I was barely clinging to consciousness, but honestly, it was touch and go. The stacking buffs and nerfs.

On top of that, I’d dumped every Restriction I had into the mix, driving my soul right to the edge of the cliff.

How many abilities did I fire off at once?

Brain pressure spiked. Blood poured from my nose, staining my philtrum red. Consciousness plummeted into the abyss, and unconsciousness rose to fill the void.

A faint flicker of emotion crossed the Saber Master’s pupils. Panic stained his blurring face.

Even then, he seemed intent on pressing his sword strike. But he was slow. His movements jerked like paper cutouts pasted together, frame by stuttering frame.

Because I’d shredded time itself with Bullet Time ×60. I planned to use this split-second gap to patch up my tattered mind.

That’s when it happened.

– Assistant Manager Lee.

A voice echoed. Even in this state, I identified the speaker instantly. Only one person ever called me “Assistant Manager.”

What is this, Team Leader Seo? Why your voice at this timing? I tried to respond, but my lips rebelled against my will, twitching on their own.

If this is more work, I’ll quit.

– Oh, come on, it’s not like that! Anyone hearing would think I’m some evil team leader forcing overtime every day!

Not entirely wrong…

I reflected for a moment. This was a fragment of memory. I couldn’t recall the exact time, but it was definitely a conversation with her.

Fuck. Showing me my life flashing before my eyes? No, not now. The real game was just starting. I could finally see a foothold!

– As expected of Assistant Manager Lee. You always keep a straight face even when joking, so people misunderstand. Makes me curious all of a sudden. Why the poker face?

That’s defamation. I’ll report you to Labor Relations.

– Since we’re doing overtime anyway, why not stack it up properly? Labor Relations would love that.

Sorry.

Team Leader Seo smiled faintly. Satan overlapped in my vision. Faced with the unavoidable killing blow called overtime, I pondered briefly before speaking.

Well… I’ve always been like this, but it got worse after joining this company. Strictly speaking, after moving to the character and boss design team.

– What does boss design have to do with your perpetual plant face?

Being in this role makes you think a lot. Feels like playing invisible Go against an unseen opponent. Something like that.

In the office, the past Lee Taebaek tapped the armrest with the underside of his fist as he elaborated.

The most important part of boss design is the war of attrition. When users first challenge the boss, it should feel utterly hopeless. But you have to leave hints of a strategy. Keep stimulating that urge to try again, and in the end, the boss falls to the player.

– So, drawing out that urge is the war of attrition?

She propped her chin cutely with her index finger.

Yes. If it’s just brute force, most users quit. Refunds galore. But make them gradually gain the upper hand through farming and pattern knowledge? They’ll pull all-nighters glued to their PCs.

– War of attrition is your specialty, then.

Yeah. Though it means the Team Leader and team treat me like a personality-wiped game machine.

– That specialty.

Team Leader Seo flashed a smile. Dimples carved clear curves into her cheeks.

“Use it this time too.”

The last words were an actual voice. Not a hallucination? My eyes shook like a seismograph needle.

But my doubts were swept away by the tide. Past memories seeped into reality.

Unconsciousness was swept away by the current, and reality’s outlines sharpened. Surface consciousness bubbled up.

Time reclaimed its speed. The frozen world flowed with clear velocity.

The chill of the clouds enveloped his body. Lee Taebaek soared through the endless sky, with the Saber Master.

Honestly, his body was plummeting downward, but whatever.

The Saber Master, who had shown signs of panic, quickly hardened his expression. He was a man who had waded through countless battlefields.

Moreover, wasn’t he Muyachi, the pinnacle of the mercenary world? The title Mercenary King was no empty flattery.

Muyachi’s mind was impenetrable. Not even this bizarre phenomenon would plunge him into panic.

Separately, a subtle change crossed the Saber Master’s face. His usually emotionless, straight-line mouth curved into a smile.

His heart raced. A heart worn smooth, forgetting how to beat, now pulsed faintly but surely. How long had it been?

“You’re definitely weaker than me.”

The Saber Master’s abrupt declaration cut through. His voice pierced the eardrum directly, unbroken by the wind.

“I don’t know what you did, but you slowed my movements. Roughly a hundredfold.”

Crazy bastard. How’d he notice instantly? And the exact multiplier. His upturned lip even terrified me.

“I thought you were just a swordsman, but you wield magic too. A talent the Heavenly Demon would approve of.”

“…….”

Lee Taebaek didn’t reply. The pressure difference forced him to hold his breath.

“In three exchanges, just three, you’ve entertained me.”

As they fell, the Saber Master pulled his shoulders back three spans. Lee Taebaek captured the moment.

Normally, I’d take the hit and react.

But now it was possible. The Saber Master’s actions were relatively slowed, and Lee Taebaek’s cognition was honed to a razor’s edge. His entire sensory array was sharpened to the point of nausea.

The next strike: a massive horizontal slash. It would burst right after he finished speaking.

Lee Taebaek spread his body, maximizing air resistance. A skydiving pose, minus the parachute. The sequence rivaled subsonic speed.

“Even if you die on my blade today.”

The Saber Master said.

“I’ll remember your name, Lee Taebaek.”

The Saber Master kicked off fiercely with his rear foot. Simultaneously, his shoulder twitched. Chamado elongated into a streak of light, scarring the night sky.

Bang-!

The air burst with the sound, and the umbrella fabric stretched taut. Lee Taebaek gripped the umbrella’s core with both hands, buffing Para Blade’s defense.

Fourth exchange, dimensional slash.

Para Blade met the dimensional slash. Once more, Lee Taebaek’s body flew. He tore through contrails back-first against the wind.

Wooong- wooong- wooong- wooong…

His head rattled wildly. He’d endured four exchanges in midair, with no ground beneath.

His body couldn’t be normal. It was serious damage. At least three finger bones fractured. The pain sensors were probably wrecked.

Still, Lee Taebaek folded his umbrella. Defense alone offered no chance of victory. Face the obstacle head-on. Challenge meant that.

Crack! Crack! The Saber Master pierced the clouds, charging. A hundredfold slower, and still this fast.

Lee Taebaek bit his lip, assuming a counter stance. He would leverage his speed advantage.

As the Saber Master kicked off the air and closed to ultra-close range, Lee Taebaek stowed the umbrella at his side, then snapped his fingers with a crack.

The clouds churned like entrails in front of Lee Taebaek, layering into mandala patterns. Then glass-shattering sounds scattered across the clear sky.

The Saber Master, Muyachi, shoulder-checked the force field, advancing on Lee Taebaek.

But as Chamado flailed wildly, a mandala regenerated, tripping him.

Lee Taebaek snapped his index finger and thumb with near-tearing force. Mandala force fields stacked dozens deep from beneath his feet to the ground.

Exploiting the block, Lee Taebaek hung upside down in midair, then stomped.

His feather-light body suddenly sank like lead. The Saber Master swung Chamado desperately, but the angle was already lost.

Lee Taebaek plummeted to the ground like a ball. Impact would splatter him.

The ice netting was the countermeasure for that. Force fields shattered in sequence, cushioning.

About fifty thin ice sheets shattered. Only then did Lee Taebaek’s feet touch the ground.

Kuuuung!

Saber Master Muyachi cratered concrete on landing. Dust parted to reveal a pair of ear wings fluttering.

He was unscathed without cushioning. He pinched one nostril and snorted blood. That was it.

I buffed gravity about threefold to increase the fall impact, and all he got was a nosebleed? What a monster.

Saber Master Muyachi grinned, teeth bared. Blood smeared his front teeth red. He wiped his philtrum sloppily with his tie.

Kwaaaang!

He charged again. As Lee Taebaek moved to cast restraint magic, he extended Chamado sideways and swung down.

Shrrrip. Suddenly, the sky tore. The blade tip literally sliced space. The dimensional innards were darker than night.

He thrust Chamado in like a skewer. Half the blade vanished into the maw.

Here it comes!

That’s why he’s the Saber Master. Chamado rends dimensions, unleashing slashes from unpredictable angles.

Meaning he’d gone all-out. Damn, even lions hunt mice with full effort, but this is overkill.

No time for complaints. Darkness rippled; Chamado stabbed from empty air. Lee Taebaek adjusted his Mental intensity via Buff and countered.

He parried with his blade, twisting the path. The metals tangled with hair-raising sparks. Veins bulged angry on his forearms.

Dimensional slashes followed. Buffed Agility let him preempt, deflecting the protean assault four times.

Each strike threatened life. It was enough to alter the surrounding terrain.

Flickering old streetlights in the ruined downtown toppled like reeds; severed wires sparked on the ground.

Shweeeeeek!

Lee Taebaek executed Tremor Stomp after threading Chamado. His shadow streaked rainbow gradients toward the Saber Master.

One exchange left!

The Saber Master’s reaction lagged two beats. He sluggishly pulled the hilt, then punched instead. It was a restrained, not desperate, motion.

The fist wind howled. Feeling the gale, Lee Taebaek drew Python.

The Saber Master looked faintly baffled. Eyes screaming, A gun?

Thrilling every time.

But against a Ten Wings-level opponent, guns held no value. It could even backfire.

So what was the point?

This.

He twisted the barrel skyward and pulled the trigger. The remaining sky mandalas shattered, and debris blanketed the ground.

The Saber Master dazed momentarily. He felt a chill on his cheek and looked up. Chamado clattered down, chipping concrete.

As the opaque veil broke, a crowd hung from the crescent moon, watching. Wings flapping—angels bathed in moonlight. It was the Lilith Order.

It wasn’t only Wing Suits that adorned them. They held drainpipes in both hands, as if linking heaven and earth with ropes.

The pipes came from near the greenhouse. Drainage was essential for growing plants. The Lilith Order had yanked pumps from the soil, each grabbing one.

At the center of the procession was the Order’s executive, Kim Changsik. Lee Taebaek yelled at him.

“Now-!!”

Receiving the signal, he nodded to his subordinates. They synced, twisting valves. Dozens of pipes unleashed torrents.

Shwaaaaa…!

Then the Saber Master creakily turned. Twenty paces off, Lee Taebaek panted. He had redeployed the umbrella.

The sequence flashed by.

Lee Taebaek had Nerfed the Saber Master.

It put him on the defensive, but it enabled him to evade and survive.

Lee Taebaek reinforced gravity.

Thus, the Saber Master’s feet were stuck, and he could only idly watch the Lilith Order’s show.

Lee Taebaek deployed force fields.

Thus, he perfectly erased the Lilith Order’s presence from the Saber Master’s sight.

– War of attrition is your specialty, then.

The words she had said with a laugh.

– Use that specialty this time too.

I acted.

Ash-gray concentric circles radiated from him. The cold wave erased the concrete’s petroleum hue like an eraser devouring ink.

An icicle formed on the Saber Master’s nose tip immediately after. Transparent crystals beaded at eye corners like tears.