[Successfully sneaked into the base]

Generally speaking, not everyone can see the anomalies that wander between dreams and reality.

Unless one has high intuition and is in a special time frame, the anomalies and humans are like two parallel lines that never intersect.

However, this parallel line could be shifted from its course by the ritual that Soren studied. Human intuition has been enhanced, causing the two lines to go from parallel to intersecting.

When the people present have their intuition enhanced, hearing and seeing anomalies, the dimensions between reality and dreams are broken. The existence of the anomalies is anchored, and they gain the ability to harm humans.

The above information was obtained by Black Cat after consulting the duty teacher. So, he came up with an unorthodox approach.

What would happen if humans were forced not to see the anomalies?

Now he knew the answer.

After people in the area fainted, the anomalies stopped moving, as if unsure of what to do. They finally focused their attention on the other people present.

Anomalies will prioritize attacking those who can see them!

After witnessing this situation, Black Cat, who was observing the scene through the school’s drones, let out a deep breath of relief. Fortunately, his gamble paid off. In this situation, the plan could proceed smoothly.

“Team B, it’s your turn.”

In the plaza area of the university, Soren looked emotionlessly at the fallen followers and volunteers around him. A shield, invisible to the ordinary person, appeared above his head, blocking the liquid spraying from the air. But from the smell of the liquid, it was easy to recognize that it was a potion that would put people to sleep.

The person who used this method had a bit of a brain.

But was it too bold, too dismissive of him?

A cold smile curled at the corner of Soren’s mouth as he raised both hands, beginning his incantation. Everyone around him fell asleep, leaving a rare, undisturbed space around him. If he didn’t seize this opportunity, it would be too foolish.

But clearly, Black Cat had already anticipated this scene. Just as Soren was concentrating on casting his spell, dozens of players suddenly burst out from the mist!

They had been waiting on the outskirts for a long time. Once Black Cat gave the order, Team B charged straight out of the mist!

Every one of them had their eyes covered with black cloth. Their objectives were clear—half of the group went to rescue the fallen players on the ground, while the other half aimed for the Dream Entry Ritual arrays placed around the edge of the plaza.

Soren’s first instinct, of course, was to stop them. But the moment he moved, the wandering anomalies immediately locked onto him.

Anomalies always attack those who can see them first. Now that everyone else was either unconscious or had their eyes covered, Soren became their top target.

“…Not bad, you people,” Soren said emotionlessly.

It was only at this moment that Soren began to take these players—and the force behind them—seriously for the first time. But only just.

Soren began chanting in an obscure tongue no one could understand. In an instant, the anomalies surrounding him were trapped by some invisible force, frozen in place.

And as he continued chanting, the anomalies began to behave strangely. They thrashed about in frenzy and rage. Finally, they emitted a high-pitched screech, inaudible to normal humans. Starting with the lowest-ranked D-level anomalies, their bodies began to swell, engorge with blood—then burst.

Black Cat was stunned by the sudden turn of events. But something even more shocking followed: as the anomalies died, the mist in the center of the plaza grew even denser, and the Dream Entry Ritual formations that hadn’t yet been destroyed began lighting up one after another.

Could it be…

Black Cat looked outside through the window of the campus broadcast room. The once-bright moon was now edged with a faint shadow.

A lunar eclipse was about to begin!

Damn it—he’s using the anomalies as fuel!

Black Cat hadn’t even considered such a possibility. His original plan had been to use the mass unconsciousness to prevent the anomalies from attacking, then have the players use that time—while the anomalies targeted Soren—to evacuate the plaza, dragging away both the cultists and the players. That way, even if Soren recovered later, he wouldn’t have any energy left to use.

But he never expected that anomalies could also be used as “fuel”—or that Soren was this strong now!

In the previous main quest, Soren hadn’t come off as especially powerful. In fact, he’d rarely acted directly, relying more on summoned anomalies and his death squad. But now, with just a move, he could detonate anomalies that players had struggled desperately to defeat!

Something clearly isn’t right! Black Cat was on the verge of losing it. Since when did bosses get balance patches to buff them!?

As the lunar eclipse drew near, Soren smiled with satisfaction. In his eyes, as long as the gate could be opened, it didn’t matter who had to be sacrificed.

At last, the Outsider’s wish is about to come true.

He has wandered in a foreign land for so many years… Is his homeland still as it had been?

Tears welled in Soren’s eyes as he recalled his years of exile. He could barely wait to recite the incantation that would welcome his homeland back.

But just then, a deadly threat suddenly came from the unguarded rear.

Soren whipped around and caught Albert’s deadly strike without hesitation, gripping the blade with his bare hand. He grinned. “Did you really think I’d overlook you, Albert?”

The one who had struck from behind was none other than Albert Aiken. His eyes, once as blue as the sky, now carried a stormy darkness—brooding, foreboding.

But Soren wasn’t afraid of him. In fact, he even had the time to drive a knife into Albert’s chest. “You’ve worked hard. Without your help, who knows when my plan would’ve succeeded?”

“…Shut up.”

“The intel you gave me was full of errors—but I still got my hands on the right information. So, where do you think the leak really came from?”

“I said shut up!” Albert growled lowly. With the blade momentarily stuck, he twisted his body and raised his right leg, aiming a kick at Soren. Soren’s expression changed slightly and he released the knife just in time. As soon as Albert pulled it free, he unleashed his Origin Ability—golden flames ignited along the blade, and his palm sizzled from the burning heat. Gritting through the pain, Albert hurled the dagger—its gleaming arc striking Soren in the shoulder.

The golden flames seared straight to the bone, drawing a grimace from Soren. His gaze darkened to something murderous. He raised his hand, palm facing Albert.

“Nàsuǒ.” (Bind.)

The incomprehensible syllable rolled from Soren’s tongue like a command. Albert instantly felt the air around him solidify. His body froze in place.

A single second was all it took.

Soren’s hand began to clench, and an overwhelming pressure crushed down around Albert—as if the very air meant to squeeze him flat.

“Charge, brothers!”

“Hell yeah! You think all we can do is watch!?”

Just then, a flood of players surged toward Soren and Albert!

Right after Soren had sacrificed the anomalies, Black Cat issued a second command through the player channel. All the players tore off their blindfolds and stormed the area where Albert and Soren were fighting.

With the anomalies gone and the cultists still unconscious from the potion, Soren was suddenly left completely alone. His earlier move—sacrificing the anomalies—had turned into a miscalculation.

No—had Albert not ambushed him just now, those few seconds of stunned stillness from the others would’ve given Soren enough time to finish chanting the gate-opening incantation. He could only blame bad luck.

Soren had no choice but to give up the chance to crush Albert. He pivoted to cast a spell in the direction the players were charging from—an invisible barrier slammed into them like a wall of air, halting their momentum.

But now freed from the binding spell, Albert didn’t hesitate. He lunged again, fist blazing with golden fire. Burn marks spread instantly across his skin, but he ignored the pain. Soren raised his arm to block the punch—flames scorched into his flesh, but he grit his teeth and bore it. With a quick lift of the knee, he drove a sharp strike into Albert’s ribs, forcing him back.

But just then, a sharp pain shot through Soren’s leg—half his body instantly went numb. He looked down, and for the first time, his expression twisted into a snarl.

The one biting him was a dog that Albert found all too familiar—because he’d seen it before in the university library!

It was the Miskatonic dog. Ever since the disaster had begun, it had vanished without a trace. Albert had assumed Soren had done something to get rid of it. But now he realized—the dog had been hiding near Soren all along, waiting patiently for a chance to land a fatal blow!

And in that very moment—when Soren lowered his head—Albert was struck with an overwhelming, crystal-clear sense of instinct: this is it. This is the moment. Here and now—I can kill Soren!

If he could take Soren down, there might still be a way to fix all that had gone wrong.

The young Albert once again erupted into golden flames. The heat scorched even his own body—pain seared into his bones—but he didn’t care anymore. Given Soren’s fear of this flame, it was the only reliable weapon left to finish him.

Taking advantage of the dog pinning Soren in place, Albert lunged forward to grab him in a blazing embrace.

This scene was burned into the eyes of every player nearby—and into the lens of Black Cat’s drone observing from afar. Every player clenched their fists.

It felt like a reenactment of a previous main story arc—where Albert had once thrown himself into battle, going down with the boss in a blaze of sacrifice. All of them were hoping for a perfect ending. This time, Soren didn’t even have the time to chant a spell—it was their victory!

Black Cat’s lips curled upward.

But in the very next instant, his smile froze.

A massive, terrifying figure appeared—silently—between Soren and Albert. A hand the size of a room swept through the air, slapping Albert away like a ragdoll.

It stood nearly five meters tall—a hulking monstrosity looming silently in the mist. No one knew when it had arrived. Only when it moved—only when it struck—did anyone even realize it was there.

As it stepped forward from the mist, its grotesque form was revealed in full: mottled blue-grey skin, a humanoid build with grotesquely muscular limbs—and most disturbingly, hundreds of eyes covering its entire body, blinking independently.

An A-level anomaly: The Hundred-Eyed Giant.

At this moment, Ranen suddenly recalled what the Sphinx had said when they entered Albert’s Dream Rift:

—The longer Albert remains in the trial, the more likely he is to attract stronger anomalies. If he lingers too long… even an A-level might show up.

Back then, the strongest things Ranen had encountered were at most D- or C-level—not even a single B-level had appeared. He’d assumed the warning was just an overestimation.

Who could’ve imagined… it would be now?

No—perhaps the A-level’s intelligence allowed it to sense that this moment was the perfect time to strike?

Its arrival shattered what had been a nearly perfect turnaround. The tide of battle was plunged into chaos.

Soren burst into laughter. “Even fate favors me!”

He stomped his dog-bitten leg into the ground and used the same ability as before to squeeze the dog’s body. The creature was forced to release its grip. Its bones creaked under the pressure, and a heart-wrenching whimper escaped its throat.

Next came the players who had charged forward recklessly, overestimating themselves.

On the other side, Albert’s body was swatted away by the giant, flying several meters through the air before slamming hard into a tree trunk. Several of his bones snapped on impact, and he lowered his head to spit out a mouthful of blood laced with fragments of his internal organs.

That one strike from the A-level anomaly had left Albert half-dead. Black spots clouded his vision as the Hundred-Eyed Giant began to lumber toward him, each of its countless eyes greedily, unblinkingly fixed on him.

It was going to deliver the final blow—and then use Albert’s body as a medium to return to reality.

Albert’s eyes were half-open as he watched the towering figure draw nearer.

“In the end… I still couldn’t change anything, huh.”

“So, you’re thinking fate really is inevitable?”

A familiar voice sounded beside him. Albert struggled to turn his head and saw a red-haired boy quietly standing at his side.

“…”

“Don’t play dumb. I know it’s you, Albert,” Ranen said softly. “After the incident at the auditorium, you didn’t disappear—you re-merged with the ‘you’ from your memories, didn’t you?”

Previously, when Albert had appeared, he’d repeatedly emphasized that the younger version of himself was merely a byproduct of a strange artifact, and that he was the real one. But Ranen had always suspected that wasn’t the whole truth. There was clearly something he was hiding.

One piece of evidence: during the second node, the Miskatonic dog appeared—even though it shouldn’t have been able to. It even shielded the young Albert from an initial strike.

That was when Ranen began to suspect: the young Albert was also a core of the dream. And in his overwhelming desire to survive, the dog appeared to help him. This implied the artifact’s function wasn’t just to create a decoy to attract anomaly attacks, but something more profound—like splitting the soul temporarily, or storing a piece of memory inside a blank personality.

But in truth, that personality was still Albert. That’s why the anomalies attacked the younger version too. And because this version was drawing the attacks, Albert’s original “suicide plan” was doomed to fail. That’s likely why he began traveling between nodes, much like Ranen, trying to destroy this alternate self.

Ranen realized Albert and his younger self had now re-merged because—during his battle with Soren—when Albert activated his Origin Ability, burn marks appeared on his body again.

In theory, Albert’s Origin Ability, Judge, only punishes those who bear guilt. The reason Albert had been burned before was that he believed himself responsible for the deaths of Miskatonic’s faculty and students.

But now, they were still alive.

So, in this memory, using his ability should have gone more smoothly—yet the burns still reappeared. Add to that his familiar full-body ignition at the end, and Ranen instantly understood:

The current Albert… and the young Albert… had fully become one and the same.

In other words, if Albert died now, then it’s truly over—the trial would end immediately.

But why did Albert choose to merge at this node?

His actions just now didn’t seem like those of someone preparing to die…

At that moment, a flash of insight passed through Ranen’s mind:

“Don’t tell me… you’ve already cleared the trial, haven’t you?”

Albert leaned silently against the tree trunk, saying nothing—but that silence was the clearest answer.

“Come on,” Ranen said, “you’re practically on your deathbed. Just indulge my curiosity one last time.”

And he was right.

To anyone watching, this looked like a dead end. Soren was still taking out players who dared interfere and would soon be free to chant the incantation and open the door. The students and faculty of Miskatonic were helpless on the edge of the plaza. The A-level anomaly—this monster that far exceeded the current version’s power level—was steadily making its way toward Albert.

From any angle, this seemed like the end.

Albert finally spoke:

“Yes. Back at the auditorium, I realized something: what I was chasing wasn’t some lofty, abstract idea of justice.”

It was something much simpler and purer.

Whether it was joining the Inspection Bureau or agreeing to become a spy for the Outsider, Albert had only ever had one reason for doing it all:

To protect the people around him.

The irony was that over the long years of undercover work, he’d somehow forgotten that goal. He’d clung to the banner of “justice” as a final lifeline—something to numb himself enough to keep going.

But in the auditorium, when he saw the players and Miskatonic faculty and students supporting each other through the crisis…

Albert finally saw the very thing he had always longed to protect—the pure, radiant light of human decency.

And in that moment, he found himself again.

That was when he merged with the younger Albert from his memories. The artifact had fulfilled its purpose, and Albert could have exited the trial at any time.

But he didn’t.
Not because of despair.
But because, for the first time, a powerful desire had ignited in his heart:

He wanted to change fate.
He wanted to try one more time.

But now, it seemed like—

Albert let out a bitter smile.

“Sorry. I don’t even have the strength to exit this trial anymore before this node ends. Please—get out of here. And once ‘I’ wake up, destroy this body immediately. Because it won’t be me anymore.”

“If you had a chance to save everyone… what would you be willing to give up?” Ranen asked.

Albert was stunned.

“What?”

“Literally. I don’t have time to explain in detail.”

The Hundred-Eyed Giant loomed close. The monstrous creature once again raised its massive fist toward Albert. The shadow of the strike covered both the red-haired boy and Albert completely. If it landed, the two of them would be nothing but pulp. There would be no second chance.

But Ranen still showed no sign of leaving. His eyes had, at some point, turned a glowing green. He stared fiercely at Albert.

“Albert—if I could change the fate of the Miskatonic students and faculty, what would you give for that?”

What would he give?

Flashes surged through Albert’s mind again—of the professors, students, and volunteers in the auditorium… and then, the real-world image of himself wandering through the ruins of Miskatonic, gazing through a window at the blood and mangled remains inside the hall.

Reality and memory intertwined.

Albert whispered,

“Everything. I’d give everything.”

He had already intended to die in this trial. In reality, Soren was already dead—but Miskatonic’s destruction was equally inevitable. After his revenge, all that remained was emptiness and ruin.

But now… wasn’t it already too late?

“Not necessarily,” Ranen said softly.

At the same time, everyone looked up at the sky. A shadow had begun to creep over the moon—the lunar eclipse was starting.

Soren laughed loudly, using spells to drive away the surrounding players while chanting the incantation to open the gate. But soon, his expression changed, because he realized that the surrounding magical energy was somehow converging in a different direction.

It was heading toward the edge of the plaza, where the students and teachers of Miskatonic University had gathered. When Black Cat dropped the potion onto the plaza earlier, Alexis had taken the opportunity to instruct everyone to close their eyes and had also cast a defensive spell, creating a protective dome that enveloped all the students present.

Because they hadn’t made any notable moves, Soren hadn’t paid much attention to what they were doing when the players launched their attack.

And now, the Miskatonic University group had successfully pulled off a sneak attack.

Led by Aldous, all the students and teachers of Miskatonic University began to chant the same spell.

The original version of the Summoning Ritual.

Aldous closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to what had happened earlier. When the potion had just fallen and everyone closed their eyes, a voice had whispered in his ear:

“Professor Aldous, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Aldous pressed his lips together, and a red-haired young man’s image appeared in his mind. “I’m not sure I’m capable enough to be of help to you.”

“You figured it out, didn’t you?” the voice said with a laugh.

“It was just a guess.”

“Well, that makes things much easier. I can turn the situation around—but I need you all to perform the Summoning Ritual once more.”

The Summoning Ritual… Aldous caught his breath, instinctively wanting to refuse.

“By the way, if you don’t do it, once the gate opens, Miskatonic University will be destroyed.”

“…” Aldous couldn’t help but ask, “Will you save Miskatonic University?”

“That’s exactly why I came.”