~[I encourage you with all my heart to read the auxiliary chapters before continuing, you genuinely have to, not including the power system and illustration, just the [Read before continuing] or something like that.]~
Thanks! And now... let's see if you guys can handle this emotional ride.
-Enjoy-
[Alex's Pov]
"They say that in this world, stopping is the only way to truly lose."
September 2027.
I'd been thinking about that quote for months now, and every time it came back to me, I ended up at the same conclusion.
"Bullshit."
We all try. But most of us don't get what we want, no matter how hard we keep pushing. I could train my heart out for the rest of my life, try to go pro for FC Barcelona, and still end up with nothing. Is it luck? Skill? Or just my gaming chair?
I'll tell you why.
It's because some people are just given a better life than others.
I mean, put me in La Masia at six years old and, yeah, I'd probably turn out like Lionel Messi too. But leave me out here, in the middle of nowhere, and of course I won't make it.
You don't even need the brain of a toddler to understand that concept.
I clicked my tongue and leaned back slightly.
People really believe this stuff?
My thoughts drifted for a moment before landing on something more real.
Sometimes stopping helps.
I mean, take someone like Simone Biles. She kept pushing forward, chasing greatness, and then she stopped because of her mental health.
I exhaled quietly, staring at nothing in particular.
If stopping really meant losing, then why did stopping save her? Do people seriously expect her to push past her mental state and somehow become great?
That's stupid.
Both me and everyone else who keeps reading this annoying-ass novel should know that.
After coming to that conclusion a while ago, trying too hard just felt pointless. Because of that, I slowly started doing less and less.
Being lazy didn't even feel that bad.
People like me were background characters anyway. The type that passed responsibility onto someone else, not because we couldn't handle it, but because we didn't want the attention that came with it.
I'd spent enough time acting both introverted and extroverted at different points in my life, sometimes even at the same time, to know that I didn't really fit into either category.
Right now, though, my attention shifted back to the novel I'd been reading for months, and I seriously started considering dropping it.
Why do these characters always act like this?
It annoyed me how they kept forcing themselves into the spotlight, acting righteous and important when there was no real need for it.
In my mind, that kind of behavior only made things worse. It gave enemies the perfect chance to observe them, study them, and eventually take advantage of everything they revealed.
Most of these novels follow the same pattern anyway.
Same setting.
Same overpowered main character.
I didn't mind action scenes. Being exposed during a fight made sense.
But outside of that?
It just felt unnecessary.
But seriously… why am I reading a whole scene about some random guy laughing in the background?
I rolled my eyes, already losing patience as I stared at the screen.
That character wasn't even important. Just an extra meant to push the main character forward, yet he was acting like he actually mattered.
You're not the main character, so why are you acting like that?
Of course, there was no way for me to actually say that.
Unless something ridiculous happened.
Like me being transmigrated into the novel itself.
My eyes lingered on the title displayed on the screen.
[A Hero's Will To Survive.]
What kind of title is that?
I genuinely didn't understand it, especially not after reading this far.
What "will" are they even talking about? The main character hasn't struggled once. No near-death moments, no pressure, nothing.
All the protagonist did was win, over and over again, without ever facing real consequences, which made the title feel completely meaningless.
This author really baited me.
Even so, I'd already spent nearly fifty dollars on it, so I kept reading purely because I didn't want that money to go to waste.
With a quiet sigh, I leaned back into my old leather chair. The worn-out surface creaked softly beneath me, familiar and reliable, and despite its age, it still did its job. Slowly, the tension in my shoulders eased as I sank deeper into it, letting the comfort dull my frustration just enough to keep going.
"Everything just feels so relaxing," I muttered, letting my phone rest on the desk as my arms went limp.
But being relaxed wasn't part of my daily routine.
Slam.
The door burst open so suddenly that it echoed through the room, but I barely reacted, already knowing exactly who it was.
Of course.
"I'm done with you!" she shouted, her voice filled with frustration. "Two years wasted, I'm leaving, and I don't want to hear anything from you!"
I calmly reached over and closed a few tabs on my computer before glancing back at her, my expression barely changing.
"Oh, alright," I said, my tone relaxed. "Just don't forget your stuff."
"Huh?" She blinked, clearly caught off guard. "That's it? No reaction?"
I stared at her for a moment before looking away again, a small sense of irritation creeping in.
That expression again… It's so bothersome.
Everything was playing out exactly how I expected, which only made it feel more dull than anything else.
If anything, I was more surprised that she had stayed this long, since I'd always thought she would leave much sooner.
You should've left earlier.
She stayed because of who I used to be, not who I was now, still clinging to that energetic version of me that no longer existed.
"I said, do you not care?!" she yelled, her voice rising even more.
I frowned slightly.
Jeez… No need to yell. No matter what you do, you won't get anything out of me. I couldn't care less about what others think. This is just how I feel.
"You seriously don't care about a two-year relationship?" she continued, slamming her hand against the door frame.
The loud noise echoed, but it didn't really get much of a reaction out of me.
I let out a slow sigh, already feeling too tired to deal with this.
It wasn't that I didn't care at all, but arguing like this felt pointless, and more than that, it felt like a waste of energy.
And honestly… You should've left sooner anyway.
I'm not the same person you fell for, so what's the point of dragging this out?
I finally spoke, my voice calm and steady.
"I don't. I don't give a fuck."
There was no hesitation in my answer.
"Just leave."
She froze for a brief moment, her expression tightening before she turned around and walked out.
"You forgot your stuff!" I called after her, though it didn't sound like I cared much.
Bang.
The door slammed shut, leaving the room completely silent.
I blinked once before leaning back into my chair again.
I did try to tell her.
At that point, whatever happened next wasn't my problem.
My gaze shifted toward the scattered clothes around the room, the mess she left behind making me smirk slightly.
My eyes landed on a certain piece, and I paused for a second.
"…Fancy underwear."
I picked it up, looked at it briefly, then casually tossed it into a nearby storage room without much thought.
"Rule number one," I muttered under my breath, "don't leave your stuff at your ex's place."
A chuckle escaped me.
"Someone might make money off it."
With nothing better to do, I sat back down and reopened the novel, deciding to give it one last chance.
[A Hero's Will To Survive.]
If this chapter is bad, I'm done.
At this point, it wasn't even about the money anymore; I just didn't want to keep reading something that felt like a chore.
[Chapter 386: The Reckoning.]
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
That actually sounds interesting.
Like always, I checked the comments first, even though I knew it was a bad habit.
I couldn't help it.
Whenever I got spoiled, I always blamed the app, convincing myself that comments shouldn't even be visible until after finishing a chapter.
Seriously, why are they even here this early?
It didn't make much sense, but it was enough for me.
Still, something felt different this time.
The reactions were way too strong, and nothing from the earlier chapters hinted at anything major happening.
One of them even gifted a Magic Castle!
Wink, wink.
Did the author finally do something right?
I started reading, my attention sharpening almost immediately.
At first, everything felt normal, following the same flow as before, but then something changed.
My eyes widened slightly.
"Oh… what?"
"His allegations were…"
I paused before reading it over again.
"Manipulating his romance interest…"
"Using his magic 'Dildo' while inside the academy halls…"
Must've felt good doing that.
"Absorbing a Demonic Core for increased strength…"
"Selling Academy secrets to Demons…"
"Selling out information from his own royal estate in return for more strength…"
And worst of all…
"Attempted murder on the main character."
The character I thought was just a side character was suddenly being treated like a villain, dragged in front of royalty, and silenced before he could even explain himself.
I leaned forward without realizing it, my interest finally sparked.
Wait… this is actually good.
My heart started beating faster as I kept reading, scrolling down more quickly with each passing second.
"Oh shit…"
A grin slowly formed on my face.
"The author actually got me this time."
For once, I was genuinely hooked, my eyes glued to the screen as I kept going.
"You can't end here…"
And yet, it did.
[The End of Chapter 386.]
"…You've got to be kidding me."
I immediately scrolled down, hoping for more, but nothing was waiting for me.
Still, instead of frustration, I felt something closer to excitement.
That chapter was actually good, different from everything before it.
But why?
Why did that character turn into a villain, and how did anyone even figure it out?
None of it made sense, and that was exactly what made it interesting.
Then suddenly, something felt wrong.
[F̴i̸g̶u̴r̸e̷ ̵I̴t̶ ̸O̷u̴t̶]
What?
[F̷͎̈́̓i̴̬̐͝g̷͇͗ǘ̸̹r̵̲͊e̷̘͝ ̷̠̄I̶̯͊t̸̩͠ ̶̼͘O̷͙͂u̸͍̐t̷̼̎]
My body stiffened without warning, and my phone slipped from my hand as my back pressed hard against the chair.
[N̸̠͘ó̴̙v̷̼͛e̴̦̍l̵̗͆'̸̠̏s̴͎̾ ̸̲͋N̴͓̈́à̸͙m̵̼͝ė̴̜:̶̯͑ ̷̠́Ä̶̝́ ̸̗̎H̵̥̑é̶̖r̸̤̿ö̴̙́'̶̬́s̴̠̓ ̷͖̈́W̵̥̋i̸͖̎l̴̰͝l̷̲̽ ̷̫͋ṯ̸͛o̷̥̓ ̶̲͘S̷̮̋u̸̯̎r̶͙̽v̷̬͌i̸͙͠v̶̠̄e̷̼̿]
What the hell…?
A strange sensation ran down my spine, sharp and cold, making my entire body start shaking.
It felt like something was pulling me, not physically, but from somewhere deeper, something I couldn't explain.
[W̴h̶y̴ ̶D̴i̷d̶ ̴C̴a̶s̷s̶i̴e̴n̷ ̶A̴r̷t̴f̶o̷l̴d̷ ̶S̴u̶f̷f̶e̷r̴ ̴T̷h̶i̶s̷ ̴C̴o̷n̴s̶e̴q̷u̴e̶n̷c̴e̷?]
[W̸̘͛a̶̲̍s̸̹͘ ̶̗̈́T̷̼͐ẖ̵̽i̸̤̾s̸͖̿ ̷̙̽D̸̤̍e̷̡̓ș̸͝e̶̺͂r̸̜̈́v̶̲̀ȅ̴̝d̶͎̈́?]
[F!nd 0ut Wh¥]
My vision blurred as memories I had never lived started flashing through my mind, memories that weren't mine, memories that didn't belong to me.
Then everything went dark, and in that moment, I realized something was wrong.
"Those memories…" I whispered, "…belong to Cassien Artfold."
I blinked quickly.
"And now I've become that character."
Then the thought crossed my mind immediately.
"That would mean I'm destined to be exiled from the academy in accordance with the leading events." :::