That night—
Chrono lay on his bed.
Eyes open.
Sleep refused to come.
His gaze remained fixed on the faint blue screen hovering in front of him.
[Warning]
Future Event Detected: Dungeon Incident
Time Remaining: 7 Days
Probability of Death (Current State): 52.1%
Reward: Unknown
"…Still 52.1%?"
His voice was low.
Disbelieving.
A hint of frustration creeping in.
'I trained for a so long…'
'I got stronger…'
'So why hasn't it dropped?'
His jaw tightened.
"…I thought I could at least bring it down to twenty…"
But the number didn't change.
Didn't flicker.
Didn't respond.
52.1%.
A coin toss.
Between life—
And death.
His eyes darkened.
Because he knew this wasn't just a random number.
In the original novel—
The dungeon incident.
Chapter 17.
That's where Chrono died.
Not someone else.
Him.
A slow breath left his lips.
His fingers curled slightly against the bedsheet.
'I already changed things…'
'I survived the awakening…'
'I got stronger…'
'So why…'
His eyes narrowed.
'…does the future still look the same?'
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Then—
A cold resolve settled within him.
Slow.
Steady.
Unshakable.
'I won't die here.'
His gaze sharpened.
A quiet intensity burning within his eyes.
'Not before I get my answers.'
'Why was I brought here?'
'Who were my real parents?'
'What is Paradox?'
His grip tightened.
'…Who am I?'
The blue screen flickered faintly.
Reflecting in his eyes.
52.1%.
No fear now.
Only resolve.
Even if it meant—
Breaking the future itself.
——
The next day—
Inside a restaurant near Sector 2.
Rina Emberheart sat with her arms crossed, tapping her fingers impatiently against the table.
"Tch."
"He told us ten."
She glanced at the clock.
"He's already five minutes late."
Her irritation was obvious.
"Where the hell is he?"
Nia Veridian leaned back in her chair, completely relaxed.
A faint smile on her lips.
"Haha, calm down."
"It's only been five minutes. He's probably on his way."
Her gaze shifted slightly.
Toward the person sitting beside them.
"…Hey, muscle head."
"You've been awfully quiet lately."
Carl Vane didn't respond.
Didn't even look at her.
His eyes were distant.
Like his mind was somewhere else entirely.
Rina clicked her tongue.
"…Tch. Great."
"Now I've got a mute too?"
Just then—
The door opened.
A few heads turned instinctively.
Chrono.
His white hair made him stand out immediately.
Sharp.
Unnatural.
He walked toward their table calmly.
Unbothered.
All three of them looked at him.
But their attention didn't stay on his face.
It shifted—
To his eyes.
White.
Unusual.
And within them—
A faint, almost imperceptible movement.
Like the ticking of a clock.
A memory surfaced.
The mana affinity test.
SSS− rank.
Then—
A "glitch."
Nia's eyes narrowed slightly.
'…Was that really a glitch?'
Rina's expression hardened.
'How the hell does a Mana Affinity test make someone… change like this?'
Even Carl—
For the first time—
Focused.
Chrono stopped in front of the table.
Calm.
Composed.
"…Apologies."
His voice was steady.
"I didn't get much sleep."
"So I'm a bit late."
Rina scoffed immediately.
"Tch. You call five minutes 'a bit'?"
Nia smiled faintly.
"Oh? Rough night?"
Chrono didn't react.
His gaze moved across all three of them.
Measuring.
Observing.
'This is my team…'
A brief silence settled.
Tense.
Unspoken.
Then—
He pulled out a chair.
And sat down.
"…Let's get started."
——
Chrono leaned back slightly, his gaze moving across the three of them.
"First things first…"
A brief pause.
"We need to establish a leader."
Silence settled at the table.
"Anyone here willing to take that role?"
Rina didn't hesitate.
She leaned forward slightly, a confident smirk forming.
"Of course."
Her eyes gleamed with arrogance.
"Shouldn't the strongest here naturally be the leader?"
Chrono's gaze didn't change.
"Strength alone isn't enough."
A pause.
"Can you handle pressure?"
"Make the right decisions when things go wrong?"
Rina scoffed.
"As if that's even a question."
"Of course I can."
Chrono watched her for a moment.
Carefully.
'…As expected.'
He glanced briefly at the others.
Nia remained silent—but her expression made it clear she didn't object.
Carl said nothing at all.
'They've already decided.'
It wasn't surprising.
Why would they choose him?
A rank 300—
Over someone ranked 4.
Someone they already knew.
Trusted.
Chrono closed his eyes for a brief second.
'She won't handle it.'
A memory flashed.
The dungeon.
The chaos.
The pressure.
'When it matters… she'll fail.'
His eyes opened again.
Calm.
Sharp.
'So I'll take control when the time comes.'
He exhaled quietly.
"…Very well."
No argument.
No resistance.
But beneath that calm acceptance—
A silent decision had already been made.
When things fall apart—
He would take over.
Chrono leaned forward slightly, resting his arm on the table.
"Then let's move on."
Rina crossed her arms.
"Hm? why are you giving orders?"
Chrono ignored the comment.
"We should decide roles."
A pause.
"And our approach."
Rina scoffed lightly.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"Just fight and clear it."
Chrono's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…That's how teams fail."
Silence followed.
Even Nia's smile faded just a little.
"The academy already gave us the details."
He continued calmly.
"E− rank dungeon."
"All teams enter at the same time."
"Then get split across random floors."
A brief pause.
"We can cooperate with other teams…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…or eliminate them."
That changed the atmosphere.
Subtly.
Nia leaned forward, interested now.
"Oh? So you're thinking battle against other teams is likely?"
"Not likely."
Chrono replied.
"Inevitable."
Rina smirked.
"Good. Makes it more fun."
Chrono ignored that too.
"We don't know which floor we'll land on."
"So we assume worst case."
"Low visibility. Unknown enemy patterns. Possible ambush."
Carl's eyes flickered slightly.
Still silent.
But listening.
Chrono continued.
"Roles are simple."
He raised a finger.
"Frontline."
His gaze shifted to Rina.
"You."
Rina smirked proudly.
"Obviously."
"Mid support."
His eyes moved to Nia.
"You handle positioning, cover, and awareness."
Nia tilted her head slightly.
"…Interesting. You trust me with that?"
"I trust your intelligence."
Chrono replied calmly.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"Rear."
His gaze shifted to Carl.
"Observation and reaction."
"Step in only when necessary and assist the vanguard."
Carl gave a small nod.
"…Okay."
Finally—
Chrono leaned back.
"I'll adapt between roles."
A pause.
"Fill gaps where needed."
Rina frowned slightly.
"Hah. So basically you'll just do whatever?"
Chrono met her gaze.
Calm.
Unshaken.
"…Someone has to."
A brief silence followed.
Tense.
Nia smiled faintly.
"…You're more interesting than I thought."
Chrono ignored her.
His focus steady.
'This is temporary.'
'When things go wrong…'
'They'll follow me anyway.'