of many," Explained Charlotte, as Frida's eyes widened in surprise.
"Okay, you definitely have my attention now. I've never heard of anything like that. Alright, then, young man, let's hear it. Tell me about the ability you want my advice on," Remarked Frida, turning her attention back to me.
"Uh, yeah, sure. So, when I activate it, it boosts me physically by fifty percent, which lasts for about ten minutes. But I end up in a blind rage, I can't control myself and turn really violent and aggressive.
I almost attacked my party the first time I used it, it felt like I was intent on actually killing them. And after the power boost wears off, it takes a toll on me, my entire body gets sore all over and moving is pretty painful.
I've been working on trying to control it, and while it did seem like I was making progress at first, I've completely hit a wall," I explained with a sigh.
"Hm, I see. To start off, it does sound similar to my Berserk Magic, but there are some differences too. For one thing, my Magic doubled my physical abilities, so a hundred percent increase.
And I didn't really have a time limit, I could maintain it for as long as I wanted so long as I had Mana to spare."
"A hundred percent boost? Wish mine was that potent," I responded wryly.
"Like you're, mine had a backlash too, and the longer I maintained it, the more intense the backlash would be. I'd end up with ruptured organs and broken bones if I kept it up for too long, but it sounds like the backlash from your ability is limited to damaging only your muscles, probably because it only lasts ten minutes.
The aggression sounds the same as mine, I nearly killed another Hunter once while using my Magic, just because I thought they were looking at me funny.
It made me so volatile that it became really difficult to find Hunters who were willing to form a party with me, so I ended up fighting with my natural physical abilities and only used my Magic as a last resort," She sighed in exasperation.
"Yeah, that sounds pretty rough. Ever since the first time I used this ability, I haven't used it during a raid since."
"That's definitely the right choice if you can't control it. So, tell me about your training, how exactly have you been going about trying to control this power?" She asked me.
"Well, I unleash it and then resist the surging aggression and volatile impulses as best as I can, I try to put a lid on those emotions and stay calm," I informed her.
"Yes, makes sense, that's pretty much exactly how I went about trying to control it too," She nodded in response.
"Then, does that mean I'm on the right track-...?"
"No, that method won't work. At least, it didn't for me. It was just like how you explained it. At first, it felt like I'd be able to pull it off if I trained hard with it for long enough.
But after a few months, I had no choice but to face the facts and accept the fact that it wasn't going to work. No matter how hard or how much I trained, it would be impossible to control those intense emotions.
I had to put in so much focus and concentration into trying to stay even the tiniest bit calm in that state that I was too distracted to fight properly, and not matter how much effort I put into it, I couldn't find a way to balance it.
If your ability works similar to my Magic in that regard, then this method of training simply isn't going to work," She stated bluntly.
"But you did eventually find a way to control it, didn't you? How did you pull it off?" I asked her.
"Yes, I did...it happened about five years before I retired, and it was such a simple solution that I can't but laugh when I think back on it."