"Ding—!"
A crisp, mechanical chime sliced through the chaotic battlefield. Lawson's mundane-looking phone vibrated with a divine resonance, as if broadcasting an oracle:
[ SECRET SKILL: THE ELEMENTAL RECOMPOSITION OF THE ARMOR GOD — ACTIVATED!]
In an instant, several virtual panels radiating blinding golden light descended from the void, surrounding Lawson like stars orbiting the moon.
Complex elemental cycles and attribute matrices flickered across the screens. Lawson's gaze was as calm as still water; his fingertip swept across the air, precisely plucking the thread of fate that would decide the outcome.
"Attribute Lock: FIRE."
With his command, a torrential flood of data erupted from the panels. It twisted and intertwined in mid-air, forging countless chains of golden order that roared toward {Wood Strike} with crushing pressure.
"What kind of trick is this? Get back!"
{Wood Strike} shrieked, swinging her blade to sever the golden chains. But despair followed—the data tide seemed to exist in another dimension.
It passed through her defenses like a ghost. No matter how she dodged or parried, the chains clung to her like a curse, locking onto her every coordinate.
This wasn't an attack. It was a "Mandatory Execution Order" from the Armor God.
Under her terrified gaze, the golden chains pierced through her SS-Rank armor and wedged directly into the armor core.
The vibrant green armor groaned in metallic agony. Under the wash of golden data, the emerald plating turned glowing red, as if seared by a branding iron.
[FIRE STRIKE — FORCED DESCENT!]
"Impossible... This level of authority... I'm being forced to transform?!"
Her triumphant sneer froze, replaced by a chill that seeped into her marrow. She frantically toggled the core, trying to switch back to the Wood or Thunder attribute, but the circuits were pinned to the anvil.
No matter how the system wailed, the crimson hue remained immovable.
Lawson dragged his {Mercy Hammer}, stepping out of the crater with overwhelming pressure.
"Normally, this lock lasts only twenty minutes. But unfortunately, amplified by my hammer, the duration has been extended by 300%."
He stopped, his brown hair dancing in the firelight, his voice laced with a terrifying arrogance:
"In other words, a full hour. An hour where my friends have plenty of time to strip your armor apart, bolt by bolt."
Lawson spread his arms, delivering the final judgment to his stunned allies:
"The tables have turned. From this moment on, the 'Kidnapper' is the prey with nowhere to run! Go—bring this arrogant brat back to Base!"
Realizing the battle was lost, the female warrior looked at the flashing red core on her chest and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"So this is the depth of a 'Ten-Year Veteran'? Heh... It seems I underestimated you."
To everyone's surprise, she didn't fight. She disengaged the armor, watching as the crimson shards dissolved and vanished into the void.
The " Sovereign of Attribute Weave " lowered her head and walked toward Lawson as a lost soul seeking a new path.
"I am sorry... I had to take you! Only you can help me!" She took a deep breath, revealing the truth. "That Shadow General... the one who destroyed everything... has been hunting you! He wants to kill the 'Ten-Year Veteran' personally. When I heard you shout that forbidden phrase, you were no longer a captive—you became my only hope."
Her fingers dug into her palms, her voice humble and sincere: "Please... act as bait. Help me lure that monster out!"
"Is that all? Fine, consider it done!" Lawson patted his chest, but his tone shifted. "However... as compensation, you're coming back to the Nova Star Base. We need to plan, and I need the equipment."
The warrior didn't hesitate. She tossed her long black hair and gave a response that made everyone choke:
"No problem! As long as you help, I'll go anywhere—I'll even marry you as payment if that's what it takes!"
Lawson shuddered at the words "marry you." The image of her as a battle maniac was still fresh in his mind. This wasn't a romance; it was a death warrant!
"N-no need to be so dramatic! Keep your 'marriage' for someone luckier... My small frame can't handle that, haha... ha..."
The field fell into an awkward silence. After a long pause, Ester snapped out of it and screamed:
"No! Brother Lawson, absolutely not!" Ester's face flushed red. "She isn't a warrior under our jurisdiction! Bringing an outsider to the base is a severe violation of the system's core protocols!"
"Oh, just be flexible," Lawson said nonchalantly. "Tell your 'System Master' she's just a 'Temporary Resident.' Once this is over, she'll be gone. Surely the Great System won't nitpick over such a small thing?"
Ester looked skeptical but opened her tablet for encrypted communication. A moment later, a divine blue palm silhouette appeared on the screen.
"What?! The System Master... actually agreed?" Ester muttered in disbelief. "This is unprecedented... Fine! You, black-haired, come here! Place your palm on the screen for registration!"
As the warrior obediently walked toward Ester, Dodge and Katie shared a look of "seeing through everything."
"Hey, Katie, you see that?" Dodge whispered, dripping with jealousy. "I spent my life force getting beaten up out here, and my bro just says two words and gets a marriage proposal..."
Katie was already fuming, her voice a hundred times more sour than a lemon:
"Is he here to be an Armor Smith or a Harem Master? At this rate, by the time we save the world, the women behind him could form an army!"
Dodge rubbed his chin, sighing as he watched the warrior's heroic yet graceful back. "An SS-Rank black-haired beauty with all-around attributes... Lawson's 'Harem Protagonist' luck is truly unshakable."
Katie reached her limit. Her eyes ignited with a nameless fire. Dodge, oblivious to the danger, kept talking: "Man, I wish I had Lawson's luck..."
"Harem?" Katie turned, her voice cold enough to freeze someone into an ice sculpture. "Senior Dodge, do you feel like you didn't soar high enough earlier? Want to try 'permanent residence' in outer space?"
Dodge ducked his head, sensing that the current Katie was ten times more dangerous than the enemy they just fought.
Katie took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to declare her territory right there.
She was the one who had stayed by Lawson's side the longest; she wouldn't be intimidated by a "kidnapper."
She strode to Lawson's side, subtly cutting off the warrior's path to him, her tone commanding:
"Now that registration is done, let's move. Since you're a 'resident,' follow the rules. And don't throw around words like 'marriage' so lightly."
The warrior was stunned. Her combat instinct told her that this blue-haired woman's hostility wasn't about elemental counters—it was the primal instinct of a "Territory Guardian."
Lawson stood between them, feeling a chill down his spine. What is this 'Shura Field' atmosphere? It's scarier than the actual battle!
Ester whispered to herself as she watched the awkward trio:
"System Master... the protocol didn't say I had to handle family drama too..."
Just as the group was preparing for a triumphant return, Lawson suddenly froze as if struck by lightning.
"Wait! Disaster! Huge disaster!"
He slapped his forehead, looking toward the distant, crumbling ruins with a face full of genuine agony.
"My SSS-Rank God-Tier gear—the 'Armor Smith's Greatcoat of Glory'! I was so busy looking cool when I jumped that I left it snagged on that rebar at the top! That's a one-of-a-kind, limited edition masterpiece! If I lose it, I won't be able to sleep for the rest of my life!"
In an instant, the "Peerless Master" who had just single-handedly suppressed an SS-Rank armor switched his persona. With a pitiful, puppy-dog expression and a gaze devoid of any remaining dignity, he stared intently at Ester.
"My dearest sister-guide, with your divine, unparalleled spatial mastery... could you lend your brother a hand? Just a tiny portal to fetch my treasure back? Please, please! This is the request of a lifetime!"
"Tsk..."
Ester pursed her lips, her delicate face practically screaming the word "disgust."
However, under the relentless assault of Lawson's max-level manipulation tactics, she finally let out a defeated sigh.
"I really can't deal with you... Fine! But only this once! I am NEVERtaking a delivery job again!"
The words had barely left her mouth when she slashed open a shimmering blue rift in the void.
A second later, Ester's petite figure appeared atop the ruins, a hundred meters in the air. Amidst the howling cold wind, the super-guide—who usually spent her days acting cold and tsundere—was now sprawled like an over-exhausted kitten on the edge of a wobbly steel girder, stretching her arm desperately to reach the coat fluttering in the wind.
"I was clearly... born to be a Super Guide, leading the greatest warriors to glory..."
She felt the rough fabric brush against her fingertips.
While struggling to maintain her balance, she couldn't help but mutter in a voice thick with the resentment of a collapsing professional ego:
"This kind of work... picking up laundry for a 'local thug'... is somehow more exhausting than fighting a Berserk Boss!"
While Ester was still fighting for her life atop the ruins just to retrieve a coat, Lawson was staring grimly at his phone, reviewing the golden notification that had just popped up.
"So, this is the catch..."
Lawson let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He had come to terms with it—this world's system wasn't just eccentric; it was operating on a mode of pure, unadulterated "Malice."
On the screen, the settlement interface for the Hidden Mission glowed with a faint, eerie light:
[TYPE: ARMOR SMITH EXCLUSIVE HIDDEN MISSION]
[Objective: Demonstrate the Smith's will to overturn a desperate situation and successfully execute an act of "Causality Reversal" (1/1).]
Reward Granted:
[Armor Smith Exclusive Secret Skill: Armor God's Elemental Recomposition]
[Effect: The Armor God asserts absolute dominance over attributes. Within range, the user can restructure the elemental composition of any entity identified as an enemy and force-lock it for 20 minutes.]
[Note: This skill involves dimension-level logic tampering and places an extreme load on the user. Each activation leads to irreversible 'Existential Wear,' randomly erasing fragments of the user's memories.]
"Sss—!"
The moment he saw that final line of blood-red text, the heat of victory vanished from Lawson's face.
A chilling shiver raced up his spine and settled in his skull.
"This isn't a divine skill... this is a soul-reaping guillotine!"
Lawson wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his heart hammering against his ribs. The price was terrifying—losing memories? This wasn't as simple as forgetting a password.
If he overplayed his hand, he could end up as a senile wanderer sitting on a street corner, unable to remember his own name or where his home was.
Lawson's grip tightened on his phone, the device feeling as volatile as a live landmine. "This stays locked away," he whispered, a grim promise to himself.
"I'm not touching it unless it's life or death. I refuse to let 'brain atrophy' be my legacy."
But as the silence settled, a chilling realization took hold: I've already activated it. Which of my memories is it consuming right now?