The announcement of the preliminary rounds for the Magic Tournament spread through the academy during breakfast. Sophia unrolled a parchment scroll, where golden letters shimmered with the list of team assignments—her name was conspicuously listed alongside Lucien's in Group Three.
"System, this isn't right." Sophia stirred her blueberry oatmeal with a spoon. "The tournament teams were supposed to be randomly assigned."
"Detected storyline deviation: 12.7%," the system responded coolly. "Recommended action: Perform data scan."
Lillian ran over, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "I heard you got paired with Prince Lucien! He's been MVP of the tournament three years in a row!"
Sophia was just about to reply when the hall doors swung open. Bianca entered with her entourage of nobles, her gaze sweeping over Sophia like an icy blade.
"Commoners and transfer students would do well to know their place." Bianca tapped Sophia's table with a manicured finger. A silver brooch slid onto the surface without a sound.
"The tournament isn't child's play."
Sophia picked up the brooch, and the system instantly displayed an analysis:
Item: Sealed Interference Rune (Effect: Magic Disruption)Origin: Unknown (Non-native game data)
"Thanks for the warning." Sophia smiled, pinning the brooch to her collar. Bianca's pupils contracted sharply—the rune, meant to destabilize her magic, disintegrated into ash the moment it touched Sophia.
The tournament preliminaries were held in the Starspire Tower, where floating magical crystals recorded every participant's performance. When Sophia entered the prep zone, Lucien was already there, his silver hair tied into a neat ponytail as his slender fingers adjusted a sapphire-embedded mana regulator.
"The rules are simple," he said without looking up. "Survive, or defeat the mimic golems."
Sophia nodded, though her gaze was drawn to a sigil on his wrist—an ancient marking she had never designed. A system scan revealed: "Unknown Mark – Function: Spacetime Anchor"
"You study ancient runes?" Lucien suddenly asked, his violet eyes locking onto hers.
"A little," Sophia replied casually. "For example—" she traced a basic enhancement rune from the game into the air with her fingertip.
Lucien's expression shifted subtly, but before he could respond, the starting bell rang.
The battlefield simulated ancient ruins, with magic puppets patrolling between crumbled pillars. According to the original design, they should've only used basic attack magic. But Sophia immediately noticed something off—their eyes glowed an ominous red, and their movements were three times faster than intended.
"Get back!" Lucien conjured an ice wall with a sweep of his wand—but three golems launched simultaneous fireballs, melting it instantly. Sophia dove to the side as the system interface began flashing erratic warnings:
"Hostile unit data anomaly detected!""Danger level raised to ★★★★!"
An arrow shot from the side, aimed at Lucien's back. Without thinking, Sophia raised her hand. A skill she was sure was only unlockable mid-game—"Mana Refraction"—activated. The arrow twisted in mid-air and embedded itself harmlessly into the ground.
Lucien's pupils dilated slightly, but the battle left no time for questions. The golems' joints cracked unnaturally, as if something was forcibly upgrading them.
"Their core is in the left chest!" Sophia shouted—the kind of detail only a designer would know.
Lucien didn't hesitate. A precise icicle pierced the nearest golem's heart. Sophia seized the moment to access the system backend, attempting to forcefully terminate the simulation using designer privileges—
"Error: Insufficient Permissions.""Unlock Condition: ??? (Data Encrypted)"
"Damn it!" she gritted her teeth, pulling from her bag a vial of explosive potion—an item that should only be available in stores—and hurled it into the cluster of golems.
BOOM!
When the smoke cleared, the battlefield was finally still. The audience remained silent—so did the judges, momentarily forgetting to declare the results.
Lucien's breathing was shallow, a strand of silver hair falling across his forehead as he stared at Sophia. "That spell you used just now…"
"Last-minute improvisation," she said with a dry laugh, her heart pounding.
The system chimed in:
"Lucien Affection +20. Current: 45/100""Achievement Unlocked: Anomaly Purger"
That night, Sophia snuck into the basement alone. The day's abnormalities had convinced her—something was corrupting this world. The hidden corridor behind the secret door was colder than what she'd designed. Black ooze seeped from the walls—another element she'd never coded.
"System, record environmental data," she whispered, conjuring a faint glow from her fingertips.
At the tunnel's end was a sealed chamber. Suspended in the center was a crystal orb bound by chains. As she stepped closer, a face suddenly formed inside it—it was the original NPC she had designed, a time mage meant to die in the prologue.
"You've finally come, Creator," croaked the elderly man inside the orb. "This world is unraveling…"
The ground trembled violently. One by one, the chains snapped. Sophia stumbled back as system alerts blared:
"Warning! High-dimensional interference detected!""Final Boss Activation Progress: 17% → 39%"
Back in her dorm, Sophia found a note beneath her pillow. The handwriting was elegant, yet it matched no character font she had ever seen in the game.
"What you think is your advantage… is your greatest trap. —The Observer"
Outside her window, the blood moon quietly rose.