It was another Monday. Another boring school day. As usual, it was class after class. After school, out of habit, I started studying again. The only escape I had in life was the novel I was reading: "Rise of the Blood Moon."
That day, after school ended, my mom called and asked me to buy some vegetables from the market. I went to the store I always visited. While wandering between the aisles, suddenly—
"Hands in the air!" someone shouted.
I dropped to the floor in shock. Four armed men had come to rob the market. Everyone lay down, trembling in fear.
About five minutes later, police sirens echoed outside. Realizing they couldn't escape, the robbers took us hostage.
From outside, a police officer shouted through a megaphone: "Release the hostages!"
There were ten of us inside. One of the robbers shouted: "Take one more step and we'll shoot! Drop your weapons!"
The police lowered their weapons and slowly backed away. But it wasn't enough.
"I told you not to move!" one of the robbers yelled.
And then—
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. A burning pain spread through my chest. Warm liquid flowed from my stomach.
I knew it then— I was going to die.
I thought to myself: There were other hostages too... Why me? Why am I this unlucky?!
I cursed under my breath. As my eyes slowly closed, the last thing I heard was the police calling for an ambulance.
In the darkness, I heard a voice: "Get up, kid."
Struggling, I slowly opened my eyes. A man stood over me.
He was holding a sword.
I recognized him immediately. He was one of the main characters from the novel I had been reading, the swordmaster Adis.
Adis smiled lightly and said: "That's enough for today. Go wash up."
Still in shock, I stood up. Curious about my own face, I ran toward the river near the cabin. I gazed at my reflection in the water.
My skin was lightly bronzed, kissed but not burned by the sun. My cheekbones were sharp, giving my face an elegant sharpness. My chin was strong, but not rough. My nose was straight and perfectly proportioned—neither too big nor too delicate. My eyebrows were distinct, and my jet-black eyes held a natural seriousness.
This face—
This was the face of Ian Pires, the protagonist of Rise of the Blood Moon.
I was certain now.
I was inside the novel!
Gathering my thoughts quickly, I wondered: At what point in the story am I?
Then I remembered. Before joining the academy, Ian had trained with Adis for about half a month. That meant I hadn't entered the academy yet.
I quickly washed up and returned to Adis. He handed me an axe:
"Go chop some wood."
Without questioning, I obeyed. I headed to the forest and began chopping.
As I chopped wood, my mind raced with plans: I need to find a way to learn the current date... without making Adis suspicious.
Then it hit me: A week before the academy entrance exam, Adis would take Ian to visit his old friend, the blacksmith Olfham. Years ago, Adis had left a special sword with Olfham, just in case he ever took on a student. Now that he finally had a real student—Ian—he would retrieve the sword and give it to him.
That's why we needed to visit Olfham.
The timeline matched perfectly. I just needed to be patient.
Before I realized it, I had finished chopping the wood and returned to Adis.
During dinner, Adis suddenly said: "Tomorrow, we're going to visit Olfham. Get ready."
Hearing this made me a little tense. My already limited time was shrinking even more. I hadn't fully adapted to this new body, and soon I would have to take the academy's entrance exam.
But then I smiled.
It doesn't matter... After all, I'm the main character of this world. Luck will be on my side.
In Rise of the Blood Moon, Ian was guaranteed to enter the academy. Most of the story's major events took place there.
And now—
I was Ian Pires.
At that moment, a truth echoed deep inside me:
I was now a protagonist.
And protagonists always had... ...their own special privileges.
I will use this power for good. But that doesn't mean I won't use power for evil