Chapter 3: Something is wrong.

And a miracle happened.

The mantises’ forelegs, swung to tear Rina apart, were cleanly severed along their own arcs, as if sliced by something scorching.

Rina, bewildered and unable to grasp what happened, stared at the mantises with a dazed expression.

“Kieeeeek!!”

The beasts, twitching their ferocious mouths, lunged to bite her directly.

“Wha?!”

Rina flinched, raising her arms to shield her neck.

The mantises’ heads, aiming to tear into her arms, shuddered violently and burned black.

Only then did Rina notice the white sparks crackling across her hands and arms.

“…Oh.”

Realizing the change within her, Rina stretched her hand toward the mantises threatening the cadets in the distance.

Unable to stand due to her severed ankle, extending her hand was enough.

Her jet-black eyes flashed, and lightning struck from the sky.

A deafening roar followed, and the charred mantises exploded without spilling a drop of fluid.

The other mantises met the same fate. As they tilted their heads, confused, lightning struck their heads without fail.

Boom!!

Seven.

Crackle!!

Six.

Four.

One.

The mantises were incinerated one by one. Rina, still coursing with electricity, warily scanned her surroundings.

Lager, watching in stunned disbelief, muttered as if entranced.

“No way…”

Then, as if struck by a realization, he whipped his head toward me and demanded.

“What did you do? Tell me honestly.”

The situation was over.

The shimmering blue barrier vanished, and people slowly emerged. Uninjured cadets and instructors began clearing the mantis corpses and directing traffic for those returning to their cars.

Medics arrived, escorting injured cadets and collecting the deceased through the portal.

Everything moved like clockwork.

The combat itself showed inexperience, but the post-battle cleanup was thoroughly drilled.

Even the civilians followed the cadets’ guidance calmly, without panicking.

“Guess this kind of attack is just another day here.”
“Think of it like an earthquake. A big disaster, sure, but not world-ending.”

Lager waved at lingering cars to move along, continuing.

“That tail’s the problem, huh?”
“Probably.”

The slender demonic tail, still attached to my hipbone, swayed under my skirt despite my will.

As an extra, I rejected Lager’s original plot and granted Rina immense power.

I’m not sure yet, but it seems when this tail pricks someone, they deviate from Lager’s intended story.

Lager sighed heavily and started nagging.

“You got lucky this time, not getting hurt. But next time, listen to me. Why mess with a story we already know, creating variables?”
“How far does your story go?”
“To the end, obviously!”

I was surprised. I knew he’d been writing for years, but with no standout works, I assumed his planning was shallow.

He was serious about his craft. I shouldn’t tease him about being a lifelong hack anymore.

“So, what happens to Rina? Can she walk again?”
“Don’t worry. In my setting, an ankle injury heals in a week.”
“Good.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Lager shook his head at me, exasperated.

“Worrying about yourself would be nice, but you’re fussing over others.”
“I’m worried about myself! But that doesn’t mean I want others to die.”

To Lager, everyone here might just be characters, but not to me. I won’t recklessly risk myself, but if I know someone will get hurt or die, I want to give them a chance to avoid it.

Even if Lager doesn’t like it.

“Lager Godin! Ale Chloe! Get over here. We’re pulling out.”

The instructor, seeing the streets mostly cleared, called us to the portal.

Skyscrapers, polished asphalt roads, and a subway station nearby.

It was so much like Gangnam, I could hardly believe this was a novel’s world.

What would happen here?

Could I… return to my original body?

“Hurry up!”
“Ale! What’re you doing!”

The instructor and Lager’s shouts snapped me out of it.

Adapt first.

We were told to wait in the dorm until mealtime. The tall, neat building to the left of the courtyard was the girls’ dorm, with the boys’ dorm identical behind it.

“Ale, meet me here before dinner.”
“Do we have to eat together?”
“For now. Later, do what you want. I’m keeping you from sulking alone in a corner like a loner, so be grateful.”
“Seriously? You think you’d have friends without me?”

In a world where anyone could die, if people knew he created it, he’d be lucky to survive, let alone have friends. Who’s the desperate one here?

“Thanks for the concern, but watch your mouth. See you later!”

Lager, exasperated, shook his head with a groan and walked off. I glared at his back, arms crossed, then headed to the dorm.

The dorm was a bit hectic. Some girls grumbled as they entered, others fetched water from the dispenser, and some muttered while waiting for the elevator.

They were like any other college girls.

But no one seemed to care that a peer had their neck torn out and died just hours ago.

Too tired to climb to the seventh floor, I took the elevator. Inside, the girls chattered nonstop.

Death didn’t seem like a big deal in this dorm.

Reaching the seventh floor, I bolted out of the elevator. Hurrying down the hall, I opened the door with my name on it.

Then.

Rina came to mind.

—Ale! What’re you doing there!
—Every second we waste, more citizens could die. Hurry!

Her justice and urgency weren’t normal. Her desperate cries to save a bitten comrade weren’t typical.

She was uniquely warm.

Too righteous for this world.

Maybe Lager didn’t intend it, but could that be why she had to exit the story?

I cautiously wondered.

Would she really be okay? Even if she could heal, could a twenty-something girl endure the pain of losing a body part?

Feeling glum, I threw myself onto the bed out of habit. And the next moment.

Thud.

“Argh!”

My tail bent at the hipbone, sending sharp pain through me. It was like landing on your tailbone while skating, the agony shooting up your spine.

“F*ck…”

It hurt like hell.

No more throwing myself onto beds.

This tail is a pain, but it saved Rina.

A demonic tail, sharp like an arrowhead.

When it pricked Rina, she unleashed incredible power, incinerating the mantises threatening the cadets and instructor with a flick of her finger.

Does getting pricked by this grant immense power?

—An extra rejects the original author’s plot.

What did that message mean?

Then, a thought struck me.

‘Does it create munchkins?’

Munchkins.

Overpowered beings in novels that shatter logic and balance.

Lager’s world is a tragic academy story. A munchkin, with overwhelming power, would be perfect for disrupting a world meant to be tragic, “destroying” its settings.

—Destroying the settings of ‘Rina Frilwood.’

There was that message too. My theory solidified.

I rejected the original plot, and as a result, Rina gained immense power.

This tail.

It’s a tool for creating munchkins!

“…”

As I thought that far.

Staring at the tail swaying before my eyes, another hypothesis hit me.

‘Would it work on me?’

If I became a munchkin.

No matter what this world’s nature is or what dangers lurk, I wouldn’t care.

I’d seen its terrifying power. No need to hesitate.

I grabbed the tail’s tip and aimed the arrowhead at the back of my hand.

Goodbye, Lager Godin.

I’m about to get insanely strong.

With a sly smile, I pricked my hand.

[An extra rejects the original author’s plot.]
[Destroying the settings of ‘Ale Chloe.’]

[Ultimate goal of ‘Ale Chloe.’]
[Immediately realizing ‘female corruption.’]

What? Wait, why is my ultimate goal…

Before I could question it.

My body suddenly burned.

“Ah, eek…?!”

Something’s wrong.