Whether it was the scent on Herta's body, or all the stimuli, data and reactions in those "experiments"—everything was exactly the same as what Jing Ye had experienced in Villain Simulator.
Only now, Jing Ye had fallen from the position of absolute dominator to a helpless fish on the chopping block whose hands and feet were tightly restrained.
Herta kept him pinned in the corner, interrogating him without mercy, forcing out all the questions she'd never been able to ask in the past.
"Didn't you like doing this? Pressing me into a corner so I couldn't run?"
It was the first time Jing Ye had ever seen such a domineering Herta.
Perhaps, originally, as a "young lady," she had always been a strong-willed person—it was just that he'd had her weak point in his hands all along, and had been able to control her completely.
Once someone has a weakness, even a young lady can be easily handled. Jing Ye had taken full advantage of this to toy with Herta as he pleased and force her into all those shameful situations.
He had never imagined that he would one day be the one in Herta's hands, being toyed with instead…
Under Herta's magic, Jing Ye had no way to escape the soft-looking grip of her hands and long black-stockinged legs.
"What's wrong? Don't you love spouting tough lines the most?"
Seeing Jing Ye silently endure as she moved against him, Herta's lovely face flushed with a pleasure more satisfying than any simple revenge.
Suddenly she yanked hard on the rope around his neck, her voice rising in pitch, with a tremor to it.
"Who's the master now?!"
Under the magic she unleashed, Jing Ye was reduced to a drenched, bedraggled mess.
In the past, Jing Ye had always made Herta use water magic on Ruan Mei. Now, with the tables turned and force deciding everything, he could only let Herta pin him to the bed.
Just a single interrogation in the corner was nowhere near enough to vent all the love and hate Herta had bottled up over the years.
When Jing Ye was finally tossed onto the bed, he realized that the bed in this room—where he'd thought he was just supposed to "rest" between Villain Simulator tests—actually had another purpose.
Advances in technology had given the bed far more functions than just being a motionless platform.
It could bounce like a giant spring.
Just like the countless times Jing Ye had once done to her, Herta now became the knight galloping across the plains.
With the help of that springy bed, Herta could conserve her strength with ease.
What surprised Jing Ye was that even with the bed's assistance, Herta still shouldn't have had this much stamina.
The Herta who'd once been just a pampered young lady, with practically no endurance, was now able to keep interrogating him like this?
Herta seemed to see right through his confusion. She cupped his face and leaned in close so he could clearly see his own reflection in her beautiful eyes.
"Did you forget that I can use magic?"
She left another "logo" of hers on his neck, then did something Jing Ye never would have expected.
Knowing Herta as well as he did, Jing Ye saw that she was targeting the spot that had always been her most easily shattered weak point—her trigger.
He had discovered that "trigger" by accident once, treating it like a treasure. That one time he'd pushed her so far she'd lost all memory of the experiment.
After that, every time he ran experiments with Herta, Jing Ye would deliberately and maliciously step on that trigger, just to make the normally elegant and quiet Herta break down and make the most desperate sounds.
The more he saw the pampered, graceful Herta crumble, the more satisfied his twisted tastes became.
No matter how many murderous looks Herta shot him afterward, Jing Ye would stubbornly keep poking that trigger.
But now, Herta seemed to have completely overcome that weak point.
She was clearly very pleased by the shock on his face, and her blows grew even fiercer. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders again.
"I used magic to dull my senses—so I won't be so easily shattered by you ever again."
"How does it feel? Back when you were using magic to torment me, did you ever think you'd end up like this one day?"
Magic. To use magic to shroud her own senses—only a genius like Herta could think up a use like that.
But Jing Ye's surprise didn't stop there, because he quickly realized something else…
If Herta could think of using magic to dull her own perception, then couldn't she do the exact opposite—
And target him?
Herta cupped his cheeks, staring into his eyes. The smile on her lips told Jing Ye his suspicions were absolutely on the mark.
Neither of them needed to speak; through a twisted sort of soul-deep understanding, they knew exactly what the other was thinking.
"I've learned a lot of new spells. We can take our time trying them out one by one."
"Especially this one. Back then you hadn't used it on me yet…"
"From now on, all your senses are going to be much, much sharper~"
As her staff swept through the air, streaks of magical light fell across Jing Ye's body.
Just as she'd said—his vision, hearing, even his sense of smell all sharpened dramatically.
Herta had used magic to enhance his senses!
Jing Ye's fists clenched at once, veins bulging on his forehead.
That was exactly the reaction Herta wanted to see. This time, her fingertips didn't dig into his shoulders as viciously as before. Instead they trailed across his chest like the lazy scratch of a kitten.
And where he'd been able to endure her nails digging deep without making a sound, that light cat-paw tickle finally drew a muffled groan from Jing Ye.
For someone determined to repay every humiliation she'd endured, this was the perfect medicine.
Just moments ago Herta had deliberately exposed her old weak point to him and remained completely composed; now she had to grit her teeth.
Jing Ye had once gone to great lengths to hear her break down. He'd savored it.
Now that their roles were reversed, Herta wanted just as badly to hear him shatter.
She wanted to watch Jing Ye crumble completely under her methods, with nowhere to escape.
After a brief pause, Herta let out a long breath, then pinched his chin again, smiling.
"Come to think of it, my talent for magic is thanks to you, too."
"Even though you stole my intellect and magic talent, after you gave them back, I found that every book I read felt simple, and I could reproduce any spell with ease—sometimes even improve on them."
"Do you remember how you used magic on me?"
As she pressed the question, little tongues of flame and frost bloomed at her fingertips.
"Back then, you burned me with fire… then froze me with ice, again and again, over and over…"
"You had a lot of fun back then, didn't you?"
With her cool, accusing tone, the flames and frost dancing at her fingertips grew larger in Jing Ye's eyes, confirming his worst premonition.
"Ready? I'm going to return every single thing you ever did to me."
"You love doing experiments with me, don't you? I'll use that exact method… to repay your kindness."
Just as Jing Ye had once done to her, Herta now subjected him to that alternating torment of heat and cold.
With his senses enhanced, every shift from burning to freezing struck him all the harder.
In just a short while, Herta had already pried two confessions out of him.
And she clearly had no intention of giving him any rest. She tapped his chest lightly with one finger and rose to her feet.
Whether it was magic or sheer provocation, the effect was the same—veins bulged on Jing Ye's forehead again.
In Villain Simulator, he'd pushed Herta to collapse so many times she couldn't even continue an experiment.
Now, even if Herta was cheating by dulling her senses with magic, Jing Ye refused to lose to her.
So what if she'd drenched him with water and turned him into a soggy mess? Even with Herta on top of him, he absolutely couldn't let a woman have the upper hand!
Herta might once have been nothing more than a plaything in his hands, but even now, she still had to end up the loser!
If she continued to use magic to keep him bound, then in his current powerless state, perhaps he really would end up a prisoner with no way to fight back.
But of all the mistakes Herta could have made, she'd picked the worst one—
She'd chosen to challenge him in the field where he was strongest.
The basin of water she'd thrown over him earlier had already proved that she hadn't completely cut off her own senses.
Compared to the delicate little thing who used to fall apart in seconds, Herta's endurance had improved a lot—she was no longer that newbie who broke down every few seconds.
But that also meant she hadn't truly rendered herself invincible.
As long as there was an HP bar, then as far as Jing Ye was concerned, she wasn't an unbeatable boss.
No matter how low the damage, as long as he learned her patterns and moves, he could still clear the fight without taking a hit.
As for the worst-case scenario of beating a boss by trading lives, Jing Ye dismissed that out of hand.
Even with the "Six-Flavored Rehmannia Pills" trait constantly refilling his stamina, letting him brute-force his way through with sheer attrition might be possible—but that wasn't a true victory for a man like Jing Ye.
Now he was mad. Herta's taunts had truly made him angry!
She was just a toy he'd once played with—how dare she start climbing up on his head?!
It was only Herta. He'd take her down with ease.
Fury surged through him, stoking his fighting spirit, and in a miracle of brute will he tore through Herta's magic bindings and snatched something away from her—
Her staff.
To Jing Ye, that staff was extremely familiar.
He'd seen it in Villain Simulator—and he'd used it himself.
When he'd first mastered magic, he'd gotten his hands on that staff as well. When the story ended and he faked his death in Herta and Ruan Mei's arms, the staff had passed back into Herta's hands.
You could call it an inheritance, or simply a return to its rightful owner—after all, Jing Ye's magic talent had come from Herta in the first place.
But just because the staff belonged to her didn't mean it couldn't become a weapon in his hands.
For Herta, it was a loyal partner that helped her stride through the galaxy.
For Jing Ye, it was a perfect, custom-made weapon to use on Herta.
That staff had taken part in countless "experiments" between them.
With its help, Jing Ye had once driven Herta into such a continuous spiral of breakdown that her mind had shut down completely.
Even if he didn't have magic now, that didn't mean the staff was useless to him.
He still knew exactly how to apply it physically to deal with Herta.
Herta clearly hadn't expected him to have the strength to break free of her magic. She'd gotten careless when she splashed that water earlier.
Even so, in a situation where she still held the overwhelming advantage in magic, she didn't believe Jing Ye could stir up any real trouble just by grabbing her staff.
Jing Ye had no intention of giving her time to react. Moving faster than lightning, he swung the staff up.
"Remember how I used to hit you with this staff?"
"Just smacking you with the butt of it was never enough—I had to use the head, too…"
"That's the proper way to use a staff!"
In Herta's gaze—half amused, half curious to see what he would do—Jing Ye swung the staff.
To her surprise, he chose the head of the staff.
Unlike the smooth butt, the ornate head was far more complicated in shape—and about the same thickness as Jing Ye himself.
And to break the stalemate, Jing Ye chose to use the head of the staff in… that way.
In the past, he had always confined his experiments to a single domain. He'd never branched out any further.
This was his first time.
The spell Herta had used to heighten his senses was still in effect, but Jing Ye bit down hard on the tip of his tongue.
With his senses sharpened, the pain of biting his tongue was magnified several times over. The stabbing agony made cold sweat bead on his brow.
But it was worth it—if it meant beating down Herta's arrogance and reclaiming his dignity as the one in control.
Using that heart-piercing pain, Jing Ye eased the crushing pressure of Herta's heightened stimulation, letting himself regain his former ease in dealing with her.
With the problem of heightened senses solved, he could now unleash his strongest weapons.
His deep understanding of Herta gave him confidence. Now it would be his turn to make her sob and scream.
Even if he still wasn't sure whether the events in Villain Simulator were a mere simulation or a true past, his familiarity with Herta was obviously real—and she was still weak in all the same places.
Especially in the areas she wasn't familiar with at all: with Jing Ye's understanding and technique, turning the tables wasn't impossible at all.
-------
Enjoy 20% off our Patreon membership to celebrate Christmas. You can join starting today
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (190 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (78 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (130 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (80 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (140 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (60 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (110 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (54 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (63 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (77 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (58 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (60 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (50 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (50 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (72 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it