The door clicked shut, a sound far more final than any door click had a right to be. I was alone again, the phantom scent of my mother's stew lingering in the small room. My heart was a frantic drum against my ribs, a stark contrast to the eerie silence that had fallen.
I'd done it. I have actually changed something.
The blue, transparent screen still hung in the center of my vision, a stubborn, impossible reality.
[Quest Complete: 'Spoiler Avoidance']
[Reward: 10 Plot Deviation Points awarded!]
[Current PDP: 10]
[Overall Plot Deviation: 0.1%]
A hysterical giggle bubbled in my throat. Zero point one percent. My entire continued existence was worth a tenth of a percentage point. It was terrifying and, in a deeply pathetic way, hilarious.
The comment section was still scrolling, a waterfall of inane chatter.
Romance4Ever:Wait, why did the chapter just end? Did she really just go back to sleep? LAME. I want to see Kaelen train!
xXShadowBladeXx: ^^Agreed. Skip the filler.
DragonFan42:Be nice, you two! Maybe she's not feeling well! Feel better, Elara! :)
DragonFan42 was a sweetheart. The others could choke.
Beneath the live comments, a new icon pulsed with a soft, golden light. It looked like a stylized, overflowing coin purse. Tentatively, I focused on it.
The screen shifted. The comments minimized to a tiny tab at the top, and a new, cleaner interface unfolded. It was a storefront.
The Fourth Wall Reader Store
Welcome, User! Your spoilers are our business!
The available items were… eclectic.
Minor Spoiler Token (Cost: 5 PDP):Get a hint about an immediate future event.
Basic First Aid Knowledge (Cost: 15 PDP): *A temporary 1-hour download of practical modern first aid. Who knows when you might need it?*
"Kendo Basics" Memory Fragment (Cost: 25 PDP):Muscle memory for a single, basic swing. Not exactly a legendary sword art, but it's something.
Temporary Glamour (Cost: 30 PDP):Look 10% more sickly for 4 hours. Useful for avoiding social obligations!
I stared. This was it. This was my arsenal against a world of magic and monsters. I could look slightly more pale or learn how to properly apply a bandage. The "Kendo Basics" was the closest thing to a combat skill, and it cost more than I currently possessed.
A sudden, sharp knock on the door made me jump nearly out of my skin.
"Elara?" The voice was deeper than her mother's, young and laced with a familiar, gruff concern. It was a voice I'd read described a hundred times. Kaelen.
Panic, cold and immediate, seized me. He wasn't supposed to come here! In the novel, he'd waited by the oak tree, gotten frustrated when she didn't show, and left to train alone. His appearance at my door was a deviation I hadn't anticipated.
My eyes darted to the store. The 'Temporary Glamour' mocked me. I couldn't afford it.
Think, Elara. Think. You've read three thousand chapters of this man's life. You know his tropes.
I took a deep breath, trying to slow my racing heart. I scrambled back into the rough-hewn bed and pulled the scratchy wool blanket up to my chin. I messed up my braid, letting strands of hair stick to my face.
"Come in," I called out, making my voice a weak, thin whisper.
The door creaked open, and there he was.
Kaelen.
The future Storm Monarch. The man who would one day command skies and shake continents. Right now, he was just a tall, too-handsome-for-his-own-good boy from the village, with stormy grey eyes and a perpetual frown. He filled the small doorway, his presence sucking all the air out of the room.
His brow was furrowed. "You did not come to the tree." It was an accusation, not a question.
"I'm sorry, Kaelen," I whispered, letting my voice crack artfully. "I woke up with a terrible fever. My head is pounding. I didn't want to… disappoint you." I laid the guilt on thick, layering it with a pathetic cough.
He took a step closer, his sharp eyes scanning me. I could see the conflict in his gaze. The brooding protagonist didn't know how to handle a simple sick friend. His entire emotional range was either 'brooding silence' or 'righteous fury.' There was no protocol for this.
"I… see," he said, awkwardly. He shifted his weight. "Should I fetch the village healer?"
"No!" I said it a little too quickly. The last thing I needed was another person poking around. I coughed again. "No, thank you. I just need rest. I'm sure it will pass by morning."
He stood there for another long, uncomfortable moment, clearly out of his depth. This was perfect. I was boring him. Brooding heroes hate being bored.
"Very well," he finally said, already turning to leave. "Do not be late tomorrow. We have much to practice."
The moment the door closed behind him, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. My entire body went limp with relief.
[Passive Plot Deviation: +0.1%]
[Plot Deviation Points: +5]
[Current PDP: 15]
[Overall Plot Deviation: 0.2%]
A slow grin spread across my face. It worked. Not only had I avoided him, but my avoidance of his avoidance had generated more points. The system rewarded interesting deviations from the script.
And now I had fifteen points. My eyes drifted back to the store.
The 'Basic First Aid Knowledge' glowed, now affordable. It was a tool. Maybe not a flashy one, but in a world without antibiotics, knowing how to clean a wound properly could be the difference between life and death.
I focused on it and willed purchase.
A new window popped up. [Confirm purchase of 'Basic First Aid Knowledge' for 15 PDP?]
This was it. No going back. I took a deep breath.
"Yes."
The points vanished from my tally, dropping me back to a big, fat zero. For a second, nothing happened. Then, a cold, sharp sensation shot through my temples, like a brain freeze without the ice cream. I squeezed my eyes shut as a flood of information—images, procedures, lists—cascaded into my mind. The proper way to tie a tourniquet. The signs of infection. How to sterilize a wound with boiling water and clean cloth.
It was dizzying, overwhelming, and utterly, utterly magnificent.
It was knowledge. Real, practical knowledge from my world. It was a piece of me, weaponized.
I opened my eyes, the ghost of a modern medical textbook fading in my memory. Outside, I could hear the first distant, chilling howl of the Grimfang Wolf. Right on schedule.
But I was inside. I was safe. I was sickly-pale and now certified in basic first aid.
And I had a plan. The merchant caravan the comments mentioned. That was my ticket out of this doomed starting zone.
As the howls were met with the shouts of village hunters and the electrifying crackle of what could only be Kaelen's nascent lightning powers, I smiled. The sound of chaos was my lullaby.
The sound of a cash register ringing in my mind was my anthem.