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Kael coughed blood into the dirt, his vision pulsing red as he clutched the gaping wound across his side. The battlefield was a graveyard of steel and fire—shattered weapons, twisted corpses, and the choking scent of burning flesh. Screams echoed in the distance. Magic blasts lit up the night like broken stars.
"Medic!" he shouted, even though he knew no one was coming. His squad had been wiped out hours ago.
Somewhere behind him, the ten-foot-tall horned berserker—a champion of the Eastern Dominion—was stomping toward him with a hammer the size of a horse. Every step shook the ground. Kael had maybe ten seconds to live.
"Of course," Kael muttered. "I survive six wars, a lava bridge, and a cursed marriage proposal, and this is how I die? Hammered into paste by a bootleg minotaur with roid rage?"
He gritted his teeth and tried to crawl, dragging himself over the blood-slicked ground. The hammer rose.
And then…
He awoke something deep inside of him.
Everything stopped.
The berserker froze, mid-swing. The flames flickered still. The wind paused mid-howl. Even the crackling fire magic suspended in the air looked like a paused frame on an enchanted projector.
"What the hell—" Kael blinked, sitting up. The pain in his side was gone.
> "Heyyyy, buddy. Quick time-out."
The voice echoed from nowhere, but it felt close. Personal. Like someone whispering directly into Kael's brain with the smugness of someone who just paused Netflix in the middle of the climax.
Kael whipped his head around. "Who said that? Show yourself!"
> "Right, yeah, about that. You won't see me. I'm sort of... above the world. Beyond the page, you could say."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "You sound like one of those god-tier mages who only speak in riddles before exploding half a mountain."
> "Nah, more like your... author."
Kael stared blankly for a moment. Then laughed. Hard. "My what? My author? Did I get stabbed in the brain? Is this a fever dream?"
> "Nope! You're in a story. And I'm the guy writing it."
Kael blinked slowly. "Okay. Cool. That's fine. Totally normal. I'm not hallucinating after bleeding out on the battlefield. So you're saying... you did this?"
> "Yep! That fight earlier with the poison elf? My idea. The goblin ambush? Classic twist. That time you nearly drowned in a sentient jellyfish swamp? 10/10 comedy moment."
Kael's eye twitched. "You nearly killed me seventeen different ways last week alone!"
> "But you didn't die. You're welcome."
He stood up, arms flailing. "WELCOME? I had to rip a cursed spider egg out of my ear canal with a dagger because of you!"
> "Great character growth moment. The readers loved it."
Kael froze. "Wait... what readers?"
> "Ah. Now we're getting to the good stuff. See, I don't control everything in your world. I mostly just guide the chaos. But the readers—the audience? They're the gods you should really worry about."
Kael blinked. "You mean there are people out there... watching me? Judging my every move?"
> "Oh yeah. Big time. They decide how much 'plot armor' you get. Like that moment earlier where you were supposed to get your head turned into jam? If onee reader commented, 'Kael's too cool to die like that,' so... boom. Plot armor."
Kael opened and closed his mouth like a fish. "So if they like me, I get to not die in humiliating ways?"
> "Exactly."
"And if they don't like me... Wait why do I even believe you.?"
> "Well. Remember your dead parents;
plot twist they are still alive.?"
Kael went pale,but started to laugh. "you think am stupid my parents who got eaten by my own summon; A demon slime after I accidentally messed it up.?"
> "Yep.you are forgetting that slimes not only absorb their food ,they also store it."
Kael sank to his knees. "So… you're telling me that my parents are alive and my survival depends on how entertaining I am to a bunch of faceless gods who probably eat snacks while watching me nearly die?!"
> "Basically, yeah."
Kael covered his face with his hands. "I hate you!!."
> "You're doing great, though! The fans love your sarcasm. Keep it up and you might even get a romance arc!"
Kael peered up. "With who? a vampire,goblin or even a demon ; how am I even sure you will give me a perfect woman instead of a dangerous one?"
> "Depends on how the story goes!"
He stood up, wobbly, pointing angrily at the sky. "You mean to tell me I've been crawling through hell on earth while YOU sit in some celestial writer's lounge sipping tea and throwing in giant wasps for 'character development'?"
> "They weren't wasps. They were soul-stingers. Totally different species."
"YOU MADE ME SWALLOW ONE!"
> "Character growth!"
Kael screamed into the air.
A moment of silence passed. Then he took a deep breath.
"Okay. Fine. I'll play your twisted little game. But if you're the writer, then at least tell me what happens next. Do I get backup? A power-up? Maybe a magic sword forged from dragon teeth?"
> "Ohhh... no. I don't control the other characters."
Kael blinked. "I'm sorry—what?"
> "Yeah, the other characters? They're basically puppets of the readers. They decide how they grow. What they do. Who they like or hate."
Kael's eye twitched. "So when my best friend turned evil, stabbed me, and joined the demon cult—"
> "Reader poll. They are in charge of that but lucky I am in charge of you. and guide you to entertain the readers and level up.😊"
"So what if the readers hate me and want me to died—"
> " Don't worry as long as you don't lose all your plot amor you will survive ."
Soo how much plot amor do I have
>Ten. You get to choose from 3 options of cool magic skills that I give you and the more you level up the more options you get .
Kael let out a long, slow exhale. "So… I don't get to control my allies. You don't get to control them. The readers do. But you get to ruin my life just for pacing?"
> "Exactly! Look at you, you're catching on!"
Kael stared into the frozen battlefield, eyes hollow. "This is hell. I'm in narrative hell."
> "But it's funny narrative hell. You've got snappy one-liners! You'll get a fanbase of gods !"
Kael crossed his arms. "And what exactly does my fanbase do when I'm being ripped in half by a lightning golem?"
> "Hopefully, post encouraging comments like, 'Wow, Kael's so brave.' That helps me justify saving you. Kinda."
"Kinda?!"
> "Look, I gotta keep it dramatic. Can't let you just breeze through. You're the protagonist. Suffering builds character. And tension."
Kael glared at the sky. "You're lucky I can't punch whatever plane of reality you exist on."
> "I mean, I could write that in. You punch the sky, rip a hole in the fourth wall, climb into the real world and beat me up with a flaming fish."
"Really?"
> "Nahhh, I'd win even if that still happens."
__Silence_____
>"Why aren't you saying anything"
"Am just trying to think and catch my breath"
Keal said as he bent down looking at the motionless war
>That sounds booring so I will start since you are an F rank you get to choose from
>1 ) Get lighting powers -- 9 plot amor
>2) Get a D rank sword --- 6 plot amor
>3) Become invisible ------5 plot amor
>"Be careful what you choose and remember your plot amor is you only hope"😉.....