Otherworld TRPG Game Master

168 – Mental Labyrinth -1

There are many filthy illusion spells in this world.

Turning love into resentment, modifying to release uncontrollable dopamine upon satisfying certain triggers, blurring memories, making lovers see each other as enemies, inciting explosive personalities, hypnosis, brainwashing, all sorts of risqué tags…

Among them, there are cases where intricate tricks are employed to bypass one’s mental barriers. A prime example is the “Puppet” spell of Scarface Senior. This spell sneaks in by saying, ‘I’m not a virus but a benign data, may I come in?’

Studying these ominous illusion spells for TRPG implementation, I suddenly felt fear at the thought that one wrong spell could turn my brain into mush inside a jar.

Who knows if some mad wizard will kidnap me and trap me in an eternal illusion spell, or if a blood-eyed ninja will cast an illusion spell over the entire world.

Even if I’m roasted by a fireball, I won’t lose myself to an illusion spell. With that resolve, I paid considerable attention to my mental barrier.

Initially, I opted for adding modules one by one.

Periodically invoking the backup-consciousness stored in the black box, a hypnotic / cognitive change countermeasure module. An artificial brain that judges senses according to the process, an audiovisual change countermeasure module, and so on.

Adding them one by one, my mental barrier became as chaotic as Howl’s Moving Castle. It was unsightly, patched together, and occasionally errored.

“Ah, remember that time, when I brought grilled lamb and it made the cat in front of the cucumber go wild…?”

“The lamb was perceived as illusion magic, so a flying spaghetti monster filter was applied to alert the master.”

It took some effort to find out which mental barrier module caused such a blunder.

I needed a way to harmonize these illusion magic police in my mind, and I found the breakthrough in TRPG.

If it’s not a problem to be solved scientifically, let’s approach it from the humanities. Let’s create a world and set the modules free.

I constructed a virtual world in my mind, using the most familiar modern map as the framework.

Unexpectedly, this structure proved to be very effective for those who traverse the mental-physical spectrum.

-Get me out of here… I was wrong…!!

And this was the result.

—

There exists a cozy nest made from the spirits of those who have succumbed to pleasure. The palace of delight built beyond the mind, this place is a succubus’ paradise.

Merely wishing allows one to draw vitality, and one can intertwine with others all day without tiring. Not only that, but simply wandering the palace naturally builds strength and improves skills.

Because even feeling the pinnacle of mental magic with one’s entire body accumulates enlightenment.

Who else could weave human spirits into a world? What sorcerer could achieve such a grand feat? Only the Queen. Our Queen is the dream ruler who dazzles the minds of many.

Tired of such abundance, if one needs a more special “stimulation,” all it takes is bowing to the Queen.

The pure, unblemished Queen will share a dizzying pleasure that seems to cram decades into a second.

“Ah, aah…!!”

It is… the apex of indescribable pleasure.

Succubus Isabella, having felt the Queen’s grace with her entire being, dedicated her entire life to experiencing that pleasure once more after that day.

Love, laughter, satiety, orgasm, all are worthless. Having tasted the extreme of pleasure beyond worldly things, any happiness in reality seemed dull and ashen.

“I wish you’d let me go to the Academy. You’re thinking the same thing, aren’t you?”

“Of course, of course! I was just thinking that too…”

Without even listening to what was going on, Isabella nodded her head from the start. Her Majesty slowly explained what needed to be done.

She put the three princes into her hand, and poured a medicine into the Academy.

The one responsible for the Academy’s direction was ‘The Flower That Devours Fear’, but she was more skilled in magic than in strategy. So, it was necessary to push her from behind.

‘The Female Fox That Drinks Delight’ gave an order to her subordinate.

Isabella was banished from the Garden of Eden and sent to the Academy.

Those with a crack in their hearts could easily fall asleep. They had a desire to fill the void with something, so they would swallow anything, even if it was sweet poison.

After that, it was easy. Isabella hid behind the name of the three princes and waited quietly, setting a trap.

Those who couldn’t resist their desires and took the medicine one by one increased. When the medicine took effect, the connection between the mind and the brain was formed, and Isabella could secretly manipulate their minds.

So, she had already filled the Academy with black magic practitioners.

“How is it possible for that crazy kid to manipulate students like that!!”

The ‘Nightmare of the Mad Magician’ incident had almost ruined everything. It was going well according to plan, but then a bolt of lightning struck the dry sky.

If this kept going, Her Majesty wouldn’t grant her a reward.

Isabella gritted her teeth with anger and anxiety. She would one day take revenge on the male magician who had hurt her so much.

No matter what kind of magician, she was a succubus who could cross over between fantasy and reality. Even the most skilled magician couldn’t keep up with her in the mental realm.

So, the most certain way to get rid of the demon was to use divine power instead of fantasy magic. So, she only needed one chance.

If she could just get into that magician’s mind…

“I can hear the heartbeat from 30 meters away. I don’t want to argue, so I’ll just say it. Where’s my backup player?”

It was here. The opportunity had come.

The male magician of the Tower had descended to the underground facility to save his disciple, and Isabella secretly poured a medicine onto his clothes.

The medicine would stimulate his desires, make his personality violent, and open up a gap in his mind, making it easy for the demon to enter. It was a medicine given by Her Majesty, using the Queen’s honey, for an important timing.

Unless one was a saint, or even if they had some kind of disability, they would still take the medicine. The mad magician would become increasingly lustful.

This was a preparation for an invasion, as well as a tactic to undermine the magician’s social status.

She waited until the effect was fully felt. And then.

And today… Isabella quietly slipped into the dream of the mad sorcerer.

—

The realm of human dreams is ambiguous. A slight stimulus can bring up unrelated memories, randomly intertwined in a cloud of chaos.

Who can truly control their own mind completely? It’s a natural occurrence.

Thus, usually, when one invades the human mind… they are met with a dark space filled with a milky fog. Depending on the mental barriers installed, there might be slight differences, but generally, this is the case.

Succubi call this space the “Mental Realm.”

Above it lies the awakened consciousness, and below, the sunken subconscious.

This is where the operation begins. Unearthing hidden secrets, weaving bad memories to rise to the surface, and sinking happy memories.

One could plant specific suggestions in the subconscious, or directly appear in dreams to seduce and extract vitality.

Most mental barriers take the form of inanimate objects like walls or locks. They block or lock spaces that shouldn’t be entered, or hide them.

More aggressive mental barriers take the form of traps. If a nightmare touches them, they unleash threatening attacks.

But it should have been so… right?

Beep-beep-!!

“Hey, mister, move it! Can’t you see it’s a red light?”

“Who are you calling mister, huh! How old do you think you are?!”

“I mean, it’s a red light, so step on the gas and go! What’s wrong with your TV module?!”

“……..?”

Why is there an unfamiliar city unfolding before my eyes?

Moreover, it’s bizarre. People carrying strange devices, riding peculiar vehicles, and buildings tall enough to pierce the sky densely packed together.

And in the center of the city… there was a massive black dome.

A dark hemisphere that seemed to swallow all colors, towering high into the sky. Isabella felt a shrinking sensation just by looking at it.

Succubus Isabella blinked her eyes and pinched her cheek, stretching it out long. It extended like sticky rice cake, confirming it was indeed a dream.

Isabella clenched her fist, pulling at the surface memories. With a bit of effort, the memory of the mad sorcerer receiving a knee pillow from the purple tower master was caught in her grasp.

The exercise of power was possible. This was the “Mental Realm.” But, no.

“It can’t be.”

How could a mere human create a world inside their head?

Even the queen barely managed to weave together hundreds of people, how could…

Even if one had the talent to create, their head would burst first!

“No, no, that’s not it. It’s okay.”

It doesn’t matter. It was just a momentary shock. Isabella’s goal is to shatter and dominate the mad wizard’s mind. As long as the mental manipulation takes hold, it doesn’t matter what the insides look like.

Isabella reached out with both hands, attempting to extract the mad wizard’s painful memories first. She feels something graspable in her hands. It’s going smoothly.

“……”

Suddenly, she felt a chill down her spine and looked around.

The city’s noise had ceased. The loud engine sounds, voices, advertisements flowing from the billboards, footsteps, everything. It was as if time had frozen, silent.

And everyone had stopped moving, turning their heads to stare at Isabella.

“What, what is it. What’s happening.”

“────.”

“Don’t look at me like that. Can’t you just go away?!”

It was chilling. She felt as if she was in the midst of a nightmare. Hundreds, thousands of people were staring at her like wax figures.

Then, one of them spoke.

“Dream demon.”

It spreads.

“It’s a dream demon.”

“The dream demon.”

“A dream demon has entered.”

It spreads like wildfire. The sound of them calling her a dream demon, reaffirming it over and over, filled the city with noise loud enough to make ears ring.

Squirm.

Isabella, who had been frozen, looked down at the sensation in her grasp. It was supposed to be the mad wizard’s memory she had just extracted.

But now, a mouth had formed on the surface of the memory, muttering, “It’s a dream demon.”

“Hi, hiiii…!”

With a sizzle.

Isabella discarded the memory as if shaking off a bug. The clump of memory rolled on the asphalt, continuously muttering “dream demon.”

She had to run. She knew it instinctively. She had to escape immediately!

The poor succubus ran in terror.