The Academy’s Time Stop Player

"Haa! Haa!"

Han Siyoung was gasping for breath.

Due to the ability 'Dark Mist' possessed by the Chinese representative student, Li Chen, Han Siyoung found himself at a disadvantage.

Using 'Dark Mist', Li Chen transformed her body into a mist, regaining some of her energy.

At a glance, the situation was overwhelmingly against Han Siyoung.

"This is the first time I've used this ability against a student," Li Chen said with a leisurely smile.

Without responding, Han Siyoung charged at her, brandishing his sword.

Li Chen stood there defenseless, allowing Han Siyoung's blade to pass harmlessly through her misty form.

Gazing at Han Siyoung, Li Chen suggested with ease, "Why not just give up? You know it's pointless."

In the world, many abilities exist, and they can be categorized into three types.

The most common is the Enhancement type, followed by the Emission type, which can release elements like fire and water, and the rarest of them all, the Transformation type. Especially challenging among them was the Transformation ability.

Though many Transformation abilities exist, very few could perfectly counteract physical force like hers.

Han Siyoung took a deep breath, steadying himself.

Closing his eyes momentarily, he reopened them, assuming a firm stance with his sword, carefully watching Li Chen.

His posture seemed to suggest he had no intention of surrendering, merely preparing for her next move. Seeing this, Li Chen smiled, transforming her body into mist once more. Soon, the mist began to swirl around Han Siyoung. From the heart of this vortex, a barrage of attacks hurtled towards him.

Clang! Whoosh! Crash!

In a single second, six consecutive attacks launched, but Han Siyoung stood his ground, parrying each with his sword.

A few stray attacks grazed his arm and cheek, but he remained unfazed, concentrating solely on deflecting them.

About a minute passed.

As Han Siyoung continued fending off the onslaught, a heightened sense of alertness overcame him.

Clang! Crash! Clang!

Despite his dwindling energy, his perception sharpened unexpectedly.

The flurry of blades seemed to move slower before his eyes.

Within this clarity, a singular thought dominated Han Siyoung's mind.

Not to block, but to strike.

Although it appeared he was merely defending against her barrage, he wielded his sword with the determined intent to slice.

Suddenly, a shift occurred.

A brilliant, blinding light pierced through the dark mist, illuminating the entire arena and stands, before disappearing in a fleeting moment.

In the wake of this change, Li Chen, with wide eyes, released her ability and looked at Han Siyoung.

"What was that..."

The sword Han Siyoung held had transformed.

The seemingly ordinary sword appeared as if it was wrapped in a sheath of light.

Whoosh!

In that moment, Han Siyoung moved.

He quickly approached right in front of her, swinging his sword. Li Chen also retaliated by swinging her own longsword.

Shing-

"?!"

Her eyes widened in surprise.

Li Chen immediately leaped backward, checking the condition of her sword.

The blade... no, more precisely, a piece of it had been chipped off.

It wasn’t clear what material it was made of, but it was known to be the most durable weapon regardless of its grade. As Han Siyoung charged again with his glowing sword, she instinctively felt the danger and turned her body into mist.

Her body transformed into a black fog, escaping physical attacks, but as if that didn't matter, Han Siyoung swung his sword at her torso.

Vroom!!

"?!"

A threatening swooshing sound resonated as Han Siyoung's sword slashed horizontally towards her abdomen.

In that brief moment, Han Siyoung's eyes widened.

He believed that if he continued with that strike, her body would be sliced. Regaining his senses, Han Siyoung adjusted his swing, aiming the flat side of the blade towards her belly.

Thud! Vroom! Boom!

"Gasp!"

The spectators gasped at the unfolding situation.

Even though she had turned into mist, Han Siyoung's sword made contact with her body.

Li Chen was sent flying and crashed into a wall, falling unconscious. A haunting silence spread across the arena.

Whispers began to emerge from the stands.

"Did he just... bend the weapon?"

"That's impossible. And even in her mist form, it seemed the sword still hit her?"

"Incredible... to have such an ability..."

Among the astonished exclamations, Hajoon quietly smiled.

A sacred mark.

A power that can cut through any material.

Fortunately, in line with the episode's storyline, Han Siyoung had grown stronger.

The growth of a playable character was the most desired outcome for Hajoon.

Of course, after this, Han Siyoung would be embroiled in a troublesome incident during the holidays.

"Well, he seems fine now..."

Hajoon sneaked a glance at Haruna.

Now, all he needed to do was resolve Haruna Ruel's episode.

But he couldn’t see her.

Where had she gone?

"Where's Haruna?"

"Huh? Senior Haruna said she was going to the restroom earlier."

Hearing that, Hajoon, with a look of annoyance, stood up.

Considering she was currently a target, it would be dangerous to leave her alone.

"I'm going to check the restroom."

"Okay, be back soon."

As he passed through the stands and began climbing the stairs,

Ding-

"?"

A notification appeared before Hajoon.

[You are being penalized for altering the future.]

[The difficulty of the episode has increased.]

[Sub Quest]

Quest available for: Kim Hajoon (Liber Laphilton Phil Ehrman)

Description: Save Haruna Ruel from the Altar's assassination attempt.

Reward: 10,000 Experience

The moment Hajoon saw the contents of the quest, his brows furrowed.

Realizing from the quest details that the future had changed somehow, Hajoon urgently activated a time stop.

Without delay, he exited the stands and headed towards the restroom where Haruna might be.

“Yawn~”

After finishing her task, Haruna yawned and washed her hands at the sink.

She looked utterly exhausted.

Honestly, she wondered why people would bother coming to the stadium when they could easily watch on TV at home.

“Ugh...”

Considering going back to the noisy stadium, she hesitated. Why not just go home now?

She didn’t think either Hajoon or Elaine would mind if she left early.

“Alright.”

Making up her mind, Haruna quickly texted Elaine and turned to leave for home.

But then, from a distance, she noticed five men dressed as security guards slowly approaching her.

It was clear that they were heading towards her.

With a puzzled tilt of her head, Haruna soon realized that there was no one else around except her and these men.

“…”

A sudden sense of unease began to creep over her.

Her instincts were right; the guards drew small knives and charged at her.

“Wha-? Excuse me, but…”

Before Haruna could say anything, the men swung their blades at her with clear intent to kill.

Luckily, she quickly muttered a rune, propelling herself into the air, narrowly avoiding their attacks.

A shiver ran down Haruna's spine.

This was her first real-life confrontation. But more importantly, why were they targeting her?

Before she could dwell on it further, the guards made their move again.

They kicked off the walls, propelling themselves into the air towards her.

Given the clear threat they posed, Haruna prepared to defend herself.

“∎∎∎∎.”

Haruna chanted another rune.

Her voice echoed around, and the surroundings began to change.

The hard ground below them started to rise like sprouting tree trunks, wrapping around the men.

“Aaah!”

“Choke!”

“Ugh!”

“Cough…”

Three of the five were trapped, moaning in pain, while the remaining two mustered their strength, breaking free and charging at her. Haruna immediately countered.

She stretched out her hand, and a surge of hard tendrils rushed towards the two men.

However, they skillfully shattered the incoming tendrils with their daggers and continued advancing.

Deciding that the odds were against her, Haruna chose to retreat.

If she could make it to the stands, these brutes would likely not pursue her there.

As she turned to flee, one of the attackers moved with blinding speed, catching up to her and forcefully slamming her foot to the ground.

In that brief moment, Haruna raised her arms in defense, but the assailant's strength was overwhelming. She plummeted, crashing onto the ground below.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

She felt a sharp pain in her back. Within moments, a man landed right before Haruna's face. As he readied his dagger to strike her, another man quietly spoke up.

"No daggers. Kill her without leaving a mark."

The man nodded in response, reaching out to grasp Haruna's neck. He began to strangle her.

Haruna gasped, her vision blurring as she struggled for air.

Desperately, she tried to free herself, grabbing the man's arm and thrashing about. However, his grip was unyielding.

As her consciousness began to fade, it seemed inevitable that Haruna would pass out. Yet, the man didn't loosen his hold; his intent wasn't just to incapacitate her - he aimed to kill.

Suddenly, there was a shift.

"?!"

Out of nowhere, the man's hand contorted in a jagged motion.

In pain, he cried out, releasing his grip on Haruna's neck. As she began to fall, a boy appeared, gently catching her and placing her on the ground.

"!?"

"The Irregular!?"

The men were taken aback by the boy's sudden appearance. They were too stunned to react when a force hit them both.

Crash! Boom!

Bones snapping, the two men were flung against a wall.

One of them passed out from the impact, but the other, gasping for breath, remained conscious. Hajoon, with a neutral expression, approached the latter, holding a mallet.

There were questions he wanted to ask.

"You're from the Altar, aren't you?"

The man didn't respond.

"Why target Haruna? Killing her isn't your objective, is it?"

Hajoon recalled the word 'assassination' from the quest details. Something seemed off. Clearly, their goal wasn't solely to kill Haruna.

As expected, the man remained silent. Hajoon had anticipated this, but that didn't mean he was out of options.

With a swift motion, Hajoon knocked out the remaining man with his mallet. The association might have methods to extract the needed information.

Just as Hajoon was about to leave with Haruna, he noticed something: floating in the air were a pair of disembodied eyes watching him.

Reflecting on it, something seemed off.

The person who was supposed to appear in this episode was noticeably absent.

"Nice to meet you, Irregular."

The eyes spoke.

The voice was that of a calm and composed woman.

Hajoon recognized these eyes.

Argo.

One of the three pillars of the Altar.

She gazed down at Hajoon, speaking in a serene tone.

"I'd like to have a conversation with you, Irregular."

Upon hearing this, Hajoon immediately swung his mallet at the eyes without hesitation.

Whoosh! Fizz-