[Chapter 4 - Vs Boss Player]

The moment her fingertips brushed against him—

CRACK!

A violent jolt of black lightning burst from Shadow's face.

Chains erupted from the abyss where his head should've been, stretching high into the sky—connecting to something massive.

A black figure emerged from the void, cloaked in pitch-black darkness, glowing red eyes burning through the mist. In its grasp—a scythe half of his size.

Selphonie's screen flickered with a warning:

[WARNING: Frankenstein's Monster – Level 100]

[Stats: Strength: 99,999 | Agility: 89,457 | Mana: 102,874 | Speed: 95,632]

[Immune to Your ability: ??? | This entity exists outside your realm.]

Selphonie's smirk shattered.

"Shit… I messed up," she muttered, legs trembling.

The monster descended, swinging its scythe with earth-shattering force.

Selphonie barely dodged as the blade sliced the rooftop in half, sending shockwaves through the entire school.

Her cheek was slashed—blood dripping as she tumbled across the broken concrete.

Her screen blinked again:

[HP Dropping Rapidly]

[Recommendation: Flee or Die.]

Selphonie gritted her teeth.

"Ugh, stupid screen… I KNOW THAT!"

She barely scrambled to her feet before Frankenstein's Monster charged, its massive steps cracking the ground. The scythe swung again—breaking bones, sending her flying toward the rooftop's edge.

Selphonie's body was battered, bloodied, barely moving.

The monster loomed over her, scythe raised high—

But before it could strike, the heavy chains connecting it to Shadow snapped tight, halting the blade just inches from her legs.

The monster growled, slamming the scythe into the ground before flipping back to Shadow's side.

Selphonie blinked, panting. The scythe had landed right between her spread legs.

"Man... you sure know how to make a woman spread her legs for you," she chuckled weakly. "You're... terrifying."

Shadow remained silent.

Selphonie's screen glitched violently.

"…So I can't stop Shadow… but when I do, I still can't stop his monsters…?"

She let out a nervous laugh.

"Doesn't matter. My target isn't Shadow… at least, not yet."

With a wicked grin, she jumped—plummeting off the rooftop.

Meanwhile…

Cydal approached the school gate, relieved that Longs had finally stopped running his mouth.

It was quiet.

It was too quiet.

He turned back—Longs was frozen mid-sentence, mouth still open.

Everyone else in the school courtyard was frozen too.

Cydal let out a small smile of relief.

"Finally. Some peace."

Then, his screen flashed:

[WARNING: High-Level Player Approaching]

[Bloodlust Detected]

Cydal's heart pounded.

"What the hell…?"

From above—

Selphonie descended, legs spread mid-air, aiming straight for his head.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Cydal barely dodged as she crashed into the ground beside him, shattering the pavement.

Selphonie stood up gracefully, fixing her hair and smirking at him.

"So... you're the Creator's precious vessel?"

Selphonie tilted her head, her smirk widening as she studied him.

"Odd," she mused. "I imagined an evil conqueror type. But you… you give me more of a desperate, sadistic vibe."

Cydal's body tensed. The air around him had shifted, his instincts screaming danger.

"What the hell is this pressure?!" His breath hitched. "She's not a normal player. Is she… a boss player?"

Selphonie's lips curled as she sauntered toward him, hips swaying with deliberate intent.

"What's wrong?" she cooed. "You look terrified. Don't tell me you aren't excited about me being your first?"

She giggled, voice dripping with amusement.

"I thought young boys preferred mature women to handle their first player battles."

She was too close now—her scent intoxicating, her body mere inches from his.

Cydal stood his ground, but his fingers curled into fists as she reached for his eyepatch, her movements slow and teasing.

The moment her fingertips brushed near, his aura darkened. A flicker of raw power surged through the air.

Selphonie barely had time to react before he smacked her hand away, his touch forceful but precise.

His one visible eye burned with anger.

The air turned heavy between them.

Selphonie stepped back dramatically, cradling her hand as if he had wounded her.

"Tch... what's wrong with you men and your secret identities?" she pouted, rolling her wrist with mock pain. "It's not attractive at all."

Then, her lips curled into a mischievous grin.

"Anyway, cutie… let's play a game."

A hush fell over the schoolyard, an unnatural stillness clinging to the air. The students stood like statues, their forms locked in mid-motion, their expressions frozen in a world that had suddenly abandoned its rhythm.

Cydal stood amidst them, Facing selphonie, his breath uneven, the silence pressing down on him like a weight.

Selphonie's stance was alluring, almost hypnotic. The way she moved, the way her voice lilted—it was the kind of thing that could lull a man into false comfort right before the kill. Her eyes gleamed under the dim light, cold yet playful, like a siren toying with her prey.

"It's simple, Player No. 1," she purred, tilting her head just enough to make her strands catch the light. "I'm going to test your skills, and you're going to show me whether you're worthy of being in the Creator's plan."

Cydal leaned back against the cracked stone wall, arms crossed, completely unbothered. He had seen her type before—those who thought their words carried as much weight as their blades. He let a small smirk tug at the corner of his lips.

"And if I fail?" His voice was low, almost amused.

Selphonie's grin widened, slow and deliberate, like a knife dragging across skin. "Then I was sent here to eliminate you. The creator doesn't have a use for players who don't fit in his plan."

"Shall we start?"

And then, before he could blink—

Pain!

A violent surge tore through his body, lashing at his insides like unseen whips. His [STATUS WINDOW] flared to life in his vision, shrieking warnings in pulsing red—

[Warning!]

[HP Dropped]

[Stamina Draining]

[Stats Reduced]

[HP: 220/600 (-380)]

[MP: 220/220]

[Strength: 90 (-60)]

[Agility: 80 (-60)]

[Speed: 100 (-60)]

[Stamina: 110 (-70)]

His knees nearly buckled. His fingers twitched. "What the hell?"

Across from him, Selphonie remained where she was, her grin widening as she watched his suffering unfold. Amused. Patient. Unmoved.

"If you can figure out what I'm doing to you..." Her nails grazed his skin ever so lightly, her touch both electrifying and elusive. "I'll show you my weak spots."

"If you fail, I'm permitted to eliminate you, but I'll have my fun before that, and be very rough~"

Her voice was light, teasing—cruel in its ease.

Cydal's mind raced, but the answer refused to surface. There had been no movement. No sound. No bloodlust. She stood exactly where she had been, her posture unchanged. How was she causing this much damage?

His chest ached—no, burned. He pressed a hand to it, fingers digging into his skin. A sharp, involuntary twitch wracked his frame. Pain—but no wound. No blood.

Had he even been struck?

He barely had time to process it before another invisible force crashed into him.

‼ WARNING ‼

[CRITICAL DAMAGE DETECTED]

[HP PLUMMETING]

[VITALS FAILING]

[SYSTEM STABILITY COMPROMISED]

HP: 50/600 (-550)

MP: 220/220

Strength: 40 (-110)

Agility: 30 (-110)

Speed: 50 (-110)

Stamina: 40 (-140)

Perception: 50 (-60)

Intelligence: 40 (-60)

Skills:

• Enhanced Reflexes (Lv. 1) [Delayed]

• Predator's arm(Lv. 1) [Suppressed]

Cydal collapsed to one knee, his chest heaving. His limbs felt weightless, like they no longer belonged to him. His vision pulsed in and out, flickering between reality and the brutal error messages screaming in his HUD.

His stats were crumbling. His body was breaking.

The frozen world blurred.

He changed his focus to his left arm, "Should I… should I use it?"

His arm twitched violently. A faint pulse ran through it, the skin shifting—stretching—threatening to expand beyond his control.

"No!" His thoughts snapped back, panic seizing his chest. I already used it today. If I push it twice… I can't be certain I'll escape its control again."

Selphonie's voice slithered through the air, smug and detached. "Still haven't figured out what's happening? Alright, let me make it a little easier."

She looks around, gazing at the students frozen in mid-motion.

"Tell me, Cydal… have I turned them into statues? Or has the time itself stopped?"

Her words twisted in his skull. The answer seemed so obvious, yet… he hesitated.

"You don't have much time." Her eyes gleamed. "I'm carefully holding back just enough so you won't die instantly, but if you keep failing to answer…"

She trailed off, letting the silence finish the threat for her.

Cydal swallowed hard. She was telling the truth. At this rate, he'd lose every last drop of his HP.

His thoughts whirled, desperation clawing at his mind.

"TIME!"

"You're freezing time." The words left his lips without hesitation—it was the only answer that made sense.

But she stood in silence, expecting more.

Doubt crept in. Had he answered too quickly? Too simply?

His mind reeled. "If it was statues, these students should have been lifeless. It's slow, but i can hear their hearts beating, their blood streaming in their veins, their bodies aren't cold as stone."

"You aren't stopping time. It has only slowed."

"For everyone, except you and me!"

Then it clicked. "And the reason i couldn't anticipate your attacks—the reason my instincts, my reflexes were failing to anticipate your moves wasn't because you were too fast, or using other tricks."

"Every time you attack, time stops for your opponents!"

"In that moment, I ceased to exist. My consciousness blinks out, trapped in time—not for long, just a fraction of a second, just enough that I couldn't react.

"I couldn't move."

"I couldn't even comprehend what was happening."

"You weren't moving faster than me."

"You were freezing the time in between."

She smirked. "Oh really? You think you are so smart don't you?"

"Why don't you take a proper look around you?"

And then she moved—just slightly—and for the first time, Cydal saw the school clock behind her.

It was ticking.

The hands moved steadily, counting seconds as though nothing had changed.

His gaze swept over the scene. The wind still whispered through the long dead trees. Dried leaves still drifted lazily through the air. The world was still alive—moving.

Cydal's smirk faltered for just a fraction of a second, but Selphonie caught it. She always did.

"It doesn't look like time has stopped, does it?" she murmured, her voice like silk laced with poison.

Her gaze was sharp, piercing, and taunting all at once. It stripped the confidence from his words, twisted them into something hollow.

But the students—

The students remained frozen.

They weren't just still. They had been left behind.

It was as if time had abandoned them.

And yet, Every time she had attacked him…something was wrong with the statues. They were out of place.

Cydal didn't know anymore.

And for his punishment, pain struck again—sudden, brutal, and utterly invisible.

Cydal didn't flinch this time. Not because he was strong, but because his body was giving out. His limbs trembled under his own weight, his skin slick with sweat. His breath came in ragged gasps. His [STATUS WINDOW] pulsed angrily in his vision.

[!!! WARNING !!!]

[HP CRITICAL] – Vital signs unstable!

[NEXT HIT MAY RESULT IN DEATH] – Immediate action required!

Cydal staggered, his limbs refusing to respond, His vision blurred, the world tilting dangerously as he wiped at his mouth with trembling fingers—blood, thick and dark, smeared across his skin.

'She's killing me without moving an inch, i have to figure out fast how her attacks work!'

His bones felt like shattered glass beneath his own weight, agony flaring with every twitch of his muscles. Heat pulsed through him—too much, unbearable—his body screaming for relief that wouldn't come. His knees buckled, the cold ground rising to meet him.

[SYSTEM ALERT: LIFE FUNCTIONS CRITICAL]

[SURVIVAL RATE: 3%] – Hold on… or fall.

Selphonie hadn't even touched him. And yet, he was dying.

He forced himself upright. His instincts screamed to fight back, but logic overruled his pride. I need distance. I have to rethink this.

Then, he ran.

Not towards her. Away.

He sprinted into the crowd of frozen students, weaving between their lifeless forms, their bodies still locked in mid-motion.

Behind him, Selphonie sighed, her footsteps slow, unhurried.

"There's no point in running, Cydal," she said, almost amused.

Her voice carried the same tone as a farmer watching a frantic chicken darting around the yard—one that didn't yet realize it had already been caught.

She followed after him, her movements calculated, her steps precise. Yet, as she moved, Cydal kept noticing something—she had been avoiding the frozen students completely.

Not a single accidental brush. Not even a close call. She dodged them as if they were forbidden to her.

He ducked behind a statue-like figure, hands braced on his knees as he gasped for air. His heartbeat was erratic, but his mind was sharp. "She's careful not to touch them. Why?!"

She slowly walked towards the crowd, hunting his whereabouts, cornering him like a lion, to it's prey. Her eyes were narrowing. Her lips curled in distaste as if what she saw disgusted her.

"Is this really the No. 1?!" she muttered to herself.

Selphonie stared at front, disappointment curling in her chest.

She had expected more, something terrifying, something worthy of the Creator's favor.

Not this.

Not a coward, not someone running, hiding behind a world that had already stopped breathing.

So it's true," she mused, her voice carrying a mix of intrigue and disdain. "You refuse to play the game. To level up. Why?" She stepped lightly around the frozen students, her sharp gaze scanning the room as if expecting Cydal to reveal himself. "Are you afraid of killing?"

She moved with ease, circling, searching—yet, as always, she avoided touching the frozen bodies.

"You are a vessel for our creator. A devil. And yet, you insult yourself by being a coward." Her tone turned sharp, condescending. "It's disgusting. Unfitting."

She tilted her head slightly, "The creator is disappointed." A smirk played at her lips. "This system was made for you. To shape you, break you, rebuild you—until you became the perfect being to complete his goal."

Cydal stood motionless, his breath steady, though sweat forming on his skin. His eyes never left her.

She exhaled, almost pitying him. "It was never in the system for you to have your own opinions." Her voice softened, but the malice remained. "You're merely a puppet. A body, nothing more."

Then, with a final step forward, she let her words sink in. "He will take what is his." Her gaze locked onto the shadows. "And I am here to ensure you fulfill your purpose."

She was there now, distanced by a single frozen body, but she hadn't noticed him. Cydal exhaled through his nose, shifting his stance slightly. His eyes flickered toward the student standing frozen before him.

Then, without hesitation, he shoved them at her.

The moment the frozen body lurched in her direction—Selphonie flinched.

A flicker of panic, a single bead of sweat forming at her temple. She moved. A blur of motion as she twisted out of the way, dodging with precise, unnatural grace.

She hadn't even let them brush against her.

Cydal straightened, his breath still heavy but his confidence unshaken. His expression shifted—no longer desperate, no longer lost.

He knew.

"I was right, You can't touch them!"

To Be Continued.