The Terminally-Ill Rejects the Approach (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16

“Ansel…lot? What are you doing here…?”

“Hm? Didn’t you summon me, Your Imperial Highness? I assumed you called me because you used ‘that power.'”

He tilted his head, pointing at the pendant hanging on my chest, then narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Oh—no! I mean, yes! It *was* you I called!”

Realizing I urgently needed Anselot’s help, I quickly replied.

“I need a bug, just like last time. I have to stop Hezen…!”

“Oh, you mean that player whose eyes went completely crazy?”

Anselot pointed toward Hezen, who had just staggered back to life.

“Yes, but I need a way to break free from the system’s scripted scenario…”

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been struggling so hard, our Imperial Princess?”

Anselot chuckled lightly, speaking as if it were no big deal.

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“Unfortunately, there aren’t any truly good options I can use in this situation.”

Just as I began to feel disappointed by his words—

“I don’t need to go through all that trouble hunting for a ‘good idea,’ after all.”

“…?”

“You still look confused, even though I just told you I’m a bug.”

Anselot snapped his fingers together in midair.

Instantly, a nameplate floated above his head.

Prince Anselot of Luhenhart Kingdom

It was a nameplate I’d never seen before.

He snapped his fingers once more.

At that moment, the letters above his head shifted and rearranged themselves, transforming into a combination of red text and numbers.

System Bug: no.000000000001

“…!”

For a brief moment, I held my breath, staring at the crimson letters hovering above him.

The blue nameplates floating above people normally served as identification, displaying their names, occupations, or traits.

“But that’s not a name at all.”

Yet I had no time to dwell on my suspicions about Anselot’s true nature—

Hezen charged straight toward us.

“Yaaahhhhh!”

Clang—!

Hezen’s sword clashed against Anselot’s spear, which had materialized midair.

“You—you! What the hell are you?! Where’d your name go?! ‘System Bug’? What in the world is that…?!”

Hezen shrieked in terror, eyes locked onto the space above Anselot’s head.

“Well, what do you think I am?”

Anselot grinned crookedly and pressed harder with his spear.

Hezen’s sword was instantly repelled and clattered to the ground.

[SYSTEM] Bug detected! [SYSTEM] Bug detected!

Along with a slightly delayed warning, the system window I’d seen before reappeared.

[SYSTEM] System adjustment in progress due to an unexpected bug! [SYSTEM] System adjustment in progress due to an unexpected bug! [SYSTEM] System adjustment due to an unexpected bug……▤▥◐♧♨◈▨

The system window crackled violently, trembling—

[SYSTEM] System blocked due to a critical bug.

—and vanished with a soft *pop*.

“…!”

Hezen’s eyes went wide with shock.

But the system window was already gone.

“No… no… this can’t be happening…!”

His face turned deathly pale.

While he stood frozen in panic, utterly lost—

Whack—!

struck Hezen once more.

Hezen collapsed without even a whimper, blood spewing from his mouth.

His body remained motionless long after he fell—no sign of revival.

“…I see.”

Watching him, I realized:

Hezen was dead. Truly… dead.

“Keeeeeeeeeek!”

My brief relief vanished. let out a chilling roar.

I stared in despair at the monstrous giant octopus.

‘If even Hezen, a player, couldn’t kill that thing, then who can stop it now?’

If we couldn’t eliminate that monster, everyone here—including me—would end up like Hezen.

“H-Hezen, my lord…!”

“Lord Hezen has fallen to the Bald Kraken!”

“W-what do we do now…?!”

The knights panicked, running about in confusion.

It was strange—they’d shown no reaction when Hezen attacked me, yet now they were utterly lost at his death.

Just then—

The system window, which had crackled out of existence, reappeared.

System rebooting… [08.27%/100.00%]

Apparently, the system remained active even after Hezen’s death as a player.

System rebooting… [12.92%/100.00%]

System rebooting… [36.51%/100.00%]

Snap.

Beside me, Anselot clicked his fingers toward the air.

The blue nameplate above his head smoothly disappeared.

“What did you just do?”

“Camouflage. It’d be troublesome if they discovered I’m a bug.”

System rebooting… [64.28%/100.00%]

System rebooting… [78.33%/100.00%]

“Camouflage? I don’t see anything above your head…”

“That’s because you’re neither a player nor a system pawn, Your Highness. Earlier, I deliberately made it visible to you.”

System rebooting… [99.07%/100.00%]

System rebooting… [100.00%/100.00%] [SYSTEM] System successfully rebooted.

While Anselot and I exchanged words, the system had fully restarted.

Pam-pa-pam! Pam-pam-pa-pa-pam!

An absurdly flamboyant, celebratory fanfare erupted—more suitable for a triumphant general’s homecoming than a simple system reboot.

[Oh dear, I’m so sorry for the delay, Player! ﾟ(｀Д´)ﾟ We had a complete mess at the Messenger Bureau thanks to those damn bug bastards!ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!

But don’t worry! (｢･ω･)｢~~ I’ve properly received your handover, after all!]

A green message window appeared before me—somehow even noisier than before. Simultaneously—

“Huh…?”

A starry visual effect rained down from the sky.

[SYSTEM] Quest completed!

‘???’

My eyes snapped wide open.

[Bam-bam-pam!!! (๑˃̶͈̀∇˂̶͈́)و⁾⁾˚* Congratulations on your Awakening!!! ♪♪(oollipop)o～♪♪ I knew I could count on you—!!]

“What? But Hezen just…!”

I frantically scanned my surroundings.

Could Hezen have revived again?

Impossible. After all this, was Hezen truly unbeatable?

Then… did that mean I had to just surrender and let him kill me…?

I picked up Hezen’s fallen sword and took a defensive stance.

It was the bare minimum precaution against an unpredictable Hezen.

[Main Quest: Lover’s Death] Completed!

▷Clear Conditions

-Lover’s Death [√]

-Crowd of 100+ [√]

▶Reward: [Awakening—Warrior of Light]

‘Huh…?’

Something felt off.

The quest clearly had two conditions: ‘Lover’s Death’ and ‘Crowd of 100+.’

And I was absolutely certain that at least one of them—’Lover’s Death’—hadn’t been fulfilled.

Because I was still alive, wide-eyed and breathing!

‘Wait a minute…’

I looked up at the space above my own head.

“…!”

My eyes widened in shock.

The pink nameplate that had glowed above me just before the system shutdown was now gone.

Until now, only one person had ever lacked a visible nameplate—Anselot, the bug…

‘Does that mean… I’ve become one too…?’

[SYSTEM] Commencing player awakening as main quest reward!

Fwoosh—!

The air gently surrounding me began to flow softly, then infused itself into the blade I held, shimmering with radiant light.

[SYSTEM] Awakening complete! [SYSTEM] Title 【Swordmaster of Radiance】 acquired! As a title privilege, you now use a golden nameplate. [SYSTEM] 1000 experience points acquired. [SYSTEM] Level increased! (Lv.11) [SYSTEM] 10 skill points acquired. [SYSTEM] Awakening completion reward delivered to mailbox. [SYSTEM] Tutorial scenario completed! [Oops! As a bonus of your awakening, your lost reproductive ability is also— Wait, it’s perfectly fine already? ( •︠ˍ•︡ ƪ )?

Seriously, those nasty bug bastards (°o° ╬) keep causing errors!?!]

‘What? Is that… talking to me…?’

[Then rest well until your main scenario arrives! ദ്ദി˶ˊᵕˋ˵)] [SYSTEM] Time remaining until main scenario arrival: 3 days 00 hours 00 minutes

Above my head now floated a golden nameplate I’d never seen before.

【Swordmaster of Radiance】 Lv.11 Princess Louise Belle Azester

A golden nameplate displaying title and level (Lv)—just like Hezen’s. So this meant…

“Wow, congratulations on your awakening, Your Highness.”

Anselot clapped slowly, his voice flat and monotonous.

“How did this happen?! Why have I become a player?!”

I grabbed Anselot and shouted.

A golden nameplate unlike anyone else’s.

The system’s suspicious behavior and the interface—previously visible only near Hezen…

It was unmistakable.

The system now recognized me as a player.

I had become one myself!

“This isn’t the time for that. We need to deal with that giant octopus.”

Anselot replied calmly.

“Oh, right! The Bald Kraken!”

I turned toward , left behind by Hezen. But then I frowned in confusion.

“If I’m a player now, why isn’t it attacking me but going after him?”

was charging toward Ervin, the deputy captain of the Imperial Knights.

“Well, obviously because you’re weaker, Your Highness.”

True—even with my new awakening and level-up, I couldn’t possibly match Hezen, who’d been equipped with countless items…

‘Wait—what happened to Hezen’s items?’

Anxiously, I opened my inventory.

‘Holy—wow!’

Hezen’s items were still there.

Among them, I found something particularly useful.

Item x1

Invincibility Potion crafted by a suspicious apothecary. Grants temporary Lv.99 invincibility upon consumption. Note: Ineffective for unawakened players.

‘So Hezen couldn’t use it because he wasn’t awakened.’

It was a single-use potion that would vanish upon use—but I had no time to hesitate.

I quickly drank it.

[SYSTEM] Your level temporarily surges. (Level: 99) [SYSTEM] You have entered an invincible state.

Instantly, , which had been charging toward Ervin, froze—then slowly turned its head toward me.

Our eyes met.

visibly stiffened, then began backing away cautiously.

“What’s this…?”

[SYSTEM] Your level exceeds ‘s by more than 20. [SYSTEM] Overwhelmed by your power difference, enters a state of terror.

As if answering my question, the system window kindly explained.

“Not bad—its survival instinct is solid.”

Holding my sword, now humming with red energy, I dashed toward the Bald Kraken.

My body felt astonishingly light.

Leaping into the air, I saw raise all eight of its massive limbs to shield its bald head.

I swung down hard, striking its head directly.

“Kwuaaaaaaaah!”

shrieked—and split cleanly in two.