(Ashleen's POV)
I have to figure out my skills and complete this scenario. Not just try—complete it. My survival depends on it.
But… why am I this calm? There's a full-blown battlefield in front of me, and I'm the target. Shouldn't I be shaking?
I exhaled slowly and opened my system window.
[Skills Window – Ashleen]
• Imagination
• Future Premonition
• Close Combat
• Unlimited Mana
Oh wow I am loaded...
Imagination and Future Premonition? What do they even mean? Seeing the future sounds useful, but if that's the case, why didn't I sense that arrow earlier? Maybe it only shows possible outcomes, not threats?
Nothing responded when I focused. Just dead air.
Worse was the weakness status, tucked underneath my skills:
[Weakness: Mana Sync Disruption]
• Requires 18 hours of sleep per day
• System stability compromised
Eighteen hours. Who even needs that? Someone could kill me in my sleep.
Where the hell was Anik?
A stupid part of me actually hoped he'd show up and fix everything. He had that main character aura—unbothered, always calm, like someone who'd read the script ahead of time.
Which, funny enough, he had. Not that I knew. Or would've believed it. Who believes they're trapped inside a web novel?
The scenario was called Protect the Princess. I was the "princess." Everyone else either had to protect me… or kill me.
Amazing.
"If the guy I'm paired with would just show up," I muttered. "Main character timing, maybe?"
Nothing. Not even a dramatic entrance. Well so imagination doesn't work that way I suppose..
But how did I use it? Strategize? Visualize something? I imagined their commander unable to move. Trapped. But nothing happened.
Then chaos.
Screams rang out. The enemy flew yanked into the air. Our side launched attacsk.
One of our archers—not much older than me—fired and struck an older man in the thigh. Judging by the ornate gear, he was the enemy leader.
"HEY!" I shouted. "We just have to survive! Why are we attacking?! We are safe anyways with them in air! Just let them surrender."
No one answered. Then—
Pain. Explosive, sharp. My left shoulder went numb.
I dropped to one knee. An arrow had found its way straight into the soft tissue of my upper arm. Fired by the enemy leader.
Darkness swam at the edge of my vision.
When I blinked back to awareness, the enemy had landed. Fighting was everywhere. My shoulder throbbed, wet with blood.
The enemy commander—he looked fine. His wound was gone.
A healer. They had a healer.
A guy sprinted toward me. "I'm on your team—I'm a healer. Let me—"
"No."
I didn't trust him. His eyes twitched when he saw my shoulder, but his hands didn't reach for it. I'd learned to read people, even before this madness.
He wasn't here to help me.
This place was crueler than I imagined. I should've known better.
I focused. Imagination. Come on, work.
Something inside me cracked—rage, fear, something deeper. I locked eyes with the commander. His blade was about to fall on the girl who'd shot him.
In my mind, I saw his arms twist. Bones snapping.
His real arms followed.
His scream pierced the air.
It worked.
The more I focused, the more his limbs contorted. The healer guy? He bolted—to the commander, not me. Confirmed.
"You wanted to help me?" I hissed. "Then why run to him?"
He turned. His face said everything.
Next moment—his head hit the ground.
I didn't even remember moving.
I caught my reflection in a broken window pane.
Blood-soaked dress. Shadow-drenched eyes. Black tears.
A monster.
The commander moved again, even with twisted limbs. Then—stab.
I gasped. My stomach went cold.
I turned.
The girl I'd saved was holding a bloody dagger.
"You… why?"
She looked terrified. Regret in her eyes.
Then an arrow split her heart.
She dropped. Dead. A red system warning blinked above her:
[System Penalty: Rule Violation – Friendly Fire]
Unauthorized attack on the protected role detected. Subject: Terminated.]
She didn't deserve that.
I looked at myself again. I was the kind of monster people betrayed.
I dropped. Legs gone. Breath shallow.
If only someone could explain… If Anik were here… would it be different?
The pain returned in waves. My vision blurred.
Our side had lost her. The enemy was injured. Their healer was dead—or gone. I wasn't sure anymore.
Everyone stared at me. Frozen. Not with awe, but fear.
Then—darkness.
I woke slung over someone's shoulder. Every step stabbed through my gut and arm.
"Slow down…" I groaned.
"Miss, you might want to look behind before saying that."
That voice.
I didn't need to look.
Anik.
The enemy leader was shouting again, this time at Anik.
He had arrived.
"Don't do anything reckless," he said, calmly dodging attacks. "Especially not with Imagination. You can't control it yet."
Wait. He knew what my skill was?
I didn't ask. Couldn't.
"I wasn't going to," I whispered. "I… killed someone."
And another died because of me.
Tears slipped down my face.
Who was I becoming?
I tried to wipe them away. My arm didn't move right.
"Don't move," he said. "We haven't found the healer yet."
"Ermm…"
"You okay?"
"Pfft… ouch."
"You're hopeless."
His tone was half-joking. Like a couple hours ago. Familiar.
Everything was spinning too fast to process.
I wanted to laugh. Just once. But even laughing needed energy.
Wait. I had Unlimited Mana, didn't I?
I focused. And something happened.
A glowing cloud of blue shimmered around me.
[Skill: Unlimited Mana – Passive Burst Activated]
• Status: Overflow
• Transfer Triggered: Nearby Ally (Anik)
I felt a surge of energy, but then the cloud started changing colors. Soothing blue to red to dark bloody red, back to blue then soothing blue. The energy vanished as quickly as it came. I felt empty again.
But Anik's steps grew lighter.
"You just transferred mana," he said, stunned. "That's why I— Never mind."
"Transferred?"
"You're leaking power like a fountain. You're gonna be a nightmare to manage."
He gently set me down, leaning me against the base of a shattered wall.
His green jacket was torn, streaked with enemy blood.
He looked at me—truly looked—and said:
"What am I supposed to do with you?