System (3)

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[ System:

Subject Seon Vel'Seol obtained a normal uniqueness. 'Pre-guess' ]

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"T-this..." Seon was stunned for a time.

She knew exactly what the 'Pre-guess' does. Indeed, that was one of her skills in her 20th life.

Although it wasn't much, she was still able to predict the enemy's next move. Additionally, it improved her vision, which made every attack against her appear to slow down.

'However, why was it present?'

No,

Seon can only acquire that skill once. Whenever she reincarnates, all of her acquired skills will vanish and never come back.

Oh well, whatever the reason will be... she felt grateful to have one of her favorite abilities back.

[The time will now be continued by the system]

[in 3... 2... 1... ]

CRASH!!!

"Guh!" Seon barely dodged as the monster lunged, its claws smashing into the ground where she had stood moments before. She rolled to the side, ignoring the dull ache in her chest.

"Seriously… even the system has no manners, huh?"

She slowly rose, grabbing the broken sword beside her. Taking a steadying breath, she refocused, bracing herself.

The monster lunged again, a blur of claws and snarling fury.

But with her enhanced perception, time seemed to warp. Its speed became manageable, almost predictable as if the beast's movements were slowed just for her.

She caught the gleam of its claws and sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike.

The beast roared, charging again, shaking the ground beneath her.

[System: Prediction; attacks may cause corruption if hits ]

'Corruption?'

 she muttered, recalling Yunnie's warning. 'Could this…?'

Half-focused, Seon reacted on instinct as the monster's body coiled for another strike. She dropped to the ground, rolling under its legs, and, with a swift motion, slashed at its right foot with her broken sword.

With a thud, the monster toppled, its right foot severed, sending tremors through the ground. But as she watched, black, viscous blood oozed from the wound and began to reattach the dismembered foot.

"What… is corruption?" Seon swallowed her pride and ended up asking the system itself.

[ Corruption results from one's body succumbing to arcana's influence, often through overuse of its blessings. ]

The monster rose again, its slime-like form undulating. This time, it hurled chunks of itself in her direction.

Seon dodged one projectile, then ducked to avoid another, swiftly countering with a slash across its belly. Yet, her attack barely left a mark.

"So… this 'arcana'—the strength that man mentioned and my stats—they're the same?" she asked aloud.

[ Correct. ]

"And if someone overuses an arcana's blessing… they'll end up like that?"

[ Correct. ]

The monster slammed its massive fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that fractured the terrain beneath her feet. The ground buckled, and Seon quickly leaped to steady footing.

"I see…"

In one motion, she leaped high, twisting her body mid-air and bringing her blade down to sever the creature's head.

"Screeeech!"

The monster shrieked as its head rolled from its shoulders, yet even as it fell, the neck began to reform, the slime knitting it back together.

"Isn't this troublesome…" Seon muttered, frowning. "System, what's this thing's weakness?"

[ The system's prediction isn't enough to tell the most accurate answer ]

"Well, aren't you a useless helper?"

SLASH!

Seon steadied her stance, angling her feet and gripping her broken sword firmly in her hand. She tracked the monster's every twitch and ripple.

With timing, her blade cut through only thick, dark ooze.

However, each attack barely slowed the creature, as its form shifted and reformed seamlessly like water gathering after a stone is dropped into it.

Just as she was about to lose her mind from thinking it's weakness, a loud shout echoed from behind.

"Watch out!"

Her instincts flared, and Seon whirled to avoid the rain of fire arrows.

Her face instinctively locates the source of the voice.

There, not so far, stood Yunnie, flanked by villagers, each with bows drawn and arrows ablaze. Flames danced at the tips of the arrows, casting a light in the middle of the night.

'These... guys?' Seon was dumbfounded.

At the signal, a hail of flaming arrows rained down, arcing toward the creature in a deadly, fiery storm. The flames erupted upon impact, engulfing the monster in an inferno.

"SCREEEECH!" The creature screeched, its wail echoing through the night as it slammed its own head into the ground, writhing in agony, desperate to smother the flames that licked across its body.

As the fire began to fade, Seon caught sight of the monster's eyes. They were fixed on Yunnie and the villagers, seemingly trying to aim for them next.

'The weakness… it's fire!' Seon realized. 'We can do it.'

"Stay behind me!" Seon commanded as she positioned herself between the monster and the villagers.

"I'll keep it away, so you guys do what you need to do"

Yunnie and the others nodded and stood a few yards back, gripping arrows wrapped in oil-soaked rags, flames flickering at their tips as they nocked them in preparation.

"Prepare the arrows!" one of the villagers shouted.

Seon ignored the noise behind her, as her focus remained on the creature before her. She raised her weapon and attempted a slice at its arms that lashed in her direction, only to watch as it reformed slowly as if mocking her efforts.

'It's fine... I'm not alone this time'

"RELEASE!" came the command from behind, and a barrage of flaming arrows rained down. Some arrows arced dangerously close to Seon, but she deflected them with her blade, sending any stray flames away from herself while keeping her focus on the monster's movements.

The black slime creature recoiled before striking again, pulling its arms like a berserk, simply having one goal.

To hit Seon.

Yet Seon braced herself, blocking with her sword, feeling the impact surge through her arms. Feeling that wound a while ago had gotten worse.

She didn't dodge—she didn't want to. This time, her broken blade had penetrated itself deep within the creature, wedging into its belly and momentarily halting its movements.

"Now!" she shouted.

In perfect synchronization, The villagers released their arrows, each one trailing fire as it shot through the air and struck the monster's writhing form.

The flames quickly spread, engulfing the creature in a roaring inferno. Wherever the flames touched, the black slime recoiled, sizzling with a shrill hiss as dark smoke curled from its wounded body.

Its violet crystals began to melt and dissolve in the intense heat as its body convulsed in agony, letting out one final, piercing scream.

Soon, the creature's form struggled and shrank under the blaze until, at last, it disintegrated into dust.

Leaving nothing else but that 'Strength' arcana card behind.

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[ System:

Protect the Abandoned Village (Success)

200 arcana points had been added in the item slot]

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[ System: Congratulations... How does it feel to be a savior of this village? ]