The sun rose over the hills of Oakhaven, painting the sky in soft hues of pink and gold.
If this were a typical story, the dawn would illuminate a scene of tragedy—smoking ruins, weeping widows, and a scarred landscape.
Instead, the morning light glinted off the polished chrome of Vayne Corp heavy-loader trucks.
"Careful with that mandible!" a foreman shouted, directing a crane operator. "That chitin is worth five thousand credits a kilo! Don't scratch it!"
The battlefield was a hive of industrial activity. The thousands of dead Void Crawlers were being processed with ruthless efficiency. Mercenaries were stacking carcasses like firewood, while others sat on the hood of their transport vehicles, counting thick wads of bonus cash.
I stood near the town square, sipping a fresh cup of coffee that my personal butler—who had arrived on the second airship—had just brewed. I had used a simple [Cleanse] spell to remove the mud and grime from the previous night. My midnight-blue armor was spotless, my hair perfectly styled.
A Magic-Net news crew was setting up a camera in front of me.
"Lord Vayne," the reporter asked, adjusting her microphone. "Can you tell us again how you anticipated the attack?"
"Market analysis," I lied smoothly, flashing a practiced smile. "Vayne Corp is always monitoring global mana fluctuations to ensure the safety of our investments."
"Incredible," the reporter swooned.
Suddenly, a frantic galloping sound echoed from the northern road.
All heads turned.
A lone figure crested the hill, silhouetted against the rising sun. It was Kaelen.
He looked... terrible.
He was covered in three days' worth of road mud. His academy uniform was torn, his face gaunt from exhaustion, and his horse was foaming at the mouth, looking like it was about to collapse from a heart attack.
Kaelen saw the crowd. He saw the movement. In his sleep-deprived, hero-complex brain, he interpreted the industrial cleanup as looting or an ongoing invasion.
He drew his iron sword, the metal scraping loudly in the morning air.
"HOLD ON!" Kaelen screamed, his voice cracking with desperate emotion. "I AM HERE! I WILL SAVE YOU!"
He kicked his dying horse into a final, stumbling charge, racing down the hill with his weapon raised high.
"DIE, MONSTERS!"
He burst into the town square, swinging his sword at... empty air.
He pulled the reins, his horse skidding to a halt in the middle of the plaza. He looked around wildly, panting heavily, eyes searching for the fire, the blood, the enemies.
There were none.
The music stopped. The conversation died.
A nearby mercenary, who was halfway through eating a ham sandwich, paused with the bread halfway to his mouth. He looked at Kaelen, then at his sandwich, then back at Kaelen.
"You okay, kid?" the mercenary mumbled around a mouthful of ham.
Kaelen blinked, the adrenaline crashing out of his system. He lowered his sword slowly.
"Where..." Kaelen wheezed. "Where are the monsters? The Calamity? The Void Queen?"
I sighed, handing my coffee cup to a servant. I stepped away from the cameras and walked toward the muddy boy on the horse.
"You missed the party, Kaelen," I said, my voice cutting through the awkward silence. "We wrapped up hours ago."
Kaelen stared at me. He looked at my pristine armor. He looked at the untouched village houses.
"Wrapped up?" Kaelen stammered. "But... the Void Queen? She's a Calamity-class monster! She has physical immunity! You... you couldn't have killed her! Not alone!"
"I didn't use magic, Kaelen," I said, pointing a thumb over my shoulder. "I used resources."
Kaelen followed my gesture.
Behind me, a massive heavy-lift crane was hoisting a specific cargo onto a flatbed truck. It was the severed head of the Void Queen. Even in death, the head was the size of a carriage, its hollow white eyes staring blankly at the sky.
Kaelen's jaw unhinged. The sword slipped from his hand and clattered onto the cobblestones.
"No..." he whispered. "That's... that's impossible."
Just then, the Mayor of Oakhaven ran up to us.
Kaelen brightened slightly. The Mayor! surely he is traumatized! Surely he needs comfort!
"Lord Vayne!" the Mayor cheered, clutching a heavy sack of gold to his chest. "The hauling team says they'll pay an extra premium for the crawler eggs found in the nest! You've saved us, My Lord! We're rich!"
"Glad to hear it," I nodded. "Don't spend it all in one place."
Kaelen stared at the Mayor. "Mayor... aren't you... sad? Your fields... the attack..."
"Sad?" The Mayor laughed. "Son, Lord Vayne paid us triple the market value for the damages before the first monster even spawned! This is the best harvest season we've had in fifty years!"
Kaelen felt like he was losing his mind. The script in his head—the one where he arrives, fights bravely, cries over the fallen, and vows revenge—had been burned to ash.
He looked around frantically for a familiar face.
"Seraphina!"
He spotted her standing near the Vayne Corp transport ship. She was leaning against the hull, looking tired but unharmed. The Sunfire Amulet around her neck caught the morning light.
Kaelen slid off his horse, his legs trembling from fatigue. He stumbled toward her.
"Seraphina!" he gasped, reaching out with a muddy hand. "Are you okay? Did he force you to fight? I came as fast as I could! I rode for three days straight!"
Seraphina looked at him.
She saw the mud caked in his hair. She smelled the horse sweat. She saw the desperation in his eyes—the look of a boy who needed to be needed.
Then she looked at me. Calm. Powerful. In control.
"I'm fine, Kaelen," Seraphina said softly, taking a half-step back to avoid the mud. "Lucas... he saved everyone. The barrier held. Nobody died."
"But... I..." Kaelen's voice broke. "I was coming to save you."
"We didn't need saving," Seraphina said, her voice filled with a strange mix of pity and finality. "We needed firepower."
She turned and walked up the ramp of the airship, leaving him standing there.
"Alright, that's a wrap!" the reporter shouted. "Get a wide shot of Lord Vayne boarding the ship! Perfect lighting!"
I walked toward the ramp. The cameras flashed, capturing my silhouette against the rising sun.
I paused as I passed Kaelen.
He was standing alone in the middle of the bustling plaza, ignored by the villagers, ignored by Seraphina, and ignored by history. He looked small.
"You have heart, Kaelen," I said, not looking at him. "I'll give you that."
I stepped onto the metal ramp.
"But next time? Try buying a faster horse."
I signaled the pilot. The massive engines of the airship roared to life, kicking up a cloud of dust that coated Kaelen in a fresh layer of dirt.
As we ascended into the clouds, leaving the confused "Hero" behind, a glorious notification filled my vision.
[ System Notification: Protagonist's Plot Relevance Degraded. ]
[ Status Update: "Side Character" ]
[ Reward: +1,500 Destiny Points. ]
[ Current DP: 11,600 ]
I leaned back in my leather seat and closed my eyes.
The Hero had arrived. And absolutely nobody cared.