Oliver stared at the floating blue panel with growing annoyance.
Honestly, he preferred it when the thing stayed silent.
Back then it at least felt mysterious.
Now it just felt irritating — especially the way it kept narrating his life like some sarcastic observer watching him suffer for entertainment.
“So I got thrown into the world of Wednesday,” he muttered, sitting on the couch with an entire pizza box on his lap.
He took another bite and leaned back.
“Could’ve been worse. At least this world doesn’t have constant world-ending disasters.”
Stress eating had always been his default coping mechanism.
Some people handled problems rationally.
Oliver preferred carbohydrates.
The panel flashed.
[ What the main character does not yet realize is that this world contains dangers far beyond his expectations. ]
[ Unfortunately, he will learn that very soon. ]
Oliver stopped chewing.
“…Excuse me?”
He stared at the screen before lowering the pizza slice.
“What do you mean dangers? This is Wednesday, not some apocalypse setting.”
Sure, weird murders happened occasionally, but compared to most fictional worlds, this place was practically peaceful if you avoided the main characters and minded your own business.
Which was exactly what he intended to do.
The panel flickered.
[ Soon, the main character will be pulled directly into the center of everything. ]
“Fuck you,” Oliver replied immediately.
“No I won’t.”
He pointed at the screen with complete seriousness.
“I refuse to participate.”
The panel remained there silently.
Oliver narrowed his eyes.
“Do I look mentally unstable to you? I’m not becoming one of those cursed protagonists who spends every week collecting trauma, enemies, and life-threatening situations.” He grabbed another slice.
“I’m lazy. I like peace. I like sleeping. I am fully committed to living a completely normal life. The moment I see danger, I’m leaving in the opposite direction.”
The panel was quiet for a moment before new words appeared.
[ The main character is currently considering using Modify Plot to become rich. ]
[ Unfortunately, what he does not realize is that suddenly obtaining millions of dollars with no legal source would immediately trigger multiple investigations. ]
[ There is a very high probability he would eventually be arrested for fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, or suspected cybercrime. ]
Oliver sat upright.
“…What? The hell kind of garbage system is this?”
A few seconds ago he’d genuinely been considering it.
Give himself money, buy a house somewhere quiet, avoid all supernatural nonsense, do absolutely nothing productive for the rest of his life.
A perfect plan.
Now apparently the universe itself was threatening to report him to the IRS.
“Why are you acting like a federal investigator?”
[ Reality modification does not remove consequences. ]
“You know what? I already hate you.”
He dropped back against the couch with a long exhale.
This system was going to ruin his life.
First it warned him about mysterious dangers hiding inside a world he’d assumed was relatively harmless.
Then it practically threatened him with federal prison for trying to get rich.
At this point it existed purely to make him miserable.
His gaze drifted to the acceptance letter on the table.
Nevermore Academy.
The panel flickered beside it as if intentionally drawing his attention there.
Oliver stared at it for a few seconds before rubbing his face.
“…I really don’t have much choice here, do I?”
If the system was telling the truth, laying low somewhere else probably wouldn’t work either.
Whatever it kept hinting at sounded bad enough that eventually even ordinary people would get caught in it.
At least at Nevermore he’d be close enough to see things coming.
More importantly, he still needed to understand what this system could actually do.
He opened the modification tab.
[ Modify Plot : The main character is human. ]
Oliver tapped the words and rewrote them.
[ Modify Plot : The main character is an omnipotent god. ]
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the panel flashed red.
[ Modification Failed ]
[ Reason : Excessive causality interference detected. ]
Oliver leaned back.
“Hm. So there really are limits.”
Made sense.
If the system had unlimited authority over reality there’d be no point separating modifications into ranks.
The restrictions meant stronger changes cost more — plot influence, causality weight, whatever powered this thing.
Which meant he needed to think smarter.
A few seconds later his eyes widened.
“Oh, I know.”
[ Modify Plot : The main character possesses the bloodline of Clark Kent. ]
Come on.
Who hadn’t dreamed about being Superman at least once?
Flight, laser vision, invulnerability, super strength — every childhood fantasy in one person.
The panel flashed red.
[ Modification Failed ]
Oliver clicked his tongue.
“Yeah, okay. Maybe that one was too much.”
Superman was ridiculous even by fictional standards.
Infinite growth as long as sunlight existed — there was no way the system allowed something that broken from the start.
Still, the failure gave him an idea.
If Superman was beyond the system’s limits, then a weaker Kryptonian should still be possible.
He immediately shifted his attention to the genetic bloodlines of Kryptonian general.
After that came Gojo Satoru, followed by one overpowered protagonist after another.
Every attempt ended the same way—rejected.
Only after countless failures did one finally succeed.
[Modify Plot: The main character possesses the bloodline of a Kryptonian soldier.]
[ Modification Successful ]
An intense wave of heat exploded through his entire body.
His muscles tightened as energy surged beneath his skin like something molten.
Every nerve fired at once.
His heartbeat slammed against his ribs.
“What the hell—”
CRACK.
The couch shattered under him.
He hit the floor with broken wood, torn fabric, and scattered cushions.
For a long moment he just sat there.
Then he looked down at his hand.
Even without trying, he could feel the strength coiled under his skin.
His senses sharper.
His body lighter.
Different.
A grin spread across his face.
“…Holy shit.”