The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character

I was just a side character—someone whose death wouldn't even matter in the grand scheme of the story.

What a fucking joke.

My entire life had been one big, cruel punchline from the very start.

Abandoned at birth.

Forced to struggle every single day—just to earn, just to study, just to live.

Years of hard work, only to be thrown out of the only company I had ever known, discarded like trash.

A stupid argument with the only friend I had, all because of a damn novel plot.

And then, to top it all off, I died.

Only to wake up inside my friend's novel.

…And now I was about to die again.

Life really had a twisted sense of humor.

As I stood there, trying to process the sheer absurdity of my situation, fragments of the novel's prologue flooded back to me.

—The students near the left wall of the auditorium were killed in a sudden explosion, wiped out before they even had a chance to react. But perhaps they were the lucky ones. At least they didn't have to suffer through what came next.

Lucky ones, my ass. What was so lucky about dying instantly?

Sure, the people who weren't by the left wall weren't exactly safe either, but at least they had a chance. I, on the other hand, was standing smack in the middle of a deathtrap.

Escaping the auditorium was my only shot at survival. But there was a problem—according to this godforsaken novel's setting, the academy had a strict rule: no one could enter or leave during the entrance ceremony.

Some might wonder—if the academy was so confident in its security, how the hell did terrorists even get in?

You idiots, think for a second.

In stories like these, there's always a traitor.

Yeah, you heard me. The only reason this attack could happen was because someone inside the academy let them in. Without that, bypassing security would've been impossible.

But I didn't have time to dwell on that now.

First, I needed to make sure I didn't die.

I took a deep breath and started moving, slowly edging away from the left side of the auditorium. The explosion hadn't happened yet, but it would. And I had no intention of standing there when it did.

The moment I took a step back, though, a sharp gaze landed on me. I turned my head slightly, only to see a professor staring at me. His eyes held a silent warning—stay in place.

I clenched my jaw.

-4 minutes, 7 seconds until the main quest begins.

I was running out of time.

Calm down. Think.

There's a saying: even in a tiger's den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.

If I wanted to make it out of here alive, I needed information.

'Status window.'

I called out the familiar phrase in my mind.

…Nothing happened.

"…Status window."

I muttered under my breath, hoping maybe I needed to say it out loud.

Still nothing.

Damn it.

I shouldn't have expected it to work anyway. My friend—the one who wrote this world—had been in the peak of his 'I'm different from other authors' phase. He absolutely hated status windows in novels.

I never understood why he loved academy settings despite that, but whatever. His novel, his weird preferences.

Suddenly, I felt a gaze on me.

I turned my head slightly, meeting the curious eyes of the girl standing next to me.

…Shit.

I must've muttered too loud.

She was looking at me like I was crazy.

I quickly looked away, resisting the urge to groan.

This was already a nightmare. Did I really have to embarrass myself on top of it?

But I didn't have time to worry about that. The Protagonist, Ryen, was already nearing the end of his speech.

Which meant I had less than a minute before my head went flying.

I needed to move. Now.

Since everyone was lined up in neat rows and columns, it wasn't hard for the faculty and students around me to notice my movement. But if I didn't escape now, I would die. Who cared about their stares in this situation?

Of course, running away wouldn't guarantee my survival. The terrorists could already be stationed all around the academy.

But standing still? That was a guaranteed death sentence.

At least running gave me a chance.

…I knew this would change the plot, but who the hell cared?

I sure didn't. Not enough to throw my life away for it.

Besides, in all the web novels I've read, none of the characters who worried about sticking to the original plot ever actually did.

I took a step forward, ready to bolt.

A firm grip latched onto my arm before I could take another.

Shit.

I barely had time to process the fact that I'd been caught before a voice spoke.

"What's the matter, prospective cadet Rin Evans?"

I froze.

Not because I'd been caught.

But because of the name he just said.

Rin Evans.

That was my name.

My original name.

Wait. Wait a damn minute—

No. No time to think. I had to get out of this first.

The professor holding me sighed, tapping something on his tablet before looking back at me. His grip was firm—not painful, but strong enough to make it clear that struggling was pointless.

His voice was calm, measured. "You seemed rather eager to leave your designated spot. Any reason why?"

Think. Think.

I couldn't just say, 'Oh, you know, I was about to die in an explosion, so I figured I'd make a run for it.'

I needed an excuse.

Something that wouldn't get me into more trouble.