LHT curled up in a ruined corner of the building.
His mind was still... traumatized.
What happened earlier had been way too horrifying.
He had almost lost his first kiss right after transmigrating.
Just thinking about it made his scalp go numb.
No.
Don't think about it again.
That pink moment—
No.
Black.
It should be called black instead.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
They were still trembling.
His fingers twitched slightly as he frowned.
Could it be...
Was this body getting goosebumps from what just happened too?
Or was it—
No.
Impossible.
That feeling had obviously been disgust.
How could it possibly count as excitement?
LHT suddenly felt incredibly wronged.
It felt exactly like being a girl forcefully kissed by someone she didn't love.
"Haah..."
A heavy sigh, like that of a young girl, came from the watch on his left wrist.
Then Mrs AI spoke.
"It was just an accident."
"Please shut up..." LHT muttered weakly, like a man who had lost faith in life itself.
He knew that saying very well.
If you don't feel embarrassed, the world will feel embarrassed for you.
But the problem was—
He was embarrassed.
Extremely embarrassed.
Embarrassed enough to suffer spiritual damage.
The shock had been so great he didn't even want to hear explanations anymore.
Clearly, he had overused the Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone... and then his heart stopped.
Even after Mrs AI explained that Kai had tried everything to save him—
Even after she herself nearly electrocuted his heart trying to revive him—
He still hadn't woken up.
So Kai had prepared to perform CPR—
Right when he suddenly sat up.
"Mrs AI..." LHT groaned miserably. "My whole body's still numb from your electricity."
"Oh? That's not it at all." Her voice sounded completely innocent. "Clearly, you enjoy stimulation between men."
"What the hell are you talking about—"
Blah blah blah.
Profanity detected.
The author strikes the gavel: the defendant is guilty of swearing.
And this court is absolutely fair.
LHT glanced toward Kai and Lyra.
Kai was staring back at him.
That look...
It was obviously the gaze of some noble young master looking at a servant who had just done something incomprehensible.
(In reality, it was more like: "I didn't even do anything?" — translated properly by the author for context.)
Beside him, Lyra was trying so hard not to laugh that her shoulders were shaking.
The corners of her mouth twitched violently like she was about to lose control.
LHT instantly wanted to dig a hole and bury himself alive.
No.
Wait.
On second thought—
He should bury all the witnesses instead.
A while later, LHT cracked his shoulder joints and rolled his arms around, as if rebooting his entire body.
His gaze shifted toward the flickering red screen in front of him.
The number remained unchanged.
[Evolution Progress: 90%]
"Alright then..."
If this was a bug—
No.
It's a feature.
At least thinking that way gave his transmigration life a tiny bit of comfort.
No matter what...
Life was still giving him time to breathe.
And please—
No more shocking scenes like earlier.
He seriously did not want to experience another "resuscitation" scene involving the protagonist's lips.
If he had to pass out again—
Then at least let it happen in a woman's arms.
Please write the script that way, dear Grim Reaper.
LHT coughed a few times before raising his head toward Kai and Lyra.
The two of them were standing behind him, also staring in his direction.
Or more accurately—
They were staring at the giant cocoon far behind him.
LHT took a slow breath and spoke.
"From this moment onward..."
"This is the highlight."
He clenched his fist.
A grin slowly curled onto his lips.
"Get ready for happy x2."
But right then, Mrs AI suddenly interrupted him.
"Professor."
"The battlefield seems to have changed."
"Huh?"
LHT immediately turned toward the distance.
The cocoon was still there.
No different from before.
But then he narrowed his eyes.
The Eva Spawn that had densely surrounded the area—
Were now thinning out at a strange rate.
LHT froze.
"Those clones..."
"They were still guarding the area earlier, weren't they?"
"Where did they go?"
Lyra's voice suddenly rang out.
Her eyes widened as she pointed into the distance.
"Look."
LHT and Kai turned almost simultaneously.
Far away.
In the open space of the battlefield.
A gigantic shape as tall as a three-story building slowly writhed around.
"Isn't that the red serpent that chased us earlier?"
Kai spoke uncertainly.
LHT immediately recalled the blazing red figure slithering through the rain before.
That monster—
Was still alive?
Or more accurately...
Was it another creature born from the cocoon itself?
"Another clone...?"
But before he could get an answer—
The thing suddenly opened its enormous mouth.
Then began swallowing Eva Spawn whole.
One after another.
Like it was enjoying an all-you-can-eat buffet in the middle of the battlefield.
LHT went blank.
"...Huh?"
That monster wasn't just eating.
It was devouring them.
Each Eva Spawn got dragged into that crimson maw like nothing more than snacks.
It looked like the creature was having the time of its life.
LHT narrowed his eyes.
"Wait a second..."
"Doesn't it realize it's getting fat?"
But that wasn't what made his spine turn cold.
The red serpent showed no signs of bursting apart.
On the contrary—
Its body was swelling larger and larger.
The flesh beneath its blood-red skin constantly twitched and convulsed, as if restructuring itself.
Then—
From both sides of its gigantic body—
A pair of dark crimson bat wings slowly emerged.
The wing membranes stretched outward.
Bright red veins pulsed across them like flowing lava.
"N-No way..."
Kai unconsciously clenched his fists.
"It's evolving?"
Shock filled his voice.
LHT stood there frozen.
That familiar crushing pressure settled onto his shoulders again.
Only one thought echoed through his mind.
Don't tell me...
God fucking dammit...
A gatekeeper boss?
A sub-boss you have to beat before the main boss fight?
"Shit."
LHT gritted his teeth.
"So this mini-boss is stalling for time while the main boss evolves?"
Seriously...
Even when you stand still—
The Earth keeps spinning.
And monsters keep sprinting forward.
Even monsters were working hard to improve themselves.
Meanwhile—
He was still stuck in place.
"So annoying."
LHT rubbed his forehead.
I need to do something about the White Stone — Gate of Forsaken Vow.
Convince that girl?
Or sweet-talk her into letting him use the third ability?
The moment he remembered getting flicked in the forehead and kicked out of that book-space last time—
The corner of his eye twitched.
No.
He did not want to get thrown out again.
LHT lowered his head.
He knew it very clearly.
That girl had saved his life.
But this time—
If he couldn't gain access to the Gate of Forsaken Vow...
Then his odds of winning would hit rock bottom.
He could practically see the Grim Reaper standing in front of him, proudly showing off a freshly sharpened scythe.
So—
No matter what.
He had to figure out how to use that item.
He had to control the variables on this battlefield.
Swallow his pride if necessary.
Lower himself if necessary.
As long as he could wipe that victory grin off the Grim Reaper currently dancing Gangnam Style in front of him.
LHT slowly reached into his pocket.
Then pulled out the White Stone.
Out of all his items—
Only this stone was special.
He always kept it close to his body instead of tossing it into his inventory like everything else.
He tightened his grip around it.
"Connect again..."
LHT closed his eyes.
Silently praying.
And—
Darkness.
Endless darkness again.
Nothing happened.
No response.
No light.
No one appeared.
"...Why?"
He frowned.
Vaguely sensing—
Something like a door standing before him.
A door that was incredibly close.
But whoever stood behind it had deliberately locked it shut.
No matter how many times he tried to open it—
It wouldn't budge at all.
All he needed to do was run up to the stone pedestal and write down a few wishes.
It sounded simple.
But reality...
Was nowhere near that easy.
LHT slowly let out a sigh.
Kai and Lyra had been quietly watching him the entire time.
One with crossed arms.
One tilting her head.
Both staring at him with the exact same expression people used when watching someone talk to thin air.
Right then—
Mrs AI suddenly spoke.
"So you've completely given up now?"
"What's with that question, Mrs AI?"
LHT instantly answered in the tone of a gambler sitting in front of two yes/no buttons.
"I still don't know what defeat looks like."
But—
Even if he said that—
His original plan really had fallen apart.
At first, his idea had been simple.
Use the Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone to get close.
Then land a finishing blow—
And use the Gate of Forsaken Vow to return Eva to her Original State.
Roll credits.
But now that he thought about it...
That was only the worst-case strategy.
If things went smoother—
Then the middle strategy.
Use Magnum V to destroy the cocoon.
Then use the Gate of Forsaken Vow to restore the girl to her Original State.
Finally inject the medicine to save her life.
It still sounded somewhat possible.
At least on paper.
"And the best-case strategy?"
LHT let out a self-mocking laugh.
"A perfect ending?"
Give him a break.
He wasn't one of those authors who thought they were superheroes or saviors.
He had never dreamed of some flawless win-win ending.
At least—
Not in a death world like this one.
But the problem was—
Every single plan was falling apart.
Get close?
Turns out the thing was a psychic-type boss.
Even while sealed inside the cocoon—
It still had enough power to one-shot him.
He could use the Gate of Forsaken Vow to suppress that ability.
But doing so would cost one usage.
And wasting something that valuable just to lock down a boss for five minutes—
Way too expensive.
Way too cheap a trade.
Not to mention—
He might not even make it close to the cocoon...
Before that sub-boss outside devoured him first.
Hell, he probably wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.
LHT tightened his grip around the White Stone.
Every workable plan—
Required the Gate of Forsaken Vow.
But the one thing he lacked most right now—
Was permission to use it.
A faint glow flickered between his fingers from the White Stone.
LHT stayed silent for several seconds.
Then something shifted in his eyes.
"But..."
"Now I've got two extra plugins."
He slowly looked toward Kai and Lyra.
Kai.
The protagonist of this world.
Not now.
But if things followed the original timeline—
Three years later, this guy would practically dominate the entire world.
A true child of destiny.
LHT narrowed his eyes.
He wondered whether the protagonist buff—
Had already started activating in him yet.
In other words...
Kai was basically a walking lucky charm.
Then there was Lyra.
LHT glanced at the girl standing nearby.
That absurd hearing buff...
No.
What he really meant was—
That roulette-level luck that felt like the game master was openly rigging things in her favor.
If Lyra was the one using Magnum V—
Then missing shots became nearly impossible.
Want an explosive round?
You got an explosive round.
"Seriously..."
"Magnum V feels like it was made specifically for you."
Wait a second.
Who exactly are you in the game?
Did he just pull some jackpot SSR character from a hidden gacha?
Or was she some hidden NPC tied to a secret questline?
Or—
Was she the variable interfering with the boss's 90% Evolution Progress?
Either way—
She was lucky charm number two.
And finally—
Mrs AI.
Using the cheat code hidden in the system—
He had connected her to Kai's ATV Robo.
A secret that, in the original game, Kai was supposed to discover much later himself.
Only after combining it with his own AI automation system.
But LHT—
Skipped the process entirely.
Took the shortcut immediately.
No idea whether that had pushed the world even further off its original track.
Still—
The "Professor" was supposed to be dead.
Yet here he was.
Alive and breathing.
That alone was already an absurd variable.
"Fine then..."
LHT took a deep breath.
"Fine. We go all in."
LHT's mind started running at insane speed.
Like he was trapped inside an intense MOBA match.
Analyze.
Evaluate.
Read the enemy's playstyle.
Calculate every possible move.
Discard the guaranteed death routes.
Keep only the safest path.
His lips kept muttering nonstop.
"Gate of Forsaken Vow..."
"Everlasting Dream Wishing Stone..."
"Eternal Love Time Boots..."
People always said—
If you repeated seemingly meaningless things enough times, the brain would subconsciously connect them together.
Mrs AI spoke uncertainly.
"Professor?"
LHT kept his eyes closed.
"Is there a guaranteed victory route?"
It felt like he was sitting in front of a computer screen.
Headset over his ears.
One hand on the mouse.
The other flying across the keyboard.
The enemy launched another attack.
Cornering his character.
Cutting off every escape path.
"A single opening..."
He muttered quietly.
Eyes narrowing.
Like he was staring into the gaps between incoming attacks.
One strike slammed down.
Dodged.
The second attack came immediately after.
"Okay."
His eyes snapped open.
His character counterattacked.
Then the combo continued.
And finally—
The finishing blow.
LHT opened his eyes.
Cold rain slammed against his face.
"Mrs AI."
"Yes?"
"Like I said before."
"There's more than one way to win."
"All roads lead to Rome eventually."
He raised a hand and lightly adjusted his glasses.
Then motioned toward Kai and Lyra.
"You. And you."
"Ready?"
His gaze slowly swept across both of them.
"Once you step onto this path with me..."
"...there's no turning back anymore."
Author: Okay, to be continued~~