Silas tapped his fingers on the polished wooden table, the soft tak-tak-tak echoing like a ticking clock in the library's quiet. He sighed, leaning back in his chair, eyes drifting up to the towering bookshelves around him. His mind was restless, thoughts bouncing aimlessly.
"Guess I'll invest my stats for a bit," he muttered under his breath, the words barely audible.
"Status Screen."
A translucent panel shimmered into existence before his eyes, hovering in midair.
[Character Profile]
[User: Marcus Ravenfield]
[Class: Necromancer]
[Skills]:
Rune Creation (SSS)
Assassin Training (SS+)
Reanimate Dead (A)
[Stats]:
Strength: 15 (C)
Dexterity: 38 (B-) (+5 Boost from Necklace)
Intelligence: 70 (S+)
Endurance: 23 (C+)
Wisdom: 56 (A+)
Mana: 52 (A) (20% Less Mana Usage)
"All in on mana,"
He said with a small smirk, tapping the mana stat with casual confidence. The numbers shimmered faintly as they shifted, the effect visually satisfying.
Despite being trained as an assassin, Silas had always loved games as a kid—grinding levels, optimizing builds, chasing min-max perfection. Even when it came to killing, numbers—big, beautiful numbers—always meant progress.
"I feel like a child getting a dopamine boost just seeing big numbers," he chuckled to himself, lips twitching into a crooked grin.
A sudden cough cut through the still air beside him, sharp and unexpected.
He flinched.
The status screen blinked out of existence in a flash, vanishing like a guilty conscience. Silas turned slowly, heart skipping a beat.
Victoria was standing there—the Victoria. The main heroine of the game world. Regal posture, long silver hair draped over one shoulder, and eyes that burned a dangerous shade of crimson. Her brows were knit, lips pressed in a line of cautious suspicion.
"You… you summoned a status screen just now, didn't you?" she asked, voice quiet but edged.
Silas stared, mouth parting slightly in stunned disbelief.
Did… did I blow my cover?
Before he could think to respond, Victoria took a step forward—and then another—until Silas found himself cornered. She placed one hand on the edge of the table, leaning closer. Her body was rigid with tension, but her expression betrayed a hint of anxiety, as if she was hoping she was wrong.
"You're… from Earth, aren't you?"
Silas froze, the blood draining from his face. His pupils contracted slightly, breath hitching in his throat.
I was gonna reveal it eventually, but this is way too soon!
He clenched the edge of the seat with white-knuckled fingers, every instinct screaming to bolt. He didn't see Victoria as a threat—yet being caught so off guard had his reflexes scrambling.
"Uhh… I don't know what you're talking about… haha," he said, offering the most painfully forced laugh of his life.
Victoria wasn't buying it.
She narrowed her eyes, her nose barely inches from his now. Her arms were planted on either side of his chair, her crimson gaze unwavering.
"You just said 'status screen,'" she accused, eyes flashing with intensity. "I thought I was the only one who could do that!"
Her voice pitched slightly higher—still hushed, but strained with disbelief. Silas dared a glance around the library, praying that someone, anyone, would intervene and tell them to be quiet.
Maybe even get them kicked out. That would be ideal.
"I don't recall anything like that…" he muttered, trying to look confused, but beads of cold sweat were beginning to gather at the back of his neck.
Victoria leaned in closer, her brows furrowed, suspicion radiating off her like heat. She was relentless.
"All in on mana… I recall you just said?"
Silas's mental alarms blared.
Someone save me from this maniac!
He screamed internally, his expression twisted into a perfect mask of innocent bewilderment—even as panic clawed at his spine.
Then—
Maria arrived.
She rounded the corner with a stack of books cradled in her arms, her footsteps light—almost cheerful—until she caught sight of the scene in front of her.
She froze mid-step.
Her golden eyes widened in alarm, pupils dilating slightly, and her mouth fell open in stunned surprise. For a heartbeat, she simply stared—utterly shocked at the sight of Victoria and Silas practically nose-to-nose, locked in what looked like an intensely private standoff.
"A-Am I… disturbing something…!?"
Maria stammered, her voice rising an octave as she stepped back instinctively.
The books in her arms slipped through her trembling fingers.
Three thick tomes tumbled toward the marble floor[1]—but just before they hit, they suddenly halted mid-air, hovering as if suspended by invisible strings.
"Levitation,"
Victoria said coolly, raising one hand ever so slightly—her fingers elegantly poised in a practiced spellcasting motion.
A faint glow shimmered around her fingertips, fading the moment the books steadied in the air.
She didn't even look at Maria. Her attention hadn't wavered from Silas—not for a second.
Her crimson eyes, still glowing faintly with residual magic, locked onto his with unwavering intensity. Her expression was unreadable, carved from steel and conviction.
"You have a lot of explaining to do,"
She said, voice low but firm—quiet enough not to draw attention, yet heavy enough to silence the air around them.
[1] Accidentally wrote wooden floor on the last chapter, but I fixed it!