Ex-Machina in Dimensional Travel

Before the spear tip could touch Xiu Er's body, he "thought" through many things. Then, with key data still missing from his calculations, he chose the safest approach.

A golden membrane appeared out of thin air before Xiu Er. The sharp spear tip pressed directly against the planar barrier formed from golden patterns.

Achilles's momentum, which had seemed capable of piercing through his entire body and shattering everything in its path, vanished the instant his spear tip touched the barrier.

It was as though his earlier momentum had been an illusion—or rather, as though all the kinetic energy that could have destroyed everything in its path had been completely absorbed by the barrier the moment it came into contact with it.

Like a drop of water falling into a lake, it failed to stir even the slightest ripple.

Achilles, who had come to a steady stop just outside the barrier before Xiu Er, wore an expression as though he had seen a ghost.

Achilles had seen that shield before, but Xiu Er had only used it to block Atalanta's arrows. He had not even chosen to use it every time.

As a result, Achilles had developed a mistaken understanding of Xiu Er's shield, which could defend against attacks from any angle.

"Data update complete. Calculation system commencing application..."

"...Calculation successful."

Through the damage dealt to the barrier, Xiu Er swiftly collected data on the intensity of Achilles's earlier attack.

In gaming terms, Achilles had entered a serious form, and since this new form had not yet been added to the codex, Xiu Er did not know any of its related values.

Only after Xiu Er used "defense" to withstand Achilles's full-force blow were Achilles's values visibly recorded in Xiu Er's "codex."

The information in the Codex of the Whispers was