Chapter 17 : The Foresight That Became Shackles

I was leisurely enjoying my beef without worrying about reading the room for the first time in a while when a sudden summons made me choke.

Iris seemed almost perfect, but if she had one flaw, it was that she valued FM (Field Manual) too much, making her inflexible.

Whatever trouble the student named Philip had gotten into, it honestly wasn’t my concern.

But if he had really gotten caught up in something serious, it would have made more sense to take Stella Darkbane or Abel Sellerime instead of me.

However, activating the Star’s Consciousness to issue such an order would have been too obvious, so I followed behind Iris without a word.

“Philip?

You mean that male student who tormented the girls in the support department with curses?

Maybe he felt guilty and deliberately skipped the barbecue party.

If Lady Iris hadn’t gone so far as to lie to defend me, I would have found it hard to show my face at the party, too.

Honestly, even I find it a bit odd that I suddenly received the first-place reward from the field trip when all I did was sit still like a burden on a carrying frame.”

“I never lied. Kim Sunghoon, you undoubtedly made a significant contribution.”

“Huh? M-Me? But… the carrying frame was something you made, Lady Iris. What exactly did I… do?”

I nervously asked, wondering if she had somehow discovered that I had used the ancient language inside the enclosed seat of the carrying frame.

“You saw me harvesting numerous fortuitous encounters and never once said a word about it.

I am very sensitive to the gaze of others, so I knew that you harbored not even a shred of greed toward those encounters.

Letting go of desire—it’s more difficult than one might think.

Do you know what was the last fortuitous encounter I discovered?

It was none other than the legendary spirit herb Doll Ginseng, a name even you must have heard before.

The concentration of its sleep-inducing powder had grown so thick that I couldn’t consume it immediately, giving me a chance to share it with my friends.

At the very least, it would have been proper to give even a part of the ginseng’s fruit to Stella or Abel, who lost first place because of me.

And to you, who suffered inside that cramped wooden box for two whole days, I should have at least given a small root.

But the moment I smelled the Doll Ginseng, I lost all reason.

When I came to my senses, I was already licking the dirt off my own hands.

Just thinking about it makes me despise myself—I can hardly bear it.”

“Uh… please don’t be so hard on yourself.

For someone like me, who has weak mana control and hasn’t learned a proper mana cultivation technique, even a small root of Doll Ginseng could be poisonous.

And from what I remember reading, its fruit is naturally toxic—you have to consume it together with its root to neutralize the poison…”

“Kim Sunghoon, get down!”

I had been carelessly running my mouth, trying to console Iris, only to realize too late that I had made a mistake.

She suddenly pushed me backward.

Just as I landed on my rear, a thick, muddy blob of spit shot out from somewhere and slammed into the tree behind me.

Ssssssshhhhh!

A terrifying hissing sound filled the air.

The base of the tree melted as if someone had poured acid on it, and the lifeless tree collapsed helplessly to the side.

There was no need for complicated thinking—this was an absolute crisis.

I quickly leaped beyond the fallen tree to take cover and activated the Star’s Consciousness.

Using the broad perspective of the Star’s Consciousness, I scanned for the enemy that had spewed the sludge.

Not far away, I spotted a bizarre creature hiding in ambush, its body submerged like a crocodile lurking in a swamp, with only its eyes peeking out.

Even as a veteran of the Pantheon of Constellations, I couldn’t identify the enemy just by its eyes alone.

But the moment I noticed Philip nearby, making exaggerated, unnatural movements as if he were drowning, I immediately had a bad feeling.

“That’s a Grade-2 Devil Doll—a Human-Faced Fish—using him as bait. What the hell is that thing doing here?”

Even senior division students had to form a party to safely take down one of those creatures.

No matter how strong Iris was, this wasn’t an opponent she could handle alone.

Without hesitation, I shouted for her to run.

Iris, grab Kim Sunghoon and run at full speed toward the campsite!

Call an instructor immediately!

“Huh? But… I think I just saw Philip for a moment.”

That’s not the real Philip!

It’s a fake created by the Devil Doll—just run!!

“… S-save… me…”

Maybe it was because I had never spoken in such a firm and urgent tone before, but Iris didn’t question me further.

She immediately hoisted me onto her back and began running.

In truth, I had called it a fake because I feared she might hesitate, but there was a high chance that Philip’s actual body was indeed connected to the Human-Faced Fish’s tentacles.

The Human-Faced Fish had a known habit of killing people and then taking control of their central nervous system, using their bodies as bait to lure in their comrades or family members.

The only saving grace was that this area wasn’t a river, meaning the creature wasn’t able to move at full speed while chasing us.

If Iris managed to return to the campsite, they could potentially form a defensive line centered around the higher-ranked students.

With that hope in mind, I began mentally sorting through a list of students who could be useful in an emergency.

But just as I was narrowing it down, Iris suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching her head in pain.

“Ugh…! No… we can’t… If we take it to the campsite, everyone will die…”

Iris, what’s happening?

“Nameless King… I just saw a glimpse of the future. If we lure that Devil Doll to the campsite, we will eventually defeat it—but at the cost of too many lives. We have to stop it here.”

What?

You saw the future?

Have you ever experienced something like this before?

“No… this is the first time. I assumed it was a power bestowed upon me by you, Nameless King. Was it not?”

I quickly analyzed the situation.

It wasn’t 100% certain, but Iris Lunai likely possessed not just insight and wisdom, but also a latent foresight skill.

Judging by the frequency and accuracy of its activation, it probably wasn’t a high-rank ability.

Still, the fact that she had foresight at all—one of the legendary Three Divine Skills—was astonishing.

However, at this moment, her foresight was acting as a shackle, holding her back.

The power to see the future is not always absolute.

Just like the flap of a butterfly’s wings can trigger a storm, even the smallest variables can drastically change the outcome.

That’s why we need to return to the campsite and gather the students I name.

If we work together and fight the Devil Doll with full force, we may be able to minimize casualties—or even prevent them entirely.

But if you try to fight it alone here, the result will be nothing but tragedy.

“I’m sorry, Nameless King. I… I can’t gamble with my comrades’ lives. I have to defeat that Devil Doll here—please lend me your strength.”

I hesitated at Iris’s request, unable to give an immediate answer.

Considering her strong sense of justice and rigid personality, I had always known that a moment like this would come.

I just hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

Either way, I had two choices.

One was to comply with Iris’s request and use every last bit of Karma I had to strengthen her with the ancient language.

The other was to assert my authority and discipline a contractor who refused to follow the command of their constellation.

But given the current situation, choosing the latter meant putting my real body in extreme danger.

Even now, just thinking about the moment that acidic spit had melted through the tree beside me sent chills down my spine.

Realizing that I didn’t have any good options, I finally broke the silence.

Very well, Iris.

If this is your resolve, I will grant you my power.

Bite your index finger and offer me your blood—hand over control to me.

“Thank you for accepting my request, Nameless King.”

But promise me one thing: if the battle against the Devil Doll becomes too dangerous, you must run.

Even if you have to do it alone.

I told her to run alone, but deep down, I was betting that she wouldn’t.

Would Iris really abandon my unconscious body and flee?

That doubt, that unconscious reliance on her unwavering sense of justice, made me feel a little ashamed.

In the end, I resolved to go all in—there was no turning back now.

I decided not to hoard my Karma like some precious resource for later, but instead to invest 90% of it into Iris’s legs right now.

With my blood-dripping index finger, I carved a rune of unyielding willpower onto the backs of her feet:Titanium (Ti).

This time, I poured in far more Karma than I had when inscribing the runes inside the palanquin.

No matter how brutal the fight against the Devil Doll became, even if the rest of her body took damage—her legs would never break.