Here is Chapter 7. We are going to focus on him testing his unique ability under pressure and realizing the severe limitations of his "Mana pool." In true Webnovel fashion, intelligence and strategy will have to make up for his physical weakness.
Chapter 7: Syntax Error
Panic is a universal language. It didn't matter if I was in a corporate boardroom facing a catastrophic server crash or a grimy tavern in Aethelgard facing a monster horde. The reaction was exactly the same.
The tavern erupted. Chairs screeched against the wooden floorboards as mercenaries and merchants scrambled to their feet. Shouts of disbelief and fear intertwined with the clattering of drawn steel.
The silver-armored man raised a gauntleted hand, his voice cutting through the chaos like a whip. "Silence! The Outpost Commander is mobilizing the garrison. Anyone capable of holding a spear or casting a tier-one ward is being drafted. If you can't fight, get to the stone cellars under the chapel. Now move!"
I stayed frozen in my dark corner, gripping the edges of the sticky table. My Stamina was barely at 10%. Fighting on the front lines against a horde of corrupted wolves was a guaranteed one-way ticket to a Game Over screen.
The barmaid from earlier materialized out of the crowd, slamming a wooden bowl of gray, lumpy stew and a rock-hard heel of bread onto my table. She didn't say a word, her face pale, before rushing off to pack her belongings.
I didn't care what it looked like. I needed fuel. I shoved a spoonful of the stew into my mouth. It tasted like boiled dirt and stale salt, but as soon as I swallowed, a faint green (+) icon floated up from my chest.
[Consumable Item Processed: Root Stew] [Effect: +15% Stamina Recovery, +5 HP]
I practically inhaled the rest of the bowl and gnawed on the bread until my jaw ached. I could feel the warmth spreading through my limbs, the heavy exhaustion lifting just enough to let me think clearly.
I had six hours. I had to test my abilities right now.
I pulled the Rusted Iron Dagger from my Inventory and laid it flat on the table, shielding it from the frantic room with my body.
"System," I whispered, keeping my eyes fixed on the blade. "Activate Inspect Element."
A small chunk of my mental energy vanished—5 Mana gone. A stream of glowing, green text cascaded down the blade of the dagger, invisible to everyone but me.
[Item: Iron Dagger] [Status: Rusted, Dull] [Durability: 12/50] [Weight: 0.8 kg] [Damage Variable: 3] [Material Property: Low-Grade Ferrous Metal]
It was basically a blunt piece of scrap. If I tried to stab one of those giant wolves with this, the blade would snap on its hide, and I'd be dead two seconds later.
"Okay," I muttered, my heart starting to race. "Let's see if I can rewrite the code. Activate Hotfix."
The moment I triggered the Mythic skill, a heavy, draining sensation pulled at the center of my forehead.
[Target Selected: Iron Dagger] [Mana Cost: 25. Current Mana: 70/100] [Select Variable to Override:]
A floating, holographic keyboard—translucent and shimmering with golden light—materialized over the table. My fingers hovered over the keys. This was my domain. I was back in the IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
I couldn't change its material to diamond; I didn't have the Mana or the knowledge for that yet. But I could change its state.
I tapped the golden keys, selecting the [Status] line. I deleted the word "Rusted" and typed "Pristine." Then I selected the [Damage Variable] and bumped the '3' up to a '15'.
I hit the Enter key.
[Executing Hotfix... Compiling...]
The dagger on the table shuddered violently. A blinding flash of blue light rippled across the metal, stripping away years of rust and decay in a fraction of a second. The pitted, dull edge straightened, sharpening to a razor-thin, gleaming silver finish.
I picked it up. It felt perfectly balanced, thrumming with a faint, unstable energy.
[Item: Iron Dagger (Modified)] [Status: Pristine, Razor-Sharp] [Damage Variable: 15] [Time Remaining: 59... 58... 57 seconds]
A triumphant grin spread across my face. It worked. I had literally hacked a physical object.
But as I watched the timer tick down, reality came crashing back. Sixty seconds. That was my limit. And it cost me 25 Mana. With a maximum of 100 Mana, I could only use Hotfix three more times before my "battery" was completely dead. I couldn't rely on this to fight an entire horde. I'd kill maybe one or two wolves before becoming a helpless, exhausted target.
The timer hit zero.
The blue energy evaporated. The dagger in my hand instantly dulled, the rust creeping back over the metal like a rapid infection, returning it to a useless piece of scrap.
I dropped it on the table with a sigh. Modifying weapons wasn't going to save Silverpeak. If I was an Architect, I needed to think bigger than a single dagger. I needed to look at the infrastructure.
I stood up, leaving the empty bowl on the table, and pushed my way out of the tavern into the freezing night air. The outpost was in full panic mode. Militia men were dragging wooden barricades into the streets, and archers were rushing toward the main gate.
I focused my eyes on the massive, iron-banded wooden gates at the front of the outpost—their primary line of defense.
"Activate Source Code Vision."
The world turned into a wireframe. I stared at the towering gates, expecting to see solid, stable green lines indicating strong structural integrity.
Instead, my blood ran cold.
The right hinge of the massive gate, hidden beneath thick iron plates, was glowing a blinding, critical red. A massive error code floated above it.
[Error: Fatal Structural Flaw Detected] [Variables Corrupted. Load-bearing capacity at 15%.]
If the horde hit that gate, it wouldn't hold for ten minutes. The entire right side would collapse, and the monsters would pour into the town like a flood. The defenders didn't know. They were relying on a broken firewall.
I looked at my Mana bar. 70/100.
I had to patch the town's gate before the horde arrived, or everyone here was going to die.