"They say hard work pays off"
That's what they always say, right?
Back when I had a future—friends, family, even decent abs—I thought that was just bullshit people told themselves to feel better. Like a motivational bandage slapped over a bullet wound.
Turns out, I was wrong.
People do.
They betray you hard, fast, and without warning. And when they're done, all that's left is the echo of what once was.
…Anyway.
Hi. My name used to be Aoto Kure. I had a life. Then a girlfriend accused me of things I never did. Then my friends disappeared. Then my family died under the weight of rumors and lies. Then I got fat, depressed, and dropped out of college.
Then I started writing stories.
My latest? "Nova System Level Up." Classic underdog with a system, quests, girls, all the usual crap. The protagonist, Nox, was everything I wasn't. Handsome, clueless, kind-hearted—he got all the luck.
And then I died.
Heart attack. No dramatic final words. Just a cold cup of ramen and a blinking cursor on Chapter 76.
I thought that was the end.
But when I opened my eyes, I was staring at a system window:
[Name: Kyo Atsuko]
[Rank: G-Class]
[Student ID: 1825 / 2000]
[System Status: Corrupted]
[Adola: ERROR // GLITCH DETECTED]
Kyo Atsuko?
I blinked. Looked down at my hands. Pale. Frail. Definitely not the guy who'd been writing a best-selling novel.
I shuffled to a cracked mirror.
Black hair, messy like I hadn't combed it in days. Eyes… black with a weird tint of purple flickering like static. Hands a little too thin. A face that was decent—not ugly, not particularly handsome, just… forgettable.
I stared, then whispered, "Well, Kyo… guess you're not Nox."
I was inside my own goddamn story.
But not as the hero.
Not even a named character.
No. I'm the side character who never had a single line.
And now? The story is starting to unravel.