Sen pushed the second door open.
A bright light swallowed his vision.
For a moment he felt weightless, as if his body was falling through empty space.
Then words began to appear in front of him.
[Welcome to the Novel: Extra – Devil Knight]
[Prologue]
Earth is facing an apocalypse.
Creatures from the outer void have invaded the planet. Humanity stands on the edge of extinction.
When hope is nearly gone, mysterious artifacts begin appearing around the world.
Devil Artifacts.
Ancient objects that choose their own host.
Those chosen by them become vessels of devils—
Devil Knights.
More text appeared.
[Current Scenario]
You are currently inside the Ceremony of Selection, where heroes gather after defeating a demon general.
Your role: Eric's bully.
Sen blinked.
"Eric's bully?"
He quickly tried to remember the story.
Extra: Devil Knight…
It was a short web novel he had read months ago. Not very popular, but memorable.
The story followed a weak hero named Eric, chosen by a mysterious devil artifact.
But unlike other heroes, Eric's devil was… pathetic.
The Devil of Cowardice.
Because of that, everyone underestimated him.
Yet somehow, by luck and plot armor, he eventually defeated the Demon Queen.
Sen frowned.
"If I remember correctly… Eric had two companions."
And just as he thought that—
The world around him formed.
Night.
A ruined battlefield.
The smell of smoke and burnt earth filled the air.
Broken monsters lay scattered across the ground.
Three people stood nearby.
And Sen suddenly felt something strange.
His body was… different.
Bigger.
Stronger.
When he looked down, he saw thick muscular arms and heavy armor covering his chest.
Ah…
He had already taken over the body.
A girl's cheerful voice broke the silence.
"Alright! Great work everyone!"
Sen looked up.
The speaker was a girl with short silver hair and sharp green eyes. Two daggers rested at her waist.
Melissa.
The rogue of the party.
She stretched lazily and then suddenly pointed toward Sen.
"Especially you!"
Her cheeks turned slightly red as she looked at him.
"You were amazing today."
She giggled softly.
For a moment, Sen wondered if he had remembered the novel incorrectly.
Because in the original story—
Melissa hated the bully character.
But her expression now looked… strangely interested.
Meanwhile, a blond young man standing nearby clenched his fists.
Eric.
The supposed hero.
"How about me, Candice?" Eric asked quickly. "Didn't I do well too?"
His tone carried obvious jealousy.
Beside him stood a gentle-looking girl wearing priest robes.
Candice.
The healer of the group.
She nervously played with her fingers before answering.
"I think you did great, Eric…"
Then she glanced toward Sen.
Her eyes lingered on his large body for a second longer than necessary.
"…but he helped a lot too."
Her voice grew softer near the end.
Eric's smile stiffened.
But he forced a laugh.
"Thanks, Candice. You always know what to say."
Then his gaze shifted toward Sen.
Cold.
Hostile.
Jealous.
The hatred was obvious.
Meanwhile Melissa crossed her arms and sighed.
"Relax, Eric."
"You did fine."
Her smile looked friendly…
But Sen noticed the slight twitch at the corner of her lips.
As if she was forcing the expression.
And then—
Suddenly—
Sen heard something.
Not with his ears.
Inside his mind.
Melissa's voice.
Melissa's Thoughts
"Yeah… great job being useless."
"I can't believe you're supposed to defeat the Demon Queen."
"Honestly, that idiot bully over there is ten times more useful than you."
Sen's eyes widened slightly.
He quickly looked at Melissa again.
She was still smiling sweetly.
But now he understood something.
So that's how it is…
The novel's narration had never shown her true thoughts before.
But now he could see them clearly.
Eric kept talking proudly about the battle.
Candice nodded politely.
Melissa pretended to listen.
And Sen silently watched everything.
A slow grin appeared on his face.
This world…
Was definitely more interesting than he expected.
Because he knew something the others didn't.
In the original story—
The Devil Artifact ceremony would begin soon.
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As Sen stepped forward, the air around the ceremony platform suddenly grew still.
One by one, glowing spheres had appeared for the others when their turn came.
Now it was his turn.
For a brief moment nothing happened.
Then—
A marvelous marble sphere appeared out of thin air.
It floated in front of him, rotating slowly. Strange symbols flickered across its surface like living runes.
The crowd around the ceremony platform began whispering.
"Another artifact…"
"Who's it choosing?"
Before Sen could react, the sphere suddenly shot forward.
It passed straight through his chest.
A warm sensation spread across his body.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then a line of text appeared before his eyes.
[Ability Acquired: Gender Bender]
Sen blinked.
"…What?"
That was definitely not a power he expected.
But before he could process it further, Melissa's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Melissa's blue eyes sparkled with amusement as she watched him standing there in silence.
"Mmm," she hummed playfully. "Looks like someone got a special blessing tonight."
She circled around him slowly, clearly enjoying his confusion.
"Feeling confident now?" she teased, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Maybe we should find somewhere more private to celebrate our victory properly."
Candice turned bright red at those words.
She glanced shyly at Sen before quickly looking away again.
"Well… he did fight really well," she said softly.
Her eyes drifted toward his broad shoulders and powerful build.
"Your strength is… impressive."
Her voice grew quieter at the end, as if she realized she had said too much.
Eric's expression darkened immediately.
"Hey!"
He stepped forward angrily.
"I'm the hero here!" he protested. "You two shouldn't be praising him! He's just my bully!"
Eric puffed out his chest, trying to look intimidating.
Unfortunately, standing next to Sen's much larger frame only made him look even smaller.
Melissa sighed dramatically.
"Oh please."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"Relax, Eric."
Then she smirked.
"We're just giving credit where it's due."
Eric clenched his fists, his jealousy obvious.
Meanwhile, Sen barely paid attention to their argument.
His focus remained on the glowing text floating before his eyes.
[Ability: Gender Bender]
[Description: Allows the user to alter biological gender under specific conditions.]
Sen's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Seriously…?"
Of all the powers in a demon artifact ceremony…
He got this?
But deep inside, another thought quietly formed.
In a strange survival world like this…
Even the strangest ability might become extremely useful.
Sen slowly smiled.
Maybe this game would be more interesting than he first.