"How did my laptop end up here? This doesn't make any sense." A chill ran down my spine as my body stiffened completely.
"Gobo. Shiki."
At my command, the two saints materialized and assumed their guard positions. Cautiously, I approached the laptop, touching it as though it were some alien object before grasping it firmly.
And without a doubt, it was my laptop, the very one I used to write my story.
"System, is this even possible?" I asked, gazing toward the ceiling.
[User, nothing is impossible—the bearer of causality requires his weapon: his pen.]
"Uhmm..." I mused, placing my fingers beneath my chin. "If that's the case..."
Drawing closer and powering on the laptop, a wave of nostalgia washed over me as my eyes locked onto the anime-style wallpaper.
"It feels like it's been years, old friend." Smiling faintly, I scrolled down to the search bar.
It was merely a hypothesis, but I wanted to verify whether there was still a signal connecting to Earth. "Haah... What did I expect?"
Tilting my neck back, I studied the screen, searching through everything that might assist me in this world. Now that I had the soft copy of my original story, it was easier to avoid confusing major events.
"System, do I receive any abilities as the author?"
[User is currently too weak to access Author's Authority or Weaving—User must witness Elysium to ascend to godhood.]
"That sounds oddly ominous—but what exactly is Elysium?"
[*Silence*—Glitch—glitch—Use.... Elysi.... De...]
The room fell silent as my expression darkened at the system's glitching response, it seemed even I, the author, wasn't permitted full knowledge of the world.
"Let's leave the future for when it comes." I said, my fingers gliding over the laptop. "Time to revise the story, shall we?"
Opening the "Word app," I was surprised to see not just one, but two versions of my novel. Rubbing my eyes for confirmation, I quickly clicked on the second file.
"REBORN AS AN EXTRA IN MY NOVEL."
CHAPTER 1: I GOT TRANSMIGRATED INTO MY NOVEL.
"What?!" I exclaimed, struggling to comprehend what was unfolding. Returning immediately to the original file, I noticed the distinction between the two.
The first, my original file, was the story I had written—Tales of Heroes and Demons—and from my hazy recollection, it matched exactly what I had written up to Chapter 1208.
Whereas the second...
"A journal, or a chronicle... or perhaps another serialized novel somewhere." My head spun at the various implications of the file.
Did this mean the world was now a novel? Was a god toying with me? Am I merely a character in someone else's story? These questions echoed on a loop in my mind, but no answers followed.
"Haah... This isn't the time for paranoia." I straightened my posture, moving the laptop from my lap to the bed.
"This leaves me with three immediate objectives—one, discover who the hell Theron is—two, uncover Elysium or whatever it is... And last but certainly not least—complete my novel, whether as a background character or the protagonist."
As my spiraling thoughts finally began to settle, I started jotting down every major event scheduled to happen within the first six months.
Notable among them were the Deerheart Incident—the Red Dungeon massacre—and the School Field Trip, which was undoubtedly the most harrowing of the three. Though frankly, none could be called less brutal.
Collapsing onto the bed, I couldn't help but admire the mundane lives of the students I observed through clairvoyance's spherical vision, which provided a full 360° perspective.
Activating it alongside the Alabaster Ice trait had become moderately effortless, though the mana consumption for each ability remained immense.
"So, all I need to do is answer ten out of twenty questions on the entrance exam."
Noctis Academy wasn't like most magic schools that organized students by entrance exam rankings.
Classes were divided into A through D, but placement in Class A didn't necessarily mean superiority over Class C, since Noctis structured classes to ensure each had a balanced average score.
So, if two classes had five students each, and five of them scored above 90 while the rest scored below 50, placement would be adjusted so the lower scorers were distributed among the high scorers.
Why? Because Noctis's curriculum and educational system mirrored the more intense aspects of a Korean high school.
"I can't believe I'm returning to school, and worse, to a school I created out of spite, because I just wanted to make my characters suffer more than I did." I grimaced, clutching my bangs.
Exhaling deeply, I turned off the room light, pulled the duvet over myself, and drifted off to sleep.
---
"Welcome, applicants, to the written portion of the exam." A young man, who looked thoroughly drained of life, addressed the room.
The three-story hall with high ceilings buzzed with the chatter of students.
By the far eastern wall, away from the crowd, I leaned casually—though I wasn't entirely alone.
"So, did you study? Because Amy didn't even crack her book open." Amy, who had been pestering me like a persistent gnat, kept rambling on.
"Why did I even write her?" I whispered.
"What?" she asked, leaning closer, which I didn't like one bit.
"Could you give me some space? People are staring."
My words fell on deaf ears as she leaned in even further.
Choosing to ignore her, I focused on the professor—someone I recognized immediately.
He was the very professor I killed off just for touching my favorite character—and yes, I was the one who made him do it—Professor Zack Savior.
"The written portion will proceed as in previous years—"
The professor continued explaining the exam rules.
Similar to the CSAT back in Korea, the exam included: Agres (the first language of Meltonians, which sounded like Korean), Math, English, History, two elective subjects from Social Studies, Magic Science, or Vocational Education, and a second foreign language.
All of this would be completed in eight hours, with no standardized spacing between candidates.
Grading would be done immediately and students who passed would remain, while those that fail would disappear before the results would even be announced—involuntarily.
Those who passed would be broadcast live across Meltonia, followed by the biannual opening of the Noctis Gate
Except that the only notable divergence from my story, was how parents flooded the hall, offering their children good luck and some even saying their tearful goodbyes.
"I miss my parents," I murmured through my dry voice, indifferent to whether someone overheard. "Damn it hurts being an orphan."
"Parents, please exit the hall. The exam is about to begin!"
At the professor's command, the hall fell into silence.
"Now..." Professor Zack snapped his fingers, causing the entire hall to spin and disorient the students—myself included—fell to the ground.
As expected, the five main protagonists, along with nine others who were central figures in their respective classes, remained standing.
'Damn, that hurts.' Looking beside me, I saw a rectangular silver desk made of an unfamiliar material, paired with a matching chair of the same substance.
"Take your seats. The exam is commencing now."
I dusted myself off and looked around for Amy, who had already claimed the seat behind me—winking.
Sighing, I sat on the chair. Though it looked uncomfortable, it felt as soft as actual cotton, as though designed for eternal sitting. And I wasn't the only one surprised—even someone like Matthew was taken aback by the comfort.
"Don't get too comfortable..." Zack said, twirling his finger. With that, a gust of wind swept through the hall, and papers materialized in front of us, making several students scream as if watching a magic show.
'How can I be amused by such simple tricks?' I thought, shaking my head.
"We will now commence the Noctis Academy written examination... Begin!"