Then its expression changed and it went straight for his head, completely ignoring the shot aimed at it.
It appeared in front of him—too fast to dodge. Then, everything went dark.
He slowly removed his arms from his face and opened his eyes. "What?!"
He glared around, but no one had seemed to come to his rescue, so how did he not die from that?
Then a system chimed, and he turned to the screen.
[System Notification]
–8 Narrative Points
Skill Activated: "Instinct Flash"
→ Auto-dodged one close-range attack〕
That one system skill he wasn't planning to use was what had saved him today. Though it ate up almost all his points, he was glad it activated.
He noticed there were no violent thrashings anymore, so he raised his head slightly toward the ogre, and it just stood there—not moving a muscle. 'Huh?'
He glanced back at the crowd, and they seemed to be celebrating, though he didn't know why—probably because his eyes were closed when it all happened. And at that moment, the greatest thing happened to them: the dungeon doors finally opened.
He quickly ran back toward the others, to both inquire about what happened and escape along with them. Whatever had stopped that ogre was keeping it stationary in that position, and that was, nonetheless, the perfect time to escape.
He stared back as he sprinted forward, making sure it didn't move to attack him from behind while he ran.
As he arrived, everyone only seemed to be helping out those they were close to or packing their belongings. They had stopped celebrating before he arrived, which only made him more curious—why were they calm?
He walked up to ask, but everyone ignored him like before, so he went straight to the golden boy to inquire personally.
"Hey! Golden boy. What the hell happened, why is it frozen in place like that? Did you manage to get the shot?"
Reon glanced briefly at him. He almost didn't answer but then just decided to.
"Yes. I had to wait until it was not moving so much, and that meant using you as bait when it attacked. Though I don't know how you survived that attack from it."
He took his packed gear and slung it over his shoulder. "Not that your hard work will be explained to the higher-ups. After all, I can't tell them I listened to ideas from an E-rank hunter. But nice work in saving our asses—I'll remember it for as long as I live."
He walked away so casually, like Kael didn't just risk his whole life to save theirs.
"Oh well, at least I saved my ass in the process. That's got to be comforting."
He turned and glanced around the dungeon, looking for any valuables, which he later picked up and inserted into his bag before he followed them out.
He stared at the frozen ogre one last time before he stepped out of the dungeon, making sure it closed behind him to avoid a rampaging ogre on the loose in the city because of them.
An emergency unit arrived five minutes later, as per Reon's request to come pick them up. But as usual, Kael was left there because he was the lowest in rank.
"It's not like I mind anyway—would have actually been surprised if they had picked me up," he mumbled as he walked toward the city side to get a cab, because dungeons in this world appeared in places where people were less, and that meant far from the city—sometimes in deep parts of the forests, and hunters get paid to go there to stabilize them so they don't attack the main city.
He kept staring at his stats on the system screen in between moments, to make sure he wasn't hallucinating inside the dungeon about having a system—because it felt way too real for him to believe.
[STAT SCREEN]
Name — KAEL REVENHART
Designation: Extra / Narrative Anchor
Level: E+
Title(s):
• [The Extra]
• [Narrative Anchor]
• [Deviation Catalyst]
HP: 390 / 420
Mana Points (MP): 102 / 140
Strength (STR): 11
Agility (AGI): 17
Vitality (VIT): 13
Intelligence (INT): 20
Dexterity (DEX): 15
Luck (LCK): 999 (Hidden stat – Affects flag deviation, unseen outcomes)
TaleWeaver (SYSTEM ONLINE)
A story-layer system exclusive to the owner. It recognizes its owner as a narrative aberration and rewards deviation from canon.
Narrative Points (NP): 2
Cipher Points (CP): 0
Deviation Rate: 11%
Progress to Tier 2: 08%
Plot Anchors Active:
• [Saved Reon]
• [Prevented Main Character Death]
Skill Tree Unlocked: ANCHOR PATH – Tier 1
Usable against beasts up to Level 10
Available Tier 1 Skills:
• «Pierce Line» – Your next strike goes through armor for 1 hit 〔5 NP〕
• «Lure Step» – Draw enemy aggro toward you for 5 sec 〔3 NP〕
• «Instinct Flash» – Auto-dodge one close-range attack 〔8 NP〕
• «Mark Weakpoint» – Highlight enemy weak spot (10 sec cooldown) 〔6 NP〕
• «Split Throw» – Curve-throw an item toward target 〔4 NP〕
Locked Skills – TIER 3 Required
For use on Level 100+ foes
• «Zone Rewrite» – Alter terrain (illusion trap, slow field, etc.) 〔600 CP / 800 NP〕
• «Absolute Feint» – Evade even unavoidable attacks once 〔150 CP〕
• «Command Rewrite» – Force enemy to repeat last move 〔180 CP〕
• «Second Life» – Survive fatal damage with 1 HP (1 use/battle) 〔300 CP〕
• «Shadow Feint» – Create a short afterimage to dodge 1 non-magical attack 〔250 CP〕
• «Beast Control» – Temporarily command one weaker beast 〔100 CP / 150 NP〕
• «Rewind Step» – Undo a movement (max: 3 seconds back) 〔250 CP〕
Special Ability – ZERO (LOCKED)
A forbidden fusion of Light and Shadow. Not a spell, not a skill. A contradiction given form.
Trigger Conditions:
• Break a Tier 3 Flag
• Stack 3 Fatal Tags
• Activate Zero Zone during scripted death of a Main Character]
"I can't believe I actually awakened a system near death… what are the odds?"
In a bit, he arrived at the edge of the city, the city lights flashing across his face as he breathed in the city's fresh air.
"As much as I hate this place, it's good to be back."
He skidded down the hill toward the road and called for a passing cab—the only group of people that didn't look at ranks before they helped.
The cab drove through the city toward the destination he had pointed out, which was the main guild, so he could collect his reward as per the contract.
Soon after, he arrived at the main guild. The media had surrounded the front gates, interviewing Reon, while the others stepped inside for treatment and their rewards. But as usual, no one would recognize him or his actions.
He sighed as he stepped out of the cab and headed for the main gates. The media was so crowded, it was hard to get into the gates at first, but he eventually pushed through and got in.
He went straight to the guild leader, ignoring all the stares at him as he walked. Some were shocked as to how he came back unscathed, unlike the others who were considerably stronger than him.
"How is it possible? He only has a few scratches on him."
"Don't overthink it. He probably just hid while they fenced off the ogre, like the loser he is."
"You must be right!"
He opened the door softly and walked in without asking for permission. And what he saw left him speechless.