Chapter 2: The Day I Killed The Author...
"Huh?" The moment my thoughts stabilized, I stared blankly at the sky.
I mean... how would you act in this situation? For me, it felt as if reality had crashed together with the storybooks I read as a kid.
[A pen lands from the sky, aiming to kill the man who broke the rules]
The same screen from before lit up in front of me, blazing with brilliant crimson light—the same color as the necklace.
The moment the words weaved themselves in the air, like a magic pen writing the book, the sky started to rumble, shaking the entire world and plunging everything into a crimson embrace. At that moment, I felt myself being detached from my own existence, which... honestly, I’m not sure I even had.
I watched in fear, my knees shaking like a leaf. In the face of that power, I felt absolutely powerless. In my brown eyes, I saw the sky being split in half, and a massive pen, aimed straight at me, descending with a booming sound, as if the heavens themselves had become a war drum.
I read the words again, heart pounding. They’d shown up about five seconds before the sky shattered. Now, the letters twisted in the air, curling and weaving into something new, every word blazing out from this cursed necklace glued to my skin. I tried to rip it off in a panic, but it wouldn’t budge. No matter what I did, it stuck to me like fate itself.
[Choose:]
[Dodge left = Death]
[Dodge right = Death]
[Run = Death]
[Fight back = 10% chance of survival]
[You have 10 seconds to choose]
"Hey..." I tried to curse the thing that trapped me. "Hey, I said!" Nothing. Just the flickering countdown—ten seconds left before I’d lose my life.
I was pissed. How the hell did I get dragged into this? And who even was the Author? That was the only thing running through my mind.
"At least help me fight back!" I shouted into the empty void. Suddenly, the [Fight back] option flickered green, lighting up.
The letters began to twist again. But did I really have time for whatever it wanted to say now? "Please... hurry... I don’t want to cease to exist..."
[The man who calls himself Quill picks up his scythe from the ground and slashes at the air, splitting the pen in half and surviving the clash with a whooping success of 10%!]
I read the words like my life depended on it. Wait... it did. Ahem.
No time to waste. The pen overhead felt like a mountain pressing down, seconds ticking away. I grabbed my scythe and, as I did, a rush of foreign energy flooded through me—wild, unfamiliar, but it felt like it belonged.
[You are about to break the fourth wall. Payment for this power is enslavement to the system. Do you accept?]
"What now?!" I gaped at the screen. Only five seconds left, and now this? "Forget it, I accept!" Like I had a choice...
The scythe began to transform right before my eyes, turning pitch black. The blade stretched out, warping and twisting, half-halberd, half-scythe, hard to explain, but it was powerful, and it called to me.
The brilliant crimson flash of energy shot from the necklace into my body, then surged into the scythe, gathering at the blade and warping the air all around me.
I let the power take over. I let it swing for me, straight up at the sky.
My head started to spin, so much that the last thing I saw was the pen splitting in half, crimson liquid raining down from the sky.
"Blood?" I wondered aloud, not even sure what I was seeing...
And then, my world went pitch black.
The sound of running water dragged me back to consciousness after what felt like forever. The world was calm now. To those without free will, nothing had changed. But I imagine anyone who could actually think for themselves would have noticed, the world was no longer the same.
When I opened my eyes, the sky was blue, so blue, it felt almost surreal.
Suddenly, crimson letters wove themselves through the air.
So it wasn’t a dream... I thought, somehow just accepting all of this. It felt strange. Am I supposed to feel these emotions? Have these thoughts?
[Quest complete: Survive Author’s wrath]
[You have gained a new reward:]
[You have gained a new ability:]
[Author of the story]
"Me? Author? What are you talking about?" My back was still pressed to the cold ground, but my fingers burned with an odd heat. With effort, I lifted my hand and found a small golden quill had appeared between my fingers. The moment I gripped it, I felt... immortal.
[Welcome to the system. You’re now the author of the novel]
"I’m going back to sleep... This is ridiculous..." I almost laughed, shutting my eyes again. But the sensation in my hand was impossible to ignore.
"What the?! What happened to the author?"
I yelled into the air, suddenly aware of all the villagers—NPCs, like me, gathered around.
"Is that person okay?"
"I’ve never seen him before. Is he a new hero?"
"He’s kind of cute... Do you think I have a chance?"
They didn’t know who I was? I couldn’t believe it. I’d lived among them my whole life.
[Focus, author. You have a story to write. Hold your quill and entertain the readers. If you fail, you will be canceled as the author. And cease to exist...]
I couldn’t believe what I was reading.
"Just who are you?"
[You may call me Big Boss]
"Big Boss? That’s... kind of a weird name." I couldn’t help but let out a shaky laugh. Maybe it was the name, or maybe I was just losing my mind after the day I’d had. Who knows.
But apparently, Big Boss wasn’t a fan of my attitude...
[Now, you must prove yourself. Talk to the readers directly. They’re your employers now. Complete this quest with them:]
[Gain 10 Collections in 3 days]
[Success will reward you greatly]
[But failure will punish you even more]
"Wait... who the hell are the readers?! Hello?!"