Extra To Protagonist-Chapter 105: Escape (3)

The hallway curved again.

He counted twelve uneven steps before it flattened.

Stone underfoot felt different now. Less like flooring, more like pressure. Like each block had been placed to hold something underneath.

Seraphina stayed close.

Her limp had steadied, but not gone. She hadn't said anything since the last corner. Merlin didn't ask. He was still watching the walls.

Every ten meters, the design shifted.

New carvings.

Shallower grooves.

Some of them circular. Some jagged. Some that didn't look like patterns at all—just clawed scratches across the surface.

[SYSTEM CORE: 94%]

[RESONANCE PATHWAYS: COMPLETE]

[MANA CHANNELS — RECONNECTED]

[USER CONDITION: PRIME FUNCTIONALITY (LOCKED)]

[WARNING: PULSE ZONE AHEAD]

He slowed.

'Pulse zone.'

Not a trap.

Worse.

Living space.

A nest.

He crouched low, motioning for Seraphina to stop. She did.

Her eyes locked on his face, waiting.

'Whatever's ahead, it's not spiders. Pulse zones are built into domain ecosystems. Not random. Not accidental. Something big lives here.'

He glanced around.

The corridor widened slightly. The walls opened into shallow alcoves. Storage space. Or resting spots.

Or places to feed.

He drew the blade again.

Not because he wanted to fight.

Because anything that noticed him first in a pulse zone usually didn't give time to react.

Another step.

Then another.

Then the sound hit.

Not loud.

Just wrong.

A scraping drag across the stone.

Slow.

Rhythmic.

Seraphina shifted beside him, tensing.

She heard it too.

Then the second sound.

A low chitter.

Not sharp.

Guttural.

Too heavy to come from something small.

[THREAT DETECTED]

[CLASS: MAWCHILD — GUARDIAN TYPE]

[BEHAVIOR: TERRITORIAL / PACKED FORMATION]

[RECOMMENDED RESPONSE: DISENGAGE OR NEUTRALIZE]

[SYSTEM CORE: 97%]

'No exit. No cover. And it's not alone.'

He looked left.

Three alcoves. All empty.

He looked right.

A curve in the wall just ahead. Could be a split. Could be a dead end.

Then, It appeared.

The first one.

Tall.

Bipedal. Barely.

Its limbs were too long. Skin stretched tight over bone. Its eyes had no pupils. Just matte white orbs. Its jaw hung open like it never closed all the way.

Claws dragged behind it.

The chitter came again.

From its chest.

Merlin exhaled once through his nose.

Not panic.

Focus.

'We've got ten seconds, maybe less.'

The system pulsed.

[SYSTEM CORE: 99%]

[AFFINITY FUNCTIONALITY — STABILIZED]

[AWAKE.]

He smiled. Just barely.

Then moved.

The creature's head tilted toward him.

No eyes, but it didn't need them.

Its jaw twitched once. Then twice.

And then it moved.

Fast.

Too fast for how it looked.

Merlin sidestepped hard, pulled Seraphina behind him, and dropped low. The thing's claws scraped the wall where his head had been.

Then the world flickered.

Only for him.

[SYSTEM CORE: 100%]

[PRIMARY STATE: ASCENDANT]

[AFFINITY CHANNELS — UNLOCKED]

[RECOVERY EVENT COMPLETED: CORE & SOUL STABILIZED]

[ACHIEVEMENTS GRANTED:]

— STAGNANT NO LONGER

— THREAD-WALKER

— BROKEN TO BALANCED

[BONUS REWARDS ALLOCATED:]

— Affinity Levels Increased

— Skill Evolution Triggered

Merlin blinked once.

The text flooded across his vision.

He didn't stop moving.

'Not now. Not right—wait.'

New window opened on its own.

[SKILL SYNTHESIS DETECTED]

[ All abilities resonate with active class: ASCENDANT]

[Merging…]

[New Skill Generated: Sovereign Chain]

— Type: Passive / Reactive

— Effect: Automatically links perception, movement, and mana manipulation. Grants predictive motion tracking, spatial overlay, and reaction chaining. Evolves in real-time based on pressure and engagement.

[Status: Active. You may now use it.]

'Okay. That's actually kind of busted.'

The creature lunged again.

Merlin moved like he'd already seen it happen.

He didn't just dodge. He re-positioned mid-step, using the exact curve of the creature's lunge to create an opening, then slashed upward.

Not deep.

Just enough.

The thing hissed.

Not in pain.

In confusion.

He stepped back again.

Then the system pulsed once more.

[Affinity Level-Up — Conditions Met]

[Domain Environment: High-Pressure Adaptive Trigger]

[Affinities Updated:]

— Space (1 → 2)

— Wind (2 → 3)

— Time (1 → 2)

— Water (1 → 2)

[New Subtype: Micro-Time Layer Perception Unlocked (Time 2)]

[Achievement Gained: "Labyrinth-Breaker"]

[Stat Points +2 Earned]

[Available Points: 4]

He almost laughed.

Almost.

But the thing was still moving.

The next one dropped in from the corridor split behind them.

Seraphina turned, blade drawn—breathing heavy, but focused.

"You good?" she asked tightly.

"I'm better than I've ever been," Merlin said.

And this time, it wasn't sarcasm.

It was just true.

—

The air was different.

Not colder. Not louder. Just charged.

Like something had been pulled taut in the middle of the labyrinth and now every wall, every stone, every inch of ground was holding its breath.

Elara stopped walking.

Nathan did too.

Neither of them said a word. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

They didn't need to.

She already knew what was waiting around the next bend. Not the details. Not the enemy. Just the presence.

It was him.

'Merlin's here.'

She stepped forward anyway.

The corridor opened up, wider than the rest, cracked through the middle like the room had been broken open from within.

Rubble at the edges. Scratches in the floor. Whatever had happened here, it hadn't been clean.

And in the center of it all was Merlin.

Blade drawn. Body still. Mana circling around him in a faint ripple.

Real mana.

Not flickers. Not unstable residue.

Active. Controlled. Present.

Her eyes locked on the shimmer for a second longer than necessary.

'He got it back.'

She didn't know when.

She didn't know how.

But it was back, and he was using it like it never left.

Nathan muttered beside her, "Wait… he has mana again?"

Elara didn't answer.

Not because she didn't want to.

Because she didn't know how.

She'd watched him train. Watched him collapse after overreaching. Watched the way he hesitated every time his body wanted to move faster than it could.

But the person in front of her wasn't hesitating.

He was erasing.

Three monsters were down already, broken and unmoving. Two more circled him now, pacing in a loose arc like they didn't understand what they were fighting anymore.

The sixth stayed back.

Smarter, maybe.

Or more afraid.

Merlin didn't move at first. His posture was relaxed, almost casual. His shoulders loose. His grip light.

Then the next one lunged.

She watched him pivot sideways, letting the thing pass just inches from his face. No panic. No strain. Just precise distance and timing.

Then he stepped once, just enough to come around behind it, and drove the blade into its spine with a short, flat motion.

The sound it made was brief.

Then nothing.

'He didn't waste a single breath.'

'He's not just faster. He's cleaner.'

She felt the pressure shift again. Nathan's hand hovered near his weapon, but he didn't draw it. There was no need.

The fifth monster charged from the side.

Merlin stepped in, twisted, and dropped low—his hand sliding across the stone as he turned his entire body into the next strike. The momentum carried into the creature's jaw, knocking it clean off balance.

Before it could land, his blade followed.

It didn't get up.

Not even a twitch.

Elara felt her pulse in her throat.

'He's not reacting. He's predicting their movements.'

The last creature flinched.

It didn't charge. Didn't scream. Just… turned.

Started to run.

Merlin didn't move.

Didn't follow.

He let it go.

She didn't know if that was mercy or calculation.

Probably both.

He straightened slowly. His chest rose once with a slow breath. Not ragged. Not exhausted. Just… recovering.

His coat fluttered slightly behind him.

Not from wind.

From mana.

Then his eyes found hers.

And for a second, the fight didn't matter.

Because she saw it. In the way he looked at them.

Not surprised. Not proud.

Just quietly aware.

Like this power wasn't new to him.

Like this was just the version he'd been hiding before as well.

Nathan whispered, "How long has he been able to do that?"

She couldn't answer.

'He never told us how strong he actually was, he never showed us.'

'And now I don't know if we're walking with him… or chasing him.'

Merlin stepped forward.

No explanation.

No words.

And Elara realized that he didn't owe them one to begin with.

—

The last one ran.

He didn't chase it.

Didn't need to.

It wasn't going to circle back. Not after what it saw.

Merlin stood still for a moment, blade lowered but not sheathed. His pulse had already settled. Breathing even. Shoulders loose.

Mana still moved beneath his skin.

Not violently.

Just present. Flowing. Not flickering or shorting out anymore. No static in his limbs. No delay in his grip.

'It's back.'

That thought hadn't stopped repeating since the core stabilized. The difference was immediate. He didn't feel like he was dragging his own body behind him anymore.

No more fighting the timing.

Now everything moved when he told it to.

He turned.

Three sets of eyes on him.

Elara, steady. Sharp. Watching too closely. Always watching.

Nathan, halfway between confused and impressed, like he couldn't decide if he should cheer or ask how long he'd been lying.

And Seraphina, leaning against the far wall, one hand braced on her side, breathing shallow. Her eyes were wide.

Not afraid.

But shaken.

She hadn't seen him fight with mana either.

No one had.

He met her gaze briefly.

She didn't look away.