As the plane landed, the two disembarked. Nathan gestured to the boy. "Leave your stuff here. The support staff will take care of the rest. Follow me—we've got someone important to meet first."
Marin, still trying to process the overwhelming size of the academy's main building—no, mansion—no, city-sized fortress, obeyed silently. The structure towered above anything he'd seen before. It wasn't just big; it looked like something out of a fantasy movie, with wide corridors and an enormous open ground in front of it.
As they walked down a sleek corridor, Marin couldn't contain his curiosity. "Why is there such a huge empty field out front?"
Nathan, walking ahead, didn't slow down. "It's used for open-air plot armor experiments. Dangerous ones. You don't want those going off indoors. All transport is stored at the back—front is reserved for testing, and sometimes training. Mostly genre injection exercises by the enforcers."
Marin raised an eyebrow. "Genre injection exercises?"
Nathan paused and looked back. "You'll find out soon enough. Just remember—genre injection is powerful, but risky. It shapes how you fight, how you survive. But it's also a weakness if people know what genre you've injected."
"So... what's yours?" Marin asked without thinking.
Nathan stopped walking entirely. "Remember one thing. Never tell anyone what your genre injection is. If someone figures it out, they can counter you easily. Knowing your genre is like knowing your blueprint."
"Oh," Marin nodded.
"Exactly. Keep that in mind. Even your closest allies shouldn't know."said Nathan
They walked a few more steps in silence before Marin spoke again. "So genre injection... is it something we're born with? Or do we choose it?"
Nathan glanced over his shoulder. "It's...
something you will get to know soon enough , it will be taught so wait for it."
They reached a tall door. Nathan turned to him, now more serious. "The Author is inside. Try not to offend him. He's eccentric, sure, but powerful. Wait here until I call you in."
He disappeared inside, leaving Marin standing alone. Marin shifted nervously, trying to shake the weight of the moment.
After a few minutes, the door creaked open again. Nathan peeked out. "Come in."
As Marin stepped into the room, a voice echoed theatrically, "I've been waiting for you, my boy!"
It was deep, dramatic... and slightly ridiculous.
Suddenly—thwack!—a slap sound interrupted the mood. Marin blinked. The author, who had tried to remain mysterious, rubbed the back of his neck, clearly having just been hit.
Audience Slap: Stop the nonsense and get to the point
The mysterious vibe vanished instantly.
Off to the side of the room, Marin noticed a rack filled with snow globes. Except these weren't ordinary. Instead of snow, they held swirling, pitch-black voids, like miniature black holes.
He moved closer, trying to read the small labels: How the MC got his powers—but before he could get a good look, a man collapsed onto the floor right in front of them.
Marin rushed to help him. Nathan knelt too.
The man, weak but with a faint smile, muttered, "I was waiting for you, MC... now we can really begin."
Marin looked to Nathan, completely confused.
Nathan whispered awkwardly, "Just ignore that part. He does this every time."
The collapsed man—clearly fine now—suddenly sprang to life, like he'd downed an energy drink. "Right! Let's get started!"
The man gave a grand bow. "I am the Author. Creator of this world and your guide through this ..."
Before he could continue, a girl interrupted, carrying tea. "Sir, you're supposed to be talking to mc, not addressing the gods again."
The Author cleared his throat. "Ah, right. Apologies. Got a bit too excited. First time meeting the MC and all."
With a snap of his fingers, chairs appeared from thin air. "Have a seat, boys."
Marin and Nathan sat opposite him. The Author made a show of spinning around his desk before sitting down dramatically.
He turned to Nathan. "Now, what brings you here, Nathan?"
Nathan leaned back. "I found this kid—Marin Caze. He's talented. A natural. And he's got serious plot armor."
The Author adjusted his glasses, which somehow sparkled even though there was no light. "Oh, I know. He's been on my watchlist for a while. Glad to finally meet you, Marin."
Marin sat up straighter. "Wait—you've been watching me?"
"Well, not in a creepy way," the Author said quickly.
Nathan chuckled. "He does that to all the promising ones. Don't take it personally."
Marin narrowed his eyes slightly. "So... you really think I can be an enforcer?"
The Author grinned. "Not just think. I know. You've survived more narrative chaos in a week than most trainees do in a year. You've got the resilience and traits we desperately need."
Marin looked down, unsure. "But I've only just learned about this world... I don't know the rules, or how anything works yet."
The Author waved his hand. "Rules can be learned. What can't be taught is heart—and you've got it."
Nathan nodded in agreement. "You didn't just survive the chaos—you navigated it. That matters more than knowledge right now."
Marin looked between them. "So, what exactly do enforcers do?"
The Author's expression turned serious. "They exist to mainly protect those without plot armour , you see there are many people in this world who are neither hated or loved by the gods above they are just indifferent to their existence, they don't care whether they live or die , so the enforcers protect them you see like in any story a villain kills many people and they die because they don't have plot armour but the villain is unable to kill the main character one thing or other stops him be it monologues or time up or a powerful character coming to rescue etc that all happens due to plot armour and here in our world you enforcers are plot armour holders so you protect those with no plot armour that is your first duty. Second is to capture all those rogue plot armour holders who try to harm the civilians , they are also mostly hated by gods due to their heinous acts so you arrest them and put them in jail where they invisible to gods and lose plot armour over time.There are many more things but these are the only important ones."
Marin absorbed that in silence for a moment.