"Aren't the Golden Dragon and the Abyssal Dragon equal in power?" Axel shouted.
The man behind the desk didn't even look up. One hand rested lazily on his chin, the other draped across the papers. He looked bored. Annoyingly bored.
"Equal?" he said. "I suppose that depends on who's writing the story."
Axel slammed his palm onto the desk. "Four years I've spent on this world! Four years! And you just just let the villain win? Destroy everything I worked on? The protagonist dies , the world burns!"
The man finally looked at him. Calm. Cold. "And yet here you are," he said. "Arguing about an ending that's already been written and is almost published. Decisions are final."
Axel clenched his fists. "Final? Final?! You can't just ruin it like that. The characters, the story they all matter!"
A smirk tugged at the man's lips. "To you, perhaps. To the readers, maybe. But at the end I am the one writing the ending"
Axel leaned forward, desperate. "Then what? That's it? Nothing I can do?"
The man shrugged. "If you want to save it… save it yourself."
Axel froze. "…What?"
The world tilted. The desk, the papers, the office, it all blurred. Axel's vision darkened.
Axel groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. His head throbbed as if it had been beaten with a hammer.
Slowly, reluctantly, he opened his eyes.
The sight made him groan again. The room was enormous, larger than any bedroom he had ever seen.
The ceilings were high and vaulted, chandeliers sparkled overhead, and the walls were covered with tapestries so intricate they could be mistaken for paintings.
The bed was enormous, soft, and layered with blankets that looked like they cost more than his apartment back home. Every corner screamed luxury. Axel blinked, feeling his disbelief mix with nausea.
What the hell did the author do now?
Before he could even stand, the door creaked open. A maid stepped in carrying a tray of food. She froze for a moment when she saw him awake, eyes widening just slightly.
"Young master, you are awake?" she asked, her voice carefully neutral, though there was a hint of surprise.
Axel rubbed his temples. A maid? Did the author drug me and dump me in some elaborate VR game or something? He looked around the room again, his mind racing. This is not real. This is not real. I am definitely going to wake up any second.
"No, I… nothing is wrong," he said quickly, forcing a calm he did not feel.
The maid blinked at him, giving a faint nod, but did not leave. "Finish your breakfast quickly, young master. Your father will take you to the royal capital today to determine your traits. You must be ready."
Axel froze. "My… father? What the hell are you talking about?"
The maid frowned, a little irritated now, as if he were playing one of his usual childish pranks. "Young master, it is not good for you to joke right now. You have awakened your mana core and become an awakened. Your father is Duke Arthur Wavecrest. You are Rowan Wavecrest, the third son of Duke Wavecrest."
Axel's mouth went dry. He stared at her, mind spinning. "Wait, wait, wait. Did you just say… I am… Rowan Wavecrest? The third son? Duke… Arthur Wavecrest?"
The maid's expression was calm but sharp. "Yes, young master. It is not the time for jokes. Please eat the breakfast quickly. I have prepared your bath. I will return in an hour to dress you."
Axel's vision swam as he tried to process.
The luxurious room, the maid, the words she just said, the mention of a mana core… everything clicked into place with horrifying clarity.
I am Rowan Wavecrest.
The first villain in the novel. The one who dies early. The one everyone forgets while the story moves on. The Heir of the Golden Dragon… the same story I spent four years as an editor. The same story that the author destroyed.
At the same time, Axel felt something press against his side beneath the sheets.
He stiffened.
Slowly, he shifted, his hand brushing against something flat and unfamiliar. His eyes flicked to the maid, who was still standing near the door, arms folded, clearly convinced he was playing another one of his childish jokes.
"Okay," Axel said, forcing his voice to stay steady. "You can go now."
The maid put the tray of breakfast in the table, narrowed her eyes at him for a moment longer, clearly unconvinced.
"Hmph. Very well, young master," she said. She paused at the door, turning back slightly. "I hope you do not forget to bathe properly. You are meeting the Duke today."
With that, she left, closing the door behind her.
The moment the latch clicked shut, Axel let out the breath he had been holding.
He slowly pulled the sheets aside and retrieved the object he had felt. It was a neatly folded piece of paper, crisp and clean, as if it had been placed there deliberately. His heart sank.
"No way," he muttered. "No way you did this."
His fingers trembled slightly as he unfolded the paper.
Dear Axel,
If you are reading this, relax. I did not drug you, and you are not trapped in some elaborate VR experiment. This is real. Very real, actually.
You are inside the world we created together.
Moved? Confused? Angry? Good. I expected no less.
I will admit something first. I was impressed. No, touched. You loved this world far more than I ever did. Four years of complaints, corrections, rants about consistency, deadlines, power scaling, and emotional payoff. You were exhausting. You were also sincere.
So when you said the ending was unacceptable, I thought about it.
If you wanted to save the novel world that badly, then you deserved the chance to do it yourself.
Of course, do not misunderstand. I never said I would make things easy.
I did consider letting you reincarnate as the protagonist. Briefly. But then I remembered the four years of constant nagging about deadlines and expectations. I remembered every late-night message. Every correction. Every lecture.
So I changed my mind.
You are now a minor villain.
You should be very familiar with him. After all, you were the one who helped design his personality. You were also the one who suggested his death. A rather ugly one, if I recall correctly.
Even if you dodge the academy death flag and survive till the end of the story , there is still the Abyssal Dragon who will try to destroy the world.
Since I am not completely heartless, and since you are my favorite editor, and also my only editor, I will grant you a small mercy. You have been given a basic system. Nothing extravagant. Just say "System" in your mind, and it will respond.
Think of it as a courtesy from your favorite extradimensional, omnipotent being.
Me.
Enjoy the story, Axel. Or Rowan. Whichever you prefer now.
Try not to die too early.
Sincerely,
Your Author
The paper slipped from Axel's fingers and fluttered onto the bed.
His ears rang.
"…You bastard."
His chest felt tight. Too tight. He sank back onto the mattress, staring blankly at the ceiling. The words echoed in his head again and again.
Minor villain.
Gruesome death.
You wrote it yourself.
And then it hit him.
The casual arrogance. The omnipotence. The sheer, impossible power that the author casually claimed to hold. He isn't just a writer. He's a ROB.
Axel's heart lurched. His mind spun. Every detail of this world, every rule, every consequence—it had all come from the whims of this being. And now I am trapped inside it.
"You… you son of a !" Axel screamed, slamming a fist into the mattress. "ROB of a author!"
He pressed his palms against his eyes, breathing hard.
The weight of realization crushed him. He was no longer an editor. He was Rowan Wavecrest, minor villain, death flag built into his very existence by his own hand.
The world he had loved. The story he had helped to become a bestseller for four years. The same world the author had destroyed without hesitation. And now he had to survive it.
"System," he whispered, barely holding it together.
If this was real, then despair was only the beginning.
And survival was going to be hell.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a mechanical voice echoed directly inside his mind. It was flat, emotionless, and precise, as if every word had been measured before being delivered.
[System initializing.]
Axel's breath caught.
[Host confirmed.]
[Welcome, Host Rowan Wavecrest.]
His fingers clenched into the sheets. Hearing that name addressed to him so formally made the situation feel terrifyingly real.
[This system exists to assist the Host in understanding the current state of existence.]
[Primary function: status observation.]
[The Host may view their own status at any time by mentally issuing the command "Status".]
[The Host may view the status of other individuals, provided their overall level does not exceed that of the Host.]
[Attempting to observe higher-level entities will result in failure.]
Axel swallowed.
"So that's it," he muttered. "That's all you do."
The system continued without reacting.
[Secondary function: memory synchronization.]
[The Host may access the original owner's memories at any time.]
[Memory synchronization is optional and may be initiated at the Host's discretion.]
[No additional functions are available.]
Silence returned.
Axel lay there, staring at the ceiling, his heartbeat loud in his ears. A status screen. Limited observation. No power-ups. No cheats. No protection.
The author really had meant it when he said he was being generous.
"That goddamn author," Axel whispered, teeth clenched. "An actual ROB… and this is what you give me."
He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
There was no point panicking. If this world was real, then information was survival. And right now, he had none.
"Status," he said in his mind.
[
Name: Rowan Wavecrest
Age: 14
Mana Core: Black Core (Uncondensed)
Traits:
Sword Saint (Gold) [Expanded]:Grants supreme mastery over all sword techniques, allowing the user to instinctively replicate even the most advanced sword arts after merely observing them. Simply holding any blade allows the user to instinctively wield it with unparalleled skill, performing maneuvers and advanced arts that put even seasoned masters to shame. No sword type exists that they cannot use perfectly. Increases strength, speed, agility, and reflexes when holding a sword. Greatly enhances awareness of an opponent's movements, distance, and intent while making sure the user can reach their peak physical potential.
Master of Mana (Gold) [Expanded]: Grants unparalleled genius in mana and mana arts. Allows instinctive mastery of all mana techniques, accelerating Mana Core progression far beyond ordinary limits. Makes the user capable of using every type of mana arts as long as they study it. Greatly improves mana efficiency, control, and regeneration, making complex spells effortless and techniques instinctual.
Child of the Seas (Silver) [Expanded]: Grants mastery over water, wind, and lightning magic along with underwater breathing. Reduces damage from these elements, providing enhanced resistance to wind pressure, lightning shocks, and water-based attacks far beyond a normal awakener. When underwater, physical senses and control over water are heightened, and agility is significantly improved.
Arcane Cognition (Silver) [Expanded]: Confers near-perfect comprehension, photographic memory, and extraordinary spatial awareness. Enhances learning speed and tactical understanding far beyond ordinary .
Keen Reflexes (Bronze) [Expanded]: Enhances the user's reflexes and senses beyond normal limits. Improves body awareness and agility, allowing quicker reactions in tense situations.
]
The system was simple. Cold, factual, and stripped of any flair. But as Axel stared at the traits, a wave of shock hit him.
These were not the traits he had designed for Rowan Wavecrest.
Axel had known the original Rowan inside out. As a character in Heir of the Golden Dragon, Rowan had been a genius with three silver-tier traits: Swordmaster, Child of Mana, and Child of the Sea.
Swordmaster had made Rowan a prodigy with the blade, capable of holding his own against even the protagonist.
Child of Mana granted him an extraordinary affinity for mana, making him an genius mage, while Child of the Sea, a hereditary trait of House Wavecrest gave him a natural command over water, wind, and lightning magic.
Together, these three traits had made Rowan extremely balanced and formidable, enough to surpass many students who held gold-tier abilities in the academy and rank third just below the princess and the protagonist himself in the academy.
Not only that, Rowan was the third son of one of the empire's most influential noble families.
Aside from the royal family, the Wavecrests commanded the most respect, fear, and resources across the entire empire. Combine that with his natural talent and personality, and Rowan had been a constant thorn in the side of the protagonist.
In the novel, Rowan's arrogance and entitlement had been infamous. He looked down on commoners, bullied the protagonist when he outperformed him despite being of humble birth, and made life miserable for anyone he deemed inferior.
His cruelty escalated in the second arc when he kidnapped the female lead and nearly crossed unforgivable lines. That act led directly to his very ugly demise at the hands of the protagonist.
Rowan's death was the protagonist's first human kill, a grim awakening that not all lives were equal some deeds demanded an end, no matter how much he had once sworn never to kill.
The memory was something Axel avoided confronting, especially now, as , he lived as the very villain he gave a gruesome death to.
Now, staring at the system, Axel realized the truth. This Rowan had two gold-tier traits, two silver-tier trait, and a bronze-tier trait a terrifying upgrade from the original design.
Traits were innate abilities that revealed themselves upon awakening a mana core. They came in four tiers: Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Rowan now possessed two gold traits. The first, Sword Saint, was legendary. Its previous holder had appeared two centuries ago and was titled the World's Strongest Swordsman.
His second gold trait, Master of Mana, marked him as a prodigy of unparalleled genius in the arcane arts. It was the same trait that the protagonist, Lucien, had publicly revealed, securing his place among the academy's top three.
Then there was the silver trait, Child of the Seas, a family legacy. Core members of House Wavecrest had it. While not gold, it made him supremely versatile. It was also the trait that made House Wavecrest the defacto head of the empire's navy and maritime trade.
The next silver trait was Arcane Cognition, a trait the original Rowan had never possessed. It granted him near-perfect comprehension, a photographic memory, and extraordinary spatial awareness.
Even his bronze trait, which the original Rowan didn't have, Keen Reflexes, could make the difference between life and death in tight combat. While small in comparison to gold or silver traits, it was still a precise, practical enhancement that complemented his natural genius.
Axel leaned back, his heart racing. He had been Rowan Wavecrest in name, yes, but now the stakes were horrifyingly real. This was not the character he had designed. This was not a story he could simply edit to survive. He was now living the life of the very minor villain he had spent four years shaping but now he possessed insane abilities that put him in the same tier as the greatest geniuses in the academy.
This… this is impossible, Axel thought, gripping the edge of the bed. It must be given to me by the author as some sort of help ,thought Axel.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm the storm inside his head. This Rowan was destined to be insanely powerful, yes, but even power meant nothing if he was still tied to the death flags he himself had written. Hell even if he escaped the death flags in the academy , at the end the world is destined to be destroyed and he cant do anything about it .
Even the protagonist who had three gold traits and the inheritor of the golden dragon and his friends each of whom were the greatest geniuses in the story couldn't prevent anything .
How do I even begin to survive this?