Karl stared at his phone screen, his eyes wide in disbelief.
Outside the window, the man in the brown jacket who had been standing casually just moments ago slowly bent down and… started crawling. Right there on the sidewalk, with no trace of confusion or embarrassment on his face, the man crept forward as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
A few people nearby noticed, some pointed and laughed, but the man continued crawling confidently toward the crosswalk.
Karl felt his entire body freeze. "Oh my god… this actually worked?!" he muttered under his breath.
The man finally reached the other side of the road, stood up calmly, dusted off his pants, and resumed looking at his phone as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Karl swallowed hard, his palms sweaty as he gripped his phone tightly. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest.
"This… this isn't a joke. I can actually change someone's common sense. I can… I can do anything!"
The thought hit him like a lightning bolt, spiraling through his mind like a storm. "I could manipulate someone into thinking giving me their money is completely normal. I could make everyone treat me with respect. I could… I could become rich!"
Karl's face twisted into a mix of excitement and madness. But before his imagination could spiral further, a notification popped up on his screen:
---
[System Warning ⚠️]
Personal use is not yet permitted.
Complete 19 additional Tutorial Quests before using the app for personal gain.
Tutorial Quest Progress: 1/20
---
Karl froze. His smile faded slowly. "What… what does this mean?" he muttered irritably.
He tapped on the notification, but no further explanation appeared. Just the glaring numbers: 1/20.
"So I have to complete 19 more tasks? Like this one?" Karl slumped onto the floor, clutching his phone tightly.
The dream of instantly manipulating the world to his will had been snatched away with a single sentence. But beneath his frustration, something began to grow—ambition.
"Alright… if that's the rule, I'll finish every single one of these tutorials. No matter how absurd or weird they might be. If, in the end, I can manipulate this world to my will… it'll all be worth it."
He took a deep breath, calming himself down, and opened the Manipulation Hub again. A small window appeared on the screen:
---
[Tutorial Quest 2/20]
Objective: Choose one nearby individual and make them feel that walking backward is the most efficient way to move forward.
Reward: +10 Uncommon Points
---
Karl raised an eyebrow as he read the instructions.
"Walking backward? Oh, this is going to look ridiculous again…"
He peeked out of his window, scanning for a new target. Across the street, a young woman in athletic wear stood in front of a small store, seemingly waiting for her drink order.
Karl swallowed hard and began typing into the manipulation input field:
"The target will feel that walking backward is the most efficient and natural way to move forward."
His finger hovered over the confirmation button. He took a deep breath and pressed:
[YES]
Once again, he focused on his target. The woman received her drink, turned to leave… but then paused. With stiff, slightly confused movements, she began walking backward, step by step, as if this was the most logical thing in the world.
Some passersby started to notice her. A few chuckled quietly, others whispered to each other, but the woman seemed completely unaware that her behavior was odd.
Karl leaned back against the wall, letting out a small laugh while covering his face with one hand. "This is… insane. But it worked. It actually worked!"
On his phone screen, the quest indicator updated:
Tutorial Quest Progress: 2/20
Uncommon Points: 20
Karl stared at the point counter with wide eyes, anticipation gleaming in them. Slowly, he began forming a plan in his head.
"If this keeps going, I'll be able to manipulate anyone. This world… will be mine."
But beneath the euphoria, one question kept circling in his mind: "Who made this app? And… what price will I have to pay in the end?"
With a faint smirk, Karl stubbed out his cigarette, gripped his phone tightly, and prepared to move on to Tutorial Quest 3.
---
Karl slumped against the wall of his apartment, his phone still clutched tightly in his hand. Outside the window, the woman who had been walking backward had vanished from sight. The man in the brown jacket who had crawled across the crosswalk was also nowhere to be seen.
His mind raced with questions. "Wait… what about them now? Do they realize what they just did? Do they feel weird about it? Or… did they feel hypnotized?"
He stared at the phone screen, hoping the app had answers. As if understanding his thoughts, the screen lit up with a new notification:
---
[System Explanation 🧠]
Every individual targeted by manipulation will experience natural memory reconstruction after the manipulation effect ends.
New memories will be rearranged in their subconscious, creating a reasonable explanation that aligns with their general common sense.
Example:
Manipulation: The target feels that crawling is the only safe way to cross the street.
Memory Reconstruction: In their memory, they might believe they simply crossed the street quickly or walked casually as usual.
With this mechanism, manipulation will not leave any suspicious impressions or make the target feel something strange has happened.
---
Karl read the explanation several times, trying to fully grasp it. "So… they'll never realize it? Even if they do something this bizarre, their memories will change to make it seem normal?"
He sat still for a moment, staring blankly at his phone screen. "This… this is like digital magic. They'll never know. I can make someone do the most ridiculous thing, and they'll just think everything's fine."
Karl wiped his face with one hand, an odd feeling creeping through his chest. On one hand, this gave him immense power. On the other hand, it terrified him—how much control he now held over others.
"If that's the case… I really can change my life. I can manipulate anyone without risk of them ever realizing it. Even if I do something big… no one will suspect a thing."
But just as his thoughts began to drift again, another notification popped up:
---
[System Warning ⚠️]
Personal use is still locked.
Complete 18 more Tutorial Quests before attempting large-scale or personal gain manipulations.
---
Karl sighed in frustration. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Finish the tutorial first. This feels like playing a game where you have to grind levels before unlocking free mode."
He slowly stood up, walked over to his window, and looked out at the street below. The city carried on as usual—people walking, cars passing by, life continuing as if nothing had changed.
But Karl knew better. "I have something no one else in this world has. A tool that can bend their reality, twist their logic, and shape the world to my will."
Turning back to his phone, he opened the Manipulation Hub again. A new quest appeared:
[Tutorial Quest 3/20]
Objective: Choose one target nearby and make them feel that raising their right hand every time they hear a car horn is the most natural response.
Reward: +10 Uncommon Points
Karl smirked faintly. "Alright, let's keep going. For now, this world will be my little experiment."