The Academy’s Time Stop Player

With an unsettling thud, an eyeball flew directly into the wall, becoming firmly embedded.

He felt truly irritated.

Not only did the criminal not personally come to request a conversation, he sent an eye to do so. And that very eye seemed to speak on its own.

Of course, that was a manifestation of Argo's ability.

At any rate, this episode seemed like a wasted effort.

It didn’t look like she had come in person.

"Maybe we should head back," Hajoon mused.

Picking up Haruna, he hoisted her onto his back, preparing to contact the association.

He couldn’t just leave the scene like this.

As he was about to contact the association, a voice interrupted, “I have something to say, Irregular."

From behind him, the calm voice of a woman he had just heard reached his ears.

Hearing her, Hajoon's face crumpled in annoyance, letting out a sigh, "What a bother."

Given his recent actions, he clearly wasn't in the mood for a chat.

Yet, Hajoon gripped his hammer once more.

Undeterred by his posture, she continued, "It would be in your interest to listen."

Pondering her words with a frown, he tried to discern her intent.

But Hajoon didn't ruminate long.

Since he had questions of his own, it made sense to at least hear her out.

He shrank his hammer down, pocketing it, and turned to face the eyeball.

Argo, reading Hajoon's intent, began to speak, "Firstly, I have a demand. Haruna Ruel. Hand her over peacefully."

At those words, a scoff escaped Hajoon’s lips.

Listening felt like a mistake.

After all, this wasn't a conversation. It was a demand.

"Why do you want to kill Haruna?" Hajoon questioned.

"You know your objectives. If the 'Child of Everything' dies, won't it be troublesome for you?"

The Altar’s objective.

Considering it, killing Haruna didn't make sense.

Such an act contradicted the Altar’s very beliefs.

However, contrary to Hajoon's expectations, Argo readily provided an answer, her voice calm and unwavering, "It’s okay. A prophecy has been revealed."

"A prophecy?"

"Yes, the gods decreed the 'Child of Everything' must die."

Upon hearing this, Hajoon's brows furrowed.

There was never such an event in the game.

She continued, “The gods wish for the next 'Child of Everything' to emerge."

"So you've given up on kidnapping Haruna. But why tell me this?"

There was no obvious benefit to her sharing this information with him.

Prompted by his curiosity, he asked, to which she responded in a suddenly cold tone.

"Irregular, this is a warning for you."

"A warning?"

"God is watching you. What it signifies is that God is taking action."

"Is that also written in the prophecy?"

"You too knew about God and the prophecy's existence. That's why I'm warning you. If you continue on this path, God will move to end your life. No matter who you are, you can't stand against God."

Despite her stern warning, Hajoon only gave an indifferent response.

Without even knowing what Hajoon was thinking, she assertively made another demand.

"Then, hand over Haruna Ruel to us."

She demanded firmly.

However, Hajoon didn't react.

With an uninterested expression, he simply dismissed their beliefs.

"Do you truly believe that what you worship is God?"

"What do you mean?"

"If he truly was God-"

Hajoon was cut off before he could continue.

She just glared at him in silence.

"He would've killed me by now."

"If there's some reason he can't kill me, does that make him God?"

Laughing mockingly at her, Hajoon continued.

She must've understood his words, though she might deny it.

After all, to them, it's an unwavering faith that allows them to achieve anything.

"You don't understand God."

"If this so-called God had the means to kill me, he wouldn't have ordered to kill Haruna, right?"

They, who worship and belong to the Altar, might not understand.

Thinking they know well just by reading the prophecy, they're gravely mistaken.

They believe their God is omnipotent.

However, Hajoon knows this God isn't as they believe.

"You'll regret this."

She glared at Hajoon, issuing another warning.

Yet, Hajoon merely scoffed, gripping his weapon tighter.

"You'll be the ones dying first."

"Even knowing of God's existence, your views never change."

As she spoke, a blue glow began to emanate from her eyes. Suddenly, a total of 100 eyes surrounded Hajoon in midair.

At once, all 100 eyes emitted a blinding blue light, obscuring Hajoon's vision. In that moment, her calm voice echoed.

"God didn't just send prophecies, Irregular. He granted various abilities and artifacts to those who received them."

At her words, Hajoon began to feel something intangible entering his body, as if a thick substance was piercing through him.

"No matter who you are, you won't be able to stop it."

Her carefree laughter filled the air.

Yet, Hajoon felt the same way.

Fully aware of her intentions, Hajoon simply curled one corner of his lips into a smirk. This gesture momentarily puzzled Argo.

Suddenly, something transparent completely entered Hajoon's body. Shortly after...

"Ah, ah! Aaahhh!!"

She let out a horrified gasp and then a bone-chilling scream, as 100 eyes exploded in an instant.

She had activated an ability using her artifact: memory manipulation.

It was a power that, through magic, sent a spiritual replica, essentially an extension of herself, into an individual's psyche to select and erase a particular memory from the myriad ones.

Therefore, Argo had utilized this ability to delve into Hajoon's mind, precisely into his inner psyche.

But the landscape of his memories was unlike any other.

Where an ordinary person's psyche resembled the vast, dark expanse of the universe, this man's inner world was brilliantly illuminated.

And Argo quickly realized that something was wrong.

"What on earth...?"

Within that mental landscape, memories floated around like transparent bubbles. This part wasn't different from a regular person's mind.

However, of those floating memories, aside from a few, some were distorted, as if they refused any access. It was as though these memories emitted an alien energy, suggesting they shouldn't be known at all.

Fortunately, she could visibly see the memories related to Harna.

She swam through this mental landscape, approaching that particular memory.

But then,

"…!?"

Suddenly, an intensifying light blinded her view.

At the same time, an unseen force began pressing against her entire being.

Feeling the danger, she tried to extract herself from Hajoon's mind, but from all directions, an indescribable force compressed her, transforming her soul from a human form to that of a sphere.

"Ah, agh!"

She wanted to scream, but couldn't open her mouth.

The bright light blinded her, and the force not only pressed her entire being but changed her soul from a human form into a spherical one, erasing her human shape entirely.

And the pressure continued, intent on making her smaller, compressing her even more.

Even when she was reduced to the size of a marble, the force didn't relent. It seemed intent on shrinking her into a mere dot.

Despite this transformation, her consciousness remained sharp. She could feel, with every fiber of her being, that she was no longer human, and she began to experience an unfamiliar terror like never before.

Had she had a mouth, she would've screamed for mercy. If she had arms and legs, she would've flailed desperately.

But even in such paralyzing fear, when she felt she couldn't express her terror,

"AAAAHHH!"

The ability was deactivated.

To be precise, her spiritual replica returned to her body, sharing the experience.

Upon the ability's deactivation, she immediately felt her arms and legs, reassuring herself of her intact physical form.

"Heh, heh!"

She gasped for breath, drawing in deep, rapid inhalations.

As a backlash of her ability, tears of blood streamed from one of her eyes, bringing with it intense pain. Yet, the tremors that overtook her body stemmed more from the recently shared, unknown terror than the physical pain itself.

Crack- Snap!

At the very same moment, drawn by the sound of something fracturing, her eyes settled on the necklace around her neck.

The divine artifact.

The necklace bore a finger-sized gem that gleamed in a rich purple, but now that gem lay shattered, its fragments scattered on the ground.

Shock and disbelief froze her features.

The very artifact given by the deity she so deeply believed in and revered was now in pieces before her.

"What... How could this happen?"

She was at a loss, her words trailing off, entwined with fear and confusion.

Could it be that the divine artifact couldn't withstand his mental prowess and had shattered?

Confronted by this inconceivable event, she could only stare in stunned silence at the fragmented jewel at her feet.

"...?"

As Argo let out a horrified scream, 100 eyes burst open and vanished in an instant. Hajoon, who had merely been standing still, wore a look of bewilderment.

"What just happened?"

He was puzzled.

Given his skill 'Indomitable Will', no mental attack should affect him. He had simply stood there, but her reaction seemed anything but normal.

Why did she scream and vanish so suddenly...?

"Should I head back?"

After all, there was nothing left for him to do here, no reason to linger.

Rather than making a call, Hajoon opted to send a quick text to the association president about the situation. With Haruna on his back, he promptly exited the area.

After the day's incident, Hajoon learned from the Association President, Kim Jeongyong, that they decided to quietly bury the assault event and proceed with the exchange event as planned.

Given that this particular event is the world's largest international exchange held annually, there's concern that the unfortunate assault might prompt other countries to question Korea's security and reconsider their selections for future hosting locations.

"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Hajoon," he said. "I did suggest suspending the event temporarily due to the assault, but it seems a challenging decision."

It was a significant international event, so naturally, even the Association President can't decide on its suspension by himself. While it seems he had the safety of the citizens in mind, many higher-ups voiced opposition due to various political issues, regional branding, and publicity matters.

Considering the challenges of securing the hosting location for this global exchange event and the fact that the adult hero exchange hasn't even started, halting it because of a villain's assault would indeed be troublesome.

And for Kim Jeongyong to voice an opinion against such top brass was admirable.

But why was he apologizing to me?

"Why do you feel the need to apologize to me?" Hajoon asked.

"How could I not? Weren't you the one who resolved this issue once again? I wish I could broadcast this accomplishment through newspapers and various media outlets."

At those words, Hajoon was taken aback, his mouth agape.

Is this man making any sense at all?