Noah needed time. Time, which he didn't have in the situation he was in. The impact has also reached the other cheater, who was hardly grasping the last life he had. That existence was beyond comprehension. A single slash could penetrate through so many layers of shielding skills. The time he needed was to comprehend the enemy strength and think of a back-up plan – not because he hadn't expected the enemy to be so strong, but because of a certain skill the enemy had, which Noah had found out during that slash.
The buff in the Tranquil Set was definitely enormous and many new passives had appeared. He knew that the item he had "purchased" wasn't random at all. In fact it was given to him purposely. It was an item that was capable of giving him the upper hand. And this additionally confirmed the skill he was suspicious of. A skill that ignored shields and dealt fatal damage on impact. With one of his new passives he was immune to fatal damage of that type.
「Rank tier: Crown Ⅲ SSS Tranquil Set 」
Mind Control Resistance is increased by N% (N increases with Level)
Perception Area increased by 1500% (+100%/owned set effect, current, curr: 4200%)
Trajectory Map up to 150 paths (+10/owned set effect, +5/level, +20/ultra-rare or higher achievements, +50/????, curr: 4290 paths)
– Some skills are omitted due to long description –
"Crimson State" will be enhanced, all attributes +420% (+10%/level, curr: 2420%)
Raw Fatal Damage inflicted while in "Crimson State" will be converted into non-fatal damage, Cooldown: 2 days, Coin Penalty: 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 + 50% of curr value/cooldown reset
Noah knew how strong that buff was. There were more than 20 skills coming only from this set.
Even though a couple of seconds had passed since the fatal hit, Noah was already in the air, kicked by the descended user and in the next moment, he had destroyed the ground from the impact. The world was trembling, this lower island was about to collapse.
The ground beneath Noah cracked like a mirror struck by a falling star. Shards of crimson energy burst upward as he slammed into the collapsing terrain, blood smeared across his forehead, his lips torn open. Pain buzzed like a corrupted alert box in his skull. His HP was at 1. His shield – gone. Crimson layer – broken. And yet. He moved. Faster than thought. Faster than perception. A twitch. A step. A dash through the air so jagged it no longer obeyed direction. Gravity spiraled unpredictably as the world itself began fragmenting under the overwhelming influence of [The Faculty Director]. Cracks ran through the island's core. Floating terrain began to orbit chaotically, acting like gravitational satellites. A ruined battlefield transformed into a dying star system.
「Crimson Lock Progress: 9 → 7」
The user was already entering a mode that beyond the berserk and frenzy modes, Noah was used to seeing in games but – he was still bored. He had already seen such power in the games he used to play.
The other cheater was barely holding on. They had lost all but one of their extra lives, and the last shield fragment surrounding them flickered dimly. But they were still feeding Noah real-time visual threads—lines of trajectory predictions too complex for ordinary minds. Noah's Tranquil Set, now at Crown Ⅲ SSS, interpreted all 4,290 paths simultaneously. The enemy's sword was light. Its arc? Untouchable. But.
"It's not the sword," Noah muttered, the taste of iron heavy in his mouth. "It's the shadow behind it."
He leapt. Not forward—but upward. Into a collapsing sky.
With his enhanced perception, Noah no longer saw just motion. He saw intention. Each of the Faculty Director's swings bent not just the space around them but the rules of target selection. That hit wasn't meant to strike his body but his existence. They wanted to delete him.
Mid-air, he activated one of the Tranquil Set's newest abilities:
「Passive Override – Mind-Cut Counterflow」
[Effect: Redirects a fatal cognitive-level attack, Cooldown: 24 hours]
[Coin Cost: -5 000 000 000 000 000 per use]
[The Faculty Director] punched him. Time shattered. Reality screamed. Every cell in his body was crying. And then, Noah caught the shadow behind the attack.
「Crimson Lock Progress: 7 (Paused) 」
「Counterflow Detected: Entity Feedback: ??? → Distortion Status Inflicted 」
「Entity Sync Lost: [The Faculty Director] → ???? 」
A pause. A flicker. A glitch in form. The Faculty Director froze—not physically, but in terms of system authority. Their connection – whatever higher entity was puppeteering them – had just lost primary access. The Director's eyes – once filled with crimson data—flickered as human memories briefly surfaced. But Noah knew very well that it can't exist for long in this state since all that had happened. If this worked out, this would be the cleanest way to defeat that enemy.
Noah didn't hesitate.
「Crimson Rewrite – Manual Mode Engaged」
He slammed his palm into the projection layer. Crimson threads wrapped around his arm like burning cables. Agony flared through his body. His fingers shattered. But the override was accepted.
「Target Entity: [The Faculty Director]」
「Insert Value: NULL」
「Coin Cost: -12 000 000 000 000 000」
「Rewrite Successful 」
A second passed, then a second one.
「Crimson Lock Progress: 7 → 3 」
「User: [Crimson Origin – ???] has entered the battlefield. 」
「Warning: Island Core Collapse: 00:00:30 」
Above them, the sky warped. A ring of satellite islands that had long been dormant began to awaken—defensive towers from a forgotten era of the Tower System. Runes lit up. Red and gold. Emergency protocols from a time when even gods fell. Suddenly.
「[Frostmoon] – Authority Tier: ???? – Intervention Request: In Progress」
Noah's breath hitched. The last time that name appeared, a calamity had happened. But right now – Noah had one chance. If [The Faculty Director] fell before [Frostmoon] arrived, they could end this chapter before it spiraled further. Otherwise, he would have to deal with two otherworld monsters.
A rainbow pillar of light was about to pierce through the very own existence of Noah when the air in front of him glitched and someone appeared. It was a boy in white coat, shorter than Noah with black hair.
「User: [Creator of Cards – ???] has descended. 」
With just a card the boy held, the rainbow pillar of light was reflected back at the attacker.
「(Frostmoon, stay back, you are forbidden from interfering in this.)」
Cracks appeared in the sky after the mention of this name twice in a quick succession.
「[Frostmoon] – Authority Tier: ???? – Intervention Request: Declined 」
— Hey there, liking your battle style. Don't worry, "The Cheater's Hall" sent me to help you since it will be hard at your current phase to win.