TIRS 15

CHAPTER 15.

 “I’m Hurt. I Told You to Use Me All You Want.”

Thanks to the noble ladies and their attendants fleeing, the number of people remaining at the scene had decreased from the start.

However, knights were arriving one after another, so it was only a matter of time before that number increased again.

Even at this moment, the [Visible Population] count was steadily rising.

“Don’t worry, Lulu. I’ll protect you.”

Hezen gripped me tightly as he said this.

‘Protect me, my ass. You’re the most dangerous one here.’

I swallowed my harsh words.

Just the fact that he hadn’t tried to escape but was instead observing the situation showed that his true intention wasn’t to protect me.

But more than that, I had a bigger question:

‘Why is he so confident?’

As I briefly mentioned earlier, the horn whistle was a cash item designed to summon boss-level monsters for high rewards.

The monsters summoned with the horn whistle were all extremely powerful—way beyond what Hezen, who hadn’t even completed his Awakening, should be able to handle.

Yet here he was, summoning a monster so confidently and simply watching. That must mean he had some sort of safety measure in place.

“Oh, Hezen, I’m so scared,”

Feigning fear, I buried my face into his shoulder.

Then, with the eyes of a hawk, I scanned his interface.

There was a word in his status window I hadn’t seen before:

【(Rare) Seedless Watermelon】 Lv.10 Hezen Einshein
§Stealth Mode§
Attribute: Eunuch

‘Stealth?’

Status: Stealth
Effect of the item : Your state is now [Stealth]. While active, your presence is diminished. Nearby monsters will not detect you.

‘No wonder something felt off.’

Unlike glitched mobs that attack the weakest first, normal monsters go for the strongest.

Even though Hezen hadn’t Awakened, he was still the strongest here.

So the fact that the <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> ignored him and fought the knights had seemed strange—turns out he was using an item just for himself.

I couldn’t think of anyone else who fit the words “cowardly and despicable” so perfectly.

“Oh dear, Lulu.”

Hezen patted my back, pretending to comfort me.

“It’ll be over soon. Just hang in there a little longer.”

I glanced at the [Visible Population]. It had surpassed 70.

It must mean a flood of knights had arrived in the meantime.

‘Alright, then I should wrap this up soon too.’

I looked up at Hezen.

“But Hezen, even with all those knights, they still can’t take it down. So…”

While he was still looking at my face—

Snap! Rip!

I grabbed his bracelet and tore it off.

[SYSTEM] Stealth status has been removed.

“How about you go deal with it?”

“…What?”

Hezen looked confused for a moment, not understanding what I meant.

Then—

Screeeeeech!!

The <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> let out a shriek, twisting its body as it turned toward us.

[SYSTEM] The monster <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> has recognized you.

It suddenly tore through the knights and began charging straight at us.

‘Ugh, that’s disgusting.’

Seeing a massive octopus sprint across land on eight legs was revolting.

Every place its thick legs touched was marked with deep gouges.

A hit from those legs would mean serious injury at best.

Despite its size, it was shockingly fast. The <Lv.49 Bald Kraken> was already leaping toward Hezen and me.

Right before it landed on us, I quickly did a backward roll to distance myself from Hezen.

[SYSTEM] Skill <Luth’s Footsteps> activated.
[SYSTEM] Your movement speed increases temporarily by +500%.

Hezen also used a skill and barely dodged the monster.

BOOM!

The spot where the Kraken landed now had a massive crater. It huffed and snorted in frustration.

“Pant… pant…”

Hezen, out of breath, glared at me like he wanted to kill me.

“Luivel Azester… You deliberately broke my bracelet…”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence—
The Kraken came charging again, forcing him to dodge.

“Sir Hezen!”
“Are you alright?!”
“Reinforce the squad!”

The knights rushed around, trying to assist Hezen.

But the Kraken had only one target: Hezen.

“Damn it…”

Hezen cursed, drawing his sword to face the monster.

But at his current level, he stood no chance against the <Lv.49 Bald Kraken>.

[Poor, seedless little player, struggling against the <Lv.49 Bald Kraken>. That tough mid-tier monster won’t go down easy. Hurry and kill to Awaken.]

“A-Awaken, in this situation, how could I possibly—”

WHAM!

While he shouted at the system window, one of the Kraken’s legs smacked him in the ribs.

“Ugh…!”

Hezen crumpled to the ground, clutching his side.

Pale and unable to run, he froze as the Kraken came at him again.

It leapt—
And crushed him.

BOOM—!!

A loud crash, and dust filled the air.

[SYSTEM] You have died.

Hezen… is dead…

I stared at the message, frozen for a moment.

It’s finally over…

Just then—

Ding!

[SYSTEM] If you die during the tutorial phase, your character will automatically revive.
[SYSTEM] You have been instantly revived.

With a cheerful sound, a sparkling effect lit up around Hezen—

—and he stood up straight, alive again.

He revived…?

Instead of attacking the monster, he turned to look at me.

[Visible Population: 99]

At that moment, the number clicked past 100.

[Visible Population: 102]

He saw the number too and smirked.

[SYSTEM] Skill activated.
[SYSTEM] While this skill is active, no one questions your actions.

Sword in hand, he charged straight toward me.

‘…!’

One of the Kraken’s legs struck his back.
But even coughing up blood, he refused to stop.

Whoosh—!

His sword barely missed me.

“Hezen, what the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?!”

“Tch.”

He grimaced in frustration.

“Just die quietly for me, Lulu. That’s your only reason for existing.”

“No one is born with that kind of purpose!”

“Person?”

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! You’re just an extra in a game… Gah!”

His laugh was cut short as the Kraken crushed him again.

[SYSTEM] You have died.
[SYSTEM] You have been instantly revived.

Revived once more, Hezen came at me again.

‘C-C-CRAZY BASTARD…!’

He didn’t care whether the monster was attacking—his only goal was my death.

Even though this cursed game replicated all sensations, including the pain of death, his obsession with killing me was relentless.

But none of the knights around us thought anything of it.

That was all thanks to the skill.

“Somebody help me! Get Hezen away from me!”

I screamed desperately, but the knights didn’t react.

“Looks like Sir Hezen and Princess Luivel are having a lovers’ quarrel.”
“Ah, young love. Haha.”
“Let’s make sure that awful monster doesn’t interrupt their sweet moment!”

Meanwhile, Hezen closed the distance between us again.

There was nowhere left to run.

“No one will save you. Just die and become the catalyst for my Awakening.”

As Hezen swung his sword to finally kill me—

“Stop!”

The pendant Ansellot gave me vibrated softly—
and a red shield sprang up.

TING—!

Hezen’s body bounced off the barrier and flew back.

And once again, the monster trampled him.

“Gasp… haah…”

Panting hard, I watched as Hezen died and revived yet again.

As long as that cursed system existed, he’d come back endlessly. Until he killed me and Awakened.

This shield protected me for now,
but how long could it hold?

There must be a way. I can’t die like this…

Then suddenly—
I remembered a conversation between Ansellot and Hezen.

“You don’t even have a system window. What do you think happens if I kill you here?”

That single sentence had made Hezen run away in fear.

“Bug…”

That might be my only hope.

“This world follows a massive scenario created by the System, Princess. And the System defines anyone who tries to break out of it as a bug.”

“I have to become a bug.”

To become a bug, I had to break free of the framework created by the System.

But how?

The only reason I had once escaped its control was because of Ansellot…

“You wound me. I told you to use me all you want.”

Just then, a low, familiar voice echoed in my ear.

“You wait until the very end to call me.”

Startled, I turned around—

And there was Ansellot, silver hair tousled in the wind, smiling gently.