Chapter 243: Core...

Chapter 243: Core...



'Strange...'

This was the first thought that crossed the mind of the white knight, Lancelot, upon encountering the young human before him.

'What is this thing?'

A human soul... yet somehow not?

In his eyes.... the young human was an existence that defied understanding, one that by all logic should not belong-yet somehow, unsettlingly, felt as if it did.

His queen's orders were clear: find and bring her the anomaly, the force disturbing her carefully woven spell.

He had anticipated a longer search, but here, in this vast white expanse, it seemed the source of the disruption was standing directly before him.

His mission felt laughably simple now, almost trivial.

The human was weak, barely worth the title of "anomaly."

And yet...

'Why does my instinct keep screaming at me to run?'

Lancelot felt a ripple of hesitation, his ancient warrior's intuition warning him that something was amiss.

Dismissing the nagging doubt, he steadied his resolve, reminding himself that curiosity was a luxury he could not afford.

The queen's orders were absolute.

But this feeling gnawed at him-a relentless tug, something primal, clawing up from within. 'Why not test the waters?'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lancelot reasoned, his curiosity peeking through the iron-clad discipline of his rank.

He raised his hand, summoning the white beams of energy.... although this will clearly damage the anomaly and potentially kill it, Lancelot was somehow confident the young anomaly before him won't ever die....

...

'Primaris...'

The strongest of the White Queen's elite, these knights were leagues above anything I'd faced so far.

Even Alice, in her formidable Red Queen form, would find her amped red knights struggle to hold their ground against a single Primaris.

Players knew them well for their brutal difficulty-just one of these guys was enough to make many abandon Alice's route altogether.

They were the first bosses you encountered in her epilogue, the nightmare guardians standing between her and salvation.

SWOOSH!!!

Another blinding white beam tore through the air, barely missing me as I pushed myself to the limit.

My breathing was ragged, every skill I had firing off as if on autopilot, my defenses and mobility at full throttle.

[Dashing Sprint] → [Activated!]

[Blink Step] → [Activated!]

[Thought Acceleration] → [Activated!]

[Skill: Pain Nullifier (A)] → [Activated!]

[Time Dilation] → [Activated!]

Even with everything enabled, it felt like a losing battle.

The white Primarch's strikes were relentless, each one coming faster than the last, only missing me by a hair's breadth.

Time felt warped as my perspective slowed; I could see the attacks coming in razor-sharp detail, analyze their trajectories, and react accordingly.

But knowing where they'd land didn't mean my body could keep up, and the strain was starting to show.

I was getting hit, but only in places that wouldn't cripple me-grazes and glancing blows. But every impact sent a searing wave through my body.

'Was it doing this on purpose?'

It was plausible, after all.

This Primaris was acting far more cunningly than any of its kind's game counterpart ever did.

"Hoho... I know I'm holding back, but you're dodging quite well, human. Impressive... If you'd just admit you're the anomaly, I might even hold back a little more, you know?"

His voice was almost teasing, like he was enjoying the game.

"Like I told you, I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" I shot back, barely managing to dodge another of his blasts.

"Oh, surely you jest~" He tilted his head, and despite the white helmet obscuring his face, I could feel the smug grin beneath. "If you're not the anomaly, then help me find the one," he said, lifting a hand and forming a bright orb at his fingertip. But this time, four more identical orbs appeared, circling his wrist like some kind of cosmic bracelet.

"This bastard...'

FWOOOSHHHH!!!

He fired the orbs at me, each one streaking forward with blinding speed, almost like bullets made of pure light.

My body barely reacted in time, each dodged beam leaving a sizzling trail of air in its wake as I twisted and turned to evade them.

I knew one thing: getting close was a death sentence. But running? I'd probably end up in the same mess, if not worse.

No, I'd have to play his game a little differently.

If I was going to survive, I'd need to close the distance carefully, almost subtly.

affected by them.

What about summoning 'Raijin?'

No... as strong as Raijin is, a single swing from this guy would end him.

I couldn't bear to watch Raijin fall, let alone put him in such danger for a distraction that

wouldn't last more than a second.

Just then, a notification flashed:

[Note: User Mana 0/250] [Note: All skills will now be turned off!]

"Phuack!"

I coughed, spitting out black blood.

My stomach twisted painfully, and my vision blurred. In the heat of battle, I'd burned through

my mana reserves without even noticing.

The adrenaline had masked just how drained I'd become, but now I could feel it-the bone-

deep exhaustion, the desperation gnawing at my fraying consciousness. I couldn't let myself

faint now!

[Note: Skill Recall auto-activated!]

[User's state will now return to condition 24 hours prior to damage!]

[Note: Stamina 20% recovered!]

As Recall kicked in, my body healed itself, erasing the wounds and the bruises, while the pain

faded like a bad dream.

But my mana... it remained at zero, which only made the situation as bleak as it was before...

The Primaris still at ease, watched me with an unnerving patience, sword resting idly on his shoulder.

I could tell he'd sensed my moment of recovery, but he didn't react, as if taunting me to try

again. "I noticed it before, but it seems you possess talent in celestial magic, human..." the Primaris mused, almost idly, as though he were merely making conversation.

His armored hand drifted to his helmet's chin, tapping it in a mockery of contemplation.

I could feel his gaze pierce through me even without seeing his face, but I forced myself to

focus on something else entirely. [Skill: Archive (S)] [Proficiency (50%)]

Summoning every ounce of concentration I had left, I activated Archive, searching through my memories of the game for any strategy, any exploit I could use to turn the tables. Fragmented images flashed before me-bits and pieces of past encounters, skill patterns, moves-but none of it offered a clear solution.

There wasn't a single approach that felt remotely useful in this reality. I was trapped.

The Primaris knelt down slightly, coming eye-level with me, as if humoring my desperation.

His gaze bore into mine, cold and calculating. He scanned my face, studying every twitch, every bead of sweat.

"Human... you are the anomaly," he declared, his voice colder than before, filled with

certainty.

"What?" I barely managed to whisper, heart pounding as the weight of those words sank in.

Before I could process it-

SMACK!!!

A blinding pain shot through my gut as the white flash hit me like a sledgehammer.

The world spun as my vision blurred, and I felt my consciousness slipping.

My limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, as though my very life force were being drained away.

'Damn it... Was clearing this dungeon a mistake? Did I let my ego get the best of me?'

My thoughts grew fractured, swirling as if dragged into a deep void.

'The system isn't interfering... Did it just... add this to my list of main scenarios?'

A sinking realization dawned on me.

'Is this my bad end?'

An added bad end for the anomaly known as Riley Hell?'

[NotE?#@!@#::::??]

[N!@!@#!@#$$???]

[N!@!#!$#@#@$%$@%?????] [?????????????????????????????

???????????????????]

My vision blurred and fragmented, flashes of broken symbols distorting before me.

Just as I felt myself slipping away, a final image burned into my mind—the white knight's

face inside its helm, his stoic confidence cracked, eyes wide with... Terror?