The glowing square faded into existence, floating gently in front of me like a hologram made of light.
I swallowed, bracing myself, and read:
===== Status =====
Name: Dreyden Stella
Race: Human
Strength: 12
Toughness: 15
Agility: 13
Intelligence: 20
Perception: 10
Magic Energy: 30
===== Skills =====
Celestial Library {0}
—A vast library that stores skill books.
Stored Volumes:
• Eyes of Truth {1}
• None
• None
• None
=================
A shaky breath escaped my chest.
He had it.
The skill was there.
All the tension in my body loosened in one huge wave, and for the first time since waking up here, I actually smiled.
"Thank God…"
Celestial Library — my custom, unregistered level 0 skill. The one I designed as a loophole to survive in a world filled with monsters. A skill that could copy other skills… but only under restrictive conditions.
I raised my hand, willing a new window to appear.
"Skills."
Magic energy flowed again, this time more controlled, more focused. A smaller square materialized, showing the full details:
[Celestial Library {0}]
Description:
A vast metaphysical library capable of storing skill books.
Restrictions:
1 — Must see the target's magical energy flow while the skill is activated.
2 — Can store only 4 skill books.
3 — Can actively use only 2 books at the same time.
4 — Deleting a stored book permanently destroys it.
Stored Volumes:
• Eyes of Truth {1} — Allows you to see magical energy flow.
• None
• None
• None
Everything was exactly as I wrote it when creating the character.
Flawed.
Limited.
But powerful if used correctly.
Of course, it came with a catch:
I wasn't actually Dreyden.
Magic energy moved automatically when I called "Status" or "Skills," but when it came to activating abilities, I had no idea how to channel anything.
And tomorrow, I was walking straight into the Triangle — one of the most dangerous academies in the world.
Meaning I had less than 12 hours to learn how to actually use magical energy.
"…Great."
I dragged myself out of bed, grabbed the laptop on the desk, and prayed it didn't have a password.
It booted straight to the desktop.
"Thank you," I whispered to whatever cosmic force pitied me today.
Then I spent hours searching, reading, and watching every tutorial, guide, and forum message I could find about magic manipulation.
How to sense the energy.
How to move it.
How to circulate it.
How not to explode your arm off using a level 6 attack by accident.
I absorbed everything like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
[09:45]
The next morning, exhaustion weighed on me like a backpack full of bricks — but I couldn't afford to look weak.
Not when hundreds of students filled the metallic hallway leading to the exam arena.
The air felt cold and sterile. The walls towered around us like a cage. Fear was everywhere — whispered under breaths, hidden behind bravado, leaking from trembling hands.
Creak!
A massive metal door slid open. Silence hit the hallway instantly.
A short, muscular man walked inside, his footsteps echoing sharply.
Fifith.
I recognized him from the novel — an instructor who'd earned a level 7 skill from the Triangle itself. A stern, unforgiving man known for crushing egos as easily as he crushed stone.
"Welcome to the first step of the next two years of your lives," he announced with a voice that demanded obedience.
BOOOOM!
The temperature spiked so suddenly that my breath caught in my throat.
Students gasped.
Someone screamed.
Heat washed over us like an oven blasting open.
"What the hell—!?"
"D-Did someone use a skill!?"
"He's crazy—!"
I forced myself to push past the panicking bodies.
I needed to see who caused it.
And when I reached the front, I froze.
A boy with short red hair stood confidently before the instructor, flames swirling around his fists like living creatures.
Octave Weyle.
Another rejected character — just like me.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" I muttered.
Why was he here? Why was any rejected character here?
"Pathetic," Fifith said, brushing soot off his uniform. "I know your family. And I know your face."
Octave smirked. "Then you know you're weaker than me."
Fifith cracked his knuckles. "Unfortunately for you, this isn't the Triangle yet. Which means I can answer accordingly."
This was a horrible idea.
Octave's stats were strong — I remembered his sheet. But a level 7 instructor wasn't someone you fought unless you had a death wish.
I activated Eyes of Truth, watching magical energy swirl around the two.
The instructor grabbed the metallic floor with one hand—
Creak!
—and ripped it open, exposing the dirt beneath.
A yellow aura exploded around him.
Stones rose from the ground, floating like planets around a sun before hardening into a full suit of rock armor.
Students whispered chaotically behind me.
"Is that… telekinesis!?"
"No—Stone Aura! It's Stone Aura!"
The instructor charged.
Octave unleashed a barrage of fiery punches, but the flames barely left scorch marks on the stone armor.
Sweat beaded down Octave's brow.
He needed to go all in.
Blue flames erupted from his fists — stronger, hotter, far more dangerous.
"Flaming Fist!"
"Rocky Fist!"
Their punches collided—
BANG!
A shockwave blasted the hall with smoke and heat.
When it cleared, Octave was on the far wall, crumpled and unconscious.
The instructor's stone armor was cracked, smoking, and glowing faintly red — but still intact.
He won effortlessly.
Students trembled.
Some cried.
Others cursed under their breath.
I swallowed as the glowing message appeared before my eyes:
[Congratulations! You acquired the skill book: Fire Fists.]
My heart pounded.
Even in this hell, I was getting stronger.
But I wasn't the only one.
Because among the crowd, near the white-haired girl from the reader-submitted pair, stood someone else I instantly recognized:
Dhara Silvius.
Riven Dogers.
The chosen characters — the ones who were approved by the author.
Every single one of them was real.
Rejected characters.
Approved characters.
Main cast.
Side cast.
This world wasn't following the rules anymore.
Which meant anything could happen.
And I had no idea if that was good…
or terrifying.