Chapter 2 — Background Character
The cheering didn't stop for almost ten minutes.
Even after teachers tried restoring order. Even after the golden pillar around Daniel dimmed to a manageable glow. Even after the System interface faded from public visibility.
The atmosphere had changed.
Not just in the courtyard.
In the air itself.
Andrew stood exactly where he had been when his screen vanished.
Students brushed past him, voices overlapping in excitement.
"SSS rank!" "Main Candidate!" "This is insane!" "We're saved!"
Saved.
That word echoed strangely in Andrew's mind.
Saved by who?
He looked toward Daniel.
Daniel wasn't basking in attention the way some others would have. He looked overwhelmed. Confused. But beneath that, there was resolve forming in his expression.
Like someone who understood that a weight had just been placed on his shoulders.
Teachers quickly surrounded him.
Phones were recording. Students were livestreaming. Someone was already shouting about forming a guild.
The world had pivoted.
And Andrew wasn't part of the axis.
He checked his hands.
They weren't glowing. They weren't trembling. They were just… hands.
Normal.
He forced a laugh under his breath.
"Of course."
Of course he wouldn't awaken something flashy. Of course he wouldn't get a hidden class. Of course the universe wouldn't suddenly rewrite itself around him.
That kind of thing didn't happen to people like him.
It happened to Daniel.
By noon, the government made an official announcement.
All awakened individuals were to remain on campus for evaluation and registration.
Non-awakened individuals were to return home and await further instructions.
Non-awakened.
The phrase felt heavier than it should have.
Andrew walked home alone.
The streets were louder than usual. Sirens in the distance. News helicopters already circling. People gathered around TVs visible through shop windows.
On every screen:
Daniel Hart.
A headline scrolled beneath him:
EARTH'S MAIN CANDIDATE CONFIRMED
Andrew stopped walking.
There it was again.
Main Candidate.
Not strongest. Not top rank.
Main.
The word carried weight beyond power.
It implied structure.
Narrative.
Importance.
He swallowed.
Why did that bother him so much?
He didn't even know Daniel personally.
They'd spoken maybe twice in their lives.
Daniel had once helped him pick up dropped books.
Another time they'd been assigned to the same group project.
Daniel was… decent.
Which made it worse.
If Daniel were arrogant, cruel, obnoxious—
Jealousy would've been easier.
But Daniel was exactly what a hero should be.
And Andrew?
He resumed walking.
He didn't want to think about it anymore.
When he reached home, his mother rushed to the door before he even touched the handle.
"Andrew! Are you okay? Did you awaken? They said something about monsters appearing in some cities!"
"I'm fine," he replied automatically.
"Did you—?"
"No class."
He kept his voice even.
She paused.
For half a second.
Not disappointment.
Just relief.
"Oh. That's okay. Maybe that's safer."
Safer.
Right.
He nodded.
"Yeah. Probably."
They watched the news together.
Reports of "Gates" forming in major cities overseas. Awakened individuals stepping into glowing fissures. Creatures emerging in some regions before being subdued.
The System had escalated quickly.
Andrew barely processed the footage.
His mind kept replaying his own screen.
ERROR.
NO CLASS FOUND.
He clenched his jaw.
Error.
He had expected average.
Not error.
He went to his room early.
Closed the door.
Sat on his bed.
Silence settled.
For the first time since morning, he allowed himself to feel it fully.
The emptiness.
It wasn't dramatic. It wasn't explosive.
It was quiet.
Like being left out of a group chat.
Like watching everyone get assigned roles in a play—
And realizing you weren't even cast as a background tree.
He lay back, staring at the ceiling.
"So that's it."
The world had become extraordinary.
And he hadn't.
He laughed softly.
Somehow that felt more humiliating than staying normal in a normal world.
Midnight.
Andrew couldn't sleep.
His phone buzzed constantly with notifications:
New guild formation. Emergency broadcasts. Hero interviews.
He turned it off.
Darkness filled the room.
He exhaled slowly.
"Main Candidate…"
The phrase rolled around in his mind again.
Why label it like that?
Why not just "highest rank"?
Why imply narrative priority?
As that thought surfaced—
Something flickered.
Not outside.
Inside.
A faint pressure behind his eyes.
He sat up.
"…Hello?"
Silence.
Then—
A thin crack of golden light split across his vision.
He stumbled off the bed.
The room was normal.
But overlaid on reality—
Threads.
Faint.
Nearly invisible.
Connecting objects.
Connecting people.
Extending outward beyond walls.
Like a spiderweb stretched across existence.
Andrew's breath caught.
"What is this?"
The threads vibrated.
Not randomly.
In patterns.
He instinctively reached toward one hovering near his desk.
The moment his fingers brushed it—
A jolt surged through him.
Images flooded his mind.
Daniel standing in a burning street. Daniel deflecting a monster's strike. Daniel rescuing civilians. Daniel growing stronger.
Future events.
Scripted.
Predetermined.
Andrew yanked his hand back.
The vision snapped away.
He collapsed onto the floor, heart racing.
"That wasn't…"
That wasn't imagination.
He could still feel it.
The thread.
Calling.
He stared at his hands again.
This time, they weren't normal.
For just a second—
Golden veins pulsed beneath his skin.
Then faded.
A whisper echoed faintly in his mind.
Not a voice exactly.
More like a concept brushing against his thoughts.
Disruption.
Andrew pressed his palm against his chest.
His heartbeat felt… layered.
As if something else beat slightly out of sync beneath it.
Another thread appeared before him.
This one dimmer.
Less stable.
He hesitated.
Then touched it.
Pain lanced through his skull.
Another flash—
A small Gate opening near his district tomorrow afternoon. Minor threat level. B-rank monster. Daniel arriving just in time to save a group of trapped students.
Scripted.
Planned.
Balanced for dramatic effect.
Andrew recoiled.
"Why can I see this?"
The word returned.
Unregistered Variable.
The golden droplet embedded within him stirred faintly.
Not fully awakened.
Not controlled.
But present.
The threads around him trembled.
As if aware of observation.
As if noticing they were being noticed.
A sharp tone pierced his ears.
Not external.
Internal.
Narrative Stability Warning.
The threads vanished instantly.
The golden veins receded.
Andrew found himself kneeling in darkness again.
Sweat dripped down his temple.
His heart thundered.
Narrative.
Not fate.
Not destiny.
Narrative.
He laughed weakly.
"This is insane."
He should be scared.
He was scared.
But beneath that—
Something else rose.
If what he saw was real…
If events were structured…
If Daniel was designated to arrive tomorrow at that Gate—
Then…
What would happen if he didn't?
Andrew's breathing slowed.
The idea took shape slowly.
Carefully.
Like stepping onto thin ice.
If Daniel failed to arrive on time—
Would the System adjust?
Would someone else replace him?
Would the outcome force itself to correct?
Or…
Could it be changed?
His pulse quickened again.
Not with hope.
Not with envy.
With curiosity.
For the first time today—
He didn't feel empty.
He felt…
Present.
He looked toward his window.
Somewhere out there, the world was preparing for its hero.
Andrew Wilson sat in the dark.
Unchosen.
Unranked.
Unregistered.
But he had seen the threads.
And now he couldn't unsee them.
Tomorrow.
A minor Gate would open.
Scripted.
Predictable.
Balanced for spectacle.
He swallowed.
"What happens," he whispered to the empty room,
"If I step into the scene?"
The silence didn't answer.
But far beyond Earth—
A subtle fluctuation registered within the System.
Minor Observation Anomaly Detected.
Source: Unknown.
Threat Level: Insignificant.
The threads adjusted.
Slightly.
Carefully.
Unaware that for the first time—
Something had begun to tug back.
End of Chapter 2