2026-06-05 19:47:49*Click.*
The sound of the sinking stone tile echoed like a death knell in the quiet corridor.
Garret's eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated panic. His momentum had carried him a full step into the forbidden zone, his massive armored boot pinning the pressure plate flat against the floor.
"What the—!" Garret roared, his head whipping back toward Jaxen.
But Jaxen was already moving. Having experienced the exact trajectory of the trap just ten seconds prior, he didn't just step back—he threw himself flat against the opposite wall, completely out of the firing line.
*Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!*
The walls groaned as the ancient machinery unleashed its fury. A barrage of black, poisoned steel spikes erupted from the darkness.
Because Garret was a B-Rank Tank, his reflexes were sharp. He instinctively raised his massive runic tower shield, channeling his mana into a glowing barrier. "Heavy Aegis!" he bellowed.
*CLANG! CLANG! BANG!*
The first few spikes slammed into the shield, denting the metal and shattering the magical barrier. But the trap was designed for an S-Rank raid. The sheer volume and velocity of the projectiles overwhelmed his defenses.
A massive steel bolt punched straight through the edge of his shield, tearing through Garret's armored gauntlet. Another spike grazed his thigh, leaving a deep, sizzling gash.
"Argh!" Garret screamed, stumbling backward out of the corridor, his face pale as the dark purple poison immediately began to veins across his leg.
"Captain!"
The rest of the Iron Vanguard members rushed forward, panic breaking out across the ranks. Their unstoppable B-Rank leader was suddenly crippled before the raid had even truly begun. Mages immediately swarmed him, casting detoxify spells and healing incantations, while the knights formed a defensive wall.
Through the chaos, Garret's venomous glare locked onto Jaxen, who was calmly dusting off his leather armor.
"You... you dirty little rat!" Garret hissed, spitting a mouthful of blood. "You dodged! You intentionally let me trip the trap!"
Jaxen tilted his head, his expression a mask of pure innocence. "Captain, you pushed me, but your footing slipped on the damp moss. I merely reacted to avoid being crushed by your heavy armor. Isn't a scout's job to adapt?"
"You—!"
"Enough, Garret," a cold voice interrupted.
From the back of the group stepped a woman with sharp features, dressed in elegant, midnight-blue mage robes. It was Vice-Captain Lana, a B-Rank Elementalist. She looked at Garret's poisoned wound, then turned her analytical eyes toward Jaxen.
"Vance shouldn't have been able to dodge a push from a B-Rank Vanguard," Lana murmured, her eyes narrowing. "Your agility stats are E-Rank. How did you anticipate his movement?"
"I didn't anticipate the push," Jaxen lied smoothly, his face completely unbothered. "But my *[Basic Detection]* skill didn't just flag the tile. It flagged a micro-vibration in the air. When Captain Garret moved, the air pressure shifted, and my survival instincts kicked in."
It was complete nonsense, but in a world governed by mysterious System skills, unusual phenomena happened all the time.
Lana stared at him for a long moment, trying to read his expression. But Jaxen's mind was perfectly calm. He had already died once today; a cold stare from a mage wasn't going to make him flinch.
"Regardless," Lana turned back to the corridor, "the trap is on a sixty-second reload cycle. We've wasted ten seconds already. Bandage the Captain. The rest of you, advance through the archway before the mechanism resets!"
The Vanguard knights charged through the corridor, their heavy boots clattering against the stone. Jaxen followed at the rear, a quiet satisfaction settling deep in his chest.
As he stepped past the pressure plate, a subtle golden text drifted across his vision, invisible to everyone else.
```
[System Notification: Your action altered the local timeline.]
[Fate Deviation Rate: 0.02%]
[Data collected. Consciousness stability: 99.8%]
```
*Fate Deviation?* Jaxen thought, his eyes tracking the fading text. *So, changing the future increases this rate. What happens when it hits 100%?*
* Does it somehow increase his stats. An alternative status bar as compared to the standard system?*. Jaxen had a lot to learn about this newly obtained power. And why he had it.
Before he could ponder further, the raid team burst into the next chamber—and the air completely froze.
The room was massive, shaped like a colosseum, with crumbling stone pillars stretching up into the shadows. In the center of the room sat a massive, iron-bound treasure chest, glowing with an alluring, golden aura.
"A hidden vault chest!" one of the vanguard knights gasped, his eyes gleaming with greed. "Captain Lana, it's an unlocked prize drop!"
"Wait," Jaxen said, his eyes scanning the perimeter. His *[Basic Detection]* wasn't ringing, but something felt inherently wrong. The silence in the room was too heavy. "Don't touch it. It's too clean."
"Shut up, E-Rank," a knight scoffed, stepping forward. "The trap corridor is behind us. This is the reward room before the sub-boss. Out of the way."
The knight reached out and gripped the iron latch of the chest.
Jaxen opened his mouth to warn him again, but a sudden, overwhelming chill ran down his spine. It wasn't a skill triggering. It was an absolute, terrifying aura of death that filled the entire colosseum in a split second.
The ceiling above them shattered.
A monstrous, multi-legged shadow dropped from the darkness like a meteor, landing directly on top of the greedy knight, crushing him into a paste of armor and bone.
*BOOM!*
The shockwave blew the entire raid team backward. Jaxen hit the ground hard, his breath escaping him. He looked up through the dust and felt his blood turn to ice.
Towering over the shattered chest was a creature that shouldn't have been in a standard S-Rank vanguard zone. It was a massive, arachnid horror covered in razor-sharp bone plating, its eight eyes glowing with a malicious crimson light. Above its head, the world's standard System displayed its name in flashing, blood-red letters:
**[Calamity Beast: The Crypt Weaver - Level 120 (Abyssal Boss)]**
"An Abyssal Boss... here?!" Lana screamed, her composure completely shattering. "This isn't a standard S-Rank dungeon! The gate mutated! Retr—"
Before she could finish the word, the Crypt Weaver snapped its massive mandibles. A wave of invisible, razor-sharp sonic wind cut across the room.
Jaxen didn't even have time to blink. The sonic blade tore through the knights, through Lana, and cut straight through Jaxen's waist, severing his upper body from his legs.
Pain didn't even have time to register before his vision instantly dissolved into darkness.
```
[ALERT: Fatal damage detected.]
[Status: Dead.]
[ACTIVATING TALENT: 'Hindsight Bias'...]
```
*Whoosh!*
Jaxen's soul slammed backward through the vacuum of time once more.
He gasped, his eyes flying open.
He was standing at the entrance of the colosseum room. The knight was just stepping forward, his hand reaching out t
oward the golden treasure chest. Lana was watching with an eager smile.
To everyone else, they were about to claim a grand treasure.
To Jaxen, the timer was ticking. He had exactly eight seconds before the ceiling shattered and everyone in this room was slaughtered.
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Chapter 119 : The last stand.
Robert's sword trembled in his grip. His body was battered, his mana reserves running dangerously low. Across from him, Dante stood motionless, his frozen blood blade gleaming with an eerie light. The puppet's eyes were vacant, but his body radiated the same cold menace he had possessed in life.This is a corpse, Robert reminded himself. Just a corpse. But a corpse that was once an S-rank.Dante moved.He lunged forward, his blade cutting through the air like a serpent striking. Robert barely managed to raise his sword in time, the impact sending shockwaves through his arms.Bang!Robert was thrown backward, his heels digging trenches into the stone floor. Dante was on him again in an instant, his blade swinging in a wide arc. Robert ducked, feeling the wind of the sword passing inches above his head. He rolled to the side and came up swinging, his flame blade carving a path toward Dante's exposed flank.Dante sidestepped effortlessly, his movements fluid and precise. He countered wit
Chapter 118 : The Fall of Giants
Aldric and Robert stood their ground as they faced off against the two foes before them.M1 had summoned Dante and Valdamond Black as her puppets. As to how and when she had gotten a hold of them, no one knew. All that mattered was that Aldric and Robert knew little to nothing about what was about to transpire.Boom!Valdamond Black rushed at Aldric, closing the distance in mere seconds and throwing a left jab aimed at Aldric's ribs. Aldric reacted quickly, slightly shifting his blade lower to match the trajectory of Valdamond's punch, and blocked the strike.The impact sent shockwaves through his arm. He's strong, Aldric thought. Even as a corpse, his raw power is immense.Valdamond's next attack was a punch aimed at Aldric's face. Aldric easily dodged, ducking beneath the strike, before kicking Valdamond away and slicing him clean across the belly.The cut left a bright orange glow—one that Aldric didn't understand. He aimed for Valdamond again, only for the second blow to result in
Chapter 117 : The blind hunters forest.
Bill stood on the northern bridge, his body broken, his mana nearly depleted. Across from him stood Tagashi, his rebar staff dripping with blood—Anthony's blood.Tagashi tilted his head, listening. "You're in no condition to fight me. Your mana is almost gone. Your body is failing."Bill forced a grin, his teeth stained red. "I've still got enough to put you down."Tagashi's expression didn't change. "Brave words. But words won't save you."He lunged.Bill barely managed to dodge, the rebar staff whistling past his ear. He countered with a wild swing, but Tagashi was already gone, his blade slicing toward Bill's ribs.Bill twisted, the blade cutting a shallow line across his side. He stumbled back, his hand pressing against the wound.He's too fast, Bill thought. And he knows how my ability works. He's only using shallow cuts—nothing that gives me enough energy to fight back.Tagashi advanced, his staff held low. "You've been a worthy opponent, Bill. But this ends here."Bill's eyes d
Chapter 116 : The bridge of broken men
The northern bridge stretched across the river like a scar on the landscape. The evening sky was painted in shades of orange and red, but the only thing Bill could see was the blade pointing at his throat.Tagashi stood motionless, his sword extended, his blind eyes fixed on some point beyond Bill's shoulder. The man was a statue—cold, patient, and deadly.Bill's body ached. The burns on his face and arm throbbed with each heartbeat. His ribs were cracked from Stangard's punch. His mana reserves were draining faster than he liked.I need to end this quickly, Bill thought. But this guy isn't like the others. He's something else.Tagashi moved.The blade cut through the air faster than Bill could track. Bill threw himself to the side, the sword grazing his shoulder. He rolled and came up swinging, his fist aimed at Tagashi's chest.Tagashi was already gone. He had sidestepped with inhuman speed, his blade already arcing toward Bill's neck.Bill ducked, feeling the wind of the blade pass
Chapter 115 : The northern bridge.
In the earlier chapters, we saw Bill leave the dungeon area in a rush after receiving a mysterious phone call.The phone call Bill received was from Jack, who called to inform him that there was a situation back at headquarters. A group of awakened terrorists had invaded the building. Jack had avoided capture but was in hiding inside.To make things worse, Bill also received a call from his home that his wife and grandkids were headed to headquarters to prepare a surprise party for after the raid was cleared.This made Bill rush over without hesitation, fearing what was to happen.Bill accelerated his car at max speed, weaving through traffic, speeding past any vehicle in his way.Tang!Boom!Bill's car exploded high in the air, smoke and fire bursting from it.The explosion was caused by an arrow aimed at his car—fired by the same woman who had attacked him with Stangard during the Scorched Citadel arc. It was an assassination attempt. They knew Bill would use the northern bridge as
Chapter 114: The puppet master Gambit.
Aldric stood in his defensive position, his spear held steady despite the exhaustion creeping through his muscles. His fight with the Serpent King had taken more out of him than he wanted to admit. Now two more threats had emerged to end him.The reason for their involvement, he didn't know. But what he did know was that he was going to have to kill them if he hoped to survive this day.M1 stood above a stone pillar, her threads controlling the Serpent King's corpse below. The dead creature twitched and moved like a marionette, its movements jerky but purposeful.M2 stood beside the Serpent King, two blades piercing from each arm, jutting through the knuckles from inside his hands. The metal gleamed with a faint, poisonous sheen."Be careful as you attack," M2 warned, his voice low and cautious. "We don't know what other tricks he has down his sleeves, and whether he can still use that last attack he did against the Serpent King."M2 instinctively watched Aldric, studying his movement
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