Seojin paused and stared blankly at the countdown interface.
|| Remaining Time: 6 Minutes and 51 Seconds ||
'Think.'
He thought.
Though he had ideas on what to do, he needed to choose the best and the most plausible plan.
Cough.
But in the end, just thinking of ideas is not enough.
'Should I dodge when it attacks?
He shook his head.
After all, his frail body was not fast nor did it have the capability to do that. His reflexes were not trained. Hence, if faced against an assassin, he would be cut down even before he could react.
He also considered 'blocking' the attack, but that would not be able to stop a blade meant to kill in one strike.
'Fake my death to mislead the assassin.'
'Ask the knights for help.'
'Hide.'
'Run.'
Thud.
He punched the wall.
No matter how many ideas he thought of, he knew that he could not escape the inevitable written fate of his demise.
But then, his expression lit up.
Step.
He hurried towards the door.
'Fight… back.'
|| Talent: Highly Unpredictable ||
Fight back with an unequaled, unrivaled talent in the most worthless category. After all, his talent was not the SSS-Rank swordsmanship talent or a thing like infinite mana reserves.
That was laughable.
Yet it was also the most doable option.
After all, he would not fight back empty handed but with a major artifact that would originally belong to the protagonist.
Step.
As he walked through the hallway, he considered that if he were to take the artifact, it would only mean he would be changing the storyline itself.
'Fudge that.'
He did not stop nor did his steps falter, given that he knew that the storyline had already changed the moment he transmigrated into this world. In short, there was no point dwelling on it.
Step.
Near the massive stairway leading to the ground floor, a girl stood and looked at him with a smile— whether it was genuine or not, he did not care.
If he knew one thing, it would be that the girl was his personal maid.
"Prepare… fresh tangerines."
"..."
The girl only nodded and spoke nothing.
Still, he did not spare her more than a passing glance before continuing his steps.
|| Remaining Time: 6 Minutes and 29 Seconds ||
After all, his time was limited.
Step.
Seojin was finally outside the mansion.
In the novel, Seven Hart was introduced on the seventh day of the seventh month, Nocten. The month in which winter peaks.
Now that he was here, the world matched the description perfectly.
Snow stretched endlessly before him, covering the trees and blanketing the ground in white. Snowflakes drifted from the sky like designed raindrops.
Hff…
He took a deep breath and watched as his exhale turned to mist in the frigid air.
Step.
Yet he still continued to move forward, towards the dense forest right behind the mansion.
The novel said it was not originally a forest, but an open grass field where the founding head of the Hart household used to train. However, ever since his passing, the place was left untouched thus trees had a chance to grow over the centuries.
'Where is it?'
He zigzagged between the trees and pushed his already frail body to keep running. Time was running out, and the sun was preparing to hide itself.
And so, he quickened his pace.
Lub-Dub. Lub…
He could hear his heart pounding, as if it might burst from his ribcage at any given moment.
Struggling to find a less dense area, he climbed a nearby tree. But after reaching the first branch, he gave up the idea.
Not only was it a bad idea as the thick canopy blocked his view of the ground, but the snow-covered branches made it nearly impossible to climb any higher.
His frail body did not help either.
Rustle.
A faint rustling sound startled him where he lost his footing on the slippery frost-covered branch and immediately fell down.
But he did not care.
His full attention was locked on the sword gleaming just a few steps away from the tree.
There, a sword was stuck through an anvil and into a large stone. It was mentioned that all throughout the published chapters, no one was able to remove or pull it out the anvil.
But the truth was, for now, it was not the sword he was after.
Instead, it was the thing hidden inside it.
He smirked.
"Found you."
Step.
Panting, he walked and crouched beside it.
Closing his eyes, he brushed his fingers against the hilt and tried to find, even a little hint, of uneven surface.
'I'm sure it's around this part.'
There he felt a faint roughness of the texture. That was all he needed to find, thus he opened his eyes and squinted at the almost invisible button due to its molecular size.
Click.
He pressed it without any hesitation.
With a sharp metallic scrape that grated against his ears, the hilt came apart. At the same time, a smooth, glass-like orb that was no larger than a marble stumbled out.
It landed neatly into his waiting palm.
The orb's surface made his fingers tingle. It glowed, like a fragment of the sun plucked from the sky and placed in his hand.
Then, the hilt of the sword twisted and shifted on its own.
He could do nothing but watch in silence as the metal realigned itself seamlessly.
The button was gone.
Just in case, he ran his fingers through the hilt and could no longer feel any hint of uneven surface.
Well, if he remembered correctly, the novel did mention this.
'Once the orb is obtained, there will be no second chance…'
He tightened his grip around the orb and it trembled as he brought it closer to his face. His breath hitched, and his once-steady pulse thundered in his ears.
"Should I… really…? Fudge."
He did not want to do this.
And yet, he raised his free hand to eye level.
"Hkk—aaagh!"