She cursed under her breath, struggling to steady her breathing.
Second… third… fourth… she had long lost count.
Lauren was still kneeling, just as she had been four hours ago. Her thoughts now drifted in hazy smoke, clouded by tension and the sheer unfamiliarity of this situation.
"No… I can't fail on the first try."
She had to endure, even just a little longer.
She needed to prove—to herself most of all—that she wasn't completely useless.
She could do this.
She had to.
After all, she was the one who created this test in the novel… and now she couldn't even pass it herself.
In the novel…
there were no other methods.
No creativity. No hidden path. The protagonist had simply endured until the end, powered by his absurd physical strength.
The test itself was never meant to be important—it was just filler in the hero's journey.
But Lauren hesitated for a moment.
This wasn't the novel.
Here, everything mattered. Even the tiniest ripple could change the course of events.
And because she no longer controlled the plot, she knew conflicts could take on entirely new shapes.
After nearly four exhausting hours of kneeling, a thought sparked in her mind.
If the "Solo Female Heroine System" only activates when it needs to assert her dominance as a heroine…
then shouldn't it trigger now?
Yes, any situation that demands her to assert her position should technically awaken the system.
She drilled that idea into her head like a screw tightening deeper into metal.
Because if that were true… then this test wouldn't affect her position as the heroine, right?
And honestly—this wasn't even training.
How could anyone's loyalty be measured by how long they could kneel?
A monkey will kneel if you hold its fruit.
A bird will sing if it fears your claws.
In this world, everyone bows to something stronger.
That's not loyalty. That's survival.
Her racing thoughts pushed her to move.
"If I stay down here, I'll lose in the end…"
Eleanor's body was strong, yes—but she wasn't Eleanor.
And wait—hadn't Eleanor scored full marks on this test?
Eleanor left early in the novel.
Yes. Yes, that was just a plot hole!
Back when she wrote it, it didn't matter. But here, in this reality, the world itself might be trying to patch that flaw.
If that's true, then this test means something far deeper now.
Even as she knelt, not truly bowing in spirit, it didn't matter—her defiance was real.
Yet the anxiety gnawed at her.
What if all of this was just delusion… and she failed without even knowing what that failure would cost?
But in the end, she still didn't know... Should she stop here and now or continue, only to lose in the end, as she knew she would...
Or should she at least try...
But after fully processing the situation, Eleanor finally made her decision.
She raised her head, stiff from the lack of movement...
And, still kneeling, she looked at the picture and into the eyes of the Ruler.
"In the end... why should I kneel to you..."
Is there a point in kneeling to a human? Is there any benefit?
If I were to kneel, I would kneel to a completely perfect being... free of flaws...
Not to a man wearing a diamond-studded hat and collecting taxes...
I would kneel to one who defends me day and night, protecting me from demons and their oppression...
Not to a libertine man married to five women and having eight concubines...
I would kneel to a scholar who taught me how to survive, not to a heretic...
It doesn't matter how you kneel, but why you kneel. Is it out of fear... or out of true loyalty...
This is the truth for Lauren.
No matter how much of a heretic you are, you can wear gold, rule the land, and prefer the people...
Engraving your pictures in their hearts... stripping them bare like cheering machines that feed your vanity...
In this life, no one understands that no matter how perfect you are... at that point, you will be meaningless...
Lauren looked at the box in front of her bag and finally rose from her knees, standing on her feet at last after the exhaustion...
She opened the box forcefully to see what was inside, as she had never written about this thing before...
Something strange began, something she had never seen, yet it was as if she could recognize what it did without realizing it...
A lighter...
It was indeed a lighter that lights fires...
But why is it here?
She didn't even remember that a lighter should be added here...
But why is it here?
"My foot... it hurts so badly."
Although she tried to treat the matter with the Dark State, it would take some time...
Although the Dark State of the Battle Genie is effective, it is not as developed as it is in the novel.
When Lauren took the lighter out of the box and looked at the picture...
Wasn't there another meaning for the two of them together?
Burning the picture... Is there a good deed like this anywhere?
The glorious Ruler's picture is burned like this while you are being watched in a dark room...
But what is the reason for this?
Surely they are not stupid enough to insult the Ruler like this...
Are they?
But she must certainly know the consequences...
In the end, you are the one who chooses to burn the picture...
And to burn it, there must be...
"A reason..."
Lauren fell to her knees in front of the table, clutching her head in astonishment.
Yes... the truth that should have appeared long ago...
Loyalty is not in the act of kneeling, but in the reason for the kneeling itself.
In the end... as long as there is a logical reason to burn the picture, then you will eventually pass.
She then remembered what she had written in the novel...
The Ruler, Edmon Lazwi Carlos...
Or the Emperor obsessed with power and divine perfection... who wants everything to be perfect to an unmatched degree.
But in the end, he is just a depraved dog on the inside.
However, on the outside, he demands that his outward image be higher than anything else.
So, if it becomes clear that any picture he sees of himself does not meet his standards of perfection... he will burn it completely.
Therefore, anything that is not considered perfect by him deserves to be burned.
"Heh... hehe..."
Seriously... are you being serious?
A reason... Yes... she needs a reason to get out of this accursed test.
But how will she make the picture imperfect?
It's extremely simple.
Suddenly, with a movement of her hand, she completely flipped the table.
The framed picture, with the glass pane, crashed into the picture and made it imperfect.
Some pieces of glass entered the picture completely.
Lauren took out the lighter, lowered herself, and set the table's wood on fire.
Not the picture.