The smell of ozone and burnt coffee hung heavy in the air. Outside, the screams were getting distant, moving away from their block.
"I leveled up," Leo whispered, staring into the middle distance with a look of religious ecstasy. "I actually leveled up. I have stats."
Kael leaned back against the counter, clicking his red pen—click, clack, click, clack—trying to stop his hands from shaking. He needed to think. He needed to analyze the genre.
"Leo," Kael said sharply. "Focus. What class did you get?"
Leo blinked, snapping out of his trance. "Oh! Uh... let me check." He waved his hand in the air. "Status!"
A blue panel appeared in front of Leo. Unlike Kael's custom, glitchy interface, Leo's looked standard.
"It says I'm a [Pyromancer Apprentice]," Leo grinned, fire dancing in his eyes—literally. Tiny sparks were fizzling off his eyelashes. "Classic DPS role! High burst damage, low defense. I got a starter skill called Ignite."
Kael nodded. Standard. Predictable. Safe.
"Okay, Pyromancer implies high offense," Kael analyzed. "That means the System is assigning classes based on latent personality traits or desires. You wanted to be a hot-blooded shonen protagonist, so you got fire."
"What did you get, Kael? You one-shot that Goblin! Are you a hidden assassin class? A Void Mage?"
"I'm an Editor," Kael said flatly.
"A what?"
"Never mind." Kael stood up and walked over to the pile of blue pixels where the Goblin had dissolved. Lying on the floor was a single object.
[Item: Goblin's Loincloth (Common)]
Description: Smell is permanent. +1 Defense.
Kael grimaced and kicked it away. "Garbage loot. The drop rates are terrible."
Suddenly, the air in the café vibrated. A deep, resonant chime echoed not just in the room, but inside their skulls.
[Global Announcement]
[The "Tutorial Phase" has concluded for Sector: North America.]
[Initiating "Protagonist Selection"...]
The blue window in front of Kael expanded, turning into a massive leaderboard that seemed to hover in the sky outside the window, visible to everyone in the city.
[Current Ranking - Top 3 Survivors]
1. Ryker Wolf (Class: Solar Paladin) - Kills: 42
2. Seraphina (Class: Blood Dancer) - Kills: 38
3. IronWall (Class: Shield Bastion) - Kills: 15
"Whoa," Leo breathed, pressing his face against the glass. "Ryker Wolf? That name sounds so cool. Solar Paladin? That's a Legendary Class! He's gotta be the Main Character."
Kael squinted at the floating name. Ryker Wolf. It sounded like a name generated by a teenage boy playing Dungeons & Dragons for the first time.
"Something's wrong," Kael muttered. "The apocalypse started twenty minutes ago. How does he have forty-two kills?"
"Maybe he's just awesome?" Leo suggested.
"Or maybe he's farming the weak," Kael corrected.
He focused his eyes. His [Narrative Vision] passive hummed to life. The world dimmed again, and the leaderboard text shifted. He could see the subtext hidden beneath the official announcement.
He focused on the entry for Ryker Wolf.
Public Description: A brave warrior chosen by the Sun God. He wields the blade of justice to purge the darkness.
Kael squinted harder. He pushed 2 points of Ink into his eyes. The text distorted, revealing the Author's hidden notes.
True Character Sheet: Ryker Wolf (24).
Archetype: Power Fantasy Harem Protagonist.
Hidden Traits:
• [Narcissist]: Will sacrifice allies to look cool in front of a crowd.
• [Loot Hoarder]: Will kill team members for items of Rare grade or higher.
• [Main Character Syndrome]: Believes other humans are NPCs.
Kael felt a chill that had nothing to do with the monsters outside.
"He's a sociopath," Kael said, his voice cold. "Leo, listen to me. If you ever see Ryker Wolf, run the other way."
"What? Why? He's the Hero!"
"He's a 'Main Character' written by an amateur edgelord," Kael snapped. "He's the type of protagonist who lets the village burn down just so he can have a dramatic revenge arc. If we team up with him, we're dead. We're just 'tragic backstory fodder' for his character development."
Leo looked horrified. "So... so who do we team up with? We can't survive alone. I'm squishy!"
Kael looked back at the System window. If the "Hero" was a trap, then the narrative structure of this world was inverted.
In a bad novel, the Hero is often a bully, and the Villain is often just... broken.
"Show me the Bounty List," Kael commanded the air.
The System obliged, shifting tabs.
[Server Bounty: Priority Threats]
Eliminate these targets for massive Experience and Karma rewards.
1. The Corpse King (Monster)
2. The Brood Mother (Monster)
3. Elara Vance (Human) - Status: Awakening as the Calamity Witch.
"Elara Vance," Kael read the name. It felt distinct. Grounded.
He focused his vision on her entry.
Public Description: A dangerous anomaly. Her magic is unstable and threatens the fabric of reality. Kill on sight.
Kael poured the last of his current Ink into the text, stripping away the propaganda.
True Character Sheet: Elara Vance (22).
Archetype: Tragic Villainess.
Hidden Traits:
• [Protector]:Will die to save those under her care.
• [Overpowered]: Mana capacity is Infinite, but currently sealed by trauma.
• [Plot Device]:Scheduled to die in Chapter 20 to motivate Ryker Wolf.
Kael let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Found her," Kael said.
"Found who?" Leo asked. "The Calamity Witch? Dude, it says 'Kill on Sight'! She's a raid boss!"
"She's a tank," Kael corrected. "She's loyal, she's strong, and the System hates her because she doesn't fit the script. She's the perfect client."
Kael grabbed his briefcase. He checked his pockets: a wallet, keys, and his Red Pen.
"Leo, we have a new objective."
"Survive?"
"No," Kael opened the door of the coffee shop, stepping out into the ruined street where sirens wailed and smoke billowed. "We're going to find the Villainess before the Hero does. And we're going to offer her a contract."
"A contract?" Leo scrambled to follow, lighting a small flame in his palm for light. "Like... a soul bond?"
Kael adjusted his glasses, looking at the floating text boxes over the city that indicated the path of the plot.
"No. Representation," Kael said. "I'm going to be her Agent."
[System Notification]
[Quest Generated: The Editor's Choice]
• Path A: Join Ryker Wolf. (Reward: Safety, High loot chance, High chance of betrayal).
• Path B: Rescue Elara Vance. (Reward: Unknown, High difficulty, Enemy of the State status).
Kael has selected: Path B.