"Have you considered that we've been blinking at the same time?"

"Are you even human?"

"My system says so."

Hmmm... This feels wrong. The man becomes more animated as he points an accusatory finger at me.

"Something is off about this guy, and I'll prove it!"

I look over to the side, and the assistant is just as confused as I am. The general tone of the atmosphere shifts as the journalists are curious to see what's going to happen as the staff whisper to each other. No one has an idea of who this guy is. I motion for the cameras to keep rolling. I don't know what will happen next, but it'll be awkward if the feed cuts right after he accuses me of something. I examine this guy closer.

He's groomed like he wasn't for a long time and suddenly got his act together. His baggy clothing has been presented nicely, but I can tell they are old. He has a lanyard like all the other independent journalists, but he doesn't have anything to take notes on. Both fat and skinny, but I got to give it to him. He has picture perfect hairline. Everything else is the problem. He pulls out from inside his jacket a black ball the size of a billiard ball.

"Orb of magical secrets and answers! Head my question and answer true! Is the entity behind the podium completely human, like they claim?"

A hologram projects from the ball, shining visibly for all to see.

[No. You have two questions remaining.]

"See! I knew it! A conspiracy is afoot! I knew something was wrong. Ever since I wrote about that tournament in Bluefield!"

A neuron connects in my head, and I remember something.

"Hey, were you that racist blogger who got my name wrong?"

"SHUT UP! Somebody take this imposter away!"

Nobody moves. The fake journalist looks around in confusion, his emotions from before still on his face. I don't know what the ball is talking about or why it would be a credible source, but I'm curious. Also, why would it matter if I wasn't "completely" human? I break the silence.

"Hey, magic ball, why am I considered not 'completely' human."

Another hologram projects from the ball. I didn't expect that to work. Curious, the ball doesn't appear with my [Scientific Insight+].

[Your body mass is approximately 7.6% made of a bioorganic metal due to the prosthetic arm on your left side.]

Silence. Once again.

[You have one question left.]

"Wait! The answers you give are universal? Anyone can ask a question?"

[Correct. You have zero questions left. Goodbye.]

"Hey, you got a two-for-one deal on the last question. Lucky you. Can someone get this guy out of here already?"

There was only security keeping people out, not watching over this area. I don't know if this oversight was due to the rushed nature of this conference or the cheapness of dean Palmer not hiring enough guards. Somebody approached the faker, but the magic ball wasn't the only thing he smuggled in. He pulls out a magic scroll and starts shouting.

"Stay back! Stay away! I'm not leaving until I prove that I'm right!."

The journalists scattered, but the security guard continued to try to apprehend this lunatic.

"You don't know what I have in here! It could be something that kills us all! Do you want to find out?! Get BACK."

The guard hesitates and takes a single step back. Maybe I should do something... The faker is just over level 50 and seems to be shaking now. Straight-up killing him may be problematic as the scroll could be a "swan song" and trigger on his death. I'm sure that's why this group of level 100s and up are being overtly cautious. They could all be cowards too. Equally probable. I wonder if these reporters are around level 100 because I am or if the job doesn't provide much in the level department. I'm getting off-topic.

"I said get back, but no one better leave. Keep the cameras on too. If I have to go out with a boom, I want an audience! Witnesses!"

The guy has his back turned to me as he rapidly shifts his body to look at all the people and cameras. I look at the assistant, and she is already gone. To get help or for her safety, we'll find out. I can take this opportunity to walk away and leave the journalists to their fate. I wonder if this is a targeted attack on me or a "distraction" from the scandal. What enemies do I have? Just the death cult, right? I stretch before stepping out from behind the podium, off the stage, and up to the crazed scroll-man. I keep my [Scientific Insight+] on his scroll constantly. Once I'm sure his death won't trigger it, he's a goner.

"You stay away especially!"

"What's your game plan here, buddy."

"Haven't you been listening? I'm going to expose you!"

"How? I'm curious since the magic ball confirmed that your question was loaded, and I'm still human."

"You must have done something to mess with it!"

He shakes the scroll at me. He's on the verge of having a tantrum. I wonder where he got these two items.

"Alright, listen. This is a press conference, and you have a media pass. I don't know how you got it, but you are a part of this event. You haven't raised your hand, but I'll allow you to ask a few questions."

He seems to calm down a little before taking a few deep breaths. He doesn't ask anything yet, so I ask him a question instead.

"What brought you to believe that I was somebody I wasn't claiming to be? What conspiracy is there? Why would that matter?"

"The elves. The group of humans goes to the elvish territories to represent humans. If an imposter goes and causes a diplomatic issue, the war would break out. Humans should represent humans. And I don't think you're human!"

"I've been human since birth, but go on. Why do you think I'm not human?"

"A random person from a shitty farming town claiming to be from a powerful family who just happened to come out of nowhere and steal an important victory? Isn't that suspicious?"

This is going nowhere, but my [Scientific Insight+] has pulled through.

[Scroll of Manifest Attack A

By activating the scroll, an attack will manifest at the target. Visualizing the attack is crucial.]

[Puppeted Blogger Lv.56

This individual shows telltale signs of being manipulated by magic.]

"Anything is possible in this worl-."

In a flash, I jab my thumbs into his two eyes, blinding him. One hand stays firmly planted and gives a good grip on his head while the other snatches the scroll out of his hand.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

His arms flail, trying to pry himself from my iron grasp, but I ignore him and inspect the scroll. No new information pops up, so I put it in my back pocket while I drag the screaming blogger over to the magic ball. It was dropped at some point, but I pocketed it too. Someone started clapping but stopped after the awkwardness of clapping alone forced him to. People streamed out of the area after I snatched the scroll.

"What attack is in this scroll? Is it any attack, or do I need to visualize a specific one to trigger it?"

"AAAAAAAAH!"

"Are you aware that you are being manipulated?"

"AAAAAAAH FUCK!"

"I'll take my thumb out of your skull. Stop screaming."

I slid it out of his eye socket and healed him. Not his eyes, but I pour mana into ending whatever enchantment or control is placed on this guy. I won't get reliable answers from a brainwashed nerd. At least three different experiments concerning my abilities pop up one after another. Does [Heal Anything] work on "healing" the effects of mind magic? It can heal bodily afflictions that are not caused by damage. Does that imply that it could 'heal' mental illness? Maybe the ones related to chemical imbalances, but I'm unsure about the others. I wonder if I could snap my fingers and force this guy to spill all the beans with [Master's Hand], or if that would be a "harmful" action if the repercussion of him telling me gets him whacked. The last experiment doesn't have to do with this situation. Can I summon a thrall with [Master's Whistle]? They aren't "at the level of servants," but they are still considered servants by the vernacular.

It's times like these I'm glad that my skill [Heal Anything] isn't flashy. The cameras are still pointed at me, but I don't know if they are still rolling. A few camera guys are still operating them, so if not, I have no idea what these people are doing. No, wait. I can see a screen with one of the live broadcasts on it. It took over 60% of my mana, but I felt something like glass breaking silently at my fingertips. The guy slumps to the ground, no longer screaming as security barges into the scene. Late.

The blogger gets tackled to the ground and apprehended. He gets dragged to his feet, but before he gets taken away, I "slip on" my gloves and ask him a question.

"Who sent you? Was this a personal attack or something the government cooked up to hide the massive scandal regarding the credits and mismanaging of funds?"

I hear a few clicks, so I look over. The cameras are turned away, and the live broadcasts shut off. They were quick on the trigger, not that I'm surprised. I wonder if there was a sufficient enough delay between the feed and the station where they could cut me off properly. The blogger hasn't answered me, so I pushed harder with my [Master's Hand].

"It was a guy... Gave me some tools and a cool vest. I've been writing about you in my blogs whenever you popped up. I came to the capital just because you showed up at the tournament. Why did I do these things?"

"Vest?"

He isn't wearing a vest. Then he exploded.

~

It happened in slow motion. I saw what happened frame by frame. I couldn't move my body or my mana in time to do something worthwhile. The most I could do was close my eyes. The heat is nostalgic but much less intense than what I was expecting. [Bolster Resistance] kicks in a second too late, but it helps mitigate the subsequent damage. It was more like a fireball than a bomb, more fire than force. I only lost about 1.5k health before [Boslter Resistance] almost negated the rest of the damage. I stride out of the flames, my suit worse for wear. It practically falls off me, leaving me in my boots and underwear.

My wounds are superficial, so I leave the healing to my passive. My blackened skin peels away as the burns fade from my flesh. I put one hand on my chin as I look at the persistent fireball. The small venue site is engulfed in flames as an encompassing orb of fire lingers. The source is obviously where the blogger was. The fire dispels seconds later, leaving only remnants of media equipment and charred remains. I walk back in, partly because bystanders are standing on the sidewalk pointing their phones at me, and I dropped the stuff I took.

I don't find the scroll, it might have burned up, but the magical orb is fine, if not a bit warm. I could look a bit longer and see if the scroll tumbled away, but instead, a dead body caught my eye. It's one of the security guards. His body is mostly alright, just severe burn wounds. [Scientific Insight+]

[Recently deceased corpse of a security guard.

This specimen has thermal full-thickness burns. Cause of death: shock.]

Didn't even burn to death. His body shut down because of the damage he took. Wait... Can I heal death? A dangerous thought for sure. This might be my first time playing god. I stop myself from subconsciously licking my lips.

Healing the body just enough for it to function is different from bringing a soul back from wherever it flew to. But. Resuscitating someone who coded shouldn't be any different. Right? Even if what I'm doing is forbidden, it's not like that would change much. I already consumed a forbidden fruit and freed an exile. This is just another day. I rationalized it enough for me to continue.

He died from shock, so I should start with his chest. I carefully poke the corpse.