"Don't worry about it, John," Zero said quietly.

He started to vanish, but John wouldn't let him go so easily. He was well aware that they could talk without seeing each other, but a conversation like this needed something more than just mental communication.

"I know we fight a lot, but we're still the same person, you bitch! I only ever tell people not to worry about it when I'm hiding something. If I can't keep secrets from you, you can't keep secrets from me. Get out here, you little shit!"

There was no response. John pulled out a gun from his pocket dimension and loaded a single round, holding the barrel to his head.

"I'll do it. You know I will. Get out here, now."

Zero rematerialized, a dark expression on his face. John put the gun away, his expression a grim look of satisfaction.

"Alright. What happened while you were gone?"

Zero sighed. "John, it's not something you should worry about. Just put the gun down, and-"

"No. Tell me. I know you can tell me, because you ran. If it was censored information, you would've just shown me. I'm not stupid. Well- ok. You know I'm not stupid when it comes to this kind of stuff."

Zero sighed. John could tell he was incredibly reluctant to do this, but if Zero could bother him about his feelings, then he shouldn't be able to complain when John did the same.

"John. I'm still part [Character]. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here. The exchange is that while I know the general gist of what's going to happen, that means there's also a few things I don't know."

"...huh? But I thought you were aware of everything. My past memories. My future. Who I am. You're supposed to be me with all my memories, right? That's the only thing that makes us different."

"Most. Most of your memories," Zero corrected. "And yes, I know a decent amount. But when it comes to your current [Story], I only know the general plot. The specifics, your actions, what you'll do, that stuff is hidden."

"Then-"

"Yeah, what happened to me just now? I didn't know it was gonna happen."

John gulped. Something even Zero didn't know. What possibly could've happened? The soul looked incredibly down, something that rarely happened. Zero was typically the eternal optimist, the one who tried to cheer John up no matter the circumstances, the one who was there to offer advice whenever he could. John often called him useless, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Out of everyone he knew, Zero had done the most for him.

So just what had happened that he was like this?

"I… I disappeared, John. Everything about me as a [Character] vanished."

A shiver ran through John's body. He didn't quite get it, but something about the way Zero had said that made him nervous.

"I stopped seeing things through your eyes. I stopped seeing this world, stopped hearing its voices, and everything went back to words on paper. Words on a screen."

"Then-"

"I don't remember it, though. Every time I try to remember what was written, it's just glitched text. Blacked out. Gone. But for a moment, I went back to reality. Well, not really. I got locked in a void with nothing but the manuscript for this [Story]. I'll get over it," Zero said with an awkward laugh. "But… try not to use that pill too much, ok?"

For once, John had no intent of arguing with his soul.

"I… yeah. Yeah, I'll try."

To anyone else, it wouldn't seem that horrific. But to John, who had scraps of memories from his time in the real world, it was as if one of his worst nightmares had come true.

His goal was [Reality]. To regain all of his memories, to remember who he'd once been. But to achieve that, to really achieve that, only for it to be pulled away, to be taken… something similar had happened to him once. It still haunted him. But he hadn't remembered all of his time in [Reality]. For him to go from living this life, only to be pulled out and be reminded that it was only a [Story], and then to be thrown back in…

He sincerely hoped that wouldn't happen.

"Yeah," John nodded slowly, looking at the pills he had left. "...sorry."

"Well, it's nothing compared to what you've been through."

John's head snapped up at that.

"So you do know the shit I've been suffering through!"

"Hey, hold on now," Zero started, but footsteps outside the door startled them both. John's soul vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving the physical copy all alone.

The door to the room opened, and Destiny stepped in.

"Oh, thank Celeste. You're awake. What happened?"

~~~

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I saw him shoot a fireball!"

Draco was sitting on his chair, one leg crossed over the other as he listened to the trembling boy kneeling before him.

"I was just walking by when I heard some fighting. I peeked and saw that John guy, so I stayed and watched a little. He and Destiny were sparring."

Draco grimaced. Destiny was one of the boys he couldn't touch. He was too protected by the royal Elvish family, and he even he was smart enough to know not to start an international war. If only it were that commoner, Fate, and not this bodyguard brat.

"Near the end, I saw John shoot a fireball. Without casting. Even Destiny was surprised! So, I think he's been hiding his mana-"

"Impossible! Unless… You. Keep an eye on him, and let me know if he does anything suspicious. Anything at all, you understand?"

The boy nodded, scurrying out, hoping he'd scored some favour with the Wynton noble, but unfortunately, he'd done no such thing. Draco was too preoccupied with figuring out what he should do next. Suddenly, he got a bright idea. He rushed to his desk, scribbling down words on paper.

He had a letter to send.

~~~

Just like the previous year, winter arrived early. John started to wonder where this place was relative to the equator, only to realize that this world might not even have one.

"Hey. Um… weird question," he said during lunch one day. "Is this planet, like… round? Or flat?"

"...planet?"

The whole gang was there. Destiny, Celeste, Danjo, Briar, and with the new additions of Arthur and Aurora, the table was getting a little crowded.

However, aside from Destiny, everyone seemed confused as to what he was talking about.

"Round? Flat? What do you mean?"

"I mean the planet! The big ball of dirt and water we live on?!" John said, panicking.

Was this really that strange? Even on Earth, the concept of celestial bodies dates back to ancient Greek times. Yes, perhaps their knowledge was rough at the time, and people believed the Earth was flat, but at least they had some idea of what that meant.

"Um… I don't know," Danjo shrugged. "We've just got this continent, right? And then there's the demon country, but we don't even know if that exists…"

Ah. Right. This was that kind of world.

"Anyway," Destiny said awkwardly, coughing into his fist. "How's everyone doing with their midterm preparations?"

The rowdy table got a little quieter. It seemed that nobody was looking forward to that.

"Ah. I- I see. There's gotta be some good news, though… right?"

"Um, I'm not sure if this counts, but Mister Venomfang decided to tutor me starting from today," Danjo said awkwardly.

Arthur's eyes shot up. "What? You're getting tutoring from one of the head professors?!"

"He said my designs were unlike those he'd ever seen and wanted to look more into it," Danjo said shakily, uncomfortable with all the attention being placed on him. "That's all it is!"

"That's still incredible! Wow!"

"Well, if the dwarf brought his big win up, then I guess I also got pulled in," Briar said, picking at her teeth with a toothpick. "Although that old Mountaincrusher is so boring. Slow and steady, he always says. Just like my old man back home."

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Immediately, the table was bustling with talk, exchanging praises and words of encouragement. John let a small smile slip. Well, that was to be expected of this group of people, no? The friends surrounding the [Protagonist]. It would be stranger if they weren't special in some way or another.

He closed his eyes in peace. The [Author] didn't have plans to make him irrelevant.

Not yet.

~~~

"You have lovely friends."

Prota had been trying to see if she could get the Tenth Seda to activate when Sofya interrupted her focus.

She'd been trying for a while now, and she couldn't quite get it. She could see how the mana was supposed to flow; she could see it folding over itself, and yet she couldn't muster up the strength to do it.

The first couple of steps were easy. It was anything after the third step that became difficult. It was like trying to fold a piece of paper multiple times. The first few folds were something even a baby could do, but after the third or fourth fold, it became nearly impossible.

Her mentor had been doing her best to show her what to do, but understanding the concept and being able to put it into practice were two different things. It felt like she was reaching an unbreakable wall. So when the statement had come seemingly out of nowhere, Prota didn't quite get what Sofya was getting at.

She tilted her head in confusion.

"Your companions. I may not interact with the students much, but it is still my job to oversee the school."

Something about that didn't sit right with Prota. If that was the case, then what about Draco? What about all the suffering he'd caused? Her discomfort must've shown, because Sofya shook her head.

"I cannot do anything about him. I am not solely in charge of admitting students, and expelling him now would cause far more damage than he is currently causing. I regret it, but I cannot do anything about it."

No. That couldn't be true.

"Child. If there is a sleeping lion in your room, it is better to leave it than it is to poke it with a stick. Should it wake angrily, it will do far more damage than it does while sleeping. Trust that justice will win in the end."

Prota didn't like it. On the other hand, though, it felt like something John would say. Leave Draco alone, because dealing with him now would result in consequences nobody is prepared for. Still, she didn't like it. Why did such an insignificant, annoying kid have to be the root of so many problems?

"Ah, you remind me of my daughter in more ways than one. She, too, wanted to change the world for the better."

Prota's head whipped around. What?

Sofya sighed. "Dragons, as you may know, are not meant to interfere with the mortal world. Not because of a restriction. It is simply that, should we ever take sides, it would result in the destruction of all mortal beings."

The headmaster stood up from her chair and walked to the edge of the training ground, her hand brushing the dying grass on the ground.

"I was granted a special privilege under the condition that I remain on this island. That didn't matter. I was able to raise generation after generation of mages and scholars. My daughter was raised in a similar environment."

A sad smile formed on the dragon's face as she was reminded of a past she'd never be able to return to.

"She, too, believed in justice. A world where eventually, good would win, and evil would lose."

A shiver ran through Prota's body. Good would win, and evil would lose. If John were here, would he describe this world as such? A world where justice would prevail? Was this that kind of [Story]?

Or was it a world where evil prevailed?

"She failed to see that world through. And, in all fairness, it is a little naive to believe that all can be resolved."

Sofya turned back, her expression unreadable.

"Still, we do what we can, do we not? For that is the purpose of strength. It is the means by which we carry our wills. And it seems you have quite the goal, for you to be at such a state at such an age."

She let out a kind smile, eyes glowing as she prepared to use magic once more.

"Now. Again."

~~~

As Destiny had said, midterms were coming up, and the format this year was far different from that of the previous year.

There was another island a ways off from Scholaris that the school employed for training purposes. However, this one was unlike the deserted island they'd been on for their last exam. Instead, built upon this piece of land was an old, deserted castle, the purpose of which was lost to history.

It was strange that this location received snow and cold weather, considering that another nearby island was covered in a tropical jungle. Still, then again, perhaps that was just how the geography of this world worked. John was beyond trying to reason something like this out. In the end, it could simply be chalked up to magic.

The location wasn't what made it so different, though. It was the objective.

In-fighting between students was prohibited. Attacking another test taker was grounds for immediate failure. While everyone in both the Fighting and Casting classes was to be deployed into the castle in pairs, the purpose was not to fight against each other.

And yet, a competition this exam was.

"Students!" Lupin announced a week before exams were to begin. "You have been taught how to fight. How to survive. How to use your magic in a wild environment, how to control yourselves under stress. It is now time to broaden your views."

He placed a piece of paper on the table, and a holographic image of the castle appeared above it.

"Within the castle will be 'treasures.' These treasures will be in the form of various tokens hidden behind various tests."

Leora came out, bringing a couple of strange devices.

"These are tools made by our own professors. They are meant to test your capabilities."

Lupin pulled one of the devices forward, and John seemed to recognize it. A punching machine with a display, like the carnival games back on Earth.

"For example, this device will register the mana behind your physical blows and unlock only after a certain rating has been reached. Do not concern yourself with strength. It is the control of mana that matters."

To prove his point, he walked up to the machine and flicked it with his finger. The score registered was a clean one hundred.

"The rarity of the treasure will depend on your score, so even if a machine has been used, it may still contain a valuable!"

Leora stepped forward then, increasing the size of the hologram. Everyone was led through passages as the image changed, as if coming from the perspective of someone walking through the castle.

"The trials are not the only part of the exam that requires your strength. There are hidden passages, traps, obstacles and beasts within the castle. While you will be provided with food and supplies, you will be left in this place until you yourself opt out."

A band came up, an item everyone was familiar with.

"You are no doubt familiar with these. As before, should you run into a fatal encounter, you will immediately be teleported to a safe space. However, unlike your first-year finals, you may leave at any time you feel fit. You are to be judged on your performance and final results, meaning that should you feel you have performed adequately, you may come back."

The students began muttering among themselves, already excited at the prospect of some kind of treasure hunt. A ruined castle. Secret passages. Traps. Monsters. What child hadn't dreamed of something like this?

"Please have a partner ready in two days! It would be advisable to choose someone beneficial to the design of the exam. That will be all."

The assembly was dismissed, and the muttering turned into a roar of noise as students excitedly began looking for their friends, forming teams and discussing strategy.

"You and Prota again, huh?" Destiny said as he found John.

"I mean, is anyone else teaming up with me? Didn't think so," John muttered.

Destiny nodded, but there was something on his mind. It was, after all, the reason he'd approached John.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Is anything gonna happen this time?"

The question stunned John back to reality. Right, he'd been ignoring his responsibilities for a while, especially since he found out about the pill, its abilities, and, more importantly, what they did to Zero. He'd been so lost in this one mystery that he'd failed to consider where the [Story] would go next.

"I don't know," John frowned, his voice low. "I mean, it's possible. If anything's gonna happen, it's gonna happen here. If I had to guess, probably cultists again. But they just attacked, right? You went through that shitshow in the summer, and then…"

"Yeah, but what does what I went through in the summer have to do with anything?" Destiny frowned. "That was a political battle in the Elven kingdom, and this is a threat that affects the whole continent."

"Yeah," John said, his voice trailing off. "I don't know. I just…"

He went silent, his mind going blank. What was he thinking? Was he even thinking in the first place? These days, he felt slower and slower. While the [Author] might have been skipping over the months of class, he was still going through days and weeks of lectures and tests, and each day skipped was a day wasted.

He wasn't using any of his skills, any of his insight, and the longer he went without using them, the more complacent he got. The longer he adapted to the life of a [Character], the more he forgot about his life as a [Reader] and [Writer].

"Well, don't worry about it. You've been right more often than you've been wrong, but just in case, it's best if we prepare, right?"

John nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it's best if we stay prepared."

~~~

"What? He needs an opportunity to find out about this boy?"

Emotor Wynton, head of the Wynton household, sat upon his throne, munching away at a vine of grapes as he read his son's letter.

"That's not possible. Nobody would dare to even think of resisting our authority."

His eyes scanned the sheet further, his brows furrowing as the contents of the message were revealed.

"John… wasn't that boy the stupid bartender who defied me? I thought he'd been dealt with, but it seems he's still alive? And why did we not simply do a background check?"

The messenger who'd delivered the letter, a long-time butler of the family, bowed.

"Milord, we did do a background check. The young lord requested one a while back, and the results were… disappointing, to say the least. It seems this individual has remained under the radar for quite some time."

"Bah! Are you telling me we can't even find out about this one singular child?! Pull in favours! Make threats! What are we doing?!"

The butler sighed. "Already done, sir. He has no record of obtaining an official citizenship. No record of being born. I checked with all the back alley dealers, and while one did admit to forging a few documents for him, he had no documents to begin with."

"That's not possible! The only way that could happen is if someone was just… dropped into the world on a whim!"

"Unfortunately, that appears to be what happened. There is nothing else we can do, sir. The bartender is gone, and while the bar is present, nobody seems to know what happened to him. There are simply no records of this man to be heard of."

The duke grit his teeth, crumpling the letter into a ball as his hands clenched into fists.

"No. Nobody gets away from us like this. I won't allow it. He needs some way to check on this boy, does he? I'll make sure my boy gets the support he needs."

He finished his vine of grapes, threw the stem away, and a servant scurried to sweep it up. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he grinned.

"Contact them."

~~~

"Man, this brings back some memories, doesn't it?"

Once again, the students were transported to the exam location on a large ship. This time, there was much less of a briefing, which allowed the students to chatter away. However, as they grew closer, the castle's looming figure slowly grew larger, and they fell silent. The sky was a grim grey, snow slowly drifting down on the old and decaying structure.

"And there's going to be haunted armour in there… hopefully it doesn't turn into some kind of giant boss," Destiny said, shuddering as he remembered the giant monster they'd faced almost two years ago.

"Please," John laughed. "If that was gonna happen, I would've-"

He cut himself off. That could happen, couldn't it? Hold on, that was definitely something that could happen. Why had Destiny said that?

"Um. Keep an eye out for that," John said, his voice a little quieter.

"Wait, hold on, I was joking!" Destiny protested. "You're saying-"

"Well, I didn't think it was gonna happen, but now that you've said that, it's possible!"

"What the- are you telling me I have the power to will things into existence?" Destiny exclaimed.

"Wh- no!" John held his head in annoyance. "It's because you brought it up that it might happen!"

"How the hell does that work?"

"John."

Prota's voice broke through, ending their argument as she tugged on her brother's sleeve. The two went silent as the ship slowly docked, the huge double doors of the castle slowly swinging open.

"...ready?"

"Yeah."

John tried to swallow, but his throat and mouth were dry. He would never admit it, but he was a little nervous. The teachers were handing out dimension rings with supplies like tents, firepits, and food, only cementing the feeling that they were getting into something a little dangerous.

"Good luck."

"Yeah. You too."

John pulled out his bat, and Destiny's hand remained on his sword's handle. A line of students was already making their way up the stairs to the entrance, and there was nothing to do but follow.

"This is it."

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