But me?
I didn't need kills to rank.I just needed to survive.To wait.To reach the tower.
And then, when they're all bloodied and tired—
I make my move.
Because Ashen Crimson doesn't fight fair.Ashen Crimson fights smart.
[You have entered Zone: Sector M][Next Collapse in: 9 minutes, 38 seconds]
Let the massacre begin.And may the plot twist be ever in my favor.
DING! DING!A sudden notification slapped my thoughts mid-strategy.
[SIDE QUEST UNLOCKED: "Cockblock the Chosen One"]Objective: Prevent Rin from meeting or fighting Cecilia Thorne. Take her away. Take every girl away.Reward: EVERYTHING.(Seriously. We'll owe you BIG.)
…What.
"Oye, system. What the hell just happened to you? Did you get drunk on patch notes?"
And that harem nonsense?
"Keep it. I don't want a harem. I don't even want one girl, let alone five.""I'm here to win, not start a dating sim. So shut up."
DING![Quest Reward: Lightning Barrage (S-Rank)][Quest Failure Penalty: All Stats → E-Rank. Charm, Mana, Strength, Speed, even Luck.]
I blinked.
"System… are you insane?"
There was no reply.
Just the cold, quiet digital air.
I looked around Sector M. A ruined cafe caught my eye. Elegant little thing—ivy climbing cracked stone walls, an umbrella flapping in the wind, chairs scattered like forgotten memories.
The kind of place lovers would've met—if this weren't a war zone.
I sat.
Imagined a coffee cup.
Pretended to sip.
Because in exactly three minutes, this calm?Would turn into hell.
I closed my eyes.
Mapped out movement paths in my head. I'd memorized the entire trial layout from the light novel. The moment players were scattered, the future began writing itself.
I knew every student's route.Every death flag.Every betrayal.
So to make this ridiculous system happy—and keep my stats from tanking—I had to play the villain. The third-party chaos unit. The butterfly that ruins destiny.
"Alright. Let's get toxic."
I raised my hand.
"Arise."
Shadows squirmed.
A squad of skeletons and goblins clawed their way out of the cracked concrete. Some still had cracked helmets, chipped teeth, or backwards legs.
Didn't matter.
They wouldn't be alive long enough for medical.
"I have a suicide mission for you."
Their heads tilted in unison. Enthusiastic. Loyal. Stupid.
Perfect.
"Go southeast. Cut across Sector K. You'll find a guy with glowing blue hair, glowing blue eyes, glowing blue everything. His name's Rin. He's like a protagonist discount bin version of me."
They grunted.
"You don't need to kill him. Just deviate him. Confuse him. Run in circles if you have to. Lure him away from Sector I. Cecilia's location."
One goblin saluted. Another flexed. A skeleton dabbed.
"Right. And if by some miracle you do reach the dead end and get him there—destroy him. Tear the script apart. Show the world that summons matter."
My undead army roared.
Okay, they kind of wheezed and cracked their joints, but emotionally? They roared.
"Your sacrifice will be remembered."
They sprinted off.
All six of them.
Running like excited lemmings toward their gloriously dumb, glorious death.
I stood up and stretched.
"Happy now, system?"
Nothing.
No ding.
No flashy screen.
Just the wind.
But for some reason…
I swear I heard it whisper back:
"...Good boy."
I shivered.
I patted Volkin's head. He yawned and curled into shadow again.
"Rest up, doggo. I'll need your teeth in 60 minutes. Target: literally everyone."
The cafe flickered. A glitch. The zone was already starting to collapse from the edge. Sparks ran across the sky like veins. Thunder cracked unnaturally loud. Time was ticking.
I pulled my hood back on.
"Phase One: Chaos. Initiated."
Phase Two?
Steal the spotlight.
Phase Three?
Rewrite the ending.
Because in this story?
Ashen Crimson was supposed to be a side character.
But the author clearly hadn't met me yet.
[Zone Collapse in: 6 minutes, 17 seconds][Rin's Path: Altered – Slight South Drift][Cecilia Interaction: 17% Chance → 3% Chance]
Let the plot derailment begin.
And may the girls not be with Rin.
At least for now.