Chapter 27: three second is all i need

The four remaining royal guards didn’t wait for the Inspector to finish shouting. They moved all at once, raising their swords to strike. But they weren’t aiming at me. The lead guard stepped right past my position and his sword straight down toward Suzy, who was still sitting on the floor by the bed, unable to move because of her bleeding wrist.

"Target the director!" the lead guard yelled to his men. "Take her head!"

My new human legs moved before my brain could even process the distance. With my new speed, I launched myself, covering the ten feet between us in a fraction of a second. I didn’t have a weapon, so I did the only thing a real manager would do to protect his primary investor—I threw my arms right around Suzy’s waist and scooped her whole body up against my chest, twisting my spine to shield her with my own back.

The guard’s blade struck right against the dark fabric of the guard uniform I had just stolen, my new muscular body held firm, absorbing the blow completely.

Suzy let out a breathless gasp as her face was pressed directly into the crook of my neck. Up close, she was completely warm, and her hair was brushing right against my chin. Being held tightly in the arms of a six-foot-tall, lean, and muscular human version of her snake completely short-circuited her brain. Her face went entirely red, and she stiffened up, trying to look away but ending up staring straight at the dark scale markings on my collarbbone.

"Barry..." she whispered, her voice shaking violently from a mix of intense shyness and panic. "What– what are you doing? Put me down right now! This is entirely—!"

"Hold on, manager," I said out loud. "The customers are getting rowdy, and I need to file a formal complaint."

The lead guard pulled his weapon back, his face turning ugly under his helmet as the other three soldiers surrounded us, their blades raised for a combined strike. "Die, you shape-shifting freak!" the guard captain shouted, opening his mouth to bark the final attack order to his squad. "Form up and—"

"NO!" I roared at the top of my lungs, using my brand-new human active skill.

The skill [The Customer Is Always Wrong] activated instantly. My voice carried a massive, reality-bending wave of pure retail manager authority that filled the entire penthouse bedroom.

"your return policy is completely invalid!" I screamed straight into the lead guard’s face, using pure, unhinged corporate jargon. "this audit is an unauthorized interference with a signed monopoly charter! according to section four of the merchandise code , you do not have the proper permit to open your mouth in this building! Compliance terminated!"

The effect was immediate and hilarious.

The guard captain’s mouth stayed open, but the words completely died in his throat. His entire body froze. The other three guards, who were just about to lunge, stopped dead in their tracks, their arms locked in the air, their eyes blinking blankly under their helmets as their brains were completely fried by the sudden wave of legal nonsense.

[Skill Activated: ’The Customer Is Always Wrong’ (Tier 4)]

- Targets Affected: 4 Royal Guards.

- Effect: Total cognitive freeze active for 3 seconds.

"Three seconds? Three second is all i need," I muttered, a smile spreading across my face.

Still holding Suzy tightly in my left arm like a highly valuable piece of guild merchandise, I used my free right hand to move. I didn’t need a sword. I just stepped right into the center of their line, balled up my new fist, and delivered a quick, massive punch straight to the lead guard’s jaw.

The force of my Tier 5 strength sent the guard captain flying backward, his helmet spinning off his head as he crashed hard into the Inspector’s knees, knocking them both into a big, messy pile on the floor.

With two seconds left, I spun around, kicked the second guard right in the shin, and grabbed the third guard’s wrist, twisting it until his weapon dropped straight into the rug. The remaining soldiers tumbled over each other, completely losing their balance before the system freeze even wore off.

The world snapped back to normal speed. The royal guards were groaning on the floor, the Inspector was screaming, and the entire high-level suppression squad was a total mess.

I looked down at Suzy, who was still tucked safely against my chest, she was staring up at my face with a mix of absolute awe, shoked and extreme blushing embarrassment.

"See?" I smiled down at her, my eyes gleaming through my black hair. "Good logistics wins every time, Director."

Suzy quickly pushed against my chest, her face turning even redder as she scrambled out of my arms, landing on her feet and pretending to adjust her clothes. "You... you are a completely insane Barry," she stammered, her voice low and shy as she refused to look at my legs. "But... nice work on the audit."

The four guards still lay there , groaning in pain as they clutched their broken joints. The Inspector crawled backward until his spine hit the legs of the dressing table, his sword clicking against the floor as his hands trembled in pure fear. His bloodshot eyes stared at my tall, muscular frame like he was looking at an absolute ghost.

"You..." the Inspector wheezed, his face pale as he pointed a shaking finger at my chest. "You think you can stop the crown with brute strength? You are nothing but an unregistered beast! Prince Raymond is an Ascendant level expert! He can wipe this entire sector off the map with a single wave of his hand! You cannot do anything to change your fate!"

I stopped adjusting my clothes, my eyes narrowing. "Ascendant?" I said, the word sounding completely strange to my ear.

I turned my head to look down at the bedside where Suzy was standing. "Hey, manager. What is he talking about? What the hell is an Ascendant?"

Suzy let out a small laugh, her hand still resting on her hip as she tried to keep a serious face despite her red cheeks. "Barry, stop it. This is definitely not the right time to make jokes. The guards are literally right outside the door."

"I am not joking," I said, my voice completely serious. "I genuinely have no idea what that word means."

Suzy’s smile instantly vanished, her black eyes blinking in utter confusion. "You... you don’t know the tiers of the world? How can someone with this much strength not know the basic paths of cultivation?"