Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 8: Innate Structural Disruption: Overload

Correct the course of the story?

How the hell did it even get messed up in the first place?!

[Emergency Route Correction Protocol activated.]

[Pending rewards calculated.]

[Correction Credits acquired: 7]

[The Archive is now available to the Pseudo-Player.]

What is all this?

Why couldn’t the system tell me this way before?

No, actually, forget that. Why did it wait until there was a half-dead monster at my doorstep?!

The Ironmane Alpha dragged itself onto the rooftop, one broken and twisted paw at a time.

Aidan took a step back, his sword slipping from the sheath on his back. "...That thing should be dead."

"Yeah," I said, my throat dry. "I noticed."

[Irregular State confirmed.]

[Recommended Action: Eliminate the corrupted Logos core.]

Recommended action? Oh sure, why don’t I just ask it nicely to show me where that is?

But then another panel opened:

[Archive:]

[Available Balance: 7 Correction Credits]

[Impact Step] — 3 CC

[Guard Shell] — 4 CC

[Overload] — 6 CC

I stared at the panel blankly...

These were the moves that were available to the protagonist during the prologue of the game, ones he was supposed to know.

Why the hell is the system selling them back to me like some kind of secondhand shop?

’Really giving me hand-me-downs, ugh...’

But before I could complain any further, the Ironmane Alpha lunged, way faster than it had any right to.

"Aidan!"

"I know!"

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Vector Displacement Type—]

[Repulse]

Aidan’s sword shot forward, cutting through the air in a silver streak.

The blade slammed straight into the Alpha’s shoulder, but instead of piercing through, it sparked against the exposed bone and veered off to the side.

CLANG—!

"What the hell? It bounced?!"

The Alpha opened its fleshy jaw, revealing the black blood still spilling between its teeth as it crossed the rooftop in a single leap.

Just as it was about to reach Aidan, who was too busy pulling his sword back, I managed to get there in time, arriving on its side and placing one hand on its fur.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Kinetic Displacement Type—]

[Push]

THUD—!

For a brief moment, I thought that would be enough. After all, the same spell had knocked this thing off the elevator before.

But this time, its claws dug into the concrete.

Screeeeech—!

The rooftop split beneath its paws as the Alpha was dragged backward only a few meters.

’Damn it...how the hell is this thing more resilient dead than alive!’

[Nolan!]

Ruby’s voice cracked through the communicator at my waist.

[The relay tower is picking up strange Logos readings from that thing! It’s no longer a Class-E Monster anymore!]

"Then what is it!"

[It has to be closer to Class-D, be careful!]

"Yeah, thanks! I figured that out when it survived being crushed by an elevator!"

[No, listen to me! Its body is dead! Something inside it is forcing Logos through the corpse like a circuit!]

A circuit?

I suddenly remembered what the system had told me.

[Recommended Action: Eliminate the corrupted Logos core.]

Right. So that was what it meant.

This thing wasn’t alive anymore, but more like a broken body being puppeteered by a messed-up power source.

Hitting it, slashing it, or throwing it off a building probably wouldn’t matter unless we destroy whatever is keeping it moving.

Which meant...

My gaze dropped back to the Archive.

[Impact Step] — 3 CC

[Guard Shell] — 4 CC

[Overload] — 6 CC

Impact Step and Guard Shell, movement and defense. The two things I desperately wanted because, believe it or not, I enjoyed having all my limbs attached to my body.

But buying both would use up all 7 Correction Credits, and neither of them sounded like they could actually kill this thing.

My eyes settled on the last option.

[Overload]

Ahh, it was that obvious the entire time, wasn’t it...?

[Purchase Confirmed. 6 Correction Credits have been consumed]

[Remaining Balance: 1 Correction Credit.]

[Installing Spell Sequence...]

[Overload] — Innate Structural Disruption Type

[Warning: User Eidolon Structure differs from Original Player parameters, discretion is highly advised.]

A cold sensation stabbed into the back of my skull.

"Gghk—!"

It felt like someone had taken an entire textbook, loaded it into a USB, and jammed it straight into the back of my head.

I knew the purpose of the spell with complete clarity.

In the game, it was a finishing move the protagonist could use, a cool little ultimate attack with a cool little name.

But in reality, it was different, and frankly way more powerful in the hands of someone like Nolan Midgard.

It was a spell designed to do exactly what its name suggested: overload.

It flooded the information structure inside Logos with more force than it could handle, causing the sequence to destabilize, disperse, or run rampant.

A perfect counter.

But now a new problem arose...with my low Projection, I practically had to touch the Monster’s Core in order to get any effect.

"Aidan, I have a way to beat it, but you’re not gonna like it."

"Just spit it out already!"

"I need to hit that core directly, I can overload it and break the entire sequence controlling it in the first place."

Aidan narrowed his eyes, inclined to not believe me.

"You can do that?"

"Just trust me."

"..."

But before he could answer, the Alpha crouched before lunging once more toward Aidan’s direction.

CLANG—!

He just barely managed to redirect the monster’s claw with his blade, but even I could tell he didn’t take that attack too well.

The Alpha twisted unnaturally, its broken spine cracking as it turned its head toward me.

"Ruby! Chest! Is it in the chest?!"

[No—wait, it moved! It’s flowing toward the jaw!]

The jaw, of course, the same weak point as any normal Ironmane Wolf. The only difference was that it was attached to a monster out of our league.

Still, I had to do something.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Physical Enhancement Type—]

[Boost]

Energy entered my body, almost like I had just downed several energy drinks in a row.

But by that time, the wolf had already focused its attention back on Aidan.

I managed to circle around the monster, appearing at its back as it was distracted by the swordsman

"Aidan, I need one opening!"

"One opening for what?!"

"For me to get under its jaw!"

But it wasn’t going to stand there and die.

The Alpha leaped back before roaring, the sound crashing over the rooftop like a physical wave, causing my knees to almost buckle.

[Debilitating Roar]

No...no...my body refused to move.

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, the pain of doing so caused my thoughts to snap back into place.

Aidan was already staggering beside me, one hand pressed against his ear. His sword trembled in midair, wobbling before dropping to the ground.

The Alpha charged straight for him.

"MOVE!"

I shot forward like someone had blasted me out of a cannon, managing to slam into Aidan’s side in time.

We both crashed to the side just as the Alpha’s jaws snapped shut where his head had been.

The rooftop split open behind us.

Aidan and I rolled across the concrete in a painful tangle of limbs before crashing against the base of the relay tower.

"Urgh..."

Aidan pushed himself up, before speaking in-between pained breaths.

"Three seconds...three seconds is all I can buy you."

"That’s all I need."

Actually it was a lie, I had no idea if three seconds was enough. But if I said it out loud, he might stop trusting me, and I really needed him for one more suicidal decision.

Aidan raised his arm. His sword floated beside him, shaking slightly as blue particles wrapped around the blade before shooting out like an arrow.

The Alpha lunged straight at it, managing to catch the sword before...

CRACK—!

It chomped down, causing the entire thing to shatter in one go.

Aidan’s face twisted, like it had chomped down onto his arm instead of an object. "Damn it..."

But the first sword had never been the real attack.

While the Alpha’s jaw was still closing around the broken blade, another sword dropped from above.

SHLK—!

It pierced through the Alpha’s back and drove straight into the rooftop, pinning the monster’s broken body against the concrete.

The monster roared, thrashing to try and escape, but Aidan clenched his fist, forcing the sword deeper.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Vector Recall Type Spell—]

[Attract]

Aidan’s arm shook violently.

"Now!"

I ran like my life depended on it, because frankly, it did.

Three seconds, maybe less. That would decide whether we lived or died.

Three.

I crossed the distance in a few steps, just barely managing to dodge the wolf’s jaw as it snapped at my head.

Two.

I weaved to the side, coming up on the creature’s back before using said momentum to slide right underneath its belly.

One.

Using all the force I could muster, I drove my hand straight into the soft pink tissue underneath the wolf’s jaw.

Zero.

My fingers found the core. It pulsed violently against my palm, releasing waves of black energy that made my bones feel like they were vibrating.

But I grabbed onto it regardless.

And refused to let go.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Innate Structural Disruption Type—]

[Overload]

KRRRKK—!

A horrible screech tore through the rooftop as the Alpha’s body convulsed above me, every broken limb snapping taut at once.

The core shattered beneath my fingers, and all at once, the strength left the monster’s body, going limp and collapsing on the rooftop with a heavy thud.

And almost immediately—

"Gghhk—!"

A sharp headache tore through my head, so intense that my vision blurred in and out of focus.

It felt like the spell sequence had snapped backward through my arm and lodged itself straight into my brain.

My knees buckled and the rooftop tilted beneath me.

Ah...so there was a drawback...who would’ve thought...?

"Nolan!"

Aidan’s voice sounded distance, but I could hear his footsteps approaching me.

I tried to turn toward him, but my body refused to listen. The world blurred, the blue light from the relay tower smearing across my vision like paint.

Aidan stumbled toward me, breathing hard, one hand still trembling from holding the Alpha down.

But the expression on his face said it all—a disbelieving grin.

"You actually did it, you son of a bitch..."

I wanted to say something cool in response. Something protagonist-like and worthy of the moment.

But unfortunately, my brain had decided to shut down first.

So all I managed was—

"Urgh..."

[Prologue Scenario—]

The window blurred before I could read the rest.

Then everything went black.