Chapter 102 - Outside the Rules
While the Three watch the Battle high above
Volt looked toward the battlefield above where Blaze and the Administrator continued exchanging devastating blows.
"Damn..."
"Administrators are terrifying."
"They can stop time..."
"Control gravity..."
"And do things like that?"
SK nodded grimly.
"Of course."
"They're Administrators."
"They exist above the normal rules of SkyRealm."
Ryze gripped her rifle tighter. before looking toward SK.
"...Then tell me."
"How do we beat someone like him?"
SK hesitated.
She watched Orion and Blaze clash high above them before finally speaking.
"Administrators can't abuse their Authority freely in the New World."
Ryze and Volt looked at her.
"Every time they use Authority..."
"They're rewriting the world's code."
"If they overuse it..."
"They risk destabilizing the System itself."
"The consequences can be catastrophic."
"That's why Administrators usually limit themselves."
"They only use a small portion of their Authority."
Volt slowly nodded.
"So..."
"They're not invincible."
"Not outside their Domain."
"Exactly."
SK replied.
"But..."
She looked around the endless wasteland.
"We're inside Orion's Domain."
"This place is an extension of SkyRealm itself."
"Here..."
"His Authority is absolute."
Ryze's expression darkened.
"So..."
"We can't fight back?"
Volt clenched his fists.
"...Then what do we do?"
For a moment...
Neither of them spoke.
Then SK continued.
"...Unless."
Ryze immediately looked at her.
"...Unless what?"
"There might be a loophole."
She pointed toward Blaze fighting in the sky.
"Take Sir Blaze, for example."
"He can somehow bypass Administrator Orion's Authority."
"I don't know how..."
"But he can."
"So it's definitely possible."
Then SK turned toward Ryze.
"And..."
"You're different."
Ryze blinked.
"...Me?"
"You aren't from SkyRealm."
"You aren't even from a SyncCorp's games."
SK nodded.
"Volt and I are."
"Our abilities were created by SyncCorp."
"In a sense..."
"We're tied to the Authority of Administrators."
"But you..."
She pointed directly at Ryze.
"You came from Countless Star."
"Your powers originate from another world."
"They don't follow SkyRealm's rules."
Above them—
BOOM!!
Blue and golden light exploded across the sky as Blaze and Orion exchanged another devastating clash.
Ryze slowly raised her rifle.
"...Another world..."
She quietly aimed toward the battle overhead.
-
Then—
BANG!!
A normal bullet streaked through the air.
Orion ignored it completely.
The round stopped midair before falling harmlessly to the ground.
Ryze lowered her rifle.
"...I knew it."
She didn't reload.
Instead...
She remained perfectly still.
Her finger rested on the trigger.
She didn't fire.
Ryze's finger remained on the trigger.
She didn't fire.
Not yet.
Instead, she replayed every word SK had said since entering Orion's Domain.
"Administrators aren't gods."
"They can't abuse their Authority without consequences."
"Every command they issue rewrites the System itself."
"Outside their Domain, excessive use of Authority can destabilize the world's code. If they push it too far, the System pushes back."
"That's why they don't simply erase every enemy they meet."
Ryze's eyes slowly widened.
"...I get it."
Volt looked at her.
"What?"
Ryze never took her eye off the scope.
"This is his Domain."
"SkyRealm's Domain."
"He said his Authority is absolute here..."
"...but he never said it was absolute against everything."
SK immediately understood.
"...Countless Star."
Ryze nodded.
"My Star Magic doesn't belong to SkyRealm."
"It comes from Countless Star."
"It's foreign to this Domain."
"It isn't governed by the same rules."
Volt blinked.
"So..."
"It can bypass some of his Authority?"
"Not all of it."
Ryze answered.
"But enough to interfere."
She looked at the glowing mana gathering around her rifle.
"I'm not firing normal bullets anymore."
She dissolved another magazine into pure mana before carefully weaving it into a single brilliant white round.
The magical pressure immediately drained the color from her face.
"...This is exhausting."
"My rifle was never meant to fire condensed Star Magic."
"But..."
She loaded the glowing round.
"...it's our only chance."
Above them—
BOOM!!
Blaze and Orion collided once again.
Blue and golden light exploded across the heavens.
For the first time...
Ryze noticed something.
"...He's slowing down."
Orion breathed heavily.
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
His golden eyes remained fixed on Blaze.
"...This..."
He blocked another slash.
"...makes no sense."
CLANG!!
He was pushed backward.
"I'm inside my own Domain."
"My Authority should be absolute."
"So..."
"How?"
Another sword strike forced him onto the defensive.
"...How are you doing this?"
SHING!!
A brilliant white beam suddenly shot upward from below.
"...!"
Before Orion could react—
The glowing Star Magic round grazed his shoulder.
A burst of white light exploded against his barrier.
The Administrator staggered.
His eyes widened.
"...You..."
He immediately turned toward the ground.
Ryze calmly cycled another round into the chamber.
Smoke drifted from the end of her rifle.
Blaze appeared directly in front of Orion.
"You done looking away?"
CRACK!!
His fist slammed into Orion's stomach.
The Administrator was thrown backward before barely recovering in midair.
Blaze rested his sword across his shoulder.
"You know..."
"You might be an Administrator..."
"...but your actual combat skills are terrible."
Orion frowned.
Blaze continued.
"You rely too much on your Authority."
"We players..."
"We survive because of experience."
"Because of instinct."
"Because of skill."
"You've spent so long rewriting the rules..."
"...you forgot how to fight without them."
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Then...
Orion laughed.
A genuine laugh.
"...Hahaha..."
"I have to admit..."
He slowly straightened his coat.
"...You're actually right."
His smile returned.
But it no longer looked playful.
It looked dangerous.
"I've relied on my Authority for far too long."
Golden code began spreading beneath his feet.
"But..."
His eyes glowed brighter than ever before.
"...Don't mistake that..."
"...for weakness."
An overwhelming wave of pressure erupted across the Domain.
The sky darkened.
The floating fragments of code multiplied by the thousands.
Even Blaze instinctively tightened his grip on his sword.
Orion slowly raised one hand.
"I was merely testing you."
"Now..."
"Allow me to show you why even the strongest World Rankers avoid fighting an Administrator."
The entire Domain trembled in response.