Yoo Hyun died in a story he knew far too well.
He just didn't realize it yet.
The moment the train screeched to a halt in the middle of absolute darkness, an inexplicable chill rose his spine. Not fear, well, no, this felt worse. Like the quiet right before something irreversible happened.
His phone vibrated.
He frowned as the screen lit up on its own.
Not a notification or a message.
But a cold, unfamiliar blue window that hovered above the cracked glass of his screen.
[Fatal Scenario Detected.]
"…What?"
His breath hitched.
Before he could even process it, another line appeared.
[Identifying Host…]
[Synchronization Complete.]
The surrounding chatter of passengers faded into distant noise, like he was being submerged underwater. His heart began to pound, each beat painfully loud.
This wasn't funny.
Then came the sentence that made his blood run cold.
[You have been designated as an EXTRA CHARACTER.]
An extra?
Not the protagonist.
Not a hero.
Not even a side character worth remembering.
Just background noise.
Yoo Hyun's fingers trembled around his phone.
"No… wait."
As if responding to his denial, more text surfaced.
[Role: Disposable.]
[Narrative Importance: Negligible.]
[Canonical Survival Rate: 0.03%]
His mouth went dry.
A memory flashed through his mind, hours spent grinding The World of Mages, memorizing routes, monsters, and storylines. He knew this setting. He knew what happened early on.
And he knew exactly what kind of characters died first.
Extras, civilians, and yes, people on trains.
The system didn't give him time to panic.
[Emergency Transmigration Protocol Ready.]
"What… the hell are you talking about?" he whispered.
The answer appeared instantly.
[Cause of Death: Confirmed.][Commencing Forced Entry into Narrative.]
The train lights flickered.
Somewhere nearby, a scream rang out, almost inhuman.
Yoo Hyun's vision blurred as the world seemed to tilt.
Right before everything went black, one final message burned itself into his sight.
[Survive the opening scenario.][Failure = Permanent Death.]