The Actor's Desperate Ring
The Actor Consciousness is ill-suited for combat. Physical abilities and mana are lackluster compared to other consciousnesses, and the only combat-related skill it offers is mere synchronization.
It might seem like embodying a combat role like a swordsman or mage through the Actor Consciousness would yield outstanding performance even in real fights, but it's not that simple. No matter how cool or powerful an action movie star's performance is on screen, they can't replicate that prowess in everyday life.
Immersing in the role might grant a slight boost in ability, but it won't turn the tide of battle. That's the fundamental limit of the Actor Consciousness.
But conversely, it's also its unique strength. While synchronized with the Actor Consciousness and fully immersed in the performance, my mind becomes one with the role. I am the character, and the character is me.
It's no exaggeration to say that the moment I start acting, my mind, synced with the Actor Consciousness, is enveloped in a protective shell of the role.
So, what if I, synchronized with the Actor Consciousness, begin my performance? Could I withstand the emotional assaults of the nightmare slime corps?
During the act, I'm not Park Jeonghyeon—I'm a living, breathing character.
-Thud! I landed steadily using a proper roll and immediately began image-making.
I am a boxer. A rookie boxer stepping into the pro ring for the first time.
My opponent is the legendary champion with an unbroken record.
This match will rewrite boxing history. Will the champion hold his throne as always? Or will the rookie pen a new legend?
As a newbie, my chances of victory are virtually nil.
But I must win. For everyone who's cheered me on so far. To achieve my dream.
Let's go.
A illusion of lightness washes over my body. My steps become nimble naturally, my hands guard my face on instinct.
In an instant, the pitch-black boss room transforms into a ring echoing with the crowd's roars.
"Come at me, champion."
I taunted the nightmare slime corps, now the champion in my mind, and activated synchronization. Mana surged from my body, blanketing the slime corps, redirecting its malice from Karen toward me bit by bit.
Even that felt only like the champion's fired-up intensity to me, now deep in the act.
Then, it swung its vicious fist!
-Ding ding ding! The match began.
"Too slow!"
I ducked under its straight punch and countered with an uppercut to its exposed chin.
-Thwack!!
My fist connected solidly with its jaw. A chilling, squishy sensation spread through my knuckles.
And just like that, my mind plunged into deep ocean depths.
The heated arena crumbled, replaced by a familiar scene of destruction.
Shattered TV. Ceiling riddled with holes. My father's severed arm flying through the air.
Seo-jin from next door, who rang the doorbell, now an erosion entity pounding eerily on the door.
My breath faltered; I stumbled back a step without thinking.
This was my worst memory. The root of my origin. The source of my deficiency.
The overwhelming tidal wave of emotion threatened to drown my mind.
That's when it came.
-You can do it! My son! Beat that champion!
A familiar voice, one I hadn't heard in ages, echoed faintly in my ear from somewhere.
That single phrase cracked a massive fissure through the world of my horrific memory.
-Crack!
The world shattered to pieces, replaced once more by the sweltering heat of the ring.
"Hoo."
I'd barely resisted the nightmare slime corps' power. I slapped my cheeks and took a deep breath.
I'd nearly been dragged into an irreversible abyss.
Focus. Right now, I'm not Park Jeonghyeon, stripped of family, friends, and home by erosion entities.
I'm Park Jeonghyeon, the boxer charging toward victory with cheers from my loved ones.
I can do this.
-Thud! I blocked its quick jab with my arm.
Gloom tried to pull me into the depths again, but I shook my head fiercely to dispel it.
The shifting world snapped back to the arena.
I hammered a hook into its exposed left jaw, following with a crisp straight punch.
Dodge. Strike! Block... Strike! Again, strike...!
Strike, strike, strike, strike...!
Victory drew nearer. The thrill and exhilaration surging through me were unstoppable.
Adrenaline pumped wildly in my heart. I could even feel the single bead of sweat trickling down my forehead vividly.
"Hraaaah!!"
I unleashed my final uppercut toward the champion, aimed at victory.
That's when it happened.
"What the actual fuck."
The pink-haired referee suddenly crashed the match, spinning her body to swing her greatsword in a massive arc.
-Krrunch!!
Her enormous greatsword cleaved the champion's body clean in two.
The champion's upper half, absurdly torn apart, burst into flames.
An immense sense of emptiness crashed over me.
My lifelong dream of defeating the champion stolen away, I couldn't contain my rage.
"What the hell are you doing?! It should have been my fist! I was the one to finish the champion—!"
"...Did its slime touch your skin and mess you up?"
The referee looked at me boredly, then—
"Snap out of it!"
-Slap!
She smacked my cheek hard with her hand.
"......"
Wait. Why had I thought of Karen as the referee?
The question pierced my mind as the slap landed, and the surroundings began to shift.
The electrifying ring became a dim dungeon.
The referee who'd stolen my moment became the lovely Karen.
And finally, the champion I'd been battling heart-pounding against reverted to the nightmare slime corps.
Not "reverted"—returned to its true form, more accurately.
"Ah, thanks. You okay? No injuries?"
I blinked at Karen for a moment, scratched the back of my head, and asked.
"I'm fine. You look a bit banged up, though. Shouldn't you see a doctor?"
Karen pointed at her temple and twirled her finger.
"Like I said, it's just the ability's side effect. My mind's fine."
"Really? I thought for sure you'd gone nuts from trading bare-fisted punches with that thing."
Karen, greatsword slung on her back, met my eyes as she spoke.
It sounded like pure sarcasm at first, but I could faintly sense worry laced behind her gruff tone.
"You threw yourself in to create an opening, and here I am being all harsh about it?"
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I averted my gaze to the floor.
"If that bugs you, you shouldn't have stuck with me. Still, thanks to you, I could finish it clean. Without you, I'd still be scrambling to block its attacks."
"Nah, you had it worse. In the end, we couldn't have taken it down without you."
"...Let's stop the mutual praise fest. This forced heartwarming vibe is making me nauseous."
Karen shook her head in disgust, apparently still not used to receiving compliments.
"By the way. Isn't that thing bubbling weirdly?"
Karen shrugged and suddenly pointed somewhere.
Bubbling? What?
Puzzled by her cryptic question, I tilted my head and looked where she pointed.
There, the nightmare slime corps—neatly bisected—lay half-melted, bubbling furiously.
Like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"....?"
Something was seriously wrong. It should have evaporated into ambient mana without a fuss.
This defied my knowledge; my body froze as if plunged into icy water.
The corpse of the nightmare slime corps swelled, growing larger as if about to explode any second.
"...This normal?"
Karen backed away from it too, sensing the anomaly.
The only answer I could give her trembling voice was one.
"Duck!!"
-Boom!!
My shout echoed as the swelling corpse detonated with a massive blast.
Like a grenade, chunks of the nightmare slime corps sprayed everywhere.
I shoved Karen down with all my strength and tried to drop low myself, but time was too short.
Every exposed bit of skin—face, arms—got plastered with the stuff.
As the dark blue sludge slowly seeped into my body, my mind went hazy in an instant.
Fading vision. Collapsing world. Distorted senses. Warped reality.
Even before the nausea registered,
My consciousness crawled into the deep sea.