"Compliance Game – Punishment for the Rulebreaker."
Elena's Nen ability was classified as a Manipulator-type Nen ability, but due to Elena's potential, it also contained some specialist characteristics.
After selecting a specific target and completing the conditions, Elena could obtain two different levels of control over the target: total control or minimal control.
"The One Who Lost the Game."
"The Rulebreaker."
The "One Who Lost the Game" status granted Elena minimal control over the target, while the "Rulebreaker" status allowed her to obtain total control over the target. Each level of control lasted for one hour.
Elena first selected her target and stated that she wanted to arrange a meeting. If the meeting request was accepted, the first stage of the ability began.
After meeting with her chosen target, Elena had to establish physical contact.
This contact could be something simple such as a handshake or touching the shoulder.
Once this second requirement was fulfilled, the ability became fully active.
After the "Compliance Game" began, Elena's goal was to make the other person attempt to stop the game or refuse to play according to her displayed behaviors either three times or six times, depending on the level of control she desired.
Refusing to play the game meant reacting negatively to Elena's behavior and acting contrary to the flow she established.
Refusing to play was considered breaking the rules.
After collecting three reactions, Elena could end the game and obtain minimal control similar to a drunkenness effect.
If she chose not to stop and instead collected six reactions, she could activate the "Rulebreaker" status and gain total control over the target for one hour.
Once Elena activated the game, the target had to display the required reactions within one hour.
Otherwise, Elena would lose the right to use the ability for one week after the first failure, one month after the second failure, and one full year after the third failure.
Additionally, each time she failed, she herself would receive the "One Who Lost the Game" status for one hour and would fall under minimal control of her target.
—
Elena had no idea what she was supposed to do anymore.
There were only ten minutes left, and despite trying every tactic she could think of for the past fifty minutes, she still couldn't make Conrad break the rules.
It was as if the person sitting in front of her wasn't Conrad but an idiot who saw all her flirtatious behavior as completely natural and was doing everything possible not to ruin it.
"No… no… Conrad isn't stupid enough for that, and he's definitely not enough of a womanizer to ignore how different I'm acting and not warn me about it," she thought.
"The only thing his actions show is that Conrad clearly understands the situation and is taking the correct actions because of it."
"He's simply playing the game and knows my ability has a time limit. Once the effect ends, he'll question me about everything."
Even though these thoughts were running through Elena's mind, from the outside she looked nothing more than a very attractive woman seriously flirting with the young man across from her while under the influence of alcohol.
Elena's ability prevented not only the target but also herself from acting against the rules.
The only difference was that Elena knew what the rules were, while the target had to discover them and act accordingly.
Without showing the slightest disturbance, Conrad continued talking with Elena, responding to her words, accepting her compliments and returning them, and enjoying the situation.
He knew very well that the only thing he needed to do now was wait for the ability's time limit to expire.
—
Mizaistom sat alone in his office, hands clasped together, staring at the glass of milk on his desk as if it were something extremely important.
There was a huge sense of expectation on his face. The only thing he wanted right now was to receive good news from Elena.
He understood very well that what he had done was an extremely risky and problematic plan, but it had been necessary.
The Hunter Association's Hunter Rules clearly forbade one Hunter from targeting another Hunter.
The only exception was when the target Hunter was responsible for severe loss of life or terrorist activities, in which case special permission and interpretation could allow it.
At the same time, there was another rule unknown to ordinary Hunters.
If a hunter discovered that the Hunter Exam and Hunter License themselves were part of a Nen ability, or if there was even suspicion of such a discovery, then a high-ranking member of a specialized Hunter division could target that hunter in order to confirm the suspicion.
The truly dangerous part of the situation was this:
If Conrad discovered that he had been targeted because of such suspicions, and if he realized Elena had used a Nen attack on him under the guise of controlling him, then killing Elena would become an entirely normal reaction from his perspective.
And if he killed her, he could not be punished for it, because Elena would legally be considered the aggressor.
Even worse, if it were also discovered that the order had come from Mizaistom himself, then the same logic applied to him as well.
Trying to hunt another Hunter was a crime, and perhaps that crime could be overlooked for the sake of protecting the secret.
But if Conrad learned that Mizaistom had planned everything, then Conrad developing hostility toward him would be completely natural.
And in that situation, Conrad wanting to kill Mizaistom would also be something entirely natural — something that could not be prevented through legal authority or official power.
"I need to do something and make sure this situation ends well," Mizaistom thought.
Even though he wanted to protect the secret and prevent it from spreading, he truly did not want to create hostility with Conrad.
The fact that the entire situation had escalated because of a single sentence disturbed him greatly, but he also knew that regret would not change anything anymore.
The only way to alter the outcome now was through action.
"I just hope Elena's ability works and I learn that he hasn't noticed anything," he thought before drinking his milk.