"Watch out!"
Before he could collapse, the blond young man caught him again—this time, forcing him to lie down.
"Are you okay?"
Ren couldn't answer. All he could do was struggle to catch his breath.
"Looks like half of our group can't even handle the effects of dimensional transfer."
The blond turned toward the speaker—a tall girl with white hair tied to the side, her blue eyes watching Ren with a condescending gaze.
"At this rate, when 'Annihilation Day' comes, we'll die faster than I expected. We won't last long."
"Selena, don't be too harsh on him. Getting here was exhausting and painful."
This time, the voice was warmer, contrasting with the first. The red-haired girl, her hair tied back, gave a small smile as she placed a hand on her waist.
"And from what I can tell, his body doesn't have any magical energy, which means he crossed dimensions using only his aura."
The black-haired young man, leaning against the wall, lifted his gaze and looked at Ren for a moment before closing his eyes again.
"An impressive feat."
"Exactly."
After making sure Ren was okay, the blond stepped away and returned to where Selena was. He stood beside her, arms crossed.
"Don't say that again."
She raised an eyebrow slightly. "What?"
"We won't die. We won't let that happen. We'll fight until the end and put an end to this battle for good. We won't lose anyone."
She sighed and shook her head. "Well… it's good to keep our morale high. I suppose we'll need that." She lowered her voice slightly. "Sorry, Leo, I didn't mean to sound defeatist."
Time froze for a moment.
Leo's eyes widened, the red-haired girl flinched slightly, and the black-haired young man slowly opened his eyes, looking at Selena as if she were some kind of strange creature.
"What's wrong with you all?"
"Wait… did you… just apologize?!"
She placed her hands on her waist, ignoring the incredulous looks being thrown her way. "Don't overreact. I just… admitted I was wrong, that's all. Seriously, we've only known each other for an hour—aren't you forming a stereotype about me a bit too quickly?"
"No, no, no! Not too quickly at all!" Leo cut in, pointing at her. "You're the type to hold your head high and act like you're above everyone else. I never expected you to apologize!"
Selena stared at Leo blankly before shrugging indifferently. "If that's your opinion, I won't waste my time trying to change it."
"Hahaha! Now that fits your personality more!"
Ren listened in silence to the conversation happening around him while the pain in his head gradually eased. He felt his body slowly relax, as if something unseen was working to soothe him.
He suddenly remembered—this place wasn't just an ordinary cave. It was a resting station, specifically designed for summoned heroes, allowing them to recover after traveling between worlds.
Because the journey was devastating—not just on their bodies, but on their very souls. As if their existence had been squeezed dry, like a sponge.
But this cave—or rather, this artificial place—was here for that exact reason. It healed them, stabilized them both physically and mentally before sending them to humanity's last stronghold.
And yet…
This peace was fake.
Ren could feel it. His calmness wasn't natural—it was forced upon him by the environment. He should be panicked, anxious, confused… but he wasn't. And the moment he left this cave, that temporary tranquility would likely vanish, replaced by true fear and uncertainty.
He sighed and forced himself to push those thoughts aside. Now wasn't the time to drown in emotions. He needed to focus on what mattered.
He had read the novel. He knew what would happen next… but he had only played the game a few times. He had no idea how much influence the player could have on the story's path.
The biggest difference he had noticed between the novel and the game was happening right now—
In the novel, things were clear: the heroes woke up, regained their senses, and then the system divided them into two groups. Once that happened, the countdown on the massive screen would reach zero, and they would be transported to the city.
But in the game…
Things were different.
Instead of controlling one of the six main characters, the player could create an additional character and insert them into the story. That alone was enough to change everything.
There were supposed to be only six people here. But now, there were seven.
At the beginning of the game, it was explained that the system didn't understand why there was an extra person. This had never happened before. The number had always been fixed, which meant there was an unknown variable among the summoned.
And an unknown variable… meant danger.
The system couldn't take any risks. This particular batch wasn't ordinary—
It included Leo, the Moonblade Wielder, Selena, the Ice Lady, and Helena, the strongest human to wield the Sunblade. Allowing an unidentified person to stay among them was a mistake the system couldn't afford.
And for that reason…
As soon as the groups were chosen, the system would announce—
The removal of the extra individual.
And their exile to the Parasite Queen's Nest.
In the novel, there was no mention of such an event. But in the game… it was the official opening of the player's route.
Which meant only one thing—
No matter what he did, he couldn't escape exile.
And the worst part?
The exile was random.
He could be sent anywhere inside the nest, and if he was unlucky… he might find himself directly in front of the Parasite Queen herself or one of her commanders.
Certain death.
Ren clenched his fists. No. Not necessarily. There was still hope. Only one thing could save him—
'Time Manipulation.'
He muttered, "Status," and instantly, a transparent screen appeared before him, displaying his stats.
He quickly looked at his primary ability. As expected…
It was locked.
"Time Manipulation" was inactive.
But next to it, a small indicator showed how to activate it—
[Impact on Main Characters]
…This was the key.
Ren stared at the screen for a moment, then looked at the number beside the ability—
Points: 5
A glimmer of hope sparked within him.
…This was possible. He could survive.
He closed the screen, preparing to take action. He had only three hours before the countdown ended. He needed to use every moment to leave an unforgettable impression on the others… before he was exiled.
But before he fully closed the status window, his eyes fell on what was supposed to be his name—
[Lucas Nolan]
The moment he read it, something strange happened.
For a second, it distorted, turning into unreadable symbols before returning to normal.
Ren stared at it in confusion, but… he didn't have time to think about it now.
Survival was the priority.
If he lived through today, he would have plenty of time to search for answers later.