The wind here was different.
Hot, dry, filled with the scent of scorched stone and smog. My throat burned every time I inhaled. The ground beneath me was cracked red clay, stretching toward the skeletal remains of towers that used to be homes. Flames licked through the shattered windows.
I stumbled to my feet, heart pounding.
"Okay, okay... Calm down, Ru. You're inside a novel. A literal novel."
I checked my body. Everything looked normal—human, at least. I wasn't in any form with horns or wings. No cursed halo. No System interface. Just me. Plain me.
My clothes were different though: a black tunic, worn boots, a small satchel slung over my shoulder. And when I focused—
> \[Equipment: Traveler's Rags – Defense +1]
> \[Inventory: 0 Items]
> \[Level: 1]
"...Of course."
I was nothing. No power. No class. No sponsor. Not even a tutorial message.
I looked around.
The gate loomed in the distance. Jagged black steel. Burned stone. The words etched above it were half-cracked and faded, but I knew them.
> **Ruin 1: The Scorching City of Beginnings**
And just beyond the gate, I saw them.
Seven figures. A group.
The original cast.
Baek Seojoon, the Sword Saint.
Han Yerim, the Flame Whisperer.
Yoo Jiseok, the Shield of Dawn.
Choi Areum, the Saintess.
Kang Minhwan, the Alchemist.
Lee Seungha, the Bow Witch.
Shin Hyunmi, the Chrono-Scribe.
They were characters I had followed for years. Heroes of the story. Chosen by the system. Empowered by Constellations.
I crouched behind a piece of collapsed rubble, heart thudding.
"They can't see me. Not yet."
> \[Warning: You are not a designated participant of this scenario.]
> \[Irregular status confirmed.]
> \[Synchronization incomplete. Access to standard growth systems: denied.]
Each line made my stomach twist tighter.
I wasn't just powerless.
I didn't belong here.
And then came the last message.
> \[Side Quest: Survive the First Ruin as an Irregular]
> Reward: Access to Hidden Growth Tree (Locked)
It was something. A sliver. A thread of hope in a world that wasn't mine.
I crawled backward, deeper into the alleyways of the broken city. The buildings were half-collapsed, but they offered cover. I needed distance. Time. A plan.
The monsters in this Ruin would start appearing soon. I remembered from the novel. Burnhounds. Ash Fiends. Magma Rats. In the story, the main cast used formation tactics and early blessings to survive.
Me? I had a rusted pipe I found on the ground.
And fear.
I kept walking.
Every shadow looked like a predator. Every corner felt like the end.
And then, I heard it.
A low growl. Guttural. Wet.
I turned.
A Burnhound.
Its body was black and cracked, like molten coal given life. Its eyes glowed with dull red light. Saliva steamed as it dripped from its fangs.
It was small. But it saw me.
I ran.
The creature gave chase, its claws scraping against stone. I could barely keep ahead. My lungs burned. My legs ached. I wasn't built for this.
*I'm going to die in chapter 2,* I thought.
No weapons. No powers.
Just a scared college student.
I ducked through a collapsed doorway. The building smelled of old smoke and dust. I dove behind a shattered table.
The Burnhound entered.
Sniffed.
Snarled.
It leapt—
I shoved the table upward, knocking it off course.
I grabbed a broken glass shard and slashed.
It yelped, stumbled.
I ran again.
Out the back. Into the alley.
I didn't stop until my legs gave out. I collapsed under the skeleton of a sunken tram.
Blood. Not mine. The shard had cut its eye. A lucky hit.
But I was shaking.
This wasn't a game.
This wasn't fun.
I was prey.
And yet…
> \[You have survived your first hostile encounter.]
> \[Side Quest Progress: 1%]
Somehow, that tiny message gave me strength.
I exhaled, slow and steady.
"Okay. Let's play this smart. No fighting. Just hide. Think. Survive."
I moved again, slowly. Found an abandoned shop. Boarded up the entrance with debris. Searched the shelves. Found stale crackers. A near-empty water bottle.
It would have to do.
That night, I didn't sleep. I watched the skyline flicker with distant fires and listened to the cries of beasts.
The others were probably clearing the quest objectives. Following the script.
But I wasn't in the script.
And maybe that was why I could survive.
Because I wasn't bound by the rules.
Because I knew how the story ended.
And I had a reason to reach that end.
Even if it meant walking through every ruin alone.
Even if it meant staying weak a little longer.
I would endure.
And when the time came—
I would rewrite everything.