The reincarnation-truck driver who had run Ilyong over in his previous life.
That had definitely been Elysia. She must have done it to throw him into this body.
There was only one reason Elysia hated Ex.
‘Because I turned this world into an apocalypse novel.’
Of course, he’d never imagined Elysia was an actual Creator Goddess.
Had he known, he would’ve written a peaceful story where everyone lived happily ever after.
But it was far too late for regrets.
‘What matters is that Elysia wasn’t satisfied with throwing me into this godforsaken novel. Now she’s trying to kill me.’
Plausibility Penalties, Detrimental Titles, Side Objectives…
Even powers created for the sole purpose of screwing him over had to have limits.
‘There’s clearly some kind of standard governing how they’re applied. Otherwise, I would’ve died a long time ago.’
The problem was figuring out that ‘standard’ and those ‘limits.’
He needed to understand them.
Ex went over every Plausibility Penalty and Detrimental Title he’d received so far, along with every Side Objective that had appeared.
When he focused specifically on their effects, the similarities quickly became obvious.
‘There’s a certain amount of balance.’
Detrimental Titles like Screamweed and Besieged on All Sides came with effects that changed depending on certain conditions.
Ambiguous titles like Con Artist and Foie Gras included a few beneficial effects as well.
Side Objectives clearly separated their rewards for success from their penalties for failure.
And Plausibility Penalties punished him according to the degree of plausibility he had destroyed.
‘It doesn’t just give me something bad no matter what.’
For any of these to be imposed, Ex first had to fulfill the necessary conditions.
There was also an obvious distinction between Plausibility Penalties and Detrimental Titles.
‘If I had to describe it, Plausibility Penalties feel like direct attacks. Detrimental Titles and Side Objectives feel more like stepping on land mines.’
He still needed to determine the exact conditions, but…
‘Conditions?’
Didn’t that make it sound like a game?
And there was one thing that immediately came to mind whenever games were involved.
‘…A status window.’
It was only a theory. A ridiculous one, at that.
‘Does the author have a status window too?’
He decided to approach the problem under that assumption.
Just as Ex obtained things through his status window…
What if Elysia was using her own status window to attack him?
‘If it’s a status window, she’d need some kind of resource, just like Editing Points. Something like… 『Author Points』.’
There was only one way to verify it.
『Setting Edit』
『[Remove Author Elysia’s ‘Author Points’] Required Points: …』
Ex watched tensely.
Depending on the result, everything he did from this point forward could change.
Setting Edit would accurately interpret what Ex intended.
Then the result appeared.
『[Remove Author Elysia’s ‘Author Points’] Required Points: 5,100』
‘They exist!’
That single result revealed three facts.
Author Elysia possesses a status window.
Elysia can spend points from her status window to attack me.
Our status windows can interact with each other.
‘I don’t know whether Elysia realizes that…’
There was a good chance she didn’t.
If she had known, then when she used Setting Edit to increase the backlash from Rebound, she would have reduced Ex’s Editing Points as well.
‘Elysia doesn’t know what I’m manipulating through my status window.’
Then how did Elysia keep track of Ex’s actions?
‘If we’re talking about breaking plausibility, organizing the setting notes in my dorm room should’ve counted too.’
But he hadn’t received a Plausibility Penalty then. He had even been organizing the notes in the common language rather than Korean.
‘Obtaining Mana Sensitivity and researching magic on my own should’ve broken plausibility too.’
There were plenty of other times when he had acted contrary to the original story without receiving any penalties.
Ex thought through all of them.
Then he noticed what those situations had in common.
‘I was alone.’
Next, he recalled every occasion when he had received a Plausibility Penalty.
The entrance ceremony, the infirmary, the classroom…
‘Someone else was always there.’
Were all the characters Elysia’s eyes?
‘Then what about titles?’
The circumstances had been similar whenever he acquired a title.
But if that was the case, why were title effects weaker?
What separated titles from Plausibility Penalties?
‘Did another character have to be present when I acquired a title too?’
No.
He had been alone when he obtained Third-Rate Swordsman.
It was the only F-rank title with a beneficial effect.
‘Titles are determined by preset standards… In other words, they’re granted by the status window. So unless Elysia establishes them in advance, she can’t give them to me?’
That seemed highly likely.
As long as their conditions had already been established, it wouldn’t matter which characters were nearby. The same probably applied to Side Objectives.
‘Characters… Elysia’s eyes…’
His gaze drifted toward Lola, who was sleeping facedown on the bed.
He gently stroked her hair, but she didn’t wake up.
She seemed to be deeply asleep.
‘There’s only one way to confirm it. I’ll have to gamble.’
And the method involved the greatest taboo in any transmigration story.
‘Reveal the scenario.’
Ex steeled himself.
He took a deep breath, then spoke quietly enough that only Lola could possibly hear him.
“Lola, the truth is, I’m the creator of this world. Another creator cast me down here and made me descend into this body.”
『[Remove ‘Author Points’] Required Points: 5,100』
The number didn’t change.
Lola was still asleep.
Ex continued.
“I know the future of this world. I know it’s going to be destroyed. I also know who the heroes reincarnated a hundred years ago are. All five of them were reincarnated.”
『[Remove ‘Author Points’] Required Points: 5,100』
Still no change.
He kept going.
“I know that Imperial Princess Beatrice, the pope of the Holy Empire, and the leader of the Revolutionary Front have already become demons. I know they’ll summon an evil god and destroy the empire. And I know the Demon King will be resurrected three years from now.”
The number…
『[Remove ‘Author Points’] Required Points: 5,100』
Didn’t change.
His gamble had succeeded.
Now he was certain.
‘Not every character is one of Elysia’s eyes.’
Of course, if one of those ‘eyes’ learned what Ex had revealed, he would probably receive a Plausibility Penalty.
Then who exactly were her ‘eyes’?
What did the people nearby whenever he received a Plausibility Penalty have in common?
‘They were all members of the reincarnated hero’s party.’
The original novel, [Save This Academy], was fundamentally written from an omniscient point of view.
Most of the story followed the hero’s party, but whenever the plot required it, the perspective shifted to villains or other important characters.
‘In other words, every character whose name I know can serve as one of her ‘eyes.’’
To summarize:
Standard: Elysia’s attacks must follow the rules of her status window.
Limit: The strength of her attacks depends on how many Author Points she has.
Points: She gains them whenever Ex destroys plausibility.
Perspective: She can only observe the world through characters who have appeared in the story.
‘Then there’s only one thing left for me to do.’
Before he was expelled from the academy…
There was only one thing he could do.
‘I’m going to raise absolute hell.’
***
Lola woke up not long afterward.
The moment she saw that Ex was awake, she burst into tears and caused a scene for quite some time.
It was hardly behavior befitting a noble young lady, but strangely enough, it made Ex feel a little better.
‘What is with this girl…?’
As Ex gave her a bitter smile and tried to calm her down, Lola said only one thing.
“I heard you’re going to be expelled. I might not be able to stop them from expelling you, but… still! Once you’re expelled, I’ll take you with me as my attendant.”
“Well, I appreciate the thought…”
Her face was still puffy from all the crying, yet she delivered the declaration with complete confidence.
It was almost cute.
Her level of emotional maturity made him seriously question whether she was actually seventeen.
“I’m coming in.”
While they were chatting, Roxwell entered the room.
The moment he appeared, Lola’s expression visibly darkened.
Roxwell looked at her, lowering his eyes as he spoke.
“I have something to discuss with Student Ex. I’d appreciate it if you gave us the room.”
“Ah, um… B-but still…”
Apparently, she thought Roxwell might harm Ex.
The way she stubbornly refused to leave was admirable.
But Ex needed to have an important conversation with him, so he sent her away.
“Lady Lola, I’ll call you later.”
“…I added my contact information to your Mana Phone, so you’d better call me.”
Lola looked back at Ex several times before finally disappearing through the door.
Sure enough, when he checked his Mana Phone, a new contact had been added.
‘I should set a password later…’
Ex then turned a serious gaze toward Roxwell.
“What is it?”
“…Your eyes have changed quite a bit.”
“You pushed me hard enough. I suppose I had no choice but to grow.”
Roxwell’s gaze dimmed when he understood the meaning behind those words.
‘You’re the reason I’m being expelled.’
Ex still wasn’t sure what to make of Roxwell.
His actions, especially his repeated attempts to expel students, gave Ex more than enough reason to be suspicious.
In other words, there was a strong possibility Roxwell was connected to the villains.
That meant Ex needed answers immediately.
“Why are you trying to expel students?”
“Because I hate children. Is that reason enough for you?”
“Then you shouldn’t have become an academy professor.”
“They pay well. Sometimes you have to tolerate things you hate for the money.”
“Are you involved with an organization that needs ‘money’?”
“…”
Their positions had completely reversed since the first day.
Lola had told Ex that the only reason he was receiving such intensive treatment was because the Imperial Princess had personally intervened.
That meant Ex was currently under the Imperial Princess’s protection.
“Tch.”
Roxwell had apparently reached the same conclusion.
He knew he couldn’t recklessly draw his sword here.
Now he was the one who had to explain himself.
“That’s none of your business. Don’t you agree?”
“Then why did you come to see me? To laugh at me?”
“That’s right. I came to see what kind of pathetic state you were in before your expulsion. Go ahead and rage all you want. That way, someone can finally put their mind at ease.”
“And who exactly is supposed to feel relieved? Me? Or you, Professor?”
There were two possibilities running through Ex’s mind.
The first was that Roxwell might be a ‘demon,’ the central villainous race of this world.
Demons operated in secret throughout the empire, sacrificing humans to accomplish their objectives.
They roamed this world by possessing human bodies, but there was one clear method of identifying them.
‘Expose them to divine power.’
Demons and demonkin were harmed by the light of divine power.
Therefore, simply exposing a possessed human to divine power made it easy to determine whether they were a demon.
Elyon Academy was one of the empire’s central institutions. Screening people for demonic possession should have been effortless.
Under ordinary circumstances, it would be difficult to imagine a demon infiltrating the academy.
‘But they already found a way around that.’
A certain artifact created by the demons had rendered the old detection method useless.
That artifact allowed demons to infiltrate every corner of the empire and conduct all manner of covert operations.
At this point in the story, that secret had yet to be revealed.
But Ex naturally knew all about it.
“Professor, would you remove the glove from your right hand?”
Roxwell’s right hand.
It was the one thing Ex had never been able to inspect.
And hidden beneath that glove might be the clue that revealed his true identity.
Realizing the intention behind Ex’s request, Roxwell openly displayed his displeasure.
It was only natural. Ex had all but declared his suspicion to Roxwell’s face.
“That’s an absurd request to make without explanation. What exactly are you implying?”
“I only want to look at your hand. Is even that too much to ask?”
For the moment, the demons believed no human knew their secret.
After all, the information was being guarded with absolute secrecy.
If Roxwell refused to show him…
‘There’s a good chance I’ll die.’
Ex waited for his answer.
His Mana Phone was clenched in one hand, hidden from Roxwell’s sight.
The number for reporting spies to the ‘Imperial Intelligence Agency’ was already entered.
The moment he made the call, agents would storm the room within a minute.
‘Demon or human.’
If Roxwell couldn’t answer, they would both die.
Ex would die at Roxwell’s hands.
Roxwell would die at the empire’s.
“…Haa.”
Roxwell, the man of unknown allegiance, released a long sigh.
“Look as much as you please.”
He removed the glove from his right hand and held it out.
It was the hand of a martial artist, hardened by thick calluses.
And the artifact Ex had been searching for was nowhere to be seen.
“…Looking at your hand, you’re definitely a martial artist.”
Fortunately, Roxwell wasn’t a demon.
The reason Ex could make that judgment was simple: the artifact wasn’t on Roxwell’s right hand.
That artifact took the form of a gold ring and had to be worn on the index finger of the right hand.
Without it, Roxwell was unlikely to be a demon.
‘There’s no way he could enter the academy without it. And if he were stupid enough to try, he would’ve been discovered and purified a long time ago.’
Only then could Ex finally relax.
No one had to die.
Roxwell, however, made no effort to hide his irritation at being suspected.
“What the hell was that supposed to be, Screamweed?”
“You suspected me too, Professor. I just wanted to confirm that you were really a martial artist.”
“You’re even more insane than I imagined.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
If Roxwell wasn’t a demon, then the next question was whether he was a spy.
‘Is this his true nature, or is he only pretending to be cruel…?’
That was much harder to determine.
Ex didn’t have an ability that could detect lies.
All he could do was ask again.
“Why were you so desperate to have me expelled?”
“I already told you. I hate children…”
“You know that excuse is complete nonsense, don’t you?”
“…I have no reason to tell you anything.”
As expected, it wasn’t going to be easy.
In that case, Ex would drop a bomb.
“Were those orders from the ‘Red Flag’?”
— Are you with the Revolutionary Front?
“…You!”
In an instant, Roxwell seized Ex by the collar.
His face twisted into something vicious.
A pressure intense enough to overwhelm the effect of Ex’s title crashed down on him.
“How do you know those words…?!”
“Ghk, khk… I was a war orphan too…!”
“Are you with the ‘Revolutionary Front’ as well?! Answer me!!”
Exactly the violent reaction Ex had expected.
Now he was certain.
Roxwell was a member of the ‘Revolutionary Front.’
All that remained was to determine whether his cruelty was genuine or merely an act.
Ex immediately took another reckless gamble.
“Were you ordered by your superiors to expel the students?”
“You son of a…!”
“Did the higher-ups choose me as the next ‘sacrifice’?”
“You… Just how much do you know…?”
Now came the final push.
Ex grabbed Roxwell’s collar with one hand.
“Do you really enjoy this so much?! Driving innocent children straight into hell!!”
“…Hell?”
“You already noticed what happened to the students chosen as ‘sacrifices,’ didn’t you?! Most of them supposedly died in accidents or disappeared! The lucky ones were sold into slavery! But do you know what’s really happening?”
Ex drew in a deep breath.
Then he stared straight into Roxwell’s trembling eyes.
“Those Revolutionary Front officers probably fed you all that garbage about justice and the greater good. But did you know they’re fattening themselves on the wealth and prestige they earn by selling children?”
“I… I…”
Roxwell’s eyes shook violently.
The Red Flag Revolutionary Front.
A key organization that appeared during the Imperial Schism Scenario.
They pretended to stand for justice on behalf of ordinary citizens and the oppressed.
But in reality, their officers had already fallen under the control of demons.
That was why the organization would ultimately collapse and be destroyed.
As part of the Revolutionary Front’s background, there was a setting in which the organization secretly disposed of academy students under the orders of nobles to secure funding.
Ex was deliberately pressing on that point.
“Are you one of them too?”
“…”
The Mana Phone was still ready.
If anything went wrong, Ex would contact the Imperial Intelligence Agency.
But that no longer seemed necessary.
“…Is it true? Everything you just said?”
Roxwell released him.
All the strength seemed to drain from his body.
“It’s the truth.”
“…I can’t believe it.”
Roxwell sat on the edge of the bed.
His shoulders looked impossibly heavy.
He covered his face with both hands, and a faint, anguished murmur slipped through his fingers.
“I… I only acted for the sake of the cause…”
That was enough for Ex to be certain.
He put away the Mana Phone.
There was no reason to keep holding it.
‘So the cruelty was only an act.’
Roxwell had been trying to make the students withdraw or get expelled because he didn’t want to dispose of them.
He had probably grown sick of being ordered to carry out those ‘disposals.’
That had to be the reason behind his behavior.
However, Roxwell clearly hadn’t known what disposal truly meant.
‘Only the officers who became demons know the truth.’
In reality, the students had been used as ‘sacrificial offerings’ in demonic rituals.
But Roxwell’s back looked too small and broken for Ex to tell him that now.
‘One final confirmation.’
Ex was nothing more than a commoner, yet he had casually exposed the secrets of the Revolutionary Front, an organization that operated from the shadows.
It was an impossible development.
An undeniable collapse of plausibility.
And yet…
『[Remove ‘Author Points’] Required Points: 5,100』
The number hadn’t changed.
No Plausibility Penalty appeared.
No title.
Nothing at all.
His gamble had succeeded spectacularly.
This proved that Elysia could only observe the world through the perspectives of certain characters.
‘I’ve secured a character on my side now.’
All that remained was the counterattack.
He was going to tear this scenario apart.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won't get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
It took 9 chapters But this novel finally looking good!