Deep within the primeval forest, everything was frozen in absolute stasis. Dark green leaves in mid-fall were suspended in the air like a photograph, mana particles hung motionless, and even the beads of anxious sweat on Ryan's face remained perfectly still.
Only Owen retained a sliver of freedom to move and interact with the system window. Naturally, he couldn't interfere with or exploit this frozen world, because time itself hadn't truly stopped; rather, it was his own perception and thought processes that had been accelerated by the system to the point where everything else appeared stationary. He couldn't step more than a meter away from the system interface, nor could he reach out and move the suspended leaves right in front of him.
His sharp golden eyes scanned the translucent system window floating before him. He crossed his arms, evaluating the outcomes of each option with absolute, calculated coldness.
At first glance, [Option 5] seemed the most enticing. Intervening with his feelings to gain +50 Affectionpoints would instantly flip the dynamic, turning him into a 'beloved older brother' whom Ryan would deeply respect and revere. It would undeniably make negotiating or extracting benefits from this Golden Boy vastly easier.
However... Owen's logic as an Alpha looked much deeper than the surface.
'Respect... does not equate to absolute obedience,' Owen thought to himself.
It was just like rebellious teenagers who deeply loved and respected their parents, yet the moment they were forbidden from seeing a girl they liked, they were still fully prepared to break the rules and sneak around behind their backs. As long as the Affection points hadn't reached a perfect 100—signifying absolute submission—the risk remained that Ryan could be blinded by lust and eventually return to harass Clara in the future.
Therefore, Option 5 was merely a short-term reward for himself. But [Option 6], despite offering absolutely zero points, was the ultimate 'root-cutting' solution.
Permanently erasing Ryan's sexual desire and romantic feelings for Clara provided long-term safety for her. In Owen's perspective—having sworn to fiercely protect the women under his care—this was undeniably the most valuable choice.
Without a single shred of hesitation left, Owen reached out and tapped the system window.
[ You have confirmed the selection: Option 6 (Special Option) ]
Vwoom!
The system window flashed with a blinding blue light for a split second. The counter for his [Reality Warp] usages ticked down to exactly 1. Suddenly, a profoundly mysterious energy that completely transcended the laws of mana radiated from the window, piercing directly into the frozen brain and very soul of Ryan Goldwin.
It seamlessly edited, reconstructed, and permanently altered the fundamental structure of the young man's emotions and primal desires regarding Clara.
Owen lowered his hand, bracing himself for time to resume its flow.
However... an anomaly occurred.
The entire world was still frozen in place. The wind didn't blow, the leaves didn't fall, and Ryan remained a rigid statue. The blue system window still hovered prominently in front of Owen. The only difference was that [Option 6] had completely vanished... yet Options 1 through 5 were still fully listed.
Owen raised an eyebrow in sheer surprise. He paused for a heartbeat before his brilliant mind fully processed and deciphered the system's true mechanics in a fraction of a second.
He nodded to himself in profound realization. From the system's perspective, using a Special Option like [Reality Warp] wasn't classified as an 'Action' or a conversational response to interact with the real world; rather, it was a 'Modifier' deployed to secretly tweak the background parameters.
'That makes perfect sense... If I selected Option 6 and time immediately resumed, I'd just be standing there like a mute idiot, not answering Ryan's question at all. How could that possibly count as choosing a dialogue path?'
Realizing he still needed to select a dialogue path to advance the conversation, Owen glanced at Option 5, which continued to glow invitingly... This meant he could theoretically deploy his power again to claim the +50 points.
The young man shook his head almost instantly, ruthlessly rejecting that greed. There was absolutely no way he was going to burn his astronomically expensive trump card more than once on that overpowered brat. The future in Titan City held far greater risks and far more terrifying enemies. He had to hoard this final charge for a truly life-or-death crisis.
Owen scanned Options 1 through 4 again to find the most optimal conversational route... and in that exact moment, his eyes widened slightly before his lips curled into a smile of absolute, supreme satisfaction.
In [Option 4: The Matchmaker], the final line that previously held a flashing red warning—(Risk Warning: There is a 40% chance that Ryan's infatuation will worsen...)—had now completely faded away!
This was the most flawless, devastatingly perfect combo. With Ryan's sexual desires and romantic obsession for Clara entirely eradicated from his brain, the risk of this kid morphing into a psychotic stalker instantly plummeted to a flat 0%.
His strong finger confidently tapped the system window once more.
[ You have confirmed the selection: Option 4 (The Matchmaker) ]
Ding!
As the system chime faded, the frozen world violently roared back to life! The wind hissed through the branches, leaves fluttered to the dirt, and Ryan's heavy panting synchronized once again. The young knight's face remained utterly filled with hope, eagerly awaiting his answer.
Owen slipped into character flawlessly. His previously cold, calculating eyes softened, exuding the warm, comforting aura of a benevolent mentor. He stepped closer, clapping a hand lightly on Ryan's armored shoulder pad a few times, and spoke with the utmost sincerity.
"How about this, Ryan..." Owen paused, letting the silence build naturally. "I'll volunteer to be the mediator and smooth this whole thing over for you. I promise... I'll convince Clara to meet you so you can apologize to her face-to-face. I'll even set the stage and give you the opportunity for a proper 'date' with her to clear the air... How does that sound? Interested?"
The fish took the bait hook, line, and sinker.
As Owen's words registered, Ryan's eyes widened larger than they ever had in his entire life. His heavily armored body trembled with such intense excitement that he couldn't even suppress it. Every ounce of suspicion, paranoia, and hostility he previously harbored toward Owen was blown to dust in an instant.
"R... Really?!" Ryan stammered, his voice violently shaking with overwhelming hope. "Mr. Owen... you can really do that for me!?"
Owen offered a confident, reassuring smile and nodded.
With that single gesture, Owen's image in Ryan's mind executed a complete 180-degree flip. The man in the casual t-shirt and jeans standing before him was no longer a suspicious stranger, nor a rival to be guarded against... He was a merciful god descending from the heavens to save a lost boy.
...
Ryan couldn't stop himself from smiling ear to ear. His body, encased in hundred-million-dollar armor, shivered with pure joy and boundless hope. He felt profound gratitude that Owen had agreed to act as a matchmaker and orchestrate a date for him with Clara. The bitter resentment and inflated ego he had clung to were steadily melting away.
However... in the very fraction of a second his happiness fully bloomed, the smile on his face froze solid.
His primal survival instinct—forged and deeply entrenched in his soul from surviving countless lethal dungeons—began shrieking a blaring red warning alarm in his head!
Vwoom!
Every hair on Ryan's body stood on end. His blue pupils contracted to mere pinpricks. A massive object resembling a pitch-black iron spear materialized less than a meter in front of him, entirely out of nowhere, completely devoid of killing intent, and without a single sound of warning!
Fortunately, the genius of someone destined for S-Rank wasn't just for show. Ryan didn't freeze in panic. His lethal instincts bypassed his conscious thought, instantly triggering his [Blessing of the Wind] in that razor-thin margin between life and death.
Whoosh!
A dense mass of air instantly compressed, forming a highly viscous wind wall right in front of him to momentarily 'delay' the lethal projectile's immense kinetic force. Simultaneously, he used another violent current of wind to accelerate his body, violently twisting and dodging to the side with every ounce of power his muscles could withstand.
Fwump! Screeech!
The unidentified projectile narrowly grazed his side. Its devastatingly sharp tip violently scraped against the high-end armor the Association was so proud of, sending brilliant sparks flying and gouging a deep, jagged gash into his shoulder plate.
BOOOOM!!!
The projectile tore past him, burying itself into the dirt behind Ryan. It erupted with a deafening impact, sending chunks of earth and shattered rock flying violently in all directions. And then, a split second after the explosion...
BOOM!
The sheer shockwave of a Sonic Boom detonated right behind it. The surrounding air visibly rippled and distorted. The thunderous clap slammed into their eardrums, leaving both men momentarily deafened with a high-pitched ringing.
"Pant... Pant... Pant..."
Ryan stumbled sideways before planting his feet to steady himself, gasping heavily for air. His handsome face, previously glowing with a bright smile, was now deathly pale, entirely drained of blood. Cold sweat drenched his back, completely soaking his undershirt.
'Impossible... That thing reached me before its sound even arrived...' Ryan's eyes widened in sheer horror as his brain rapidly processed the terrifying physics. 'That means its velocity was faster than sound... It broke Mach 1! If I hadn't dodged just now... I would be critically injured, or dead!'
While Ryan firmly believed the projectile was a spear, Owen, standing right behind him, hadn't flinched or panicked in the slightest. He stood with his arms crossed, observing the entire sequence of events with absolute, chilling calmness... because his monstrous, superhuman perception allowed him to see the brutal details with terrifying clarity.
Owen's brain coldly and ruthlessly calculated the attack's trajectory.
'That velocity wasn't just Mach 1... it was undeniably Mach 2!' Owen analyzed silently, his sharp eyes flicking toward the object buried to the hilt in the crater behind them. 'And that thing stuck in the dirt isn't a spear... It's a giant 2-meter arrow... Well, given the amount of noise he made clearing the path, it's hardly surprising there's a sniper lying in wait for us.'
Owen glanced at the furious young knight, a faint, deeply amused smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. This was the textbook definition of the consequences of your own actions.
...
500 meters away, in the exact direction the arrow had originated from.
Perched on the massive branch of a prehistoric tree over 40 meters above the ground, the grim reaper remained perfectly camouflaged behind a thick curtain of broad leaves that formed a natural ghillie suit. Even though visibility in this dense primeval forest was atrocious, its instincts as the local apex predator acted as a flawless radar, pinpointing its targets with lethal accuracy. Had this been an open battlefield... its effective sniping range would have easily exceeded 2 kilometers.
The massive figure slowly shifted, revealing the terrifying visage of the dungeon's 'Mini-Boss'.
Its hulking frame was 1.5 times taller and vastly more muscular than a standard Orc. Its dark green skin resembled ancient, hardened moss. Every single bulging muscle was densely packed with raw, destructive power, and an aura of suffocating bloodlust radiated from its body so intensely it made the surrounding leaves tremble... It was the Orc Captain, the apex commander who controlled the pack of over 30 Orc Hunters currently stalking this sector.
In its battle-scarred hands, it gripped its signature weapon... a Giant Bow crafted from a massive beast's femur and strung with thick monster sinew. The bow itself spanned over 3 meters. Strapped to the Mini-Boss's broad back was an enormous quiver, fully stocked with 2-meter-long, lethal hardwood arrows.
Seeing its first perfectly aimed shot miss the target so narrowly, the Orc Captain exhaled a blast of hot, bloody breath from its snout in pure frustration.
"ROOOAAAAAAR!!!"
It unleashed a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the forest. It was an absolute command to its subordinates—the 30 Orc Hunters completely concealed in the underbrush below—to break cover, encircle the intruders, and tear them to shreds.
The Captain, however, maintained its absolute high-ground advantage. Its massive hand reached back to draw another giant arrow, nocking it against the thick bowstring. It ruthlessly channeled and injected mana directly into the muscles of its arms and shoulders, causing them to bulge and expand grotesquely. Its dark green body emitted the sickening, cracking sounds of bones and muscle fibers straining to contain the monstrous kinetic force... because drawing this giant bow to its absolute limit and firing at Mach 2 required an astronomical draw weight of over 50 tons.
...
Back at the impact zone below.
The lingering terror of narrowly brushing with death instantly boiled over into blinding, blood-red fury. Ryan Goldwin had never, in his entire life, been so deeply humiliated by such a cowardly sneak attack.
"You cowardly green freaks! If you have the guts, come out and fight me face-to-face!"
The young man screamed into the dark forest, violently erupting with a blazing golden mana aura that whipped the surrounding air into a raging tempest. Completely abandoning all tactical planning and caution, Ryan launched himself into the air, flying at maximum velocity straight toward the sniper's origin point. Owen remained on the ground, quietly sprinting after him while maintaining a perfectly calm, calculated breathing rhythm.
However... before the pair could even cross the 100-meter mark.
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
ROAR!
Thirty massive, dark green shadows erupted simultaneously from the dense bushes and rocky crevices all around them. The pack of Orc Hunters, heavily armed with battleaxes and their thick skin fully reinforced with mana, instantly formed a tight perimeter, cutting off every single escape route.
"You want to block my path?! Die, all of you!!"
Utter, mindless bloodlust entirely consumed the young man. Instead of maintaining a safe distance, soaring higher to assess the battlefield, or keeping his cool to systematically break the encirclement... the enraged prodigy hurled every single survival rule he had ever been taught straight out the window.
He swung his massive lightning sword like a complete madman. He burned through his immense mana reserves at an unsustainable rate, unleashing dozens of gigantic Wind Blades, raining devastating destruction down upon the swarming Orcs below without a single thought for defense.
BOOM! CRASH! SPLAT!
Thick green blood splattered violently across the terrain, accompanied by a symphony of deafening explosions. Several Orcs were brutally bisected by the golden blades, but the remainder charged forward with absolutely zero fear of death.
And that... was his most fatal, catastrophic mistake.
Using massive Area-of-Effect attacks, carelessly burning through his mana, and most importantly... halting his flight to merely hover stationary in mid-air while continuously swinging his sword, left his body riddled with massive openings. He had effectively turned himself into the most perfect, unmissable sitting duck for an assassination.
Owen, effortlessly dodging the swinging axes on the ground below, instantly recognized the impending doom. Amidst the chaotic melee and the deafening roar of explosions drowning out all other sounds, Ryan remained completely oblivious to the fact that 400 meters away, high in the canopy...
The Orc Captain had already drawn its giant bowstring to its absolute limit!
The 2-meter arrow, dense and glowing with lethal red mana, was perfectly locked onto the critical blind spot right in the dead center of Ryan's unprotected back.
And this time... with the significantly shorter distance, the lethal blind spot, and a target completely frozen in place... there was absolutely no physical way the young man could dodge it.
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