The sharp, resonant clang of blades echoed through the pristine, white field as golden and white auras clashed in a frenetic dance, slicing through the quiet.
CLAAANG!!!
SWIIISH!!!
SWOOSH!!!
Lucas moved with practiced precision, turning his body just in time to dodge a strike that whistled dangerously close to his right.
Twisting mid-air, he fixed his gaze on the white knight before him, an unyielding fierceness blazing in his eyes.
The grip on his blade tightened, golden energy surging along its length as he prepared for another strike.
[Verdant Slash]
With deadly intent, Lucas swung his blade, its golden light streaking toward the knight’s exposed neck.
But—
CLANK!!!
The white knight’s shield intercepted the blow with calculated timing, the clash of their auras creating a shockwave that sent both combatants skidding several dozen meters apart, stirring up loose dust and broken shards of white energy.
“Tsk…!” Lucas clicked his tongue, frustration mounting as he felt sweat trickling down his brow.
This duel should’ve ended long ago, yet the relentless white knight showed no signs of defeat.
‘Does this thing even have a core…?’ he wondered, gritting his teeth as he took a moment to assess.
He’d landed strikes that would’ve crippled or killed a normal foe, but each time, the white knight seemed to shrug off the damage or, worse, stand back up as though unfazed.
The white knight, unyielding and relentless, rose from the ground and readied itself once more, its blade coated in a familiar, intense white aura.
Without hesitation, it dashed forward, charging at Lucas with ruthless precision.
CLANG!!!!
Their weapons met in a flurry of strikes and parries, but Lucas held his composure, his mind focused on his next move.
With a swift adjustment of his stance, he allowed the white knight a brief opening to reset its position, buying himself the necessary distance.
A golden aura flared around him as he honed in on a new approach, deciding on restraint rather than outright elimination.
‘[Void Step].’
With a spark of golden-white lightning tracing his movements, Lucas’s form blurred, almost invisible as he surged forward, his blade gleaming with precision.
The white knight hesitated, clearly thrown off by this sudden change in attack. Its rigid defenses faltered.
‘[Twin Lights].’
Lucas’s blade slashed in a precise arc, cutting through the knight’s leg with an effortless grace that sent it spinning mid-air from the sheer force of the blow.
White energy trails, like wisps of smoke, seeped from the damaged armor as the soundless knight struggled to reorient itself.
Despite its calculated movements, it was still a beat too slow, unable to keep up with Lucas’s near-instantaneous repositioning.
Just as the white knight aimed its blade toward Lucas’s exposed back to try and retaliate, Lucas blurred and vanished once again.
[Void Step]
All the white knight saw was a flash of intense white light, filling its vision before it could even process the attack.
[Mid-Grade Light Magic]
[Solace]
BOOM!
The magical arrow struck with deafening force, engulfing the white knight in a radiant explosion of searing light.
The blast shook the ground, and when the dust settled, fragments of white armor scattered across the pristine field.
Lucas watched as the last traces of white aura dissipated, his breathing steady as he looked at the person who landed next to him…
“Good job,” Rose said, eyeing Lucas with a look of relief and pride before handing him a bottle of red potion.
“Thanks…” Lucas replied, wiping the sweat off his brow before downing the potion in a single gulp. He could feel its warmth spreading through him, easing his exhaustion. “Did you get him?” he asked, his gaze flicking to Rose.
Rose nodded casually and held up a dented white knight’s helm as evidence. “Yes. I summoned some light wisps to aid Janica a while ago as well—she should be finishing up on her end soon.”
“That’s a relief…” Lucas murmured, his expression easing slightly as he expanded his mana sense to check on Janica’s situation.
He could feel her mana spiking here and there, indicating intense but controlled fighting.
Though the spear-wielding knight she was facing was formidable, Lucas sensed the enemy’s mana dimming gradually. His attention turned back to Rose. “What about Riley?”
A flicker of worry crossed Rose’s face as she shook her head. “I still can’t sense his mana…”
“I see…” Lucas’s brow furrowed as he focused, expanding his mana sense further in a desperate attempt to pick up any trace of Riley’s presence.
But there was nothing, only a haunting silence where his technical friend’s familiar energy should have been.
It had been some time since the ambush by the white knights, and Riley had taken a powerful hit meant for Janica.
The blow had knocked him away, disappearing him from the battlefield in an instant.
Yet, despite the silence, Lucas and the others still believed he was alive.
“Just keep moving forward!”
Riley’s last words to them before he vanished.
He wouldn’t have said it so confidently if he thought he was dying.
….
TSK!
“Damn it…” I muttered, clicking my tongue in frustration as I tried to ignore the dizziness creeping over me.
The hole in my right chest throbbed with each beat of my heart, blood seeping out faster than I could manage.
[Skill Activated: Pain Nullifier (A)]
Thanks to my skill the pain was dulled, thankfully, but the danger of blood loss and fatigue still loomed.
Reaching for my pouch, I grabbed a few vials of high-grade potions, pouring them directly onto the wound.
The raw flesh sizzled painfully as the potion made contact, heat pulsing around the injury as it slowly began knitting itself back together.
It would take time—more time than I had to spare, but it was my only option for now.
With my head pressing against the cold wall behind me, I forced myself to relax, doing my best to assess the situation.
I couldn’t afford to panic, not with the severity of my current restrictions.
[Note: User is now under effect of Time Delay…]
[Note: Active Skills Restricted Temporarily]
[Note: User will now be subjected to temporal mind haze…]
[Note: Time until end of restriction: 9:43]
“Looks like I’m stuck here for a while…” I muttered, glancing around as my vision adjusted.
I was in a dimly lit white cavern, far less bright than the exterior of this place, but it was unmistakably a cave.
The rough, irregular terrain and jagged stalactites overhead confirmed it.
Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes for a moment, my mind racing through my options.
The ambush had come out of nowhere.
One moment, we were advancing through the dungeon, and the next, a deadly arrow shot toward Janica.
I had no choice but to use my [Time Stop] skill, knowing full well the limitations and side effects that would follow.
But there wasn’t time to hesitate—if I hadn’t taken that hit, it would have pierced straight through Janica’s heart.
The arrow—[White Whistle]—that shot a hole in my chest, was no ordinary attack.
As it completely ignored the parry I did and shot straight through its intended target the ‘heart’.
It was a blend of skill, technique, magic, and divinity itself, all woven into a single projectile.
What made it truly unsettling was that [White Whistle] wasn’t something a mere white knight should have access to.
In the game, only those directly in the White Queen’s presence could wield such a powerful, blessed technique.
‘So why did that knight possess it?’
Was her dungeon granting these knights access to powers they wouldn’t normally have?
It was entirely plausible…
The restrictions normally associated with White Whistle should have shackled me, presenting and binding me under the influence of the White Bishop, their master.
But I felt no such restraints.
The usual effects of the skill appeared to have misfired, and I couldn’t help but recall that moment when Rose unleashed a spear of light on the archer knight.
Perhaps Rose’s attack disrupted the skill, giving me a chance to avoid the worst of its hold.
Whatever the reason, luck seemed to be on my side this time.
[Return]
[Note: Skill [Return] restricted, damage offset beyond the soul’s threshold for recovery…]
As expected, I couldn’t just cheat my way and heal my body in an instant huh.
Return was powerful, but an S-rank blessed skill like [White Whistle] left damage even my highest-grade skills couldn’t fully erase on demand.
The remnants of divine energy resisted repair, making the recovery process a slow, painstaking ordeal.
My thoughts drifted to Lucas, Rose, and Janica.
I hated leaving them exposed to another ambush, especially now that I knew these knights wielded their Queen’s blessed arts.
Thankfully, the nature of White Whistle meant it could only be used once—no other knight should be able to fire another arrow of its kind anytime soon.
At least that gave Rose and Lucas an advantage.
They should’ve picked up on the distinct mana signature of [White Whistle] from the attack.
With that knowledge, they could counter the next ambush before it even launched. Even if the other White Knights have access to the [Silver Pierce] or the [Colorless Wave].
I’d told them to push forward to avoid being cornered or held down.
While I was forced to fall behind, there was an odd advantage to this arrangement.
The White Bishop’s attention should now be focused on me, marking me as the primary target since I’d taken the initial hit.
‘He should be searching for me considering the skills’ intended effect malfunctioned teleporting me in this random cave…’
For some time, that would take the pressure off them and give them room to maneuver ahead.
Every moment counted.
I don’t know if there are enemies nearby with all my restricted stats.
But…
All I had to do now was survive until this restriction lifted—then I could finally rejoin them.
